Requiem - Book Review

Book: Requiem (Delirium #3)
Author:  Lauren Oliver
Genre: YA 
Publisher/Publish Date: HarperCollins, March 5, 2013
Source: SF Public Library
Pages: 432
Rating: 4/5
GoodReads  •  Amazon

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.  

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it. 

But we have chosen a different road. 

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose. 

We are even free to choose the wrong thing. [via GoodReads]

This book, the final in the series, is not quite as action filled as the second book, but does a nice job of wrapping up the story.

The story is told from the point of view of Lena, who has escaped the bonds of the city and is living in the Wilds. And her best friend Hana, who has had the anti-love procedure and is set to marry the new mayor.

Picking up where Pandemonium left off, Lena is in a love triangle when she discovers that Alex is still alive. They then wander around in the woods for awhile, a bit Deathly Hallows-ish, then meet up with other revolutionaries and the book takes off from there.

Knowing how this series ends, I do recommend it to people who enjoy Dystopian YA. And now that all three books are out, you can actually read them back to back.

April - What I Read

April was a great month. Lots of beautiful sunny weather here in SF, both my sisters came to visit for a week, and I somehow still read 6 books this month.

Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore
A fantastical novel, about a distant and mysterious kingdom. For fans of The Infernal Devices & A Song of Ice and Fire. [post]

Winning Balance, by Shawn Johnson
Johnson shares her early gymnastic years, her experience at the Olympics, and how how her life has changed since then. Easy and fun to read.

Clockwork Prince, by Cassandra Clare
Just as good as all of Clare's other books, she creates great characters and plots to pull the reader in. [post]

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, by Barbara Demick
Good, but not my favorite book on North Korea. [post]

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, by Lawrence Wright
Amazing book. Read my review for more thoughts, but I recommend you read it and decide what you think about Scientology. [post]

Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer
This sequel was better than the first, go read it!

Only 4 months into the year and I am 50% done with my goal of 50 books this year. I guess I underestimated myself. Maybe I should aim for 100 next year!

Life Before Legend - Book Review

Book: Life Before Legend (Legend 0.5)
Author: Marie Lu
Genre: Middle Grade, Mythological 
Publisher/Publish Date: Putnam Juvenile / January 15, 2013
Source: eBook
Pages: 38
Rating: 3/5
GoodReads  •  Amazon

A short review for a short book. This is a companion book to the Legend Series by Marie Lu and though technically is #0.5 in the series since it tells stories of things that take place before the first book in the series, it can be read at anytime though.

Told from both June and Day's points of view, it covers the events of one day, three years before the events in the book Legend. Day's story is about his first kiss and the events surrounding that, and June's is about her first day as a student at Drake University.

It was a nice addition to the other book in the series, and was worth it purchase as an inexpensive eBook. I'd recommend it to anyone who's read the other books in the Legend series.

March - What I Read

Welcome to April everyone. The rain here in SF has arrived right on schedule, but I hope it leaves soon. March was a busy month for me, so I'm happy to have made it through 6 books. None of them were audio books and two of them were pretty large books.

What are your thoughts on the recent announcement of GoodReads being bought by Amazon? I really love everything about GoodReads, so I hope none of that goes away. Crossing my fingers.

Red Carpet Burns, by Georgia Cassimatis
I blogged about it here.

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, by Trenton Lee Stewart

Enjoyed this book and love the world that Stewart has created in these books. I blogged about it here.

Off Balance, by Dominique Moceanu

It was nice to have a shorter book I could finish in a couple days. I have a review of this book coming out in a couple days.

Insurgent, by Veronica Roth
I blogged about it here.

Legacy of Rescue, by Marta Fuchs
Blogged about it here.

Loki's Wolves, by K.L. Armstrong, M.A. Marr

This is a book I got as an ARC and really enjoyed it. It's coming out May 7, and I'll be posting a review of later this wee.

my favorite dystopian serial novels

Hunger Games / Catching Fire / MockingJay - Suzanne Collins

These were one of the first YA dystopian series I read. I fell in love with the plight of the characters and the energy and tension of the story. While the second two books were also good, as a stand along, the first is my favorite. I assume most readers will know of these already so I won't recap their plots.

Maybe it's due to the covers, but I get these next ones confused all the time. if you asked, I could now, of the top of my head, tell you which each are about

Divergent / Insurgent / #3 - Veronica Roth

Set in Chicago, the world is divided into five factions, each focused on a particular virture. At the age of 16, each citizen must chose their faction, one with they will stay with the rest of their lives. Our female protagonist must decide to stay with her family, or go with her gut. And of course this all leads to running, fighting, a little falling in love... the typical YA dystopian plot.

Legend / Prodigy / Champion (coming soon) - Marie Lu

In a divided United States an elite member of society, June, must partner with the country's most wanted criminal to discover what's really going on in the government and try to reconcile the nation. I think this would make a great movie, would be similar to many military fantasy movies and lots of good action.

Delirium / Pandemonium / Requiem - Lauren Oliver

Love is a desease. Everyone gets a cure on their 18th birthday. But between then and now, dun, dun, dun.... This series has a really strong second book and I'm really looking forward to reading the last book in the series. (I just discovered there are also short ebooks between each of the main 3 books, more to enjoy)


Honorary Mentions...
The Mortal Instrument Series: City of Bones / City of Ashes / City of Glass / City of Fallen Angels / City of Lost Souls / City of Heavenly Fire - Cassandra Clare
The Infernal Devices Series: Clockwork Angel / Clockwork Prince / Clockwork Princess - Cassandra Clare
The Uglies: Uglies / Pretties / Specials / Extras - Scott Westerfeld

Insurgent (Divergent #2) - book review

Book: Insurgent (Divergent #2)
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: YA
Publisher/Publish Date: Harper Teen / March 2012
Source: SF Public Library
Pages: 525
Rating: 4/5
Other books from author: Divergent Series
GoodReads  •  Amazon

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. (Summary via GoodReads)

Oh boy! That's quite a gripping summary. (**there are spoilers ahead**)

This was a great sequel to Divergent. Does a great job of getting the reader right back into the story and continues the action, the love story and the suspense. 

This series is set in a universe where everyone belongs to one of five factions, based on their personality: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). I don't know about you, but this just seems like it's gonna cause some problems and of course it does. But, I think it's also a really interesting look at what we hold to be virtues, and what we put value in. And that can be a good and a dangerous thing. 

There are some hints at the end of the book that there may be more than meets the eye, so I'm really excited to read the next book.

Like many YA dystopian novels I like, this one also features a strong, female, lead character. Sometimes though, I feel like her decisions and conversations belong to someone much older than her, so it doesn't always seem true to character. But I like her determination and how real she is with her emotions and struggles.

You'll like this series if you like Delirium, Hunger Games, or Legend.

Book 3, still untitled, is expected to come out sometime in 2013.

Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu

[Book #1 I have read for the 2013 YA Contemporary Challenge]

Since I read so many young adult, dystopian series, I sometimes get confused and mix up the plot lines. While I know I like the book, I could not tell you the main character's names and the title of the previous book. Honestly, I wish there was a good way to keep track of these sorts of things, and get alerted to when the next book comes out (if someone knows of something like this, let me know).

Onto the book review.... [**spoiler alert**]
Prodigy is the second book in the Legend Series, was published in January and written by Marie Lu. There is actually a 0.5 book in the series, Life Before Legend, a short eBook, that takes place before Legend, that I have yet to read.

Prodigy begins where the last book leaves off, with Day and June arriving in Vegas to try and work with the Patriots. A little back story. Years before, Antartica began to melt, and much of the eastern coast and some of the western coast of the United States is now underwater. The story takes place in a United States that is now separated into the Colonies (east), which is fighting a war with the Republic (west) run by the Elector (sort of dictator-ish). June grew up in a well-to-do Republic family, and trusted the Republic until she discovers they killed her brother, and she partners with Day, a well known rebel.

The Patriots are a group of people trying to destroy the Republic, and bring back unity to the States. Whatever means necessary. June and Day need their support to try and find his brother, but as June goes on a mission to set up the new Elector for assassination, they begin to doubt the goals of the Patriots, not knowing who to trust.

This book has all the aspects that I enjoy in a good YA novel, strong, multi-layered characters and a complex history to their current world that makes sense and holds together. Some scenes seem straight out of an action movie, in a good way, and make for an heart-stopping ending. It is a little predictable though, I could see the multiple love triangles coming for miles (or is it a love square?). Though that didn't make me enjoy it any less.

And now I have to go sit and wait for the next book in the series to come out.

Rating: 3.5/5