Crazy for Young Adult Books discussion

Please join Katriann, Vicki and I as we continue the Southern Reach series with book #2!

Thanks for making the thread. :)

Neither my library nor Link + has this one, so I guess I'm going to have to buy it. I put myself on the wait list for an audiobook through OverDrive and I'm #1 in the queue of 3 books BUT they have zero. So why list it? LOL We'll see what happens by the 17th. One way or another I'll have a copy.

Fingers crossed for you Vicki!!

Thanks, Trisha. :)

Are you ready to start this one tomorrow? I have a couple of books I need to finish this week, but I'll try to start this one too.

YES! I'm so excited for this one! but I can wait a day or 2 as well, if needed. i'm definitely behind.....

I can wait as well.

I started this one mainly because I don't have a hard copy or ebook. i have to listen to the audio book and it's a bit confusing here and there. I have finished through Incantations: Adjustments about 50 pages. I'm at 15%.

Control (view spoiler)[has quite the background he got when raised in order to be good at what he does. It seems his grandpa was instrumental in the way he is now and giving him the nickname of Control might have helped him to take on that personality. I like that he is "the fixer" and he definitely cares about what happens to the biologist. I think because he's "the fixer" that he cares about her fate. He appeared to be concerned that she was found in a lot but the other two returned to a place that had an emotional attachment. It's also evident that he doesn't trust the assistant director because he didn't want her to know he cared about her fate, and some other clues. (hide spoiler)]

Assistant director (view spoiler)[is suspicious to me. Why did she so quickly "get rid of" the anthropologist and surveyor? She's definitely off! (hide spoiler)]

The ones from the 12th expedition (view spoiler)[don't remember anything? Hmmm...Control seems to think that the biologist is hiding something and that she knows more than she's willing to admit. But why lie? Is something scaring her? (hide spoiler)]

The biologist (view spoiler)[remembers nearly drowning. Was that in the first book? I don't recall. She seemed to be devoid of emotions when she was found in the lot and had been there for quite some time just staring. Why is she so out of it? And why don't any of them remember what happened to the psychologist? (hide spoiler)]

Whitby (view spoiler)[was he purposely lying when Connor asked him questions about things or did he really not know the correct answers? If not, why didn't he just say he didn't know? (hide spoiler)]

Connor's office (view spoiler)[being bugged seems like it would have upset him, but he was only concerned about the devices and thei fascination he had with them. But he did dump them in his drawer, so I think he didn't really like being bugged. I wonder who and why the bugging was done. I know some were old but others new. I think the assistant director is suspicious again. LOL I don't like her, but I do like Connor. (hide spoiler)]

Finished Incantations: Reentry about page 82 and 24%

Control (view spoiler)[I can't help but feel a little bad for him because I think the assistant director AND his mother are manipulating him. (hide spoiler)]

Control's mother (view spoiler)[is so suspicious to me. Why does she really want him to go to the Southern Reach in a new position and why is she so secretive with him regarding her own job at there? She said her job was "classified" so was she somebody super important? I don't believe she moved to be closer to him. (hide spoiler)]

Hedley (view spoiler)[sounds like an okay place but why doesn't he remember it? I like Chorro. LOL (hide spoiler)]

The Voice (view spoiler)[is too mysterious. I can't help but to think it might be his mother or possibly his grandfather or dad. I mean, why would its voice be disguised unless it's his mother and she can't let him know because maybe it's "classified" too. (hide spoiler)]

Finished Sixth Breach

I wonder if (view spoiler)[the plant and mouse really are protecting something/someone. Odd! (hide spoiler)]

Control (view spoiler)[keeps finding things that indicate he's being carefully watched, like the mashed mosquito and extra cell phone in the car. I can see being careless and leaving a mosquito on the windshield but leaving a cell phone accidentally? I'd be freaked out! (hide spoiler)]

I've been really busy with school this week and have only read like 30 pages of this book. I'll try to catch up this weekend.

yay!! I hope you loved it Vicki (I don't see a rating from you yet)

I'm starting tonight and I'll post tomorrow
but I'm gone all weekend camping with my GS troop in an area with no reception, so after tomorrow, I'll update when I get home :)

Oh, I'm not finished yet. I'm in the Seventh Breach and 51% done.

Incantations:

Assistant director (view spoiler)[ I agree that there is something off about her. I wonder if she is trying to hide something or just trying to gain authority over Control. I don't think she likes it that they sent an outsider to take the place of the prior director. (hide spoiler)]

Control (view spoiler)[ I wonder if he actually likes working for the agency. He has not done well in any of his earlier assignments. Maybe it's because his career was kind of planned for him by his mother and grandfather. Maybe he would have chosen to do something very different with his life, had he not been prepared for this career since he was a child. (hide spoiler)]

The Voice (view spoiler)[ I was thinking the same thing about the Voice's personality as you were Vicki. (hide spoiler)]

The biologist (view spoiler)[ could actually be hiding something. I'm not sure she is as badly out of it as the others. She had this weird ability to heal and resist hypnosis in the first book. Maybe it also kept her from forgetting things. As to why she would lie and hide things, I have no idea. Also, wasn't said in Annihilation that the biologist glowed or something? Why isn't she glowing now? (hide spoiler)]

I think it's an interesting (view spoiler)[ idea that Area X and the force field surrounding it would have been created by two different events. But who created the door to Area X and why? (hide spoiler)]

Finished but forgot to post. I really liked it a lot, but not quite as much as book 1. I'm ready for the next one though. LOL

Katriann wrote: "Incantations:

Assistant director [spoilers removed]

Control [spoilers removed]

The Voice [spoilers removed]

The biologist [spoilers removed]

I think it's an interesting [spoilers removed]"

You pose some good questions. (view spoiler)[ I had forgotten about the glow. lol I can't say much in response because I already finished it. (hide spoiler)]

Finally done with Incantations

I remember(view spoiler)[ the biologist was the only one who made it out of the trip alive and she didn't go back

so these things they have back - they shouldn't be these people. Remember, the last thought of the biologist was that she was going to sail a boat and try to find the island her husband went to. She didn't know how to get back. so unless she sailed out of the border and made it, she is not who they think she is (hence the idea that the vegetation or plantlife is going back trying to mimic humans and not doing a good job and die of cancer out of Area X (hide spoiler)]

Control(view spoiler)[ I like him - at least he appears to be trying.
but everyone in this area is odd, aren't they. They talk in complete sentences, few or no contractions or slang. Makes me wonder if being so close to the border is affecting them (hide spoiler)]

Assistant Director(view spoiler)[ Yes, I think she's hiding stuff. something is definitely off with the missions and with the staff and I think she is trying to keep him from finding out. Just like any profession report, there are things you can put in the report but there are always things you can't - feelings or thoughts you had but can't prove or stuff like that. So there is definitely more to the story (hide spoiler)]

but(view spoiler)[ does that help us understand - the woman who was hypnotizing them and trying to control them, who killed the first girl and then ran off to the lighthouse and tried to get biologist to kill herself (but she fell from the lighthouse and ultimately died).....SHE was the Director...... Right? She was on that mission and remember, she seemed to have her own agenda. What on earth happened that she was on the mission (knowing them don't come back and live?) Why would she do that? (hide spoiler)]

Biologist(view spoiler)[ She glowed after she inhaled some of the dust from the tunnel that went down (I forget what she called it....tower maybe?)
I thought she stopped glowing once the thing had attacked her mind and then let her live
that's why the sensation of drowning, it honestly was her last emotion as the thing that left the slime went into her mind and tried to understand her. We didn't know why it let her live but I didn't think she glowed after that. (hide spoiler)]

The Voice(view spoiler)[ I think Control knew there would be bugs in his room. I think he knows that The Voice and other parts of this government don't trust anyone and that everything you do and say is recorded/analyzed/monitored. He seemed pretty okay with it although, like he said, the things were so outdated they probably weren't even working anymore (hide spoiler)]

Electronics(view spoiler)[ okay, what's up with everyone going back into the dark ages at this site. Do you think it's the border OR do you think whatever is on the other side of the border is affecting this side

because, remember, no electronics or anything new works over there - so no phones, no batters, even old old guns. Remember they had to write notes (hide spoiler)]

I do(view spoiler)[ wonder why all those notebooks are stacked in the lighthouse. Do you think the things at the border don't want the information to get to the scientists for them to try to understand what's over there.

and I like the idea of the 2 stage of what happened for the border too - that they aren't necessarily connected. (hide spoiler)]

finally(view spoiler)[ what's up with the smell - the cleaner smells like honey? and the locked drawer smells like rot? Even his office worries me. these things are odd and make me wonder how much of this whole area is.....Area X or at least being infected by it (hide spoiler)]

Wow! You have a good memory, Trisha! I love all your thoughts and questions. It's kind of fun reading them when I've already finished the book, but I can't say much.

Trisha, (view spoiler)[ I wondered about the smell of honey too. I still do actually. I never realized that Area X could be affecting the people near the border, but now when you mentioned it, it seems possible. It would explain a lot for sure. It could definitely explain the strange behavior of some of the people in the Southern Reach. (hide spoiler)]

FINISHED SIXTH BREACH

I also wonder (view spoiler)[ what the purpose of the plant and the mouse is. Hopefully throwing the mouse away was not a bad decision. (hide spoiler)]

I want to know (view spoiler)[ if the director really crossed the border by herself. If she did, how did she get back and why did she decide to go back with the expedition? (hide spoiler)]

I wonder (view spoiler)[ what's in the room that Whitby wanted to show Control. And why didn't he show it when Control asked about it later? Was he just angry because Control didn't want to see it when he first mentioned it? (hide spoiler)]

I've finished Sixth Breach as well

a few things I'm noticing:

Names(view spoiler)[ we still have odd names, but if we think of it as a hidden meaning:

Control - John is the "control" in this lab. The whole building appears to be exposed to Area X and he's the Control coming in to match them up against.

Grace - interesting. I looked up the definition: do honor or credit to (someone or something) by one's presence.
So is her goal (or purpose) to honor and give memory to the original Director that is gone? (hide spoiler)]

Bunnies(view spoiler)[ dear god. They EAT the ones they shoot - the brown ones?! I'm with control. Why are they letting these rabbits live. They are possibly spreading Area x (hide spoiler)]

Voice(view spoiler)[ this is definitely hypnotizing Control. The missing time, the things happening in the car that he can't remember. Why would they do that? What are they looking for him to find or do? And is The Voice the only one who is hypnotizing him? (hide spoiler)]

I like this one so far but I keep falling asleep reading this one....lol

You're just overly tired! Lol I think. But personally, I always read and doze, read and doze, read and doze. LOL

I am overly tired! LOL between keeping up with graduation stuff for my oldest and prepping for day camp and girl scouts.....AND increasing my distance/training for my September race...Ugh. I'm just exhausted !!

I know! I follow your events as much as possible. I mean based on what you post. I'm not a stalker. Lol

finally getting farther in this one (although I can barely keep my eyes open!! lol still putting me to sleep)

I'm through the second section: Rites

1st expedition(view spoiler)[ okay, the video of them babbling nonsensical words was completely freaky (hide spoiler)]

The Voice(view spoiler)[ weird that he's cussing at him now. (hide spoiler)]

Control(view spoiler)[ is definitely starting to lose it. I don't know what's going on but he's really off balance and odd (hide spoiler)]

Biologist(view spoiler)[ YES! The thing has finally agreed she's NOT the Biologist - which we knew but Control didn't. I wonder if it WILL admit what it is (hide spoiler)]

Finished Rites.

Trisha, I think (view spoiler)[ it's an interesting idea that the Voice would be hypnotizing Control. That could well be the case. I wonder why he/she would be doing it. How would it help the agency? (hide spoiler)]

I agree that (view spoiler)[ the video of the 1st expedition was freaky. I wonder why Lowry made it back when the others didn't. (hide spoiler)]

There's something (view spoiler)[ strange about Whitby. What was he doing in the storage room when Control surprised him? Why did he seem to be in such agony? (hide spoiler)]

Yes, (view spoiler)[ it will be interesting to see, how much the biologist (or whatever is inside her) will tell Control about Area X and things related to it. (hide spoiler)]

Did you guys see that the first book is being made into a movie?
They already have stills and the cast and everything!!

No! That's so cool! Do you know when it's coming out?

That's interesting news. I didn't know about the movie but I just checked IMDB and it says the US premiere would be in 2017. It didn't say which month, though.

Oh, actually it does say that the movie is slated for release in September 2017. I didn't notice at first.

Darkest Minds is also filming (this one: The Darkest Minds) and the only reason I know that is because it's filming about 3 miles from my house! lol
My area is really famous for filming, so when these yellow signs pop up, you can google them and see what show they stand for with filming

I want to stumble on Stranger Things filming but I haven't yet

Keep us informed!!! So exciting!

Sounds cool! I knew there was going to be a movie of The Darkest Minds but I didn't know they were filming already. :)

and I'm done!

Control (view spoiler)[ i love how the ending fed to the beginning. The book started with his dream of drowning or of standing on a cliff and jumping in.He also felt like he was drowning often
and remember, that's what the Biologist said too

and I think his mom talking to him at the end confirmed that Control was the "control" of the Southern Reach area - and if he started noticing it wasn't good, that maybe it really wasn't good.
(hide spoiler)]

Whitby(view spoiler)[ that was so FREAKY! when he was in the cabinet/shelf area just looking at him and then he just pat his head. Oh. My. GOSH. (hide spoiler)]

Biologist(view spoiler)[ interesting. a replica. She's like the Biologist but not. Interesting that she was the most complete coming back. why weren't the others? was it because they didn't stand up against the blob thing that wrote the message on the walls. OH and didn't we think the blob thing was the Lighthouse guy? Who ended up being the father of the Director. lol It's a tangled web but I think I have it straight (hide spoiler)]

So(view spoiler)[ they are going back in. and the boarder is moving. and the Biologist/Not the biologist had a doorway inside of her and she let it out. and they went back in

so is book 3.....from inside the boarder again? (hide spoiler)]

I'm so excited to read book 3!!!

Finished Hauntings.

So, (view spoiler)[ Lowry was the Voice. Somehow I didn't expect that. The fact that he may not be mentally stable would at least explain the sudden mood swings and topic changes during his phone calls with Control. I just don't understand, why Lowry would be pushing for more expeditions. I think Grace said that he does. Somehow I would think that after being in Area X himself Lowry would not want to send other people there. I mean, he knows what can happen there. But oh well, maybe he's just desperate to know what really happened during his expedition. (hide spoiler)]

Whitby (view spoiler)[ is clearly not well. I wonder if anyone in the Southern Reach is mentally stable. Maybe they are all a little troubled after working near the border for several years. Also, I don't think it helps that they don't seem to make any progress in understanding Area X. It must be very frustrating. Was Whitby affected by Area X or what on earth happened to him? Why did he seem to have disappeared at the end of this part? Had part of the Southern Reach building turned into another tunnel/tower or why were the walls breathing? Did Whitby have something to do with that? (hide spoiler)]

I wonder (view spoiler)[ why the center took the biologist away. How do they expect Control to get any answers if they don't let him do his job and interview the biologist? (hide spoiler)]

Yikes, right??

Whitby(view spoiler)[ I know that poor guy. I mean, what is happening to him?? (hide spoiler)]

Finished

Yes, it's interesting (view spoiler)[ that the biologist is actually a replica. I wonder what's the purpose of these replicas who get out of Area X. Are they supposed to open doorways and expand the area? I would also like to know, why the biologist remembered more than the others. Maybe it did have something to do with her fighting the blob thing. And oh yes, I think we thought the blob thing was the lighthouse keeper. I definitely didn't see it coming that the director was his daughter. (hide spoiler)]

Interesting (view spoiler)[ that they went back to Area X. Or the biologist went back. For Control it was obviously his first time entering Area X. I think the third book will be from inside the border. I think the synopsis said something that there would be another expedition. (hide spoiler)]

Do you want to buddy read the last book too?

YES! I would love to buddy read the final one!

I'm so so glad you liked this one too!! was this the route you thought it would go?

Should we schedule for June? Is it okay if we do mid june or later? I have a child graduating and then a ton of back to back parties, planning and what not. my schedule clears up midjune :)

Hey, I'm in too! Lol

I think this was a little different from what I expected it to be. (view spoiler)[ The fact that they never went to Area X in this book was a bit of a surprise for me. Maybe it's a good thing, though. I guess the books could get repetitive if there was a new expedition in every book. (hide spoiler)]

Mid June sounds good for me. Would June 12th or June 19 work for both of you?

June 19 is better for me but I could do the 12th if it's better for you & Trisha.

I don't mind which we do. Both days are fine for me.

june 19 is good!! I'm in!

My computer is going to die though
can someone make the thread for us?

If not, I can make it tomorrow! ;)

I will, Trisha. :)

Here you go girls: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...