Allegiant

Well it's been just about one year since I raved about Divergent and gave a so-so rating to Insurgent. My original plan was to read Allegiant as soon as it came out. A year later, I finally got to it.

I tried. I really, really tried to finish this book. After I fell asleep a few times while reading it, I still tried. Even when I was thinking "Where is this story going?" I forged ahead. As I rolled my eyes at the downright stupid plot, I pressed on. Then about three quarters of the way through, I was over it. I was tired of forcing myself. So I just stopped.  I went online and Googled the ending and then I felt justified in not finishing it. It seems this trilogy has fallen victim to whatever bad luck happens to these young adult series when the authors have run out of ideas or have dragged the story on entirely too long (see: Twilight and Hunger Games). Why must they write three (or four) increasingly bad books when one really good one (usually the first one) would have sufficed? Divergent started off so strongly that for it to end in this travesty is certainly a shame. Maybe it's because I let so much time pass between reading books one and two? Maybe so much time passed that I just didn't care as much anymore? Whatever it is, I'm not going to spend another minute trying to figure it out because this book already took enough of my precious time.

Read Divergent, but take a pass on finishing the series. If you make your own ending up and everyone dies in some freak accident, you still will be more satisfied with that ending than what actually exists.

The Fault in Our Stars

In May of this year, I completed an earlier book by John Green called Looking for Alaska.  I had lukewarm feelings about that book.  This book, The Fault in Our Stars, received rave reviews and I was on the library waiting list forever and a day.  Finally it came in for me this week and I devoured it in two days.  Hands down, for me, this book trumps Looking for Alaska ten-fold. As I was reading the book, I already told myself that I would re-read it one day.

I don't want to give too much away, but the story is about two teens who are both cancer survivors. They meet at a support group and their story goes from there.  The fact that there is cancer involved should tell you that there are going to be some rough patches. If you are a parent, you will cry when you read this book.  If you aren't a parent, you might cry too or at least get a little misty eyed.  While I didn't cry, there were some moments when my emotions were being tugged in several directions.  My disclaimer is that since I work in pediatrics, it takes a lot for me to cry when I hear pediatric stories.  I get too wrapped up in the medical.  Fair warning though, the "tear-jerker" factor of this book is pretty high.

Speaking of emotions, I think I really enjoyed the book because of the emotional maturity of the main characters.  Green doesn't write about teens who play the victim. They are very observant and astute.  They read literature and have existential thoughts about it.  Whenever I read a book that was written for a young audience and find that the characters are smartly portrayed, I breathe a sigh of relief.  The girl isn't playing dumb and coy and the boy has more going for him than looks.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and think it deserved the wonderful reviews.  I may have picked it up from the public library, but I think it's worthy of purchasing for my personal library.

Looking For Alaska

A friend who liked the author's writing style recommended this book to me.  Since I had been toying with the idea of reading The Fault in Our Stars (also by this author), I figured it would be a good idea to start with his first work. The book is written for young adults and has won some literature awards in that genre.  My opinion of it, though, was more along the lines of "meh".

Children all go through a pre-operational stage of thinking that is egocentric.  The world revolves around them and their problems.  This is not a slight on teenagers or children.  We all go through it as we develop.  Some people never outgrow it. So in this story we have a boy who is a high school junior at a boarding school. He makes some friends and meets a pretty girl named Alaska.  He develops a huge crush on her. Then about five months after meeting Alaska and becoming friends with her, something tragic happens.  After the tragedy, he spends the rest of the book in a self-centered circle of pity. It's all about HIM and how what happened to her affected HIM.  The book is split into two sections labeled 'Before' and 'After', referring to before the tragedy and after the tragedy.  The 'Before' section was tolerable, and even funny in parts, but Alaska is slightly annoying and was not really likable (to me).  So when the tragedy happened, I didn't really care because I didn't really like her character.  The protagonist, however, is a young boy who thinks this tragedy is all about him and some fantasy life he imagined with this girl.  I repeatedly, in my head, said, "Get over it!  You've only known the girl for five months and you didn't even know her that well. Why do you think it's all about you?"

So while the writing style was fine and easy to digest, the latter part of the story dragged on and bored me.

Insurgent

Well you know once I love a book in a series I have to jump on it the series.  So I got the second book in the series yesterday at the library and finished it today (teen book = quick read).  Now on to the review.

Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did I love it as much as Divergent? Not so much.  It is the same with most "second books" in a trilogy.  You get a little bit of new information in order to move the story along, but nothing too crazy happens because all of the heavy stuff should happen in the final book.  The protagonist has some angst about some of the things she saw and did in the first book so she's pretty much depressed throughout the book and is now unable to perform at her best.  You know I hate that sh*t.  Excuse the profanity, but nothing gets me more riled up than a girl who weakens under pressure and starts making bad decisions instead of standing strong in the face of adversity and giving it the finger.  Anyway, she snaps out of it a little bit so I'll give her a small pass.  However, she better be about her life in Book 3.

The redeeming quality of this book was the big reveal at the end.  It is reminiscent of one of M. Night Shyamalan's movies.  I'll let you figure out which one if you read the book.  If you don't think you'll ever read this series and are curious, though, you can highlight below for the spoiler.

Spoiler starts here---> The factions discover that they are enclosed by the fence to protect them from the outside world where apparently there is a lot of murder, madness, and mayhem going on. That's the part that sounds like The Village by M. Night Shyamalan.  The kicker is that the founder of all this faction madness is one of the main character's family members. The instructions from the founder are that the fence should be opened wide when the number of Divergent has grown exponentially (which it now has). <---Spoiler ends here

And there you have it. Insurgent was not as exciting for me as Divergent.  It also was not without its flaws, but it did what it was supposed to do, which was reveal some major new information to propel the story forward. I still plan on reading Allegiant (Book 3) when it comes out in a few months because I want to see where the author takes these characters.  I will see it through to the end!

Divergent

My whole review should really consist of the following sentence:

I stayed up until 1:30am to finish this book.

That tells you everything you need to know.  I loved this book.  It kept me engaged.  I even went to a few fansites to peruse different information about different factions to see which faction I would call home (Amity!).  I have not been this into a "young adult" novel since Harry Potter (where, incidentally, I'm completely positive I would be in Ravenclaw). I have a weird relationship with books for the youth because on the one hand you have to accept that there will be childish behavior from some of the characters because, well, they are children.  On the other hand, when done right, it is refreshing to see something with a little bit of innocence attached.  Fresh eyes.

Having said that, I seem to make poor choices for these series.  I hated Twilight and will never get those hours of my life back. The Hunger Games was a disappointing series for me because the protagonist slowly became catatonic and less empowered when she should have been going from district to district raising a rebel army.  I'm still an optimist though. So when I heard about Divergent, I thought I would give it a try because the premise sounded decent and these books are usually quick, light reads.

In Divergent, we have all the requisite elements:
1) Protagonist teenage girl: 16 years old (just old enough to kiss, but not *quite* old enough for sex)
2) Brooding love interest
3) Dystopian future
4) Sidekicks
5) Mean adult antagonist
6) Similarly mean teenage antagonist
7) Conflict between good and evil

Now you can apply these elements to a story and it can flop because one element or another is weak.  But, elemental formulas don't always mean it will flop (see: Jodi Picoult). The author uses the formula well here.

Brief description:  Main character, Tris, finds out that she is different from the other teens who test into different factions of society.  She is Divergent, which is something powerful, but she doesn't understand how powerful it is and what it all means.  She is warned to never tell anyone she's Divergent, but instead to just pick a faction she thinks she can function in and press on.  She picks a faction and begins to learn what it really means to be Divergent and why she is a threat to others.  After this first book, I'm going all in for Book 2. If that one doesn't disappoint, I'll be ready for Book 3 when it is released in October.  I really, really, really want this series to rise to the occasion. I don't want the main character to become a puddle of weak female teenage emotions at the end.  That's all I ask.  I want to believe again!

Beautiful Creatures

I tore through this book in about two days because it's another teen fantasy book (i.e. quick read).  I ended up reading this because I saw Viola Davis will be in the movie and I like her. Since the book is always better than the movie, I downloaded it to my Nook for $3.99 and got to reading.  Anyway, it's your typical, new kid in school is kind of weird/magical; one of the regular students falls for new kid; they love each other but can't really be together (physically) because of the magical weirdness; and they have to fight some dark evil, story.  Yes, it's a plot we've seen ad nauseum, but I will haltingly admit that I enjoyed it for what it was. The key words in that sentence are "for what it was". You have to go into the story understanding that it's a teen fantasy.  If you know and accept that, you'll more readily accept some of the plot holes and leaps of logic that have to be made.  You also have to understand that you will know what's going on in the story about five chapters before the characters do. I must have thought "It's a trap you idiot! Don't do it!" at least twenty times.  Those are the things you expect when you're an adult reading a teen novel.  If it went deeper psychologically, it wouldn't be a teen book. However, the escapism is often enough of a trade-off that it's worth it. In this case the escapism was worth it.  Will I read the complete series?  Possibly in the summer since they are quick reads.  Seems like a series I could take on vacation.

The Diviners

Yes, this book can be found in the "Teen" section of your local library or bookstore, but it was a great read!  The setting is New York City in the 1930s and there is a supernatural killer on the loose.  A group of teenagers with supernatural powers (but they don't really know or understand why they have these powers) are coming into their own while also trying to stop the killer.  I'm assuming this is going to be a series even though the title doesn't specifically say "Book One" or anything like that.  It has an awesome cliffhanger at the end so I'm hoping for a second book...maybe a trilogy! Also in this tome, we are just starting to get to know the characters and their specific powers. There are two dream walkers, a healer, a young boy who can see the future, a boy who can become invisible, a robo-boy and a girl who I think controls heat or fire (it was unclear).  Some of the characters only crossed paths with one another while others became fast friends. Many of the characters don't even know what to do with their powers yet.  This book was a great introduction and set up.  You can just tell that they will eventually form a group and battle evil.  Or perhaps there will be some who will fight for good and some for evil.  It's the oldest battle in the world, good vs. evil.  It was a fun, fast read that I'd recommend over Twilight any day!  If you are going to let your child read it, just a heads up that there are murders with mutilation in this book (i.e. one person is killed and the hands are removed). Nothing is described in too much gore, but if you have a sensitive reader, be forewarned.

Mockingjay

Well, in all honesty, I read this book because I often feel compelled to complete trilogies.  I didn't quite care for book two in the trilogy, but I pressed on so I could give an honest opinion of the entire trilogy. Now that I've read all three books, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I'm disappointed.  The protagonist is yet another weak, indecisive young woman (see Twilight series).  I'm so tired of these series portraying young women as victims.  Most of the action that takes place in this book only superficially involves the main character.  Usually she ends up having some kind of mental meltdown and someone else has to either talk her off the ledge or complete the action for her.  I get that it's a series for young readers, but why can't young women read about other young women who kick-ass and get over the mental blocks? Why can't we see a female character who is not crippled with "boy trouble"?  The first book was great, the second was repetitive and the third just dragged.  When I first began this series, I envisioned it going in a more political thriller/espionage direction, but it seems as if the author is either incapable of good plot and character development or just disinterested.  In the end it's a tepid teenage love story encased in the disguise of a (weak) political thriller.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I can't quite put my finger on why it took me a little while to become interested in this book, but it wasn't until around page 120 that things started to move along quickly enough for me. When it did start moving, I couldn't put the book down.  However, for the first 120 pages I was only mildly interested.  The basic premise is that a young boy learns that his grandfather was a "peculiar child" who spent some time at a home for "peculiar children".  After the grandfather dies, the boy is thrown into a bit of a mystery. He must find these children if they are still alive.  What he discovers includes an adventure surrounding children with X-men mutant-type talents, time travel, and supernatural bad guys.  Vintage photos are interspersed within the chapters, and I found those to be very interesting. However, at times I felt the author was trying too hard to incorporate the photos into the story. There is also room at the end for a sequel, but when I finished the book, I specifically had the thought "I will not be reading the sequel to this".  The concept was unique and it was a quick read once you got into it, but the problem was actually getting into it.

Switched

So I feel a little crappy today.  I'm PMSing and I'm snotty.  What better way to spend the day than to shun all schoolwork and finish this book I got for $1 on my Kindle.  It is just like Twilight but instead of the vampire/werewolf angle, it's about trolls and humans.  I kid you not.  It reads like it was written by a teenager but the author is really like 27 y.o. and uses the word "foxy"....as in "He looked really foxy."  If anything, this book has inspired me even more to get cracking on writing my own tome.

Catching Fire

 *********SPOILER ALERT*********

you will have to highlight certain areas if you want to know what happens

Book #2 in the Hunger Games series.  Ok...I was all into this one.....until she had to go back to the damn hunger games.  After that I was like "really??!!"  UGH!  The adventure of the second Hunger Games  was kind of interesting with the clock and all but I wanted her to have an adventure covertly traveling through all the other districts until she discovered whether or not District 13 existed.  I think it would have made an even more interesting plot and possibly introduced us to some new rebel characters to prepare us for "Mockingjay", the final book in the trilogy (yes, I peeked ahead to see if it was worth finishing this trilogy).

The Hunger Games

If you ever saw the movie Battle Royale and enjoyed it, you will like this book.  Although this book is more PG rated instead of R (Battle Royale is BRUTAL!).  I liked it and will most likely complete the series, but I think I was a little ruined by having seen a movie with a similar premise first.

The Lightning Thief

Quick little kiddie read....almost in the same vein as Harry Potter (but doesn't draw you in as much).  I was hoping for another magical-esque series because I miss Harry Potter (and I'm not ashamed to admit it!!)