Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Young Adult; Dystopian
ISBN: 0062024027
Pages: 496
Year: 2011
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)
Source: Library
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary:

In Tris’ world, every person chooses his or her place in life – their faction – at sixteen: Abnegation (the selfless); Candor (the honest); Erudite (the intelligent); Amity (the peaceful); and Dauntless (the brave).  Tris grew up in Abnegation but feels the pull of Dauntless. Instead of knowing exactly where she belongs, like everyone else, Tris is torn. The factions are supposed to help society, but is there something darker going on?

My Thoughts:

The premise sounded a little strange to me at first, but Roth did a fantastic job building this dystopian world (set in Chicago). I totally bought into it from the beginning.

YA books are often written with first-person narration. Sometimes I find this annoying (what could be worse than being trapped in a teenagers head?) and sometimes it works for me. But usually the combination of first-person AND present tense does me in. Divergent is an exception. I barely noticed that I was trapped in Tris’ present-tense head because I just wanted more story.

While there are bigger things going on, this is really the story of Tris and how she becomes herself. She is unsure and lost when we first meet her. By the end, she is almost unrecognizable. And there is a TON of action along the way.

And then there is Four. I have a new addition to my fictional YA crush list (this just seems to grow and grow). While I don’t think romance is the most important part of this story at all, I loved his character and the way he and Tris interact. It was more realistic than a lot of those I-loved-him-the-moment-I-saw-him-and-I-never-want-to-be-with-anyone-else-ever romances. Four pushes Tris. He doesn’t patronize her and he always believes in her.

Tris is a heroine. Tris is the kind of girl a young reader can actually look up to, and the kind of girl the rest of us can cheer on. Read Divergent. The hype has been well-deserved.

Others’ Thoughts: S. Krishna’s Books; Fiction Folio; Bookshelves of Doom; Galleysmith;

Buy It Now: Amazon; IndieBound

Title: Wicked Lovely
Author: Melissa Marr
Genre: Young Adult; Paranormal
ISBN: 0061214671
Pages: 328
Year: 2007
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Personal Collection
Rating: 5/5

Summary:

Aislinn, like her mother and grandmother, sees faeries. She tries to ignore them as they pick on humans, who are oblivious to their presence. Until one of them, Keenan, the Summer King, sets his mind on having Aislinn for his long-searched-for Summer Queen.

My Thoughts:

Bear with me. I am talking about faeries. Fey. A lot of you are probably groaning (or you’ve stopped reading by now). But trust me when I say that this book was GOOD. Like really good. Ask my husband. I wouldn’t stop talking about it while I was reading. Although he gave me a look that may be similar to the one you are currently wearing.

Marr does a fantastic job setting up the mythology of the Summer King searching for his Summer Queen. It’s complex enough to be interesting but still possible to understand. As Aislinn gets caught up in the mystery and magic of the fey world, so does the reader. And neither the reader nor Aislinn is likely to escape it by then.

And Seth. Can we talk about Seth for a minute? He’s so crush-worthy. He’s tattooed and pierced in a totally adorable way. And he’s so in love with Aislinn that I was actually a little jealous. Plus he lives in a train. That’s pretty awesome.

This is a series, but I have heard that the other books involve other characters. I want to keep reading but I think I will miss these ones (I’m mostly talking about Seth if we want to be honest here).

Maybe all of you who are going to read this book have already read it. But if you haven’t and you aren’t turned off by the word “faery” then go read it now.

Others’ Thoughts: The Elliot Review; Iris on Books

Buy It Now: IndieBound; Powell’s; Amazon; Book Depository