What's Left of Me (Kat Zhang)

****

         In an alternate reality, babies are born with two souls inside of them.  As children, the two identities take turns controlling their body.  Eventually, they "settle" - the dominant soul takes control of the body, while the other one fades away.
         Eva and Addie have spent the past three years pretending that they have settled.  It's not too hard; Eva has lost control of their body, so Addie's act is very convincing.  But Eva is still there, and she can't help but wish that she had some power over their life.  When a classmate offers a way for Eva to move again, the girls take it, even though it means risking discovery in a society where hybrid souls are seen as a threat.  

         I really enjoyed this book!  The concept was super cool and seemed fresh in the world of dystopian future.  Addie and Eva were interesting, well developed characters.  I especially liked Eva for her strength despite her limitations, and for her strong desire to experience the world in a way she hadn't been able to do since she was little.  Can't wait for the sequel!

Rating: 4/5

Completed: July 22, 2013

BookWatch: Allegiant (Veronica Roth)

         Most people familiar with the world of YA books are probably also familiar with the dystopian future trend that's been big for the past few years.  One of the most exciting dystopian series, in my opinion, comes from Chicago writer Veronica Roth ...
         That's right - the Divergent trilogy.
         It is now officially freak-out time, because the third and final book in the series, Allegiant, comes out on October 22 (nine days from today).

         I, for one, can't wait to find out what happens to Tris et al, even if I was a bit annoyed with her in Insurgent.  Hopefully I'll have some time to skim through the books and remind myself of the finer plot points.  And, more importantly, fingers crossed that I don't have too much homework the week the book is released!

Prodigy (Marie Lu)

****

Sequel to Legend - watch out for spoilers . . .

         June and Day have finally made it to Vegas, where they hope they can get the Patriots to give Day the medical attention he needs.  Shortly after their arrival, something completely shocking happens: Primo Elector dies and is replaced by his son.  Nobody seems to know what to think of their new leader, except for the Patriots.  When June and Day ask for help, a trade is proposed.  If the pair will join the Patriots, Day will be taken care of.  They agree without thinking about it, but once the Patriots unveil their plan for the new recruits, June starts to regret her decision.  She doesn't believe in the mission she's been tasked with, and can't help but question where her loyalty lies.  With Day?  The Patriots?  The government that destroyed her family?  Or something else entirely?

         It's been a while since I read this book, and I'm struggling to remember what I thought of it.  I do know that I liked the continuation of the plot line.  I also think Lu handled the characters very well.  It doesn't seem like it, but Legend covers a pretty short time span.  By the end of that book, it feels like the characters have completely changed.  When you think about it, though, it's not realistic for such thorough changes to happen so quickly.  I thought it made sense that June would question her loyalties and that Day would feel the class differences between himself and June in Prodigy.  This was a suspenseful sequel with a cliff hanger ending, and there will definitely be a third book on its way soon.  I'm looking forward to finding out what will happen next and having some of my questions answered.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: March 14, 2013

Prized (Caragh M. O'Brien)

****

Sequel to Birthmarked

         Gaia Stone managed to escape from the Enclave with her baby sister, but that doesn't mean they're safe.  After a short time in the Wasteland, newborn Maya is weak and sick.  Gaia is relieved when a young man arrives and takes her to his home, a community called Sylum.  When they arrive, the powerful matriarch takes Maya away to be raised by another family.  If Gaia wants to see her sister again, she has to play by the matriarch's rules and gain her trust.  That means treating men as inferior and avoiding physical contact with them.  Just when Gaia is making headway with the matriarch, someone unexpected reappears in her life and she is forced to question everything about the life she's making for herself.

         One thing I really like about this series is Gaia's moral strength.  She faces a lot of conflicting ideas about what is right and what is wrong, especially when her survival relies on her ability to live by somebody else's beliefs.  At first, Gaia has a hard time figuring out whether the Enclave's system or Sylum's system is better.  Both societies had convincing arguments, but in the end Gaia was able to come to her own conclusions regarding fair treatment.  I think it's a pretty admirable when someone risks everything because it's the right thing to do, and Gaia is more likable because of it.  This was a good addition to the series, and I'll definitely be reading the next one when it comes out.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: July 28, 2012

Yesterday I got all of my wisdom teeth extracted.  I have a slight case of dentist phobia, probably because of a dentist who pulled about half of my teeth thinking it would prevent me from needing braces.  (He was wrong).  Anyway, I was pretty freaked out by the whole thing.  They had loads of trouble finding a vein for the IV, so they stabbed me five times.  Once I came to, I was apparently delirious.  I hate the feeling of having no control of what I say or do, especially when I'm not going to remember it afterwards.  I hear some people actually like this drugged state, though.  Now my cheeks are all swollen and I hardly have an appetite.  I suppose the pain could be a lot worse, though.  What about you?  Have any dental/wisdom tooth stories to share?  Even though the dentist has nothing to do with books, let's hear about it!

Birthmarked (Caragh M. O'Brien)

****

         Each month, teenage midwife Gaia Stone is required to separate three newborns from their mothers and advance them to the Enclave, a privileged society inside of a wall.  Gaia believes that she is giving the infants a better life, even if it causes grief to the families they leave behind.  She doesn't question her duty to the Enclave until her parents are arrested after years of service, leaving behind a long ribbon with a secret code written on it.  Despite the risks, Gaia is determined to get into the Enclave to rescue her parents.  She quickly discovers that life in the Enclave isn't as good as it appeared from the outside, and the problems they face make her own knowledge essential to their survival.

       Birthmarked was a really good, fast-paced read.  The main characters were developed well - Gaia, for instance, was not a perfect person, but she had a really good heart and was easy to care about.  Both Gaia and Leon (an officer for the Enclave) had strong identities rooted in their childhoods, and you could see how that shaped the way they saw their society.  The concept of an inbred society was interesting as well . . . kind of made me think of AP Modern Euro, though.  It was cool/freaky to see how the Enclave tried to deal with this issue, and also how outsiders like Gaia reacted to it.  More importantly, Birthmarked totally sucked me in.  It was exciting enough to give me the chills and make me want to stay up all night reading.  Anyone who likes dystopian future should read this book.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: July 5, 2012

Insurgent (Veronica Roth)

****

         Sequel to Divergent.  Mini-spoiler alert!

         The Erudite have taken out Abnegation power using advanced simulation technology. They're not done yet, though - they won't be satisfied until they find a way to control the Divergent.  This is bad for Tris and Tobias, who decide to take refuge at Amity headquarters.  It's not in their nature to hide, however, and it isn't long before they go back to the city and the heart of Erudite territory.  There they see that the faction system is deteriorating and a new order is rising up to fill its place.  In this dangerous world, Tris struggles to reconcile her instinct to protect herself with her need to do the right thing - even if it means sacrificing her own safety to keep others alive.

         I really enjoyed this installment of Veronica Roth's series.  Though I liked Divergent just a teensy bit better (probably because there was more action of the purposeful variety), Insurgent had some exciting plot twists.  The ending really left me hanging . . . can't wait till the next book comes out!  Definitely worth reading.

Rating: 4.5/5

Completed: May 14, 2012

How I Live Now (Meg Rosoff)

***

         Daisy's father and loathsome stepmother have sent her to live with her Aunt Penn and cousins (Osbert, Isaac, Edmond, and Piper) in the English countryside.  She quickly adapts to life with her strange relatives, who feel more like family than Daisy's own father does.  In an unfortunate turn of events, war breaks out when Aunt Penn is abroad.  The cousins are on their own as violence and fear are spreading like the plague.  Together, they try to survive as the war gets worse and an unorthodox romance blossoms.  But when Daisy and Piper are separated from the boys, it seems like their chances of survival are slim to none.  

         

         Nearly two weeks after reading this book, my thoughts on it have changed slightly.  I was driven to give it three stars based on the punctuation (or lack thereof), which was hard to work with.  At first I read the text as written, but I quickly realized that was a bad approach.  The reader has to insert their own punctuation and read in a slow, poetic way.  On the whole, though, I found How I Live Now to be strangely addictive, and I ended up getting very little work done while I had the book within arm's reach.  For those who don't have patience for odd and unique styles of writing, it's probably not a good choice.  Having put a little distance between myself and How I Live Now, it might be closer to a four-star rating.   

Rating: 3/5

Completed: March 14, 2012

Legend (Marie Lu)

****

         June Iparis is an extremely talented student being trained to fight in the Republic military.  When her brother is killed on patrol at a local hospital, June is recruited to track down his killer.  The prime suspect?  Day, a teenaged criminal mastermind whose work has been an embarrassment for the Republic over the past several years.  Right now, though, all Day really cares about is saving his family.  June eventually goes out onto the field to find arrest Day, but what she learns there forces her to question every belief she ever had about her beloved Republic.  And once she starts to pursue answers, June realizes that the Republic has lied to her from the start.
      
         I really loved reading Legend!  It was a great, fast-paced dystopian novel that I finished pretty quickly.  Although the basic conflicts in Legend have been covered before (i.e., Good Girl Falls for Bad Boy) Marie Lu managed to make her story stand out.  The characters are well-developed and have great personalities.  You also get to see the world from the points of view of both June and Day.  The print helpfully switches from black to gold when the story changes perspective.  June and Day are very likable (and also very human), and you will be keeping your fingers crossed when all odds are against them.  Legend is another great choice for fans of dystopian books like The Hunger Games.


Rating: 4/5
Completed: March 10, 2012

A Million Suns (Beth Revis)

****

Sequel to Across the Universe

         It has been three months since Amy woke up and almost died in the cargo hold of the spaceship, Godspeed.  In that time, she met a boy named Elder, stopped other "frozens" from being killed, and created a revolution on the ship.  Now, she's trying to keep her head down in a place where nearly everybody hates her.  Amy wishes she could go back to her old life - or at least wake up her parents, who are still cryogenically frozen - but she can't.  Her only hope is to figure out why Godspeed isn't approaching its final destination.  Meanwhile, Elder is leading the ship, but things aren't going half as well as he had hoped.  Amy is about to give up when she discovers a series of clues that promise to solve all of her problems.  As things on Godspeed spiral out of control, it is up to Amy to find a way off of the ship before everything collapses.

         A Million Suns was a satisfying sequel to Across the Universe.  I was a little worried that round two wouldn't be as good as round one, but luckily Beth Revis succeeded in writing another really good book.
The plot was interesting, and there were twists that I definitely did not expect.  Revis did a particularly good job of hiding the outcome - I had my guesses, but it wasn't so predictable that I could guess correctly.  The unpredictability made A Million Suns an enjoyable read for me.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: January 28, 2012

Divergent (Veronica Roth)

*****

         In dystopian Chicago, Beatrice Prior is about to make a decision that will determine her future.  Every year, all of the sixteen-year-olds in the city must choose the faction that they wish to join.  Though most teens stick with the faction they were born into, some decide to join one of the other factions. To help decide their fate, Beatrice and her peers take an aptitude test that tells them the faction to which they are best suited.  The catch?  Beatrice's test is inconclusive, an outcome that is more dangerous than she might have guessed.  Now she has to choose her future faction on her own - and figure out how to hide the fact that she is Divergent.  

         

         This book was amazing!  I had heard great things about it, but I never guessed it would be this awesome.  It was fast-paced and full of action.  I read in all my free time and late into the night, always thinking "just one more page".  Roth gave just enough information that I could guess at what would happen next, but always added some unexpected element.  The characters were diverse and real.  I really connected to Beatrice - every time her adrenaline spiked, I could feel my heart pounding.  The whole book was fantastic and captivating.  It's a little early in the year to be saying this, but this will probably be one of the best books I read in 2012.  Divergent deserves a full five stars, and I can't wait until Insurgent is released!


Rating: 5/5
Completed: January 22, 2012