Book Review: Run by Francine Pascal

Title: Run

Author: Francine Pascal

Series: Fearless (Book #3)

Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 205

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Year Published: 1999

First Line: “Do you know what hell is?”

“She's a black belt in karate. She's a precision marksman. She has the reflex speed of an Olympic athlete and can throw a 175 pound man over her head. Meet Gala Moore, not your typical high school senior -- she's Fearless. She's also the closest link to her father, a covert anti-terrorist agent who's hiding underground, so she's been forced to live with a family friend, George Nivens, in New York City Gala gets herself into dangerous situations, righting wrongs, avenging hurts and solving mysteries. Her world is about to change, however, exploding with terrorists, computer hackers, government spies and people bent on taking her apart…”

My Rating: 3.5/5

So let’s start this book review off with an announcement. This will be the last Fearless series book that I tackle, and this has little to do with the lower rating it’s received but rather to do with the fact that there are 36 novels not including specials. I’m afraid that I couldn’t find the next one and having to order them in one by one just isn’t going to work for me. Now on to the book itself.

This instalment in the series was important to the series, but I also feel like this part was written for TV more than for a book. Down to the soundtrack. It just didn’t work for me. I still that we have an awesome main character to read about but she isn’t grabbing my attention as much as she did in the first book and that makes it a difficult book to work your way through.

That being said not everything in Run was stuff I didn’t like. I liked that there was still humour used and we can see a “new” characters point of view a lot more.

THANK YOU FRANCINE PASCAL FOR A GIRL SUPERHERO FOR THE AGES!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: Run by Francine Pascal

I didn’t think that this was the best Fearless book that I’ve read. That’s my honest opinion. I’m not usually a negative person but I found this book hard to get through and more made for a screen than for a lazy day on the couch. I was disappointed with the way characters morfed, but I guess if we’re gonna talk about characters let’s organize it…

♥Characters♥

♥Gaia: I think that she’s changed quite a lot from the first book in this series. She has a really good friend (who is definitely hoping there was something more), a love interest and a real enemy. I like that she’s letting down her walls slowly, but I expected to hear more about what her father did to her. More than him just leaving her, because if that was it, mah. It was pretty anticlimactic.  I like Sam but I wish she would open her eyes to Ed though, just cause he’s in a wheel chair doesn’t make him any less of a guy. He’s obviously interested. The idea that she’s so casually accepting her uncle also teeves me off, but I’ll get to a bit more of that after…

♥Ed: If I were him I would just tell her that hey, I’m not just your friend here, I have feelings for you so stop friendzoning this! Although I’m sure the word friend-zone hasn’t been used yet. Hopefully something works out for him. I think that Heather and him might be a surprisingly good match.

♥Heather: She’s such a drama queen. Everything is constantly about keeping her popular. I don’t think she even loves Sam, I think she just likes the status that he gives her. And now that there’s been a sex tape let out I doubt she’ll have many friends left. But she deserves it from the way she treats her “friends”.

♥Sam: This guy is something else. I wonder if he’ll dump Heather after he thinks that she saved him? You’d think that after thinking about Gaia while dying you’d realize that maybe you should be with her and not the other one… but hey I’m not a guy.

♥Loki: A true superhero villain.

♥Moments to Remember♥

♥Pg. 20

“He smiled bitterly at the ridiculous image. Sir Edward of Useless Limbs, the knight in not-so-shining armour, rushing in to rescue the fair Gaia, Lady of Brutal Ass Kicking.”

♥Pg. 173

“Well, he could understand what his niece saw in the boy. He was certainly nice-looking. At least, he had been, before that unfortunate incident in which his face collided with that fist. Tsk, tsk.”

♥Final Line: “Today proved me very, very wrong.”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Book Review: Sam by Francine Pascal

Title: Sam

Author: Francine Pascal

Series: Fearless (Book #2)

Pages: 196

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Year Published: 1994

First Line: “It really wasn’t that far.”

“There’s somebody who wants me dead. And he’s probably going to succeed. Very soon. There is something I have to do before I go. And there’s only one person I want to do it with… Sam. No RULES. NO LIMITS. NO FEAR.”

My Rating:  4/5

This book is definitely was a step up from the first one. It included so many more ideas about the topic of being fearless and as well let the reader deeper into the main character’s mind. I loved that I was able to finally relate to the main character. I also loved how frequently Francine Pascal changed the point of view. It kept up suspense and easily let us know how all the characters were feeling, both about themselves and the other characters.

There was also more action is this book which was awesome!

The only thing I didn’t care for was the ending. It didn’t make me want to pick up the next book immediately.

THANK YOU FRANCINE PASCAL FOR READING A TEENAGE GIRL’S MIND!

Sorry this is so short guys but don’t have anything else to say about this one.

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: Sam by Francine Pascal

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this book, other than it was a step up from the first book. I loved that we got to fish through all of the characters minds and that it contributed to the story so well. I was really interested in Gaia’s past and this book gave some answers as to why she is the way she is. I still have some obvious questions and I guess we’ll see what the next book says to them. As well seeing that in some ways she’s a normal teenager made me happy. And yes most of us do think about sex that much, it’s normal.

♥Characters♥

♥Gaia: I think that she’s grown up a lot from the last book and that she is starting to realize that what she does (her superhero act) has some bad repercussions at times. Not that she killed Marco, but it makes sense that she would be a suspect. I was scared for her, not only because she had a price on her head, but because she also was taking a huge leap in life by thinking so seriously about having sex. It’s a bigger deal than most think until poof it’s done. I’m happy that she didn’t end up doing it, but to have seen the boy she loves in the midst of it with someone else… ouch.

♥Sam: Ok, I still love him a bit. He should have broken up with Heather, because it’s obvious that the don’t feel much for each other. Hell, he was fantasizing about her before he had sex with Heather. I won’t lie, I don’t understand real men much better than fictional ones. I just hope he lives through book 3.

♥Heather: Ok she’s a grade A brat. And no that wasn’t my first word choice, but it was the most appropriate one. She belongs with Ed but she’s horribly shallow. And then to throw it at Gaia that Sam is hers. Wow.

♥CJ: Not the brightest of bulbs, but at least he’s out of the way.

♥Tom: Still not sure why he abandoned his daughter but I can see that his evil twin is out to get him (original I must say) and his daughter too. Hopefully he can find a way to protect them all. And who knows maybe he’ll reveal himself to Gaia. Wouldn’t that be marvellous.

♥Ella: Why can’t she just disappear already?

♥Moments to Remember♥

♥Pg. 294

“She was devouring a stack of books the way a starving person would devour a plate of food.”

♥Pg. 345

“Luck is powerful. Don’t mess with her. Accept her for what she is and make the best of it. I can’t stand that people are constantly blaming other people when bad stuff happens to them. Somebody trips on a sidewalk, and they sue some innocent bastard for millions of dollars. It’s not always somebody else’s fault. Sometimes it’s just luck. Bad luck.

Luck is unpredictable. She’s not you friend. She won’t stand by you.”

♥Final Line: “At the moment it felt to Gaia like a chance to be brave.”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Book Review: Fearless by Francine Pascal

Title: Fearless
Author: Francine Pascala
Series: Fearless (Book #1)

Pages: 189

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Year Published: 1999

First Line: “Losers with no imagination say that if you start a new school, there has to be a first day.”

“Fearless introduces us to Gaia Moore, a girl born without the gene for fear. Gaia's mother was murdered, and her father, Tom Moore, a famous covert antiterrorist mastermind, is in hiding. Now 17 years old, Gaia is living in New York City with Tom's CIA friend, George, and his wife, Ella. Gaia is a prime target for terrorists and is in constant danger, but she is trained in all forms of combat so she can defend herself. Like Buffy and Xena, Gaia Moore is a force.
But she is also a high school student, trying to be like everyone else. As her friendships develop, we see that Gaia is in many ways a typical teen -- when she's not busy getting herself into and out of dangerous situations, righting wrongs, avenging hurts, and solving mysteries.”

My Rating: 4/5

This book was a good read. Not to deep or anything, but enjoyable. It’s one of those books that makes you want to read the next one, but not to the point where you feel the need to pick it up immediately. As I was reading this book I found that this book would make a really good movie or television show, because as I visualized what was happening it played through my mind like a show. I didn’t have trouble imagining anything, but there isn’t a lot of in depth detail. I did like the idea of this book.  It was exciting and a really interesting concept.

THANKS FRANCINE PASCAL FOR MAKING A GIRL SUPERHERO WHO WE CAN RELATE TO!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: Fearless by Francine Pascal

I liked this book mainly because it featured a really strong female character. There’s nothing I like more than a female who isn’t afraid to take a stand, or to fight for what she believes in. And let’s face the fact that New York is a great setting for Gaia. Crime rates, and a charming setting compliments her character.

♥Characters♥

♥Gaia: Gaia is the ultimate main character. Literally fearless and out to make the world a better place made it not only an interesting story, but definitely something I’ve never read about before. I do like that she is naïve and inexperienced in the world of high school. It makes her more like the rest of us.  I do love that she’s just blunt with everyone.

♥Ed: I think it’s interesting that he goes after Gaia because she isn’t overly nice to him. Actually in the beginning she is straight up rude, but I can understand how he just wants to feel normal. I was surprised that he dated Heather, did not see that twist coming. I didn’t think he would be that superficial. But maybe his accident changed him. Hopefully he opens up about it later.

♥George: We don’t know much about him except that he was friends with her father, I do wonder how he became her house mate though. Why was she sent to him?

♥Ella: We have a bad a** over here. I knew she was a flirt for a reason but maybe she’s teaming up with Gaia’s father to train her in real world situations. My jaw was on the floor when she shot Marco, did not see that coming at all. She’s a character I’m interested in learning more about in the next book.

♥Sam: Ok he seems really dreamy, but also kind of a jerk. If you don’t feel something for the girl that your with, why are you still with her? I don’t think cheating is right and he has such strong feelings for Gaia, so it’s probably time to let Heather go, but the fact that she almost died a few days ago doesn’t quite set up a good setting for that kind of talk.

♥Heather: I think she’s a brat. She treats people like junk. I know that she had the right to mad at Gaia in the coffee shop, but at the party, the park and finally the hospital? She had no right to be so rude. The thing that got me is I imagine that she will bring up the fact that Gaia didn’t warn her for as long as she can.

♥Moments to Remember♥

♥Pg. 86

“Some friends of his from high school used to rate a girl’s attractiveness by what was known as the fire hose test. If the girl’s looks were all about makeup and hair and clothes, she’d look like crap if you shot a fire hose directly in her face from point-blank range. A genuinely pretty girl would still look good.”

♥Pg.  95

“’It’s a cool name ,’ she said.

‘You could marry me if you asked really nicely,’ he proposed.”

♥Final Line♥: “She was so tired of that girl.”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo