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. 

Red Rising

Woot! Woot!

I devoured the beginning of this book. The different landscape and futuristic world on Mars was intriguing to me. Darrow is an awesome protagonist because he has flaws of a godlike superhero. Rage, vengeance, pride drive him to carve away his low Red upbringing and become a Gold to take down the unjust caste system of which he and his family have suffered from for years. He loses his wife which is the driving force behind what he does. It is all very creative and grandiose. Pierce Brown has created a world unlike any other I have ever read. 

It has hints of Hunger Games influence as Darrow is forced to compete against other Golds to be the greatest and be picked to lead fleets and armies of Mars. It is much more gruesome and graphic than Hunger Games but the story is geared more toward a mature audience. 

There is a lull in the story about three quarters of the way in where Brown almost lost me but I pushed through and the pay off was great. The ending has a few twists and it ends with a thrilling call for him to Rise, marking his first move in his rebellion. The battle has only just begun and Darrow has shown himself to be a threat to be reckoned with. 

I look forward to the next installment, Golden Son, in this exciting series. Highly recommended for sci-fi and adventure readers. 

The Fault in Our Stars

WOOT WOOT!

Every once in awhile a book comes along that changes you. When you find that book you find yourself thinking about it well after you've finished it. You set it down regretfully while you're reading it because you don't want to put it down. Once it is finished you are sad that it is over. The Fault in Our Stars was one of these books for me. 

For a brief synopsis: The narrator is Hazel, a sixteen-year-old girl who has dealt with cancer all her life. Her form of cancer, once it was eradicated from her body, left her with fluid in her lungs and the fear that she could get it all again. She meets a boy, Augustus Waters, who is another cancer patient. His cancer left him with an amputated leg. An unlikely and, seemingly, doomed romance ensues between the two. 

I loved the symbolism in this book. It's something you don't see very much in popular literature these days. People are up for instant gratification and no longer like to delve into the deeper meaning of what they read. 

John Green said he wanted to create  a story that showed a less glamorous look at the life of cancer. Throughout the story Hazel demeans this when someone from her support group dies and their Facebook wall lights up with posts about how wonderful, brave, and perfect that person was when, in reality, these people never knew the real person. Being a victim of cancer or a cancer survivor or a cancer patient, in and of itself, is enough to raise you to sainthood. This is one of the ideals Hazel remains constant about and I think it's because Green is trying to tell us that it is ok to humanize the dead, the cancer patient, and the victim. Celebrate that they were human and they lived a life that wasn't altogether perfect but they made the most of it. 

Hazel is very grim at first. She goes around thinking she's a walking time bomb. I loved her voice through Green's writing. She is a smart, intelligible and reliable narrator. There are moments of great insight and others of entertaining humor that all make Green's novel entertaining and valuable to any library. 

Augustus is a strong hero. I was uncomfortable when his illness started making him into a whiny, gloomy child, but Green explained that he did that on purpose. He wanted to show that death is not a pretty thing. Cancer is not pretty. 

I cannot gush on enough about this book. It has humor, romance, history, symbolism, allusion, great dialogue, awesome writing, and a fine attention to detail. You can tell the author has worked hard to create a story that is both entertaining and affective. I highly recommend it to anyone, but I also recommend that you have a tissue or two handy for the ending. 

Tabitha and Sexy Rexy

As a break from the book reviews, I thought I'd give you, my Thirsty readers, an update on things down here in sunny San Diego.

Pictured above is me with my really good friend Tara. She has been a real blessing to me as a friend and a crazy companion. We've gotten into many shenanigans together. An odd thing I have noticed is that gay men rarely hang out with lesbians. Tara is a lesbian and I am gay, so it's kinda weird that we get along so well. I not only hang with her, but I have made friends with a few other lesbians: Ann and Lincoln. They have been incredible to me.

Tara invited me one night to hang out with her. I met her at Wang's where she was dancing with some new friends she had made. Little did I know that this party she was at was a She-She party. Meaning it was for lesbians. Needless to say I stood out a little. Me and the bartender were the only males in the whole party. I made the most of it and had fun. Oddly enough I did get checked out by women too. They thought I was an incredibly butch lesbian. I wasn't sure how to take that, but whatever.

At the She-She party we decided I needed a lesbian name so I wouldn't feel so left out. For some reason I came up with Tabitha. But you have to say it like you're a macho butch woman, complete with flexing your muscles. Then we gave Tara a gay name so she could be like a gay boy when we go to gay bars for me. Her name was Chad but then we realized one of the bartenders at Babycakes is named Chad. So it has since been revised to be Sexy Rexy.

We also went out together for New Year's Eve. It was quite the night. We went to Bourbon St., a bar off the beaten path. There we saw drunk women try to pole dance and we got our beads and hats you see in the picture above.

All of us go out for Sunday Funday just about every week. It's a good time. We go to Mo's for a brunch and endless mimosas then to Babycakes for drinks and cupcakes.

I met all these great people through a support group for navy homosexuals which was founded by Ann Foster. She and I had been talking all through my deployment about starting up a chapter on my ship. That is still in the works. Regardless of what happens with that, I am glad I am part of GLASS (Gay Lesbian and Supportive Sailors) even if there is no chapter on my ship. I'm still doing what I can to get it done. If I hadn't spoken up to my CO about having more support for gays and lesbians at the command, then I would never have met Ann, Lincoln, Tara, or any of the other great lesbian and gay sailors I have had the pleasure to meet.

The Never List

WOOT!

The cute little seller at Warwick's in La Jolla referred me to this book as I was browsing at the store. She said it had kept her up at night and that she was haunted by it. Strong words for any book. So I bought it. She was right to a point. 

Zan's debut is pretty stunning. It is hard to think this is her first book because her voice is so powerful and smooth. The beginning of the book is fantastically written to a point where I was sucked in immediately. Sarah is a disturbingly mental woman. There's no going around that. Zan builds up her character pretty well even to the point where it almost becomes unbelievable. All the dark and painful experiences Sarah went through is alluded to just enough that you get a taste but not so in-depth that you feel like you're reading trash. As a reader you become very sympathetic toward Sarah. Part of the tension and the thrill of it is the fact that she's not very strong and you worry that she's just not going to be able to pull through. 

At some point, however, the book becomes less intriguing. I'm not sure when that happens. I just know by the end I was less involved. Sarah suddenly becomes more apt to be strong. I love good character development, and I was glad Sarah finds herself at the end, but it just seemed too sudden and easy. This girl was a complete mental case (for good reason) and she breaks out of it too quickly in my opinion. I think it would have been better had she just shown signs of getting healed, rather than suddenly being better. 

People keep comparing this book to Gone Girl. I don't think it's a fair comparison. They're completely different. This is Zan's first book, though, so I suppose it is good on her that her debut is being compared to Flynn's (correct me if I'm wrong) third or fourth novel. Only good things are in Zan's future as she continues to write and prove herself as an author. She is a great new female voice in this genre. I will certainly read more of her work. 

Allegiant

WOOT WOOT!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! If you have not read or finished reading this book, come back when you have finished it. Unless you like spoilers, then be my guest. 

There has been a lot of hullabaloo about how Veronica Roth decided to finish this trilogy, and I have to admit it took some guts. I was shocked, at first, and I thought "No way. There's absolutely no way she has me all rooting for Tris and seeing how badass a character she was only just to kill her. This has to be a joke." No joke. 

However, the more I thought about it, the more I realize how fitting it was. And just how beautiful and poetic Tris' death was. It had to happen. I won't go into detail about all that. I can't spoil everything. But just pay attention or think about how Roth spins it at the end. It would actually be out of character for Tris to survive their final attack. She'd been looking for a way to prove herself and to make an impact in the world since Page 1.  As Tobias says "I suppose a fire that burns that bright is not meant to last." 

Throughout this whole trilogy I was skeptical and iffy about Roth. Her writing just feels so stifling at times. Maybe that's not the right word. Perhaps more along the lines of stilted, held back, limited. But now I see the beauty in it. And maybe she was doing that on purpose to make the reader feel just as stilted, limited, and held back as her characters felt in their factions. You can witness her beautiful prose when Tobias and Tris are together. I looked forward to those moments as much as Tris did because, not only is Tobias a sweet hunk of man, that was where the writing flowed and felt comfortable. Now I know it was all done on purpose. At least I would like to think so. Roth managed to use her writing style to evoke emotion which shows true talent and a sharp mind behind the words. At face value, her writing may not stand up to her peers, but she has won me over. Despite her dirty rotten trick at the end. 

Since I'm on the subject of Tris and Tobias, that's actually what I would prefer to focus on for the rest of this review. I actually had no intention of mentioning Tris dying because I hate spoilers, but I felt like I should pay homage to Roth's badass decision that I'm sure was even more devastating to her. As a writer also, I can't imagine killing off the main character in my book. 

Tris and Tobias have a tumultuous relationship. I'd get annoyed with them fighting all the time and Tris always getting mad that Tobias didn't trust or believe her. Then she'd run off and do something stupid so I'd side with Tobias because, girl, ya nearly got everyone killed. I've said it before, though, I love that Roth did not inject a stupid love triangle. I loved that it was Tobias and Tris out to save the world together. 

Allegiant has some beautiful quotes about love and life. I found the simple and realistic view that Tris had was quite powerful. Mind you, I hated Tris in book one. She was immature and seemed to make decisions because it fit the plot. I just didn't understand her. But by the end of the book and the scene where she sacrifices herself for her friends and the future, you see just how much she has grown and changed. I had to sit and stew with this for awhile because when I first closed the book when I was finally done, I wanted to throw the book. 

Enough of that. I said I wouldn't talk about that anymore. Back to the love thing.

One of my favorite quotes is one that I will probably always remember because it is just so perfect. Here this is Tris talking after she and Tobias have made up after yet another fight:

I used to think that when people fell in love, they just landed where they landed, and they had no choice in the matter afterward. And maybe that's true of beginnings, but it's not true of this, now.

I fell in love with him. But I don't stay with him by default as if there's no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me (372). 

The whole trilogy is about choices. Choices define you. Choices transform you. Choices destroy you. I think Tris' love with Tobias was her saving grace. That she found that love was the choice that defined her, not a faction or anything anybody said she was. 

I'm falling more in love with this trilogy the more I write about it and think about it. 

Insurgent

I haven't been able to look it up, but I'm pretty sure my review of Divergent was pretty scathing. The first book in the trilogy was, in my mind, stunted by a leading character who was not reliable and made decisions that just seemed to move the story forward rather than what she would do to fit her. I'll admit, I did not have any desire to finish the series, but I saw a preview for the movie and was surprised how enticing it looked. The movie looked better than I had remembered the book ever being. So I decided to give it another try and read the second book.

Insurgent was a step up. Roth's writing is getting better and better. I really loved the moments between Tris and Tobias. They seemed to be when Roth's writing really sung and flowed smoothly.

This book was entertaining. The storyline is pretty believable. I don't think Jeanine is a really threatening antagonist despite Roth's attempts to paint her as a monster. She's just not seen enough for me to really get a grasp of why she does what she does.

One of the more thrilling scenes that I remember is when one of the characters, under the influence of a simulation serum, jumps to her death off a building. This is a showing point to me and, even though it was an awful scene because of what happened, it showed Tris as a heroine. I was finally able to trust her as the protagonist. Too bad Tobias and others still can't trust her after that.

That being said, the cycle gets tired. Tobias and Tris seem to constantly battle each other. She seems to be constantly trying to prove herself to this guy that supposedly loves her. There are times I just want to smack both of them upside the heads for being so stubborn. I understand stubbornness is a quality that is desired in protagonists these days, especially in YA literature, but so is humility. There needs to be a point when one of them gives in and realizes that they were wrong. I'm still waiting for that moment to come for one of these characters.

So many times in YA literature there is a love triangle. That story gets old. And for some reason it's usually two gorgeous guys with some sort of magical ability who are inexplicably drawn to a very normal, average teenage girl. I have called this the Twilight Syndrome in posts before. If nothing else, the Divergent series steers clear of the Twilight Syndrome. It is a breath of fresh air that the main character only has one love interest. Honestly that's more true to life. I don't know about you, but I've never been in a love triangle. Maybe I just lead a sheltered life.

I highly recommend this series to young adults. However, be warned, it is pretty dark. Characters die off quickly. If that's not your cup of tea and you get attached to side characters quickly, you may want to stay away from this dystopian thriller, but I think you'll be missing out on an entertaining and imaginative read.