Never Fade [Review]

Title: Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
Series: The Darkest Minds #2
Genre: Science-Fiction
What They Say:
Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster.

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her.

What I Say:
I was worried that the first book in Bracken's Darkest Minds series had been too good to follow up, but I was quickly proved wrong. This book had underground organizations, a new gang of kick-ass kids, and a feeling of constant and fatigued angst That said:

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot: wow

When we last saw Ruby, she was joining the Children's League a group of freedom fighters/terrorists hell-bent on tearing down President Gray's regime through violence and subterfuge, but with good intentions (maybe). Liam has been let go in exchange for Ruby's loyalty - but in her hysteria and sudden angst, she's erased his memories of her, in hopes that he can move on and be safe without coming back for her. However, she doesn't take into account that Liam Stewart sprints towards danger by nature, so her sacrifice is quickly rendered pointless - to her great dismay. While she's been doing top secret spy-type missions with her teammates - the bitchy Vida and the hyperactive Jude - Liam's unwitting found himself in possession of a Super Important Flashdrive after switching coats with his brother, a top-level agent of the CL who'll be royally screwed if he doesn't get it back. In fact - the info on the drive is so important that they'll all be screwed if they don't find him before the corrupt agents of the CL do. So of course, despite the high emotional/angsty toll it will no-doubt have, volunteers gladly for this highly dangerous mission. After a series of coincidences and close calls with capture, her solo mission grows to a team effort: Ruby, Vida, Jude, and Chubs vs. The World. The task: Find Liam, get the flash drive, bring both back to California. Simple. (Not.)

This book doesn't stray too far from the formula of the first, but considering the high volume of new information and unanswered questions, I was glad for that small gift of familiarity. I enjoyed the balance of old characters and new ones, popping up at unexpected points in the journey and sending them on completely pointless side-journeys, for the most part. The constant close calls with death or capture got a bit tiring, but it was probably an honest depiction of their dystopian world - danger hides around literally every corner. Their chances of success were very slim and it actually felt that way. Well done. Unlike the ending of the first book, this ending was highly satisfying. Of course there are unanswered questions, but I don't feel - as a reader - like I'm groping around in the dark, desperately trying to understand what the hell is going on. Also, considering how crap Ruby's life has become, I'm glad she gets one tiny victory in the end.

Characters: ooh

Ruby has grown and hardened when we meet her again. She's essentially miserable from start to end. Even when relatively good things are happening. It's very clearly explained why things are so horrible for her, but I can't help but feel like a lot of it is in her head. Like, at one point she uses her power to hurt someone who's trying to hurt her, and her internal anguish over it spans pages, fueled by a fear of being similar to Clancy Gray - who uses his abilities solely for his own personal gain. But, like, she isn't using her abilities for personal gain, and unless she's systematically brainwashing everyone she meets to get her way, she's nothing like Clancy! I assume this is one of those realizations that will strike Ruby on the last page of the last book, but I'm willing to wait for her to get her shit together in the meantime.

Vida and Jude are introduced in this book as Ruby's co-agents in the CL. I really didn't see the point of either of them. Vida is so constantly unpleasant that I kept waiting for some clear moment of redemption - where she reveals that she's not actually a rude and unlikeable person. But that doesn't happen. Yes, she helps the team throughout their journey, and she doesn't do anything to hinder them, but her constant jerkass commentary was like a loud buzzing in the background of the story. Another loud buzzing in the background was Jude, who seemed to exist solely to get them into danger by making noise, or to ask questions as the Audience-Insert but only in the most obnoxious way/at the most inappropriate time, or to just be blatantly naive about their whole experience. Over time, he became the book equivalent of an injured puppy, and I felt like his story was played mostly to add some easy tragedy/guilt to the ending, which he didn't really deserve, as a character.

Relationships: wow
Ruby and Liam - Considering the events at the end of Book 1, these two don't interact much in this one, at least not the way they did before. Liam's upset, with reason, that his brain has been addled against his will, and not even well (considering his memories are gone, but his feelings are intact - making him essentially go mad). Ruby feels that she's done the right thing at first, which makes her miserable that she has to give Liam up. Then, Ruby realizes she's done the wrong things, making her miserable and guilty at the damage she's caused. I said in my last review that these two would have one hell of a hard time surviving this series, and I was right. That said, I'm rooting for these two in Book 3.

Special Features: ooh
The Children's League are described from many different viewpoints throughout the series so far, which leads to a bit of cognitive dissonance when it comes to the reader, and a nice topping of moral ambiguity to go along with it. Like, yes they're trying to change things in the world by deposing President Gray, but despite their name, they don't really have the children's best interest in mind. Now, at first I thought this was completely heinous, much like Liam did, but at one point Ruby learns that there are only like 20,000 children left out there. In that case, it makes a teeny bit of sense that they're focusing on the well-being of the millions of adults still alive. That said, it's completely misleading and exploitative to call themselves The Children's League just to snare Psi kids into thinking they've found a safe haven when they're actually just being used for their abilities. If you're going to take advantage of the kids, at least be honest about it. Interested to see what becomes of TCL in the last book, after the events at the end of Never Fade. Fingers crossed Cate's still around!

Parting Quote:

  “I was just an okay person."

This is the highest that Ruby's self-esteem ever gets, to be honest.

The Darkest Minds [Review]

Title: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Series: The Darkest Minds #1
Genre: Science-Fiction
What They Say:
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that's killed most of America's children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control. Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she's on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her-East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can't risk getting close. There are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

What I Say:
Not going to lie, the sole reason I picked up this book was because I saw online that the author was a graduate of my Alma Mater, which is pretty awesome. I figured, written by a William & Mary student, it'd be full of cheeky Virginia references the way half my conversations at this school are. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. This book had evil presidents, kickass kids, and a road trip that stops through my very own hometown. That said:

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot: wow

One day when Ruby was nine, kids at school starting dying. Dropping dead in the lunchroom before recess, or at the store with their parents, or after the first bell in her fourth grade class. A epidemic called I.A.A.N. spread across the country seemingly all at once, and killed every kid entering puberty at the time. Except, on Ruby's tenth birthday, she didn't die. Instead, she woke up with a terrifying new ability that she couldn't yet control. Which is how she ends up in a nightmarish internment camp called Thurmond, where the surviving children - all of whom gained one of four types of supernatural abilities, and are called "Psy"- are penned behind barbed-wire fences and basically treated like crap while the outside world thinks they're being "rehabilitated". Spoiler: they're not. By complete chance - or for more sinister purposes - a group of freedom fighters called the Childrens' League break her out of the camp five years later, hoping she'll join their cause. I say freedom fighters, evil President Gray says "terrorist group". With her till-now-suppressed ability, Ruby quickly realizes that the League are not what they seem, and makes a run for it...straight into the arms of gorgeous southern golden-boy Liam, whose ragtag friends are on the run, in search of a mythical haven for Psy kids run by the legendary Slip Kid (why is he called this? we never find out). To keep this summary short, the Slip Kid is the last person on earth they'd expect, and as their life of constant running and danger catches up with them, they realize that even the leader of their new-found safe haven has plans of his own.

I love dystopia novels, I cannot lie. But a dystopian story set in my state with a relatively unique premise that kind of doubles as a coming-of-age road trip story? I can't explain how glad I am to have randomly given this book a chance. As with any kids-on-the-run tale, there were parts that dragged - whole chapters where the characters met and challenges faced didn't really progress the story at all - but for every scene like that, there was a great chapter full of banter where you could feel Liam and Ruby and Chubs becoming a family. In a book where the idea of family has been dashed early on and yearned for by every character - adults and children alike - this was important. Because I have to cover all aspects of the book, I admit there was a lot of internal angst that elicited a few eye-rolls from me, mainly any time Ruby referred to herself as "a dangerous monster!" because of her abilities. The horrible shock at the end of this book was perfect, because when it happens, you (the reader) are so deep into Ruby's head that you're horrified but also forced to agree with how clever it is. Picked up the sequel yesterday and I'm already hooked.

Characters: wow

I can dig Ruby Daly. Considering she's sixteen and only has a fourth-grade education, she's done pretty well for herself (almost too well, at points when her vocabulary and reasoning skills are blatantly advanced). She's thrust into these unbelievable situations, and she acts on instinct. She doesn't crumble or sit around asking questions, she just tackles the issue and moves on to the next. To be fair, this does a number on her psyche, which I mentioned earlier in the part about her inner angst. I wanted to sit her down so many times and just say, You did a bad thing when you were ten. Okay! No one thinks you're a monster! But I guess she's internalized all the nastiness they taught her in Thurmond, which I can't fault her for.

I can't help but like Liam. He's painted as this all-around great, charismatic guy, which he is. He inspires people to follow him and trust him, and he has good intentions, so most characters in his position would get cocky and blinded to the possible consequences. But Liam has already seen what overconfidence and charisma can lead to; he's made it happen himself and he's got blood on his hands. He may not live in angst like Ruby does, but he uses his own personal failures to see them in other people, which saves them from deceitful people a few times. Especially in this dystopian future filled with sociopaths and desperate people. And, of course, I love the southern snark.

Relationships: wow
Ruby and Liam - These two come together so naturally, I don't think anyone could argue their relationship is too rushed or too slow. It's based largely in survival and protection - but it's a two-way street, unlike in some other YA relationships. They've both been through hell, and weirdly, it's made them kinder and warmer people. The snark and banter is excellent and even charmed me a bit. That said, these two are going to have one hell of a hard time surviving together until the end of the series.

Special Features: wow
So let's talk about I.A.A.N. It's the epidemic that starts it all - a mysterious disease that, by the time our story really gets started - has killed essentially 99% of the country's children and blessed (cursed?) the survivors with special abilities and the widespread hatred of the American people. In addition to dystopian stories, I'm very interested in stories about epidemics and the like. Movies like Contagion fascinate me. This books gives you many chances to consider the world that Alexandra Bracken had created, which to be fair is not very hopeful for the future. There are no kids, all the schools have been closed or bombed by extremist groups, the economy has tanked and most people are homeless. Every adult is angry and desperate in some way. Every kid is afraid and desperate in some way. I wondered throughout this novel: even if, at the end of the series, Ruby somehow saves the day and defeats whoever it is she needs to defeat (it's not yet entirely clear), well - then what? Things look very bleak and there are many unanswered questions so far, which makes for an extremely interesting series!

Parting Quote:

  “But hey, what's life without a little adversity?"
   That had to have been the fakest attempt at optimism since my fourth grade teacher tried reasoning that we were better off without the dead kids in our class because it'd mean more turns on the playground swings for the rest of us.

The future is so crappy! But sometimes darkly hilarious!

The Program [Review]

Title: The Program by Suzanne Young
Series: The Program #1
Genre: Science-Fiction
What They Say:
Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

What I Say:
This book was my first plunge back into YA in a long while, so I was itching to get back into that crazy world where anything can happen. Knowing me, of course a dystopia novel would be my first choice! This book had creepy procedures, seriously moody kids, and a unique chance to look at fate and human nature and if a person really is only made up of their memories. That said:

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Plot: ooh

At some point in the not-too-distant future, American teens start killing themselves. Like a lot of them, a third of the population. For no discernable reason, they sink into this sudden all-consuming depression that spreads among others like a contagion. In a desperate attempt to cure what has now been classified as an epidemic, the government starts the Program in one school district in Oregon. Now, if you exhibit any signs of depression, you can get flagged by your peers or your parents and taken away to the Program, which is like a sinister version of rehab, where I imagine phrases like "for your own good" are thrown around all the time. Because people blame antidepressants for infecting the next generation, the Program has resorted to a different kind of treatment: erasing the patient's "infected" memories (i.e. all of them) and returning them to society a clean slate. Sure, they resemble zombies in polos, but at least they're not depressed anymore! It's for their own good! (see?) Sloane is sad, but not depressed. Her brother killed himself, and her best friend was taken to the Program, so she tries her best to mask her emotions in public, trying to get by until she's eighteen and free from the Program's clutches. As things start getting worse, however, she begins to spiral downwards and the Program closes in. But Sloane is so endlessly stubborn and full of righteous anger, she'll never let them erase her!

I didn't like this book at first. The first big chunk of this book was like a moody lecture, where Sloane reminds you over and over how much life in her world sucks. The exposition seemed endless and never really stopped, as the story took on an almost cyclical structure - dealing in flashbacks and memories and characters/story elements that are essentially re-introduced halfway through the novel. These gimmicks all added to the eerie feel of the book, but I groaned at some of the repetition throughout. It's hard to explain without revealing key plot details, so trust me on this one. Perhaps an unintentional advantage of Suzanne Young's long-winded introductions, as characters began to forget people and events, I had by that point forgotten them too! To be fair, I did read the book over multiple sittings, so I'll attribute some of that to my own distraction. Regardless of my opinion of the book's opening, by the halfway mark I was absolutely hooked. It had everything: evil government, secret resistance forces, a kind-of love triangle (if you're into that). The last few pages left you with the clean break of a book that could stand alone, but also a gnawing curiosity about what'll happen in the sequel.

Characters: wow

Because of the premise of this book, Sloane is a good old unreliable narrator. It's not her fault, she spends so much time reminiscing on better days and worrying at length about herself that of course she's going to get a few details wrong, more and more often as the story progresses. At her core, she's brave and curious, but throughout the story she's also broody and snarky and too optimistic in equal turns. More than once, her personal opinion or assessment of a situation seems completely off, and in a weird way, that was cool to see in a book - the main character's mind and the reader's mind diverging at points.

James is that bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold. He cares deeply about the people he loves, but also by consequence hates everyone else and behaves accordingly. He's the rock that keeps their little friend group together when things seem bleak, but you have to wonder, who keep James together? Also, James's protective nature bends under pressure at times, and I wonder if - in the sequel - we will see this interesting dynamic again.

Michael Realm would be the comic relief if this book had any proper comic relief. He's charming, charismatic, and a bit wise beyond his years. He eases Sloane into a new and scary world by giving her someone to trust and befriend. But, well that's a bit weird, isn't it? That's not how people work.  You have to wonder about this kid's hidden motives, is all I'm saying. Is doing the best thing for Sloane really doing what's best for her?

Relationships: ooh
Sloane and James - Here's a relationship born out of equal parts affection and tragic neediness. It works because they're a bit of a team, living that kind of you-and-me-against-the-world life. I was impressed with the natural and non-ridiculous aspects of this relationship. They don't just suddenly fall in love, they don't agonize over having or not-having sex (although they have so many external forces to agonize about, I guess they can't find the time).

Sloane and Realm - Honestly it's pretty clear how this relationship is going to work from the very start. He's the Second Guy who also finds himself in best friend territory. He never stood a chance. Add on a hazy layer of uncertainty about his self-proclaimed personal hero status and I just don't know if this will last into the sequel. (Who am I kidding, it's a novel with deliberately set up loose ends. Of course it will.)

Special Features: wow
Let's be honest, the dystopia in which Sloane lives could honestly be much worse. See, usually with a dystopia, some small problem occurs in society and the government uses that as an opportunity to take over everything and enslave all the people in a world of misery and suffering and stuff. In this book, you kind of get where the government's coming from. For one, the Program only operates in Sloane's school district; two, once you're 18, you're completely free of them; three, sure your friends don't remember you after treatment, but at least they're alive! On the other hand, the way they implement the Program is completely counterproductive! In order to prevent suicide - rather than, I don't know, trying to make the kids happier - you present this rehab program, not one your parents drive you to, but one where you're violently dragged out of class while your classmates watch?! Which then makes the kids too scared to express their emotions, which makes them depressed. Who sat down one day, dreamed this up, and thought This is a great idea! I want to hit that person.

Parting Quote:

"It's fun to sneak around, isn't it?" [Realm] asks.
"It is. And I thought nothing could beat being constantly medicated." 

It's like they try to be a little snarky? But never quite get there. Alas.

The Unidentified [Review]

Title: The Unidentified by Rae Mariz
Genre: Science-fiction
What They Say:
Kid knows her school’s corporate sponsors not-so-secretly monitor her friendships and activities for market research. It’s all a part of the Game; the alternative education system designed to use the addictive kick from video games to encourage academic learning. Everyday, a captive audience of students ages 13-17 enter the nationwide chain store-like Game locations to play.

When a group calling themselves The Unidentified simulates a suicide to protest the power structure of their school, Kid’s investigation into their pranks attracts unwanted attention from the sponsors. As Kid finds out she doesn't have rights to her ideas, her privacy, or identity, she and her friends look for a way to revolt in a place where all acts of rebellion are just spun into the next new ad campaign...

What I Say:
I waited a looong time to get my hands on this book, so I guess that's why my expectations where so high when I finally got around to reading it. All-in-all, I'd say I grudgingly liked this book. It had this shaky balance between major suck and ho-shit-must-keep-reading! which was probably her publisher's main justficstion for actually printing it. That said...

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Plot: ooh
Katey is completely average, and she has the Game scores to prove it. The Game is the future equivalent of school, except it's a giant teenage social paradise built in an old shopping mall complete with arcades, music studios, movie theatres, etc. Grades are points earned in games and - much like in real school - being popular. But the Game isn't in a mall for nothing. It's practically run by corporations with cameras everywhere to track trends and buzz and which kids they'll choose to Sponsor next. To be sponsored is to reach the height of popularity and get free stuff. These "Branded" kids have the most friends on their intouches® and party in VIP rooms à la Gossip Girl. But Kid doesn't want to get sponsored, not really. She's really interested in a recent prank pulled by an underground group of kids who call themselves Unidentified. These kids don't play to the Game's rules. They don't have any intouch® friends or follow trends and they're widely ignored by the sponsors in their attempts to eff up the system. That is, until one Kid Dade takes notice of them, and as expected things get hella complicated.

Not gonna lie, the first fifty or so pages were so hammy and dull and obnoxious that I was fully prepared to give this book 2 stars and drop it ASAP. But then Mariz pulled a twist right out of Scott Westerfeld's Extras and I was helplessly hooked till the end. I liked the idea of getting sponsored, kind of like getting Partnered on YouTube except on a grander scale. Now, to touch on the ending without being spoilery, I get what Mariz was doing there, but I was actually hoping to be surprised by a cliffhanger and a Book 2. She creates this world which, if you look closely and re-read some of the offhand comments she throws in there, is a lot eerier and more sinister than you first suspect. I mean, even the premise of the book raises suspicions as these odd little aspects of their society are revealed. Like, why are they holding the country's kids in isolation all day and the not letting them go anywhere but home every evening? Why are there laws against young people hanging out in public?? She added all this set-up for a potentially crazy good dystopia series and then oh look lastpagenosequel! Sadface.

Characters: ooh
I appreciate characters who aren't  morally ambiguous per se, but aren't whiny pasty agonizers either. So kudos to Kid for not getting on my nerves. And also for not being a preachy cynic spilling social commentary out her ears. These character traits would work for other characters, but even I wouldn't have had the staying power to read three hundred pages of "I am sooo above this." Because her friend Ari is right, in a way. We are all fame whores, just a bit. No use denying it.

That said, Ari is one of most annoying, aggravating characters out there. Just auugh. She makes all girls look like tooly little glasslickers. Auugh again. Please, dear readers, never never ever aspire to be like this girl.

Mikey is that good old best guy friend who doesn't stay angry at you for two hundred pages like some people we know. I was expecting this to be one of those books where the main character breaks away from her society but her friends are all still tragically brainwashed, but it sooo wasn't like that. Mikey's no Asher, I'll give him that.

Jeremy Swift is extremely intriguing. Now that I think about it, I don't remember him saying anything terribly adorable, but I waxed poetic for a few pages here and there all the same. But you don't get Sponsored by school security unless you like raining on parades and being just a little but toolish. That's like a rule. 

Relationships: ooh
Kid and Swift - Why does the gorgeous popular guy who never looks twice at the main character until she gets interesting have to always disappoint her in the end? Siiigh. Can't extremely cute but ultimately shallow and false love last for once?? He was soo intriguing. Oh wells. Rule No. 1 of YA prevails yet again. First guy wins, second guy loses. Should have noticed her sooner, buddy.

Kid and Mikey - Hmm, I don't know about these two. Last minute romance is always kind of a cop-out. At least he wasn't the brooding jealous type. He got over that sting of unrequited love pretty fast! I approve. So I guess he does deserve to get the girl on like the third-to-last page.

Special Features: ooh
I said earlier that this book was kind of like Extras, and it is. They both focus on the idea of fame having a nearly-monetary value in their respective worlds, both have a public ranking of the most popular people, and the main girls in both books find themselves inexplicably thrust to the top one day. Perks and fabulousness ensue, but being in the spotlight puts their secret group of prank-pulling friends in danger of exposure... Huh, weird, these books sounds awfully similar. (I didn't even notice the similarities until I started on this section, haha.) On that note, read Extras after you read this book because it was goood.

Parting Quotes:

The sound of female laughter could be chilling. Anyone who thought girl-giggling was harmless, charming, and pink was way misguided. I pressed Record on my intouch® to capture the uniquely primate sound.

Oh, and Kid remixes everyday sounds into music. That's pretty cool.

The Maze Runner [Review]

Title: The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Series: Maze Runner #1
Genre: Science-Fiction
What They Say:
Imagine waking up one day in total darkness, unsure of where you are and unable to remember anything about yourself except your first name. You're in a bizarre place devoid of adults called the Glade. The Glade is an enclosed structure with a jail, a graveyard, a slaughterhouse, living quarters, and gardens. And no way out. Outside the Glade is the Maze, and every day some of the kids -- the Runners -- venture into the labyrinth, trying to map the ever-changing pattern of walls in an attempt to find an exit from this hellish place. So far, no one has figured it out. And not all of the Runners return from their daily exertions, victims of the maniacal Grievers, part animal, part mechanical killing machines.

Thomas is the newest arrival to the Glade in this Truman-meets-Lord of the Flies tale. A motley crew of half a dozen kids is all he has to guide him in this strange world. As soon as he arrives, unusual things begin to happen, and the others grow suspicious of him. Though the Maze seems somehow familiar to Thomas, he's unable to make sense of the place, despite his extraordinary abilities as a Runner. What is this place, and does Thomas hold the key to finding a way out?

What I Say: 
Again, this is one of those series that has been dancing around my periphery for a while, and I thought this short holiday week was the perfect time to delve into the odd-sounding book that is The Maze Runner. First off, dystopia = +5 cool points, but dystopia + amnesia + monsters + labyrinths + lots of running =

 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot: wow
So one day, Thomas wakes up in the Glade, a community of about fifty boys on a farm. Only, he doesn't remember how he got there. Or who he is. And neither does anybody else. As Thomas begins to adapt to life in the Glade, he knows they must be there for a reason. He knows someone must have put them there. He knows there must be a way out of the labyrinth which surrounds the Glade on all sides, full of poisonous monsters and the Runners who navigate the Maze daily in hopes of finding an exit. He knows that the antidote changes the Runners somehow, maybe drives them crazy. That is, until a girl arrives in the lift with a message from the creators of the Maze: everything is about to change. Suddenly, Thomas has a bad feeling he might know more about the Maze than he thought he did. And he might not be the person he thinks he is...

I'd have to classify this story as half-adventure, half-horror. Thomas and the Gladers are put through more crazy, arbitrary, deadly trials than a sane person can handle, so I'm not surprised that some of them have totally lost it. I've never actually jumped while reading a book before, so hats off to James Dashner. His balance between humor and horror and pure genius is so precise and unstable it's pretty much radioactive. Gahh, this book was amazing. This review can't even start doing it justice. Gahh. I would say more, but all of the best parts are so very spoilery, so.

Characters: wow
Thomas is something I like to call awesome. He's pretty freakin' awesome. If I could leave alt-rock mixtapes in his mailbox or write him emo poetry, I would. Often. I can't put my finger on what exactly makes him so mind-bendingly amazing, but I can point out a few contributing factors. He has a pretty good handle on his snark. There are these great moments where you can tell Dashner just wanted to write Thomas was done putting up with this shit before reminding everyone what a major badass he is. Man, this book even made me like the name Thomas.

Newt. This books supports my theory that English people take snark classes in school. If this was the kind of book that needed comic relief (which it's so not), Newt would be a great example of how it's done. Oh man, he's great. Funny in a way that's mostly bitter and hurtful, because their situation is sooo bad. I can't imagine someone reading the book and not liking Newt.

Relationships: ooh
Thomas and Teresa - Intriiiiguing! I can't technically call this a relationship because there's never a clear Declaration of Like and she spends a good chunk of the book in a coma, but I mean come on. She's the only girl in the whole story, he's totally awesome, and they connect on so many levels. It's almost like he hears her voice in his head. Did I say that?

Special Features: ooh
After two years living apart from society, the Gladers have come up with their own slang! (I guess that had nothing else to do). I feel like this is always a risky move for YA authors. I mean, sometimes made-up slang really enhances the story, but sometimes it just doesn't. The Glader slang is weird and awkward at first, but it starts to grow on you. At the very least, it's charming stuff.

Parting Quotes: 

   Newt finally broke the silence. "Anyway, next up - figure out what we do with Tommy here." 
   Thomas perked up at that..."Do with me? What're you talking about?"
   Newt stood, stretched his arms. "Turned this whole place upside down, you bloody shank. Half the Gladers think you're God, the other half wanna throw your butt down the Box Hole. Lotta stuff to talk about."

 Nahh, Tom's like god's god.

The Line [Review]

Title: The Line by Teri Hall
Series: The Line #1
Genre: Science-Fiction
What They Say:
An invisible, uncrossable physical barrier encloses the Unified States. The Line is the part of the border that lopped off part of the country, dooming the inhabitants to an unknown fate when the enemy used a banned weapon. It's said that bizarre creatures and superhumans live on the other side, in Away. Nobody except tough old Ms. Moore would ever live next to the Line.

Nobody but Rachel and her mother, who went to live there after Rachel's dad died in the last war. It's a safe, quiet life. Until Rachel finds a mysterious recorded message that can only have come from Away. The voice is asking for help.

Who sent the message? Why is her mother so protective? And to what lengths is Rachel willing to go in order to do what she thinks is right?


What I Say:
Ohh, boy. Do I love me a good old dystopia. Kids fighting to the death in an arena? Bring it on. Pleasantville featuring Dr. Kevorkian? Yes please. Delinquent teens being harvested for parts? Gimme gimme. Teri Hall's debut novel takes us to the future-US, which is uhhh missing a few states, let's just say. That said...

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Plot: wow
Rachel lives with her mother (Vivian) on The Property, one of the few nice places to live in the US today. Away from the cities and the harsh and unpredictable government, Rachel enjoys a quiet existence where others never visit: right by the Line. The Line is the last section of a protective boundary surrounding the country, meant to protect it from attack or invasion in the last war. Only, when threats came in about a possible attack, they really had to hurry on that boundary! So some Einstein thought, Hey, let's just draw a line and connect the starting point with what we have so far. Who cares if the northwest corner of the country will end up on the outside? Not me! Somebody okayed this brilliant idea, and the boundary was finished along the Line. Then the enemy bombed the shit out of the US, but it was okay because the boundary protected everyone! Except...oh right, all those people left Away on the other side...Whoops! And it gets better (or worse)! After the public response to that little snafu, the government decided to just throw out the Bill of Rights. Cause who needs that, right? Back to Rachel: her life continues to be quiet and dull until one day she gets a message in the stream by her house. Whoever sent it needs help. But the stream comes from Away, and nobody lives there...right? Well, spending time near the Line shouldn't be a problem, right? Well, it is, because paranoid Vivian has started to get even more paranoid lately, and why are they living in the middle of nowhere anyway? Vivian isn't hiding some dark, mysterious past or anything. (Spoiler: she is).

Ahh, the joys of dystopia. The more the government sucks, the deeper I'm sucked into the story. I mean, you're running low on time and cash, so you let a million people die? Damn, US, you scary! While this book was noticeably short, Hall provides the reader with a peek into a future so effed up (and an ending so abrupt) that I imagine many people will be waiting up for the sequel next year. This storyline could have gotten this book an easy three-star rating, if it weren't for the rest of this review...

Characters: meh

Heh. Well. I was so into the story and the mystery and stuff, that I made a lot of excuses for the characters as I read. Life is so hard for our main characters that they don't have time to cultivate personalities. Or, like, smile ever. So no, there was virtually no snark or the like in this book. Now that's a sign of a world gone bad.

Relationships: --

There, uhhh, weren't any in this book. I didn't want to give this section an 'ugh', because there will be some in the next book (Hall set it up bigtime). On closer inspection, this books was missing a lot of key book elements. It was so short, too. Surely, she could have spent twenty-or-so pages fleshing things out more. Hm...

Special Features: ooh

It's the future. Apparently a future where Kindles has made real books obsolete, you have to register a username on every website (Can you imagine? I can hardly stand making up usernames and passwords with letters, numbers, and symbols on some sites. Imagine having to log in to use Wikipedia. Oh, the horror!), and yet people still use those dorky handheld voice recorders most often seen on the desks of grade-grubbers in college lecture halls. Never said it was a pretty future.

Parting Quotes:

"That's your mom, right?" Pathik smiled. "She looks nicer than she did when she was dragging you away the other night."   

There was apparently a snark famine in the future, and by the time there were enough cocky jerkasses to resume snarking, they were all too tired and oppressed to bother trying. Very sad story.

Girl Parts [Review]

Title: Girl Parts by John Cusick
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Science-Fiction
What They Say:

What happens when a robot designed to be a boy’s ideal “companion” develops a will of her own? A compulsively readable novel from a new talent.
 
David and Charlie are opposites. David has a million friends, online and off. Charlie is a soulful outsider, off the grid completely. But neither feels close to anybody. When David’s parents present him with a hot Companion bot designed to encourage healthy bonds and treat his “dissociative disorder,” he can’t get enough of luscious redheaded Rose — and he can’t get it soon. Companions come with strict intimacy protocols, and whenever he tries anything, David gets an electric shock. Parted from the boy she was built to love, Rose turns to Charlie, who finds he can open up, knowing Rose isn’t real. With Charlie’s help, the ideal “companion” is about to become her own best friend.

What I Say:
I've had my eye out for Girl Parts since summer, so I was pretty psyched to pick it up once it rolled into the library. Despite the intriguing premise, I was reasonably underwhelmed by this one. I mean, a story about robots should be interesting, right? That said...

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Plot: ooh

So these two boys go to the same Catholic school, but are in completely different socials groups. David is the rich, popular playboy whose parents think he's disassociated because he watched one of his classmates commit suicide on the internet and hardly batted an eyelid. Charlie is the nature-loving outcast who doesn't want friends - at least, not friends like David. David thinks he's hit the jackpot when his parents buy him a female robot to teach him to form connections, but he gets a shock whenever he tries to make a move on her. One of these days, however, he is determined to get to those girl parts.

This story had a lot of promise, but while it had some mild highlights, it was a good 95% boring. Reading about a priveleged kid with no real problems and a less-priveleged kid with no real problems can only fascinate me for so long. Especially when not one of the characters has any handle on wit or snark. I mean, there was wannabe-snark, but YA is just a mess without the real thing. Real life is about zingers and sarcasm! Ha.

Characters: meh

David was so thoroughly the jerk-who-sort-of-grows-feelings. Cusick really stuck to his clichés in this book. I guess it was nice that he didn't make some magical Jerkass-to-Gentleman transformation at the end, but at least then the story would have had a point...

Charlie was...oh, sorry, I just fell asleep. Rule #1 to Being An Outsider: one must be intriguing and/or mysterious at all times. Charlie definitely broke that rule. How can he look down on all the rich kids when he's just as dull as they are? Other clichés perpetuated: boy is nobody, boy can't talk to girls, boy somehow gets above-average girl anyway. Oh, John, why?

Relationships: meh

David and Rose - Boohoo, my killer 16-year-old charm isn't getting me some, sooo I'm going to be a jerk and throw out the girlfriend my daddy had to buy for me. My life is sooo hard. Boohoo, I'm a Japanese robot who has apparently been programmed to worship this 16-year-old boy That's not weird at all...

Charlie and Rose - Yay, I just got my first kiss. Who cares if it's with a malfunctioning Japanese robot? I laugh at those dumb rich kids whose parents buy them sex dolls, but it's actually totally normal! (Sigh.)

Special Features: ooh

Well, despite the fact that the robot in this story was pretty dull, it was an interesting angle to take. A main love interest who isn't technically real? A for effort on the idea, Cusick. I see where you were trying to go with that.

Parting Quotes:
I tried realllly hard to find a cute/interesting/snarky quote from this book but I simply couldn't. Though perhaps I'll find one on the re-read and add it later.
 

Mockingjay [Review]

Title: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Series: Hunger Games #3
Genre: Science-Fiction
What They Say:
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.
It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains — except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panen. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay — no matter what the personal cost.

What I Say:
So I finally sat down and read the last installment in Suzanne Collins’s series about our crapsack future where the government puts kids in an arena to kill each other every year. This was a long-awaited read, filled with danger, adventure, and a good hard look at the idea of power and the people fighting over it. That said…

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot: wow
(Because of how highly-anticipated this book is to readers, I’m working harder than usual to keep from spoilering all over the place. Though I might do a Spoiler Post later to discuss the story further, later this week.)

So Katniss’s war has started, and Katniss is finally getting to see it. She’s been the face of rebellion for over a year, and now she needs to be the voice as well. But can she live up to the hype, or will she crash and burn like when Ke$ha sings live? District 13 is real and it’s safe, but will she be able to put her trust in the new leaders of the fight? Will she be able to survive Peeta being in the hands of the Capitol? Will she be able to survive Gale being back in her own hands? Will we ever find out if President Snow is a vampire?? So many questions! (This is the best I can do without giving anything away, haha. I’m so sorry.)

If this were Catching Fire (the second book in the series), I would have given the plot a 'WHOA'. Because that book was amazing all over. While Mockingjay brought the story to a close and tied up loose ends, after the first hundred-fifty pages, something begins to happen to it. This is where most of the action begins, but in the battles and telling of events, I became a bit less invested in the meaning of the plot. I still wanted to know what happened in the end, but once Collins got the setup out of the way, the innards of the story began to weaken. A good example of this comes from the climax, which is written in such a way that it comes and goes and leaves you wondering Did I miss it? The event happens, but there’s no particular point or meaning to it. And then another climactic event occurs, and there seems to be no point to that either. The rest of the book passes in an odd daze, as if Collins finished her social commentary and made her point forty pages from the end, and the rest was just ending credits. I think my biggest disappointment is that we see the “end”, and then we don’t even get a little peek at what happens next. Well, we do, but…

Characters: wow
I love how in the “What They Say” section, it says that to save the rebellion Katniss must "put aside her feelings of anger and mistrust," because that never actually happens. She’s pretty angry and distrustful the whole time. For good reason. My only issue was that she never expressed it properly. She’d think, “Oh, I hate so-and-so”, but treat them professionally, and then she’d think, “Oh, I love Peeta I love Gale”, and treat them like shit. Often. Also, all her passion is gone in this book. Once she “gets with the plan” of the story, she totally clocks out. She plays their puppet and thinks like one, too. Not gonna spoil, but I will say that I’m disappointed with how things turn out for our heroine. It’s just, I don’t know, very un-Katniss.

So Gale and Peeta were little assholes in this book, haha. That’s not always a bad thing, though. I lumped these two together so I wouldn’t be tempted to spoil with details. So maybe Peeta being alive is a spoiler, but nothing you couldn’t guess. I suppose Gale can’t help being a dick, because there’s a war on and he’s spilling testosterone out his ears. I guess Peeta can’t help it, either. Though at least Peeta didn't make me want to kill all his little brothers and sisters.

Not sure I’m highlighting the most important characters here, but Finnick is absolutely amazing, so he’s going into this review. This book flips the coin, showing us the inner-Finnick and leaving the rest (suggestive eyebrow waggle) to the imagination. He and Katniss forge an unlikely bond, and thank god, because this story needed him. He’s definitely the only character who didn’t annoy me in this one, the main reason the characters section gets a ‘wow’.

What’s this? Annoying whiny sister Prim grows up? So proud! Really, though. At thirteen years old, Prim has seen all the horrors of her world and taken it in stride. She doesn’t get too much mention in this one, and never gets a real chance to show how she’s grown, but you can just tell. I liked her better than Katniss, at least.

Relationships: ooh
Katniss and Gale - Hey, Katniss. There’s a war on and everything’s going to shit, but I’m still going to put you in awkward situations and make you feel guilty for not jumping all over me. Hey, Gale. I know we’ve been close since childhood, but I’m going to be petty and blame you for things out of your control so we’ll be fighting all the time.

Katniss and Peeta - Hey, Katniss. I know I’ve always thought you were flawless and beautiful, but I’m starting to see that you’re kind of a heartless bitch. Hey, Peeta. I know it isn’t your fault that ohspoilershmmmhuh? happened, but I’m going to be petty and blame you for things out of your control so we’ll be fighting all the time. (See a pattern here?)

Special Features: WHOA
I. Love. Dystopia. I don’t quite know why, but it’s just so much fun to read about. Especially when it bears eerie similarities to our own world. I mean, after all, the Hunger Games are just like Survivor (with an admittedly different goal, but still), and we watch that on TV. Well, maybe around 2002 we did.

Parting Quote:

    “You be nice to her, Finnick. Or I might try and take her away from you.” It could be a joke, if the tone wasn’t so cold. Everything it conveys is wrong. …
   “Oh, Peeta,” says Finnick lightly. “Don’t make me sorry I restarted your heart.”

See? What did I tell you? It’s asshole fever in District 13.


Anyway, since we're talking about the Hunger Games and mentioned the likes of Ke$ha, to check out this very cute Catching Fire parody of Tik Tok, click here. And if you like Mike Posner, here's a Mockingjay parody of Cooler Than Me (click here).

Candor [Review]

Title: Candor by Pam Bachorz
Genre: Science-fiction
What They Say:
Oscar Banks has everything under control. In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, he's found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages. He's got them all fooled: Oscar's the top student and the best-behaved teen in town. Nobody knows he's made his own Messages to deprogram his brain. Oscar has even found a way to get rich. For a hefty price, he helps new kids escape Candor, Florida before they're transformed into cookie-cutter teens. But then Nia Silva moves to Candor, and Oscar's carefully-controlled world crumbles.

What I Say:
I like me some science-fiction and I love me some utopia (though on a small scale here), but I must say I like it even more in a contemporary setting. What's creepier than a community of brainwashed teens that could possibly exist? It's great. I grabbed this book from the library at random, but it was definitely a good choice. That said...

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Plot: wow
So there's this boy, Oscar. He lives with his father, the mayor of the little town of Candor, Florida, an idyllic little community where everything and everyone is perfect, for a price. Everyone listens to these music CDs packed with subliminal messages to control their behavior, but being the son of the mayor, Oscar discovered the secret long ago and has been unbrainwashing himself by rebrainwashing himself with CDs of his own (fridge logic is telling me this is probably not good for a person's brain. Just sayin'). So the kids in town are loaded (the real estate in Candor is just through the roof), and Oscar earns a shady living helping kids escape before they're completely brainwashed. When badgirl Nia moves to town, Hot New Girl Syndrome kicks in and Oscar totally loses his shit.

I was going to say I liked this plotline for its originality, but that's not really the right word. It kind of took elements from other works (Stepford Wives, various "escape-from" stories, even a bit of The Giver) and molded it into something new. I could still guess what might happen here or there, but not until maybe three pages before it did. The way it was written, you really wanted to the characters to make it out (though maybe not Nia).

Characters: meh
So Oscar was the mastermind behind the whole story, after his evil overlord dad. He was a good narrator, and really carried the story, seeing as outside of him and Nia, none of the characters had any depth (zombieville, remember?). Having to deal with bratty rich kids at his "job", I can understand why he often turns up the jerkass. Also, he has some issues of his own: how do you cry over your dead brother and runaway mom when you're being brainwashed to forget? Side note: I don't really like the name Oscar? Like what is that? I have yet to meet an Oscar that I like.

I should be objective about Nia, but god she annoyed me to death. For the first half of the book, I actually liked her. She's original and clever in a town of two-dimensional clones, she likes art, she's kind of nice. I like her better when she and Oscar get together (always a plus). But then Stuff Happens and I want to bludgeon her the next 200 pages. Not just because she loses all her good qualities, but it kind of bends up Oscar's head (and does he need any more mental problems?)

Relationships: meh
Oscar and Nia - Like I said, it started out good. But then, you know, the Spoilery Stuff happens and it gets all angsty and awkward and obsessive. But the change really drives the story, because it gives Oscar reasons to actually hate the town. In fact, it makes the reader feel exactly how Oscar feels (frustrated, hopeless, etc), which is actually really good writing! But yeah, not a good relationship.

Special Features: wow
Lovelovelove the utopia angle. I don't know what it is, but I just love reading about it. All the little things that make them "work" (the weird rules, the weird social structure, the weird this-and-that). It fascinates me. Also, I loved the cover. I mean, that boy is seriously good-looking. Set the tone for the whole book, haha.

Parting Quote:

"In a few minutes nobody will know what I did. Everything will be perfect again. Except for my life."

I had to return the book a while ago, so I sadly couldn't flip through for my favorite quotes. But it's creepy ones like this that keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Oscar's ability to brainwash people himself starts to give him this crazy feeling of ultimate control from time to time, kind of like (gasp!) his father. (Man. I have to read this book again!)