Review ][ Divergent

Title ][ Divergent

Author ][ Veronica Roth

Chapters (Summary) ][ link

Rating ][

This book was A-MAZE-ING! I read it in 7 hours straight. Okay, that's not quite true because I took an 8 hour sleep break in the middle but at 2 a.m. I figured it was time to put the book down.

As you can tell, I really loved this book. The whole thing was really fast paced but I never felt like I was missing anything. And on top of that, Roth expertly weaves in undertones of rebellion and what is happening in Tris' (the main character) world while following the main plot line of Tris' training, which is happening in an underground cave. Quite the accomplishment considering where Tris' is trapped and that she isn't really in the middle of all the changes until the end of the book. However, the reader still gets the sense that the society has reached it's breaking point.

Now I have to rave about Tris' world a bit. The whole story takes place in a dystopian Chicago, and the entire population is divided into five factions depending on the trait they value the most. There is Abnegation (selflessness), Erudite (intelligence), Amity (peacefulness), Candor (honesty), and Dauntless (courage). Guess which one yours truly, the book-lover and straight-A student, would choose? Anyways, I found the whole societal structure really unique and, unlike other dystopian novels I've read, it seems to work. After all it's not a flaw in the system, but the darker side of human nature which brings the government down in the end.

On top of everything else in this novel, there was romance as well. However, it wasn't the instantly-fall-in-love-with-a-guy kind, and there were no love triangle. I actually loved how slowly Tris' relationship developed because the two character really spent time getting to know each other and it was sweet. I'll admit I fell in love with Tris' boyfriend as well and he's my new fictional crush. X3 Just kidding, but I seriously did love the romance in this novel, and it was pretty clean as well.

Why five kernels? This book was really well written and fast paced. It was really hard to find a spot where I could put it down because there was always something going on that I wanted to read about. Divergent also seems to have everything, from clapsing dystopian societies, to warrior-like training that reminded me of Tamora Pierce's or Diana Peterfruend's books, to romance, to humor, and pretty much everything in between. It's a must read, especially if you enjoyed The Hunger Games.

And I seriously can't wait for the next one because the end was... well... not where I expected the book to end.

][ Midelaye

Review ][ Delirium

Title ][ Delirium 

Author ][ Lauren Oliver

Chapters (Summary) ][ link

Rating ][ 

When I turned the last page of this book, my first reaction was "... what?". I know a lot of people loved it, but I'll try to explain as well as I can, without giving away any spoilers, why it didn't work for me.  If you really want to be surprised by it, just skip the next paragraph.

One of the main characters died (well, I thought they did but apparently it was left open-ended; I'm going to go on as if this character died), but it seemed really pointless to me. It seemed like they didn't have to die, and when they did, I didn't really care. When they died, I realized that I didn't know them as well as I thought I did and wished I'd known and cared about them more before the author killed them off. Sure, they were amazing and sweet and totally worth falling in love with, but we didn't really know any of their hobbies or little idiosyncrasies that really made them them. I feel like a much better ending would have been the death of the other main character (who we knew better and cared more about), or one of them dieing to save the other out of love, or both dieing in a Romeo and Juliet-type ending. Maybe I just missed the whole point, but the ending seemed weird and pointless to me.

However, if they didn't die the ending would be much better. Also, if both main characters died, it would be nigh impossible to continue the series.

That said, the rest of this book is phenomenal! The whole idea of a society where love is seen as a disease and can be stopped with an operation is intriguing. I loved all the little details Oliver adds because it really makes you consider what our world would be like without love beyond the obvious things like... well... no one would be in love. The romance in it was also really sweet, and since the characters took a long time to fall in love and get to know each other, it was believable. I also adored the snippets of information at the beginning of each chapter from government websites and text books. It gave the whole book a sense of reality.

Why four kernels? The book was amazing, and I couldn't put it down, but the ending really threw me off and I'm not sure if I'd read the second book. It's not that I don't want to read it because I think it would be bad, but I feel as if the first book wraps up fairly well and I also think I can fill in the missing information myself. I didn't even know it was part of a series until today, and I was okay with that.

Now I feel as if I'm missing something because practically everyone else gave it 5 stars, but that is my honest opinion.  

][ Midelaye

 

Summer Reading List

These are all of the books I plan to read this summer. If there are any others you recommend, let me know! So, in no particular order...

• Eona [Alison Goodman]
• Wereling Book 1: Wounded [Stephen Cole]
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth [Carrie Ryan]
• Interview with a Vampire [Anne Rice]
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [Stieg Larsson]
• The Drake Chronicles [Alyxandra Harvey]
• Nightshade [Andrea Cremer]
• Thirteen Days to Midnight [Patrick Carman]
• Life of Pi [Yann Martel]
• Blood Red Road [Moira Young]
• Divergent [Veronica Roth] (Review)
• Daughter of the Flames [Zoe Marriott]
• The Monstrumologist [Rick Yancey]
• The Swan Kingdom [Zoe Marriot]
• Interwined [Gena Showalter]
• Wither [Lauren DeStafano]
• Nevermore [Kelly Creagh]
• Plain Kate [Erin Bow]
• Entwined [Heather Dixon]
• Across the Universe [Beth Revis]
• Paranormalcy [Kiersten White]
• My Double Life [Janette Rallison]
• Inside Out [Marie V. Snyder]
• The Dark Divine [Bree Despain]
• Birthmarked [Caragh O'Brien]
• Everlost [Neal Schusterman]
• The Princess and the Hound [Mette Ivie Harrison]

That's 27 books in about 2 1/2 months. Library, here I come!

Hello!

Hello! I'm Midelaye, and avid reader. This blog was born of my need for good books, to remember which books I've read, and  to know and share what I thought of them. You see, I read tons of books. Almost all my waking moments are spent with my nose in a book, and all my sleeping moments are spent dreaming about characters or worlds I've read about. And since I knew I'd be doing nothing this summer except lying around on the couch playing on my laptop, I figured I may as well do something semi-productive. Hence, this blog was created.

So, a little bit more about me. I'm a teenage girl and I read almost exclusively YA fiction. No, I'm not a rapid fangirl of that Twilight series most my peers call a "totally awe~some novel!". My tastes run more towards dystopian, horror, rip-your-guts-out werewolves, and the occasional twisted fairytale.You may be wondering what my favourite books are. Well, here's a list. I'd rate all of these books five stars, but I probably won't do a full review because I can't remember my initial reaction to them. There are more but I can't think of them right now. Sorry ^^;

• The Hunger Games Series [Suzanne Collins]
  
• The Maze Runner Series (I'll review Death Cure when it comes out) [James Dashner]
• Eon (I'll review Eona when I finally get it) [Alison Goodman]
• The Sisters Red [Jackson Pearce]
• Terrier and Bloodhound [Tamora Pierce]
• Graceling [Kristin Cashore]
• The Killer Unicorn Series [Diana Peterfruend]

Why popcorn? Because I love popcorn. And I just can't manage to put it down until the bowl is empty, just like a good book.

What else should you know about me? I ride horses and also draw. I may post some fan-art sketches here as well as reviews.

Welcome to Popcorn Paperbacks!