Saturday, April 7, 2012
Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth
My Thoughts: As the second book in the Divergent Trilogy, Insurgent is just around the corner, I finally managed to tackle down Divergent. Phew, just in time. I knew that it had a huge hype, but now everywhere I'm looking it's Insurgent this, Insurgent that. A mere few days ago I had no idea what the fuss was about. If you said Four, I thought of I Am Number Four....But now Four, is well Four.
I was a little afraid I wouldn't like it as much as everyone else in the world who read it seems to, but after a few pages, I was hooked.
Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.
The story is like as if someone took the first - still great - 4 or 5 books of Harry Potter, Battle Royal and a few other dystopian novels, threw them in a mixer with some cool tattoos, pushed the button and hoped for the best. Aaaand somehow this new "cocktail" is totally works. It even becomes an obsession. Maybe because the characters are really great. They're all well-defined and multi-faceted. I really liked Tris, she had her faults, but was a fantastically brave Dauntless. She wasn't fearless, but learned to conquer her fears. And she was easy to connect with. And Four, oh Four...I loved him sooo much!! I don't think I can write anything coherent of him, he was that amazing. He has such a heartbreaking story. *cry*
And I just loved hating Eric.
I'm a huge tattoo fan (no, I don't have any), so I loved the culture of tattoos&piericings of the Dauntless Faction.
I'm really happy now, that I've read Divergent. :) And what makes me more happier, is that I don't have to wait too much until the next book is out. Because I simply cannot wait to read more about Tris and Four.
I have to say that I didn't like the original cover, but fell in love at first sight with the UK one. :)
I highly recommend Divergent to everyone. If you haven't read it already, read it right now!
Title: Divergent
Series: Divergent #1
Author: Veronica Roth
Blurb from Goodreads:
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her. Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.
Published:
February 2nd 2012 by HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks
What do you think? Which cover is your favorite? I absolutely love both covers of Insurgent. The UK one has this fantastic purple color and those burning leaves. But that tree on the US cover is just something I can't stop staring at. It's like a tornado that sucks you in. Hmmm...I think I want the US one this time . :)
Have you read Divergent? Are waiting for Insurgent as much as I do? Or maybe more? Or you're one of those who missed the bandwagon?
The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
My Thougths: My very favorite movie is Gattaca, and I think the concept of The Hunt is very similar to that movie. In Gattaca people with superior DNA are having great jobs, money and all the luxury you can image. And the other, normal people, who are a little too short, or have some hereditary disease, or any kind of imperfection are treated as in-valids. And they only could have menial jobs. The protagonist of the movie, Vincent is born as an in-valid. But he has a huge dream of
becoming an astronaut. It seems like an impossible dream, but he never gives up. He manages to decive everyone and fulfills his dream. There are no vampires in the film, but the resemblence is quite noticeable, in my opinion.
“I remember the Hunt from ten years ago. How for months afterward I didn’t dare fall asleep because of the nightmares that would invade my mind: hideous images of an imagines Hunt, wet and violent and full of blood. Horrific cries of fear and panic, the sound of flesh ripped and bones crushed puncturing the night stillness.”
The main character in The Hunt is a human boy who has to live in a world where mankind is almost extinct thanks to the vampires. So to stay alive he has to pretend being a vampire.
The vampire sociaty is really creepy in this book. They drink blood, of course, but their whole behavior is just disgusting. Like the way they're scratching their wrists, when they're excited, or find something funny....So I can totally understand how those things could put off some readers. But I personally thought that it suited the story.
I said main character above, because vampires don't have names, only designations. But the summary spoils that he's name is Gene.... So I guess it means I can use his name in my review, too. :) I really, really liked Gene. He had some stupid moments, and made some bad decisions, but hey he's just a human. And I liked how he managed to pretend being a vampire for so long. It was like watching Vincent pretending to be a "super-human". All the cleaning routines, the way he controlled his expressions etc. And I kind of imaged Gene as a young Ethan Hawke. So he was pretty hot in my mind. :P
The story also bears resemblances to Battle Royal and The Hunger Games. Maybe I should only mention Hunger Games, because that seems to be the more popular now. But I still think Battle Royal is a much better book, and I count it as the origin of all survival game books. Plus both authors are Asian (Fukuda is half-Japanese, half-Chinese). And I have a soft spot for Asian authors, so this was another reason I really looked forward to reading this book. As I was really in Ethan Hawke fangirl mode when I read The Hunt, I noticed that his more recent vampire movie, Daybreakers also has some similarities to the book. So I definitely don't think the concept was that original. Vampires and survival games are the "It" things now in YA books. But Andrew Fukuda still managed to surprise me. When I thought the story would go one way, it went the another. And this "change of direction" happened at least twice. I liked how unpredictable the story was. There was a cliffhanger and a twist at the end that I didn't see coming at all. And I can't wait to see how it continues in the next book.
I recommend The Hunt if you love: scary vampires, dystopian books, Battle Royal, The Hunger Games, male protagonists, Daybreakers or/and Gattaca.
Title: The Hunt
Series: The Hunt #1
Author: Teri Terry
Blurb from Goodreads:
Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them. Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.
When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?
Published:
May 8th 2012 by St. Martin's Griffin
Friday, April 6, 2012
Follow Friday 「9」
Q: Have you ever bought a book BECAUSE of a bad review?
Never. I almost always pick books with high overall rating (4+, or at least 3.5+) on Goodreads. And I rarely read full reviews before reading the book. I read the summary, check the overall rating, look at my friends ratings, and if everything sounds good, I'll buy the book. Life is too short to waste time for bad books. :)
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Waiting on Wednesday 「3」
I have to confess that I haven't read anything by Julie Kagawa, yet. I know that she writes the very popular Iron Fey series. But I'm not a big fan of faeries...., but VAMPIRES? Oh, yes!!
Slide (Slide #1) by Jill Hathaway
My Thoughts: I love reading 'amateur sleuth' novels. I like that there're so many different types of them: light ones, where the focus is more on the romance than on the actual crime solving; darker, scary ones; the ones with something paranormal in them. Slide is a great mix of these types. It has some romance in it, but the story is quite dark. And much more serious, than I expected. Plus it has a huge dose of paranormal in it.
Lately, I've been sliding more often. ... It's like the sliding is picking up momentum somehow. It's like there's a reason behind it. I just wish I knew what it was.
Since her mother died Sylvia, or Vee in short, has some kind of supernatural narcolepsy. When she falls asleep she slides into other people's mind. She has no control of the body she's in it, Vee can only watch from inside what other people are doing. It sounds crazy and very scary, right? Being trapped in a body, having no control over what's happening. So naturally she's not a happy camper. She hates her "power" and fights to stay awake. Then something much more scarier happens than her usual "trip" into someone's mind. She slides into a killer when she/he kills a girl. A girl who was a friend of her sister. And Vee can do nothing to stop the murder.
The characters were complex and well-developed, and the writing was amazing. I loved Vee, and really liked her sister, too. I read Slide in a day, because it was impossible to put down. It was that awesome. I enjoyed the whole book, but there was this one time when I thought: it would be so much better if Vee....(I don't want to be a spoiler, so I won't go into details). Aaand after a few pages she did exactly what I wanted her to do. Smart girl :)
Slide was a book I really anticipated, and it didn't disappoint. I was blown away by this unique story and cannot wait to read more from Jill Hathaway. Slide is a first book in a series, but I think the ending was absolutely perfect. *sigh* It was nice to read a book that didn't have a killer cliffhanger. This was so good, it didn't need that kind of "trick" to keep the reader. I'll be definitely back to read the next book. I highly recommend Slide to everyone.
Btw, I love those covers. My favorite is the pink one, because of the hair, but I really like the new, purple one, too.
Title: Slide
Series: Slide #1
Author: Jill Hathaway
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered. Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.
Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane. Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.
Published:
March 1st 2012 by HarperCollins UK/ March 27th 2012 by Balzer + Bray
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)
Find me
About Me
- Cayce
- I'm a 20-something lover of books, music, art, travel and fashion. Rainbows&Clovers M/M YA GLBT books Manga Anime L'arc~en~ciel Japan Paris Europe Asia - Contact me at cayce006 @ yahoo.com ~ *hugs*
Readers - click on the button to follow via Feedly
Followers
Highlights
Follow this blog with Bloglovin
Like me on FB
Grab My Button
