*dusts of blog*
Hey there readers! Today's book review is on a series I love (and it's also a NYT best selling series that's getting made into a movie!)
I first started this series back in 2011 when book 1, DIVERGENT, was released. I can't remember if my sister suggested I read it or if I saw an early review of it on EW's Shelf Life but for whatever reason I decided to give it a go. I was hooked from the first sentence. Veronica Roth immediately takes readers into this dystopian world with her opening scene of our MC Beatrice looking into a mirror and getting her hair cut (something she's only allowed to do once a year). Right away I was interested. Why does Beatrice never get to look in a mirror? Why does she only get to do it once a year when she gets a hair cut? Those questions led me to keep reading and now, two years later, here I am having just finished ALLEGIANT and having SO MANY EMOTIONS! There's an indescribable feeling you get when you stick with a series and read each book as it's released. Two years is a long time to invest and when the payoff is as great as it is with the DIVERGENT series, it's well worth it.
Beatrice is a remarkably relatable character whose arc over the three books is tremendous. She starts out as a regular girl who wants to please her parents but recognizes something in herself that wants more. In a very brave move for such a restricting world, she goes against what's expected of her and makes a decision that shapes the rest of her life. The world of DIVERGENT is expertly written and described with vivid imagery and realistic dialogue and relationships. Secondary character leave a lasting impact as well as drive the plot forward. The romantic relationship between Beatrice (Tris) and Tobias (Four) is one that feels real and sweet. It never tries to be more than it should and it always stays true to the type of romance that fits the world the characters live in as well as the situations they are put in.
Let me tell you a little bit about that world and those situations...
Where Tris lives is in a city that is divided into five factions: dauntless, candor, abnegation, amity, and erudite. Each faction represents a specific virtue--bravery, honesty, selflessness, peacefulness, and intelligence. Each child is raised in their parent's faction (you marry within a faction) but on their sixteenth birthday, the child takes a test that determines which faction best suites them. The child can either choose that faction or stick with the one they were raised in. Tris and her brother both leave their parent's faction with Tris choosing dauntless and Caleb choosing erudite. But Tris quickly learns a secret about herself--she's divergent, meaning she actually falls into more than one faction. The system considers divergents dangerous and has been killing them for years. Tris's discovery of this sets the stage for everything that follows in each book. Since divergents are somewhat easy to spot, Tris has to try extra hard to not only survive being a dauntless but also to hide her secret. Meanwhile, the leaders of the society are doing all they can to keep the faction system running smoothly while flushing out the divergents, something that causes tension and fear in a world where so many people won't stand up to authority. Tris and Four get caught up rebellion after rebellion where they loose people they love, are betrayed by people they thought they could trust, and are tested by those they are supposed to follow. In the end, Tris and Four learn why their society is the way it is and how it came to exist. And just when they think they are finally free of all the things and people that have tried to destroy them, one final decision made by Tris will change everything.
**I can't recommend this series enough! Add these books to you to-read list immediately and get prepared for the first movie to arrive in theaters next year. I, for one, can't wait!1
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I started reading this series right from the get-go. My library ordered the first book, Wither, not long after it was published and I got my name on the hold list right away. I'm pretty sure I tore through it in like 2 days! And as soon as Fever and Sever came out, I tore through those too! Here's my summary of the three:
16-year-old Rhine and her twin brother Rowan live in a world where orphans are the norm, young girls are sold to polygamous husbands, and poverty and crime are at an all time high. Why? Because years ago scientists tried to create a perfect human race and instead doomed the world with a deadly virus that kills females at the age of 20 and males at the age of 25. When Rhine answers an ad thinking it will bring her and her brother some much needed money, she has no idea she's walking into a trap. Before she knows it, she's been Gathered. She and two other girls are picked by a wealthy doctor's son. They're taken to a beautiful estate where their every need is catered to and the crumbling world around them fades away. Rhine becomes and bride to Linden and a sister-wife to Jenna and Cecily while Linden's first love, Rose slowly fades away from the virus. But nothing is as perfect as it seems in Rhine's new world. Linden's father hoards corpses to study and encourages the girls to get pregnant--all so he can find a cure to the virus. Rhine wants nothing more than to escape her beautiful prison and get back to her twin brother. When she meets a servant, Gabriel, who also dreams of freedom, the two hatch a plan to do just that. The question isn't whether or not they make it but what awaits them in the world when they do.
Now that Rhine and Gabriel have escaped, they try desperately to get to Rowan and start a new life. But instead they end up captured by the leader of a cruel brothel. Madame wants them for herself--to be the stars of her awful carnival and she doesn't plan to let them go. Amid slave children and the haze of drugs slipped to them unknowingly, Rhine and Gabriel lose precious months of their lives performing shows and being trapped by yet another crazy captor. But Rhine won't give up her dream of getting home so easily. With a little help from some kind carnival friends, Rhine manages to get her and Gabriel out. But she isn't as free as she thought. She's sick and the only explanation for why is one that comes to her when she's about to die--it's her father-in-law, Housemaster Vaughn's fault. The next thing she knows, Rhine is back at the estate and in the basement--the place where Vaughn does his corpse studying--the place where those who enter never come back from. And Rhine would know, she's seen it happen.
With Linden and Cecily's help, Rhine manages to get away from Housemaster Vaughn. She still needs to find her brother and now Gabriel too. Linden gets her to his uncle's house and the two finally come to terms with all that has happened to Rhine and who Vaughn really is. But Vaughn isn't ready to give up on his son and daughter's-in-law just yet. When Rhine learns how to get to her brother, who is now an extremist against finding the cure, she jumps at the chance. But in the process she learns just how far Vaughn's web of deceit and betrayal and control spans. There's more to Rhine and Rowan than Rhine ever knew and it all goes back to their geneticist parents and their Chemical Garden project. So does Rhine ever get the life of freedom she wants? Does she find Gabriel? The question of who will survive and who won't and whether or not a cure can ever be found is all answered in this breathtaking final installment.
**All in all, I really loved these books. Rhine was such an easy character to listen to and get to know. I enjoyed all the sister-wives and Linden and found that every character, no matter how minor, was well drawn and interesting. DeStefano's writing was wonderful and really drew me in and kept me reading. At times I'd find myself re-reading lines and smiling at how profound they were. While some parts dragged out more than others in books two and three, overall the plot was well-done. My only complaint is small--I would've liked to know more about the science of Rhine and Rowan's parent's work and what exactly made the twins so special. But I don't really think that was important to the overall story that DeStefano was trying to tell. She wanted to tell a story of love against all odds and how we can love different people in different ways. She wanted to paint a picture of hope amidst a world falling apart. And she wanted us to question what evil really was--those who played God and caused death? Those who killed in order to cure? Or those who enslaved to get back what they lost?
Thanks for reading! I'll have another review for you soon. Feel free to comment below.
I've been wanting to read this book for a while now. I kept hoping my library would order it because let's face it, if I bought every book I wanted to read I would need 2 jobs to pay for them! Finally I just requested it to be ordered. My library is so amazing and every time I ask for a book, they always get it for me. It took some time but it came in the other day. And I read it that same day! Obviously, I loved it! Here's my summary:
America Singer is a #5. In this country (Illea-a future version of the U.S.) that means she's one of the lower castes. (There are 8 castes) Her and her family are all different types of artists and they struggle to make ends meet. America is in love with Aspen, a #6, and this is not a good thing. It would mean an even greater hardship for her if they were to ever get married. When America's family receives news of the Selection in the mail they are overjoyed. But America isn't. The Selection is a contest where 35 girls are chosen to compete for Prince Maxon's hand in marriage. America doesn't want to be a princess or live in the castle and she certainly doesn't want to be married to Prince Maxon. She doesn't care about anything except for being with Aspen. But Aspen wants a good life for America and insists she at least sign up. America finally agrees. At least this way she can say to him and her family that she tried. But then suddenly Aspen ends things with America and the worst happens--America is chosen as one of the 35! Overnight her world changes. She has to leave everything behind for a life of fancy gowns and yummy food and being waited on hand and foot in the castle. But at least her family gets paid handsomely for it. America expects to hate Prince Maxon--after all, it's his fault she's trapped there. But instead she finds he's not so bad. They become friends and when Maxon learns America's heart is elsewhere, he agrees to keep her on to help her family and prolong her return home where Aspen has already moved on. But life at the castle isn't all it's cracked up to be. Rebels threaten everyone's lives and some of the girls will stop at nothing to be the next princess. America must learn who to trust, how to stay alive, and more importantly, who it is she wants to be with.
**Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. I love Cinderella-esque stories and The Selection did not disappoint. The description of the United States America lives in and the life she has as well as the life she gets thrown into is well done and interesting. America's family is relatable--her mom the typical lives-vicariously-through-her-daughter type and her dad the pushover. I felt like the love between America and Aspen was real and very much that of an overwhelming first-love. And Prince Maxon was more than I at first thought. He turned out to be a real charmer and viable love interest for America. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book, The Elite. (I am about to fill out the card for my library to order it right now!)
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Yay! I finally finished reading the second book in Marie Lu's LEGEND trilogy! I read Legend right when it came out last year and absolutely loved it! In February I attended the "Breathless Reads" book tour. It had a stop at Book People in Austin and the lovely Marie Lu, Andrea Cremer, Jessica Khoury, and Brenna Yovanoff were all there. Lu talked about her sequel to Legend, Prodigy, and how hard it was for her to write and how much pressure she felt to do it justice. Well let me tell you, she delivered! Prodigy had all the high stakes, action, and romance as Legend did and then some. Here's my summary and following thoughts on both books:
The United States is no more. Floods, disease and war have torn the country apart, dividing it into two sides: the west, or the Republic, and the east, the Colonies. June is a fifteen-year-old prodigy born into a wealthy family and being groomed into the highest of military ranks. While plagues run rampant and the low class fight to survive, June has everything she could want. Day, a fifteen-year-old boy from the slums, is just the opposite. His little brother is sick, his family has no food or money, and Day does everything he can, including break the law, to fight for their survival. Because of this, he is the Republic's most wanted criminal. When June gets the chance to prove herself to her country and take down Day, she jumps at the opportunity. Going undercover, she passes herself off as another one of the slum's kids. She meets Day and slowly gains his trust--but in the process learns there is much more to Day than she realized. His reasons for being a criminal are just. Suddenly June doesn't know how she feels anymore. What's right and what's wrong. Does she follow her heart or the law? June's shocking decision and the repercussions will shock readers with it's climatic and stunning ending.
**From the second I opened this book I was swept away. June's methodical way of thinking and reasoning for everything she does was fascinating Day's fight for what his family needs as well as justice was somehow extremely relatable. When the two meet, you could feel their connection. You understood everything June was going through--her sense of duty and loyalty, as misplaced as it may be, was understandable. But June had something the Republic didn't think of: a heart. She fell hard and fast for Day and he the same. The action kept me turning the pages and the shocking ending left me hungry for the next installment.
Prodigy picks up where Legend left off. Day and June are dealing with the consequences of the decisions they recently made. A rift slowly forms between them as a rebel group, the Patriots, enlists their help to assassinate the new Elector (kind of like the President). They agree to help believing it will bring about a radical change in the Republic. Day is the one who's tapped to pull the trigger. He's the face of the rebellion the people are slowly starting. He has the crowds support and loyalty. June is supposed to get close to the Elector, draw him in to the Patriots line of fire. But then something unexpected happens. June gets to know the Elector and realizes that he's not the enemy--the Congress that hides behind him is. Elector Anden wants a radical change in the Republic just as much as June and Day do. He wants June to convince Day to help him win the support of the people. June and Day successfully manage to foil the assassination attempt and escape into the Colonies, the place they always believed would be the answer to all their troubles. But even the Colonies aren't all they seem. So when an old friend convinces them to return and help Anden, Day and June agree. It works. Day convinces the crowd to support Anden and he and June finally get to start a new life. But then Day receives some shocking news--so shocking that it changes everything, including his desire for a future with June.
**Rarely do sequels live up to their predecessors That was not the case with Prodigy. I loved this book from page one and finished it in about 2 days. June and Day dealt with so much and never seemed to catch a break. All they wanted was what so many of us want--a chance. To live safely, to not have the people we love ripped away from us, and to not have to worry about the future. Their fight was huge and the stakes were high. I loved the character of Anden and what he stood for. He didn't want to be like his dad, the late Elector. And June didn't want to be like the rest of the elite. She wanted to make changes and use her unique skills to accomplish all that. And despite their differences and all the obstacles they had to face, I loved how Day and June held strong to how they felt. It was real. I can't wait for the final installment in the LEGEND trilogy, Champion. It comes out in November.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my review. Feel free to comment below.
