The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead

The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead

Kit Livingstone's great-grandfather has re-appeared with an unbelievable story--the ley lines throughout Britain are not merely the stuff of legends but truly are pathways to other worlds. So few people know how to use them, though, that doing so is fraught with danger.
But one explorer knew more than most. Because of his fear of being unable to find his way home, he developed an intricate code and tattooed his map onto his skin. But the map has since been lost and rival factions are in desperate competition to recover it. What none of them yet realize is that the skin map itself is not the prize at the end of this race . . . but merely the first goal of a vast and marvelous quest to regain Paradise.
Enter the ultimate treasure hunt--with a map made of skin, a playing field of alternate realities, and a prize that is the greatest mystery of all.

I received this book from one of the book blog giveaways that I entered.  I was a little bit skeptical to read this book, a book called the Skin Map?  Hmmm, let me tell you that I was pleasantly surprised!!  I LOVED this book!!

Loved the characters, loved Kit with all his failings, and really liked the relationship that he was developing with his great-grandfather, Cosimo.  Didn't really like Wilhelmina at first, but she really came into her own once she and Kit were separated.  There is even a creepy bad guy in Lord Burleigh.

There is action in this book, mystery, and even some wonderful love stories.

The only complaint I have is that it is part of a series and the next one doesn't come out until September 2011!!  ARG!!!

I've been "Scorch-ed"!!

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.
In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety . . . until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.
Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated—and with it, order—and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim . . . and meal.
The Gladers are far from finished with running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Thomas can only wonder—does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

I won this book in the BIR2010 blog hop contest. I really like it!! This is the 2nd book of the series, the first is the Maze Runner. I have not read the Maze Runner, but I really want to now!!

This book starts when the Gladers are rescued from the Maze. They think that that is the end of their worries, but boy are they wrong!! From a dorm that is constantly changing every time they open the door, to being out in the open exposed to the blinding, burning effects of the sun, and then having to deal with zombie like people called cranks (reminded me alot of I am Legend), these teenage boys have to rely on each other and their own smarts.

Like I said, I really liked this book. It was a pretty quick read, the chapters were pretty short, and the writing made you want to keep turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. I liked Thomas, the main character. His dreams really intrigued me, and I really got caught up in his relationship with Teresa. I didn't really care for Brenda at first, she was a little forward, but I started to like her as the story went on.

The book had some really good secondary characters too. It's interesting how Wicked tattooed each person with numbers and labels. How often do we go by what others label us as instead of following what is really inside us?

Now I have to read the third one!! I have to know what happens to everyone!