All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

I had such high hopes for this book!!  I've loved Gabrielle Zevin's two other young adult novels - Elsewhere was particularly brilliant.  But sometimes high expectations lead to greater disappointment.

With that harsh opener, let me still say that All These Things is still an enjoyable read.  Another solid addition to the dystopian genre.  And, like many others in this style, turns out that it's the first of a trilogy. (Is it wrong to want just a few really great standalone novels?!)

The year is 2083 in New York City.  Caffeine - and chocolate - are illegal.  Anya is the daughter of the head of the Balanchine crime family - let's call them the chocolate mafia.  She and her two siblings are orphans - her mother was killed in an attempt on Anya's father's life, and her father was murdered - a murder that she and her sister witnessed.

Anya keeps getting tangled up in situations and getting into trouble...which is only made more complicated by the fact that she's falling for the son of the new District Attorney.

Good plot, good pacing, solid characters...but it just lacked some of the depth or cleverness of Zevin's other two books.  I'd give it a 3/5 on the Rez Recommends scale.

All These Things I've Done is one of this year's Teen's Top Ten nominees and book 1 in the Birthright trilogy. Book 2, Because It Is My Blood is scheduled to be released this September. 

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

The future is bleak...World War III has devastated the earth as we know it...to the point where only the continent of North America survived (I'm sorry, I rolled my eyes a little at that one - but that was the only eye rolling for the rest of the book, so I can overlook that "flaw").  Because of genetic manipulations, a virus has infected the population so that every girl born, dies at the age of 20; boys at the age of 25.  To try and save the human race from extinction, rich first generation men (those who were born prior to the virus and therefore live past 25) kidnap young girls and sell them as wives whose responsibility is to procreate.

Rhine Ellery is one of those kidnapped and sold into slavery.  Although she is pampered and treated well by her captor, she is a prisoner.  She longs to escape and find her twin brother (her parents, both geneticists who were searching for an antidote, were killed years earlier).  While imprisoned in the mansion, she falls in love with one of the house servants, Gabriel.  They are both in danger...will they manage to escape?  What other secrets lurk behind locked doors, controlled by her father-in-law?

Although Wither was a little slow at the outset, it still managed to hold my attention.  The premise is interesting, the characters are becoming more developed, and I do want to see where it leads.  That being said, it wasn't particularly earth-shattering or new.  I did enjoy it, and think others will too, but I'm afraid that because The Hunger Games is so hugely successful, publishers are going to inundate us with so many dystopian novels that we'll get sick of them.  I give Wither a 3.5/5 on the Rez Recommends scale. 

Wither is book one in the Chemical Gardens trilogy - and is on this year's list of Teens' Top Ten nominees.  Book two, Fever, is also available - I just put a hold on it at the KPL and am looking forward to reading it.

Divergent ~ by Veronica Roth

If you liked The Hunger Games, and have worked your way through the series and are looking for something new, pick up Divergent by Veronica Roth. I blazed through all 45o pages in just 2 days...it's that good.

In this new dystopian thriller, at the age of 16, all citizens choose which faction they want to join. Each faction is distinguished by a particular characteristic or virtue that defines how they think people should live: Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (peacefulness), and Erudite (intelligence). Beatrice is torn between her family's faction, Abnegation, and her sense that she belongs somewhere else. And then, as she goes through the tests prior to making her choice, she discovers something shocking, and potentially dangerous that will alter her life forever.

Divergent is suspenseful, brutal, exciting...and has many of the characteristics that made The Hunger Games such a popular series. Don't miss this one!

Cottage reading!

I just got home from a friend's cottage, where I blazed through a few more titles - one from the Teens' Top Ten nominees list, one because I was looking forward to reading another book by the author, and one I'm reviewing (not yet published) for VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates):

Orson Scott Card ~ The Lost Gate: this one is on the Teens' Top Ten nominees list, but, I just don't think it's going to make the top ten. I should say, Orson Scott Card is one of my favourite authors - and I think Ender's Game is brilliant - which made The Lost Gate that much more disappointing for me. It wasn't bad - it just felt too overdone...that so much effort was put into the mythology/back story, that the actual story was a bit lost. It just didn't live up to its potential.

Lauren Oliver ~ Delirium: I loved Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall (which should be one of this year's Top Ten!) so I couldn't wait to read Delirium...and it was every bit as good as I'd hoped. In Lena's world, "love" is considered a disease - and at the age of 18, everyone is "cured" from it. This dystopian novel was brilliant - intelligent, new ideas, fast-paced, engaging. I read all 441 pages in a single day...and as one friend commented as I finished the book, "wow, you raced through that last chunk!"

Jeyn Roberts ~ Dark Inside: I received an advanced reader's copy (i.e. the book isn't published yet) because I'm writing a review for it for VOYA. I don't want to spoil the review, but let's just say, I think this is going to be a popular book! Creepy, post-apocalyptic, horrifying - I'm sure it's going to be a teen favourite.

Drought ~ by Pam Bachorz

Dystopian novels seems to be really popular right now. And there's something "safe" about reading about another society that's so messed up when it's so beautiful and sunny out (almost makes you forget about all the troubles our world suffers from!).

So, I was looking forward to reading Drought. The Congregation is under the control of Darwin West and the Overseers and spend all their time harvesting water, one drop at a time - and suffering horribly when they are unsuccessful. There's something special about one of the Congregants, Ruby: her blood has healing powers. Expectations are high for Ruby - can she save the Congregation and herself?

Sadly, Drought just doesn't seem to live up to its potential. It's like all the pieces didn't add up - it's set in current times, but also has elements that just don't fit with our world. And the unusual characteristics of the Congregants are never really explained, nor do they seem entirely necessary.

It is suspenseful, and I have to admit, I wanted to keep reading right to the end, but it left me feeling just a little disappointed. I'm curious to see what others have to say about it. My guess is that although it's on the Teens Top Ten nominations list, it won't make it into the Top Ten. What do you think?

Matched ~ by Ally Condie

I think I've discovered a huge contender for the Teens' Top Ten here!

Matched is another great dystopian novel. Society has been "perfected": food is allocated appropriately; jobs are decided optimally; only the 100 "best" songs, poems, and works of art have been preserved; disease has been eradicated almost entirely; and citizens are "matched" with their perfect mate. Cassie has been matched with her best friend, Xander. But, a glitch in the system reveals another potential match, Ky. As Cassie starts to question the possible mistake, it forces her to look at their whole way of life...putting herself, her friends, and family all at risk.

So well written, the relationships jump off the page and the tension is palpable. I raced through Matched...and now can't wait until the sequel, Crossed, is released (not until November!!). If you liked The Hunger Games, you'll love Matched.

I'm back!

After a LONG hiatus from this blog - including a semester-long sabbatical - I'm back, and going to try my best to get some recent posts up here. I didn't read as much as I thought I would on my break, but a few of my recent favourites are:

• The Maze Runner (bk 1) and The Scorch Trials (bk 2) by James Dasher...I am SO looking forward to book 3, The Death Cure - due out October 11th...and I promise I'll have a copy for Rez right away. SO, if you haven't read book 1 or 2 yet, you've got all summer! The series is right up there with the Hunger Games trilogy...awesome!
  
  
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins ~ okay, so the title sounds a bit corny, but I loved this book. For her last year of high school, Anna gets sent to a boarding school in Paris for American students. Yes, it's a romance story...but so much more. I almost didn't read it, but I'd seen so many great reviews by other bloggers, librarians, and teens that I decided to give it a chance...and I'm so glad I did...you should too!
  
  
• Pink by Lili Wilkinson ~ I've started reviewing books for VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) and this was one of the recent titles I reviewed...and I LOVED it. It reminds me a bit of John Green books (he's one of my all-time favourite authors) - honest, really smart, funny, real. Here's part of what I wrote: "Australian author Lili Wilkinson takes a witty, refreshing look at high school and adolescence that obliterates stereotypes along the way. The novel is in turn laugh-out-loud funny, endearing, and heartbreaking as Ava repeatedly steps into teenage social landmines - with unexpected results."
  
  
• The Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi ~ this year's Printz award winning book (the award for best YA novel of the year)...for good reason. It's going on my list of favourite dystopian novels (Maze Runner, Hunger Games, City of Ember, The Giver, Gone, Unwind...just to name a few!). I read this one in a day!
  
  
• Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver ~ I JUST finished this one...about half an hour ago. Needed some time to recover from reading it...but this is the book that inspired me to put up a post, it was THAT good. Before chapter one even starts, you know Samantha dies. She and her friends are in a car crash and she doesn't make it. Then Chapter 1 begins with a description of her day, leading up to the crash. I'm not going to lie - she's not a very likeable person. In fact, she's the kind of teenager that makes other teenagers' (and adults') lives miserable. But then the book gets interesting...because Samantha re-lives that same day over and over again...and piece by piece, she (and you) get a better sense of the big picture as she's forced to take another look at her life and the lives around her. Honestly, one of the best books I've read in a long while. It's on the Teens' Top Ten nominees list for this year, and I'll be shocked if it doesn't make it up in the top 5.
  

So, there you go...some reading ideas to get you started for the summer. I'm going to start working my way through the Teens Top Ten nominees...and I'll let you know what I think. Happy reading!

Mockingjay ~ by Suzanne Collins

Dark...brutal...violent......

AWESOME!

The third installment in the Hunger Games trilogy is not for the faint of heart. But, if you're willing to dive into some pretty heavy, dark stuff, you won't be disappointed...other than in the fact that the series is done!

I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that this triliogy now tops my list of favourites...and the fact that all TEN copies of The Hunger Games are signed out right now is not at all suprising to me. And, if you haven't yet added your name to our hold list for Mockingjay, you'd better hurry...the list is getting longer by the minute.