Tag: genre: dystopian

• Book Review: “Deliverance” by C.J. Redwine (ARC)

  Posted at 7:15 am by Laura, on August 12, 2014

  Deliverance by CJ Redwine 

  Publisher: Balzer + Bray 
  Publishing Date: August 26
  Genre: young adult, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, fantasy
  ISBN: 9780062117236
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★★

  Fighting through her pain and embracing the warrior she’s become, Rachel will do whatever it takes to escape her enemies’ clutches and join Logan in his fight. But when she learns a secret that changes everything, she realizes that escaping Ian and his tracker friends is no longer an option if she wants to save the people she loves. Instead, she’ll have to destroy Rowansmark from the inside out—if she can survive the journey through the Wasteland.

  Logan needs allies if he wants to thwart Rowansmark’s power grab and rescue Rachel. But securing allies will mean betraying his beliefs and enlisting the help of the man he hates more than anyone: Commander Jason Chase. Driven by his fierce love for Rachel and his determination to make their world safe, Logan may be just the weapon the city-states need to defeat the Cursed One.

  Rachel’s captured by Ian and Rowansmark trackers, and Logan’s imprisoned in Lankenshire. Though the two had hopes of forging alliances with other city-states together, their goal increases tenfold once they’re separated. Fighting desperately to find each other once more while struggling to survive political unrest, brutality, and the Wasteland takes its toll on the two young leaders of the destroyed Baalboden. They will fight to find each other  and end the lives of abusive leaders, or die trying.

  If you haven’t read the previous two books of this trilogy, Defiance and Deception, do so now. It’s my favorite dystopian trilogy by far, and this final book truly had my heart pounding the entire time. If I thought Logan and/or Rachel were about to die in the other books, it’s nothing compared to this one! I lived in constant fear!

  This was a fantastic closer to the trilogy. The characters have grown and developed so much across the journey, and watching their realization of this fact — facing death and embracing grief and accepting love — was incredibly beautiful. Rachel was always a stubborn fighter, but her world is no longer black and white, right and wrong. She understands the value of life and death, what it means to be a leader and protector. Logan, likewise, was always a bright inventor and cautious individual. He learned to think on his feet, to observe others and utilize their strengths for good. 

  Plotting out the attack and the war felt authentic. Granted, I don’t know much about strategy, but the elements they crew used to attack Rowansmark surprised me — in a good way. Redwine has this uncanny ability to keep you on your feet, to make you guess and second guess where she’s heading next. I never knew what was going to happen, and that’s what I find so wonderful about this trilogy. It’s complex, compelling, and brilliantly written.

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from Balzer + Bray for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2014 | 0 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: fantasy, genre: post apocalyptic, genre: romance, genre: young adult, review

• Top Ten Tuesday: Books I was Forced to Read

  Posted at 10:32 am by Laura, on October 15, 2013

  Top Ten Tuesday, a concept started by The Broke and the Bookish, is a themed post that connects bloggers to bloggers, bloggers to readers, and readers to readers. Every Tuesday has a special topic, and this Tuesday is Top Ten Book Books I was Forced to Read. 

  

  The Positives!

  1. Jane Eyre — And I’m so glad I read this! Freshman year of high school in my Honors English class, we were covering nineteenth-century literature (I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back it’s very obvious what the theme was). I was new to the school and felt a bit like an outcast, similar to Jane. Soon enough I was participating in discussions and acing the quizzes, and went far beyond our report project requirements. I re-read the book every winter, and it’s a dear favorite of mine. Thank you, Ms Clark, for inspiring me and guiding me towards my favorite genre.

  2. Great Expectations — Again, this was in my Honors English class freshman year. I was curious as to why everyone — adults, students, pets — complained about reading Dickens. “He’s wordy, he has too many characters, the settings are dark.” One complaint after another, and I just plain didn’t understand why. His descriptions are marvelous, his characters are…caricatures, and the settings are reflective of the time! I loved it.

  3. Dante’s Inferno — The AP Language and Composition project required that we create 15-minute video of the circles of hell. My group read Inferno deeply and literally, and placed Harry Potter characters in the levels. It was fascinating, entertaining, and what’s more: my teacher pointed out all the fart jokes. He made epic poetry fun.

  4. The Awakening — My AP Literature and Composition class theme focused on transcendentalism. You know, Walden and the like. I was bored to tears and worried that maybe literature wasn’t my forte when we began reading Kate Chopin’s book. And then everything changed back again. I love it. I haven’t re-read it recently, though I should.

  5. Brave New World — Soma holidays? Commentary on the nature of technology and genetic enhancement? Not my cup of tea…till my Honors English teacher my sophomore year created a fantastic unit that mirrored the book. For a week we were divided into the different castes, assigned different tasks, and somehow, someway, we ended up experiencing the book in real life. It was a wonderful week (even though I was Epsilon), and I’ve never understood a book or genre so fully till this.

  The Negatives!

  6. Grapes of Wrath — Honestly, the turtle chapters were my favorite. And even then I hardly skimmed.

  7. Oroonoko — Or any 18th-century British literature. Shoot me now.

  8. Ethan Frome — This unit in freshman Honors English was torturous. Edith Wharton and I are not friends.

  Surprisingly Never Read for My Education!

  I’m tossing this in here because most students are forced to read these books, but I never had to.

  9. Frankenstein — I’ve only just recently read it for my graduate thesis. I wanted to see how long I could go in my education before I read the book, because somehow I missed it throughout high school and in all of my British literature / Victorian literature / Gothic literature classes. The professors always said, “I know you’ve read this book so I didn’t add it to the syllabus.” Little did they know…

  10. Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird — Never read them. Don’t even have a desire to read them.

  Which books were you forced to read by teachers, friends, or family members?

  Posted in books, Top Ten Tuesday | 18 Comments | Tagged books, education, genre: adult fiction, genre: classics, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: gothic, top ten tuesday

• Top Ten Tuesday: Books on Fall TBR List

  Posted at 10:45 am by Laura, on September 17, 2013

  Top Ten Tuesday, a concept started by The Broke and the Bookish, is a themed post that connects bloggers to bloggers, bloggers to readers, and readers to readers. Every Tuesday has a special topic, and this Tuesday is Top Ten Books On My Fall TBR List, in no particular order.

  

  1. The Last Enchantments by Charles Finch — An ARC I received that is very good so far! William Baker takes a year off from his life in NYC and moves to Oxford, England. While there, he’s caught up in sudden friendships and a whirlwind romance, experiences he never thought would fall into his plans away.

  2. Allegiant by Veronica Roth — Because I have to know how it ends.

  3. The Secret Daughter of the Tsar by Jennifer Laam — Another ARC I received. After falling in love with Paullina Simons’s trilogy, and then reading Natalie Standiford’s Cold War account, it seems Russian-themed fiction is destined to fall into my hands and sink deep into my heart. I have hopes for this one.

  4. Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield — As a long-time fan of The Thirteenth Tale, I’m beyond excited to read this next chilling book by Setterfield! She has the power to unsettle and fascinate, and I cannot wait to read her words again.

  5. The Daring Ladies of Lowell by Kate Alcott — From the author that brought you The Dressmaker is another ARC due out in February 2014. This book follows a young woman who becomes a Mill Girl, and the series of events from working conditions to a murder of a fellow factory worker leads to a shocking court case based on true facts.

  6. . The Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett — Hay-on-Wye, Victorian painters, Shakespeare manuscripts, lost love, books, obsession, history…This is the book for me!

  7. Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd — An ARC that will be published in January 2014, and the sequel to The Madman’s Daughter, a retelling of H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr Moreau, this book is bound to be great for Victorian London enthusiasts and fans of Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

  8. Stolen by Lucy Christopher — I’m always talking about this book and recommending it to people, and yet I’ve never read it! It’s about time that I do.

  9. And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard — An ARC due out in January 2014 about a girl traumatized by a school shooting, interwoven with healing inspiration from Emily Dickinson’s works.

  10. Just One Day by Gayle Forman — Another one of those books I’m always recommending yet I’ve never read. Need to get on that.

  What are some books on your to-read list this fall?

  Posted in books, Top Ten Tuesday | 4 Comments | Tagged books, genre: dystopian, genre: gothic, genre: history, genre: mystery, goodreads, top ten tuesday

• Book Review: “Deception” by C.J. Redwine

  Posted at 12:36 pm by Laura, on September 3, 2013

  Deception by C.J. Redwine 

  Publisher: Balzer + Bbray
  Published: August 2013
  Genre: young adult, dystopian, post-apocalyptic
  ISBN: 9780062117205
  Goodreads: 4.25
  Rating: ★★★★★

  Baalboden has been ravaged. The brutal Commander’s whereabouts are unknown. And Rachel, grief stricken over her father’s death, needs Logan more than ever. With their ragged group of survivors struggling to forge a future, it’s up to Logan to become the leader they need—with Rachel by his side. Under constant threat from rival Carrington’s army, who is after the device that controls the Cursed One, the group decides to abandon the ruins of their home and take their chances in the Wasteland.

  But soon their problems intensify tenfold: someone—possibly inside their ranks—is sabotaging the survivors, picking them off one by one.

  After the fire that destroyed Baalboden, Logan and Rachel do their best to lead, train, and care for the 150 survivors. The only way to stay out of the Commander’s grasp, Rowansmark’s eyes, and Carrington’s army is to flee through the Wasteland to Lankenshire, a scholarly city-state that may be able to help Logan recreate the device that controls the Cursed One. But the travels prove harsh, and Rachel’s grief and sanity is tried and tested. Someone within their band of travelers is a killer.

  I loved how Redwine goes into depth to explain the territory and history of the Wastelands. The reader finally gets a glimpse of just how much time has passed since the Cursed One burst through the earth. Some of the weary Baalboden travelers remember their childhood before the city-states, and comment on the city-scapes, structures, and a Ferris wheel they pass. It’s rather eerie, just how close to modern day this takes place. I also found the differences between each city-state fascinating. Rowansmark is technologically advanced, Carrington runs like a military state, Baalboden was uneducated and backward, and Lankenshire is very knowledgeable, advanced, and aware of the history of the city-states. So neat, seeing how the separation of the survivors turned out vastly different cultures.

  The character development improved ten-fold, as well. Logan breaks out of his introverted shell and leads the best way he knows how: by coming up with as many intelligent plans and back-up plans as possible. Rachel, understandably, is filled with grief and vengeance, and appears to have PTSD triggered at the sight of blood. She struggles to maintain a strong facade, but it takes Quinn’s wisdom to help her come to terms with her emotions.

  As far as the traitor in the camp, I found the person to be an obvious one — but their intentions and purpose was a complete surprise. The whole journey in this trilogy takes a major turn in the final 100 pages, and I am on the edge of my seat to see what Redwine brings next!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 3 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: fantasy, genre: post apocalyptic, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Defiance” by C.J. Redwine

  Posted at 9:25 pm by Laura, on May 24, 2013

  Defiance by CJ Redwine 

  Publisher: Balzer + Bray
  Publishing Date: August 2012
  Genre: young adult, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, fantasy
  ISBN: 9780062117182
  Goodreads: 3.8
  Rating: ★★★★★

  While the other girls in the walled city-state of Baalboden learn to sew and dance, Rachel Adams learns to track and hunt. While they bend like reeds to the will of their male Protectors, she uses hers for sparring practice.

  When Rachel’s father fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the city’s brutal Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector: her father’s apprentice, Logan–the boy she declared her love to and who turned her down two years before. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself.

  As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

  Rachel Adams — fierce, impulsive, strong, and daughter to the best courier and warrior of Baalboden — is filled with anger and grief when the brutal Commander declares her father dead and assigns her Protectorship to her father’s apprentice, Logan. Logan, a techie inventor who always has a plan, is just as determined as Rachel to prove Jared Adams is alive. But as Rachel throws caution to the wind and acts impulsively, all of Logan’s plans crumble, and the two are sent out of Baalboden on a death mission into the Wastelands, where the Cursed One is bound to turn up at any moment.

  I eyed this book for months. I rolled my eyes at every dystopian or post-apocalyptic book I saw on the shelves because, really, it felt overdone. But this one, with the cover and fierce female protagonist and enticing first chapters, kept calling to me. I’m so glad I bought and read this book.

  Rachel is impulsive to a fault, and she knows it. That’s the beauty of her character: she’s aware that she reacts without a plan, and it only heightens as more of her loved ones die. Every action screams rage, regret, and revenge — her desire to rid Baalboden of their dictator is justified. What started as anger and frustration and a need to defy authority turned into something realistically deeper and more meaningful. Her reactions are very much like a soldier’s, a war victim’s, a person with PTSD. Beautifully written, expertly explored, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

  Logan is really neat and clever! He’s easy to love. His character starts off as that quiet nerdy boy who loves to play with metal and wires, and bit by bit we discover he’s extremely protective, fiercely loyal, an excellent fighter and huntsman, and quick on his feet. There is always a plan, and you can count on Logan to come up with all sorts of scenarios and how to respond to them. Logic and fear control him, another natural response to a horror he witnessed when he was younger.

  The world, of Baalboden and the Wastelands, is so fascinating! Set in the future, the continent was ravaged by Cursed Ones disturbed by noise and oil drills from above. The Cursed Ones are wingless dragons, and though they should be feared, they did remind me of cranky neighbors or roommates that constantly nag at you to shut up and be quiet. These beasts are unstoppable, and now there is only one left. Survivors of these attacks banded together and formed city-states, under the protector-ship of Commanders. However, like Medieval and Renaissance Italy, these city-states no longer trust one another. People are trapped within their walled cities, trade in markets, go back to male and female spheres, are Claimed for marriage, and have little access to advanced technology unless they work directly for the Commander. Past and future collide in this fantasy and it’s brilliant.

  Action-packed with each chapter, bloodshed and fights and explosions, fear and love mix with plots for revenge, and a tracker or Cursed One looming around every corner — this book cannot be put down.

  Deception will be out August 2013! 

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: fantasy, genre: post apocalyptic, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• ARC Book Review: “Requiem” by Lauren Oliver

  Posted at 1:30 pm by Laura, on January 29, 2013

  Requiem by Lauren Oliver 

  Publisher: HarperTeen
  Publishing Date: March 5, 2013
  Genre: young adult, dystopian
  ISBN: 9780062014535
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★★★

  After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

  See my reviews of Delirium and Pandemonium.

  Lena faces difficult decisions once she leaves New York and goes back to the Wilds with Julian, Alex, Raven, Tack, and the rest of her friends. First and foremost on her mind is survival, as she finds more and more Invalids are dying from hunger, thirst, abandonment, and rebellion. Her choices must be quick and her actions impulsive. Lena also must come to terms with what she feared most about deliria: the symptoms of jealousy and heartbreak. Meanwhile, Hana, cured and prepping for marriage, begins to worry. Worrying signifies a potential problem that the cure may not have worked for her. Hana then learns about the history of the young mayor’s previous wife, and her fears help her break from dependency on wealth and comfort and sacrifice everything she knows.

  After Pandemonium, I was worried Oliver would agonize the reader with a Team Julian or Team Alex plot. This is not the case. While Lena does come to realize what jealousy and heartbreak feel like, Oliver describes the pain with such beautiful prose that the issue no longer hangs on “which boy should I choose?” but rather muses on how one can overcome these feelings, especially when it had been ingrained since birth these feelings were symptoms of a disease. This push-and-pull attitude is so realistic and plausible that this third book rings with truth about love: it is never easy, and there is no such thing as a triangle. Humans can love in different ways.

  The major point of the book is formalizing a plan for revolution, and hoping the execution of said plan will work. Each day, each hour, the Invalids in the Wilds are under attack. Any minute could be the last. Lena, once a sweet-tempered character, is now independent, strong, a leader. It was such a joy watching her grow through each of the books.

  I truly enjoyed reading Hana’s perspective. She was the inside voice, the one still within the walled city of Portland, as well as a cured perspective. The language is stiff and bland. Her emotions are dulled. And yet her voice, in its plain-spoken and truthful way, is trust-worthy and interesting. Hana gives the reader the facts straight out. When she begins to analyze her dreams (which she is not supposed to have) and fears of her future husband-to-be Fred (and fear is an irrational emotion), she questions the validity of the cure. By searching through her husband’s past and facing his strength head-on, she grows to appreciate the Invalids’ purpose. The cure may take away love, it may lessen emotional turmoil, but it can leave behind a heartless being. Hana’s experiences within Portland shed light into these themes.

  This is not your typical love triangle, as many may have predicted from the first book alone. In fact, I’d hardly call this trilogy a love triangle at all. The Delirium trilogy is a series that examines love in all its forms, and the result of taking that love away. Freedom and love go hand-in-hand.

  Thank you HarperTeen for providing this ARC for review!

  Posted in books, Link, Reviews 2013 | 0 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: young adult, review

• Book Haul!

  Posted at 5:06 pm by Laura, on January 9, 2013

  GUYS.

  Guys…

  I bought books. I know I said in my Bookish Resolutions that I would hold off on buying books before reading them and instead use the library more. Hopefully these exceptions have validity in your eyes for purchasing and breaking that resolution.

  

  Snobs by Julian Fellowes — After a heartbreaking third season (sorry, America, you’re in for a real tear-jerker. Be wary with each episode.), I needed something by Fellowes (because let’s face it, he’s a great story-teller and really knows his history) that would hopefully have a much happier outcome. Full of drama we all know and love, I expect to really enjoy this book. Frankly, I’d been eyeing it for some time and after the Christmas episode I threw up my hands and went on impulse.

  Possession by A.S. Byatt — If I weren’t in grad school for publishing, I would be in grad school (at Durham University, cough cough) working towards a PhD in Victorian and Romantic Literature (if you couldn’t tell from my favorites list). Two people are to blame for my obsession with the Romantics, Victorians, and the Gothic: my sophomore honors English teacher in high school, and my Victorian professor in college. Both of them highly recommended I read “Possession” — this book followed me for years. And then, on the plane back from the holidays, I sat next to a very nice gentleman who loved talking about books, and he suggested I read this too. Well, geez. If a total stranger says this is the book for me, as well as my two favorite English teachers, then maybe I really should buy it!

  But wait! There’s more!

  

  Requiem by Lauren Oliver — Harper Teen hosted a Deliria Slogan contest on Twitter and I was one of the winners to receive an ARC of the third and final installment to the Delirium trilogy! Thank you very much, Harper Teen!

  Children of Liberty by Paullina Simons — As a bookseller, you can receive ARCs as one of the perks. Some publishers have deals with bookstores to send ARCs so that the bookseller can give an honest review as well as prepare for questions from customers about the book upon publication. This is a prequel to the Tatiana and Alexander trilogy, which I thoroughly enjoyed winter 2011. Thank you, William Morrow!

  In short, HarperCollins rocked the ARC giveaways today.

  Posted in books, Update Post | 0 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, publishing

• Book Review: “Reached” by Ally Condie

  Posted at 5:02 pm by Laura, on December 6, 2012

  Reached by Ally Condie
  

  Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books
  Publishing Date: November 2012
  Genre: young adult, dystopian
  ISBN: 9780525423669
  Goodreads: 3.83
  Rating: ★★

  After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.

  Cassia, Xander, and Ky are all members of the Rising. Ky flies planes filled with medical kits and cures for the Plague that has consumed the Society. Xander is a medic that administers the cure within the Society. Cassia continues to sort, a vague position still left unexplained, and trade with other Rising members. The three eventually team up to help the Pilot fully, when a deeper issue begins to concern both the Rising and the Society they once loved.

  I deeply wanted to love this. Matched  was a favorite. I loved the Brave New World concept, the use of pills to calm or forget things, a Society that only allots a certain amount of knowledge so that the people will not be overwhelmed with needless facts. I enjoyed the language: simple, cut and dry, very much like the Society Cassia lived in. Unfortunately, this did not meet my expectations after Matched and Crossed (which I also loved for its gritty politics and on-edge fight-or-flight feel). I was disappointed with this last installment.

  The flaws in the book point to the perspectives, the writing style, and the meekness of the Rising’s plot. Condie overwhelms the reader with three perspectives: Cassia, Ky, and now Xander. Xander and Ky had distinct voices — excellent when writing from two different male perspectives, as it can be a bit of a challenge — that kept the reader updated on the events about the Rising in that same dry tone from the first book. Xander is, unbelievably, a high-ranking medical staff, and Ky is, also unbelievably, one of the best fighter pilots the Rising as ever seen. Despite this, their point of view within Society walls and on the outskirts of Society help create a rounded story. Cassia’s perspective, however, was dripping with poetry. It was beautifully lyrical, but there were so many illusions and strange references that it made me fear for her sanity. I could not understand what exactly was going on from her end of the Rising, other than a desire to create a culture through art once again. Her mentality also came into question for every single reference she made to keeping silks and papers against her skin underneath all of her uniforms, or tacking sheets of paper covered in poetry onto tree branches. Really? Cassia, you do not sound stable.

  As for the plot, there was no power behind the propaganda.  The Rising simply swooped in to save the day, bringing a cure for the Society’s Plague. And then what? There was no fight. No struggles were made from the Society. And yet the book dragged over 500 pages when nearly 200 of it could have been cut. I felt no emotion, no anticipation, no concern or worry for any of the characters. Everything I had hoped for, considering the success and tension from Matched and Crossed, was left to dust.

  For the sake of the series, I gave this book two stars for “it was okay.”

  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 6 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Across the Universe” by Beth Revis

  Posted at 9:32 pm by Laura, on September 4, 2012

  

  Across the Universe by Beth Revis

  Publisher: Razorbill
  Genre: young adult, dystopian, sci-fi
  ISBN: 9781595144676
  Goodreads: 3.82
  Rating: ★★★.5

  Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed. She expects to awaken on a new planet, 300 years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed‘s scheduled landing, Amy’s cryo chamber is unplugged, and she is nearly killed.

  Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed‘s passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, his rebellious and brilliant teenage heir.

  Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she? All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed‘s hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

  Normally I would not go for anything remotely similar to science fiction, so I am surprised at how well I enjoyed the space aspect of this dystopian book, the first of a trilogy. In fact, I found the world, the technology, the science, the mystery so completely fascinating that it almost made up for my distrust of the characters.

  The story is told through two different points of view, Amy’s and Elder’s, which I found to be incredibly refreshing for such a complex topic. Reading their thoughts in this romance-dystopian-sci-fi crossover created a well-rounded view of this world inside a spaceship. The complications from this, however, led me to distrust nearly everyone except Elder and Amy. Eldest is tyrannical, Doc has moments of empathy and then sudden, remote coldness, Orion comes across as kind but with a hidden motive, and Harley – my absolute favorite character – has such clarity in the midst of his instability. Yet, I could not fully trust any character, even to the end when truths are revealed. Plus, it doesn’t help the author’s intentions of creating a romantic relationship between the two narrators when the entire time a reader is rooting for Amy and Harley instead. They are more suited than Amy and Elder.

  As far as the technology and science goes, it was incredibly fascinating to see how it could be twisted in a rather evil way and yet do such good for this trapped society. For example, to prevent violence all the citizens are drugged through the water system. To prevent overpopulation, people’s hormones are tampered to turn on only once every twenty years, like “animals in heat.” Some of these concepts sound so great – and conceivable in this day and age! – and yet they are cruel at the same time. Science could just as easily harm as it can help a society, and taking away an individual’s free will is constantly questioned in this book.

  Also, everything Amy went through being frozen and then reawakened, all the psychological and physical trauma – as sick as it is for me to say this, I really enjoyed reading about that. I want to know how someone could survive being frozen for centuries and then wake up against their will to a world vastly different from the one they left, with a new way of speaking, a new culture, a place with no sky or seasons or proper weather. I loved watching her develop.

  All the distrust and lies, however interwoven and complex, can be set aside long enough for me to look forward to reading the second book in this trilogy. I’m very interested to see what Elder plans to do next, how Amy reacts to these plans, and what sorts of scientific disturbances we come across next.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: sci-fi, genre: young adult, review

• Book Review: “Crossed” by Ally Condie

  Posted at 7:39 pm by Laura, on July 24, 2012

  

  Crossed by Ally Condie

  Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky–taken by the Society to his sure death–only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life and the enthralling promise of a rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices every thing to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game once again.

  Narrated from both Cassia’s and Ky’s point of view, this hotly anticipated sequel to Matched will take them both to the edge of Society, where nothing is as expected and crosses and double crosses make their path more twisted than ever.

  This sequel in the Matched trilogy is vastly different from the first, and compelling in a very alternative way. While the first story explores the Society through a methodically clean lens, echoing the feel of Brave New World with its technological advancements, secretiveness, and pills, the second installment is gritty and political, mirroring a Hunger Games feeling of predator and prey, survival, and rebellion.

  Although the political back-and-forth between Ky’s opinions and Cassia’s opinions could become irksome once in a while, I enjoyed the way Condie revealed more and more about the Society’s current situation and history. All the things I was curious about in the first book were answered in the second, and the second has raised questions for the third that are incredibly deep: is there truly a war? Who are they fighting against? How long has this been going on? Who is the Pilot? How will the Pilot lead the rebellion? What is the rebellion composed of? I’m glad these questions were different from my questions after the first book, because it’s a sign that Condie is diving deeper into her dystopian world and revealing truth to her characters and readers.

  Crossed was nothing like I expected, and yet I was not disappointed. If I had read Matched immediately before Crossed I may have felt jarred by the different atmospheres, but the books in-between certainly helped to give the slow pacing Crossed deserved to resemble the passing of time between Ky’s capture and Cassia’s move.

  Rating: ★★★★
  Goodreads: 3.53

  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, genre: dystopian, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

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• Hello, I’m Laura!

  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to knit, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm obsessed with popcorn. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!

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