Reached

Rating: 3 out of 5 Red Pills

After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.

In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times-bestselling Matched trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without.

(from Goodreads. com)

 

I don't know what it is about trilogies, lately, and the Third Book Syndrome. Condie's trio has potential. And this is why I have a love-hate relationship with it. The idea is good, and it works, but it didn't work for me. I don't know. Condie writes beautifully at times. There were a few gems of wisdom in each of the books, commentaries on life and human nature that I thought were priceless, but there seemed to be a disconnect. 

Ok, compared to other YA fiction out there right now, Condie's novels have more depth and the love stories are a little more believable, but I couldn't help feeling like it was missing something. Cassia is likable, but she isn't relatable. I don't feel like her character, as the heroine, leaps out of the pages for any special reason. At least she isn't a moody character and she is determined all the way through to the very last page, but I think because she didn't have fluctuations in her mood is why she was so unrealistic to me. She'd cry or she'd have these flashbacks but she never got angry. Of all the people in this series to get angry, Cassia is the one who should have been screaming mad. I wanted emotion and all I got was a pretty monotone character. Her insights are beautiful, and she becomes a way for Condie to show that it is the arts and the ability of humans to create that is going to save us someday. 

Ky was the best character throughout all of it because he was the most in-depth. He had more emotion behind him. However, I hated that he was so okay with Xander being in love with the girl he loved. So when the characters have emotions in this series it doesn't feel like something a normal person would feel. 

Xander is okay. He seems to shine the most in this book and he doesn't get very much mention in the other two books. He's kind of a side figure. The poor fella who got Matched to Cassia who doesn't love him. And then we are introduced to Lei in a sad way to match him off with someone else so the Cassia and Ky can live happily ever after. It felt like the whole Renesmee/Jacob fiasco in the last book of the Twilight series. Hey, let's introduce a new character for my third member in the love triangle so he can also be happy and my main duo can have their love. I'm sorry, but real life doesn't work that way. It's messy. And I wanted there to be mess in this book. I wanted there to be raw emotion. I mean...hello, The Society is being overthrown and nobody seemed to care. I won't spoil it, but I just feel like that should have been handled differently.

 Now to the Pilot thing. My other big gripe about this. Two whole books of the buildup of "Who is The Pilot?" Then it's just some random guy we never heard of. Nor do we ever get a freaking name or a description of this guy. I'm not sure I understand the point of that. And then we suddenly had Pilots popping up everywhere. Indie was a Pilot? We are all Pilots? Meaning we all determine our own destiny? I was so confused. I wanted the Pilot to be Cassia or Ky or even Xander. That would have made literary sense. 

Ok. Enough of the gripes. I have to give Condie props for some really beautiful writing. Especially in the first two books. Her descriptions were very handy and well-crafted. Where story line and emotion seemed to fail, her writing picked up the slack. When I finished the second book, I wasn't sure I wanted to finish the last book because the whole business in The Carving felt plotless and too wander-y for my taste. But it was Condie's writing that brought me back. I will continue to watch for her career in the future because I definitely think she's a gifted writer. I just think she needs some help in the conveying emotion department. 

Addendum: Now that I think of it, this book actually reads a lot like Ayn Rand's Anthem which is an amazing and very short book. The plotline seems about the same. But, Rand was still able to convey some very real emotion in characters that didn't even have names. So it can be done.  

The Language of Flowers

Rating: 4 out of 5 Lisianthus (for Appreciation)

The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable young woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past. (from RandomHouse.com)

Diffenbaugh's debut is stunning and heartfelt. Going into it, I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into. I am usually annoyed with stories that start out so depressing and emotional as though I'm being force-fed or cajoled into sympathy and, as a reader, that is never a good thing. However, Diffenbaugh managed to swindle me into Victoria's story quite easily. I think what did it for me was the relationship between Victoria and Elizabeth which becomes a central piece of the whole story. 

This book is about relationships and communication, about what makes a family, and redemption and forgiveness. Victoria is a child who feels she will never belong with anyone because no one has kept her around long enough to love her. Elizabeth takes a chance on her and takes her in. Thus we see the blossoming of this unwanted girl into someone's daughter. We also see Victoria as a young woman, homeless and on her own. Diffenbaugh builds up the mystery of what happened between Victoria and Elizabeth with deft professionalism and nice storytelling. I found myself enthralled (I finished it in two days). 

I think the powerful part of this book is the message of redemption. Not only does Victoria seek redemption, but so does Elizabeth, in their own ways. Catherine is a ghost figure in the book, but she plays a huge role in all of it, as most of the mystery revolves around her. I won't give too much away.

Grant is a strong character and the romance between him and Victoria is built up nicely. 

I think where Diffenbaugh almost lost me was when Victoria has her baby, but I understand why Victoria had to become a mother. She had to experience what it was like to care for another human being. 

This book has it all. It plays out like a chick-flick movie. One of those I'm Woman, Hear Me Roar type movies. But the message it carries is valuable to anyone who reads it. I loved the underlying Language of Flowers, learning about that, and how the characters used flowers to say things when they could not communicate.

Every Day

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Inhabited Bodies

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day. (from Goodreads.com)

I read David Levithan's latest book in one day. Granted, it's not a mammoth of a novel, but it isn't short by any means either. To me, this is an indication of how good it is. 

The plot is strange. It recalls to mind Stephenie Meyer's The Host and Quantum Leap and Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall. Despite the strange premise, Levithan makes it believable and his protagonist is sympathetic and you want him to succeed and to figure out a way for things to work. 

It starts off without any messing around. A, our protagonist, is in the body of Justin. Right away he meets Rhiannon and finds himself connecting and attaching to her when he used to keep himself within the confines of his host's daily lifestyle. With Rhiannon, A starts breaking his own rules. She even becomes the first person he tells about what he is and what he does. Their mutual attachment is believable because Rhiannon doesn't give in right away. Her reactions are just what I would expect a normal person to do if faced with this situation. Disbelief, fascination, disgust, and so on. 

When it comes down to it, Every Day is a fantastic commentary on the human condition. This person sees life through the eyes of a different person every day. He understands bodily limitations because he's felt every single one. He understands addictions. He understands attraction and how it is not limited to gender. At the core of this is a love story. A and Rhiannon's love transcends rules and order, defies what we believe, because it shows that you can fall for what's inside a person, not what's inside. One of my favorite quotes from the book illustrates this point:

"What is it about the moment you fall in love? How can such a small measure of time contain such enormity? I suddenly realize why people believe in deja vu, why people believe they've lived past lives, because there is no way the years I've spent on this earth could possibly encapsulate what I'm feeling. The moment you fall in love feels like it has centuries behind it, generations--all of them rearranging themselves so that this precise remarkable intersection could happen. In your heart, in your bones, no matter how silly you know it is, you feel that everything has been leading to this, all the secret arrows were pointing here, the universe and time itself crafted this long ago, and you are just now realizing it, you are just now arriving at the place you were always meant to be."

I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a unique love story with incredibly surprising depth and really good prose. It's a fast, quick-paced read so don't be scared to pick it up. I gave it a generous 4.5 out of 5 Inhabited Bodies. 

Beautiful Creatures

Rating 3 out of 5 Magical Lollipops

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. (from Amazon.com)

I always find that when I start skimming in a book that it is a sign of a merely mediocre, or less, book. Beautiful Creatures started out really good. The mystery was intriguing and the setup was nice, but then something stopped for me. Maybe it was just the style of writing. Maybe I just got tired of hearing everything from Ethan's point of view. I don't know what it was. The imagery is nice in the story and it has potential. I'm still very excited to see what they do with it for a movie (I can already tell you that the book and movie are NOTHING alike just from the previews) and the concept is, well, beautiful. There just seemed to be something missing. Depth, maybe?

Lena and Ethan aren't the worst couple I've seen in YA literature. There is actually enough tension and meaning behind their relationship that I was satisfied, but it still felt like they fell in love really fast. Call me old and cynical, so much so that I can't believe in young love anymore, but I was skeptical. If you're going to put two people together in a story and have it come down to life-and-death that they stay together, then make their love so solid and believable that I want them to be together. This, sadly, was just another case of "Hey, we're writing them this way so you have to go with it." I hate being forced to want two people together. However, I'm not entirely against it. I think what would have helped is to have interchanging points of view between Ethan and Lena. Ethan is reliable but, at times, he's too far removed from the central points of the story to be a main voice. Lena doesn't really fully develop and, even by the end, I don't feel like I fully understand her. I just see Ethan's view of her and that is skewed a little.

There are also scenes with rituals (Lena's birthday and Halloween) where it gets confusing. The descriptions, while sometimes beautifully written, are so shifty that it left me spinning. I didn't know what was going on so I'd lose interest because it was hard to figure out. The visions with the locket was interesting, but that line of the story gets dropped early. I liked the whole Civil War backdrop of the story and the old Ethan and Genevieve's story that parallels Ethan and Lena's. That was nice.

I don't know. This book was decent and I might read more, but I'm also okay with not. I'm interested to see what happens with Lena and her mom (a big part of the storyline that doesn't really get fully developed) and to see the continuing saga of Ethan and Lena and how their love develops. But, for now, I will probably leave Gatlin and return another time.

I'm Back!

Hello, my affectionate readers! I have returned from the black hole I disappeared in for the last three months. I was at basic training for the US Navy since August and have now returned to civilization, reappearing in the warm and sunny world called Florida. Pensacola is a great place; it feels like summer here. I've decided there are only two seasons in Florida: summer and cool summer. It seriously feels like an Idaho summer here right now and this is their "winter." It supposedly gets cold here, but I have yet to feel it. Ok, at night it does cool down a lot and I have felt chilled, but I will take this over the frigid, frozen tundra I left in Idaho.

Basic was interesting. Not gonna lie, it was not what I was expecting. At all. Lots of folding clothes. Lots of sitting around. Lots of standing. Lots of getting yelled at for no reason. Basically 8.5 weeks of feeling like I'm worthless. I kept waiting for the "building up" period everyone told me about, but it never really came. Graduation was cool. There were some memorable moments and some moments I would love to forget.

Now I am at "A" school at Corry Station in Pensacola, FL. This is a small base compared to the NAS next door, but it is nice to have a more tight-knit group. Plus, it is a little more chill over here. I have been here almost a month and my classes will start this week.

I thought I'd give an update of where I'm at. My blog will continue! I will try and do more book reviews as I read. Granted, I will not have as much time to read as I used to, but when I do finish a book, expect to see a review on here. I am always taking suggestions on books to read, so please feel free to make recommendations.

Oh! Flyleaf just released a new album and I bought it. It is fantastic! I'm listening to it right now. They don't seem to do wrong.

Until next time...

Oh and this is me, today, at the Blue Angels Homecoming airshow!

Second Draft

I just finished the second draft of Befall last week!!!! I'm very pleased with the changes I've made in the story. Now I just need to work on the consistency issues and just make the thing pretty. I will probably also start writing the second novel in the series. All of this, sadly, is going on the backburner for an indeterminate amount of time as I am going into the military and won't have a whole lot of time to devote to it. However, it will be on my mind and the story will continue to develop as I go. I'm a writer at heart and the stories will continue to live on in my head. These characters that I have come to love will soon demand that their story is heard, so this is not the end. Merely a postponing. While it does sadden me to have to set it aside for awhile, I do think it will do me and the story and the characters some good to have some time to breathe and diverge for awhile.

Independence Day

It has been awhile since I've posted. This will also be sort of a book review for Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. Really just a huge lumpy post that will hopefully make sense. I've felt the urge to get some thoughts out in the universe.

I am leaving in almost 30 days to start basic training and a subsequent career in the United States Navy. I'm feeling a huge mixture of emotions ranging from excitement to nervousness to fear to worry and doubt. It's funny cuz the excitement, when it comes, usually overshadows any of the negative feelings. I'm apprehensive because of the unknown. I'm not sure what to expect with all of this even though I've had a year to prepare. It will have been literally a year since I made the decision to when I leave for basic. Probably almost to the day.

I'm worried about leaving my family and friends and all the things I will miss. My nieces and nephews will continue to grow and change while I'm away and I will miss milestones. I try not to focus on the things I will miss and rather the things I will gain from this.

For the first time in my life I am fully comprehending the sacrifice it takes for someone to serve in the military. Days like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day all take on a whole new meaning for me. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones to war.

I just recently read Marcus Luttrell's Lone Survivor. It was a tale of survival and the human capacity to overcome. It was a story about true fighting soldiers who gave it their all and the one man who lived to tell about them. My eyes misted over a couple times while reading as the men fought to their dying breath. I gave it a five-star rating and I think every American should read it just so they can get somewhat of an understanding of what our troops are facing.

I know I won't be on the front lines but I will be helping to gather the intel that will help those on the front lines make decisions. The US military is like a well-oiled machine especially if everyone works hard and does their part. I'm determined to be the best in my field, to be a reliable and helpful source, and to work my hardest. No time for slacking!

What if I'm not cut out for this? What if I mess this up? I want to be able to finish my service in the Navy, whether in 8 years of 20 years, and be able to say that I too gave it my all.

These are just some of the things I've been thinking about on this Independence Day. I've never been one for fireworks and, frankly, this year I've been worried about the state going up in flames with all the idiots out there playing with fire in the dry heat we've been having. So today I celebrated my independence by spending time with my family and friends and taking some time to think of my future in the military and of all those who have served valiantly before me. I hope to be able to live up to the standard they have set.