Teen/YA review: Monsters of Men

I finished book 3 of the Chaos Walking series, Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness, back in December. I considered just skipping the review, since I had already reviewed book 1, The Knife of Never Letting Go, and book 2, The Ask and the Answer. Even though it took me a few months to find the time, I still want to review this third and final book of the trilogy because I found it so compelling and thought-provoking. So, I promise a short review with no spoilers…and if you’ve already read this novel, please leave your thoughts in the comments section because I am dying to discuss it!

The Chaos Walking trilogy begins in an unknown time and place where everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts (the never-ending internal cacophony is known as Noise). In books 1 and 2, some details are slowly revealed about how and why this society developed. In this third book, Todd and Viola are back (two very endearing and strong – though young - main characters).  This final book is all about war, as you may have guessed from the title. The evil Mayor Prentiss is still seeking as much power as he can take, a group of rebels is using more and more violent methods to stop him, and a third party, the Spackle, are joining in the battle (you’ll have to read books 1 and 2 to learn more about them). Against this backdrop, the ever-present Noise continues, as Todd and Viola move toward adulthood and have to make decisions that could affect the future of all of their fellow citizens.

Like the first two books, book 3 is action-packed, filled with violence, battles, and increasing horrors. But this trilogy is so much more than action/adventure in a mysterious dystopian/science fiction environment. Ness fills the series – and especially this final book – with thoughtful and thought-provoking complications. In this case, both Todd and Viola are constantly facing serious, life-changing decisions with deep moral implications. They wrestle with issues that have plagued mankind for centuries: Does the end justify the means? Is violence for the right reasons any better than violence for the wrong reasons? If you choose the lesser of two evils, is it still evil?

The backdrop of war makes all of these issues very real and imperative for the two young heroes. Through it all is the constant stress and chaos of the Noise echoing in everyone’s heads. Like in the best dystopian fiction and science fiction, the author makes us think about our own society. Ness certainly wants us to consider the moral implications of both war and terrorism, and I think the Noise is a symbol of what’s occurring in our own world right now – the ever-present, nonstop flow of information from multiple sources every moment of every day.

I highly recommend this series to teens, young adults, and adults of all ages. It is a fast-paced, interesting, compelling story that is also thoughtful. This is my favorite kind of dystopian fiction – the kind that gives you insight into our own society and makes you think – in a similar vein as The Hunger Games trilogy (especially book 3, Mockingjay, which also focuses on war) and the Unwind series. I can’t wait to read more from Patrick Ness.

603 pages, Candlewick Press

 

Teen/YA Review: Insurgent and Allegiant

Over the past two months, I listened to both Insurgent (book 2) and Allegiant (book 3), the sequels to Veronica Roth’s hot post-apocalyptic/dystopian trilogy that began with Divergent.  If you have somehow missed this popular trilogy (been living in a cave maybe?), then you should go back and read the review of Divergent (no spoilers there or in this review) and start there.

As Insurgent opens, Tris and her friends are still reeling from the violence and loss that ended book one.  The city of Chicago erupted into chaos as conflict arose between the five different factions. Now it seems that war is the only possible outcome. Tris and each of her friends must decide where their loyalty stands and which ideology and leader they each agree with.

This follow-up novel is all about conflicts and choices. Many secrets emerge that were not obvious in the seemingly peaceful world at the beginning of Divergent. As more and more secrets are revealed, Tris must make more choices – about who to believe, who to follow, and what is right. Making matters worse, she is haunted by both grief and guilt throughout this second novel, from events that occurred in book one. Through it all, with Tobias by her side, she must also consider what it means to be divergent.

In the final book of the trilogy, Allegiant, the action moves beyond the city’s boundaries, as Tris and her companions venture outside the fence to learn more about their society.  In this book, the chapters alternate between Tris and Tobias, so for the first time, we get a glimpse into Tobias’ perspective. Conflict continues in Chicago between those who believe in the faction-approach they know and those who believe in a factionless society, as an all-out war seems inevitable. Outside of the fence, Tris and the others learn a lot of surprising truths about their own family histories, the rest of the world, and how the faction-divided society began. The question is, what is its future?

Although I enjoyed Divergent and Insurgent, Allegiant was by far my favorite book of the series. The first two books were a bit too violent for my taste, without any real explanation of how this unusual society came to be. That explanation is finally revealed in book three, which made it far more interesting for me. My favorite aspect of dystopian novels is seeing how the author takes elements of our own society and shows how those were taken to an extreme to end up with the dystopian society. I like the thoughtfulness and thought-provoking nature of that kind of story, which I finally got in Allegiant. For me, that brought the series up closer to the level of The Hunger Games trilogy or the Unwind series.

All in all, I am glad I stuck with it and read/listened to the entire trilogy. The audio books were all very well done, with talented voice actors (including two different narrators for Tris and Tobias in the final book). I tried listening to Insurgent on audio with my family last summer, but my son and husband both lost interest because it had been too long since we’d all read Divergent. And that’s an important point with this series: because of the number of characters and the complicated plot, it is best to read each book immediately after the previous one. It’s far more enjoyable that way, and you’ll save yourself a lot of time going back and asking, “Wait a minute, who was that?” I am glad I finally had a chance to listen to the entire series…and now my husband has been inspired to go back and listen to it all, too. The movie adaptation of Divergent opens today – I can’t wait to see it on the big screen!

HarperAudio

Teen/YA Review: UnWholly

One of my favorite books read for Dangerous Reads Month was UnWholly by Neal Schusterman, the sequel to his popular and highly acclaimed Unwind, which my husband, son, and I all loved. This super creepy dystopian thriller kept me up way too late reading every night!

The setting of this trilogy is a United States just slightly into the future, where a second civil war, The Heartland War, has been fought over reproductive rights. The pro-lifers and the pro-choicers finally ended the war with the Unwind Accord that says that life is inviolable starting at conception;  however, unruly or disagreeable teens (is there any other kind?) can be “unwound,” whereby all of their organs and body parts are transplanted into others so that life does not officially end. So, a kid who gets bad grades or rebels against his or her parents may wake up one morning to find officers from the National Juvenile Authority ready to take them to a harvest camp because their parents signed an Unwind Order. I know – super creepy, right??

In Unwind, Schusterman created a chilling but compelling story about a group of teens who, in various ways, escaped their unwinding. Connor escaped from the Juvies on the way to harvest camp and was officially declared an AWOL. During a car accident, he took Lev, a tithe (yes, a kid born to be unwound), as an unwilling hostage to help him escape.  Risa, an orphan and ward of the state also escaped when she was sent to a harvest camp to relieve overcrowding in her state home.

Don’t worry – no spoilers here for those who haven’t read Unwind yet! In the second book, these teens’ stories continue as they try to stay alive, evade the Juvenile Authorities, and help other Unwinds to escape. The story alternates between each of the main characters’ perspectives (plus a few new ones), providing a wide range of points of view of this frightening world. A new teen character is also introduced: Cam, a new kind of person who must come to grips with his own strange history and who learns a startling truth about unwinding.

Although the novel is action-packed from start to finish and filled with suspense, Schusterman also delves more deeply here into the ethical issues that arise from this strange new world (as all good dystopian stories do). The characters grapple with all kinds of moral issues, as the events from the first novel reverberated through society. Does the good done by providing much-needed transplant organs and tissues make up for the evil of unwinding? Should the needs of the many outweigh the rights of the few? What makes someone human and defines life? Although horrifying, this world is also compelling; Schusterman himself said that he intended Unwind to be a stand-alone book, but he just couldn’t stop thinking about the world he’d created there.

While the gripping story and intricate plot kept me turning the pages, I also enjoyed the thought-provoking nature of the novel. Schusterman has created a world that is unfathomable and yet eerily similar to our own. The unthinkable act of unwinding is rationalized in frighteningly calm and logical ways. The teen characters in this trilogy are realistically portrayed and feel like old friends by the second book. The third and final book of the trilogy, UnSouled, will be released next week – my husband, son and I can’t wait to see how it all ends!

401 pages, Simon & Schuster

 

Teen/YA Review: In the After

Continuing the creepy fun in Dangerous Reads Month, I listened to the teen/YA audio book In the After by Demitria Lunetta. This suspenseful story combines both post-apocalyptic and dystopian elements into a fast-paced novel full of surprises.

Amy is fourteen when They come and change the world. Gruesome green-skinned monsters, They have a taste for human flesh and quickly take over the world. TV news coverage shows Them arriving in a ship, before all forms of media disappear. Amy is fortunate to live in a high –security house that helps keep Them away and her safe, but her parents – who were out when the attack began – are missing. The creatures seem to have a poor sense of sight and smell but excellent hearing, and Amy quickly learns to live a very silent existence, especially on those dangerous occasions when she must leave the house for supplies. On one of those excursions, Amy discovers a scared and battered toddler, all alone in a deserted grocery store, so she takes her home and calls her Baby.

Amy and Baby live together for several years in the safe house, using their own form of sign language to communicate and rarely seeing other human beings. They become very close, and their life together falls into a routine, though danger is still lurking just outside the fence.

Then one day, they are saved! A community called New Hope finds them and takes them into the safety of their compound where many others are living safely and peaceably together.  Finally, Amy can relax, and they can both get used to not being alone anymore. It takes a period of adjustment, but they both make new friends, start school, and settle into life in New Hope. But certain things just don’t seem right to Amy, and the more she learns about New Hope, the more concerned she becomes.  Besides Them outside the compound, she now worries about new dangers possibly lurking right inside their new home and how to keep herself and Baby safe.

Throughout the story – through both the post-apocalyptic beginning and the dystopian second half – the suspense and tension are maintained.  I listened to the book in record time. Like another post-apocalyptic novel I recently finished, AMatter of Days, this one also contains some unlikely coincidences – Amy’s father was an environmentalist who installed solar panels so they could live “off the grid” and her mother had a super-secret government job that required an electric security fence around their house – that ensured the main character’s survival in the frightening post-apocalyptic world. As with that book, I just accepted those contrivances as necessary to the story and went along for the ride – and it was a wild ride! It sounds like there might be a sequel coming…ah, yes, I see on the author’s blog that In the End will be released June 24, 2014. I can’t wait!

Listening Library/Harper Children’s Audio

If you want to listen to a sample of the audio, click on the amazon link below - there is a "Listen" button just below the photo of the cover. 

Teen/YA Review: The Ask and the Answer

It usually takes me a while to find time to read a sequel, even when I really liked the first book, but I started The Ask and the Answer, book 2 in the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness, just a couple of weeks after finishing book 1, The Knife of Never Letting Go, because I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next. It worked out well because this was another long book to add to my Big Book Summer Challenge. This series continues to be fast-paced and exciting with a unique plot full of surprises.

I don’t want to give too much away for those who haven’t read book 1 yet, so this will be tricky. Todd, the main character from the first book, is back. He and his friend Viola have been captured by their enemy, Mayor Prentiss, and separated. The Mayor tells Todd that the only way to keep Viola safe is to comply with everything he says and become a part of his new regime. Todd is constantly worried because he has no way of knowing if Viola is safe or even still alive, as he struggles to keep her safe while doing things for the Mayor that he knows are wrong.

With this page-turning beginning, the story continues against a backdrop of increasingly disturbing changes the Mayor is making to the society he is now ruling, and increasing violence against the Mayor’s regime by a rebel group called The Answer. Where The Knife of Never Letting Go had more of a post-apocalyptic feel to it, with Todd and Viola fleeing from their enemies, The Ask and the Answer is decidedly more dystopian, focusing in on the new society that the Mayor is trying to create. Of course, both books are still in the sci-fi realm, with plenty of action, adventure, and suspense thrown in. It’s an enticing combination.

Like the first novel in the trilogy, The Ask and the Answer is a very violent story, with similar fighting and combat but also plenty of bombing in the mix from the rebel group. However, this second book introduces lots of thought-provoking ethical questions, about war and violence, torture and terrorism. Ultimately, it investigates an age-old question that applies as well to our own world as it does to Todd and Viola's: do the ends justify the means?

The action and suspense build to a final stand-off between the rebels and the Mayor’s organization, but once again, the book ends with a surprising twist that left me yelling, “What?? No, not that!” Now, I can’t wait to read the third and final installment of this exciting trilogy.

519 pages, Candlewick Press

 

Teen/YA Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go

My son and my husband both raved about the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness, so I finally found time to read Book 1: The Knife of Never Letting Go as part of my Big BookSummer Challenge last month. Though this unique series has been marketed as teen/YA fiction, it seems to be loved just as much by adult readers. I enjoyed it so much that I started reading Book 2: The Ask and the Answer this week.

I am going to tread lightly with plot description here because it’s obvious the author intended for the novel’s secrets to be gradually discovered by readers. Todd is a boy just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. He lives in a society where everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts, creating a continuous stream of Noise. Though Todd is an orphan, he has had a decent life, brought up by two close family friends who care for him.

One day, Todd and his dog, Manchee (whose thoughts Todd can also hear), encounter an odd patch of silence on the edge of town.  This strange discovery leads to the uncovering of some dark secrets that have been kept from Todd, in spite of the Noise. Certain people in town are so committed to keeping the town’s secrets that they go after Todd, forcing him and Manchee into life on the run, leaving his little town for the first time in his life.

This novel is full of action and adventure, as the bad guys chase after Todd and Manchee and a friend they meet along the way. It’s an unusual mix of science fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction, and even some dystopia. And through it all, the Noise adds a unique element. Can you imagine a world where you know what everyone else is thinking?

I loved this book just as much as my husband and son did. Todd is a very likeable character, and Manchee provides a touch of humor, with his doggie thoughts being constantly broadcast to Todd. Although it is a longish book at almost 500 pages (hence its inclusion in my Big Book Summer plans), it is a fairly quick read, with a fast pace and plenty of suspense to keep you reading long past bedtime. So far, Book 2: The Ask and the Answer is just as good.

479 pages, Candlewick Press

 

Middle-Grade Review: The Silver Six

As I’ve mentioned here before, I rarely read graphic novels, but sometimes I stumble across a good one. I received a proof of The Silver Six, a middle-grade graphic novel by AJ Lieberman and Darren Rawlings, and thoroughly enjoyed its futuristic, kids-save-the-world story.

As with all good action-packed adventures, there is an evil, powerful bad villain at its center: Mr. Craven, owner and CEO of Craven Mining Co, the corporation that controls much of this futuristic world and that is responsible for continuing to destroy the earth in search of ever-more profitable fuels. As the story opens, young Phoebe is worried about paying her rent and convincing the landlord that her parents are still there…because they aren’t. Phoebe is an orphan who, with the help of her beloved robot, Max, has been fooling the authorities for a year now so that she can stay in her home, near her friends.

But Mr. Craven disrupts her plans, as his minions search for an important electronic file that appears to be hidden somewhere in Phoebe’s home. In short order, Phoebe is caught and sent to an orphanage. It’s a dismal life, filled with hard work and poor conditions, but Phoebe quickly makes friends. Gradually, she and her friends discover they have far more in common than just being orphans, and before long, Phoebe is leading the rest of the Silver Six in an escape plan! The kids have more to worry about than just escaping the orphanage, though, as they find they are being pursued by mysterious forces that clearly want them dead.

From there, the action continues and the suspense builds, both on earth and in distant space, as the mysteries surrounding Craven Mining and Phoebe’s parents’ deaths slowly come to light. The Silver Six is kind of like James Bond for kids: it has cool technology, an evil villain, and lots and lots of action and adventure. The characters are fully developed – which surprised me in a graphic novel – and I quickly came to like Phoebe and to root for her and her friends in their quest for truth and freedom. Lots of fun for middle-grade readers who enjoy action and adventure.

188 pages, Scholastic

 

Teen/YA Review: Magisterium

I wanted to read some spooky books during the month of October, and Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch kicked off my creepy reading perfectly!  This new novel from the author of The Eleventh Plague starts out as your typical post-apocalyptic/dystopian novel, but it also has a hefty dose of (dark) magic and lots of surprises.

Sixteen-year old Glenn Morgan lives a quiet life.  Her mother left when she was six, and her scientist father is immersed in his project out in his workshop, leaving Glenn on her own most of the time.  She goes to school, hangs out with her mohawked friend, Kevin Kapoor, and dreams of the day when she can apply to a space academy and escape her lonely life.  They live in a world based on technology and science, but Kevin has heard rumors of a different world, filled with magic and monsters, just beyond the Rift that borders their backyards.  Glenn insists that there is nothing beyond the Rift but a barren wasteland, as they’ve been taught in their history classes.

One day, their quiet, dull lives are upended when Glenn’s dad finally finishes the project he’s been obsessed with, a metal bracelet, and the Authority, their police force, come to arrest him.  Glenn and Kevin grab the bracelet and escape to the only place they can – across the border.  What they find there, on the run from the government, is crazy and confusing and hard to believe, but Glenn must continue her quest to save her father.

I don’t want to say much more about the rest of the novel because it is filled with suspense and lots of twists and turns.  It is an imaginative and action-packed adventure story about a dystopian world much different than others I have read about (and I have read a lot of dystopian novels this year!).  Glenn and Kevin are both strong, admirable characters whom I was rooting for.  I devoured the book quickly, and now my 18-year old son wants to read it!

310 pages, Scholastic

 

Teen/YA Review: Sharp North

My son read Sharp North by Patrick Cave back when it was first released in the U.S., in 2009, and he has been telling me to read it ever since!  I finally found the time to tackle it, thanks to my Big Book Summer Challenge, and discovered my son was right: this is a fast-paced, exciting dystopian adventure with a unique plot that pulled me in and kept me reading.

Teenaged Mira has lived a content, simple life in the snowy mountains of Scotland in an isolated village with her adoptive parents.  Then, one day, a strange woman is killed in front of her in the woods, and Mira’s peaceful, happy life is shattered.  The woman leaves behind a crumpled piece of paper that contains a list of names, including her own. 

Suddenly, Mira is questioning everything she has ever been told or believed about her life.  Who is she, really?  Who was the mysterious woman and why was she killed?  Mira feels she must find answers and can no longer trust anyone, so she sets off on her own to follow the clues left by the dead woman, but she has no idea what dangers hide in the wider world beyond her little town and her protected upbringing. 

This unique novel is set in a distant, dismal future UK where relentless flood waters have changed not only the geography of the country but its internal workings as well.  Britain is now ruled by the Great Families, leaving a poor underclass who are barely surviving.  With such limited resources, reproduction has been severely limited, but there are rumors that the Great Families have secret, illegal clones of themselves – spares – just in case they are needed.

Cave weaves a complex and intricate story of a time and place very different from our familiar world.  Mira’s journey takes her on a long and dangerous series of adventures, as she follows her heart and tries to do what she feels is right, drawn by the need to find out the truth about her own life. I enjoyed this fast-paced and exciting novel very much.

518 pages, Atheneum

 

Teen/YA Review: Blood Red Road

My first Big Book Summer read was Blood Red Road, a dystopian/post-apocalyptic teen/YA novel by Moira Young.  The book is written in a unique, sparse style that took some getting used to, but the compelling story pulled me in and held my attention.

Eighteen-year old Saba lives in a desolate future wasteland with her twin brother, Lugh, their father, and their 9-year old sister, Emmi.  Their mother died giving birth to Emmi, and the family lives a fairly harsh existence, plagued by dust storms and struggling day-to-day to find food.

Their difficult but peaceful existence is disrupted by a raging sandstorm one day that brings four mysterious, cloaked horsemen who snatch Lugh and take him away.  Devastated by the loss of her beloved twin, Saba sets out on a quest to find Lugh.  Away from the isolation and safety of their home, Saba discovers that the outside world is a dangerous and frightening place.  She is forced to take care of and defend herself for the first time in her life, and she learns she is much stronger than she thought.  Along the way, she meets a clever, attractive loner named Jack whom she’s not sure she can trust and an all-girl gang of revolutionaries called the Free Hawks.

The whole story is told in Saba’s voice, in a sort of slang, and written in a spare style without quotation marks.  Here’s an excerpt from the first chapter, where Lugh is trying to fix their roof with help from his sisters:

And then there’s Emmi. She’s doin what she always does, which is pester me an Lugh. She dogs my heels as I go from the ladder to the junk pile and back.

            I wanna help, she says.

            Hold the ladder then, I says.

            No! I mean really help! All you ever let me do is hold the ladder!

            Well, I says, maybe that’s all yer fit fer. You ever think of that?

            She folds her arms across her skinny little chest and scowls at me. Yer mean, she says.

            So you keep telling me, I says.

When I first began reading the novel, I found the style a bit off-putting, but it didn’t take long for me to get into the rhythm of it.  Once the story pulled me in, I got used to the unusual writing approach, and by the end of the novel, it felt like exactly the right way to tell the story from Saba’s perspective, reflecting the desolation of that time and place.

This is a fast-paced, action-packed story of a young woman finding her inner strength in a dangerous and lawless time.  It’s filled with twists and turns that keep you guessing…and cheering for Saba and her new friends.  The title page says this is Dustlands, Book 1.  I can’t wait for Book 2 (scheduled or release on October 30)!

459 pages, Margaret K. McElderry Books (Imprint of Simon & Schuster)

Teen/YA Review: Ship Breaker

Before our recent spring break road trip to Oklahoma, I perused the teen/YA shelves at the library for something that would appeal to the whole family.  My sons are 14 and 17 now and no longer content to listen to whatever audio books Mom chooses – and often they prefer to listen to their iPods now – so I was hoping to find an audio that would engage them, as well as my husband and I, during our long hours of driving.  I chose Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, a teen/YA dystopian novel that sounded action-packed; like most kids their age, they both read and enjoyed The Hunger Games, so I thought that a dystopian novel might work.  Well, I still couldn’t get my youngest son to listen with us (he’s just at that age when he needs to make his own choices), but the other three of us enjoyed Ship Breaker very much.

It’s set in a post-apocalyptic time along the US’s Gulf Coast, where one huge storm after another has changed the landscape and the economy.  Although there are a wealthy few in charge, most people in the Gulf Coast region have to scrape together a living by working on a crew, helping to scavenge metal and copper wiring from the huge oil tankers that have run aground there.  Nailer, a teen boy, lives from one day to the next with his violent, drug-addicted father, working light crew with his group of rough peers, hoping he doesn’t grow so much that he can no longer crawl through the ships’ ductwork. 

After one particularly bad storm, a wealthy clipper ship wrecks a short distance from their beach, and Nailer and a crewmate, Pima, find it before anyone else notices it.  The ship is filled with more wealth than they have ever seen or heard of – including silver platters and gold jewelry – but as they are scavenging whatever they can carry, they discover a girl about their own age who is barely alive.  Now they have a problem: do they turn the girl over to the adults and allow the girl herself to be sold for her parts or try to hide her so they can collect a ransom when her family comes looking for her?

It’s a dark, gritty story populated by coarse but likeable characters faced with often unthinkable ethical dilemmas.  My husband, son, and I really enjoyed the audio which captures the tone of the desperate time and place.  The story was fast-paced and exciting and kept our interest over the long hours in the car!

352 pages, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Brilliance Audio

   

The Hunger Games movie

Yes, we finally went to see The Hunger Games movie last night, and I am dying to talk about it!

Our whole family read the book (and loved it, of course) - here is my review.  Craig, our 14-year old, got to see the movie the first day it came out, with his entire English class on a field trip, but the rest of us hadn't seen it yet.  We are visiting my father-in-law in Oklahoma and finally had some free time to go to the movies yesterday (a rarity for us!).

Within the first 10 minutes of the movie, I was already crying, and Jamie, my 17-year old son, was whispering to me, "I just have to read the whole series again!" (and of course, also making fun of me for crying!).  In fact, I cried three times during the movie, even though I knew what to expect after reading the book.

I thought they did a fabulous job of adapting the book into a movie; it was obvious that Suzanne Collins co-wrote the screenplay and advised on production.  The casting was perfect - every character just seemed to match my mental images.  I especially liked Stanley Tucci as the MC, Caeser Flickerman, with his blue hair and wild enthusiasm.  And, of course, the actors in the main roles of Katniss, Peeta, and Gale were just wonderful.  Lenny Kravitz was an unusual but inspired choice for Cinna.

I loved seeing the Capitol and all of its superficial people brought to life - it was just amazing eye candy!  And, even though I knew what was going to happen, the action in the arena was still horrifying and compelling.

So, overall, a big thumbs up from my family.  Those two and a half hours passed by very quickly (other than my full bladder by the end!).  We can't wait to see Catching Fire!

What did you think of the movie?

Middle-Grade Review: The Whisper

My son and I both loved Emma Clayton’s post-apocalyptic/dystopian novel The Roar, so we were excited when the sequel The Whisper was recently released.  It provided a satisfying conclusion to the story, though we both thought it wasn’t quite as good as the first book.  I will try to tell you a bit about the sequel without giving away any secrets from its predecessor.

As in The Roar, the setting is a dystopian future where the Animal Plague has left the world divided into two, with all humans living north of an enormous wall that circumnavigates the globe.  The poor and middle class in this world live crammed in tiny fold-down apartments or are struggling to survive in The Shadows, the dark and flooded London streets that were left behind when the wealthy, ruling class built their penthouses up above the London skyline.

The action in this book is split between twins Mika and Ellie, who are part of a brainwashed child army led by the evil Mal Gorman, and their friend Kobi, who is fleeing into The Shadows with his father to escape from Gorman’s control.  Without giving away any spoilers, most of the book is about the children revolting – how they try to evade Gorman’s mind control and somehow bring peace to their tormented world.

This novel is very much about kid power, to something of an unbelievable extent from an adult’s point of view, but middle-grade readers are sure to cheer on these brave kids as they try to outwit the adult leaders of their world and avoid war.  Like The Roar, it is action-packed and fast-paced, with lots of cool technology to add to the fun.  It is not as strong a novel as The Roar, but it provides a gratifying finale to this unique story.

309 pages, Scholastic

 

Teen/YA Review: Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth was the hottest new dystopian release of 2011.  My 17-year old son read it as soon as it came out and kept saying, “Mom, you have to read this!”  I also read many great reviews of it and watched with interest as it showed up on many Best of 2011 lists. I finally found time to read it last week and discovered that all that hype was well-deserved; Divergent is an exciting, original novel.

Among the decrepit buildings of Chicago and the enormous swamp that used to be Lake Michigan, the community has been rebuilt into five factions, each with their own unique role in society:  Abnegation (the selfless who govern), Dauntless (the brave who defend the city), Erudite (the intelligent who pursue knowledge), Amity (the peaceful who grow food), and Candor (the honest who always tell the truth). 

At age 16, each person must choose their faction.  While most choose to stay within the faction they were born to, some change factions at this time.  It is a decision with life-long consequences, determining whom they will live with, what kind of job they will have, and even their core beliefs.  Beatrice has lived happily and peacefully in Abnegation with her brother and parents her whole life, but she isn’t certain it is where she really belongs.  She is worried about her aptitude test and the Choosing Ceremony the following day and has no idea which faction she will choose.

I don’t want to say anymore about what Beatrice chooses or what the consequences of that choice are – no spoilers here!  But things are not quite as simple as they first seem in this new kind of society, and there are some conflicts brewing behind the seemingly peaceful surface.  As Beatrice goes through her initiation (whether you are born into a faction or transferred in, you must go through initiation when you become an adult), she learns things that are disturbing and makes some new friends as well as some enemies.

Divergent is a fast-paced, action-packed story with lots of surprising plot twists.  I remarked to my son that it was more violent than I’d expected, and he rolled his eyes and teased, “Mom, you are such a girl!”  Yes, I am!  And yes, some of the violence did surprise me, though it is a very common element of dystopian fiction.  Despite that, I was totally absorbed into this story and hated to set the book down to go to bed each night.  I finished it yesterday and was immediately ready to read its sequel (Insurgent, which is due to be released May 1, 2012).  And that is the sign of a good book.

496 pages, Kathryn Tegen Books (imprint of HarperCollins)

Can't get enough of Divergent?  Check out the Divergent fan site.

P.S. I was just as fascinated by the author’s backstory as I was by the book itself.  Veronica Roth is a very young author, just out of college, with a very big success with her first novel!  Read more about her at her blog.

Middle-Grade Review: The Roar

For the past month or so, whenever I began reading a new book, my 17-year old son would say, “Mom!  You started another book!  You HAVE to read The Roar next!”  So I finally listened to him (sometimes kids know best) and recently finished The Roar by Emma Clayton, an action-packed dystopian sci fi novel for middle-grade and teen readers.  He was right – I absolutely loved it!

The Roar is set in London in the future.  An Animal Plague spread a deadly virus across the world and forced all remaining humans to barricade themselves behind The Wall.  To accommodate the population in such limited space, they built up instead of out.  Now, as you might expect, the wealthy and powerful live in the new, elite upper levels of London, with the poor masses crammed into dark, wet slums below or dismal towns filled with “fold-down” apartments further north.

Twelve-year old Mika leads a gloomy existence in one of those tiny apartments with his parents.  A year ago, his twin sister, Ellie, disappeared and was declared dead, but Mika knows in his heart that she is still alive.  The reader learns, on the very first page, that this is true, as Ellie attempts to escape from her captors.  When the government begins a new program to strengthen kids and launches a new battle-filled video game, complete with competitions featuring unbelievable prizes, Mika is suspicious of their motives but knows he must go along with the program if he hopes to find his sister.

It’s an original and thoughtful story, filled with action and suspense and cool technology, that moves along at a fast pace.  I stayed up way too late at night reading until I finished this book!  There is even an element of the paranormal here, in the amazing connection between Ellie and Mika that grows even stronger as the story progresses.  Some elements (the game, for instance) reminded me a bit of Ender’s Game, though this is a wholly unique tale with its own twists and surprises.  My son and I both loved this novel, and it looks as if a sequel is in the works, so we have more to look forward to!

481 pages, Scholastic

NOTE:  The publisher says the book is appropriate for ages 9 and up, and I do think it will be popular with middle-grade readers, but it will also appeal to teens (and adults!).

If you like The Roar, you might also like Spacer and Rat by Margaret Bechard, another good sci fi novel that my son recommended to me.