Crossed
by Ally Condie
Purchased/Kindle
Genre: Dystopian
Big Themes: Escape, Survival, Freedom, Love, Trust, Poetry

*Second Book in Series–Some Minor 1st Book Spoilers*
Summary: Cassia goes out in search of Ky, who was taken by the Society.  Ky struggles to survive where the Society has placed him.  While Cassia is searching, she learns more about the Rising, the rebel force that opposes the Society.

What I Liked:
Xander: I liked that he pops up throughout the novel, and that Cassia’s feelings for him are unresolved.  I still like Xander more than Ky.  Xander is strong, quick-witted, plotting, and supposedly handsome.  I’m hoping there will be much more of him in Reached.

Seeing both Ky and Cassia’s POVs: I liked knowing where each of them was and what they were thinking.  It allowed me to better understand Ky, and while I still don’t like him as much as Xander, I understand him a little better.

The Blue Tablet Twist: I don’t want to ruin this for anyone, but I liked this little development.  I don’t know if I like how it was handled with Cassia, but see my dislikes for how all the characters are being sheltered from real threat.

The Canyon Caves: This was an interesting and unique setting.  From the cave paintings, to the hidden tunnels, to the smell of sage, this made the setting memorable.  I do wish the setting had played a more active role in the plot because I think there were more possibilities for how the setting could have presented unique challenges or how the setting could have been used against the Society.

What I Didn’t Like:
Lack of Voice: While I liked getting both Ky and Cassia’s points-of-view, more than once I found myself getting confused as to who was narrating because their voices were indistinguishable.  I’d have to flip back to the start of chapter to see whose name was there.  Ky and Cassia are such different characters.  They should have different voices.  If the author was going to introduce a new narrator in the second book, then voice is something that should have been considered and addressed.

Lack of Threat/Tension: Characters die in this book.  The threat of the Society is referred to constantly. But do we ever see a character die at the hands of the Society?  No.  Every single death happens “off-screen.”  I have a problem with that because it seems to me that the author is sheltering and protecting her characters.  As a writer myself, I understand that your characters are your babies, but they have to experience the world.  Because all the deaths in this book happened off-screen, I never felt like there was a serious threat.  I never felt tension.  Did J.K. Rowling kill Sirius, Dumbledore, Dobby, Snape “off screen”?  No.  The threat of Voldemort was real.  The danger was real.  The characters weren’t sheltered.  What the author really needs to do for Reached, is make a list of every terrible thing that could happen to the characters, and then make the characters go through all those terrible things.  It forces the characters to grow and show you what they’re made off.  It keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.  It would make Reached an epic final book in this trilogy.  But I have my doubts as to whether that’s what will happen…

My Rating: Everyone was telling me that if I didn’t liked Matched, then I really wouldn’t like Crossed because it wasn’t very exciting.  So I went into the book expecting to hate it.  I didn’t hate it.  It was kind of just the same as Matched for me.  There were some parts that were interesting.  Some things that weren’t executed well.  I’d give it three stars.  I’ll probably still read Reached to finish out the trilogy (mostly for Xander).

And I have a theory about Dystopian trilogies…  And why they are tough to pull off as trilogies… And why Dystopias work better as stand alone novels…  But I’ll save that for after my Dystopian class this summer.  🙂

Matched
by Ally Condie
Purchased/Paperback
Genre: Sci-Fi/Dystopian
Big Themes: Choice, Freedom, Government Control, Secrets, History, Poetry, Love Triangle

Summary: In a future world, the Society controls everything from how many calories you eat to who you marry.  Cassia trusts the system, until there is a mistake after her Matching ceremony, and a second boy’s face flickers on her screen as a possible Match.

What I Liked:

The World-Building was really fascinating.  This dystopian novel did some interesting things that I hadn’t seen before: the different colored tablets, the Matching system, the loss of handwriting as a skill.  Yet the author still incorporated many of the standards of dystopian fiction: the feeling of being watched constantly, the threat of government, the oppression of the masses, the protagonist’s innocence being taken, and a curiosity with history and the past.  I thought the world Condie created was exceptionally well-done, and this was by far my favorite aspect of the book.

What I Didn’t Like:

The Romance: It just didn’t make me swoon.  There was one moment where Xander helped Cassia that was memorable and made me want there to be more between the two of them.  And maybe that was my problem, I didn’t really fall for Ky at all.  Cassia fell for him hard.  But I didn’t fall with her.  And I think if you’re writing a romance between two characters, the reader should feel it too.

Pacing: The plot slows down significantly about halfway through the book.  The blurbs on the book’s cover proclaim this as the “next Hunger Games.”  Hmmm.  It’s dystopian.  There’s a love triangle.  But Hunger Games had action, quick pacing, and much higher stakes.  Matched does not compare in this way, and they are doing the book a disservice by comparing the two because readers will go in expecting a faster paced book and then be disappointed.

My Rating: Three stars, I liked it mostly for the excellent world-building.  I’ve already bought Crossed (Book 2) on my Kindle, and have started it.  So I did like it enough to do that.  And bonus points for the author because she’s a former English teacher.

Insurgent
by Veronica Roth
Purchased/Hardback
Genre: Sci-Fi Dystopian
Big Themes: War, Death, Betrayal, Love, Identity, Guilt, Prejudice

Summary: Book two begins where Divergent left off.  The factions are at war and refugees are trying to find a safe haven.  Tris deals with guilt over deaths of family and friends, while also dealing with her new fame and hero status.

What I Liked:

Tris and Four: I adore both of them.  I adore them individually, and I adore them together.  Tris is going through an internal struggle in this book, and often pushes Four away (I can’t call him Tobias… It. Doesn’t.Work.)  Four keeps showing Tris that he stands by her and cares about her, and honestly, I don’t know if I would have put up with some of the things Tris did.  Granted she just lost her parents and killed someone she didn’t want to kill, but some decisions she made caused my brain to scream a little in frustration.  But the moments that Tris and Four had together, showed how well they work together and reinforced the relationship that was established in Divergent.

The Development of the Factions: We learn a lot more in this book about Amity, Erudite, and Candor.  I thought Roth did a great job of letting us see how each faction lives and each faction’s role in the community.  I also liked how we met strong secondary characters from each faction with well-defined personalities that exemplified the mindset of each faction.  It was interesting how Roth was able to show how similar and singularly minded people of each faction are, and then Roth contrasts that nicely with how the Divergent stick out from these faction stereotypes and clearly break the mold.  The factionless were also an interesting addition and I assume they will play an even larger role in the third book.

What I Didn’t Like:

Start of Book Confusion: I read Divergent, twice mind you, in December/January.  Barely four months ago.  I really didn’t think I needed to reread the book or give myself a refresher, but MAN.  I was so confused for the first fifty pages because I did not remember secondary characters by first name.  Normally, I hate when authors do long recaps of previous books, but a few taglines to jog the memory on characters would have been helpful.  I had to keep going on Wikipedia.  I think part of my problem was we get very few physical descriptions of characters or any sort of distinctive voices for each character.  (For example, Hagrid has a clear physical description and distinctive voice, whereas Caleb… or Tori… or Marlene…)  Remembering secondary characters based on minor events and interactions is asking a lot of your reader in my opinion.

The Big End of Book Reveal (and the Lead Up): *Minor Spoiler Alert* Don’t get me wrong, I still liked this book.  But if there was one thing that annoyed the pants off me it was this: for the majority of the book, we are being told there is some secret information, that no one can reveal (even though Marcus knows it) and this information is going to change everything.  We are told over and over and over about this super secret data.  It’s super secret.  People have died for it.  No one will tell Tris.  It’s a super secret.  So Marcus, the guy who knows this super secret, ends up making Tris risk her life to get the super secret he already knows.  And then they just end up broadcasting the whole darn thing to everyone.  And the secret… wasn’t THAT big.  Here’s my problem with authors having big twists/reveals at the end of their books: in order for there to be a big payoff, you have to have laid clues and done the proper foreshadowing.  When you carefully lay clues, and then they all fit together at the twist/reveal, then the reader has a huge WOW-AHA-WHOA moment where they think you’re a genius author for how everything fits together.  (For and example of a genius reveal, think Brimstone and the teeth in Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone.) But if you just throw in a surprise, then the reader feels slightly cheated, like, “How was I supposed to guess that?  Where is this coming from?”  I don’t feel like Roth laid the proper groundwork for her big surprise.  She simply said over and over there was a secret the whole book, without dropping hints as to what it would be about, and then revealed it in the last 50 pages to create a cliffhanger ending.  So, I’m not impressed.  And this is probably why it took me over a week to write a review and compose my thoughts.

My Rating: When I read Divergent, I said I thought I liked it more than Hunger Games.  I still like Tris better than Katniss.  I still like Four better than Peeta/Gale.  I still think the factions are intriguing.  But there were elements of this book that disappointed me.  I can’t decide if this book is a 3 or 4 star…  Maybe somewhere in the middle.  I’m going to hold out on my verdict for the whole series until I read the final book, and then I’ll decide where this series stands (and whether it really is better than Hunger Games…)

Wither
by Lauren DeStefano
Purchased/Paperback
Genre: Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalyptic
Big Themes: Polygamy, Reproduction, Genetics, Virus, Social Class, Love, Escape, Death

Summary: In the future, mankind suffers from a terrible virus that kills men at age 25 and women at age 20.  Scientists are desperately seeking a cure whilst the world has been driven to poverty, kidnapping, prostitution, and lawlessness.  A girl named Rhine is kidnapped and forced into a polygamous marriage.  Rhine is showered with gifts, fine clothing, and the best food in the mansion of a wealthy mad scientist, but looks for a way to escape and return to the free world and her twin brother.

What I Liked:
Originality: This premise hasn’t been done before.  The idea of humans messing with genetics to the point where they do something drastically wrong to the genetic code (and can’t undo it) is a fascinating starting point for a science fiction story.

Gritty Beauty: The contrast between the splendor and richness of Rhine’s surroundings with the horror of the disease and state of the world was mesmerizing.  It reminded me of the gritty urban fantasy worlds of Holly Black and Cassandra Clare.  The contrast between beauty and darkness draws attention to the extremes of this post-apocalyptic world, though I’m curious to see if the author does more than just draw attention to the differences between social classes.

Characterization: I grew to love several of the characters and thought they were well-developed.  Jenna, Cecily, Dierdre, and even Linden were full and complex personalities.

What I Didn’t Like:
World-Building: If this were simply a story about a girl who is kidnapped and taken to a mansion, then I might have been satisfied with the world-building.  The mansion is a fully developed location.  But the rest of the world?  I could not buy into how the world got to be the way it is.  People dying young does not in my mind equal kidnapping, killing, and forcing girls into prostitution.  The world was described as so unsafe for girls that they weren’t even out of danger in their own locked and booby-trapped homes.  I really don’t understand how the world got to be this way.  This world is so violent against women that it seems implausible.  Especially considering the trigger is a genetic virus… Genetic Virus = Enslaving Women???

Rhine’s Conflict Resolution: I completely understand Rhine wanting her freedom back.  That is completely understandable after being kidnapped.  But I did not understand her logic of wanting to go back to the life she led before.  Cowering in the basement with dead rats in a booby-trapped home?  Not feeling safe walking anywhere because someone might pull you into a dark truck in an alley?  Yes, you have memories of family and your old life.  Yes, you have your twin brother who does what he can to protect you.  But this is no way to live.  And if she goes back, she’s just going back to living in fear and possibly being kidnapped again.

So when Rhine is at the mansion, her only plan is to escape, with no money or resources, and make her way from Florida back to Manhattan.  This plan is idiotic.  Rhine is presented as intelligent.  Her parents insisted on her being educated and she has more knowledge of the world than most other girls.  But this plan shows no indication of her intelligence.  Here are some other plans that I would have liked to see Rhine try:

• Asking Linden if he could find her twin brother, Rowan
• Revealing to Linden what a creeper his dad is
• Actually figuring out what creeper Vaughn does down in the basement
• Getting the house staff to rebel against Vaughn
• Researching hidden islands or remains of the other continents
• Asking Linden to go on a boating trip (bringing Gabriel)

There were just so many different directions that the author could have went in that would have shown more strength and intelligence on Rhine’s part.  And Linden never presented himself as an unreasonable character.  He really did love Rhine and we are led to believe that he did not know the violence that brought her here or the life he had stolen from her.  I would have liked to see Rhine at least try to reason with him.

My Rating: Only 3 stars, and I think that’s pretty generous.  The reason I’m being generous is because I’m hoping DeStefano has a plan up her sleeve for the rest of the trilogy.  If I weren’t doing this event, I’m not quite sure I’d pick up the sequel, Fever, on my own initiative.  But I already started Fever, and let’s just say I think Rhine’s total lack of planning is getting her into some pretty deep trouble.

This book review was part of the Catch Wither Fever Event.
Stay tuned for my review of the second book in the trilogy, Fever.

Anna and the French Kiss
by Stephanie Perkins
Purchased
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Big Themes: France, First Love, Film Studies, Betrayal, Family, Cancer

Summary:
Anna Oliphant is sent to an international school in Paris by her father against her will.  She misses her friends and is intimidated by everything French.  But a boy named Etienne St. Clair makes France begin to feel like home as Anna falls in love for the first time.

What I Liked:
Everyone in the blogosphere loves this book.  I’d heard enough gushing about Anna and Etienne St. Clair that I had to give it a try, despite the fact that contemporary fiction isn’t what I gravitate towards.  (I’m more of a fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction gal because I want to escape from the real world when I read.)

So I must say that this book was quite charming, and both Anna and Etienne were very likable characters.  Anna is very much a teenage girl who is just figuring out the world of boys, and her narrative definitely takes you back to your own teen years.  Her “firsts” and her confusion and the strength of her emotions are powerful.  You will feel like you are 17 again.  Etienne is equally real with his flaws as well as his endearing qualities.  The way he supports Anna and their blooming friendship will set you up to love him.

The little elements of France (famous sites, food, language) make this book unique and refreshing compared to a traditional United States contemporary high school setting.  And Anna’s passion for film and all the little film references were another fun little touch.

What I Didn’t Like:
There were parts that were predictable (Toph) and I would grow frustrated with Anna sometimes when she didn’t see things that seemed so blindingly clear.  But Anna was just 17, and an authentic teenage perspective should include mistakes.  So I should cut her some slack.

And Etienne St. Clair was a great male lead, but he didn’t quite do it for me in terms of a literary dream dude.  I kind of kept wishing he had a hobby or passion in life.  I would have loved if they developed the history/fact thing in him more because that made him really interesting.  The author defined him more through his relationships with his parents instead of his interests.  I’m getting picky here, but it’s because this book won’t be getting a perfect 5 stars and I feel the need to justify that.

My Rating:
4 stars for a well-developed and authentic contemporary teen romance