AUTHOR SARAH ALDERSON READ MY REVIEWS!

I always get really excited when authors read my blog.  Sarah Alderson, author of Hunting Lila and Losing Lila, has read both of my posts on her work.

Hunging Lila

Losing Lila

REVIEW: LOSING LILA ~ SARAH ALDERSON

I suggest you first read my post on book 1, Hunting Lila, before continuing.  If this is a story you might like to follow, do not read this post – it contains major spoilers of book 1.

At the conclusion of Hunting Lila, Lila has discovered that Demos is not the man who murdered her mother, and that her mother was never truly killed at all; like Lila she is a psygen – she is kept on The Unit’s base and experimented on!  Alex and Jack also discover that The Unit is not what they think, and that the psygens they have been taught to hate are not as sociopathic as they were made to believe. 

Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson picks up a shortly after Hunting Lila left off.  A few days after the Joshua Tree shooting , Lila and Alex are in Mexico, meeting up with Demos and the other psygens in order to facilitate a plan to break Jack and Melissa out of The Unit’s custody.  With Alex’ support and encouragement Lila finally embraces her ability and works on controlling it and getting stronger.  It’s time to stop running and start fighting. 

The stakes go even higher when Lila learns that The Unit also got their hands on her father.  It turns out that her father has always been aware of the fact that her mother is telepathic, and that he has been working on a cure for psygens, to remove their abilities; but with his research The Unit need only reverse the basics and they can create psygens of their own – better, stronger psygens to be sold as weapons to the highest bidder.  

Is it possible for a handful of psygens, along with Alex, to break into the hi-tech military base, get down to maximum prisoner holding, break out Lila’s family and safely get back out, when all of them are wanted and hunted by The Unit?   Can a team of five people hope to take down an entire military institution who threatens them all?

Losing Lila was every bit as exciting as Hunting Lila, and concluded quite satisfactorily; however, several questions are left unanswered.  What happened to Richard Stirling?  Is Sara alive?  Will Jack ever discover the truth of his birth?  Sarah Alderson left the back door ajar, ensuring the possibility of a future novel  - though, should this not materialise, Losing Lila answered all the major questions, so we can live with it.  Though I would LOVE another book.  Maybe set a few years later, seeing the gang reunite for a kick-ass mission?  I was disappointed to have to say farewell to Lila, Alex, Jack, Demos, Suki, Key and the others; especially Mrs Johnson – what a hoot! 

One of the things I appreciated most about these books, is that there is no love triangle.  I am sick unto death of love triangles.  It was really great to know straight of the bat that Lila loves Alex, and while suspecting the feeling is mutual, he admits it fairly early on.  It was so refreshing to just have the two of them be a couple in love all along, their love threatened only by physical threats, no third party. 

The plotline is fast and furious, and once again there are several surprising revelations that make the outcome impossible to predict. 

I had a hard time putting these books down, and whenever you are literally sad to finish a book, the author did a fantastic job.  Sarah Alderson most definitely did.   Great, gripping read.

Product information:

Title: Losing Lila

Author: Sarah Alderson

Number of pages: 320

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year: 2012

ISBN-10: 0857071971

ISBN-13: 978-0857071972 

REVIEW: HUNTING LILA ~ SARAH ALDERSON

Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson is about seventeen year old Lila who is suddenly taken to London by her father after her mother’s murder, separating her from her brother Jack and his best friend Alex – the guy she’s loved all her life (though she’s the only one who knows this). Shortly after her mother’s death Lila discovers that she has telekinetic abilities.  For four years she carries this secret until a mugging exposes her to others.  Lila leaves London behind and runs to California, into the arms of her best friends and protectors; Alex and Jack. 

Happy to be with the people she loves best, Lila tries to simply forget what happened in London and enjoy the time she has with them.  Jack and Alex have both joined the marine corps, and work for a secret organisation called The Unit – though Lila has never discovered what it is they do; only that they hope to track down her mother’s killer.  Lila doubts her decision to come to California when she starts suspecting that Jack doesn’t want her there; but when she realises that Jack and Alex never leave her alone and that men from their unit are always watching their house, Lila starts suspecting that Jack and Alex fear for her safety. 

Lila then learns that Jack and Alex are trying to capture a band of very dangerous criminals, who have now discovered that Jack has a sister.  They hope to kidnap Lila in order to have collateral with which to bargain with The Unit.  Content to be in Alex’s company, Lila doesn’t worry about the situation overmuch, but Lila soon discovers that there are others like her; people with special abilities – and that Jack and Alex’ job is to hunt them down, and “contain” them.  The only people she trusts to keep her safe, are actually the very people whose job it is to capture her.  Lila then discovers that her mother’s murderer is also a like her, only he’s the most powerful of their kind – and it is he and his cronies who want Lila.

Can Lila trust Jack and Alex with her secret?  If they were to find out, would they still love her?  Can she trust them to protect her when they have been trained to despise and dispose of her kind?

Hunting Lila is the most gripping read I’ve had in a really long time.  The story is very well plotted and written, the characters are wonderfully developed and the intrigue of it all won’t allow you to put the book down until you’ve finished it. 

Especially Lila’s fears about being considered a freak and her feelings towards Alex are wonderfully written – you as reader feel what Lila feels.   Anytime an author can awaken such deep emotion within you, you’ve got a winner in your hands.

Hunting Lila and its sequel, Losing Lila, came highly recommended by my best friend, Erika – so automatically I bought both at the same time.  What a relief.  When I finished Hunting Lila I immediately picked up Losing Lila.  This story is so gripping I couldn’t wait to read more. 

I enjoyed this book every bit as much as The Hunger Games trilogy and the Twilight saga.  One of my favourite books I've read all year.

Product information:

Title: Hunting Lila

Author: Sarah Alderson

Number of pages: 320

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year: 2011

ISBN-10: 0857071955

ISBN-13: 978-0857071958 

NOW READING: HUNTING LILA ~ SARAH ALDERSON

17-year-old Lila has two secrets she’s prepared to take to the grave; The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she’s been in love with her brother’s best friend, Alex, since forever.

After a mugging exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust – her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before - And that they’ve found them. In a world where nothing and no one is quite as they seem, Lila quickly realises that she is not alone – there are others out there just like her – people with special powers - and her mother’s killer is one of them…

REVIEW: SAFE HAVEN ~ NICHOLAS SPARKS

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks is the story of Katie, an abused wife who changes her identity and flees her husband from Boston to the small town of Southport.  Katie makes a low-key living as a waitress, but despite her efforts to remain aloof from the townsfolk, her petite beauty, shy manner and mysterious background soon has all of Southport interested.  A series of events also soon has Katie involved in two reluctant relationships; one with her mysterious neighbour Jo, and one with kind, single father Alex.  Despite her reservations, Katie finds herself settling in and calling Southport home.

Josh Duhamel (Alex) and Julianne Hough (Katie) on the movie set of Safe Haven

Alex knows that Katie wants to be left to her own devices, but something about the wounded look that sometimes comes into her eyes makes it impossible for him to keep his distance.  When his kids become fond of Katie they start spending more time together, and slowly but surely the real Katie emerges; a kind, fun-loving, sweet woman who wants nothing more than to love and be loved.  A happy future might be in the cards for them after all.

Kristen, Alex and Katie

But Katie left behind a vengeful alcoholic husband who will do anything to bring her back to the prison she left behind.  With a secret stash of money steadily growing, ready to disappear to the next town at the drop of a hat should Kevin track her down, can Katie truly give her heart to Alex knowing she can never marry him, and that she can definitely not promise forever?  Can she build a life with him and his kids, knowing that she would have to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life?

David Lyons as Kevin

At first I found it a tad unrealistic that Katie would fall for another man so hard only about four months after leaving an abusive bully of a husband who knocked her around for four years.  Realistically I just thought that it would take a lot longer for an abused woman to open her heart up to another man after years of abuse from a man she initially trusted; but the more I read and the more I thought about it, I believe this part of the story is a testament to Katie’s character.  It goes to show just how sweet and trusting she is, and how desperate she is for love and affection.  I think it also says a lot about Alex that Katie immediately realises he’s a good, solid man she can trust and depend on.    

Alex and Katie

I found both Katie and Alex to be charming characters, and I enjoyed sharing this journey with them.  Nicholas Sparks did an amazing job of describing the life of an abused wife – it always amazes me how good he is at writing female characters.  Usually I can’t relate to female characters created by male authors, because there is just so much about being a woman that they miss.  Sparks goes through a lot of trouble to ensure his female characters are realistic and relatable; and as for the male characters, he never fails to give us the perfect hero to save the day. 

Safe Haven is a sweet book about new beginnings, and I look forward to seeing the film version starring Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough to be released February 2013.  I can perfectly picture the two of them in these roles – great casting!  

All photos in this post were taken during filming and are available on the Safe Haven Movie page on Facebook.

Product information:
Title: Safe Haven

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Number of pages: 368

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Year: 2010

ISBN: 9780751542998

ISBN-13: 9780751542998