Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

“I've been screaming for years and no one has ever heard me.” 

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, 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, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors 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’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

I've got a message for our heroine: Juliette, you're a pretty cool person. You believe that you're going to be devoid of human contact for the rest of your life and will most likely be eternally held in a cell against your will and somehow, you're not having a mental breakdown. So props to you, Juliette.

Okay, in the book, we get to see some of Juliette's more hidden thoughts using strikethroughs. They're used, well, just like this. I loved the effect they had with the writing. I don't think Shatter Me would have been the same without them.

Plotwise, I was lost—but in a good way. (I hope that makes sense to someone besides me.) Usually, I go into a book knowing what the bulk of the story is going to be about:

This book is going to be about 24 kids fighting to the death.
This book is going to be about a young boy going to a school for wizards.
This book is going to be about a teenage girl dating a vampire.

But with Shatter Me, every time I thought I knew what the characters were going to do for the rest of the book—gotcha—there was a twist to uproot them and move the location somewhere else entirely.

And while I won't spoil anything, be sure to look out for Kenji—who now holds the record for being one of my favorite secondary characters ever. Every good story needs that bit of humor for the tough times and he, much to my joy, brought more than his fair share.

Maybe this is just me, but I can't really seem to find a series where the main character doesn't get into a relationship with their soulmate by the end of the first book. Sure, I love seeing my beloved characters happy as much as the next book-obsessed girl, but I don't like it to be able to predict it. Also, it leaves me scared to pick up the sequel because I know something horrible is going to have to happen between them to make their relationship still interesting and relevant in books to come.

My other problem was the writing style—the author has a very poetic one, which isn't a bad thing. Some of it I loved:

“My life is four walls of missed opportunities poured in concrete molds.”  

But some I wasn't too crazy about:

“I'm wearing dead cotton on my limbs and a blush of roses on my face.”

Some people completely rave about her style, but some of it just wasn't for me.

I got a  kick out of Juliette's story, I'm crossing my fingers that this couple will break YA tradition and stay together throughout the series, and Unravel Me has officially been added to my TBR list: Let the wait begin.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

[Insurgent is the sequel to Divergent, so it is suggested that you read Divergent before reading this review so nothing is spoiled for you!]

"Part of me wishes I could burn them from my mind, so I would never have to mourn for them. But the rest of me is afraid of who I would be without them."

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.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

If you've discussed Divergent with me, you're probably very tired of hearing me sing its praises. (Especially since my singing voice is something you get tired of very fast.) But in case you didn't know, I adored Divergent, and I'd been very eagerly awaiting its sequel.

Oh, Veronica Roth. She sure can write a story.

First off, I have to say that this book has a completely different tone than Divergent. I've found that's usually the case with books that are in a series, though, and especially with books that are in trilogies. Insurgent launches straight into the story and picks up—literally—right where its predecessor left off. Seriously, if these two books had been grafted together into some monstrous (but extremely engrossing) Franken-novel, I would never have guessed where they were supposed to be split.

Okay, character-wise, I was pretty pleased with this book. In the first book, I was completely taken aback by Tris and how she didn't follow the usual YA girl stupidity pattern (that I've mentioned before). In this book, I sometimes thought she was making a generally reckless choice, but here's the thing:

1. She thought each of those decisions was a good idea at the time
2. She was making those choices because of recent events that tied into the plot (yay plot!)
3. And (the clincher!) she learned from her choices and became a better person

So hurrah for character development! 


In other news, I'm glad that Four got a little more fleshed out, because I think he needed it. Still, I don't really think much of him as character, which is odd since he's one of the central ones.

Okay, something I love right here: I am absolutely fascinated with the simulations in the story. They are just about the coolest things ever! I love how they're used in all different ways: by the Dauntless for training and as a layer of security for Erudite, for example.

As bad as it sounds, my favorite part of the book was the ending. Everything got so exciting and I just couldn't flip pages fast enough. I'm actually really satisfied with how it ended and I'll definitely be reading Divergent #3.

All right, if there's one thing I want to stress, it's this: you better have Divergent fresh on your mind.

There were a few months and a couple dozen other books between when I read Book #1 and Book #2, and while I usually can remember books to a T, I blanked on this one.

This was a huge reason I wasn't enjoying the book. I didn't remember most of the characters by name or how the factions specifically worked, or where exactly the plot was left in the last book. It's my fault I didn't re-read Divergent first, because I know I would've liked this one more if I'd read the books back to back. Veronica Roth didn't write it in a way that helped you remember what had happened before, which isn't a bad thing, but in my case, I just kept getting confused: 

Is Christina that girl she used to know from Abnegation? Nope.
Isn't Johanna from The Hunger Games? Yes, but also no.
I don't think that kid's name was Edward in book 1. Um, no, it definitely was.

The list goes on and on.

My other complaint was that it took it's time getting started. I read another review with the same opinion, so it's not just me. I really didn't get into until about two hundred pages. Also, whereas in Divergent, I didn't have a problem with the length, I think this one could've been condensed a lot and it wouldn't have hurt the story.

If you enjoyed Divergent, and your memory doesn't fail you like mine failed me, I think you're guaranteed to like this one as well. And if you haven't read Divergent yet, you better get to it before I start singing.

(By the way, thanks for hanging in through this insanely long review. I could have written a review to rival Insurgent's length with all my thoughts, so be grateful for my summarizing skills!)

Read other reviews for Insurgent here:

Justin's Book Blog and Book Hooked Blog

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

"But things don't just fall apart. People break them."

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up.  When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love.  When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark. 

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead.  His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer. Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. 

The title really jumped out to me. Just enough vague creepiness in it to interest me, I guess. And now that I've read it, I don't think the author could have picked a better name for the book.

I'll probably sound clichéd saying this—I know I've heard it myself numerous times—but this was a book that had my full attention from the very first sentence. I don't think there's any other reaction when you're started off with a book like this:

"I should probably start with the blood."

 Possibly my favorite opening line—ever. It definitely started the book off with the creepiness I was looking for. And the book keeps the horrific aspect up throughout the story; not through means of ghosts or other haunting creatures, but through real life horrors: death, betrayal, distrust, loss. This isn't any old lighthearted read.

The Book of Blood and Shadow1 has a good deal of history woven into the plot, and unlike most of the stuff I learn in school, these are really interesting topics. The Voynich Manuscript for one: a book completely written in unknown language and script that not a single expert in dozens of years of trying has been able to crack. I actually stopped reading the book at parts so I could google things brought up in the story.

I have to comment on the characters, too—because this is an intensely complex cast we're given. I can't remember the last time I judged a character from the first scene they appeared in, and didn't have them follow my expectations for them the rest of the book. Max, Adriane, Chris, Eli: I never knew who was out to get Nora and who was watching her back. It was insanely infuriating, and, I would suspect, completely the reaction the author was looking for. You're along with Nora for the ride; and you're freakishly paranoid that everyone is out to get you right along with her.

But don't take this review to mean it's all drama and paranoia. Because this book falls into multiple categories, dipping into both action and adventure, a healthy dose of comedy and a romantic aspect that isn't sappy, but as much of a mystery as the rest of the book. It's got intrigue; it's got history. There's literally something in it for everyone.

I don't think the length fit the book. Which isn't the same as disliking when books are long, because a good portion of my favorite books are those five-hundred page (and up) mammoths, as my poor bookshelf would tell you. I just felt that, for this book specifically, it would've been better if it had lost a couple of pages.

There was always stuff going on, so it's not that it got boring, but it got to the point where I was ready for answers. I was ready for the plot to reach its climax, for the characters to make it to the grand finale...and I still had had over two-hundred pages to go. So it wasn't that I got bored as much as that I got impatient for the conclusion and to see how it would all work out in the end.

Read this book if you've got a long afternoon ahead of you and you need something that's going to keep you busy. Read it if you're one of those historical fanatics that loves seeing the past incorporated into the present. Read it if you want to be transported to a whole new situation, or if you're dying for some fiction with a good amount of kidnapping, life-threatening situations, murders, and kick-ass ninja skills. I could go on listing the reasons, but I think it's safe to just say that this is a book that should be added to your TBR list, and one you probably won't forget.

Read more reviews for The Book of Blood and Shadow at:

Wear The Old Coat and Tales of the Inner Book Fanatic

Cycles by Lois D. Brown

"Enjoy mortality. It's what makes life precious."

She remembers things that never happened,
She's a stranger in her own home.
She always knew she was different.
She just didn't know why.
Until now.


Renee Beaumont is about to die...again.

I was lucky enough to receive an e-book copy from the author. I loved the summary right away: it's short, interested me from the first line, and ended in a way that guaranteed I was going to read it.

This book totally blew my expectations out of the water.

I have read a lot of YA books, and within those books, a good portion were paranormal. I have read every kind of plot line, from vampires to werewolves, from fairies to half-bloods. Also, I've become insanely good at guessing between which paranormal branch a story is written about. (Flighty thoughts? Fairy. Unexplained animal damage and missing memory? Werewolf.) I think after a certain number of books, it's easy to assume you're going to be able to predict what's going to happen.

Cycles was different; I had no idea what was going on. I didn't have a single prediction for what was going to be uncovered in the end. There was all these unexplained problems and none of my old plot lines helped because this book totally traveled off the beaten path.

This was the first book I'd read in a long, long time when I didn't automatically know whether a character was to be trusted or not. It was really cool to be along for the mystery, just like the characters, instead of being like an outsider, knowing what was going to happen and just waiting to get there.

Sam, Renee's friend, was quirky, and I liked how he wasn't immune to pretty girls. Some books have the main guy character totally and completely hung up over the main girl character, and it's not really realistic. There's little flashbacks throughout the book to pages from a journal belonging to a Helen. I really liked the entries; they added to the mystery and created one more piece to the puzzle to fit together.

I would've liked to have seen more detail to the writing: descriptions of places visited and of the character's appearances. That being said, I also understand that the target audience for Cycles is 12-15 year olds, so I think the more brief kind-of style probably fits it better than a novel that's always going into detail. That's just a personal preference of mine.

Another thing I would've like to see was a cameo from one of Sam's siblings; I've read very few books where a main character has a sibling, much less multiple. (Or seven, in Sam's case.) I think you can tell a lot about a character by the way they interact with their siblings. And since there's eight kids altogether, I would think a scene at Sam's house with all of them has the potential to be very interesting.

I definitely enjoyed this book: get it! I'll be looking out for the sequel. I can't wait to see what happens next in the series.

Read another review for Cycles at:

Livin' Life Through Books

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

"I always knew I was an excellent liar; I just didn't know that I had it in me to fool myself."

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. 


Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

My rating:

I picked it up because:
There was a good amount of buzz surrounding this book, and I'd seen lots of good reviews for it, so I decided to give it a try. I hadn't even read a summary before I picked it up, which is a first for me, so I was thrown into the plot of this book all at once.

What I liked:
I love the way that Wither is written. Usually, for me, descriptions of landscapes or a room's decor get boring for me and have me skimming through paragraphs. That, or there's no description at all--a streamlined way of writing. Wither has a nice balance to it. I had such vivid images of the places described, like I explored every room with Rhine and the other characters, but I was never bored of descriptions--they were always woven into the story, never an awkward block of text trying to describe everything the author imagined.

What I loved so much about this book is that I never had to fill in the lines--when someone was in pain or excited or otherwise, it was in the book. In other books I've read, the plot is so closely tied to our main character that all we see of others is when someone else is relevant to what's happening to the main character. It was different with Rhine, though. She was, like a real person, just one of many people with many feelings and internal conflict and things happening in her life. Though it's from Rhine point of view, you see so much of other people's lives and emotions, and they're all so real--not cardboard fill-ins of what a good character should say or do, but real, opinionated, complex characters.

The last thing I want to mention is the relationships Rhine forms. They're not black and white--complex characters can only form complex relationships--and you never know quite how to characters stood, but they're genuine; relatable. It's not assumed that she cares for the people she does; you can tell her feelings are real. She cries for her friends, laughs with them, gets angry for them when someone or something wrongs them. Her feelings are complicated, like all feelings are, and you know she really feels them--you feel them along with her.

What I didn't like:

There's a small shout-out to Gabriel in the summary above. It won't spoil anything for you when I tell you he plays the part of Rhine's love interest in the book. I have to say I adored that, while playing this fundamental part, he was not shoved in our faces, nor was Rhine's every thought is not consumed by thoughts or his luscious hair and/or gorgeous eyes like some other books. *cough cough* (Pretty much any YA book on the market.) *cough cough* On the flipside, though, I wished there had been more of him in the story. I wanted to connect with him in every way that Rhine had, but I felt like I didn't get to see enough of him.

Even that wasn't that much of a bother to me, though. The only reason I didn't give Wither a full five heart review was the inconsistencies in the world of Wither. Usually I try to overlook them, but I felt like a lot of my questions should've had answers hidden somewhere in the book. I won't get into them all, but one example is that while they continually speak of the poor orphans who rob and steal and do any other desperate act to sustain themselves a life, rich men have poor girls kidnapped so they may have a bride--or brides, as the case may be. It seems to me that these desperate orphans would've been grateful to marry a perfect stranger in exchange for a home and food and the luxuries of a rich life. There was never really an explanation for why this didn't happen, and other little things like this kind of stuck in my mind. Hopefully, with the sequel, all of these kind of plot holes will be covered. 


Overall:

All in all: Read it. Even if you don't like how the plot sounds, or if more dramatic books aren't your taste, give it a try. The polygamous situation Rhine enters is something that, while I've heard of, I had never really imagined what it would be like. I'd never imagined what it would be like to be kidnapped and forced to marry and have to pretend to enjoy my life because it was the only means of escape. Read it because you'll think new thoughts, experience a world you've probably never have before, and maybe, like me, you'll find a story that enchants you.


Read more reviews for Wither at:
Electrifying Reviews and Writing from the Tub

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

A quote:

“Sometimes this was just the way the game ended. Sometimes you did your best, and it all went straight to hell anyway.”

My rating:

Summary:

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.
Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

I picked it up because:
Gorgeous. Cover. It's probably in my top ten favorites for this year. It's chic and modern; elemental in its focus on the key aspects: the baby carriage, and the deadly tools hanging above it, a snip of a string away from disaster. I was interested in it from my first glance at the cover.

What I liked:
Behind every popular book is a strong, likeable, relatable, main character. Mackie is that character. From the very beginning of the book, Mackie filled his role with perfection, because he wasn't perfect--he was real. He made mistakes, tried to fit in, pretended to be stronger than he was, wondered why he was the way he was. He wasn't flawless, and he didn't pretend to be. He loved deeply and defended what he loved. Mackie, in my book, passed all tests with flying colors.
Mackie aside, the setting was my next big love. The Replacement is set in the quaint little town of Gentry, which has this peculiar mysterious vibe. It's bound all of inhabitants together in a web of secrets, and no one's telling any truths if they can help it.


What I didn't like:
Tate Stewart, who is Mackie's crush throughout the bulk of the story, is written to be one of those strong I-never-take-no-for-an-answer type of girls, the type that I always feel are the author's attempt to slowly mold the teen girl reader's mind about what the prime image of a strong and self-confident girl is like. That can get annoying, like when a book is over-plugging an environmental message or something like that. Also, Tate had some kind of relationship mood-swing disorder, which kept her attitude towards Mackie flipping between "I will never speak to you again" and "Let me rip our clothes off" as the wind blew.
My only other major complaint is that I felt like the paranormal aspect of the story was accepted too easily when presented to some characters. Like it is said in the summary, Mackie is allergic to iron, among other things. It would take a lot more than some certifiably insane-sounding story to make me accept an anomaly like that as fact.

Overall:

I liked it. Mackie, his comic-relief buddy, Roswell, and a good cast of supporting characters tell a good story, with paranormalcy, mystery, humor, and a cute romance. Don't miss it!

Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below!