Review: Eve by Anna Carey

     

Eve by Anna Carey
______________________________

Series: Eve (#1)
Pages: 318
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: October 4th, 2011
IBSN: 9780062048509

Where do you go when nowhere is safe?

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

Orphaned like so many others after a virus wiped out most of the world, Eve has spent most of her life in an isolated all-girl boarding school. Before graduation, she finds that her future isn't the one she's been convinced of -- there's no trade to learn, no life in the city. So she escapes into the wild, valedictorian Eve who knows nothing of the world besides the propaganda she's been fed, and soon finds out that survival is going to be harder than she could have imagined.

My main motivation for reading Eve was that I wanted to figure out its gimmick. It sounded like any other dystopia in the blurb, with the token future world post dramatic population decrease rather shallow in execution. But there's always a catch. And so it is that in Carey's dystopian world, women and men are illogically segregated.

So the world is apparently approximately 98% decimated, which still leaves the population of a large country, and rather than banding together into average-sized cities and trying to live as normally as possibly they can, the solution is (I don't feel like I'm spoiling anything you find out just a few dozen pages in) to put women in battery farms and try to get our seven billion back as soon as possible. It made no sense to try to rebuild civilization on this instilled apprehensiveness of the opposite gender and on drastic means to boost a population still too large to make extinction a serious risk.

Still going with the illogical, a romance is formed, with complete disregard for the setting's ridiculous customs. Eve spent her whole life learning the dangers of men, without having ever met a single one personally. Even in realising so much of her school's teaching was at least somewhat false, there is no way -- absolutely none -- that she could learn to trust a man in such a short amount of time. Even without the psychological implausibility, her relationship with Caleb was rushed and without chemistry and his attraction to her was founded on what, that she was the only girl he'd ever met?

And for a namesake novel, it's expected that Eve be somehow notable or memorable, but she doesn't have a strong voice or anything particularly unique about her. She has the scared, determined, unrealistically selfless personality of dozens of Harper heroines before her, the kind that I'd have to scroll up to the blurb to remember if it weren't made so obvious.

Eve is a book best left to the kind of person who generally exclusively reads the popular hyped new releases. I'd call my problems with it a failure to suspend disbelief, but it was more than the idea at the center of Eve is so implausible it was silly, and it couldn't at least compensate for in the way others like Delirium did.

Review: Legend by Marie Lu

     

Legend by Marie Lu
______________________________

Series: Legend (#1)
Pages: 298
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: November 28th, 2011
IBSN: 9780141339412

Once known as the western coast of the United States, the Republic is now a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors, the Colonies.

Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a military prodigy. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country, she is being groomed for success in the Republic's highest circles.

Born into the slums of the Republic's Lake Sector, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths-until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered, and Day becomes the prime suspect. Now, caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June tries desperately to avenge Metias's death.

But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths to which their country will go to keep its secrets.

June is the Republic's military prodigy, and Day is the Republic's most wanted criminal. His latest crime resulted in the death of June's brother, and June makes it her personal mission to track down the criminal that has eluded the military for years. They're from very opposite sides of the tracks, but on meeting, they'll discover that they aren't so different after all.

I'm a sucker for the 'good' criminal, the Robin Hood. Day's crimes consist of stealing from the rich and powerful and corrupted and giving to the needy in the slum sectors. His latest crime, and the focus of Legend, is breaking into a hospital to steal plague cures for the family he takes care of surreptitiously and thinks he's dead. Day was immediately refreshing and exciting to read about, though I would have preferred more selfless feats shown rather than retold.

I find that with action novels, a fast and thrilling plot can't manage to sustain my interest for very long since they mostly sacrifice character depth. Legend combined them both, though. Our protagonists June and Day developed and grew and it didn't take anything away from the action -- it added to it. Caring for the characters and developing an emotional investment in their well being made the plot more suspenseful and each obstacle faced more concerning.

Marie Lu's ability to heighten drama through the prose so simply was skillfull. The writing style implemented was perfect for the genre and the story. Only her first novel, and she's up there with my favourite action writers. I very was impressed in particular with how she layered the plots. Legend opened the major plot almost immediately (but not so soon as to not know and care about June's brother at all), and what promises to be the series arc took over later, but without forgetting about the former like I feel happens too often.

My sole complaint was that it had the basic plot structure of almost every other dystopia out there. An obedient girl meeting a boy that shows her that the system she's had faith in isn't what she's always believed it to be. I'm waiting for a new dystopia to blow me away. Legend  features a very good storyline, but from all of the hype I expected it to have well and truly broken the mould.

Legend was a dystopian thriller featuring likable characters that draw you quickly through the fast-paced plot. If not exceptionally unique in the dystopia aspect, it was very, very enjoyable to read.

Review: Prized by Caragh O'Brien

     

Prized by Caragh O'Brien
______________________________

Series: Birthmarked (#2)
Pages: 368
Publisher: Simon & Shuster
Published: November, 2011
IBSN: 9780857074959

Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone survives only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime. In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole?

After her bittersweet escape from the Enclave -- she's away from their oppression, but she left Leon behind. She's safe for now, but her future is uncertain -- Gaia's saved by an outrider from Sylum, the place she's supposed to follow her grandmother to. She's fleed one terrible city to another, tough this one has an eerie force holding her there.

(Are you guys pumped for a review where I pretty much compare this to Birthmarked? On rereading that's all I've done here.)

Prized tests the characters, putting them through more difficult emotional and mental trials than the physical of Birthmarked. Gaia and Leon are more thoroughly fleshed out through the disagreements they have. I appreciated the way they pushed each other to be stronger and better, and formed a realistic and healthy relationship. They grew much more that I expected, and turned the series around from primarily plot-driven to placing emphasis on character development.

Their voices and personalities are defined clearly, and the setting and emotions are described smoothly and adeptly. Where in Birthmarked, I'd be bothered by the characters knowingly putting themselves in dangerous situations, something about the voice makes me worry about them instead.

The new setting of Sylum, so different from the Enclave yet fundamentally the same, was atmospheric and its history and settlement detailed thoroughly but not lengthily. In this new society where women lead, Gaia realistically felt briefly favourable towards the system that gave her a position of power for the first time in her life. This feeling warmed me to her, having a side to her beyond her once do-gooder nature revealed.

Prized has done an excellent job as the 'middle book'. The plot stands apart from the first, but leaves off with promises of returning to the Enclave. I appreciate that this series is beginning to feel different to other dystopia in that it carries a relevant message: that strength can be found through unity. I'm very excited to see where the trilogy heads, and confident that O'Brien won't let me down.

Prized definitely improved upon Birthmarked. It feels as though O'Brien's found her element now, with a much more arresting narrative voice and a justified and frightening setting. Readers like me, who only felt so-so about Birthmarked, shouldn't write Prized off so quickly.

I give Prized a 4 out of 5.

Review: Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien

     

Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien
______________________________

Series: Birthmarked (#1)
Pages: 361
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: May 2nd, 2011
IBSN: 9780857071392

IN THE ENCLAVE, YOUR SCARS SET YOU APART, and the newly born will change the future.
 In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the walled Enclave and those, like sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside. Following in her mother's footsteps Gaia has become a midwife, delivering babies in the world outside the wall and handing a quota over to be "advanced" into the privileged society of the Enclave. Gaia has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested by the very people they so loyally serve. Now Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught, but her choice is simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying.

Gaia's always been in the business of midwifery. Outside the Enclave, completely dependent upon them for basic commodities, it's her job to advance newborns to them. Life is better in there, anyway, and she's proud to serve the Enclave. But then her parents are convicted of harbouring a mystery code, and in venturing beyond the wall to find them, she's forced to rethink the faith she has in the Enclave.

While the premise of a girl in a dystopian world realising the inherent flaws of the system she lives in isn't exactly unique (that said, the coding aspect was interesting, and I was constantly trying to solve them before our characters), and this specific premise occasionally felt a little far-fetched (so many baby emergencies around her!), Birthmarked had a readable quality that built as as the story progressed. 

The beginning I found quite dull, but the drama was akin to a snowball rolling down a hill, constantly growing (people who've actually seen snow, tell me in the comments just now crappy my uneducated metaphor was!).

The setting --  or settings, rather, with such close areas so vastly different and cleverly juxtaposed -- at its basic level, a world ruined by climate change, felt plausible. Plausibility in a dystopian future is an absolutely vital element for me. I reserve high suspension of disbelief for fantasy. The atmosphere of the oppressive society and despondent environment was well-captured, and most key elements of the setting were justified. But it felt like too little was distinguishing O'Brien's future world from one of the past, and the way this world transitioned from an initial struggling community to dictatorship was blurred.

Gaia was a likable enough character, with a personality portrayed distinctly in the narrative voice, but I never found her story or her emotions arresting. A couple months from now, Gaia probably will join the expanding list of characters whose names and natures escape me. Birthmarked for me was driven by the plot, rather that the characters, though her determined nature did aid the plot significantly.

Birthmarked is something I'd recommend for devout fans of dystopia, specifically to the subset of you who aren't dissuaded by more unsettling themes. It's very readable, but not something fresh and engrossing for the reluctant dystopia reader.

I give Birthmarked a 3 out of 5.

Review: The Bridge by Jane Higgins

     

The Bridge by Jane Higgins
______________________________

Pages: 363
Publisher: Text Publishing
Published: August 1st, 2011
IBSN: 9781921758331

The City is divided. The bridges gated. In Southside, the hostiles live in squalor and desperation, waiting for a chance to overrun the residents of Cityside.

Nik is still in high school but destined for a great career with the Internal Security and Intelligence Services, the brains behind the war. But when ISIS comes recruiting, everyone is shocked when he isn’t chosen. There must be an explanation, but no one will talk about it. Then the school is bombed and the hostiles take the bridges. Buildings are burning, kids are dead, and the hostiles have kidnapped Sol. Now ISIS is hunting for Nik.

But Nik is on the run, with Sol’s sister Fyffe and ISIS hot on their trail. They cross the bridge in search of Sol, and Nik finds answers to questions he’d never dared to ask.

Firstly, that's one hell of a cover. Click the image for a larger look. The artwork is just incredible.

Secondly, this quote:

      Over the Bridge, it's dark not day

      Over the Bridge, the devils play

      Over the Bridge, their souls are BLACK

      Go over the Bridge and you won't come BACK.

Man, that quote.

Anyway, I borrowed The Bridge from my library solely because it won the Text Prize, an award that went to the amazing This Is Shyness last year, and it definitely deserved the accolade.

The Bridge told the story of Nik, a Citysider whose whole life has led up to being recruited by ISIS. But then, he isn't recruited. And his school is bombed. His best friend dies, and another is taken hostage by Southsiders. With Fyffe in tow, he'll cross the bridge and begin to question things that he's always thought were fact.

The Bridge is Jane Higgins' debut novel, and she's made it clear that she's an author to keep an eye on. Her writing is amazing and her storytelling even better; her idea and the execution were both superb. I haven't read a book with such a realistic and raw account of war since Mockingjay.

The characters were all relatable, and understandable. The latter proved to be important in the story, it being one where we really feel restricted by the point of view and often don't know things beyond our main character. With Nik in a foreign place, we don't know much about anyone else either. I don't often feel like I'm restricted by the narration when reading, but I really should. Higgins has done a brilliant job of realistically telling a story: one where we only know what the first person narrator does. It's too often that our protagonists conveniently know too much. Being desperately curious and afraid alongside Nik helped us connect with him on such a deeper level.

Nik's cause was noble and the lengths he went to in order to fulfill it were so admirable. His character was dynamic, with his motivations and opinions constantly changing in a world full of secrets slowly revealed. But he changed as well, and his development was well-captured.

Twists arise throughout the story, and what we find about the mysterious Southside and the other side to the war is found out gradually. The acquisition of knowledge is smooth and we're learning new things until the dramatic end.

This is an incredible story, exceeding expectations in idea and execution. Text Prize recipients seem to be getting better each year, and I can't wait for both the next winner and the next novel from Jane Higgins

I give The Bridge a 5 out of 5.

Review: Angel Arias by Marianne De Pierres

     

Angel Arias by Marianne De Pierres
______________________________

Series: Night Creatures (#2)
Pages: 270
Publisher: Random House Australia
Published: October 3rd, 2011
IBSN: 9781742751016

Retra - now called Naif - has escaped from Ixion, the island of ever-night. She doesn't know if her friends on the island survived the battle between the Ripers and the rebels. But she does know that she must return home, behind the sealed walls of Grave, to find out why the Ripers have been seen there talking to the councillors. What links the two worlds? 
First she must convince Ruzalia to help her. The fierce pirate captain saves those who face terrible fates on Ixion, but that doesn't guarantee their gratitude. Instead, she faces a revolt - and Naif is caught in the middle.

Naif will need all her courage to survive. For Lenoir, who wants to keep her safe, for her friends Suki and Rollo, if they live, for Markes, who has secrets of his own, and for the new friends she will make on this journey.

The fate of worlds depends on it.

Naif, as Retra is rechristened in Burn Bright, needs to return to Grave, her first home. Soon after arriving in Ixion, she became entangled in the underground mysteries and evils of the place full of those in pursuit of pleasure. Through revisiting her past, she hopes to save her future.

The second book in the Night Creatures trilogy holds onto what was so intoxicating about Burn Bright: the atmosphere. It perhaps even enhances it. It  furthers the overall trilogy's plot arc but still presents its own storyline. The characters continue to develop, and new ones are introduced. Angel Arias pulls off The Middle Book perfectly.

The setting was expertly created with an inherent gothic mood to it. I wouldn't call it dystopian, but more fantasy. Just not the kind of fantasy realm you'd want to be caught in. Marianne created an atmospheric world, creepy and

The plot was engaging in its unpredictable nature. The world and people presented in the Night Creatures series are so foreign to us that it's difficult at best to see what's coming. I also found myself pausing to admire the way Marianne didn't shy away from the difficult elements necessary for the terrifying setting. She had the courage to push her characters to the limit as well, which only furthered her brilliant characterisation.

Even through third person narrative, Naif doesn't feel too distant from us. She's often conflicted and develops and changes so much, but her personality is still captured clearly in the narrative voice. The perspective switches very occasionally to other characters not present with Naif, and though these interludes give insight into what's happening elsewhere, they feel like an awkward blip in the smooth storytelling.

The conclusion felt hard-earned by our characters, and wound down in perfect place to rest between adventures. I was definitely more satisfied by the conclusion than I was for Burn Bright, this time ending in a slightly calmer state. Without a cliffhanger, and I'm even more eager for the next installment.

Burn Bright was a chilling and twisting tale of a world fallen into almost unimaginable decay and strong characters working to pick it back up again. Atmospheric and intoxicating, I recommend it for fans of darker paranormals and dystopias.

I give Angel Arias a 4 out of 5.

P.S. I know there are a lot of international guys curious about this series. You can like the Publish Burn Bright Worldwide Facebook page and join the campaign to see it reach shelves near you.

Review: Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan


Series: Sky Chasers (#1)
Pages: 320
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: October 1st, 2011
IBSN: 9781742610320

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.

Two ships are headed to New Earth to start afresh. They're the Empryean and the New Horizon, and though the New Horizon is supposed to be light years ahead, they'll make an unexpected rendezvous that will have our protagonists Waverly and Kieran separated for the first time, fighting for their lives.

The dystopian nature of the setting didn't require much suspension of disbelief. An Earth decayed to the point where it is no longer inhabitable isn't so hard to imagine, after all. I'm sure I would have appreciated the outer space aspect more, however, if it didn't remind me so much of Across The Universe. I spent much of the read trying to stop myself from comparing the two.

The third person perspective kept as a distance from our characters, as though we're watching from the outside rather than being inside their heads. In a novel where so many life-changing things are happening, it's hard to really fathom how serious everything is when the you aren't sharing the characters' emotions.

The plot was interesting, with a few developments raising an eyebrow here and there, and I came to enjoy the chaotic nature of two stories running side by side. Though, whenever I began to feel invested in a certain characters' story, the perspective changed. With arbitrarily-lengthed (usually fairly long) 'Parts', switches in narrator felt abrupt and awkward at times.

Kieran and Waverly's relationship dynamic was a realistic one, with both perspectives showing the different ways they view the romance. Separated, they both constantly think of the other, but when reunited, their issues remained. Having their relationship expected of them didn't prove to be as worrisome as I expected -- Waverly's hesitance about this made me like her further.

The ending proved to be the highlight of the novel, making slogging through the beginning seem worth the effort. The next book in the Sky Chasers trilogy is one I'll definitely anticipate.

I give Glow a 3 out of 5.

Review: All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin


Series: Birthright (#1)
Pages: 352
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: September 1st, 2011
IBSN: 9780330537896

It's 2083. There's a chocolate prohibition, and New York City is a very changed place. Art museums are now dance clubs, books are musty relics of the past, water is strictly rationed, and the mafia ruled black market consists of chocolate and caffeine.

And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight – at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

Anya is essentially the head of her family. Her grandmother is on her deathbed, her older brother's mental capacity took a turn for the worse after a car accident, and her parents are long dead. But that's not unexpected, given that they led the Balanchine crime family, specialising in distributing illegal chocolate.

She was an exceptionally likeable character; sensible, pragmatic, wry, and strong. She was fiercely loyal of her family, despite their shortcomings, and went to extreme lengths to protect them, even sacrificing her own needs to do so. The way she encountered a problem and immediately and selflessly did what was necessary to fix it was incredibly admirable and made her all the more interesting to read about.

The romantic aspect of the book played a huge role, and this didn't invoke the exasperation non-romantics such as myself would associate with this. Given the personal way in which Anya narrated, her relationship with Win dominating so much of her attention felt natural for her. It was clear how Anya the realist could fall for Win (I mean, his hats), and the way being with him broke her out of her pragmatic shell gave her character a whole other level of depth and relatability.

The setting, a dystopian future, was almost reminiscent of the past. The New York of 2083 had the feel of the New York of the 1920s, with smoky speakeasies and less technology. I liked the notion of our society reaching its peak and then slowly declining back to the past in a symmetrical fashion.

Anya narrated in past tense, taking time occasionally to point out her mistakes in the 20/20 clarity of hindsight. The style was refreshingly original and well executed. The prose itself was smooth and lovely, and had the almost wistful or forlorn quality that you'd be familiar with from Elsewhere and Memoirs Of A Teenage Amnesiac.

The conclusion was stunning, and slightly surprisingly. The final line, "May God forgive me for this and all these things I've done" left me awe-struck, and definitely furthered the impression that the book was written almost like Anya's confession. The next book can't come fast enough!

I give All These Things I've Done a 5 out of 5.

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi


Pages: 352
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: November 1st, 2011
IBSN: 9781742378206

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days and the last time was an accident. Now accidental murder has her locked up in an asylum where happy is a hot meal and not being dead in the morning. No one knows why touching her skin for too long is fatal. No one knows how to fix her problem. No one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population. The ozone layer is deteriorating. Farms are scarce, food is hard to find, temperatures are unreliable and the clouds are the wrong colour.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things. They said the people were to blame for wasting and raping the land of its resources. It's time to start fresh, is what they said. Bleach the past and throw away the freaks. So they threw Juliette in a cell and chopped up the opposition while she blinked. Now enough of the population is dead that the rest are whispering war and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she might be useful. Maybe a Venus flytrap is exactly what they need right now.
And maybe Juliette doesn't give a damn what The Reestablishment needs. Maybe she's tired of being a monster. Maybe she wants to be a human being for once in her life.
Maybe she wants to fight back.
But Juliette has to fight much more than a war. She has to fight herself for the right to be human and fight the world for the right to be free.

She has to make a choice.
Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Wow, that's a long synopsis. Is anyone still reading? Yes? Okay!

Shatter Me was a breathtakingly original paranormal dystopia. Juliette's touch is lethal, and she was ostracized from her community and family from a young age and given over to the Reestablishment who eventually threw her in a tiny cell. She hasn't touched another person in 264 days and interacted with another in almost as long. Until Adam is suddenly thrown into her cell one day.

You've heard of this book before. Of course you have. It's one of the most hyped upcoming YA books of the year. And while it was hard with an ARC that dedicated more space on the back of the book to bragging rights than the blurb, when it comes to books hyped this much, it's necessary to keep everything you've heard about the book separate to everything you find actually reading the book. If I'd went into this book with the amazingly high expectations that over early reviews have set, it probably would have fallen below them.

Though what couldn't have fallen under expectations was Tahereh Mafi's prose. It was brilliant. She used fragments that helped establish Juliette's initially scared and hesitant voice, and strikeouts that showed her internal conflicts. Written in such a uniquely lyrical fashion, there was a strong narrative voice. Juliette's struggles with her power and feelings were clear through the words in each sentence, paragraph, page.

The plot was engaging, the premise intriguing. The minor arc of Juliette and Adam's escape was the main focus for the most part, but the major arc of the series was introduced only towards the end. Shatter Me definitely had the the feel of a first novel in a series -- it set the context for a more large-scale problem to be eventually solved. Alone it was very compelling, but now that the scene has been set, the rest of the trilogy promises to be much more action-packed.

Though the dystopia setting was the canonical post-natural resources world where a new government sells their dictatorship as the solution, Mafi pulled it off in a refreshing way. The way Juliette reacted to her world so deteriorated in her absence was parallel to ours as we read about this almost plausible future version of our own.

Juliette was a dynamic character. Who she was at the end, triumphant and strong, was at complete odds to the version of herself at the beginning, cowering in her cell from the new boy. Her slow transformation into someone proud of her curse gift was touching, and the whole way there you'll be cheering for her.

The ending was slightly anti-climactic, with what felt like a little too much time spent after the drama had wound down, but it had a very 'X-Men' feel* and left us in a good place to continue the trilogy. The ending felt like a beginning, and I get the feeling know this series will only get better with each installment.

I give Shatter Me a 4 out of 5.


* Always a good thing. ALWAYS.

Review: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Pages: 239
Publisher: Vintage Books
Published: October 28th, 2010
IBSN: 9780099549345

A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love—with a human—in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Not just another zombie novel, Warm Bodies is funny, scary, and deeply moving.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Warm Bodies was definitely not your average book about zombies. Rather than a undead protagonist whose internal monologue was the word "brainss" on repeat, R is an existentially tormented romantic.

Warm Bodies made a habit of taking every expectation I had in a novel of its genre and turning it on it's head.

The prose was beautiful and poetic, and had a literary quality that I was surprised to find in a zombie apocalypse novel. The tone was wry in a way that reminded me of John Green's novels.

The characters were fleshed out and realistic, developing over the course of the novel. Perry might have been my favourite character - his story is second hand but there was so much depth to him and I always found myself skipping forward to the parts where he featured.

The plot wasn't action-packed or uber fast, but it was unpredictable and interesting. So much of what happens in their futuristic world made me stop and think about our own.

Overall, the story was funny, sad, and touching. I give Warm Bodies a 6 out of 5!

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Series: Divergent (#1)
Pages: 487
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: May 3rd, 2011
IBSN: 9780062024022

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her. 

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Before I picked up Divergent, I heard it likened to The Hunger Games so many times. But while reading, I failed to see any real positive similarities or parallels. Divergent, to me, felt like The Hunger Games if Katniss spent 80% of the book training to perform in front of the Gamemakers for her score.

From all of the hype, I had imagined Divergent as this edge-of-your-seat action/thriller with the main character kicking ass or leaping from buildings on every other page, but I was disappointed to find that most of the action was...fake (let me explain what I mean by that!).

Most of the book centers on Tris during initiation. She has to fight against other initiates for a ranking, and battle her fears through simulations. During the former, she wasn't fighting for any real cause but to get into the faction. And as for the latter, as much as I can appreciate psychological thrillers, it just  didn't feel like it hit the mark. The action only began to feel 'real' to me towards the ending, where there's an urgent cause and a consequence for failure besides a bad ranking. And that part only makes up the last seventy-five pages.

Beatrice was an intriguing enough character to read about. I could understand why she made the choices she did, but I didn't get where some of the changes in her came from. One minute, she's a passive Abnegation, and the next, she's as cruel and fearless as any other Dauntless.

Divergent was fun to read. It was exciting, and had a easy kind of writing style that allowed me to read chunks of the book in long sittings without getting bored. But it just missed that 'wow' factor for me.

I give Divergent a 3 out of 5.

Review: Grace by Elizabeth Scott

Grace by Elizabeth Scott

Pages: 200
Publisher: Dutton
Published: September 16th, 2010
IBSN: 9780525422068

Grace was raised to be an Angel, a herald of death by suicide bomb. But she refuses to die for the cause, and now Grace is on the run, daring to dream of freedom. In search of a border she may never reach, she travels among malevolent soldiers on a decrepit train crawling through the desert. Accompanied by the mysterious Kerr, Grace struggles to be invisible, but the fear of discovery looms large as she recalls the history and events that delivered her uncertain fate.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Grace was certainly different to anything I've read before, and I say that as a good thing.

Grace was raised to be a suicide bomber, but realised she didn't want to die and refused to go through with the bombing. She's on the run, accompanied by 'Kerr', as the book opens, and she slowly reveals how she got to that point through flashbacks.

The book wasn't as action-packed as the synopsis led me to believe it'd be, but was still very intense. The premise was incredibly unique and engaging.

After the flashbacks were over and the twist past, the rest of the story was told primarily through conversations between Grace and Kerr, where they basically smack you repeatedly over the face with the moral of the story.

Grace and Kerr were both dynamic characters. They had their obvious faults, but had realistic personalities, given their setting. I can't say I really connected with Grace, because of how different we are, but I did feel and hope for her.

Together, they realise things about the value of life and what they'll do to survive. The ending is hopeful, if a little sad, but entirely satisfying.

Elizabeth Scott's prose was heart-wrenching and beautiful, as always. This book perfectly demonstrates the way she can write a novel that's emotion-driven - rather than plot-driven - and still have it extremely engaging.

I give Grace around a 3.5-4 out of 5.

Review: The Dark And Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

The Dark And Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

Series: The Forest Of Hands And Teeth (#3)
Pages: 377
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Published: March 22nd, 2011
IBSN: 9780385738590

There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.  

Annah's world stopped that day, and she's been waiting for Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again. 

But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah: can she continue to live in a world covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?


[Synopsis by Goodreads]

A great conclusion to The Forest Of Hands And Teeth series!

Carrie Ryan's style of writing continued to be vivid and incredibly emotive. The way she wrote Annah's narration and thought processes really evoked her voice. I really felt for Annah through all of her struggles.


Annah was a brave, strong, yet insecure protagonist. She was dynamic and realistic. She definitely developed as the story unfolded.

The plot was fast-paced and exciting. There wasn't a clear problem and solution, but a series of them to overcome; none predictable.

The world-building was thorough. The premise - essentially a zombie apocalypse - was executed uniquely, and the decayed, futuristic setting was described so clearly that I could imagine everything.

Though the romantic side of the book at times almost felt like Ryan was just pairing up loose characters, the sudden relationships forming was realistic given the characters' distressing situation.

The ending was realistic and satisfying. I'm glad all the work they did and all the ordeals they endured got the characters to a better place, literally and figuratively.

I give The Dark And Hollow Places a 4 out of 5.

Recommend it for fans of: the first two books in the series, The Forest Of Hands And Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves

Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Today is Wither's release day, though from what I hear, copies of the book have already sneaked into bookstores.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Series: Chemical Garden Trilogy (#1)
Pages: 356
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's
Published: March 22nd, 2011
IBSN: 9781442409057

Source: Galley Grab

What if you knew exactly when you would die? 

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.


[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Wither is yet another new dystopia on the YA scene. It explores the effect of humans playing with genetics in order to 'play God' and better the race. The premise was unique enough, but I felt like it could have gone deeper, and that some aspects weren't explained a whole lot. When women die at 20 and men die at 25, why would girls be stolen away, and then killed? Wouldn't women be taken care of, considering reproduction would be a huge issue? And there wasn't any mention of a government or authority, which could have added a whole other layer to the premise.

Rhine was a strong character. She was completely determined in her mission to escape. On top of being unswayable (a real word, I swear), she was also emotional, which made her an easy-to-relate-to character.

The plot was slow, though rarely boring. From Rhine's capture, to being sent to the mansion, to making her escape plans, the story was engaging.

Lauren DeStefano's writing style was remarkable. I don't usually actually notice the writing style while reading unless it stands out, and so that says something about her prose.

The ending was satisfying, and didn't end in a cliffhanger like most of the recently released books I've read have. Though, I wonder where the next two books in the trilogy will go. There wasn't a lot left open-ended to be explored in further books.

I give Wither a 3 out of 5. Well, somewhere between a 3 and a 4. I'll stick to 3.

_____________________________________

I read this book for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge.

Review: Bones Of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

Bones Of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

Series: Faerie (#1)
Pages: 247
Publisher: Random House
Published: January 27th, 2009
IBSN: 9780375845635

The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so 15-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza’s world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Then Liza discovers she has the Faerie ability to see—into the past, into the future—and she has no choice but to flee her town. Liza’s quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

In Janni Lee Simner's first book for young adults, she combines dystopia and paranormal and creates a post-apocalyptic world all but destroyed by a war against Faerie. Residual magic still remains in the human world, and Liza has grown up under the impression that magic is evil, until she finds her way into another town, where magic is controlled and used for good.

My favorite thing about the book was its premise: a girl finding magic - that she's always thought of as inherently bad - within herself, and running away. The writing style was beautiful, but I didn't feel any suspense or sympathy for the characters from it.

Liza was a fairly strong character: when something needed to be done, she did it, and didn't complain. But I couldn't identify with her. From her narration, I got a lot of what she was doing and feeling, but nothing about who she really was.

The plot was fast-paced, making for a quick read. It was entertaining, if not entirely engaging to me.

I give Bones Of Faerie a 3 out of 5. I may read the sequel, Faerie Winter, when it comes out on the 5th of April.

Review: The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher
Pages: 240
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Published: January 1st, 2011
IBSN: 978140224369

Welcome to a future where water is more precious than gold or oil - and worth killing for.

Vera and her brother, Will, live in the shadow of the Great Panic, in a country that has collapsed from environmental catastrophe. Water is hoarded by governments, rivers are dammed, and clouds are sucked from the sky. But then Vera befriends Kai, who seems to have limitless access to fresh water. When Kai suddenly disappears, Vera and Will set off on a dangerous journey in search of him-pursued by pirates, a paramilitary group, and greedy corporations. Timely and eerily familiar, acclaimed author Cameron Stracher makes a stunning YA debut that's impossible to forget. 

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

The Water Wars is a dystopia set in a futuristic world where water has almost run out. What little clean water there is left is fought over, stolen, and sold. If you can afford clean water, you're stuck with contaminated, desalinated ocean water. What makes The Water Wars so initially compelling is that the future it describes isn't unrealistic at all. It's completely possible with the way we're going. Reading it has made me nervous about how much water I use.

That said, I picked this book up because of its premise, and it was the premise that kept me reading.

I couldn't really connect with the main characters, Vera and Will. I didn't find myself caring for them. I felt like they didn't know Kai all that well to go off and save him because of their friendship. It felt more like they were trying to find him for selfish reasons. Also, their teaming up with Ulysses and Sula struck me as odd - in a world where water is power, why would they want help them and then share that power?

The plot was tense, though, which I liked. On their quest to rescue Kai, Vera and Will are confronted by water pirates and water-hoarding organisations. Their cruelty adds more depth to the premise.

Overall, though, The Water Wars was a fast, thought-provoking read. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Review of Across The Universe by Beth Revis

Across The Universe by Beth Revis

Pages: 398
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: January 11th, 2011
IBSN: 9781595143976

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Across The Universe is Beth Revis's debut novel. It's part sci-fi, part dystopia, part murder mystery, and part awesome.

The premise straight away had me hooked. People are frozen cryogenically to be thawed and settle on a new planet when they land, but our main character - Amy - is woken early in an attempted murder. Though I was nervous that the execution wouldn't live up to the premise, it exceeded it.

The setting was vividly described and thoroughly planned out. The setting wasn't just the story's backdrop, but a major part of it. Living in the ship had a believable effect on everything and everyone inside it. The dystopian society was cleverly built, featuring completely different ethical priorities and hierarchies than the world we live in.

With the perspective alternating between Amy (a newcomer on the ship) and Elder (who's lived on the ship his entire life), you get to see the Godspeed from both an insider and an outsiders point of view. Amy was thus easy to relate to, learning things about how her new world worked just as we, the readers, did.

The secondary characters were also well written - especially Harley (God, I loved Harley). Their personalities were distinct (with the exception of the ship's thousands of drones) and compelling. Beth Revis also explored the gray area between good and bad in characters - showing that the good guys aren't all good and the bad guys aren't all bad.

The romance between Amy and Elder felt like more a subplot. It was subtle and for a while at the beginning, one-sided, yet reading from each of their perspectives - getting inside both of their heads - it was clear they made a great couple.

The plot focuses for a large amount of the book on both Amy and Elder uncovering the secrets and lies that the ship's system was built upon. The plot was fast-paced and never predictable, ending with a satisfying conclusion that still leaves room for sequels.


Turning the last page of this book, all I could say was 'wow'. Across The Universe was a fast and captivating thriller. I give it a 5 out of 5.

_________________________________

I read this book for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge.

Review of Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium by Lauren Oliver


Series: Delirium (#1)
Pages: 448
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: February 2011
IBSN: 9780340980927

There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the end of the earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it.

Then, at last, they found the cure.

Now, everything is different. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But then, with only ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable...

Lena's content with having life without love – she does, after all, believe it to be a disease. But as she falls in love she realises that it isn't a bad thing at all. Thus begins her development from naive into a stronger and more aware protagonist who thinks for herself in a world where people who do so are few and far between.

I was already familiar with Lauren Oliver's writing style from Before I Fall, but, it still struck me again how lyrical and beautiful it is. The first person narration made Lena feel more like a real person with real thoughts and concerns than a character. It was easy to feel sympathetic for a character whose emotions were so raw.

The romance between Lena and Alex felt natural, and they had a lot of chemistry. It wasn't 'love at first sight' (a concept that I never find endearing), but rather, grew slowly and with apt hesitancy given the setting. Delirium was a very good example of successfully having a romantic relationship as the centermost part of the novel.

The omission of unimportant in-between scenes kept the read intense and suspenseful up until the very end, where we’re left hanging and anxiously anticipating the sequel (Pandemonium, March 2012).

Overall, Delirium was a touching and beautifully-written story of how far people will go for love. 

I give Delirium a 5 out of 5.