Wade lives in a "trailer stack"- literally a stack of trailers!
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a dystopian novel set in
2044. Due to global warming and
the energy crisis, industrialized nations are collapsing. People escape into the Oasis, an
immersive Internet world, where players are able to build the lives they wish
they had in reality. When the
1980’s-obsessed inventor of the Oasis dies, he leaves his fortune to the winner
of a virtual contest within the Oasis.
High school senior Wade Watts is determined to win this fortune- and the
most epic videogame of all.
I enjoyed this fast-paced read because of the incredible
world building, the 1980’s pop culture references, and the mysterious clues
within the contest. I even found
myself trying to solve the riddles along with Wade. The characters demonstrate inspiring perseverance and
sacrifice in their quest, and teenage and adult readers alike will enjoy the
game contained in this book.
For more information, check out the book's website.
So after listening to my best friend from high school gush about how excited he was to watch The Vow now that it is out on DVD, I decided to rent it this morning from Amazon. I love Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum (this friend and I have already made plans to go see Magic Mike this summer!), and I have been begging my fiance to rent it with me for awhile. The trailer made the movie out to be heartbreaking and beautiful, and I was expecting to be torn apart and refreshed like when I watched The Time Traveler's Wife or when I read The Fault in Our Stars. The Vow was certainly beautiful- I loved her sculptures, the urban background, the great costuming and make up (love Paige's wedding gown!), but it didn't make me cry- I didn't even tear up! I still think the story is beautiful and inspirational (more so because it's true), but I was expecting to be crying into my ice cream.
My favorite thing about the movie was actually really unexpected. The Vow is set in Chicago, and there are lots of city images in the movie, so I feel much better able to picture the setting of Divergent now! Paige and Leo visit the bean shaped sculpture that is near the Erudite compound, and there are trains running all over the city! I'm from DC, so I'm used to most of the trains being underground. It gave me a good background from which to view the Divergent story now.
I'm glad I watched The Vow, but I'm also glad I didn't make my fiance watch it with me. I'm still saving up credits to get him to go see Breaking Dawn part II with me this fall :)
The cover shows Rhine's beauty quickly fading as she approaches the age of 20 and death. The bird in the fancy cage represents her gilded prison.
Wither is an excellent YA novel in the dystopian genre- it's less violent than The Hunger Games, more serious than Bumped, and more glamorous than Delirium (note: I enjoyed all of those books, but hopefully that gives you a frame of reference). A 16-year-old girl named Rhine is kidnapped and forced to marry a kind but strange man because his wife and love is dying at only 20. Rhine will die at 20 also, and her new husband at 25, unless a cure is found for the "genetic virus" that kills all young people at these ages. Rhine's wedding also belongs to two other girls, one much younger and one older. This first book in the series chronicles these sister-wives as they get to know one another, their new husband, and his creepy father. They live in a beautiful mansion with lovely gardens and a fancy pool, but to Rhine it is just a prison keeping her from her beloved twin brother.
I picked this book up at the library because of lots of positive reviews- and I certainly enjoyed it. Most other dystopian fiction I have read is about people struggling to fulfill their daily needs, but Wither examines the future from a comfortable albeit restrictive sitting room. Both views are important for the whole story, but with the harsh conditions that are a reality for some of my students, I find reading about luxury to be more fun. I expect that #2, Fever (next February?), will be quite different from Wither in setting, but I hope that the romantic, feminine tone will continue at least in part.
Rhine is a beautiful character- she has two different colored eyes, and gives off an air of pride and virtue. Rhine's new husband, Linden, reminds me of Ashley Wilkes- wussy and sheltered, but his father has President Snow written all over him... CREEPER. EW. I kind of like Linden, despite his lack of a spine- perhaps it's his father's fault that he's so dependent on home. His visions of the perfect home provide a window into his grief over the loss of his first wife, Rose, and the life he wanted them to have. Gabriel is a servant in the home, and I'm never quite sure why a male servant is allowed to tend to these imprisoned wives. He's not my type, but apparently he's quite cute, so why can't he tend the gardens or the automobiles or do any job other than directly serving the wives in their rooms? That's just asking for trouble.
My favorite thing about this book is how beautiful it was- the lovely imagery, the soft language and tragic pictures of the other wives, contrasted with Rhine's anger. This beauty is bittersweet because of both the pain surrounding it and its false nature- most of it is human-controlled, hence the series name "The Chemical Garden." I'm excited for Fever and the adventure it promises. I would recommend this book to any YA reader who is aware that it's not as edgy as Divergent and The Hunger Games- Rhine is a different sort of heroine, but I'm expecting big things from her in the future!
Bumped is a hilarious, tongue in cheek dystopian novel about a pair of twin sisters living in the futuristic United States. The premise is that a virus has made everyone over 18 infertile, so teenagers are actually encouraged to "bump." Many teenagers donate their "preggs" to childless couples or pregg for people that they know, but there are actually professionals who pregg for money. Melody is one of these girls. Her adoptive parents have taken her perfect genes and given her every physical advantage, and she has signed a major contract with a wealthy couple. The only hitch is that the future parents can't seem to find the perfect male, and Melody is getting anxious. Her parents would like her to have two if not three preggs, but at this rate, she might not even have one! There's another problem: she has a complicated relationship with her best friend Zen. Of course.
To make things more interesting, Melody's twin sister, who seems to be hiding something, shows up on her doorstep to convert her. Harmony has grown up in a super-religious compound sort of society (this vaguely reminds me of the stories of teen brides in extremist Mormons). The religious aspect of the book is very weird, because it is changed from actual Christianity in some ways but not in others, which just gives it a very weird vibe. For example, there are some quoted scriptures that I look up- they are changed a little bit and taken out of context, but still reflect the original verses. It's just hard to put my finger on how I feel about this aspect.
The one complaint I had about the book was the ridiculous slang and coined terms, similar to high fantasy novels where there are 40 characters with "fantasy" names involving combinations of letters that I have never seen despite living in one of the multicultural hubs of the country. In the first three pages, we have "Mi-Net," "Tocin," "neggy," "pregg," "fertilicious," and "omnicide." You can pick up on the meanings of the words from context, but until you get used to the strange language, this book is a little hard to follow.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a lighter dystopian novel. It's a pretty fast read and definitely funny. I give it three stars. Learn more at the author's website here.
Summary from Goodreads: "In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the YA scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance."
The most amazing thing about this book is the development of Tris's character through the book. I'm feeling inspired to make a painting showing Beatrice at the beginning, wearing all gray, eyes downcast, juxtaposed with Tris at the end, full of power. I don't want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say that Tris is one of the most dynamic female characters that I have read in a long time.
Out of all of the dystopian books that I have read, this is one world that it might actually be fun to live in. I think that the ideas of different factions are interesting- which one would I chose? Would I be "divergent?" Also, from a genetics perspective, what would make people divergent? I think I would choose Erudite or Candor. Definitely not Amity or Abnegation. I'm far too independent for those factions. Although I admire the Dauntless, I would probably give up after the first physical challenge. Suffice it to say, I would not have lasted long during the Hunger Games either.
If I could change anything about this book, I would use the name Tobias. I'm not sure why, but "Tobias" evokes a negative response in me, and I don't think the name matches the character. I loved the ending, although it frustrated me that the characters did not pick up on what was happening even though the clues were clear to the reader (or at least to me).
Read this book if you liked The Hunger Games, if you want to try a dystopian novel, or if you like strong female heroines. Skip this book if you are afraid of needles... haha actually NO ONE should skip this book. I'm currently trying to redeem myself by convincing my BFF to read this book- she hated my last recommendation (Vampire Academy).
I should probably start by saying that I'm still processing this book. Did I like it? I'm not sure, but it was definitely a great book. 5 stars for the genre (dystopian) and the intended audience (YA). I am still not quite over my disgust at the last 50 or so pages of Mockingjay, so reading a dystopic book was a risk!
Delirium is set in a dystopic United States, where basically everything revolves around The Cure, which is an operation performed on adults that removes the ability to love. Love, or amor deliria nervosa, has been eliminated, and society must protect against its reemergence. Lena is about to turn 18, and she is eagerly awaiting her procedure, knowing that it will take away all pain and forever protect her from catching the deliria. However, the last few months before her procedure don't exactly go as planned, and Lena finds herself questioning what she has always taken for granted- the society and its ban on love. She realizes that the society is right about one thing- love is dangerous and can cause people to feel and do things that they never thought possible.
Like most dystopian books, curiosity about the strange society is enough to make getting started with the book easy, and the second half is absolutely delicious. The ending, again like most dystopian books, caused me to yell and throw the book across the room. I also must have jumped or something because I threw my knee out, and it's really sore today... LOL.
5 stars for a solid, exciting read and characters that I can't stop thinking about. I will definitely read book #2, Pandemonium, which should be out in February 2012.
First, let me say that this is a great book- it's very well-written, with great imagery and characterization. It reminded me significantly of The Giver, by Lois Lowry, one of my favorite books of all time. The cover is also my favorite cover for 2010!
I did get really stressed out reading it- which is expected for a dystopic book where you know that things won't end without a little heartache. I really wish, however, that this was NOT going to be a trilogy. One of the things that I like best about The Giver is that we only vaguely find out what happens to the main character in the second book, which is about an entirely new character in the same world. I'm sure that if a sequel to Matched is actually written, it will be back in the same world with Cassia trudging through life, more pain for her family and friends, and I just don't want to go through that again.
I would recommend this to anyone who's interested- it was definitely worth the read. I give it 3 stars, though, because I'm still feeling a bit ambivalent towards this book.
I just finished this book, and it was absolutely amazing. I wasn't sure that I would like it because I'm not always into dystopic books, but this book had action, romance, and challenged my thinking and reasoning as well.
I think that the main character, Katniss, has a well-developed personality. She is strong, but not all tomboy. I also love that she has flaws. She makes bad judgments of both situations and people, but she never lets her failures disable her. I wish that there was more about her friend Gale- perhaps that comes in book two.
This is a must read for everyone who enjoys reading, and, like Harry Potter, I would expect that even aliterate people would get something out of this book. I have book two coming from the library in a few days, and needless to say, I can't wait! I have heard that book two has a serious cliffhanger at the end, though! I give this book 5 stars.
