Review: Legend

Title: Legend

Author: Marie Lu

Rating: 5 Stars

The Blurb:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

The Review:

I love a good dystopian book and I've heard great things about this one so I was really excited to start reading Legend. 

This story is told from the POV of two different characters; one character is June, a fifteen-year-old prodigy who aspires to be a great military hero just like her brother Metias. The other character is Day a fifteen-year-old delinquent who just so happens to be the country's most wanted criminal. June and Day's worlds collide when June's brother Metias is murdered and Day becomes the main suspect.

The catalyst in this story is Metias's death. I knew his death was coming but that didn't mean I wasn't sad about it. I would've loved to see more of him.  It would be nice if there was a short story told from Metias's point of view, maybe when he finds out his parents died and that he would become the guardian for June. I think that would be an interesting story to read. He seemed like a genuinely good guy. I also felt awful for June because he was the only family she had left after their parents died long ago of a mysterious car crash. After her brothers death June is determined to find Day and bring him in.

Day has problems of his own. While on the run from the law he continually checks in on his family and makes sure they have enough money and food to live on. One night he finds out that his younger brother is sick. Day then goes on a mission to steal a cure from the hospital. He isn't a killer, but that doesn't matter, the government wants him caught and they'll do anything to catch him.

On the surface June and Day couldn't be any more different; June grew up in a wealthy district and never had to worry about food or sickness; while Day grew up extremely poor with no access to medicine or health care. The more you learn about them though the more you see that they have a lot in common. They're both smart, capable, and they both have loving families.. While they both have completely different lives and pasts once their lives converge it's interesting to see how much they are alike.

I don't really have any complaints with this book, it was well written and the characters were all really interesting. The plot line is solid and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a great book with great characters. This book is a must read and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Don't forget to leave a comment about what you thought of Legend or of the review. I love feedback :)

Review: Eve

Title: Eve

Author: Anna Carey

Rating: 5 stars

The Blurb:
Where do you go when nowhere is safe?

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

The Review:
This is a book that I had thought about reading for a long time, I just never seemed to have enough time to get around to it. When I finally did read it I could have kicked myself for waiting so long!

Our titular character is Eve who lost her mother to the plague when she was five years old. Now as a teenager she is attending and about to graduate as her class valedictorian from an all school where the girls are well taken care of. Eve believes her impending graduation to be a great thing, she believes that she will get to go off and learn a trade for four years and then be off to the city of sand where she would become a great artist. She believed all of this was going to happen, until she ran into her rival Arden who has plans to escape the school. Arden tells Eve that all the graduates are going to be used for breeding purposes to get the world's population back on track after the plague killed so many. Eve doesn't believe her  even though her gut is telling her otherwise, she decides to go looking for proof. Eve sneaks her way to the trade school hoping that Arden was mistaken but to her horror she discovers that Arden was telling the truth the whole time. Eve has no choice but to escape and try to survive on her own in the real world.

I really loved this book, it was really well written and the characters were very relatable. At times Eve could be very naive and a bit careless, but that stems from her being essentially brainwashed by the adults who run the school she was at. Once she got farther away from the school and got a little life experience under her belt she began to understand what the world was about. That's not to say she didn't make mistakes every one in a while but if she was perfect, this book would have been really boring. Eventually she meets up with Arden and although they didn't like each other at school they quickly learned to depend on one another. After a few days on the road together they both go hunting and separate for a bit, Eve is a terrible hunter but I can forgive her for that because she has spent her whole life in a school not being allowed out in the real world. While "hunting" Eve stumbles across a bear cub (this is one of those moments where Eve doesn't totally think things through) and starts to pet it and play with it. Unsurprisingly the cub's mother isn't far off. As Eve prepares to be mauled something unexpected happens; she is saved by a boy. Now, the school has taught Eve to be fearful of men. She was always told that they were brutal and how dangerous love was. Eve was reluctant at first but given a choice between being eaten by a bear and going with a boy the choice was obvious. Caleb, the "dangerous" boy takes Eve and Arden to his home. His home is a cave in the mountains where he lives with many other guys. Eve befriends some of the young boys and starts to teach them to read. This part sort of reminded me of Wendy telling stories to the lost boys in Peter Pan. As the weeks go by romance begins to spring between Eve and Caleb despite her initial fears of men. Eve and Arden still aren't safe though, they discover that Eve has a bounty on her head and it doesn't seem like the leader of all the boys likes having them around.

I loved the characters in this book, even if they weren't in it for a very long time there was usually something about them that made me want to get to know more about them. I particularly enjoyed how Arden went from being harsh and bitter to being able to really open up to Eve and become her friend. Caleb is the quintessential sweet guy that every girl wants to be with. He is smart, sweet, and brave. The little boys that Eve teaches to read are just adorable and so sweet. I would love to know more about them. I would also like to know more about Eve's friends back at school. I felt so bad when Eve didn't have time to warn them about their awful fate.

My one and only complaint is that this book felt so short and I really just wanted it to keep going. I can't wait to read the next one in the series and continue on this adventure with Eve.

Tell me in the comments what you thought of Eve, and if you haven't read it maybe you could suggest a book that you really loved. I love getting comments and feedback :)

Review Uglies

Title: Uglies

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Rating: 5 stars

The Blurb:
Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

The Review:
In this world when you turn sixteen you get cosmetic surgery that makes you "pretty," not just the people who are rich, everyone. Scott Westerfeld created an amazing story about what it means to truly be beautiful. This book really does make you think about what it means to be pretty; in Uglies being pretty means having a symmetrical face, big doe eyes, and pouty lips. Throughout reading this book I found myself wondering if I would ever have anything like this done to myself, surely everyone has something they'd like to change about themselves. I discovered that my answer would be no. All of my imperfections are what makes me, me and this is something that Scott Westerfeld portrays masterfully in Uglies.

Tally is our heroine in this book and she can't wait to be turned pretty. Her best friend Peris has already had the operation and Tally feels alone in the world. That is until she meets Shay an ugly who has the same birthday as Tally meaning they will both get the operation done at the same time. Tally and Shay become fast friends and Tally just gets more and more excited about being pretty. The only problem is that Shay doesn't want to be pretty, she wants to stay an ugly and soon she tells Tally about a place called the smoke, where no one has to get the operation. Where people keep there natural faces. Tally is appalled and wants nothing to do with it, she has her heart set on turning pretty. So Shay leaves Tally behind so she can find the place where she can stay herself.  When Tally finally goes in for her operation she is told the only way she will be turned pretty is to find out where Shay has gone and turn in all the uglies in hiding. Tally has got a big decision to make and once she decides, there's no turning back.

Tally is a great character, she always does what she thinks is right even if what she thinks is right may change. She is able to acknowledge when she makes a mistake and apologizes for it. The fact that she has flaws makes her very relatable which is something I love. If a character doesn't have flaws then it's too hard to identify with them and they don't seem real.

I like Shay, she doesn't want to conform to her society so she goes out on her own to find the place that will accept her for who she is on the inside and not based on what she looks like. I really respect her for that.

David is the son of the people who run the smoke and he takes a liking to Tally right away. The only problem is that Shay likes him David and this proves to be a point of contention between Shay and Tally.

This book is just a really great read. It's insightful, interesting, and beautifully written. I can't wait to get the next book in the series titled Pretties from the library so I can continue enjoying Scott Westerfelds wonderful world.

Review: Scored

Title: Scored

Author: Lauren McLaughlin

Rating: 3 stars

The Blurb:
Set in the future when teenagers are monitored via camera and their recorded actions and confessions plugged into a computer program that determines their ability to succeed. All kids given a "score" that determines their future potential. This score can get kids into colleges, grant scholarships, or destroy all hope for the above. Scored's reluctant heroine is Imani, a girl whose high score is brought down when her best friend's score plummets. Where do you draw the line between doing what feels morally right and what can mean your future? Friendship, romance, loyalty, family, human connection and human value: all are questioned in this fresh and compelling dystopian novel set in the scarily foreseeable future.

The Review:
This book has a really interesting premise. it's about a world where teenagers are monitored pretty much at all times. They are monitored by a computer program and the score they get by the end of their high school career will determine which college they go to or even if they go to college at all. In this world it is extremely easy for you to make a mistake and have your score drop but nearly impossible for you to get it to rise back up. One little mistake can determine your future and it might not even be a mistake that you made, just by associating with someone who doesn't follow the rules could cause your score to drop.

I liked this book it had a good premise and it seemed like it would be really interesting. The main character Imani is driven and ambitious which I like about her, she is also loyal to her friend Cady even though they both have different scores (Imani has a 92 and Cady is in the low 70s). The strangest things affect your score; whether it's speeding, questioning authority, being in an unsavory area, or just hanging out with someone with a lower score. Cady could cause Imani's score to drop. I like that she takes this risk for her best friend. Then something awful happens. Cady is caught dating an unscored boy which drops her score to 28. Just by being friends with her Imani's score drops to  the 70's and Imani didn't even know it was going on.

The romance in this book was really lacking. There was some banter between Imani and her love interest Diego but it wasn't the flirty sort of banter or even full on passionate fighting. It just felt a bit mundane. I liked both of the characters but they just didn't have any chemistry at all and I honestly didn't think there would be a romantic spark between them.

The ending of this book was really abrupt. It was like the author couldn't think of what else to write so she just decided to come up with an extremely anticlimactic ending that was not satisfying in the least.

If there was another book written in this series then I would consider reading simply because I really love the premise and I think this story could go somewhere really interesting.

Review: Sudden Independants

Title: Sudden Independents

Author: Ted Hill

Rating: 2 stars

The blurb:
Jimmy never thought he’d be spending the apocalypse farming in Nebraska and worrying about Hunter. But when the plague killed their parents, along with everyone over the age of seventeen, Jimmy suddenly became head of the household.

Then the oldest kid in town turned eighteen and the plague chased him down. Now Jimmy has one more thing to worry about—and he’s running out of time.

Hunter finds a little girl named Catherine under a cottonwood tree in the middle of nowhere. When Catherine magically heals Hunter’s broken arm, Jimmy hopes he will survive his eighteenth birthday if he can protect her from the horseman responsible for unleashing the plague.

Review:
This book started out with some very small potential, towards the end however, it took a nosedive.

First of all this book wasn't written well. I felt like it was written by a high school student. Second of all this book also had a very religious theme to it. There are some books out there that have wonderful subtle religious themes, this book was extremely obvious in it's religious propaganda. And third of all this book was very male dominated. The female characters were weak and disappointing. I prefer the female characters I read about to be empowered and strong.

There are some parts of the book that I didn't hate; such as the character Jimmy, he was mature and kind, and I really liked that about him. He was really the only character I liked in the book though. The rest of them are annoying and immature, especially Jimmy's brother Hunter.

This is a really short review simply because there just isn't much to say other than I really hated this book. I really like the dystopian genre so I was really sad that this book was such a disappointment. This is all just my opinion though so if you do want to try reading it then you should, I just wouldn't personally recommend it.

Review: The Essence

Title: The Essence

Author: Kimberly Derting

Rating: 5 stars

The blurb:

At the luminous conclusion of The Pledge, Charlaina defeated the tyrant Sabara and took her place as Queen of Ludania. But Charlie knows that Sabara has not disappeared: The evil queen’s Essence is fused to Charlie’s psyche, ready to arise at the first sign of weakness.

Charlie is not weak, but she’s being pushed to the brink. In addition to suppressing the ever-present influence of Sabara, she’s busy being queen—and battling a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory caste system. Charlie wants to be the same girl Max loves, who Brook trusts, but she’s Your Majesty now, and she feels torn in two.

As Charlie journeys to an annual summit to meet with leaders of nearby Queendoms—an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the utmost asset—she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. And the only person she can turn to for help is the evil soul residing within.

Review:
This is a book I have been waiting for ever since I read the first book in the series, The Pledge, which I absolutely loved! If you haven't read the first book then you really should do it now because it really is an amazing book.

Charlie is finally Queen of Ludania and for the most part she likes it; she likes that she can enact change and she likes that her parents don't have to work so hard anymore, and she gets to be with Max, the guy she loves. There are some things however that aren't so great; there are some people who are against Charlie, against her plan to bring equality to Ludania and they will stop at nothing to make sure she fails.

Charlie also has a secret, one that is tearing her up inside. The former Queen Sabara is trapped in her mind fighting Charlie for control. I think that Sabara being inside Charlie's head is very interesting. Charlie is clearly a very strong person and under normal circumstances I think she would be able to fight Sabara off easily. Unfortunately Charlie is dealing with a resistance group, learning how to be a queen, and trying to keep Sabara a secret from everyone so they don't think she's gone insane. That's a lot to deal with for anyone let alone a seventeen year old. Throughout this whole book I was so upset with Charlie for not telling anyone her secret to anyone who could help her, especially Max. I understand why she wouldn't want to tell anyone but I was still upset by it. This is also one of the things that I really like about Charlie; she makes mistakes. She isn't some perfect person who can do no wrong, which makes her easy to relate to.

Another part of the story that made me angry was Niko Bartolo. The love interest of Sabara. I hated that Charlie was being forced to have feelings for him because of Sabara. Charlie clearly loves Max but because of these other "feelings" their relationship gets strained. The author Kimberly Derting did a great job here, even if it was upsetting for me to see Charlie have to go through that.

Other Characters:
Zafir- I loved Zafir in this! His stark refusal to call Charlie by her name rather than Your Majesty throughout the book was really funny. If I didn't love Max so much with Charlie then I think it would be really interesting to see Zafir and Charlie together. I know that most likely won't happen but it's interesting to think about.

Brook- I think Brook has grown so much as a character in this book. She is more responsible and even nicer. I felt so bad for her because of her relationship with her dad.

Aron- Aron has gotten much more book time in The Essence and I'm very happy about that. In The Pledge I was initially worried about him being a competing love interest for Charlie but as that turned out not to be true I grew to love him.

Kimberly Derting is a great author and I recommend this book wholeheartedly. I look forward to reading more from her, specifically Dead Silence, the next in the body finder series.

Review: Enclave

Title: Enclave

Author: Ann Aguirre

Rating: 2 stars

Blurb: 
WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE In Deuce's world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed 'brat' has trained into one of three groups-Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.


As a Huntress, her purpose is clear--to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She's worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing's going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce's troubles are just beginning.

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn't like following orders. At first she thinks he's crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don't always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she's never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.


As Deuce's perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy... but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she's ever known.


Review: 
This book had so much potential! I absolutely loved the first half of this book and was excited because I believed I had found a new amazing series. The main character, Deuce was strong and independent and the love interest Fade was mysterious and kind. Then things took a turn for the worse. Deuce and Fade end up rescuing a girl named Tegan from a gang who rapes her on a nightly basis. This same gang captures Deuce and nearly condemn her to the same fate as Tegan but luckily they escape. Everyone in this awful gang is killed with the exception of the gang leader Stalker. Inexplicably Deuce, Fade, and reluctantly Tegan let him come along with them. If that wasn't bad enough Stalker somehow manages to become a possible romantic interest for Deuce!

Even though the writing in this book is done well I just can't wrap my head around the fact that anyone would start to find a rapist attractive. Deuce is an awful role model for girls and this book does feminism a disservice. For this reason I could never even think about recommending this book to anyone I know.