Book Review: Divergent, Veronica Roth

Reading Level:      Young Adult 

Hardcover:           496 Pages 

Publisher:             HarperTeen 5/1/11

Parasols:                  5        

    

From Goodreads:

Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. 

The wonderful thing about this story was the execution.  It was brilliantly plotted, you weren't left dangling and you had a great story.  Tris is a character like Katniss and Katsa.  She's strong, she's willing to take chances and she refuses to be bullied around.  I like that Tris and her brother have broken free from the faction that they grew up in -- Abnegation.  Where they just belong and don't do.  Her brother chooses Erudite and Tris chooses Dauntless which is the faction that is causing the problems for the society.   


There is a bit of a love story here, but it's not the main focus, Four, as he is known finds himself drawn to Tris, but he knew her in a different lifetime ago.  She doesn't recognize him from her past.  


As someone who knows the Chicago landscape somewhat, the landscape became a character in its own right.  The El that goes through the city is the train that Tris and the other dauntless much jump on and off, is terrifying!  Take it from someone who is afraid of heights!


I devoured this book when it first came out and I thing everyone should at least give this book a read, you'll be pleasantly surprised with how tight it is.

Book Review: Crossed, Ally Condie

Reading Level:      Young Adult 

Hardcover:           384 Pages 

Publisher:             Dutton 11/1/11

Parasols:                  2

Crossed takes place a few months (?) after Matched has ended.  Cassia has been at several different work camps and tries to get to the outer provinces to find Ky, her soul mate.  With the help of Xander, she manages to get on a airship that will plop her down right where she wants and exactly where Ky was until he took off.

I finished this book last night and my first thought was: Self-indulgent drivel. This book is about as big of a waste of space as I could find.  It goes nowhere, I don't feel connected to the characters, they talk in long isolated passages that make absolutely no sense.  It tries too hard to be something it is not-- good.

Cassia makes it her mission to find Ky come hell or high water.  But within her travels (why is that in all dystopians they must walk and walk and walk and walk through landscape that makes no sense?), Xander has left pieces of himself for her to see.  And we find out that Xander has a secret.  A big secret that will bring about a turn in the scenario in regards to Cassia and Ky.  Everyone knows the secret, but Cassia and no one is willing to tell her because it is Xander's secret to tell.  

Everyone in this book has a secret.  Everyone in this book has a lie.  No one is willing to own up to what they are feeling, thinking and why.  It became annoying.  Why are these kids, and they are just kids, acting like they are in their 40s?  

Each chapter is told in alternating POV's.  Cassia and Ky's.  This annoyed me because I found myself being pulled out of the story each time the view changed.  I couldn't seem to get a grasp on anything.  The one saving grace in this story are the secondary characters.  They were much more animated and alive than Cassia and Ky.  Even Xander, who is spoken of often is more exciting.  You learn nothing of the two main characters and it ends pretty much how it began.  A disappointing sophomore novel. 

Reading Genres

I've been wanting to do a post on the different genres within young adult books.  There are so many different ones lately and I find that I tend to stick to one genre to the point that I get totally sick of it and need something different as a palate cleanser.  Sort of like a pickled ginger to my sushi!

As you can tell from my list of books I have read this year I am on a Paranormal kick.  Within the paranormal: Vampires, Werewolves, Faeries, and everything else that falls into that.  Vampires will always be my first love.  When I was four years old (about a million years ago), my babysitter took me and her sister (two years older) and a friend to a local movie theatre.  This was a glorious theatre with real King Louis XVI chairs!  I can remember it like it happened yesterday!  Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the movie, but it was a vampire movie and I remember everyone hiding under the chairs when the vampire bit the neck of his beautiful victim.  But not me, I was enthralled!  So since then, I've been a vampire girl.

I'm not a huge fan of werewolves.  Although I think Wolves are beautiful animals, the whole transformation seems and sounds painful.  I like the faeries because they can glamour and look absolutely beautiful even though beneath the glamour are terrifying things.  I love it.

Ah, Angels.  Who doesn't like angels! They are heavenly and bring only good from heaven, unless you are an fallen angel and then you are a romantic character who falls in love with the main character.

Some people can't seem to get past the whole paranormal aspect, they cannot suspend believability to understand that you are just supposed to get lost in the story and transport your brain into the pages.  I love getting lost in a good paranormal book. Whether it be romance, horror, or urban fantasy.

After I get tired of my Vamps, Wolves and Fae, sometimes a good simple love story is what I need.  Just two young adults who like each other and fall in love simply and slowly.  How romantic is that in a world where so much is going on on a daily basis!  Don't you love to just get into a good romance and sigh when he brings his lips to brush against hers softly, but doesn't deepen it?  How just a simple touch can explain everything that words cannot?

I am so happy that there are so many options for young adults to read.  And I'm glad that I'm an adult that adores young adult titles.  Some people don't understand that titles really mean nothing and if it's a good story, anyone can enjoy it.  I get a bit peeved when adults say they won't read young adult books because it's beneath them.  Some of these books are written so perfectly that they are missing out on a tightly written story!

Dystopian is another genre that is booming and some of the dystopians out there are simply amazing.  The Hunger Games serier, The Gone Series, Chaos Walking Series, these are all brilliantly realized stories that pull you into a world that you want to know about, but can't wait to get out of.

So many choices, not enough time! :)