Divergent by Veronica Roth

So I want to write a review of my favourite book ever. Divergent by Veronica Roth!! If you haven't read this book, then what have you been doing with your life, people? So, yeah, read it, re-read it, because it's awsome!

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 threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

 

So, I won't talk abou the world in this book. Because whatever you have to learn, you can from the description of it. They idea is quite original. I read this last year and I still haven't found a dystopian book that has the similar idea. When I first got the book, I thought it will be something about superheroes and stuff like that. But I was really wrong. Divergents are not superheroes, they don't have and strange powers. I think they're just more developed than he others. They can be honest and clever and brave at the same time, for example!

Characters:

There are great, likeable characters in the book, characters you can fall in love with and characters you want to kiss and...do other things. And then there are some characters you want to strangle or trow a knife at or trow in The Pit or fire a gun at or make them live in their Fear Landscape.

 

Lets start with the main heroine, Beatris "Tris" Prior. She is a character I always wanted to be like. She is selfless and brave and clever. I thing the hardest of them all for me would be being brave. Is there anything I don't like in Tris? She doesn't stop talking abot how she is not the prettiest girl and she is not good enough. I don't know if someone else noticed it, but it was poking me in the eyes all the time. Did you notice it? Also, I always imagined Tris as Veronica Roth although they are completely different.

Moving on. Best Male Lead Role goes to Four. He is, of course. the love interest in this book. A thing in this book I'm very grateful for is that there is no love triangle. Just Tris and Four and no other gyus and girls showing up there and spoiling the fun. Four being Tris's instructor made me imagine him as much older than he actually is. Well, Tris didn't exactly pay that much attention to his looks. Yeah, she metioned his eyes, but other  than that nothing. I really wasn't suprised to find out from which Cast he came. Tris's mother helped a lot.

Christina was a fun character. And again I couldn't imagine her as she was described in the book. In my mind she had long black hair and green eyes.  I can't really say much about her. She was a good friend to Tris. Although I was reall pissed when she was jealous of Tris for being the best in Initiation. Really, is that all it takes to start being a fair weather friend? But enough on this. The Will/Christina relationship was very sweet. Too bad they didn't get a chance to be together.

Now I just want to rant about Will. SPOILERS! Tris could have just shot him in the hand or something like that. But no, she had to kill him. That should have gave the fans the hint that there is going to be death in this trilogy, lot's of death!  As someone who has already read Allegiant, I should know! SPOILERS END!

Other characters:

Now my least favourite character was All! Most people think it's Erik, but at least Erik wasn't whiny and afraid to punch someone. All started okay as a character, but as the book went on, he became less likeable and then he became grumpy and then he attacked Tris. I think she was right not to forgive him. I wouldn't have either! And why did he even choose Dauntless if he is afraid to fight? I wouldn't want to puch my friends, but that was just once and after that he became a cry baby. And I think the simulations really freaked him out. Maybe he had too many fears. I won't be suprised actually.

And Erick! I didn't like him. And I don't think he is really the evil guy. He is just being used by Janine. And you know he is a grown-up Peter. He is just jealous of Four. Oh, and I like to imagine Peter actually has a crush on Tris, but he doesn't know how to flirt. That's why he is so mean. I would really like that. I would like to see that he isn't that evil and that he is just hiding behind this fasade.

Tris's mother was a character I really want to know more about. She is kind of mystirious. We know she used to be Dauntless and she became Abneration, because she was a Divergent. But that's what Tris know! And we all know that you can't trust what the main character assumes.

Oh, and I almost forgot Uraih! Maybe he ws truly the best friend Tris had in this book. I mean, they didn't spend that much time together, but he helped her and he was funny. Not that those are the mostimportant qualities, but I like him nevertheless!

And I totally forgot about Tori. I don't really think her brother is dead. He probably ran away when he found out he was Divergent.There is this thing I don't like in her, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

 

Fear Landscape:

Now the Fear landscape was a very interesting moment in the book. I will surely have more than seven fears. But less than twenty. I probably won't be able to calm down or face my fears and I'll be stuck in my fears forever. As much as I would like to imagine otherwise!

 

I recommend this book to EVERYONE! Just read it people! It's awsome and you won't be able to put it down!

Oh check this thing I found:  That's how I felt the day Allegiant came out! And I think we all know how I felt after I finished reading it!

 

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

OK, so time to review one of my favourite books of all time.

 It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

Jane Austen:

I can begin to tell you how much I love Jane Austen! I have been in love with her novels since I read Pride and Prejudice! Alas, I'm the only person who loves her in my family. My relatives think Jane Austen writes girly books and that that kind of literature is not good enough for  their tastes. But enough on my relatives. I haven't read Persuasion yet. It's the only Austen novel I haven't read. Shame on me! But this book has been on my shelf for ages and I'm very happy I picked it up!

Reading:

I have been having trouble sleeping these days so after I woke up at 4 AM this morning I decided to start this book. And I loved it. (I think I said that already! Several times!) It's a very fast read. It took me around 4 hours to read it. And I was tire and sleepy.

World:

The book is set in a dystopian world. In the future after The reduction there are now two races of people. The Ludite aka. the great, good and rich and The Reduce- their slaves, servants, workers. So mainly before the Reduction the Reducted wanted to improve themselfs so they started making themselfs better body parts and new eyes, you get it. Right? But a group of people refused to improve themselfs. That group were the Ludite. But the improvements went too far and the people who were improved became very disorientated. You can call it stupid, too! So the Ludite became the masters and the Reduced- their slaves. But The genes of The Reduced started getting normal again and the new generations became cleverer and cleverer. Those were the so called Children of The Reduction. They are the same as Ludite generations, they can think and speak and they are normal. Like you and me! (Well, technically I'm not normal!) But The Children of The Reduction were discriminated. So that's the world where the story is set. I explained it because for people who haven't read the book it will be easier to understand it if they read this first!

Elliot North:

I loved Elliot. Firstly, if you have read Persuasion youu have already noticed the name similarity Anne Elliot/ Elliot. Then Ellliot was a working girl. She took care for everything after her mother died. She could live in the same house with her sister and father without killing them. (Something I wouldn't have been able to do!) And she wanted to leave and see the world with Kai, but she stayed. Because she is responsible and she puts other people's needs before herself. And she broke the law. She experimented on the seeds so there could be food so her friend and family and the other Reduced won't die.

Kai:

Kai was an enjoyable character. Of course, I was very anoyed with hima at times. I just wanted to shout at him: Can you see she still loves you? And you love her. Don't try to hide it. Just freaking tell her. But in the end everything was alright. Kai became himself again and it was hreat.

The Ending and a little before that:

This is the moment weh I say how much I hate Elliot's father. He was so mean and selfish and the only thing he ever thought about were money and himself. And sometimes about how to entertain himself. But I think I have mixed feeling about him, because on the other hand he wasn't broughtup to be a leader. They just thaught him how to be a party boy. I was just so mad at him after Elliot's grandpa died and he left that will. But as always Elliot did the right thing. She made  a bargain with Tatiana, her also annoying sister. And again Elliot proves to be a working girl and makes not one, but two masions wealthy. Now moving on to The Ending. It was so great! I loved it. Sailing away to see the world and to find other survivors.

Ro:

And how couldn't I mention Ro. She was alovely little thing. I think she was example that the Redused are not brainless. She was actually clever. She couldn't speak or write or read, but how can anyone be sure what she is thinking. Maybe she is cleverer than all of them. And the moment when they re-named her to Tommorow was...was..well, I actually have no word for it.

So I think that's it. If there's anybody reading this blog, please comment.

 

Zombies vs. Unicorns -An Anthology

 

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

 

 

This review I'll try and make as Non-spoilery as I can!! I'll just try to give some info about each story and my opinion!

So, I have been avoiding this book for some time now, because I was never into zombies. But resently I have started enjoying zombie stories a lot. The first zombie book I read was Warm Bodies. I can't say I liked it very much. Then my favourite...Something strange and deadly by Susan Dennard. This was the book that made me a fan of zombies. So that's how I decided to get myself this book. As for unicorns I haven't read anything about them, I think. I mean, everyone have heard of unicorns, but how many people can say they have read books about them.

The Highest Justice by Garht Nix

The first story, The Highest Justice” by Garth Nix, is set in some kind of medieval world and it's about a princess helping her zombie mother with the help of a unicorn. The mother wants to see her killer one more time. I liked this one. I always liked stories set in medieval-like worlds. But I must say from all the unicorn stories this one was sticking with the image of a unicorn everybody knows the most. Oh, and a thing I loved was this young guard who can see the Unicorn and, you know, that mean he is a virgin. I thought he had a crush on the princess. It was so sweet! So I think I give this story 5 stars!

 

Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Alaya Dawn

The second story, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Alaya Dawn, is about a gay zombie! Yes, you read it right! A gay zombie. It was an interesting twist, but I'm not very fond of the ending. Well, he wasn't technically a zombie. He was diseased, but they stopped the disease before it spread in his brain. So now he is stuck in this phase between zombie and human. And he likes this boy whose father is a zombie hunter! Good choice, bro! Very good choice! Why don't zombies get happy endings?

“Purity Test” by Naomi Novik

Moving on! In “Purity Test” by Naomi Novik, a drunken woman asleep on a park bench finds herself awakened and recruited by a unicorn to save many baby unicorns from an evil wizard. This wizard however looked and behaved like a normal middle-aged man. But, yeah, Miss Novik, say he was a wizard! And also the author is really trying to make the story funny. Achiving nothing! So I wasn't thrilled with this story. It was boring.

 

“Bourgainvillea” by Carrie Ryan

This is my favourite zombie story in this book. I haven't read The Forest of Hands and Teeth, but I have heard that this story is set in the same world. I really don't have much to say about it. It's a story about suvival  for me and that's why Iza did what she did in the end. How could she? I mean, I totally get it. But if I was to make this story into a book I would have remade this moment. SO I can make a little romance between Iza and the boy/the pirate. And why did the author didn't mention his name? He was an important part of the story.  I would love to read this made into a book.

“A Thousand Flowers” by Margo Lanagan

About “A Thousand Flowers” by Margo Lanagan I really have nothing to say. Everything got kind of blurry at some point so I just skipped to the next story! I actually stopped reading after the main hero was in court acused of raping the princess.

 “The Children of the Revolution“ by Maureen Johnson

Maureen Johnson’s “The Children of the Revolution" made me very sad. It's about this girl who is hired by a rich actress to take care of five strange children. And it's a zombie story. So you can guess what happens! Her boyfriend was such a...such a...moron. I just hated him! Just dumping her in that farm with no money and...UGH! I don't know why, but this story reminded me of The Turning. The ending was so..so...Well I can't say what! Sad? Again, zombies don't get a happy ending!

 

“The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn” by Diana Peterfreund

I loved this story. I love everything Diana Peterfreund writes anyway and after reading this story I'm going to read her Killer unicorns series for sure! It's about a girl who is raised in a family that thinks unicorns are demons. She has the skills of a unicorn slayer, but when she has to kill a baby unicorn, she can't. So she starts to take care for it. There was, of course, a dash of romance which I loved. And the ending was great too. So I guess this is my second favourite story about unicorns in this book.

“Princess Prettypants"by Meg Cabot

This was a very funny teenage story about a girl who gets a unicorn for her birthday. And there is this party and she kicks some ass with her unicorn. And I really ahould read more Meg Cabot if all the stuff she writes is that good. I think that was the most enjoyable story about unicors in this book!

“Cold Hands” by Cassandra Clare

I expected more from “Cold Hands” by Cassandra Clare. I love Cassandra Clare. SHe is one of my favourite authors,  but I would advice her not to write any zombie stories. Her zombies were much like vampires. And there is something in the story that's bothering me. Maybe it's the ending. It was kind of happy, but I didn't like it. I don't know! I sort of have the feeling that the main heroine's boyfriend stopped loving her after he turned into a zombie. And he changed a lot. She said it herself. But this last sentence really annoyed me. Isn't she even a bit bothered that “the love of her life“ is a zombie! Are the cold hands really her only problem? I'll never understand people who are in love!

 

“The Third Virgin” by Kathleen Duey

“The Third Virgin” by Kathleen Duey was a bit of sad too. It's about a unicorn addicted to the sensation of weighing a person’s life — to heal or to kill. The unicorn want to die and was searching for a virgin to kill it. It's the only story in this book from a unicorn's perspective. And the idea is good, but as I already said it made me sad!

 

“Prom Night” by Libba Bray

And last, but not least “Prom Night” by Libba Bray. I like Libba Bray's books and I was not disappointed by this story! It's a bittersweet story about the world after apocalypse and there are only teenagares left. I liked this story and particulary the ending, but it's not for everyone's taste.

 

Zombies vs. Unicorns

And finally the big question: Team Zombies or Team Unicorns? I think I choose....both. Yes, both! I'm a zombie unicorn. Zombiecorn! Or a unicorn zombie. Unibie! I liked both types of stories.
I loved the dialogues between Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier inbetween the stories talking about zombies and unicorns.

So I recommend this book to zombie fans and Unicorn fans and everyone who wants to read it! Don't give up if a story is boring. Just go on. Oh, and one more thing. I skiped Scott Westeerfiel's story, becuse I didn't have much to say about it!



 

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

So, this is my first review on this blog and I'm not sure how to start it. Let me give you some information about the book first.

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers.

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?




Sounds cool, right? And let me tell you it's one of the best books I have ever read. I love Victoria Schwab. I have read all of her books and I'm probably gonna write reviews on them soon. I'll Try to devide this review into part like: Characters, World, Ending. And there will be a Spoilers Alert in big red letters, because I don't want to spoil the book for people who haven't read it yet.

Characters:  Super cool people and some not so cool people and some awful people:

There are all types of people in this book. And you can't really say: This one is good! or This one is bad. They are all a mash of good and bad, they are compicated human beings like all of us. And that, of course, makes them realistic which is a thing I love in books. It's really so hard to find realistic characters these days. Most of the time I see whiny Bellas, artistic Clarys, clever Annabeths etc.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
 Now people who have read the book will probably ask me who I prefer, Eli or Victor? I must say Victor. I don't even know why. Maybe because he didn't see himself as good. He knew not all things he was doing were good. He wanted revenge. If I were him I would have done the same. Well, not exactly the same, but I would have wanted revenge too. I couldn't see anything good in Eli. Victor hated him and I started hating him too. Even when reading through his perspective I couldn't stop disliking him. But as I said he did what he believed was right. (Even though it was wrong!) Maybe there are people out there who think Eli did the right thing. I almost expected Eli to kill Serena, because of that time when he said:

You are going to forget to say those words some day.

I don't know what to think of Serena. What kind of sister does the thing she did? Really, I know you became heartless after you died, but you must have some humanity or love left in you,woman. If not for your parents then at least for your sister. But she did the right thing in the end. I'm not quite sure why she killed herself. (I decided to call it like that. After all she ordered Mitch to fite the gun!) Maybe she finally saw that what Eli did was wrong. Or maybe it was because she loved her sister and didn't want Eli to kill her. (Sidney, not Serena!) I don't know! And I probably never will!

Moving on to Sidney. I had a hard time imagining her as a 13 year old. I imagined her as a 16 year old or as a little child. And she is practicly in the middle. I can't say much about her. She was a good character. Maybe the purest thing in this book.(If we don't count her dog, Dol!) I loved her in the end of this book. But about that later. Who is next? Oh, yes Mitch. He was...well, I can't exactly describe him. Even though there were chapters from his perspective I never got into his personality. Nevertheless I liked him. Really, I don't know why and I don't have anything to say about him I just thought he was a good character.

The Ending:

Now!! Let's talk about *Drums, please!* THE ENDING! After reading around 90% of the book I had the feeling that both Victor and Eli were going to die. It just couldn't have a happy ending. It was not right. And it didn't have a happy ending. Victor died and Eli was sent to jail. I'm wondering if he is immortal then is he going to stay in jail forever. I wish! I kind of imagine him in jail. Still looking 21, but infact 60. (He is like Dorian Grey, you know? But at least Dorian killed himself in the end!) So Eli is in jail and years pass and he is still there and can't get out, because his only power is regeneration. And as time passes people forget who he is or what he did and don't let him out. And then the jail gets abandoned and they forget about him. So he stays there forever and one day in desperation he kills himself. Or maybe he doesn't and he stays there forever. Yeah, my imagination running wild. So, lets go back to Victor. He dies. I was going to cry when he died, but I didn't. Because I knew Sidney will bring him back. I was laughing out loud and dancing around the room when I read the last sentence. It's good I wasn't in a public place when I read the end, but in my room. People would have thought I was crazy.
I like to imagine what happend after the end. Like did Sindey and Victor and Mitch lived togheter. What are they going to do now that Eli is gone. Maybe Victor is going to become a doctor or they will start training other EOs to use thier powers. Like X-men! That would be cool but I don't see it happenning. (Well, actually I do. I imagine it quite clearly. But it's never going to happen! So...) Or maybe they part ways and live different lifes. No, that's not going to happen! I like them being together!!

The World:

And now last, the world. The book was set in the not-so-far future. It wasn't that different from the present really. But there were EOs and technology and that kind of things. It really felt at times like it was set in some different place or dimention.

Recommendation:

I recommend this book to anyone who likes YA or books about heroes or dystpian books and even if you don't like any of those, you still should read this book. It's the best!


I'll see ya next time! Bye!