The Forsaken

The Forsaken. Lisa M. Stasse. 2012. Simon & Schuster. 375 pages.

At first I think the hammering sound is the noise of waves crashing down on white sand.

Alenna has "failed" her GPPT (Government Personality Profile Test) and has been sent to Prison Island Alpha. She's heard about the island, obviously, in the past few years, everyone has. She's even seen some of the violence from the island on screen, with the image of one boy, in particular, staying with her in the day or so leading up to her own "test." She never thought she'd be one to fail the test, she never thought she'd test positive for being violent, out of control, a potential danger to others. But she woke up on the island, and though she knows it has to be a mistake, how, do you survive long enough to prove that?

Soon after she wakes up on the island, she meets David, another "mistake" of sorts. He seems so very sane! The two work together--especially at first--trying to survive their first day or two. But they're just beginning to trust one another when they are claimed by different factions on the island. David is taken by the Drones on the "Monk" side of the island, Alenna is taken by the other side. She's given a truth serum, and trained to be a warrior. She makes a couple of friends and finds her place. Liam and Gadya are perhaps the two closest to her.

The book is obviously a thriller with plenty of secrets, secrets, and more secrets.

I enjoyed this one. Is it the best dystopian ever? No. But for those wanting another series like James Dashner's Maze Runner, for those that don't mind more-of-the-same from their dystopias, then this one could satisfy. The world-building isn't amazing. The characters aren't that well-developed. The relationships between the characters aren't fully explored. Is there a love triangle? I don't think so. Not really. True, the main character TALKS to two guys. (She talks to more than two guys.) But the fact that she talks to David and tries to listen and understand him does not mean that she sees him in that way, and there is not proof that he has those kinds of feelings for her either. 

Read for Presenting Lenore's Dystopian August.  


Read The Forsaken

• If you're in the mood for a YA dystopia
• If you don't mind a familiar feel to your dystopia
• If you are looking for something fast-paced and action-driven

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

For Darkness Shows the Stars (MG/YA)

For Darkness Shows the Stars. Diana Peterfreund. 2012. HarperCollins. 416 pages.

Elliot North raced across the pasture, leaving a scar of green in the silver, dew-encrusted grass. Jef followed, tripping a bit as his feet slid inside his too-big shoes. 

I really enjoyed Diana Peterfreund's For Darkness Shows the Stars. Did I enjoy it because it was a futuristic dystopia, OR, because it was a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion? A bit of both. For those expecting Captain Malakai Wentforth to be as swoon-worthy as Captain Wentworth, well, you might be disappointed. Might. For Kai's romance with Elliot North doesn't exactly mirror that of Wentworth and Anne Elliot. Peterfreund has definitely made this story her own.

For Darkness Shows the Stars is definitely a novel about social class or status. There are three "types" of people in this futuristic world: the Luddites, those with the highest status and wealth, the elite, those that have estates and titles, those that MATTER; the Reduced, those with slave status, essentially, they are thought to be mindless sub-humans, incapable of thought and feelings, definitely thought to be genetically inferior; the POST-Reductionists, the children of the Reduced who happen to be smart enough to function with more independence in the world, they have skills and abilities that make them worth something, they are not thought to be mindless and incapable, but, they're "socially" inferior to the Luddites. No matter how smart or brilliant a POST is, no matter how much money they acquire, they will never be on equal status with the Luddites.

Kai and Elliot grew up together; they share a birthday in fact. (Actually, there are three that share an exact birthday: Kai (Post), Elliot (Luddite), and Ro (Reduced).) But their friendship always had to be a secret, for if Elliot's father or older sister, Tatiana, found out, then everyone would get in trouble. Elliot enjoyed Kai's company, enjoyed spending time with him in the barn, enjoyed watching him fix things--he's a mechanic, the son of a mechanic. But when Elliot chose not to run away with Kai when they were fourteen (or possibly fifteen?), the friendship was broken. He chose to leave the estate, to risk everything in hopes of finding a better future. Elliot hasn't heard from him since the day he left, and he still matters to her. She chose to stay not because she didn't love him, but, because she needed to be responsible, because she was the ONLY one capable of being responsible on the estate, the only one who cared for the welfare of the Reduced, and also respected the Posts.

Meanwhile, Elliot's life has been as unpleasant as ever. Her father and sister are heartless and selfish and at times cruel. The novel opens with her father destroying his daughter's wheat field--weeks before harvest. That wheat could have helped feed the Reduced, it could have been sold for a profit, as well, to help the estate. But her father's "need" for a race track was more important. He's unwilling to see that the estate is struggling financially that they have a responsibility to the Reduced and the Posts that work their land/manage the estate. Elliot doesn't even bother protesting; true, the damage is already done and nothing can bring her wheat back, but, she also has a secret of her own. That wheat was her wheat--her special experimental seed. And Luddites do NOT under any circumstances experiment.

So in an effort to help finances, Elliot decides to rent out the estate to Cloud Fleet....and one of the guests is Captain Malakai Wentforth. Of course, there are plenty of other guests as well.

I enjoyed meeting the different characters in For Darkness Shows the Stars. Since this is a retelling, there is always a chance that the characters could have been weak, shallow copies of the original. For the most part, that was not the case.

I also enjoyed the story; there were just enough twists in the story that it really worked as an original story. The dystopian setting was interesting to me. I didn't have all my questions answered--at least not right away--and this futuristic society definitely added something to the story. 

Read for Presenting Lenore's Dystopian August. 

Read For Darkness Shows the Stars

• If you enjoy science fiction, dystopias, post-apocalyptic fiction
• If you enjoy futuristic stories 
• If you are interested in a new retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion
• If you enjoy a little romance in your science fiction

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Raider's Ransom (MG)

Raider's Ransom. Emily Diamand. 2009. Scholastic. 368 pages.

Cat puts up his nose to sniff the breath of wind barely filling the sail, and opens his small pink mouth to speak.

Knowing that I could never quite do justice to Raider's Ransom in my review, let me encourage you to just pick up this one and give it a try. I can't promise that you'll love it. But. You just may. It's that kind of book. The kind that actually delivers what it promises.
If you like action/adventure quests, I think you'll really, really appreciate Raider's Ransom. I think you'll enjoy the world Diamand created in the novel. I think there will be scenes that stay with you. I think you'll enjoy not only her world-building but her characterization and storytelling too.

The heroine of Raider's Ransom is a young girl, Lilly. She may be young, but she's a fisherman with a small (very small) boat of her own. And to the dismay of some, she's the owner of a cat, a sea cat. Not something to be taken lightly in her community of survivors. When she's at home, on land, she stays with her grandmother. But. Readers don't get a chance to see a more relaxed Lilly. For the novel opens with Lilly discovering the tragic truth: when she was out sailing her vessel, out fishing, the raiders (or should that be Raiders?) attacked her village. They were looking for something specific, the attack wasn't just random. I don't know if that makes things better or worse for Lilly since one of the things they were looking for was her cat. The Raiders kill Lilly's grandmother, and kidnap the Prime Minister's daughter. One might think that they kidnapped her for a nice ransom, but, they had something even more in mind. They return without their sought-after object, a particular jewel. And that's only the beginning. The problem? Well, I can't talk about this one without revealing too much. I think this is one of those that is best discovered all on your own. Trust me.

So. I won't go into details. But I will say we get another narrator. And that proves most interesting indeed! For I certainly wasn't expecting it at all.

This one went above and beyond all my expectations. It really did. It surprised me in a good way.

Read Raider's Ransom

• If you like survival stories or starting over stories; 
• If you like action/adventure stories with a quest, a journey, a mission
• If you like action stories with battles and close escapes
• If you like dystopias, novels set in the future with a society quite unlike our own
• If you like good storytelling

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury. 1953/2003. Random House. 190 pages.

It was a pleasure to burn. 

Fahrenheit 451 is so wonderful, so beautiful, so amazing that it almost leaves me speechless. It is a haunting story of a bleak future. Our hero, Guy Montag, is in a loveless marriage with his wife, Mildred. He meets a young, vibrant girl, Clarisse, and they talk--talk of nothing and everything. She dares to think, to ask questions, to be curious, to be full of wonder and life, to have a spark of something that has almost been lost in society and civilization. But, her tragic end helps focus Montag's perspective. It has been coming for a while now, perhaps ever since meeting that old man, Faber, in the park, but Montag knows that he can no longer live the lie. He no longer wants to burn books, to burn houses of people who love books. He no longer wants to be a fireman. He wants to read books; he wants to learn; he wants to know what it is like to LIVE again, to think, to think critically, to think about things even if it means being sad or sorrowful or anxious and worried. He doesn't want to be mindlessly entertained by "the family" on three of his walls or a seashell in his ears. Even if there is a scary war coming. He wants to stand against the majority and face reality.

I think this is a book everyone needs to read...at least once. I could easily read it once a year! It's just a wonderful novel!!!

Favorite quotes:

Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man? Me? I won't stomach them for a minute...Remember, Montag, we're the happiness boys. We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought. (50-1)  

 We've started and won two atomic wars since 1990! Is it because we're having so much fun at home we've forgotten the world? Is it because we're so rich and the rest of the world's so poor and we just don't care if they are? Is that why we're hated so much? Do you know why? I don't, that's sure! Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. God, Millie, don't you see? An hour a day, two hours, with these books, and maybe... (62)

Good God, it isn't as simple as just picking up a book you laid down half a century ago. Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord. (78)

 It’s been a long time. I’m not a religious man. But it’s been a long time.’ Faber turned the pages, stopping here and there to read. ‘It’s as good as I remember. Lord, how they’ve changed it in our parlors these days. Christ is one of the family now. I often wonder if God recognizes His own son the way we’ve dressed him up, or is it dressed him down? He’s a regular peppermint stick now, all sugar-crystal and saccharine when he isn’t making veiled references to certain commercial products that every worshiper absolutely needs.’ (81)

Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores. It has features. This book can go under the microscope. You'd find life under the glass, streaming past in infinite profusion. The more pores, the more truthfully recorded details of life per square inch you can get on a sheet of paper, the more 'literary' you are. That's my definition, anyway. Telling detail. Fresh detail. The good writers touch life often. the mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies. So now do you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life. The comfortable people want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless. we are living in a time when flowers are trying to live on flowers, instead of growing on good rain and black loam. (83)

There is a richness in Fahrenheit 451, a depth that most books don't have perhaps. There's just something about it that makes it timeless and memorable and thought-provoking.

Read Fahrenheit 451

• If you like to read books
• If you find intellectual freedom important
• If you enjoy science fiction, particularly vintage science fiction
• If you are looking for a timeless classic
• If you enjoy dystopias 

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Insurgent (YA)

Insurgent. Veronica Roth. 2012. HarperCollins. 525 pages.

 I absolutely LOVED Veronica Roth's Divergent. I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. I recently reread it too just to prepare myself for reading the sequel, Insurgent. So how do the two compare? Well, I'm not sure that's ever a fair question. The better question may be did I love it? And the answer to that one is much, much easier! Yes, I loved Insurgent. Now does loving it translate into just love or love, love, love? Only time will tell.

Insurgent starts right where Divergent left off, which was great for me since I'd just read Divergent. Beatrice (Tris) is on the run with a handful of people including her boyfriend, Four, and her brother, Caleb. But among this group of survivors are a few people Tris doesn't trust or exactly like. They are seeking refuge with Amity unsure of their welcome. Well, unsure of how long-term this welcome will be. Amity is the kind of faction that gets along with everyone no matter how good or bad. But Tris and Four are almost sure that they cannot stay with Amity, they still have unfinished business.

While Insurgent definitely introduces new business--new dangers, new threats, new risks, etc--it does a great job in terms of consequences. Tris and Four (and the others) have a big, big mess to deal with. Many people have lost loved ones, many have lost homes, all have lost security. Tris' losses are monumental. She has lost both parents, parents with secrets that are only now coming to light, and she's dealing with her choices. Specifically her choice that led to a former friend, a close friend, losing his life. She is HAUNTED, beyond haunted almost, by what she has done.

But there is no time for Tris to relax, not really, for every day brings more decisions. Tris is having to make some tough, tough decisions; decisions that will impact not only her life, not only her relationship with her boyfriend, but will impact potentially everyone. And she struggles with the weight of it all. Does she have the right to think for herself? Does she have the right to disagree with the leaders? With the leaders of her own faction? Does she have the right to question people she's been told are trustworthy? How does she know who to trust?

I definitely loved this one! And I loved getting to know the characters. I loved the world-building, getting a chance to learn more about the other factions and the factionless too.

Read Insurgent

• If you loved Divergent, or, even if you just liked Divergent
• If you enjoy science fiction and dystopias
• If you like dystopias with good world-building and a little romance too

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Selection (YA)

The Selection. Kiera Cass. 2012. HarperCollins. 327 pages.

When we got the letter in the post, my mother was ecstatic. She had already decided that all our problems were solved, gone forever. The big hitch in her brilliant plan was me. I didn't think I was a particularly disobedient daughter, but this was where I drew the line.

The key to enjoying this one may be to approach it with no expectations at all. If you've been told--and I'm not sure who is doing the telling--that this one is in any way like The Hunger Games, then you'll be disappointed most likely. I admit that both books do have a love triangle. And I suppose that both books have a reality-TV aspect to them to a certain degree. But really these are two completely different books.

If The Selection reminded me of any book at all, it was the book of Esther from the Old Testament. Our heroine, America Singer, is one of thirty-five young women chosen to be a potential princess. The Prince, the heir to the throne, is about to begin courting these women--one woman from each district in the realm. They will live at the palace--along with the royal family, though on a different floor. The women will receive makeovers, beauty treatments, wardrobes, etc. The women will also undergo some training. Training that will only increase as the Prince narrows down the women from thirty-five to six. (Ultimately, of course, he'll be choosing one woman. But this book is the first book in a series, and the end of this book only gets us down to six.) America soon realizes that for some, it's a matter of seeing the crown and only the crown. In other words, they want to be princess--ultimately queen--and they don't care who they have to marry to get it. But other women do seem to care for the prince as a person--America is one of them.

The Love Triangle. My feelings weren't torn between the two men at all. I don't know how much I can say about the romance of this one without spoiling things. But. This one is mostly dialogue between America and Prince Maxon. And I liked that. When I'm reading romance, I want dialogue. I want to get to know both the heroine and the hero. I want to see the relationship develop.

What would have made this book more satisfying is if it had been resolved in one book...


Is The Selection the absolute best book I've ever read? Of course not. Was the characterization amazing? Not really. But did I really enjoy it? Did I read it in one day? Were there scenes that made me smile? Yes. Yes. Yes.

Read The Selection

• If you're looking for a very light, somewhat shallow romance with shades of dystopia, political unrest, and terrorism. 
• If you like romance with LOTS of dialogue
• If you love books with love triangles (If you HATE books with love triangles, or if you especially hate dystopias with love triangles, this one won't be for you).

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Rereading Unwind

Unwind. Neal Shusterman. 2007. Simon & Schuster. 336 pages.

The prologue:  The Second Civil War, also known as "The Heartland War," was a long and bloody conflict fought over a single issue. To end the war, a set of constitutional amendments known as "The Bill of Life" was passed. It satisfied both the Pro-life and the Pro-choice armies. The Bill of Life states that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, a parent may choose to retroactively "abort" a child...on the condition that the child's life doesn't technically end. The process by which a child is both terminated and yet kept alive is called "unwinding." Unwinding is now a common and accepted practice in society. 

First sentence: "There are places you can go," Ariana tells him, "and a guy as smart as you has a decent chance of surviving to eighteen." Connor isn't so sure, but looking into Ariana's eyes makes his doubts go away, if only for a moment. 

Did you know there is going to be a sequel to Unwind?! I know!!!! It's very exciting news. As soon as I learned about Unwholly--which releases in late August 2012--I knew I just HAD to reread Unwind. It's been years since I read Unwind, and essentially I just remembered how great it was and how it was near impossible to put it down. It was just so intense, so compelling, so DIFFERENT from what I was used to reading--at least at the time.

And I am very glad I took the time to reread this one. It is just as great as I remembered.

Imagine living in a world where—if you're a teenager—your life is constantly in danger. If you anger your parents just one time too many, you could be on the next bus out of town heading to a Harvest camp or the "chop shop" as it's called in slang. Your organs—every single part of you (except maybe your appendix), stripped away and 'donated' to make someone else's life better. This scenario is about to become terrifyingly real to three teenagers.

Connor is a guy who hasn't always had the best temper or attitude. But he never thought his parents could be so cruel as to unwind him just because he's going through a "difficult" stage. After accidentally finding the papers that will end his life—at least as he knows it—he decides to run away. After all, if he can manage to survive for two or three years—until his eighteenth birthday—he'll be safe and legal.

Risa is a girl from the State Home. She is a musical prodigy, but after making a few mistakes at a concert, she's told she's reached her potential in life and that she can best serve society now as an Unwind. After all, they can only feed and house so many, and new babies arrive all the time. It's normal to eliminate at least 5% of the teen population every year.

 Lev is different from Connor and Risa. He's only thirteen. But the big difference? Lev has known all along that he was 'destined' to be unwound. He's a tithe. A baby set apart from birth—chosen from birth—to be sacrificed on his thirteenth birthday for the good of society. He is told that his is a holy service, a holy life. It's a "religious" and "spiritual" experience or gift. After all, there is no greater gift of love than when a man lays down his life, right? When these three meet for the first time, it is pure chaos. But their lives, their destinies, are woven together for better or worse. Can these teens escape their fate?

Told through many narrators, Unwind is a suspenseful, fast-paced read. While the premise is fascinating in and of itself, Shusterman manages to make this story resonate with strong characters. The world he creates is haunting yet not completely without hope and redemption as people—teens and adults—team up to change the world one step at a time.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman is dystopia at its best.

Quotes:

"Funny but when he was little Connor was terrified of the boogeyman. He would have to sleep with the lights on, he would have his parents check his closet every night. They told him that the boogeyman wasn't real, but they lied. The Bill of Life made the boogeyman real, and he didn't need the closet; he came walking right in through the front door." (4) 

"What does it take to unwind the unwanted? It takes twelve surgeons, in teams of two, rotating in and out as their medical specialty is needed. It takes nine surgical assistants and four nurses. It takes three hours." (288)

Read Unwind

• If you're a fan of dystopias, yes, it is YA dystopia, but I think adults will enjoy this one too.
• If you're a fan of science fiction; if you like thought-provoking science fiction.
• If you're looking for a book that's hard to put down.
• If you're a fan of Neal Shusterman.
• If you're looking forward to the sequel, Unwholly, and want to refresh your memory of the first book. 

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Rereading Divergent (YA)

Divergent. Veronica Roth. 2011. May 2011. HarperCollins. 496 pages.

There is one mirror in my house. Our faction allows me to stand in front of it on the second day of every third month, the day my mother cuts my hair. It is behind a sliding panel in the hallway upstairs.

What my original review couldn't tell you is how much I've continued to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Veronica Roth's Divergent.  I read this one last February, and it remained a favorite throughout the year. It definitely came close to topping my favorite-and-best list of 2011. And was by far the best YA book I read last year. There was something about Beatrice (Tris) and Tobias (Four) that stuck with me. I wanted to pick it up a half a dozen times at least to reread it, but I restrained myself. I wanted to save it up to read it close to the release date of the second book in the series, Insurgent. The truth is the moment I finished Divergent (the first and second time) I wanted, no, NEEDED, Insurgent to be right there for me to pick up. Of course, that was impossible.

From my original review:

Beatrice Prior, our sixteen-year-old narrator, is about to make the most important decision of her life. For two big days are coming: the day of the aptitude test and the Choosing Ceremony. Soon Beatrice will have to decide which faction she'll belong to for the rest of her life. If she chooses outside her parents' faction, she may never see them again. For ties to one's faction must come first. The five factions are as follows: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). Beatrice has been raised Abnegation, but it's always felt like a wrong fit. Selflessness does not come easy for her. She has spent the first sixteen years of her life practically invisible--blending into the background. But Beatrice has secretly been watching her Dauntless classmates. Dare she admit it aloud? She's thinking of choosing the most rebel faction of all!

But not all initiates make it into the Dauntless faction. Only the bravest. Only the strongest. Only the best. Readers follow Tris (Beatrice) on her new journey. We meet fellow initiates--those born Dauntless, and those transferring from other factions. We follow their training through three stages. They will be challenged physically, mentally, and emotionally. We become familiar with their two trainers--Eric and Four. We see the faction's strengths and weaknesses. As does Tris. On the one hand, Tris realizes she is fierce. She can be strong, determined, brave. She is learning to face her fears, learning to face life. But she's also realizing that compassion and love are part of courage. That selflessness has prepared her for her new life. On the other hand, she sees how heartless, how cruel some are. Yes, the Dauntless have their flaws.

Divergent is an action-packed dystopia. It's exciting. It's compelling. It's impossible to put down. The futuristic Chicago setting has been well-crafted. While only two factions are explored in this first novel in the trilogy, the glimpses we get of this world are fascinating. I loved the setting, the world-building. I loved the characters. Tris is such a great heroine. And Four. Well, I don't want to spoil it. But he's definitely a large part of why I loved this one! I would definitely recommend this one. I think I loved it even more than The Hunger Games trilogy.

What I can add:

There's nothing more to think about. I definitely, definitely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one above and beyond the Hunger Games. It's no contest really for me. I love this one above and beyond almost all the YA Science Fiction I've ever read. And maybe even more than I love most of the adult science fiction I've read.

And I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Four. I do. I just love every single scene he's in. He's giddy-making and oh-so-swoonworthy. (He even surpasses Marcus Flutie, something I thought near impossible. For those not familiar with Marcus Flutie--and why aren't you?--he's from Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling series. The first book is Sloppy Firsts.)

Read Divergent

• If you want to read a GREAT dystopian novel; I love it for the world-building; I love it for the characterization; I love it for its action and drama; I love it for its swoonworthy romance. This is NOT a romance book thinly disguised as dystopia. It's not. I promise.
• If you want to read a great YA book. I know not every adult will pick up a YA book. I know some are prejudiced against reading YA. But. This book deserves to be read no matter your age!
• If you want a book that you just CAN'T PUT DOWN. 

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Article 5 (YA)

Article 5. Kristen Simmons. Tor. 368 pages.

Beth and Ryan were holding hands. It was enough to risk a formal citation for indecency, and they knew better, but I didn't say anything. Curfew rounds wouldn't begin for another two hours, and freedom was stolen in moments like these.

If you enjoy YA dystopias, then you should give Kristen Simmons' Article 5 a try. There's no guarantee that you'll love it or even like it. You may not even want to finish it. But. I think it's worth trying for yourself--especially if your library has a copy. There are so very, very many dystopias available now that it is easy to tire of them. You do have to be in the proper mood to enjoy a dystopia, and if you're already tired of the genre, well, give it time--plenty of time. It's better to wait and get back in the mood than to push it.

And if romance annoys you, well, Article 5 may be one that you're never in the mood to read. BUT. That isn't a bad thing. I am not against *some* dystopias having *some* romance. I'm just of the opinion that the romance should be natural, should feel authentic and not forced. Romance should never, ever, ever be a requirement for dystopian novels. And when 90% of the focus is on romance and only 10% given over to world-building, well, it can get annoying very quickly. If you LOVE romance, then there shouldn't be a problem with Article 5. (Though I'm not saying that every reader will love this hero and heroine.)

I honestly don't know how I feel about Article 5. So I'll stick with what I do know. Article 5 was not a painful read. I read it in two days. And it was, for the most part, an easy read. It was a book that I definitely wanted to finish. And at the end of it, I didn't regret my time. But did I like it enough to say that I liked it? I'm not sure. Ember, our heroine, was an odd heroine. She didn't seem all that smart. And some of her rigid ideas of right and wrong seemed a little out of place considering the world she lived in. I can't really give an example without spoiling the book. But when you're trying to survive, fighting to live, and there are people hunting you down, people who are very brutal, who wouldn't hesitate to shoot you dead no questions asked, then you shouldn't be lecturing your boyfriend on how he was wrong to use violence to protect you from being raped and possibly killed. You just shouldn't. There were a couple of scenes where Ember was just impossible to like, impossible to understand. Chase is the boyfriend that she has a love/hate relationship with. (She feels she always knows what is best, what is right, what they should do, how they should do it, even though Chase has way, way, way more experience in dealing with the real world.)

Read Article 5

• If you enjoy YA dystopias, YA science fiction
• If you like YA romances
• If you like action/survival novels

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Partials (YA)

Partials. Dan Wells. 2012. HarperCollins. 480 pages.

Newborn #485GA18M died on June 30, 2076, at 6:07 in the morning. She was three days old. The average lifespan of a human child, in the time since the Break, was fifty-six hours. They didn't even name them anymore. Kira Walker looked on helplessly while Dr. Skousen examined the tiny body. The nurses--half of them pregnant as well--recorded the details of its life and death, faceless in bodysuits and gas masks. The mother wailed despondently from the hallway, muffled by the glass. Ariel McAdams, barely eighteen years old. The mother of a corpse.

It has been eleven years since a deadly virus (RM) killed most of the human race. The survivors who had--for one reason or another--a natural immunity to the virus have joined together and resettled on Long Island. The youngest human alive is a little over fourteen. Not long after the novel opens, the school shuts down because there are no more students to teach, and the teens are deemed old enough to go into a trade or be apprenticed into a trade. (Kira is in the medical field. She's not quite eighteen yet, so she's not "required" to be pregnant yet. But the Hope Mandate legislates women's lives. Humanity must be saved. And that means every woman old enough must do her part. True, no baby has survived past a few days old in eleven years. But they have to keep trying, right? They just can't give up on finding a cure and successfully reproducing, right? Well, hope isn't easy to come by. But when Kira's best friend becomes pregnant, she becomes DETERMINED to find the cure that will save her baby. Nothing is more important to Kira than the cure.

Once Kira's plan is formed, Partials is quite the compelling read!!! Kira and a handful of her friends set out to do something risky--something that appears to be quite insane. But Kira knows it is the only hope for finding a cure.

I enjoyed this one. I did. I'd definitely recommend it.

Favorite quote:

Happiness is the most natural thing in the world when you have it, and the slowest, strangest, most impossible thing when you don't. (78)

Read Partials

• If you enjoy science fiction, dystopias, or post-apocalyptic novels
• If you enjoy fiction with a survival theme
• If you enjoy unique coming-of-age stories 

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Fever (YA)

Fever. (Chemical Garden Series #2). Lauren DeStefano. 2012. Simon & Schuster. 352 pages.

We run, with water in our shoes and the smell of the ocean clinging to our frozen skin. 

Fever is the sequel to Wither. I definitely enjoyed it. I'm not sure if I liked it--or loved it--more than the first in the series. But I definitely found it compelling! I do think you'd need to read the series in order. I wouldn't recommend Fever to those who haven't read Wither. I think each book will, most likely, continue to get better and better. (Unless something weird happens like in Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn. Oh, how I wish I would have known to stop with Eclipse.)

 I enjoyed seeing what happened next to Rhine and Gabriel....after their escape. Fever is very exciting, very compelling, very different from the first book, at least I thought so. This isn't a sequel that really copies the first book. We actually get to see more of this world, this society. We meet a handful of characters. Some we learn about in greater depth, some just brief sketches. But even brief sketches can help readers see the big picture. And it isn't exactly pretty and full of hope.

I definitely am enjoying DeStefano's writing, her characters, her pacing, her world-building.

Read Fever

• If you're a fan of Wither, if you have to know what happens next
• If you're a fan of dystopias, of science fiction, with a medical twist

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Tankborn (YA)

Tankborn. Karen Sandler. 2011. Lee & Low Books. 384 pages.

Kayla hunched on the bank of the Chadi River while below her, Jal, her slender, black-skinned nurture brother, skipped from one deep pool of the river to another, searching for sewer toads. 

What I liked best about Tankborn was the world-building. Sandler challenges readers with it in places, which I thought was a good thing. The society and culture, the vocabulary, it took work. Both to read and to create. But that is one of the more enjoyable elements of speculative fiction (both in science fiction and fantasy) visiting a place--a world--so unlike our own.

Tankborn is set on another planet. And our heroine(s) are two young women that have been genetically engineered. (Their genes have been spliced--animal DNA has been added to human DNA. One of our heroines "sket" is nurturing (I believe the book mentioned this coming from dolphins?) and the other heroine's strength is strength (I can't remember which animal this comes from.) In this society, those that are 'tankborn' are called GEN. The "N" stands for non-human, or does it?! So these GENs aren't even worth being the lowest of the low in the caste system. They're bred--artificially, of course--for servitude, for slavery. They are raised by nurturers. When they're fifteen, each receives an assignment.

Kayla and Mishalla are our two heroines. The story begins with Kayla's story, but soon Mishalla's story becomes an essential element.

I do NOT want to say too much about this one!!! I thought it was a compelling read, and as is often the case with science fiction, it is best to read this one without knowing too much.

Read Tankborn

• If you're a fan of science fiction, particularly if you're interested in genetic engineering
• If you're a fan of books set on another planet
• If you're interested in social development, the development of different cultures, societies, caste systems, etc.
• If you're a fan of dystopias
• If you like a little romance with your science fiction (while romance doesn't dominate the story, it is definitely present)
• If you're looking for multicultural science fiction (POC characters) 
• If you don't mind new (created) vocabulary in your science fiction

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

All Good Children (YA)

All Good Children. Catherine Austen. 2011. Orca. 300 pages.

The airport security guard is not amused when I drop my pants in front of her. 

All Good Children is a dystopian novel with a school setting. In this futuristic all-too-troubled society, a town is about to force a change. For the better, they say. But should we trust them?! The members of the school board, the members of the community--the powers that be--feel that some kids are too disruptive. Some 'problem' kids are keeping the majority of other students from learning. Or as learning as much as they potentially could. If, you know, obedience was enforced, and nonconformity not an option. If children would just do as they're told, and only as they're told, wouldn't the lives of teachers and parents go more smoothly? Wouldn't parents and teachers be relieved to see such a dramatic change in their children? No more fighting. No more rebelling. No more nagging. No more drama. Just peace and quiet. But. They're not talking about drugging a few children, targeting the students with obvious behavior issues. Every boy. Every girl. From kindergarten on up. One grade at a time. One school at a time. A whole town is being transformed. No child is left capable of thinking or acting for themselves.  They're mindlessly content to stay on task, mindlessly repeating the rules they've been taught. The hero of All Good Children has escaped this punishment...so far...his mom is a nurse, a nurse in the know, and she was able to prevent her son and his best friend from receiving the shots. (She only pretended.) But they are forced to act mindless all the same. Because they know what will happen if they show some life...so what would you do, where would you go, what kind of escape can be found?

All Good Children had an interesting premise. I'm not sure that I loved it. I have a feeling that I'd have found Maxwell Connors annoying as a narrator if I hadn't been forced to pity him for his situation. Because it is hard for Maxwell to witness this phenomenon.

Read All Good Children

• If you're looking for a novel with a Twilight-Zone feel to it
• If you're a fan of dystopias
• If you're looking for yet another dystopian novel published in 2011 with an educational focus (like Scored, like The Predicted, like The Wikkeling)

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Crossed (YA)

Crossed. Ally Condie. 2011. Penguin. 368 pages.

I'm standing in a river. It's blue. Dark blue. Reflecting the color of the evening sky.

I enjoyed Matched, the first book in the series. And I was ready for the sequel, more ready than my library was apparently. I had high expectations for Crossed, and they were more than met!!! While I liked Matched, really liked it in places--though not because of the romance, more of the writing style--I just loved Crossed that much more. I thought the world-building was even better than in the first book. I thought the expanded world-building--the novel follows our hero and heroine on a journey--was great! It was impossible to put this one down. It demanded to be read in a single setting.

So. Crossed was narrated by Ky and Cassia. These two are apart at the beginning of the novel, readers actually see Cassia follow in Ky's footsteps for the first third of the novel, but the two are eventually reunited...but they're never quite alone. For Crossed introduces new characters!!! Cassia has escaped with Indie, and Ky has escaped with Vick and Eli. Each character has a story, a story they're willing to share with others, and a story that they'd never share with others because it hurts too much. I liked seeing these people team up and work together, I did. The story was definitely suspenseful in many, many ways.

Read Crossed

• If you enjoyed Matched, the first in the series by Ally Condie
• If you enjoy dystopia, yes, it's dystopia with a bit of romance, but the world-building can be interesting too
• If you enjoy some action and suspense in your science fiction

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Pledge (YA)

The Pledge. Kimberly Derting. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 336 pages.

From the prologue: The air crackled like a gathering thunderstorm the moment the girl entered the chamber. She was just a child, but her presence changed everything.

From chapter one: I gritted my teeth as Mr. Grayson's voice grew louder and louder, until there was no mistaking that he meant for the people in the congested street to hear him, despite the fact that he knew full well they couldn't understand a single word he spoke.

I just LOVED The Pledge. I did. From the very start, this one had me hooked. The prologue was great at setting the tone and atmosphere of this one. And once the novel started, it just kept getting better and better!!!

The heroine of The Pledge, Charlaina, (Charlie) has a secret, a BIG, BIG secret that only her closest family members know. For if her secret was revealed, she could be killed. Her secret? Well, she understands all the languages--both spoken and written--no matter what the class. In her world, in her society, EACH class has their own language. The classes communicate together using Englaise, but each class has their own language that is their own. It keeps everyone in place, in line. You're never to make eye contact with someone in a higher class, you're supposed to show the most formal respect at all times. And that includes NEVER looking up when someone is speaking in a different language than you're own. So Charlie has grown up having to be super-careful. She can't let on that she understands every single word uttered in her presence. But her secret is becoming trickier to hide--perhaps she's grown a little too confident? Regardless Charlie's secret becomes known to one or two others...and what they do with that knowledge, well, it changes everything...

So I don't want to say too much about this one. It's such a great book. The world created by Kimberly Derting is oh-so-fascinating. And the storytelling was quite good too. I found myself caring about these characters so much. It was almost impossible to put this one down!!!

Read The Pledge

• If you're a fan of science fiction, dystopia
• If you want action, adventure, mystery, drama, and a little romance in your dystopia
• If you are looking for an intense read

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Predicteds (YA)

The Predicteds. Christine Seifert. 2011. Sourcebooks. 352 pages.

From the prologue: The rose-patterned carpet of the room reminds me of the guest room in my grandmother's house. When I was a kid there, I used to hop from petal to petal. If I landed on white space or a leaf, I had to start over again. 

Even though I found this one a bit predictable, it was such an entertaining read, I didn't mind that I guessed who the 'bad guy' was so early on.

Daphne Wright, our heroine, has recently moved with her mother to Quiet, Oklahoma. What she doesn't know--at the beginning--is that Quiet is a test town for Profile, a project that her mother worked on and developed for several years. Her mother didn't like the direction the project was taking, and left it behind her. Or so it seems. But after a school shooting--the only fatality being the shooter, the rest were just injuries--things begin to change. Officials at the school decide to release the results of Profile--the names of individuals that certain tests have "shown" to be future offenders. These fall generally into two categories: potentially violent (rape, murder, etc.) and self-destructive (teen pregnancies, drug addictions, alcoholism, gambling addictions, etc.) Many "believe" that if Profile has predicted such a fate--then your failure is just a matter of time. You may not be a criminal today, but next year? five years from now? ten years from now? It's all a matter of time. As you might have guessed, once these results are made public, NO ONE wants to be near a Predicted. And the adults agree deciding that it just isn't right that Predicteds share a classroom with everyone else. They shouldn't even be in the same building. All contact between the two groups should stop. These people are designated too dangerous to know.

So. Our heroine, Daphne, has some issues with what is going on because her love interest, Jesse, turns out being one of those on the list. Her so-called "friends" urge her to dump him immediately. (Don't get me started on her "friends.") And she does let doubt stop her from using common sense there for a couple of chapters, but in the end when everything is-oh-so-obvious she regrets that she missed her chance with him and asks him to forgive her and give her another chance.

I liked this one. I did. I may not love it. But I thought it was an interesting read on an interesting topic: profiling, segregation, and discrimination. If future crimes could be "predicted" at an early age--between fourteen or eighteen, for example--would that effect how they are treated by people--not just their peers, but by everyone? Is knowing the result of a test validation to judge someone for something they haven't done...at least not yet? And wouldn't telling someone that they were going to grow up to be a certain way be a dangerous self-fulfilling prophecy? So it was a thoughtful dystopia novel with a school setting.

Read The Predicteds

• If you're a fan of science fiction and dystopia
• If you like books with a school setting 
• If you like your YA with a little drama and romance
• If you're a fan of Scored

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Death Cure (YA)

The Death Cure. James Dashner. 2011. Random House. 324 pages.

It was the smell that began to drive Thomas slightly mad. Not being alone for over three weeks. Not the white walls , ceiling, and floor. Not the lack of windows or the fact that they never turned off the lights. None of that. 

The Death Cure concludes James Dashner's Maze Runner trilogy. The first two books are The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials.

What can I say? I would NOT recommend beginning any trilogy with the last book, the books MUST be read in order. And anything I say here about the third book would spoil the first two in the series!

Like the previous books in the series, it is compelling and action-packed. It is also very complex. It's not enough to have two or three twists and turns. It always, always, always keeps you guessing. If you want all the answers neatly given to you, then this one won't be for you.

It had only been a year since I read the previous books, but, I think I would have appreciated this one more if I'd taken the time to reread the books. I think the books may work best if they are read close together. Which is only natural. Since they're so intense, since you're left wanting more, wanting answers, needing to know what happens next...


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Wikkeling (MG)

The Wikkeling. Steven Arntson. Illustrated by Daniela J. Terrazzini. 2011. Running Kids Press. 235 pages.

Prologue: The Old City lies on a long, low hill. It is dangerous and dilapidated.

Chapter one: "Sensible students succeed splendidly!" said Ms. Span, a primly dressed teacher sitting behind a computer at the front of the class, her thick, black eyebrows arching over the top of her reading glasses. "Yes, Ms. Span!" said the students. They sat in neat rows that filled the room, faces lit yellow from the light of their own computers.

I'm not sure that The Wikkeling is right for every reader, but I think some readers will find it deliciously creepy and haunting. This dystopian fantasy focuses on education, on the education system. (Though the focus isn't exclusively on schools and classrooms and tests. We do get a wider glimpse of this society, and all the "corrections" they've made.)

In this society, almost every one lives in the Addition, lives in plastic houses, I believe. But that isn't the case for our heroine, Henrietta, or her much younger friend, Rose. She still lives with her family in an older house, though there is still pressure for them all to move to a safer house, a house that wouldn't be a 'danger'. And, Rose, well, she lives in a GREAT place. But that is a big, big secret. These two are friends with Gary, Ms. Span's son. And these three discover something mysteriously wonderful in Henrietta's attic. And it all begins with a discovery of a cat.

I enjoyed this one. I'm not sure I loved it exactly. It was a little too weird. (Like Coraline was a little too weird for me to love.) But I certainly enjoyed it; I'm glad I read it. I think this novel had a great blend to it. I definitely found it interesting. And the chapter on the test is a great example of that. (I also loved the relationship between Henrietta and her grandfather, and how he becomes involved in this mystery.)


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Human.4 (YA)

Human.4 Mike A. Lancaster. 2011. Egmont USA. 240 pages.

When Danny Birnie told us that he had hypnotized his sister we all though he was mad. Or lying. Or both.

Our narrator, Kyle Straker, is living in a strange, strange world where he and three others have suddenly become irrelevant. It started when he volunteered at a local talent show to be hypnotized. It wasn't that he wanted to volunteer, just that in a moment of weakness he had pity on Danny while he was doing his act. His former girlfriend, Lilly, also happened to volunteer just about the same time he did. Two adults, Mrs. O'Donnell and Mr. Peterson, also volunteered. All were hypnotized. All woke up in this strange, strange new reality.

This book is part science fiction, part horror, and part mystery. It was a quick read! I liked it. I wouldn't say I loved it. But for a quick premise-driven read, it was a good choice.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews