Book Review: The Toll by Neal Shusterman

Book: The Toll by Neal Shusterman

Genre: YA dystopian

Rating: ★ ★ ★

Wow, but it took me an entire year to read this book! I started it... got distracted by other things, and then wasn't in the mood and then finally decided to just finally get it done. It was a struggle this book. The first two books in these series moved pretty fast and were quite engaging, but this one lost me in many ways. 

The whole world just got very complicated and it actually started making me crazy... this world... where everything became so very religious and just... WEIRD. You know? And we sort of lost the deepness of the characters... they got lost in the midst of all the rhetoric of this world. 

But still the whole premise of these books fascinate me.. .and I pushed on to see what would happen. The second half of this book did finally get going a bit better for me. And the climatic ending was absolutely intense!

Anyway. A summary? Hmmm.. .how to do that without spoiling pretty much everything??

In this book we are following several different threads from the previous two:

* Grayson has become The Toll, which is the leader and god-like figure for the Tonists... the people who are speaking out against the Scythdom. And his goal is to try and get these very religious zealots to tone it down .... HAHAHAHA... a bit. 

* Rowan and Citra have been rescued from the doom they faced at the end of book 2, but are separated and face completely different realities. Rowan is still on the black list and the bad Scythe is still trying to kill him. For real. For keeps. Citra ends up in the hands of the good guys again and they are out to try and figure out how to end this  mess.

* There's a new settlement that's started on an island that is beyond the reach of the Thunderhead and they don't know why they are making this settlement, but it will become clear by the end of the book. So we are following a few different people there. 

*And we also get the POVs of some of the "bad" people and how they are very conflicted in what's going on and we are left wondering if they will turn in the end.

Whew. It's a lot people.... these books. They are very powerful and deep and thought-provoking, but hard. HARD stuff. Very violent and very disturbing. If you've read them, I'd love to know what you think of them, and what exactly we should be taking away from it. 

Neal Shusterman was supposed to come to our library pre-pandemic. He had to cancel, then the pandemic happened and he had to of course cancel again. We are left wondering now if he will try to still come. He is one of the authors on my dream meet list... and I really hope that still happens someday. I would love love love to hear him talk about what he was thinking about this series. Fascinating! Please, let it happen!

Book Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Book: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Genre: YA dystopian
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★


At first I didn't think I'd want to read this one, but then everyone started raving about it, and I thought perhaps I'd need to give it a chance. So I ended up buying it and my daughter devoured it, and needed to discuss it, so then it was my turn!

As everyone probably knows by now, this is the back story of President Snow. It takes place when he is 18 and a senior in high school. The 10th Hunger Games are about to happen and they've decided to add a couple of new twists to the game. First, they are having mentors and they've chosen the top students to mentor the tributes. Of course our guy is chosen to mentor the tribute from District 12, a girl named Lucy Gray Baird. 

They've also decided to add the element of betting on a winning and being able to sponsor your choice. This makes it so many many more people become invested and are watching, which is the whole point of these things. And it was our Snow boy's idea. 

The games look a lot different back then then they do in Katniss's time though, and it's interesting to compare. Still it's very very ruthless, and this book has many extremely violent moments. Wow. 

Anyway, it's interesting to see his struggle with who he should be. I worried I would end up with too much sympathy for him, but it was just the right amount, you know? Like it was there, it was good to see where he came from, what he was dealing with, and yet, because of his choices, I am still not his fan. And I am not sad knowing what happens to him in the end. 

But, in the end there, it was strange how fast he made a choice and flipped. Like it seemed so sudden. Anyone else who's read this feel this way? Even though it was expected, and we were all waiting for it, I was like.. WHOA dude! So quick with that! AHH!!!

It was especially fun to speculate after reading this and learning about all these characters from the past, who was connected to whom. And how everything fits in and becomes full circle. So awesome.

I'm really glad to have decided to read it! It feels like part of the story that we need to know now. Do it if you are still on the fence about it. Do it!

Book Review: Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

Book: Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

Genre: YA dystopian
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

AH, this series though! So crazy and disturbing and good and thought provoking!

This is the second in the Scythe series. If you'll remember, I was hoping to finally, once and for all, meet Neal Shusterman this month. He was scheduled first last December, but had to postpone to April. And now of course, he is postponing again. To who knows when. I really hope it still happens sometime! One of my all time favorite authors for sure!

So this is the continuation of the story of Citra and Rowan... our heroes from the first book. Citra has settled into her role as Scythe Anastasia, trying to make sure the the "new order" scythes don't take over. Rowan is also doing his part in this effort, in a totally and completely off the grid unethical way. (Um... killing all the bad guys shall we say.)

We get glimpses throughout of the Thunderhead's viewpoint of this situation and the way it thinks the world is progressing, or not. The Thunderhead is the future of what we now know as The Cloud. It's the AI system that basically rules this future world. It's a fascinating look at how things could actually progress. Fascinating... and scary!

Also, we are introduced to a new and intriguing character named Grayson who appears to have a very crucial role in all this, though it seems we won't really know what that is until we read book three. The Toll, which luckily I have on head to jump right into!

Except I have some other books to read first for book clubs and such! AH!

I'm really enjoying this series, disturbing though it is. (Yeah, beware the violence people!) And it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Book Review: The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie

Book: The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie

Genre: YA dystopian
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This one is set in a world where different groups are living separately from each other, trying to survive each in their own way. Poe Blythe is with the group that settles in one place, but forages the river for gold treasure. They fear the group they call The Raiders, that moves from place to place and tries to steal from them. 

The book opens with an ill fated trip where the boy Poe has been friends with her whole life is killed. She is forever after trying to get revenge on The Raiders by designing ships that destroy them instantly if they try to come aboard.

So this story centers on the voyage where she is made the captain and they go out to gather more gold. Of course things go badly and Poe is forced to make many hard decisions. She doesn't know who to trust and she is driven nearly crazy trying to understand what is right and wrong. 

She, and those she gathers around her, find out many things and learn that the world is not black and white and not exactly as they have been led to think all these years. It's quite eye opening.

I enjoy these kinds of stories where you end up realizing there are no sides. There really are no good guys and bad guys, that everyone is just trying to survive in their own way, and that once you learn the stories of everyone, then you might have a better picture of life. And also get more and more confused!

It's beautifully written with unique and believable characters, especially a strong leading girl, which we all love, right?

I really enjoyed it! Thanks for another great one Ally Condie!

Book Review: Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Book: Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Genre: YA Dystopian
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I've been wanting to read this one forever, and so for Christmas I ended up getting the whole trilogy. So hopefully by the time I meet Neal Shusterman in April, I will have them all read and can understand everything he has to say about them. And maybe I can even ask him all my questions. Ha.

Anyway. This one is CRAZY! It takes place in a not so distant future, where everything bad about the world has been eliminated. Even death. All people are immortal. However, even this ends up causing a  problem, which is... over population. It is realized that people still need to die. And so certain people who are called Scythes, are appointed (after a rigorous testing period) to be the ones who decide who dies and who lives.

And basically, they become gods, and are treated as such by the people of the world.

This is the story of two kids who are chosen to apprentices to become Scythes. They are not happy about it, but as things go along, they realize that they do actually want this job, as depressing and sad as it is.

As we go along, the story addresses the question of what happens if corrupt people end up as Scythes? What then? And Scythes really have to answer to no one. What then?

It's a scary thought.

Our two kids are brilliant and it's fun to see them grow and change. Their story is truly just starting when this book ends, so I'm excited to continue reading and see what happens next!

Have you read this book yet? What are your thoughts? Did you find it disturbing and fascinating both at the same time?

Book Review: Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

Book: Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi
Genre: YA Dystopian
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 

We went to this book signing awhile back when Tahereh was in the neighborhood. Very fun as usual. It was great to see her in person. She is spectacularly beautiful. I already can't remember a whole lot about what she had to say (most of it was random stuff that Alli Condie asked her) but I do find it impressive that an author truly knows everything that's going to happen in their books and how it will all end! There are still several books to come in this series I think. So much to happen!

This one starts pretty much right were the other one (Ignite Me) left off.  The bad guys have been killed and Juliette is now in charge of the country. She is preparing to meet some of the leaders of the other countries in hopes that some sort of peace negotiations can be worked out.

But, as they wait for that to happen, Warner begins to freak out because he knows he needs to fess up to Juliette about his past. And it's not good. There's so much she doesn't know. And he has to be the one to tell her.

Then, all that opens up a new aspect to this story which will now provide the basis for the following books! So for me, this is like the start of another side series of sorts, even though it's all our same people.

For the Team Adam friends, sadly, Adam is barley in this book. I'm still hoping he will get his own story at some point. New characters are introduced and they are quite fascinating.

It took me a few pages (50 or so?) to get into to this one, which made me worry for a minute, but then it got going and I was hooked. Pretty much I will need to read them all to find out how this all ends and to see if Juliette ever gets a normal life. And if Warner's mental distress ever gets healed.

Book Review Thoughts: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Book: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Genre: YA Fantasy/Distopian
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Once again, we have the dystopian world setting. People are divided into two groups: those with red blood and those with silver. The Silvers have superpowers, all sorts of types. And course, they have taken control and rule over the red blooded "normal" people. And there's a war on. And of course, the Reds have to go and fight in this war when they become a certain age. The book opens just as our heroine, Mare, is reaching this age (18 I think it is.)

But she plans to run away instead. And take her "friend that's a guy" with her.

But things go wrong and she gets caught because of a Red rebellion that happens right at the wrong time.

And bam, things change SO FAST from there! Like so fast that it made my head spin. I was definitely into the story, but I was like, can all this really happen this fast?

The story is filled with lots of edge-of-your-seat type action and really cool in-your-head special effects. The Silvers like to fight each other with their powers and it's crazy! And in the middle of all that, there's a sort of selection going on between the girls for who gets to marry the prince, though the prince doesn't really get to select. Because there's an evil queen and all. Sigh. Evil queens always ruin everything!

I really enjoyed the story even though I felt it is much of the same thing that we've seen a lot of lately. People are really into these sorts of stories right  now!

Bottom Line: And you'll love it too if you are one of those people! So far, I am!

Other Reviews:

One of the best things about Red Queen is that even though the storyline is fairly predictable and extremely familiar to fans of the genre, readers will not care about that. From That's What She Read

It has the oppressive society, the downtrodden young woman who finds herself a pivotal member of society, and of course romance – lots and lots of romance. From Fantasy Book Critic

This book is phenomenal! It completely sucks you in. From Mindful Musings

It's cliche YA fantasy, but debut author Victoria Aveyard does it well. From In Bed With Books

Book Review Discussion: Mysteries of Cove: Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage

Book: Mysteries of Cove: Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage
Genre: MG steampunk dsytopian
Rating★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
 For: Review and supporting local authors
From: Received for free from Netgalley. All opinions are my own. Released September 29, 2015.

Short Synopsis: Trenton lives in a society that's hidden themselves from the world by creating an underground city. They fear creativity and invention. They blame all the bad stuff that's happened to them on progress and forward thinking. This makes life for Trenton especially hard since he is a thinker and a creator. And he keeps getting in trouble for it. As the book opens, he is assigned to work on the farms instead of the machines, and he's so unhappy. But he's pretty distracted as he deals with this because he meets a girl who just happens to be the daughter of the most notorious inventor of the city. And when he (Trenton) finds an interesting gadget, this girl, Kallista, thinks it's been left by her father (who is no longer with them). This leads the two of them on a sort of crazy treasure hunt with a prize at the end they did not at all expect.

My Response: This is one of those stories that has lots of fun and games such as building stuff, puzzles, riddles, mystery and adventure, mixed with some pretty thought provoking ideas like is creativity good or bad, do you trust history, should you blindly follow... just to name a few. I was surprised at some of the deep issues this society and these kids are dealing with. The ending was awesome and had me glued. The twist was great and quite unexpected and I am totally left wondering what happens next.

Bottom Line: The writing was fun, the characters were fun, the story was fun! It was all fun!! Fun, but mixed with lots to think about and lots of awesome stuff smart kids will eat up.

Let's Talk About: So, what do you think about creativity? Good or bad? LOL! JK!! You know, I am so into creativity that it felt almost sacrilegious for the people in this story to suggest otherwise. It makes you want to stand up and say... WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?? Which, I suppose, is the whole point and the hope that kids reading it will feel the same way. Don't you think? Are you a champion for creativity?

Other Reviews:

What I myself liked best about the book is that it celebrates creativity and the questioning of received wisdom, without being didactic about it. From Charlotte's Library

It’s an ideal middle grade read that should appeal to a wide range of readers, and likely introduce them to some genre concepts they haven’t encountered before. From Views from the Tesseract

There is just so much to love in Fires of Invention, with its blend of science, nature, physics, a mechanical dragon and a story that was both interesting and fun for me and my kiddo to read. From Log Cabin Library

The adventure is fast paced and you will be visualizing this new society as the levels inside the mountain come alive. From Always in the Middle

Also, here's the trailer which I saw played several times on the huge Jumbo-tron at Comic Con this past weekend in front of thousands of people. Great marketing!

Book Review Discussion: Remake by Ilima Todd

Book: Remake by Ilima Todd
Genre: YA Dystopian
Rating:★★★★☆
For: Fun, Supporting Local Authors
From: I bought this one at Costco

Short Synopsis: The main character, Nine, is trying to figure out if she wants to be a boy or a girl. In this future world, when kids turn 17 they can decide to become whoever they want, including changing their gender and their physical looks. Nine and her friend Theron are about to become remade but she is really stressing about this decision. However,  on the way to the facility, there is an accident, and she is washed ashore to a whole new world. One where people embrace who they are when they are born (and that whole being born thing is fascinating too!) and live in families with parents and siblings. All this is new to Nine and she's not sure she really likes it.

My Response: I really liked this one! Very interesting premise, especially given the hot topics of families and gender in this day and age. And while the author's viewpoints on this topics are pretty obvious, I never felt banged over the head with them. In fact, it's actually quite thought provoking on many levels. What makes a family a family? What makes a person who they are? What are all the different kinds of love? Anyway, I was totally engaged and read the book in only a couple of sittings. Also, it ended well enough that I figured it's a stand alone but I've just found out that it's actually a trilogy. Which makes me quite happy!

Bottom Line: I really enjoyed this fun book and interesting take on yet another dystopian society.

Let's Talk About: your feelings on books that tackle hot topics. Do you like it? Are you interested in what an author has to say about such things through their stories? Or would you rather not think about these sorts of things when you're reading? Do you worry about that fine line between preaching and interesting?  As for me, I think it's really interesting if it's done well.  I enjoyed how this one was done.

Other Reviews:

Like I said, I loved Remake! The world building, the characters, the plot twists, everything. The only thing I disliked was that the book ended. From Minding Spot

A post-overpopulation dystopia, Remake is in many ways quite typical of the genre: our young heroine grows up in relative isolation, unaware of any alternatives to her controlled community, until circumstances force her to consider her place in the world. From Rachel Cotterill Book Reviews

If you like dystopian novels with romance, pick this one up. It's different enough and will immerse you in its story. From Library of Clean Reads

I fully believe this book should beat Hunger Games in every shape and form; no obvious plot holes, better heroine and love story then any dystopian book on the market, and overall a universe that keeps you wanting more. From SweetEnd Book Reviews

Book Review Discussion: The One by Kiera Cass

Book: The One by Kiera Cass
Genre: YA Dystopian
Rating:★★★★☆
For: Fun
From: The library

Short Synopsis: The selection is down to four girls by the time this book starts. America is pretty convinced she loves the prince, but is still not totally sure. They start playing the game of who is going to tell whom "I love you" first. It's a little bit silly. . .until it's not and things suddenly get serious.

My Response: Again, I'm fascinated by how much I've enjoyed this series. It's mostly fluff and all about the love triangle and making one look one's best in order to make someone fall in love with you. But then again, if you go a little deeper, there's so much more to it. I guess it's a tricky thing balancing this fluffy seeming story on top of a society and a world siuation that is anything but fluff. The crazy ending came out of nowhere and I think my eyes bulged out of my head a bit! I was worried there weren't enough pages to solve everything! But somehow it did and in the end, I felt that this was a great ending book. I especially loved how, even though we pretty much knew how things would end (I mean, the title of the book, hello!) we still weren't sure until all was said and done!

Bottom Line: Great dystopian series that mixes the fun with the serious!

Let's Talk About: So here's what I'm wondering today... how important is it to you that you not know what's going to happen at the end of a book? I wondered about this throughout this whole series given the fact that it was all pretty obvious. I figured somehow readers weren't bugged by that. And I wondered the whole time how the author would keep us reading even though we knew! Yeah, I find it to be a pretty cool feat that she pulled off! What do you think?

Other Reviews:

Speaking of character deaths, I didn’t realize how invested I had really become with the story and the characters until I found myself sobbing over them. The deaths hurt as much as the deaths did in The Hunger Games, and I think that’s saying something. From Drunk on Pop

So, even though The One didn’t totally live up to my expectations (sigh), this series is still one of the most engaging stories I’ve ever read and I will always hold the first book on a pedestal. From The Obsessive Bookseller

There were so many tense scenes, that made this final book in America’s story so gripping. The One is probably one of the best conclusions I have read so far! From Heart Full of Books

I will also admit that this book really surprised me at the end! From Girl in the Pages

Book Review Discussion: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Book: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
Genre: YA Dstyopian
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: Fun
From: Bought it 

Short Synopsis: This is the third of a crazy exciting series, so beware spoilers for the first two. So Juliette wakes up from the shooting incident that ended book two. And Warner is taking care of her. Yeah. And then he tells her how the compound she's been staying at has all been destroyed, with everyone it. Juliette freaks out, but of course, it turns out to not be quite as bad as she thinks. Which means, of course, that she has to deal with the Warner/Adam issues. Yeah. Awkward!! And once she deals with that, she has to figure out how to take down the corrupt government once and for all.

My Response: Well. This is one of those series that I felt just got better and better as it went along. The first book was okay, but as Juliette grew. . . and as we got to know  Warner, the books got better. And I know some people are sick to death of the love triangle thing, but I must say, I was very much into this one! And I think I said this before for my review of the second book, Warner is one of the best and most fascinating characters ever. Not to mention hot and steamy. I sort of want to go back and read all three books again now that I know what I know.

Bottom Line: Great ending to a fun series. I hope, in fact, we might even get more someday.

Let's Talk About: Are you REALLY sick of love triangles? I mean, really? Or, are you okay with them if they are done well and involve interesting characters? I, for one, am okay.

Other Reviews:

Well done. Well done on her writing style, on her character development, on her plot twists, on her world building, and the pacing and for finishing a series of Novels that has the ability to take my breath away and scream and cry and get excited and shocked. From Page Girl's Page

Normally love triangles REALLY annoy me. And I guess in a way there was that kinda love triangle thing happening in the Shatter Me series, except it was done right. It was done the way it always should have been done. At some points in this book, the things I was reading in this book hit me so hard that I was actually feeling heartache. From Book Nerd Reviews

Warner. I don't even know what to say but I'll try to be coherent! Warner is one of my favourite YA characters of all time. No doubt. From City of Books

On a final note, Tahereh Mafi is very good at hot scenes, let me tell you. From YA Book Queens

Book Review Discussion: The Elite by Kiera Cass

Book: The Elite by Kiera Cass
Genre: YA Dsytopian
Rating: ★★★☆ ☆
For: Fun
From: the library

Short Synopsis (beware spoilers for the first book in the series The Selection): Our heroine, America (named after that country of olden times) went to the selection in the first book. That's where the prince chooses from 35 girls, which one he wants to marry. But first, he has to narrow it down to six. They are called The Elite. And as we know, America has made the cut. In fact, it appears that Maxon (the prince) has already chosen her. But... has he really? And speaking of choosing, has American chosen him because there's still this little problem called Aspen, who she loved first. And Aspen is cozy and comfortable. Meanwhile, there's a revolution starting!

My Response: Lots of picking and choosing and changing of minds in this book! But we do learn a bit more about the turmoil this world is in and America finds herself in peril more times than one. Also, there's a pretty powerful moment when Maxon lets on to a secret he's been hiding his whole life. And now, America knows. All in all, for what this book is.... it's pretty good fun. Mostly fluff, with a touch of deeper stuff thrown in. Even a few genuinely sad moments.  Pick it up when you're in the mood for that sort of thing. Beware the triangle, but one that includes lovely characters that you can't help but change your mind about right along with everyone in the book!

Bottom Line: Fun and fluff and stuff! I enjoyed it for that.

Let's Talk About: How do you like your fluff? Pure or mixed? :)

Other Reviews:

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast-paced read that combines lighthearted fun with a thought-provoking dystopian world. From Wordbird

I do recommend this series, it’s really entertaining, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I think there are high chances of you enjoying it. Besides Prince Maxon is amazing, and you’ll instantly love him. From Words We Heart

This story was drama filled and it kept me hanging on till the very end. From Books With Bite

Book Review Discussion: Atlantia by Ally Condie

Book: Atlantia by Ally Condie
Genre: YA Dystopian
Rating:★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
For: Fun and to Support Local Authors
From: Bought at the launch party a month or so ago

Short Synopsis: When the world started being too harsh to live in, the people sent some of their loved ones to live in a city below the water. They stayed above to send them supplies, knowing that they were sacrificing their lives so their families could live. Many years have passed and the city Below, Atlantia, is dying. Only a miracle can save them. Even though Rio has spent her whole life wanting to go Above, it appears she might be Atlantia's only hope.

My Response: It took me awhile to get into this one. A very slow moving book. But rich and beautiful in its description and world building. Also, very religious. This was something I wasn't expecting. The people below have created quite the stories and myths and strong base for their religion. Rio, our character, is deeply entrenched in this culture. It's a fascinating look at our own society and culture, and sometimes maybe too deep for me to even grasp. But I enjoyed the story and the relationships, especially what is said about sisters.

Bottom Line: I enjoyed it, though I must say, I wasn't glued to the pages.

Let's Talk About:  Sisters! What do you think? Do feel there's a special bond with sisters? Are you lucky enough to experience this? Tell me about it!

Other Reviews:

Though the plot is not particularly remarkable, the story sets itself apart from other books on the YA market with its elements: sisters driving the narrative instead of a love triangle, a protagonist who works with machinery and is not considered unfeminine, and a love interest who genuinely works for the good of the protagonist and is not around just because “romance sells.” From Pages Unbound

All of the elements that made the underwater city work and evolve fascinated me, and I loved seeing the blend of mythology and futuristic science. From A Backwards Story

The writing is vivid and rich, the world is fascinating, and Rio's story is compelling from the first page. From YA Book Queen

As she searches for her sister, she uncovers some pretty shocking family secrets, including one that involves the leaders of Atlantia. It was a good combination of personal strife and political intrigue. From Ex Libris

Book Review Discussion: The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

Book: The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
Genre: YA SciFi/Dystopian
Rating:★★★★☆
For: Fun (readathon pick)
From: bought at Amazon

Short Synopsis: (Spoilers for the first book, The 5th Wave ahead!) We pick up shortly were we left off. The kids are holed up in a hotel and wondering what happened to Evan Walker. Ringer heads off to check out some caves they've heard about and where it might be safe to stay. Things do not go well for her. Meanwhile, back at the hotel, there appears to be an intruder and all hell breaks lose. Also, there's a new weapon of sorts that the bad guys have set loose and causes even more grief for the kids.

My Response: You know, it was good, but not quite as good as the first one. Namely, I needed more Evan Walker. Because yes I totally fell in love with him during that first book! But never fear... I will tell you that he does appear! (SPOILER!) So.. if you are like me and you need him to be in the book... pick up the book! The story is told from Cassie's view, Ringer's view, and Evan's view. I think that's about it. A new guy is introduced and he's pretty fascinating too. I love this story. As I've said before, I love it when you aren't quite sure who's the good guy and the who's the bad. It's so mind bending! What a crazy world this is and I can't wait for the conclusion! Another whole year? Argh!

Bottom Line: Loved it... maybe not quite 5 stars worth, but still. Loved it. A perfect pick for powering through during the readathon.

Let's Talk About: Are you like me? Do you love to be confused on who you are rooting for? Or do you like it much more black and white and clear as a bell?

Other Reviews:

It's a middling middle after a brilliant beginning. From The Speculative Scotsman

One thing in which The Infinite Sea excelled at was plot twists and turns. From Bloody Bookaholic

I don’t know what’s happening, but I do know I love this crazy series. Rick Yancey, you simultaneously scare the crap out of me and make me swoon. From We Still Read

Book Review Discussion: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

Book: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Genre: YA Dystopian
Rating:★★★★★
For: Beehive Award list
From: the library

Short Synopsis: Ah! I don't know how to summarize this book without it sounding very complicated and giving everything away! So... the world has fallen apart and its all because of an invention that allows people to travel through time. Em and her friend have been imprisoned because she has something that the inventor, referred to as the doctor, wants from her badly. When the book opens, she discovers something that makes her think she has been here before many times, and has tried and tried to make stop this world from happening, many times. She has one more chance.

Then we flashback four years before to the story of a girl who was in love with the boy next door. Somehow, the events that happen on this particular day have something to do with what Em needs to stop. And so she has come back to stop it.

My Response: Lots of awesome twists and turns.. some I saw coming, some not so much. I loved this story... loved it! So much suspense and mind bending things. It's one of those stories where you can't decide who you should be rooting for and I love that. I fell in love with the characters pretty much instantly. Basically, I loved everything about this book! It's left me speechless and I don't know what else to say but gush gush gush.

Bottom Line: Read this one now! So good!

Let's Talk About: Time traveling books! Do you love them? Do they make your head spin trying to figure out how everything is working? Does it bother you if you they get you thinking too hard, or do you love it? I, for one, love it! What are some of your favorite time traveling stories?

Other Reviews:

The characters really jump out at you and connect, the plot is engaging, and the pace of the book is page-turning. I encourage anyone with any interest in dystopian novels, YA novels, time travel, or just looking for a wonderful read – to try this out. You won't be disappointed! From Fantasy Book Critic

All Our Yesterdays is a thrilling YA novel that test the limits of good, evil and friendship. From Books and Sensibility

I closed this book in awe last night. I thought it sounded good. I was wrong. This book is AMAZING! From Proud Book Nerd

Also, the relationships between the characters are hugely emotionally satisfying. From Bookshelves of Doom

Book Review Discussion: The Selection by Keira Cass

Book: The Selection by Kiera Cass
Genre: YA Dystopian-ish
Rating:★★★★☆
For: Fun
From: Bought for Kindle

Short Synopsis: So there's this prince, and he wants a wife, and so he (and his family) have devised a lottery of sorts where all young women are eligible, despite their class rank, to be part of The Selection. Thirty five girls are chosen from the applicants to come to the castle and take part in the wooing. America, despite her low class rank, is one of them. She is surprised and worried, especially since she is in love with a boy from home. However, when she starts to get to the know the prince, he isn't at all as bad as she expected. In fact, she kinda likes him. Oh dear. What's a girl to do?

My Response: It's a blatant copying of the TV show The Bachelor. But no matter. It's fun and interesting and quite page turning. But yes, there is the beginnings of a love triangle, so be warned should you hate that sort of thing. I enjoyed the alternate universe (country) stuff here, and the class system which seems so crazy to us. I'm intrigued for sure, and want to know how she figures it all out now that things are getting complicated.

Bottom Line: Fun and fluff for the most part, which was perfect for summer reading and given the heavier stuff I've been reading of late.

Let's Talk About: Does it bug you if something is very much a copy of something else? Are you like, oh, cool! I wish I'd thought of that! Or are you like, um, could the author not have disguised that a bit more? I'm not sure where I stand on this. I'll ponder.

Other Reviews:

Just like watching reality tv, I like seeing the cattiness, who is sincere and who puts on a face. If this were a show on tv, I would probably watch. From Cherie Reads

I could not peel my eyes away from the book. There’s bickering and in-fighting and clandestine meetings and lies and secrets and OH MY GOSH WHO COULD WANT MORE? From Anna Reads

But..I feel like there's this bigger story that's waiting to break out in the books (at least I hope so!) about the rebels that attack the castle and the country. From My Friend Amy

The Selection is an incredibly fast read, not requiring much in the way of philosophical thinking or close attention to details, but one cannot discount the fun and entertainment it provides readers. From That's What She Read

Book Review Discussion: Ruins by Dan Wells

Book: Ruins by Dan Wells
Genre: YA Dystopian/ Apocalyptic
Rating: ★★★★☆
For: Fun (and local authors, even if he does live in Germany, he's moving back!)
From: Amazon (and yes I bought it)

Short Synopsis: The world is truly coming to an end. Humans are dying from the RM plague (well the babies are anyway and no babies means no more humans) and the Partials are expiring. If cures aren't found for both of these problems, soon there will be no one alive on Earth at all! Kira is hoping to help with the RM problem and has allowed herself to be examined and poked and prodded. Samm is still in Denver (where we left him at the end of book 2) but he thinks he's stumbled on to something there about the expiration issue. But have they each learned enough to really have the answers and even if they have, can they get the message to someone in charge before the war escalates and each side annihilates the other anyway?

My Response: I've loved this series. This is a crazy exciting end to the whole experience. Much is at stake. Everyone has a goal and a mission and is crazy to try and get it accomplished, even the bad guys. Our characters found out some surprising things and the twists and turns along the way awesome. My only complaint with this book, as it was with the other two books, there needs to be a little more Kira/Samm interaction. Just saying. Samm is one of the coolest most awesome characters ever and I yearned, yearned I tell you, for more of him! (Though I must say Marcus and Green made a strong push for a very close second!) But I'm shallow that way. This book is about so much more than a romance. In fact, this story is downright cool!

Let’s Talk About It: Imagine living in a world where most of the population is genetically enhanced, not just enhanced but genetically engineered... where they are only partially human, but mostly not. Could we live peaceably with them? Would we look down on them? Would they look down on us? Or, would we think they are cool and awesome and wonderful? Would we want to be like them and turn our bodies into something they're not? I don't know. It's an interesting thought, living with people who aren't totally people. But given our human history, I have a feeling that should something like this occur in the future, we'll have issues. And it will be like this book portrays and all we'll think to do is fight each other. Sad sad sad. What do you think?

Other Reviews:

The attention to detail with what happens with the DNA and scientific experiments had me completely intrigued. If your in for a epic adventure, then read Ruins. From Books With Bite

The world & setting is by far my favorite part of this entire series – the world building is cinematic! From Novel Heartbeat

It’s jam packed full of excitement, death unfortunately, but bonds form where they were never expected. From Diary of an Eager Reader

You see, what I love most about this series is that you understand the reason why everything is happening. You understand why the Partials and Humans hate each other, you get why they harbour so much rage and loathing… why they have the war. From Erika on the Move

Oh, and by the way. We talked to the author the other day. And he signed stuff. And it was fun.

Book Review: Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Book: Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi
Genre: YA Dystopian
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: Fun
From: Amazon Kindle ebook

This book is actually one of those in between novella things that are so popular these days. I enjoy these things, if I can get them for free! They are so short! But this one, I had to buy because I was too curious about it's POV character,Warner, and I couldn't wait any longer for some sort of deal to happen. And actually, I should have read it between the first two books Shatter me and Unravel Me. But I only learned about it afterwards.

Anyway, so in Unravel Me, the second book, we the readers learn to to feel WAY more sympathetic to the "bad" boy, Warner. And if we read this Destroy Me book first, then we REALLY will feel way more sympathetic because this little book gets right into his head and we see what he is dealing with, his emotional scars, his painful childhood, his terrible dad and his true and pretty much obsessive feelings for Juliette.

In this little book, we learn how he gets his hands on her notebook and proceeds to read it so he then gets into HER head. And he is blown away by that. And it makes him crazy. Crazier than he already is. And he's reeling with the stuff that happens at the end of Shatter Me, and that makes me crazy.

I also loved how some scenes crossed between the books. One little and quite powerful scene happens at the end of Destroy Me, which is also covered towards the beginning of Unravel Me (though we see that scene from Juliette's POV in that book.) That was cool.

Even without reading this look into Warner's head, I was already feeling like there was so much more to him. I've decided he is one of the most fascinating characters recently created. I find him... unnerving and scary and vulnerable and so many crazy conflicting adjectives! I love it! I love it when an author can write such a character that not only messes with the other characters in the book, but messes with us as readers. It's so awesome.

And now, I'm dying to get my hands on the third and final book of this series, Ignite Me, so I can find out how it all ends with these people. I can't imagine that things will turn out good for Warner, though, so it might be painful to read, because man, it would be nice if he got some sort of happy ending! But I guess I'll find out.. as soon as I get that book!

Bottom line: I loved this little glimpse into this crazy, but fascinating, boy's mind!

Other Reviews:

Warner-haters, prepare to have your world rocked. I'm not promising that you'll like him by the end of this novella. I'm not saying you'll adore him as much as I do. But you WILL be changed. From Bookshelvers Anonymous

The short story accomplished such a major thing as to change my mind about Warner. I like Adam but….I think I’m beginning to like Warner more. From Dark Faerie Tales

Destroy Me starts to show that there is a little more to Warner than first meets the eye. Yes, he can be cold, and evil, but there’s also underlying reasons as to why he is why he is. And he does have feelings too. From Book Nerd Reviews

(Edited to add new question feature)

Question for My Readers: Do you ever fall in the love with the bad boy of the book and then feel a little bit guilty about it?

Book Review: Champion by Marie Lu

Book: Champion by Marie Lu
Genre: YA Dystopian
Rating: ★★★★★
For: Fun
From: Borrowed

Well, I ripped through that series I'd say. What a fun, awesome dystopian tale. In this, the third and final book of the trilogy, Day and June have become revered leaders and celebrities for their country. There's a full on war with the Colonies and they need help from the powerhouses around the world like Africa and especially Antarctica.

The trip we take in this book to Antarctica was fascinating! I'm wondering if Marie Lu has another book planned that will be set there. That would really be awesome.

Anyway, Day is fighting his own battle with failing health, which was painful to endure as readers. But that does not stop him from helping out where needed and get back to his old tricks. His brother Eden also figures prominently in the book as his blood is needed to stop the ever present virus.

The ending is crazy and twisty and makes readers have patience! And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Bottom line: An awesome and exciting story with some characters who have been added to my list of all time favorites.

Other Reviews:

Marie Lu did a wonderful job with this entire series, and ended it in a bittersweet note. From Bloody Bookaholic

And, if you haven't begun the Legend series, and you are at all interested in dystopians, this is one of the BEST series out there. From Annette's Book Spot

I loved the fact that Champion let many major characters have chances to shine -- to be brave, to be noble, to be selfless, to take risks. From YA Romantics

An action filled, taut ending to an incredible series, this book also has plenty of heart, romance and wisdom. From Waking Brain Cells

This is a series I'm going to want to re-read over and over again! I highly recommend that everyone read this!! From Kami's Library Thoughts

Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Book: Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Genre: YA Dsytopian
Rating: ★★★☆☆
For: Fun
From: ebook from library

While it's been an interesting series, it hasn't been my favorite of all, so it's taken me awhile to finally get to this, the last book. But wow, everyone sure talked about it when it came out and so I was curious to find out for myself what exactly happened.

This book sees our heroes, Tris and Four, venturing out of the boundary of their city, a future Chicago, to see what the world behind looked like. They discover a group operating in what used to be the airport in olden days, and they end up staying with them and joining their cause. It's here that they learn all kinds of crazy things about an "experiment" and how the factions came to be and a bunch of stuff about good and bad DNA. The more they learn, the more they begin to wonder what's really going on here. It gets very tricky to know who are the good guys and who are the bad.

Once they finally decide who's side they are one, they make a big move. And things do not go as planned, to say the least. And that's all I'm going to say about that!

But the book does have an ending, one that I can deal with, one that has closure and all. The series was exciting and crazy and sad and yes even swoony in parts, but still, not my favorite dsyopian tale. However, I must say that after seeing the trailer for Divergent, I'm quite excited about the movies.

Bottom line: A fitting ending to a crazy fun series.

Other Reviews: 

Was it my favorite? No. Insurgent definitely holds that space, but I did like it. From Book Twirps

The action was nonstop and exciting. From Beth Fish Reads

I would define it as the weakest of the series, but I will continue to recommend this trilogy to all of my reader friends. From Good Books and Good Wine

And then there is the narrator alternation. I don’t mind this at all, as long as one can see a distinction between the characters. In this book, with the strange morphing of their personas, I kept having to turn back to the chapter beginning to figure out who was talking, Tris or Tobias. From Rhapsody in Books