Crossed by Ally Condie

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Rating: 2/5 stars.

With Crossed, Ally Condie committed the crime of writing a slow-paced, conflict-lacking middle book in a series. I recall enjoying Matched to an extent, but reading Crossed caused me to question my prior positive feelings for Matched.

Condie can write. There were some beautiful phrases and sentences in Crossed. However, for the most part Condie’s prose lacked any power or punch – her writing was void of emotion. I noticed it in the first book, but attributed it to Cassia’s sheltered lifestyle within the Society. Now, I realize that Condie could not include a strong voice for either of her characters – in fact, I had a difficult time differentiating between Ky and Cassia.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

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Rating: 4/5 stars.

“But now an eerie silence fills the floor. It’s the silence I imagine in the rest of the world, the silence of an endless ocean and uninhabitable islands, a silence than can be seen from space.”

Is that not such a pretty passage? I’ll admit that when the members of my school’s book club voted Wither as our first book to be read, I was a tad disappointed. I assumed it would be an averagely-written, run-of-the-mill dystopian novel. But Lauren DeStefano exceeded my expectations, especially with her writing – it’s fluid and flows well, and the book contains some straight up beautiful writing.

All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin

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Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

I remember reading Elsewhere and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin and enjoying them both. Zevin has a knack for creating unique stories and All These Things I’ve Done is no exception.

However, the dystopian aspect of the book could have been developed more. Chocolate and caffeine are illegal, there are copious amounts of crime, mafia families are present and powerful, but how did it get this way? How are these things affecting society? Even though Anya isn’t directly affected by these things because of her position as the daughter of a crime boss, a more comprehensive view of life in 2083 would’ve been nice.

Furthermore, All These Things I’ve Done feels like buildup for the next book in the series. The plot starts out strong, but by the middle of the book any sense of danger dissipated and the conflict was almost nonexistent. At the end, everything happens at once when all the action could’ve been distributed more equally throughout the entire novel.

That being said, I’m looking forward to the next book in the Birthright series. I didn’t really connect to any of the characters besides Anya, but her dry humor and sense of practicality made her a likable narrator whose voice I grew to love. All These Things I’ve Done ended in a way that leaves many possibilities for the plot of the second book, and I’m eager to see where Zevin takes the story in terms of Anya’s family and her relationships.

Overall, a well-written story that didn’t entirely live up to its potential. Not horrible, though. Recommended to fans of young-adult dystopia novels and books about mafia families and organizations.

The Death Cure by James Dashner

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Rating: 4/5 stars.

Have you ever experienced something spectacular, only to look back on it and think “wait a second… why did I like that so much?” That roller coaster or spicy Thai food you loved but then caused you to suffer serious stomach aches? That’s how I feel about The Death Cure and the Maze Runner series.

Just like the first two books in the series The Death Cure delivers a fast-paced story filled with adrenaline-inducing action sequences and thrilling twists. While Dashner’s writing isn’t beautiful, it possesses an exciting energy that sucks the reader in and doesn’t let them go. The sheer suspense of the series kept me content despite other issues that arose. Until this book.

For those who have read The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials, you probably know that there were a lot of questions that needed to be addressed in this novel. The first two books in the series acted as an action-packed snowball that gathered unaddressed plot issues as it rolled down the hill of total exhilaration. To me, this third book was supposed to be when the snowball finally hit a huge brick wall, sending all of its fluff flying and revealing its true core. But it didn’t exactly live up to that expectation – everything felt too nice and neat, sort of like if the snowball simply melted instead of erupting like a volcano.

I also would’ve preferred if Thomas reflected on what had happened to him instead of just accepting it and moving on. A little more introspection would’ve been nice – what has he learned from being tortured and manipulated by this evil group of people? How will it influence his actions in the future? I wanted Thomas to grow tremendously throughout this series, but especially in this book because he finally learns the truth about his life. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, at least not to the level that would’ve earned this book five stars.

However, you can tell by my solid rating that I liked the book overall. Maybe I’m biased because of the main character’s name or because this series as a whole impressed me, but, I gave The Death Cure a much higher rating than I’m sure many other people would. I could just be a nice guy.

I recommend the Maze Runner series if you’re searching for exciting and somewhat mindless entertainment. It didn’t change me or make me think extraordinarily hard, but it provided me with a gripping plot that had me eagerly awaiting each and every book.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

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Rating: 4/5 stars.

Some titles that come to mind when I think of dystopia include 1984 and The Hunger Games, both of which are fantastic books. The mention of dystopia always triggers certain scenes to play in my head: big explosions, rebellious uprisings, and underground brain-washings. Never Let Me Go is nothing like that, yet it’s just as powerful.

The novel is about Kathy, a thirty-one year old woman who reflects on growing up with her friends Ruth and Tommy at Hailsham, a private school for special children. I hesitate to give away too many details because almost the entire plot was spoiled for me. Still, knowing about the story beforehand won’t decrease one’s enjoyment of the book – it’s not the climax that makes it great, but Kazuo’s delivery of information through his wonderful writing.

Despite Kathy’s detachment as a narrator, her quiet voice (ha, quiet voice. get it?) resonated with me. Her lack of anger, or simply any emotion broke my heart. I wanted to give her a good shaking and scream “see that boy? Go love him properly!” or “don’t you know how badly you’ve been treated? You don’t deserve that! Do something about it!”… but, I couldn’t. And the fact that the characters couldn’t do anything about their predicaments either saddened me tremendously.

So to summarize this sloppy review: stunningly well-written, achingly melancholy.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

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Rating: 4.5/5 stars.

Blood Red Road takes place in a post-apocalyptic time period where the world is covered in deserts ravaged by dust storms. Eighteen-year-old Saba has spent her entire life in Silverlake, a secluded wasteland with only three other inhabitants: her twin brother Lugh, her annoying nine-year-old sister Emmi, and her insane father Pa. She’s relatively content until four horsemen arrive and abduct Lugh, leaving her without the light of her life. Now she must venture outside of Silverlake into a dangerous world in order to bring back Lugh at any cost.

Ah, brain candy at its finest. Blood Red Road doesn’t aim to inspire or change the way you think, rather, it’s pure adventure. And what an adventure it is. Cage fighting, human sacrifice, and killer worms three times the size of humans – what else could you ask for?

I re-read the first page of this book a couple of times, thinking “wow, two typos already? that’s surprising…” It took a little time for me to adjust to the writing style, but after the first hundred pages I didn’t even notice the lack of grammar. I applaud Moira Young for keeping the tone consistent throughout the novel. Can you imagine the difficulty of writing a 400+ page novel without proper grammar? That almost scares me as much as the hellwurms.

Does this book live up to what its book jacket offers? “Searing pace”, check. “Poetically minimal writing style”, check. “Relentless action”, check. “Epic love story”… I wouldn’t use the word “epic”, but it was passable. So somewhat check.

If you’re like me and about to begin school, I’d set this one aside for when you have some free time. It’ll be near-impossible to put it down.

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

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Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

You know how it’s easier to discuss a topic you’re passionate about rather than one you really don’t care about? I feel that way when I write book reviews. It’s not difficult to express my thoughts on five-star books I love or even two-star books I didn’t like so much, but certain books that fall in the middle trouble me. Enclave is one of those books. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t really care..

The idea of an underground enclave working to survive against monsters/zombies (referred to as “freaks”) is interesting, but not mind-blowing when compared to the inundation of young-adult dystopian novels released recently. In fact, the world-building in Enclave is one of its weakest points. Just like the enclave does to Deuce, Ann Aguirre keeps readers in the dark regarding the details of the setting, so everything feels strangely distant. There was no explanation, no elucidation, and I expected more from such an intriguing premise.

I also couldn’t connect to the characters. I hate to reiterate, but I really didn’t care about them. The only character that showed some depth was Deuce, the reserved, strong-willed protagonist. The rest were too one-dimensional and fit into common character caricatures: the reformed bad boy, the weak girl in need of rescue, etc.

If after reading the book jacket of Enclave you find yourself interested in the story, I would recommend giving it a try. Perhaps borrow it from the library first, though.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

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Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

George Orwell is a genius. If you haven’t read this book and 1984 yet, I highly recommend you do. Animal Farm is a perfect reflection of Russia under Stalin, utilizing a myriad of metaphors and not-so-subtle characterizations to convey the cruelty of communism.

But I had the same problem reading Animal Farm as I did with 1984. It was so dreadfully depressing. The first ten pages of this book revealed the horror of humankind, and the last ten pages disturbed me to the point that I couldn’t fall asleep that night without considerable effort.

I suppose I am being a little sensitive to the point of stupidity harsh for knocking off 1.5 stars simply because the book was sad. However, it’s not the melancholy aspect of the novel that disappointed me – it was the lack of hope. At least in 1984 the reader is pulled along by the promise of a revolution (aka, a hint of hope) but in Animal Farm there is no anticipation of absolution. By the end I wouldn’t have been surprised if a random bomb appeared and blew up the entire farm, killing off all the animals in one grand explosion.

Though one could argue that the sheer hopelessness of this novel portrays the sheer hopelessness of those living in Russia under Stalin’s rule, in which case George Orwell really is a genius. Anyway, this book deserves more than a 3.5 based solely on literary value, but as I rate by personal preference and enjoyment, I’m sticking with a 3.5.

My nine-year-old cousin just told me to give this book five stars because of the cute pig on the cover. I can’t wait until she reads this…

Divergent by Veronica Roth

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Rating: 5/5 stars.

My thought process while reading this book:

“oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD! that was amazing, wow… oh my god I can’t believe she just did that! OH SNAP FIGHTING OH SNAP BLOOD OH MAN that was sick… man this book is awesome. OH SNAP SHE DID NOT JUST-”

You get the point. My Latin teacher would be very unhappy with me for saying (er, thinking) “oh my god” so many times. But Divergent by Veronica Roth is one of those books that causes mind bombs to explode inside your head constantly, creating a void that can only be filled by reading more of the amazing novel.

I’m not going to bother with a synopsis of the story as you can find one here or by reading other reviews, but in a nutshell Divergent contains action, romance, dystopia, and essentially brain-blowing perfection. I dare compare it to – yes, you guessed it- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Though the books are very different, I’m pretty sure if you enjoyed one you will enjoy the other.

And though my crazy little introduction to this fanboying mess review may make it seem like this book is pure nonstop action, the parts that weren’t action-packed still shined superbly. The action was pretty intense though. Very intense indeed.

One of the best young-adult releases this year, Divergent will leave readers craving for the second book of this soon to be super popular series.

Plague by Michael Grant

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Rating: 5/5 stars.

Plague, the fourth book in the Gone series, continues the story of the FAYZ inhabitants and their struggle to survive. There’s a creepy cough-until-you-die disease going around, the Darkness is slowly spreading its malevolent influence, and the characters are killing each other. Again. But let me tell you something…

THE BUGS. OH DEAR LORD, THE BUGS.

The book jacket describes the disturbing insects that appear in this book as “sinister” and “predatory”. I prefer “scary as hell”. They hatch their eggs inside of you and eat you from the inside out – lovely, I know. Just let me die of fever or something, please.

Anyway, I love this series. The writing isn’t verbose or decadent – it’s simple, straightforward, and to the point. With a cast of so many characters not all of them are as developed as they could be, but ultimately, it doesn’t matter. I love these books because of the total thrill they provide.

If you didn’t get the message from my ostentatiously capitalized exclamation above, Plague is not for the faint of heart. There are sickening scenes – the content is much worse than in most young-adult books. After reading this late at night, I was almost afraid to go to sleep.

However, if you’re looking for a fantastic, frenetic read, check out Plague and the other books in the Gone series. They will not disappoint you.