Panic

WOOT WOOT!

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most. (From Goodreads.com)

I devoured this book. Oliver is a constant favorite of mine in the YA genre. She has a knack for capturing imagery and emotion. This book was interesting because it felt dystopian but it was set in present day America. The characters are believable and developed well. The romance between Bishop and Heather doesn't seem forced in any way. All in all an excellent read and another gold star for Miss Oliver. Fans of her Delirium trilogy won't be disappointed, however, it takes some adjusting because it isn't as fast-paced and breathtaking as those books. I do like, though, that Oliver has managed to create a world like the Hunger Games set in our own present-day life. That, in itself, is a statement. 

Pandemonium

WOOT WOOT!

 

I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame. 

(From Goodreads.com)

 

Lauren Oliver has done it again. She continues to astound me with her electric prose and her exciting plotting. She is a master at creating a mood and getting the reader completely sucked in. There were seriously moments, during the reading of Pandemonium, that I was so engrossed and I would look up and realize where I was. It is a mark of a sheer genius who can make you believe the characters are real because you identify with them so much and you empathize with them. 

 

It is an unfair comparison, but I kept thinking about Crossed by Ally Condie. While I enjoy the story and the idea in Condie's trio, I think the writing is lacking. Where these two are both the second in a trilogy it seemed appropriate to see where one was winning and one was lacking. Condie's second volume is good, don't get me wrong. I have a review of it on this blog, but I remember shutting it at the last page and thinking "Nothing even happened!" And now, as I recall, all I remember is a lot of running, some climbing, some hiking, twists and turns, and nothing real progressive with the plot. I think another reason I compared the two, in my mind, is because they both dealt with tunnels or being out in the forbidden "Wilds." Condie's wilds are alien and unapproachable. I had no idea where to even plant myself in them. Oliver's Wilds are realistic and, exactly that: wild. The pain is real in Oliver's book. I felt each pang of hunger, each twist and turn as the characters turned on each other because they acted human and real. 

 

Oliver also did an unfair thing. She introduced a love triangle. I wanted to cry out, but the progression of the love Lena gains for Julian is natural and quite beautiful. This is truly a triangle I'm going to struggle to pick a side for. Both of them are good guys and I'm pretty sure Oliver has a good answer for it. The third book will be very telling. Julian was an interesting addition to the mix and I grew to empathize with him. And it was also an interesting twist that suddenly Lena takes Alex's place and "infects" Julian just like Alex did to her. 

 

Lauren Oliver moves her story forward like an unstoppable avalanche. It rumbles and bursts with power, sometimes managing to take my breath away. Back to Condie's book: I don't remember being rendered breathless with her story. Yes, her words are pretty, but when you match plot to that, she's seriously lacking. Lauren Oliver has managed to partner the two to make a genius and remarkable story in the young adult fiction world. I highly recommend this trio and anything else that she writes.  

Before I Fall

Rating: 5 out of 5 Last Kisses

 

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?


Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.


Instead, it turns out to be her last.


Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing. (From Goodreads.com)

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. Lauren Oliver delivered with Delirium which was one of my favorite books this year, but the synopsis of Before I Fall seemed like there wasn't much to be done with it. And with the length of the book I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. Much to my surprise, Oliver got me hooked right from the get-go.

Oliver writes beautifully and voraciously. I wish I had an ounce of her skill with imagery. She manages to build characters little by little. A master of show-don't-tell, Lauren Oliver's book is a study in relationships and the human experience. At first you find yourself hating the protagonist. Samantha Kingston is a brat. She demeans her peers just to be accepted by her best friends. Oliver has certainly caught the flavor of high school life with all its cliques and hoops and idiosyncrasies. At times, it does have a little cliche to it: the popular girl dating the most popular jock. However, Oliver uses her somewhat crazy storyline and her bratty protagonist to bust through those cliches until you are left with a story that is a breath of fresh air. 

I think my favorite part about this book is the message it leaves behind. The fact that this is YA fiction makes me cheer because our young people need to learn this lesson! I found that the book left me haunted by the questions it forced me to ask myself, such as: Am I a good person? What would I do if today were my last day? If it isn't all about me, then who is it about? What will people say about me when I die?

We are left with a glimmer of hope at the end. Hope that Sam Kingston made a difference and that we, too, can start today and change things in our own lives. It's amazing how books can come along and apply to exactly what you are going through during that time. Maybe that is why I soaked this one in like a sponge; I've been needing to learn what Sam Kingston's story needed to teach me. 

By the end I love Sam Kingston, and I was rooting for her to make the necessary changes. The story keeps you guessing all throughout which just shows there is a master at work behind the pages. I won't spoil the ending for you. Instead you should go out and read this book. Your life will be all the better for it.

Attitude of Gratitude #13

Today, I'm grateful for:

A Good Book

It has been a long time since I've read a book that I couldn't put down and anticipated when I could pick it up again. Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall is a breath of fresh air. Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed T. Greenwood's Undressing the Moon and I really couldn't put that one down either. Before these two books, I was going through a drought it seemed. Yes, I liked the books I read (sorta), but they weren't anything that really captured me. So today I found myself picking up this book every chance I got. Just like the old days. I love that feeling of being so swept away by a book. I've read Lauren Oliver before. Her Delirium book is a fascinating read as well. She's a gifted writer, and I look forward to more from her. She just released a middle grade reader novel called Liesl and Po that I want to read. So here's me showing gratitude for a good book. Not just Oliver's book, but any good book that is out there and can take me away from reality for awhile. 

 

Gigi & The Bitty Boys

Such cute kids! Oh, how I love them, and Oh, how they love me. I have a lot of fun with them even though, sometimes, it is taxing to watch them. They are all just little balls of energy and I feel so old when I'm around them at times. Here they are on Halloween of this year, holding still for once.  Still not sure how we performed that miracle.

  

Random Texts

I got a couple random texts today. One was not-so-good and unwanted, the other was very welcome. I love getting random texts from people because it means they thought of me and wanted to catch up (usually). I heard from an old friend today and it was nice to text with him for a bit. Yay for random texts and the beauty of technology!

Divergent

Rating: 2 out of 5 Factions

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, 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 alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together, they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-exasperating 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 unrest and growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly-perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves . . . or it might be what destroys her. (from VeronicaRothBooks.blogspot.com)

Dystopian societies seem to be the newest craze in young adult literature. I've picked up this book a few times before I actually decided to read it. The cover is enticing. Yes, I tend to judge a book by its cover. You're a liar if you say you don't. Roth's synopsis of the book is exciting, and the idea is really quite intriguing. However, as I got reading it, I saw so many holes in the story that I felt could have been covered with a good, solid editing. Or maybe a few more brainstorming sessions on the author's part. Perhaps she meant to leave things unanswered until the next book, but there is a vast difference between mystery that works and mystery just for the sake of mystery. At times I felt like Roth was underestimating her reader a lot. Granted, I am older than her target audience, but the young adult genre should be a little more expansive. Especially a book that is being likened to The Hunger Games and Twilight.


Beatrice, or Tris as she comes to call herself, is not a likable hero. Not in the least. I could not connect with her. Katniss in The Hunger Games was at least vulnerable at times. Tris is selfish. We get sort of plopped into it though. We don't understand why she hates her faction so much. We don't understand her big choice to change factions and why it is such a big deal for her as a character. It's just unheard of that someone from Abnegation would go Dauntless. I needed more reason than that. Yes, the two factions are completely opposite, but why did Beatrice decide to do it? I'm still unsure.


Going off of that...Tris' relationships seem forced. Especially her romantic aspirations for Four. At some level I like that her friendships are forced because she even says so herself that she's not sure how to be friends with people. It would have been nice if she would have actually connected with Christina on a different level that seemed less superficial.


Four. He seems to be the token hot guy who, for some unknown reason, is not supposed to love Tris. And he tells her that she's not pretty. The dialogue between the two has some glimmers of hope, but it seems like they fall for each other because the author wanted them to. I like when characters fall for each other despite what the reader or the author think and it seems to flow naturally. There was none of that with Four (Tobias) and Tris (Beatrice).


The writing itself isn't bad. A little too sparse at times. And I think Roth also assumes the reader knows what she's talking about. Some times she could have described what was going on better. That being said, there are moments of cliche that really irked me.


The climax is good. Jeanine and Marcus both come in a little late as antagonists. I think Roth could have introduced us to Jeanine a little sooner and then it would have made more sense when the ending comes around.


I've become a skimmer. When a book fails to hold my interest I will skim as much as possible because I still have the curiosity to find out what happens. That being said there are some books that I have no desire to know what happens. This one is not one of them. I wanted to know where Roth was going to take it.


Is it a terrible book? No. Is it in the same boat as The Hunger Games, Unearthly, or Delirium? Definitely not. Those books left me breathless and dying for more, and the writing is of a different caliber in them. I would recommend this for younger readers. In fact, I probably would have loved it if I were 14 to 18 when I read it. I gave it 2 out of 5 Factions.

Delirium

Rating: 5 out of 5 Procedures

Lena Haloway is content in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a. love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid” community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine, border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. But 95 days before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to the procedure. In this powerful and beautifully written novel, Lauren Oliver, the bestselling author of Before I Fall, throws readers into a tightly controlled society where options don’t exist, and shows not only the lengths one will go for a chance at freedom, but also the true meaning of sacrifice. (Jessica Schein, Amazon.com)

I did not know what to expect from this novel. The cover is intriguing; the back and the flaps don't really give much away as far as any sort of synopsis; I had to know what it was. I had only read three chapters and I was hooked. It is the kind of story that publishers devour and tackle because it is so sellable. It is the kind of story that avid readers love because it is unique and intriguing. It is the kind of story that needs to be told and Lauren Oliver is the only one who could give it the voice it needed.

Oliver's writing is decadent and provoking. Every motion, every word simply breathes. There is movement in her words that you don't find everywhere. Her writing is reminiscent of Jennifer Donnelly's, but they both have a distinctive style that is their own.

Lena is a reliable character. I never once felt like she was too weak for her task at hand, but I still always wondered if she would be able to make it. There is an element of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games in this book in that it is a dystopian society with an authoritative regime, and I'm not the first to compare it to those books.

The commentary on society is intriguing. I kept thinking of all the aspects being presented. The fact that it is not too outlandish for something like this actually happen to our country and our society is scary in itself. And then I kept thinking about how everything stems from love. Even hate and anger are biproducts of love even though they are the antitheses. At some point, when you are angry with someone or hate someone, you loved them also. There are different kinds of love as well. Not just romantic. Mother-daughter relationships are explored in Oliver's book as well as the love between best friends. I'm glad that Oliver did not choose to focus so solely on the romantic aspect, but, rather, showed how love encompasses everything and there simply is no cure for it.

This is Book One in a trilogy which I was mad about because now I have to wait for the next book to be released. I guess I will have time to re-read it then. This deserves a 5 out of 5. Awesome work, Ms. Oliver!

I'm Not Dead

Just so you all know...I'm still alive.

My bloggy-ness has been pretty stagnant lately, and I apologize for that. I love writing book reviews and that has been all I've had energy to devote to for my blog these days. But I will be better.

I guess here is an update on things in my life:

I'm reading an amazing book called Delirium by Lauren Oliver. It is such an interesting story. Just wait for the book review. I hope it keeps me enthralled like it has so far all the way through the book. Sad note: I found out it is slated to be part of a trilogy. OMG, people, I don't want to wait for more books to come out! Oh well. As a writer I can understand why they do it, but as a reader it irks me.

Speaking of books. Mine is...there. I tried to sit down last night to write and do some revising, but I couldn't get going. I'm really frustrated because I have some great ideas, and I've gotten great feedback from everyone who has read the rough draft. I guess I'm just not sure how to go about the changes. Where to begin? Oy. More to come on that later, and hopefully it will be good news.

I'm still working as a supervisor at Deseret Book. I really enjoy the different store and the people I work with. It is a much better situation for me than where I was previously. However, I am again on the hunt for a "big-kid job." I'm also considering *gasp* going back to school! Scary thought. If I do go back I want to go somewhere outside of Idaho. Sure it may be more expensive, but I want to experience something outside my comfort zone for awhile.

I'm still growing out my hair. Operation: Fabio is still in the works.

My best friend is getting married. I told him that the end of the world is nigh because we all thought it would be the end of the world before he got married. He didn't find that funny. But yeah. I will be his best man, and they are getting married in Oakland, California in August. A day after my birthday. Happy birthday to me. I'm really excited for both of them.

I'm planning a few trips besides California. I want to go to North Carolina to see my cousin and her cute little family sometime in June. Also, as "research" for my book I am hoping to go to Boston this year sometime. I'm thinking July-ish or May-ish or September-ish. I really don't know though. My book takes place in Boston and I've never been there, so I feel like I need to go get a feel for it and experience it myself to really know what I'm writing about. A little jaunt up to Portland, Maine would be nice. That would be a double whammy because the book I'm reading takes place there and there is a part in my book that occurs there as well. The pictures I've seen of it are absolutely gorgeous. Again it is all "research." These trips will help me fulfill one of my New Year's resolutions in which I travel to places I've never been before.

I'm still very single. I hate to go on a diatribe about that, so I will just say that I'm okay with it. I kind of have to be. But really. I am not really interested in anyone right now. Slightly depressing, but it's the truth.

Anyway, I need to shove off and go to work. I leave you with lyrics from a P!nk song entitled "I'm Not Dead."

I'm not dead just floating
Underneath the ink of my tattoo
In the belly of the beast we've turned into
Right behind the cigarette and the devilish smile
You're my crack of sunlight.