Tag Archives: Teen dystopian

Jun 16 2014
Image

Top Ten Books at the Top of My Summer 2014 TBR List!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 Yay! The time has once again come for me to showcase the books at the top of my reading list. This is by far my favorite TTT topic because it reminds me how many truly amazing books I have yet to experience… a prospect that is incredibly exciting (and daunting, lol)! Without further ado:

Top Ten Books at the Top of My Summer 2014 TBR List!

Oh, man – so many good titles! I almost don’t know which one to start with. I have to thank Nikki over at There Were Books Involved for lending me her ARC of Killer Instinct (best blogging friend ever!) because it was by far the sequel I was most looking forward to this fall… I will probably start with that one because I can’t believe my good fortune. Yes, I know, why haven’t I already read Heir of Fire if I have access to it? I’m still letting Crown of Midnight sink in and I know I’m not going to be able to do anything else once I start it. But then don’t even get me started on how Partials is my all time favorite dystopian and I’ve not yet picked up the conclusion… Or the fact that there is a new unread Mercy Thompson book on my shelf. Gack! Too many books to read and not enough time!

 What books are at the top of your reading list?

by Niki Hawkes

Jun 10 2014
Image

Coming Soon: The Young Elites by Marie Lu

young elitesTitle: The Young Elites

Author: Marie Lu

Series: Young Elites #1

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Release Date: October 7, 2014

The Overview: I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside. Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all. Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen. Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her. It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

young elites

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

As I thoroughly enjoyed the Legend series, liking the conclusion a bit more than other popular dystopians on the market, I’m really looking forward to this new spinoff series! It’s taking one of the plot elements I liked the most and expanding on it – what’s not to love?

What book are you waiting on?

by Niki hawkes

Jun 10 2014
Image

Book Review: Mirror X by Karri Thompson

mirror xTitle: Mirror X

Author: Karri Thompson

Series: The Van Winkle Project #1

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Rating: 2/5 stars

Release Date: June 30, 2014

The Overview: Cassie Dannacher wakes up in a hospital over 1,000 years into the future after her space capsule is retrieved from space. She soon learns that 600 years prior to her arrival, the earth was struck by a plague, killing over half of the world’s population. Naïve and desperate, Cassie, who longs for home and is having trouble adjusting to the new, dictatorial 31st century government, is comforted by Michael Bennett, the 20-year old lead geneticist at the hospital where she was revived. But why is Cassie in genetics’ hospital in the first place, and why do several of the people around her seem so familiar, including Travel Carson, the hot and edgy boy she is fated to meet? Soon she discovers there is a sinister answer to all of her questions – and that they want something from Cassie that only she can give.

mirror x 2

The Review:

I want to start off by saying that I love the initial concept for this story – it got me thinking: what if characters like Katniss or Tris had grown up in our day and age before being thrust into their futuristic, dystopia societies? How they viewed the world around them would’ve been a lot different, that’s for sure. Well, that’s exactly what happens to Cassie in Mirror X, and that culture-shock was enough to grab my attention right away.

Granted Katniss and Tris had advantages Cassie did not – having been immersed in a society from birth does give one a deep understanding of how things work and, even more importantly, how to fight back. Cassie had to discover everything on her own. That discovery process, in which she got to see and explore this futuristic world, is what I was most looking forward to reading about. The trouble is, aside from its few advances in technology and medicine, there wasn’t as much exploration of this new world as I was hoping for. The plot was structured to give the story a very narrow focus, making it really difficult for the character to see much of anything (heck, most of the book took place in a single setting). This was a shame because the possibilities for world-building were endless.

I also thought the story’s pacing could have been a bit stronger – that is, having the character discover things a little faster. There were plenty of the drop in hints and allusions to what was really going on, but nothing concrete driving the story until about a third of the way in. There were even a couple of scenes that I thought could have been comfortably combined early on that would have helped move the story along quicker. The book was definitely a lot more character and dialogue driven than action driven.

Overall, Mirror X had a great concept and a killer cover (which was enough to get me to read it) but I unfortunately didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It wasn’t written poorly or anything, but my expectations were a bit different than what the author delivered.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Jun 9 2014
Image

Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2014

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Yay – this week is one of my favorite topics. I love geeking out about books I’ve already read, and there’ve been some good ones this year! Around May 2013, I decided it was time to start focusing more on the books at the top of my reading list and less on the ones that felt like obligations. I’ve stuck to it, and because of that have had the best twelve months of reading since I was a kid – a state of being I’d like to continue through the foreseeable future. :-)

Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2014

I had so many favorites that it was difficult picking out ten for this list… definitely a problem I want to have. Also, I don’t think it be fair to ask me to pick an absolute favorite – it would be impossible to choose! I love them all.

Here’s to another six months of superb reading!

 What’s the best book you’ve read this year?

Jun 3 2014
Image

Coming Soon: In the After Light by Alexandra Bracken

in the after lightTitle: In the After Light

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Series: Darkest Minds #3

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Release Date: October 28, 2014

The Overview: Ruby can’t look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government’s attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. With them is a prisoner: Clancy Gray, son of the president, and one of the few people Ruby has encountered with abilities like hers. Only Ruby has any power over him, and just one slip could lead to Clancy wreaking havoc on their minds. They are armed only with a volatile secret: proof of a government conspiracy to cover up the real cause of IANN, the disease that has killed most of America’s children and left Ruby and others like her with powers the government will kill to keep contained. But internal strife may destroy their only chance to free the “rehabilitation camps” housing thousands of other Psi kids. Meanwhile, reunited with Liam, the boy she would-and did-sacrifice everything for to keep alive, Ruby must face the painful repercussions of having tampered with his memories of her. She turns to Cole, his older brother, to provide the intense training she knows she will need to take down Gray and the government. But Cole has demons of his own, and one fatal mistake may be the spark that sets the world on fire.

in the after light

 Hosted by Breaking the Spine

 I don’t know about you, but I’m incredibly interested to see how this trilogy wraps up. I love the whole concept behind this series and especially love the effortless voice in which it was written. My favorite part of the series so far are the incredibly lovable side characters. Ruby is a great protagonist, but her sidekicks really do steal the show, and I am most excited to see where they wind up. October can’t come too soon! :-)

What book are you waiting on?

by Niki Hawkes

Jun 3 2014
Image

Book Review: Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau

independent studyTitle: Independent Study

Author: Joelle Charbonneau

Series: The Testing #2

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: In the series debut The Testing, sixteen-year-old Cia Vale was chosen by the United Commonwealth government as one of the best and brightest graduates of all the colonies . . . a promising leader in the effort to revitalize postwar civilization. In Independent Study, Cia is a freshman at the University in Tosu City with her hometown sweetheart, Tomas—and though the government has tried to erase her memory of the brutal horrors of The Testing, Cia remembers. Her attempts to expose the ugly truth behind the government’s murderous programs put her—and her loved ones—in a world of danger. But the future of the Commonwealth depends on her.

independent study 2

The Review:

While I only liked The Testing, I absolutely loved Independent Study! The testing process was what initially drew me to this series, and I was concerned that once the testing in the first book was over there would be nothing to carry my interest over to the second book. The awesome part is that the testing does continue, it just does so in a slightly different way (in the form of new student initiation). There were a lot of tasks and obstacles for the main character, Cia, to overcome, and I was wildly entertained to see how she managed to cope with each one.

I have read some criticism that Cia is just too smart to be a realistic character. While I totally see why some people would feel that way, it wasn’t something that bothered me at all. Even though Cia always had the answers, I always felt like she had to work for them, and that effort was more important to me than anything else. It took a lot of creative construction on the author’s part to not only come up with the tests, but to think up answers that were complex enough to challenge the characters. I love reading books about tests/trials and books about competitions, and Independent Study was a great combination of the two.

Although it took me a while to get used to, I actually like the voice the book is written in. Charbonneau was a very unique way of saying things that (I eventually decided) adds a great deal of personality to Cia. Charbonneau also uses the language to create phenomenal pacing – both speeding up passages for excitements and slowing them down to make sure you understand the gravity of what she’s talking about. It worked really well, I only wish I had caught on to what she was doing more quickly so I could’ve studied it better.

Overall, this book is definitely getting a spot in my top ten books of 2014. Now all that is left to do is to read the third one, Graduation Day, and hope it is just as good! While the series is not terribly unique compared to the myriad of dystopian’s on the market, I think it’s cool concept and voice (and the sheer awesomeness of the second book) are enough to make me want to recommend it to other readers.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes