The Ward by Jordana Frankel| Book Review

April 15, 2013 by · 23 Comments

The Ward by Jordana FrankelBook Title/Author: The Ward by Jordana Frankel
Publisher/Year: Katherine Tegen Books – April 30th 2013
Genre: YA Dystopian — I don’t know quite how to categorize it.
Series: Yes — it’s the first book in a series.
Other Books From Author: None.

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I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way swayed my opinion. Pinky swear!

 

 

 

 

Manhattan has been washed out and street racer Ren lives in the Ward, the part that still remains of the underwater city, and risks her life racing to make money to take care of her sister Aven who suffers from the Blight — a horrible disease that came about because of pollution for which there is no cure. When the government asks Ren to go on a mission to find freshwater she puts herself in danger at the prospect of having more money to take care of Aven but what she finds is beyond what she could have ever imagined initially and pulls her into a mystery that could have a significant impact but deadly consequences for her.

This was one of my most anticipated books for the season because of the interesting premise, but I have to be honest, I was overall very disappointed and frustrated with this book. It had SO MUCH POTENTIAL but I spent the majority of the time either confused or frustrated or skimming over parts due to the world building and  the way some things were written — which was really sad because I was so excited and some good friends LOVED it. Within the first 100 pages I was ready to put it down because it wasn’t doing anything for me but I kept going and eventually I was hooked on the storyline and wanting to find out what the heck was going on but I was still weighed down with the same problems the whole way through.

One of the biggest problems for me was that I just couldn’t picture the world at all which is pretty rare for me. I go to NYC frequently so in my head I constructed what I thought an underwater city would look like but there were paragraphs of descriptions and I just really had a hard time SEEING it. There were also times that I just could not envision a specific scene, like a racing scene or an action scene, and it just completely drew me out of the action a lot of times because I felt frustrated that I couldn’t follow along with what was going on. I would read over paragraphs and literally have no clue what happened or feel like I missed something and then I’d read over it again but still felt lost. This is not a problem I typically have — the writing just felt kind of shaky and scenes felt kind of jumbly to me.

The other issue I had was that I didn’t understand the world. I’m a patient reader so I know I’m not going to GET a world right away and I’m good at suspending disbelief but the world building just lacked for me. We got once sentence of WHAT happened that made NYC under water and a little bit of explanation for what the Blight was but that was about it. I couldn’t understand WHY people were still living there if the city flooded? I kept thinking that people wouldn’t be inhabiting this place if something like this really happened so I couldn’t understand the circumstances in which people were living here still and I didn’t see any explanation in the text. I felt frustrated with a lot of questions that didn’t get answered. Part of that could be because maybe they became irrelevant to the plot? I think I expected more of a post apocalyptic sort of novel where we’d get a good sense the world but instead we were plunked into the story in a world with little explanation. I think we aren’t super far into the future but then I see a reference to 2054 and then I see references to boundaries and things that are supposed to be States and they aren’t like our world but we aren’t given any insight to why things were different now. What happened? I could buy it if I understood any of it. There was just A LOT there and little foundation.

Obviously I kept reading  because the plot did really start to get good and I just wanted to know ALL OF THE THINGS. There were some great twists  and a total magical sort of element that I didn’t see coming at all. There were betrayals and secrets and I was genuinely interested because it all became very entertaining. I loved that Ren was badass and a fearless racer with all the guys. I liked her enough and rooted for her and sometimes she made me laugh.  Other times she really bothered me but overall she was a good character. I loved how she cared so much for her “sister.”

 

While action-packed and thrilling with a really fresh and unique world, The Ward by Jordana Frankel unfortunately ended up just not doing it for me. It had a lot of potential but the world-building didn’t live up to what I imagined and the writing seemed kind of shaky and jumbled making A LOT of scenes hard to visualize and made the setting not quite as interesting as it could have been. I’m really sad about this because I was SO looking forward to it and many friends really enjoyed it but, unfortunately for me, the problems I had with it pulled me out of the story A LOT and I often felt frustrated or confused which severely put a damper on my enjoyment of the plot which really went in some interesting directions and kept me furiously turning the pages at points.  I probably will not be reading the sequel unless I hear that the things that bothered me got better because, like I said, the story DID interest me enough.

 

The Ward by Jordana Frankel review

 

Don’t just listen to my opinion! My friend Alexa said The Ward by Jordanna Frankel was “a pretty fantastic debut novel” and Rachel recommends it as well!

Let’s Talk: Have you read this one??  Heard of it?  If you’ve read it, did you enjoy it? Was I just the only one who could not visualize a lot of scenes that happened or the setting in general? I mean, I honestly would read paragraphs 2 or 3 times and still not feel totally clear and that is NOT USUAL for me. What did you think of the more magical twist that came up in the novel? I initially was not down with it but then it became interesting.

Filed Under: book review, Fiction, YA dystopian, YA Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult Fiction Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Review: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi (No Spoilers!)

March 4, 2013 by · 21 Comments

13104080Book Title/Author: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
Publisher/Year: HarperTeen 2013
Genre: YA Dystopian
Series: Yes, read my review of  Shatter Me — book 1 in the series!
Other Books From Author: Shatter Me (book #1 in series)

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I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way swayed my opinion. Pinky swear!

** Some spoilers for Shatter Me (book 1) may be lurking around here **

We pick up where Shatter Me leaves off and Juliette, Adam and Kenji have escaped the Reestablishment and are underground at Omega Point. Juliette is trying to learn the strength of her abilities and power and learns more about the gifts of all the other people who are at Omega Point. She realizes that the freedom isn’t all that she thought it would be and that simply loving Adam isn’t as easy as it sounds with the power that brews inside her. The Reestablishment is still reeling from Juliette’s escape and will stop at nothing to find her and silence the spirit of a resistance they’ve only heard about.

“There was too much kissing in this book.” — SAID NO ONE EVER. Seriously, Tahereh Mafi. You upped the sexy in this book. I had to fan myself quite a few times even if I didn’t always LOVE what was going on. I wish there was an award for good kissing scenes because Tahereh has a whole arsenal of them in Unravel Me that proves why she would win this award. As much as I enjoy swoon and kissing and romance, I don’t know that I’ve ever started a review out talking about the kissing nor have I devoted an entire paragraph in a review to it. But, here we are. You need to know it.

So Unravel Me. WOW. What an incredible follow-up to Shatter Me — it was sexy, daring, gripping and certainly didn’t lack in excitement.  I really enjoyed learning more about this underground resistance and watching Juliette trying to learn how to fit IN with other people and come to terms with her abilities. There are some explosive moments in this book and I was constant state of being riveted and then completely blindsided by THINGS — aka a huge twist that is a BIG deal and a certain chapter that definitely changes the course of this series.

I love the way all of these characters are written. Tahereh isn’t afraid to lift the curtain and make us see characters in a different way — even if it makes us have conflicting feelings. Juliette becomes my least favorite character in this series — she is whiny and acts stupidly sometimes and just has way too much self loathing going on…but at the end of the day I’m still rooting for her to realize her own strength and feel comfortable in her skin. I love Adam but he becomes stale for me this time around and I’m left wondering what is so special about him but I STILL LOVE HIM SO MUCH and want Juliette to be with him when she can sort her damn feelings and emotions. Kenji doesn’t really change but just becomes my ALL TIME FAVE and so incredibly awesome! And Warner…oh Warner. He is so complex. I got that feeling from Shatter Me and most of my suspicions were true in terms of there is something else within him and that he probably had a hard childhood that hardened him. I’ve never had such polarizing feelings towards a character. I will say, I am NOT a person who switched to Team Warner but I do understand him more and believe he can be redeemed but not quite on board with a romance (because ew he was her captor and he has done some beyond horrible things and is manipulative). I believe there is more to him but could not even entertain anything romantical. But HOLY EFF, Tahereh. I have never ever before seen such a passionate switch of teams by readers and an even more passionate resounding HELL NO by others.

The emotions she brings to Unravel Me just astound me — I seriously felt a myriad of things. Things I never knew I felt. It was kind of like how after you work out or do a new workout and the next day your muscles are so sore because you are using muscles you’ve neglected or barely worked out but never realized. That’s how my heart felt — these deep aches and soreness from places in my heart that have rarely seen the light of day. It’s amazing the kind of emotions I felt reading this book — sadness and aching and anger and longing and ALL THE FEELS. My heart was a volatile organ while reading this and I just always felt I was on the brink of uncertainty.

An amazing sequel to a book that captivated me from the start.  Suffice it to say — my mind is reeling and in complete and utter awe of Tahereh Mafi and everything about this series — the realness of the characters, her exquisitly unique writing style that just captivates you, the KISSING, the depth of emotions she unearths and the risks she is just willing to take. If you haven’t read Shatter Me, get on it so you can experience things that your heart might not experience every day — including being smashed to pieces, writhing in agony and possibly this polarizing feeling when it comes to the boys in this series.  I love that I could hate characters or be frustrated by them and even be opposed to the direction that the story was going but I still undoubtedly loved this book and BELIEVED it wholly.

 

 

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Let’s Talk: Have you read this one??  Heard of the series?  If you’ve read it, did you enjoy it?? Are you Team Adam or Team Warner? EXPLAIN YOURSELF IF YOU ARE TEAM WARNER!! Did anyone else just fall in love with Kenji?? I OH SNAPPED when he told Juliette off basically. ALSO, did you see the REALLY BIG SHOCKING TWIST COMING?? I did not. At all.

Filed Under: book review, YA dystopian, Young Adult Fiction Tagged With: , , , ,

Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver (NO SPOILERS)

February 28, 2013 by · 54 Comments

Requiem by Lauren Oliver Book Title/Author: Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Publisher/Year: HarperTeen March 2013
Genre: Dystopian YA
Series: Yes. It is the last book in the series — Delirium is book 1 and Pandemonium is book 2.
Other Books From Author: Before I Fall, Liesel & Po, The Spindlers

Amazon| Goodreads | Twitter |

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way swayed my opinion. Pinky swear!

Requiem picks up a few days after Pandemonium ends. Alex has joined Lena’s group and things are tense between them and with Julian and Lena struggles with her feelings and the coldness of Alex towards her. The group is in the wilds and trying to figure out where the best place for them to go next as the Wilds become more dangerous. Things are also tense between the resistance and the government and the regulators are stepping up their attempts to silence the Invalids and a fight is brewing. Requiem alternates between Lena and the dangerous Wilds and Hana who is cured, matched up and getting ready for her wedding — to the powerful mayor of Portland.

I’m almost ready to sob as I write this. This is not at all what I wanted for the ending of a beloved series that I’ve raved about. I did not want to write anything less than a glowing review. But alas, Requiem just completely was a let down for me personally. I feel like you are going to either LOVE this one or HATE it. So…let’s get into it.

There were some great things about Requiem. I loved the alternating chapters between Lena and Hana — this contrast between cured and uncured and the life within the walls and the life outside the walls in the Wilds was intriguing and just perfect. It was such a great contrast and I honestly really enjoyed Hana and her perspective and she became my favorite  to follow. The other thing? I was not sold on Julian in Pandemonium but in Requiem I just completely fell in love with him. I did. He grew and adapted to the Wilds and he was just a sweetheart. I loved getting to know him more. And as always, Lauren’s writing is exquisite. She knows how to write it all — tension (Alex and Lena..AHH. That tension was thick), tender moments and HUGE scenes where you can’t turn the page fast enough. I was happy to be back in this fascinating world that Lauren Oliver has created and snuggled in with her beautiful writing.

Let’s talk about the two things that let me down. The second one being the biggest factor.

1) The storyline of Requiem itself: I have to be honest…it took me quite a bit to get into this one. I was bored and almost put it down which was strange because I couldn’t read the first two fast enough. I guess I just expected a bit more action as we are left finishing Pandemonium feeling breathless from the events happening between the resistance and DFA. We could tell it was getting more and more tense and the air was charged with danger. You could tell something big was going to down. For the first half of this book, that feeling was lost on me. Lena and her crew are just moving around trying to find a place to go and, yes, there are THINGS that happen but I never felt that sense of OH MAN SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN until halfway through or so. The suspense and that constricting feeling in my chest because I know something big was going to happen…just NOT THERE. And Lena. I really loved her through the series but really just was bothered by her in this one. I know LOVE is a crazy thing and it doesn’t always make sense but I just don’t love how she treated Julian. That’s all I’m going to say. And truly, Hana’s chapters were way more interesting to me than what was going on with Lena and company.

2) The ending: I just can’t even process. Let’s just start out with the fact that this book ends with one of the most beautiful paragraphs I have ever read. It was lovely. I just wish I wasn’t so mad so that I could have enjoyed it more. So I’m reading and I’m noticing the thinning of pages in my right hand and thought about where we were in the story and I honestly thought I MUST be missing pages. There is NO WAY that this could wrap up with this many pages left. The ending was rushed for me. It was like FINALLY things are happening but it all went so fast. And then we get to the ending and I’m like ARE YOU SERIOUS? THIS IS HOW IT ENDS? Really?? I’m not one of those  people who needs a happy ending nor needs the author to do EXACTLY what I want…but I needed something from this. There was little resolution, I had so many questions and it was just rushed. I was not satisfied at all for a series I loved with my whole heart and was so invested in. I knew that Lauren would take risks but this is not what I had in mind when I think of what a brilliant writer she is. I mean, yes, there was truth to the ending and you felt a little bit of hope that they will have the chance to choose love in all of its messy glory and that maybe things will change…but just no…I didn’t FEEL anything. I felt gypped and was not feeling fond of Lena at the end.

All in all, Requiem was pretty much a disappointment for me which is sad because I LOVED this series so hard and recommended it so often. It kind of taints the series for me now between the less than exciting plot, how Lena acts in Requiem and a rushed ending that didn’t seem like much of an ending at all for people who devoted so much time to loving this series. I’m not a person who needs a happy and perfect ending or for the author to do what I want but I just expected something more to be honest. If you had lukewarm feelings for this series as it was, I’d say just ask someone what the ending is. If you have loved the series through and through, I say finish it and I will be crossing my fingers you feel more satisfied than I did with this book. I AM DEVASTATED RIGHT NOW. But that last paragraph was BEAUTIFUL. Oh, and Hana pretty much ROCKS my world.

 

Other Series You May Like:  Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (Through the Ever Night – book 2- was AMAZING!), Matched by Ally Condie, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Eve by Anna Carey

requiem-lauren-oliver

Let’s Talk: Have you read this one?? What did you think or am I just the odd man out who was disappointed?? I am just so, so sad because I expected to be blown away. What did you think of the ending? Did it work for you?

Filed Under: book review, YA dystopian, Young Adult Fiction Tagged With: , , ,

Review: Through The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi (No Spoilers!)

January 4, 2013 by · 30 Comments

13253276

Book Title/Author: Through The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi (Book #2)
Publisher/Year: HarperTeen January 8th  2013
Genre: YA Dystopian
Series: Yes — Under The Never Sky was the first book in the series.
Other Books From Author: Under the Never Sky (book 1)

Amazon| Goodreads | @V_Rossibooks |

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way swayed my opinion. Pinky swear!

Since Under the Never Sky, Aria & Perry have been apart from each other with much on their minds. When they are finally reunited, these problems certainly don’t fade away but are magnified. Perry’s troubles with gaining the respect as the Tides leader is even more in jeopardy with Aria’s arrival and the ever increasing frequency and strength of the Aether storms threatening their land. Aria, with the weight of Talon’s disappearance on her shoulders, knows she has to find the Still Blue for Hess to even have a shot at reuniting Talon & Perry. Aria faces the hard decision between staying with Perry (even though she knows her presence is causing trouble) or  leaving to find information about the Still Blue.

Upon finishing Through The Ever Night, I can say without a doubt, this is one of my favorite series right now and one that I’ve found myself recommending more than anything else! If you love dystopian novels, and even if you are burnt out on them, this series is where it is at. Under the Never Sky was a great debut (so great that when I got this in the mail back in September I read this IMMEDIATELY) but this book was what sealed the deal for me! I will say that you should do yourself a solid and reread Under the Never Sky because my memory was a bit foggy on how things ended.

Through The Ever Night took the notion of “second in the series syndrome” and squashed it. My heart just longs for a re-read when I think about how wonderful this book was. The action was intense and heart-pounding but this story was also ridden with quiet, sweet moments and just top-notch character development. We get to know our favorites better (Perry, Aria, Roar, Cinder) but we are introduced to new and memorable characters and reunited with some secondary characters — some whom play bigger parts this time around. Every page was filled with heart and emotion it seemed because I would find myself tearing up or gripping the pages out of anger or feeling incredibly panicked for the characters we love.

Veronica Rossi just knows how to tell a story — that’s all I feel like I can say because I don’t want to give away ANYTHING plot-wise. There were twists and turns and important things to be learned in this book. I loved Aria & Roar’s journey and some of my favorite moments were in those chapters– albeit things that made my heart hurt. I also really enjoyed learning more about Perry & the Tides and watching Perry assert himself as worthy of being leader. I felt like I really learned so much about Perry through these chapters. There was also some crazy dramarama in these chapters too and things that made me MAD! A LOT of meaningful things happen in this book but we are still left with some lingering questions by the end that set up for some really incredibly things for Into The Still Blue (2014? Really, V, really?? How about now?). I loved how the ending wrapped up — just perfectly with some things resolved but still so many things to look forward to.

Vagrant little things:
1. ROAR!! If you loved Roar in Under the Never Sky (are there people who didn’t?) you are going to be so excited because it’s like double the Roar here! I really loved getting to know him more and he’s one of my favorite characters of recent. He breaks out of that “sidekick” kind of mold that comes with being friends with the romantical couple and becomes just as important. His friendship with Aria in this novel is one thing I loved the most and I loved watching them struggle and triumph together.

2. In Under the Never Sky my ONE little problem was that I just felt like I was SO lost about the Aether — like I missed something.  Like I KIND of thought I knew what it was but really didn’t understand it and I felt like Rossi did an amazing job explaining the Aether more in a really natural way that made me be able to SEE it and understand the destruction it was capable of — which we DEFINITELY see in this novel!

3. The romance you ask? AHHH. I’m not telling! Nope! I’m not! I’ll say they’ve got their share of struggles in this one but I think this is one of my favorite couples ever.

4. Aria’s growth has been one of my favorite’s to watch in YA series.

I’m going to pretty much officially say I liked Through The Ever Night MORE which I rarely ever say about a book 2. Prepare to get your workout in turning those pages furiously because this was one of those books that are the epitome of words like “exhilarating” or ” riveting” (and ummm HEARTBREAKING at moments). But Veronica Rossi balances all of that action with truly incredibly characters who you just really fall in love with even more, some really tender moments and making your heart pitter patter with Perry & Aria’s romance. It’s just one of those addictive books that make me shut out Real Life in favor for an imaginative, dangerous journey with characters I wish were real. I love the worldbuilding, I love the characters, I love it all. This series is a favorite that I’ll keep on recommending for lovers of dystopian worlds with fantastical elements.

You May Also Like: Legend by Marie Lu, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

 

through-the-ever-nightLet’s Talk: Have you read this one?? Heard of it? Did you like Under the Never Sky better or Through The Ever Night? I have to ask..do you think there is a chance that a certain character is actually not dead??

Filed Under: book review, YA dystopian, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Mini Reviews: Wedding Madness Edition

December 17, 2012 by · 14 Comments

So I’ve been trying to catch up on my backlog of reviews but I just don’t have motivation AT ALL. So today you are going to get two mini reviews from me from two books I read during wedding planning/on the honeymoon and honestly I feel like I can’t write a whole review at this point so you’ll just get my general thoughts!

 

9593911Pandemonium by Lauren  Oliver: This is the sequel to Delirium and I’m super excited to read Pandemonium, the final book in the trilogy, soon! I mean, you remember how excited I was when it showed up here? I know there was a lot of dissension (mostly Julian related) amongst lovers of this series and this book but I really enjoyed it. It was so much more of a page-turner for me than Delirium was to be honest.   I loved learning more about the  Wilds and what happened to Lena after escaping. Lots of interesting characters were  introduced and I loved them! I really loved the way this one was set up as each chapter switched back and from between right after she escaped to where she was at the present. Lena’s story in the Wilds is definitely a lot more gritty and raw than in Delirium. It was an interesting contrast to me and quite the action packed, emotional one. Oh and Lauren Oliver just LOVES to slay you with her endings apparently as this one left me sputtering and squealing though I think in my head I knew it was coming.

10429092The Girl of Fire & Thorns by Rae Carson: I don’t read a TON of fantasy so I’m very new to the genre for sure but I LOVED this one. I read this while on the honeymoon while sitting poolside and sipping drinks with fancy pancy umbrellas in them. This book definitely made me want to read more fantasy books because I was on the edge of my very slippery-from-tanning-oil pool lounger. There was lots of action and some pretty epic moments of battles and tense scenes. I was a little wary of Elisa at first because she was so whiny and WOE IS ME and never did anything but I grew to love her and cheered for her kickass-ness and growth in many parts of this book! ALSO, loved that there was a love story in this book but that it didn’t take away from the story and wasn’t the center of it. As a child I loved books about princesses and castles and battles and now I’m all OMG OLD JAMIE DOES TOOO! I’m definitely excited to read book 2 soon and will be hoping to read more straight up fantasy novel in the future!

Have you read either of these? Love them? Dislike them? Tell me why!

Filed Under: book review, YA dystopian, YA fantasy, Young Adult Fiction Tagged With: , , , , ,

Review Of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

October 18, 2012 by · 35 Comments

YA dystopian for Hunger Games fanBook Title/Author: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Publisher/Year: HarperTeen 2011
Genre: YA Dystopian
Series: YES!
Other Books From Author: None!

Amazon| Goodreads | Tahereh Mafi’s Website
I purchased this book with my own money!

Juliette’s been locked up in solitary confinement for 264 days. She’s been locked away for incident which resulted in murder because her very touch is deadly but nobody knows why. While she’s locked away for being a hazard to the general population, the world as she knew it is deteriorating even more than it had been before. Food is rationed, the weather is strange, birds don’t fly anymore and it seems like trouble is brewing between the Reestablishment and the rebel movements. Juliette doesn’t realize just how important she could be on the outside until she finds out that though she’s been in solitary people have taken notice of her and want her use her power for their gain.

Do you ever have a book that you hear everybody talk about it and rave about it and it just somehow turns you off? Is that weird? I don’t know but that’s the case with this book. I heard too much about it and wasn’t intrigued enough by the summary and I thought I’d be let down. Then a few blogger friends told me I HAD to read it so I purchased it this past April when I went to Chicago for RT Convention and a Dark Days tour stop. It’s been sitting on my shelf ever since until Jen from Makeshift Bookmark demanded recently I read it when I asked for a rec!

I was nervous that it wouldn’t blow my mind like it seemed to do to everyone else. BUT FRIENDS, mind = blown. I mean, it kind of looks like a CSI crime scene around here. Shatter Me was pretty unlike things I’ve read recently and I so enjoyed it — the worldbuilding, the characters, the writing, the romance, the fast paced page-turning nature of the story. It was a book I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to finish. Something I haven’t been doing lately. You would have had to pry this book from my cold dead fingers before I’d have given it up to go to bed. I mean WHAT IF I DIED IN MY SLEEP AND NEVER FINISHED IT??! Morbid, I know, but I just needed to finish it that bad.

Immediately you know this novel is going to be different from the first page by the writing style. Lots of crossed out sentences, tons of stream of consciousness type writing. It takes some time to get used to. I found that I had to reread some parts again but it was so beautiful and it totally hones in on the state of  Juliette’s mind. I felt like I was there imprisoned with her in solitary confinement. The writing just set the mood really well. You felt kind of crazy like I’m sure she did — never speaking but your brain is a lively dialogue and picture show just barreling along. I knew I was going to like this book within the first few pages. I will say that some of those elements do peter out as we get in the story but it makes sense to me as the story progresses. Juliette changes and gets out of her own head.

I found the characters (even the hateable ones — I’m looking at you WARNER) to be so intriguing and I’m excited to learn more about some of them. I’ve heard a lot of Team Warner’s being thrown around and I didn’t understand it though I’m hearing that my mind will change if I read the novella Destroy Me (which you know I have reservations about novellas) and then Unravel Me (book 2). I don’t know.

I also am incredibly drawn into this world that Mafi created — curious about how it got to the point it is, what’s up with Juliette’s special power, what Warner has planned for Juliette, where Juliette’s family is etc. etc. Everything just made me SO CURIOUS. I had a million thoughts running through my mind and I am even more anxious for Unravel Me!!

Moral of the story: When all of your blogging friends tell you to read a book, just do it. Because it might end up being one of your most memorable, favorite reads of the year! I was getting so series weary but this one is invigorating and worth getting sucked into!

 

I see why this book was SO very popular! It’s addicting and the ultimate page-turner filled with intriguing characters, a completely scary and imaginative dystopian society and a love story that didn’t feel out of place and haphazardly thrown in there like “OH HAI ROMANCE SELLS. GOTTA INCLUDE IT.”  It’s breathtakingly different and some of Mafi’s prose is just enchanting. I’ll say it does take a little bit to take to the style of writing at first but I promise you that you’ll get to a point where you just PLOW through it. Lots of feelings happened while reading this book — rage, hope, sadness, etc.

 

You May Also Like: Touch by Jus Accardo, Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, Legend by Marie Lu, Eve by Anna Carey

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi - teen dystopian

 

Let’s Talky Talk: Have you read this one? Heard of it? What did you think if you have read it? And I have to ask, did you read the novella Destroy Me? Is it worth reading?

Filed Under: book review, Fiction, YA dystopian, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Review: The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna

September 19, 2012 by · 19 Comments

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna - new dystopian book seriesBook Title/Author: The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna
Publisher/Year: : Balzar + Bray – August 28, 2012
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian/Science Fiction
Series: Standalone for now – though the other mentioned on her site that it could potentially be a series later on depending on how this book is received.
Other Books From Author: None! Debut author up in heeeeere!

Amazon| Goodreads | Sangu Mandanna’s website

The Story: The Lost Girl takes place in the future when scientists (the Weavers) have perfected a way to make an “echo” or copy of somebody that would take the place of the original human being, or the “other” as they are referred to, in the event that the “Other” died. The practice is not widely accepted in some countries and is against the law in many others so the echos have to be hidden. The echo’s life is devoted to studying their Others life so intently that, if something happened, they’d be able to take their place seamlessly. They are quizzed on their other’s friends, learn everything they learn at school and even have to get a tattoo or an ear piercing if their Other does it. Eva has been studying her Other, Amarra, for fifteen years and gets her chance to fulfill her duty when her Other dies in a car accident. She must say goodbye to the family & friends she has made and must travel to India to live and convince everybody that Amarra still lives. When she arrives she quickly realizes how hard it will be to BE Amarra amongst a family who has known her for her whole life & a boyfriend who knows her so intimately  — especially when Eva struggles to eliminate who SHE is and fully become Amarra.

The Review: Hands down one of my favorite reads of the summer and actually of the year! I don’t want to declare perfection but OH MY STARS THIS WAS FANTASTIC! It was fitting that THIS novel was the one that I read when I defied all odds and was able to actually read in the car without getting sick!

I don’t even know where to begin with this! My nails would have been down to stubs by the end of this had I not had on fake nails on from the wedding still. This debut by Sangu Mandanna was paced so perfectly that I just lost track of how fast I was reading. There were slow, tender moments and action packed, heart pounding moments that just complemented each other perfectly. I honestly had tears welling up quite a few times because Eva’s story is just so agonizing & poignant — having people think you are a monster or an abomination, having to say goodbye to those you love (especially a boy you are forbidden to love but do anyways), to have no freedom to be who you are, to live amongst people you don’t know and who aren’t quite sure how they accept you, to be betrayed, to have to make some hard decisions for the ones you love. AH. It all just hurt my soul and affected me deeply.

Her whole existence for being was to “start living” when somebody died. Imagine how hard that must be in the midst of all those emotions and feelings when someone passes? I had many questions and doubts to how a family, who knew that they paid for this echo to created, would ever fully believe that the echo was truly their loved one. There was just something so sad to me about the whole thing. A testament to how much we don’t want to let go of our loved ones.

I loved Eva — I feel like I haven’t connected with a character like this in a while. She wasn’t one of those OH HAI I’M SO KICKASS AND I’M GOING TO BE A FREAKING REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. She was smart and she defied the Loom in little ways (by giving herself a name or going to the zoo with Sean) that just were mainly because she was just being HERSELF and letting her own humanity slip through the cracks of who she was supposed to be. They weren’t to BE defiant. She did them because they were part of who she was even though it was forbidden. Later on in the story, I just loved watching how strong she had become and how willing she was to fight for her life as hard as she tried to be Amarra. Some of the scenes at the end were just AWESOME. To be honest, all of the other characters were really great and added so much to the story. I just loved them all and loved to hate some of them.

The love between Eva and Sean just melted my heart. Talk about slow build and fiery tension that wouldn’t subside in my heart. Their love was so subtle at first and it just was perfect and tender but so filled with passion that had been long hidden but brimming on the surface as it is with children who have known each other a long while. AND THEN THE END page or so. OH MY GOD.  It’s a love with substance and it will set your heart on fire. At least it did mine. Loving someone despite who they are, loving someone despite the fact it would seem destined to fail from the start. It’s a  forbidden love that didn’t seem like the attraction was about the fact that it was forbidden.

I also love that The Lost Girl asks questions without being too preachy. If you like a good ethical dilemma weaved into your dystopian/sci-fi novels that simply poses the questions and writes the story in a way that just begs them to be pondered. Human life and it’s value. Is it ok that humans “play God” and can decide when human life “ends” to some extent. At what cost? It’s easy to understand why the parents wouldn’t want to lose their children and would want someone to replace their essence. Hell, I’ve even wished for having a copy of myself so one could do all the boring things and I could go out and have fun. It’s not a concept so foreign. But at what cost? Somebody always suffers and we see that through Eva’s life and her forced existence to be somebody else despite how much her own soul wars within to show through.  The Lost Girl gives you many things to think about while still being a “fun” and bulldozer-through-it type of read.

I LOVED the ending but feel like there is so much potential for another book or two. It ended but you could see how Mandanna could be leaving it open for more of her story. I can see the potential so clearly! KIND OF SPOILERY: Lots more to happen with Sean, what happens when she goes back to live with her familiars, what are the effects for what she did at The Loom, what happens know that the Weavers are starting to come apart at the seams and there are power struggles? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Some tiny areas of concern for me — 1) I did have questions about how certain things worked with the echos and that whole element but I was so sucked into this novel that it didn’t seem to matter to me by the end. I mean, I still had questions for sure but not to the point where it ruined it for me. 2) I also would have loved to experience a little more of the setting — hello, it’s INDIA and I know it’s a metropolitan area but I didn’t feel like I was immersed into this new country and new culture as Eva must have been. 3) The last little bit of the ending felt a smidge rushed for me. There was the climax at the Loom and then things were revealed and decided and then it was the ending. I think a little more of a struggle was in order considering what all had went down. But I still loooooved it.

My Final Thought

Oh Sangu Mandanna, I need you to continue on with this series. I don’t beg for that often as currently I’m feeling bombarded with too many series but this is one of those stories that I just want MORE of. The Lost Girl was truly one of my favorite dystopian novels I’ve read in a while. It stands out amongst the ever growing crowd and doesn’t just give you another interesting world and a moral dilemma but it gives you a truly piercing story full of characters you will love and a romance that shines. A truly standout novel that will not quickly fade from my memory! It had it all for me — great characters, a romance to cheer for, a familiar world yet one that has elements unknown and unthinkable,  action, tension, intrigue, excellent writing!

You May Also Like: What’s Left Of Me by Kat Zhang, Through To You by Emily Hainsworth (out in October 2012), Origin by Jessica Khoury, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (my review)

 

Let’s talky talk: Have you read this book? Is it on your radar? Do you hope there is more to the story in the future or are you happy with it being a standalone? Any thoughts on the ethical dilemmas brought up in this story? Did the last page make you DIE like it made me???

Filed Under: book review, YA dystopian, YA science fiction, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction Tagged With: , , , ,

Review: For Darkness Shows The Stars by Diana Peterfreund

September 10, 2012 by · 32 Comments

Book Title/Author: For Darkness Shows The Stars by Diana Peterfreund
Publisher/Year: : Balzar + Bray – June 2012
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian/Science Fiction
Series: No – standalone!
Other Books From Author: Rampant & Ascendant (killer unicorns!) & Secret Society Girl

Amazon| Goodreads | Diana Peterfreund’s Website

The Story: For Darkness Shows The Stars is set in a world that is living in the aftermath of botched genetic experiments on humankind which resulted in the Reduction — a phenomena that caused people to be “Reduced” and caused the Luddite nobility to reject all technology and want things to go back to the way they believed God intended it to be. They believed that the Reduced people were God’s way of punishing mankind for trying to mess around with science and play God. As time moved on, children were being born that were not “Reduced” and they began to reject their position as Reduced people and seek progress. Eliot North is a Luddite in charge of her Father’s estate. As a child she fell in love with Kai, a Post-Reduced that worked on her estate, but refused to run away with him when he wanted to forge a better life. Years later, as her Estate is crumbling & out of a desperate need for money, she rents out her grandfather’s home to a famous Captain and his shipbuilders who are known to be a bit more progressive than the Luddites.

The Review: GOOD LAWD. This is one of those books I went into reading knowing very little (at the insistence of Anna) and came out feeling like I found a gem amidst a very crowded market of paranormal creatures, love triangles & dystopians who promise a unique world.  Don’t get me wrong, I love all of those things. I do. But every once in a while I find something that feels wholly unique and stands out among the crowd and I want to hold it high above the rest. It was this freaking epic mix of romantical, science fictiony/post apocalytpic GOODNESS. I had no idea.

I was a little nervous to read this as it is a inspired by/kind of a retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, which I have not yet read, so I was afraid I’d be confused. Fortunately you do NOT need to read it to understand and appreciate the story but I DO feel, as I’ve talked to people who have read both, feel it would greatly enhance your reading experience.

I’ll admit in the beginning it was SO HARD TO FOLLOW. I kept getting stuck on who the Luddites, Reduced & Posts were and why they were that way. But after I kept going (which I urge you to do!) I found myself wholly immersed in the story of Eliot & Kai and desperately hungry to learn more about this world.

Eliot & Kai’s relationship was so tragic and just one of those crazy tensioned filled ones that had me just firmly gripping the book and hoping I could will them together with some crazy book lover voodoo or something. Their love was so beautiful and innocent as children but Eliot’s fear of the unknown and what would happen if she didn’t adhere to the Luddite ways held her back and it was so, so sad. I understood that, since she grew up only knowing the Luddite ways, and understood her sense of duty to her estate and all the people who worked there knowing how they would be treated if left to her sister and father. This made me love her, because she was so noble, but I hurt for her so bad. And then when Kai comes back into her life, my heart just BROKE for her and his coldness collided into my own heart. I COULD NOT TAKE IT! All that tension. All  that pent up anger. AH. But then there would be a glimmer of that love that could just make my little heart swoon. And THOSE LETTERS. They reduced me to my high school self melting into a pile of ooey gooey romantical feelings on my bed and sobbing to ALL OF THE LOVE SONGS because I want a boy who writes me letters and makes me FEEL ALL OF THE FEELINGS. I just cared so much for both of them.

The world was just so unlike anything. There’s this mix of science fiction but yet most of the world feelings like you are feeling like it’s something straight out of Amish country. The hierarchy of the Luddites and the Reduced/Posts was so fascinating. The descriptions. ALL OF IT.  I could picture the estate and the surrounding scenes of nature. It was written so phenomenally — one of those books where the world starts swirling off the pages and begins to be a motion picture in my mind. There were some things  I wished were explained a little better about the world and I thought at the end I wasn’t so sure how Eliot completely reconciled what she learned about Kai so quickly but I got over that just fine.

 

While I haven’t read Persuasion, I do feel, having read other Austen novels, that Diana Peterfruend captured all of the swoon-inducing romance and extremely layered characterization (and holla for an awesome female heroine!) that a Jane Austen novel delivers. The writing is just gorgeous and flawless and the characters are those that find their way off the pages and into your heart. So very unique! So very heartbreaking and beautiful. So utterly mesmerizing. One of my favorites of the year! Rushing to read Persuasion because I need to meet the man, the myth and the legend that is Captain Wentworth.

Recommends For Lovers Of: Austen retellings, unique & slow building stories with gut-wrenching romantic tension, beautiful writing, a mix of science fiction/post-apocalyptic/dystopian goodness

 

Let’s talky talk: Have you read this book? Is it on your radar? If you read it and also have read Persuasion, what do you think I missed from the experience having not read it? Any other Austen retellings I should know about?

Filed Under: book review, Fiction, Uncategorized, YA dystopian, YA Post-Apocalyptic, YA science fiction, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Eve by Anna Carey

May 2, 2012 by · 22 Comments

Book Title/Author: Eve by Anna Carey
Publisher/Year: HarperTeen 2011
Genre: YA dystopian/post-apocalyptic
Series: Yes. Eve is book #1. The second book Once: An Eve Novel is out July 3rd 2012.
Other Books From Author: Sloane Sisters series

Amazon | Goodreads | Anna Carey’s Website

Disclosure: The publisher sent it to me in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way  swayed or affected my opinions on the book. My honesty & credibility as a reader is more important to me than that.

It’s 2032 and 98% of the population has been wiped out thanks to a deadly virus and complications from the vaccine created to stop it. Eve is one of the survivors living in the New America and lives in a secluded all-female boarding school with other orphans where they are groomed to be teachers and artists and the like. Eve’s all set to graduate and start her training to be an artist until she learns the very shocking reality of what these schools are really about and what happens to graduates when they leave. Armed with this knowledge, she decides to escape – even if that means facing a world of unknown after the aftermath of the virus. A world she’s been taught to fear full of men, rabid dogs & gangs that will bring harm to her. 

I absolutely devoured this book. It was undeniably a white knuckles, bated breath kind of page-turner for me. I was so enraptured into this landscape that Anna Carey paints in Eve. I could see every rusted bridge,  every house that had been overcome with the wild & scenes of every day life that had just been abandoned and left there — just waiting for their owners to come back. It was grim, unsettling & downright chilling. Eve’s escape into this world, contrasted with her memories from her childhood & time at her school, highlights this even more. I read this book so quickly as I wanted to learn more about this world through Eve’s struggle to escape and find safety & answers to what she had learned her real fate was.  Every twist and turn and jolt of action had me reeling until the very end. An ending at which left me screaming, “WAHHHH!” and so very happy I had Eve’s sequel – Once – in my possession.

The romance of this book is one that I loved but I didn’t necessarily believe fully which I’ll explain below. The good part of it, for me, was how pure and innocent it felt. How it can just knock you off your feet and delude your senses. I really loved Caleb and I just got the warm and fuzzies watching her experience these feelings of love/lust for Caleb. I also thought, beyond the Caleb/Eve relationship, that I just adored Eve’s relationship with the young boys. Oh, my heart. Parts of this book, in relation to love, were just SO SO beautiful.

“I had once read, in one of those pre-plague books in the library, that love was bearing witness. That it was the act of watching someone’s life, of simply being there to say: you’re life is worth seeing.”

But, friends, I have to honest with you. I had some issues with aspects of this book despite how quickly I devoured it & how I truly did enjoy it. It’s one of those books that felt like a whirlwind summer fling. It was this passionate, dizzying and thrilling ride but when I sat down to think about it and digest…I realized I saw some major problems that I couldn’t ignore — no matter how much I had been blinded by my thrill ride with the story. It wasn’t as perfect as I initially thought it to be when I was all lovedrunk.

Eve herself confused me. I got the sense, from the short glimpse of her life at school, that she was so naive and brainwashed. So I had my eyebrows raised when she so easily got the cajones (seriously, like 30 pages in) to even get out of bed and snoop around..let alone actually rebel and try to escape. I felt like there was nothing about her that we had learned that made me BELIEVE that she’d do that.  Everything we had been shown about her seemed contrary to her character…but at the same time this big REVEAL was so so soon in the book that she didn’t even feel developed to me yet. We just knew what we were told — top student, naive, idealistic, etc.  Granted, I suppose if I saw what she did and realized my fate, that I’d run like hell too. But I just even thought she was too brainwashed and naive that she’d think there was some explanation for it and not leave like a bat out of hell.

The OTHER part of her that confused me was that, after a lifetime of being indoctrinated with this fear of men, she pretty easily trusted Caleb. I mean, yeah, she was wary but I don’t feel like she was wary enough as someone who was so fearful of men and hadn’t seen a man in so long. At the same time, I thought that maybe her being repressed from the male species for so long made her even MORE susceptible to that curious attraction that just makes you fall head over heels & giddy. I think of those times in my life and so I can KIND of see it. It still made it hard for me to fully believe because I just felt like everything we knew of her just unraveled. I didn’t believe that someone that had been so brainwashed would just get over it that quickly. And also, you are running for your life because of what you’ve found out and you are in danger yet all you can think about is a boy?? More than anything else.

I just feel like, because the revelation happened so soon, I never got to really see WHO Eve was. I just saw a girl who were were told was one way and all we see is something totally different VERY quickly..and I never felt much growth or character development that made up for that.

Also, without getting to spoilery, there were some confusing parts about the setup of this world and why things are the way they are. How did the virus come to be? What did the antidote do? Why do these girls get this intense schooling if their fate is what it is? I have a lot of why’s about the logistics of all of it that I’m hoping will be answered.

My final thought: Eve kept me turning the pages with it’s chilling premise, vivid world building & action-packed journey. I couldn’t put it down and it broke my heart in all the right places. While I really enjoyed my whirlwind inhalation of this book, there are some character development issues with Eve, the main character, that I just couldn’t ignore, and some really hole-y world building in terms of WHY the world is the way it is.  It was a good, enjoyable dystopian read that I think those who are loving  the fast paced, romance inclusive variety of YA dystopian will like — if they can look past some of the development issues.I liked it but I can’t say I thought it to be a 5 star, perfect read as many others did! I’d probably recommend some other dystopian books before this one!

 

Review On A Post-It

 

You May Also Like: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, Delirium by Lauren Oliver

What did YOU think about this book?? Let’s talk about it! If you haven’t read it, is it on your TBR?

Filed Under: book review, YA dystopian, Young Adult Fiction Tagged With: , , , ,

Hunger Games Hangover

March 25, 2012 by · 358 Comments

Lately I’ve had a lot of friends, knowing that I’m a book nerd and that I read and loved the series long before the talk of the movie, who have been asking me what to read next after The Hunger Games.

I’m thrilled that, even though they may have only heard about the books because of the movie, that they are looking for books like The Hunger Games! It gives me hope that since I had recommended the Hunger Games to many of them years ago that maybe they will trust my recommendations about books in general and start branching out and reading from other genres as well!

For now, I’m going to share the same list that I compiled for a friend of books that one might like if they just read The Hunger Games and want to venture even more into the world of YA dystopian novels (and then of course then check out some of my other book reviews/recommendations for other type of books to read).

Please feel free to list some in the comments if I haven’t mentioned them! 

- Divergent by Veronica Roth 
- Legend by Marie Lu 
- The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness 
- The Maze Runner (Maze Runner Trilogy, Book 1) by James Dashner 
- Unwind by Neal Shusterman 
- Goneby Michael Grant 
- Blood Red Road (Dustlands, Book 1) by Moira Young 
- The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer 
- Life As We Knew Itby Susan Beth Pfeffer 
- Delirium by Lauren Oliver
- Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
- Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi 
- Matched by Ally Condie
- Enclave by Ann Aguirre
- Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

*Note: I’m not comparing these books to The Hunger Games or saying they are “readalikes” or anything…just some books that you might want to give a try if you started reading The Hunger Games because of the movie and don’t know where to go from there! ALSO, most of these ARE young adult books.

If you are looking for adult fiction books: read The Handmaid’s Tale by  Margaret Atwood, The Road by Cormac McCarthy (post apocalyptic), Battle Royale by Kouhun Takami, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley & 1984 by George Orwell. I read adult fiction but I have yet to find too many dystopian novels besides some of the classics. Would LOVE some recommendations!!

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Filed Under: books like the Hunger Games, Books to read after the hunger games, most popular posts, the Hunger games, YA dystopian
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