Title: The Darkest Minds
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publication: December 18th, 2012 by Disney Hyperion // December 11th, 2012 by HarperCollins Australia
Format, pages: Hardcover, 488 // Paperback, 496
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia
My Rating:  

From Goodreads:

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. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But 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.

The Darkest Minds was my first Alexandra Bracken book and I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the length of the book, which did cause a few difficulties while reading, The Darkest Minds had characters that you couldn’t help to fall in love with. This book took me over a month to get through and that was solely because of the length. I felt it didn’t need to be that long and some things could’ve been cut out. It was about halfway in which my interest was fading, so I took a break, and then after a few weeks I returned full force, determined to finish it. Surprisingly, I jumped back into Ruby’s story with ease and swept all the way to the end without any struggles. The outcome of this book was satisfying, so I’m eager to see where Ruby’s and Liam’s journeys continue and where Bracken develops this society next in the series.

Children in America are becoming affected with the Idiopathic Adolescent Acute Neurodegeneration (IAAN) disease from the age of 10. There is no cure yet for this disease, which triggers a number of symptoms, and the cause of it is unknown. Families do not know what to do so they turn their kids towards rehabilitation camps – if they haven’t already died – in large numbers. Ruby was one of those kids, who, upon learning that she was not immune when she turned 10, frightens her parents and is sent to a rehabilitation camp, Thurmond, joining a multitude of other children in the same circumstance with similar symptoms of the disease. Families and the government is so against this disease because when children discover they’re affected with IAAN they also discover they have abilities, special abilities – abilities that are a hazard to the running of the world that the adults knew before. These kids do not know how to control these abilities that they now possess.

Six years on and things are slowly evolving, becoming different, changing in this society regarding the government, the camps, and the world at large. For six years at Thurmond Ruby manages to keep in check, but when the chance of escape presents itself with the help of an secretive agency called The League, Ruby takes it and soon after a few revelations, finds herself on the run from anybody that would stop her. In the process she finds company in a small group of Psi generation kids still learning to control their powers and trying to survive in their bleak present world on their own. Along with Chubs, Suzume, and Liam, they search for a camp that was everything they could ever need at this time in their lives, where everything was a struggle and protection was what they sought, no matter the cost to get there. Was it all that it was rumoured to be once they got there? Surely not. Ruby learns the hard way whether trust or secrecy is the only option to stand by in order to survive.

If anything, The Darkest Minds is a character driven book. It was not the society and Bracken’s world building that struck a chord with me to make me return but the characters. The characters of Ruby, Liam, Chubs, and Suzumi would be the main reasons to return if you didn’t enjoy The Darkest Minds as a whole. Their characterisations are blissful individually as well as their dynamics together. The relationship between Ruby and Liam was enticing and full of colours – like the colours to categorise the different symptoms and abilities of IAAN. I found no flaw in the development of their connection as friends and their relationship as young teens in love. And the protectiveness that builds between Ruby and Liam over Suzume and Chubs with whatever threats came their way was endearing. I have so much admiration for Ruby and Liam; they remain themselves throughout everything. I looked up to Liam, confident in his ability to help those around him – with zero help from his powers – and his understanding of others, especially of Ruby. Chubs was a modern-day Piggy from The Lord of the Flies, who will win readers’ hearts, and so will Suzume, our mute little Japanese girl, so scared of her ‘shocking’ powers that it has dominated her ability to connect and express with those around her.

I say: pick up The Darkest Minds and make your own judgement about it. Alexandra Bracken has written something that contributes to the number of books and series, such as William Golding’s classic The Lord of the Flies and Michael Grant’s Gone series, in a way that expresses the true nature of human beings, and especially teens, when put in harsh circumstances of survival, where a battle for life and the imminence of death is present, whether set in the real world or in a fantasy and sci-fi set society. These are my favourite types of stories, where humanity is stretched to impossible ends, where innocence is lost, and where self-preservation fights against self-corruption in a raw battle of good and evil.

Thank you to HarperCollins Australia via NetGalley for providing a copy to review.

What others said about this book:

Anna @ Literary Exploration:

I can’t tell you how much I needed a hug by the time it was over, and how badly I want to get my hands on whatever Bracken has in store for me next. If you haven’t already considered reading Darkest Minds you’ll definitely want to add this one to your TBR.

Erin @ Tales of an Inner Book Fanatic:

…The Darkest Minds sets up a fantastic start to a YA trilogy. Containing all of the right elements including action-oriented sequences, an intriguing set of characters and some pretty cool superpowers that all readers will love to have themselves…

Others books in this series:

1. Darkest Minds (December, 2012)
2. Never Fade (November, 2013)
3. Untitled (December, 2014)

Title: When We Wake
Author: Karen Healey
Publication: January 27th, 2013 by Allen & Unwin
Format, pages: Paperback, 291
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Dystopia
My Rating:  

From Goodreads:

The last thing Tegan remembers is the crack as the gun went off, intense pain, and everything fading to black. One hundred years later, she wakes up. A fast-paced near-future romance. 

Sixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl living in 2027 – she’s happiest when playing the guitar, she’s falling in love for the first time, and she’s joining her friends to protest the wrongs of the world: environmental collapse, social discrimination, and political injustice.

But on what should have been the best day of Tegan’s life, she dies – and wakes up a hundred years in the future, locked in a government facility with no idea what happened.

Tegan is the first person to be cryonically frozen and successfully revived, which makes her an instant celebrity – though all she wants is to rebuild some semblance of a normal life …
including spending as much time as possible with musically gifted Abdi, even if he does seem to hate the sight of her. But the future isn’t all she hoped it would be, and when appalling secrets come to light, Tegan must make a choice: Does she keep her head down and survive, or fight for a better future.

Award-winning author Karen Healey has created a gripping tale of an inspiring heroine living in a not-so-distant future that could easily be our own.

At first sight When We Wake will call out for you, its bright, sharp, and almost white cover standing out on the shelf amongst the other covers, too dark in comparison. What the cover of When We Wake achieves is a sense of questioning already in the reader, and once the words ‘cryogenically frozen’ in the synopsis are read and connected to the cover, there would be no going back, no putting Karen Healey’s new science fiction offering back on the bookshop shelf. When We Wake provides a quite different future from today’s world, from today’s Australia, packed with political, global, and humanitarian themes involving activism, social justice, distribution of propaganda, corruption, and deceit. Whatever it is that you enjoy, either the science fiction or speculative fiction elements, When We Wake will fascinate you to no end.

It was the year 2027 when sixteen-year-old Tegan Oglietti joined a rally about climate change on the steps of Melbourne’s parliament house with her boyfriend Dalmar and was killed by a sniper. Thanks to her humanitarian beliefs of signing up to be an organ donor, Tegan wakes up 100 years later, the first to wake up after being cryogenically frozen. Tegan had become a major part of a government program to bring soldiers and casualties of war back to life due to the progress of science, but Tegan seeks out the truth in this changed world, much different to the one she knew. Because of the cryogenic freezing Tegan has become the newest celebrity, bringing fame but then also hate from religious and extremist groups who want to see her dead. Among all this, staying true to herself becomes her greatest test.

Tegan is quite a likeable and relatable character. Dealing with change, almost instantly in her case, isn’t easy, but Tegan deals with it with maturity and modesty, thankful that she gets to live a second life, but dejected it won’t be with her parents, brother, her friend Alex, and boyfriend Dalmar. Her predicament proves her fighting strength to adapt and make change with her longing for the past and the desolation that resides inside her. She never stops questioning, never forgets who she was before she was shot, always determined to protect the memories of her old life and the friends she makes in her new life.

How the future in 2127 is described will make you tremble at the terror of how our very own future may look like (e.g., Australia’s no-migrant policy and denigration of third-world countries) or cry in delight at things like marriage equality, diversity, and if you are vegetarian or vegan, the way the future may lean to your advantage. The setting on a global scale was well detailed. I’m looking forward to exploring Karen Healey’s futuristic world in the next books. As a bonus, if there is a possible space setting in them, then Healey will hit the nail on the head in terms of setting execution.

There was much to enjoy about When We Wake. I found there to be a sort of The Hunger Games in there with Tegan attracting fame and attention and therefore must act like a token figure the government wants her to be. She’d get dressed up, outfit, make up and all, and have to participate in media interviews. Very The Hunger Games-esque, but Healey adds her own ingredients to make it distinctly different. I also loved that it was set in Melbourne, and since this is my home city, it instilled some pessimism in me, a trait which I never want to possess. If someone can do that then you’ve got a winner on your hands. When We Wake did have its moments where I lost interest, but that’s nothing in comparison to all the positives.

Karen Healey has written a strikingly fresh new future through the eyes of Tegan Oglietti. While We Run: come at me!

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for a copy to review.

What others thought about this book:

Mandee @ Vegan YA Nerds:

When We Wake is a unique look at a futuristic world, featuring a solid cast of characters, and an intriguing and action-packed plot. It’s ahead of the pack when it comes to dystopian YA.

Tez @ Tez Says:

I haven’t read anything by Karen Healey before, but I’m glad to have started with the best.

Other books in this series:

1. When We Wake (February, 2013)
2. While We Run (February, 2014)

Title: Pivot Point
Author: Kasie West
Publication: February 12th, 2013 by HarperTeen
Format, pages: Hardcover, 352
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance
My Rating:  

From Goodreads:

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

Kasie West’s young adult debut novel Pivot Point is a great example of an interesting and fresh idea turned into a compulsively readable and well executed book. What West excels at is her ability in weaving two timelines of two separate futures together seamlessly, each with its own events, characters, mysteries, and romances. With this we see Addie’s two juxtaposing worlds, her Para life in the Compound surrounded by others with high intellectual and mind powers like her, as well as her Norm life outside the Compound in Dallas, Texas where she must keep her abilities a secret and pretend to be a Norm – normal human.

Addie is able to see into the future because she is a Searcher, which means that whenever she must make a choice she is able to experience and look at the two futures and their consequences, making her choice that much easier to make. What forces Addie to Search and which springs the novel’s plot(s) into motion is the decision she must make when her parents announce they’re divorcing: to stay with her mother in the Compound, with her friends, or go with her father to live in the outside world, someplace much different to the one she knows.

What makes Addie such a great character is her innate intuition at knowing what she must do and the fine line between right and wrong; her ability to Search may be the reason for this. Whether it’d be helping her friend Laila with the trouble she is in in relation to this guy called Poison and Laila’s father, to her friendship and eventual fondness with Trevor whom I really liked as a male love interest for Addie (and really… ever!), to her struggling relationship with Duke, her mother, and her father, Addie’s attempts to put things right even within her Searches proves her greatest strength.

West’s dialogue shines bright throughout the book. But what I believed needed a little more explanation was the Compound, its conception and its politics, decision-makers and workings as a society consisting of people with mind abilities. I did not know that there was going to be a sequel when reading this, but now that I know, hopefully a greater understanding for the Compound and it relation to the outside world will be given.

I’m glad I listened to Amber‘s advice to read Pivot Point because I was not let down by it and what was promised. Kasie West is a new author that I’ll be keeping my eye on for years to come in the young adult world.

Thank you to HarperCollins via Edelweiss for the galley to review.

What others said about this book:

Amber @ Books of Amber:

There is literally NOTHING I didn’t like about this book. Definitely check it out when you get the chance, because it’s brilliant. Almost good enough to be rated an All Time Favourite!

Judith @ Paper Riot:

The concept itself (a so-called sliding doors effect) is so unique and unlike anything I’ve ever read before, that I was intrigued by it from the start.

Books in this series:

1. Pivot Point (February, 2013)
2. Untitled (February, 2014)

Title: Unravel Me, The Juliette Chronicles #2
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publication: February 1, 2013 by Allen & Unwin
Format, pages: Paperback, 480
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Romance
My Rating:  

From Goodreads:

Our lips touch and I know I’m going to split at the seams. He kisses me softly then strongly like he’s lost me and he’s found me and I’m slipping away and he’s never going to let me go.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. A place for people like her – people with gifts – and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She’s finally free from the Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch. Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

Haunted by her past, terrified of her future, Juliette knows that in her present, she will have to make some life-changing choices.
Choices that may include choosing between her heart – and Adam’s life.

The sequel to Shatter Me explodes with Tahereh Mafi’s signature prose – beautiful, exotic, addictive, raw and oh so good! (Yep, this review is filled with quotes… take caution.) Returning to Mafi’s futuristic society and the brewing war between the Reestablishment and Omega Point, as well as Juliette’s tale of self-acceptance, -discovery, choice and love was no difficult operation. Of course! I went into Unravel Me on the back of Shatter Me, immediately having four-hundred-and-eighty pages more to be completely immersed in Juliette’s story. Despite how I returned to Mafi’s second book, those who read Shatter Me around the time that it came out to months before now will have no trouble as well. Juliette welcomes you back with open arms… Just watch out for her deadly touch and powerful strength. And that’s what Unravel Me is: deadly and powerful, more so with Juliette’s alluring voice and struggle of self-acceptance than the book’s plot.

As I commented about in my Shatter Me review, Juliette’s voice is distinct due to the way she uses her words – or the way Mafi uses her words – caused by Juliette’s previous isolation in which she had generated her own individual style with the journal she had as her only company. With this comes a lot of metaphors and similes. Although it may be irritating and feel like an electric saw is gyrating through the spongey mass of your straight-thinking brain for much of the time (it was not like that for me though), Mafi presents a creative way for Juliette to communicate about and to describe the world around her. In most cases, like the passage beneath, Juliette develops her own stories to explain what she’s thinking, what she means, and what she wants you, as the reader, to understand.

So I have to keep remembering that Warner and I are 2 different words.
We are synonyms but not the same.
Synonyms know each other like old colleagues, like a set of friends who’ve seen the world together. They swap stories, reminisce about their origins and forget that though they are similar, they are entirely different, and though they share a certain set of attributes, one cannot be the other. Because a quiet night is not the same as a silent one, a firm man is not the same as a steady one, and a bright light is not the same as brilliant one because the way they wedge themselves into a sentence changes everything.

Why yes, Warner does play a major role somewhat in the plot of Unravel Me. Be afraid! Be very afraid! Maybe I should talk about what happens in Unravel Me first before I discuss… uhh… Warner.

Two weeks after the events of Shatter Me shows Juliette still trying to blend in with the crowd below in Omega Point, almost like she’s a flashing red beacon with a siren that wails ‘Danger! Danger! Danger!’ to everyone that passes her. On top of that, Juliette’s relationship with Adam – a relationship that I want continued until the end of the trilogy and beyond – hits some rocky seas and is unable to stay afloat, with the combination of Juliette’s inability to trust anyone, including herself, and controlling her power as well as Adam’s inability to accept his newfound abilities and the new person he has become being contributing factors to the damage to their love. In the mix add that certain antagonist from Shatter Me, Warner, who we learn along with Juliette and Adam much more about. Warner’s father enters the picture and then Omega Point trains and prepares to defend and fight their imminent and closing in threat.

I’ll just come out and say it now: Warner still does nothing to me even after everything we saw, the different side to him and the knowledge about his past and upbringing, in Unravel Me. And no that chapter sixty-two sixty-two sixty-two sixty-two did not sway me at all. I felt that that part of the book was too forced, too this-is-only-happening-to-satisfy-Warner-admirers. Maybe it was because I thought he was a psycho and megalomaniac in Shatter Me and nothing could redeem him. I do have a change of heart for Warner… but just overall, as someone for Juliette, no. He continued to be too brash when with others, most possibly a defence mechanism to hide his true self. At least tension was built throughout Unravel Me due to the unexpected turns in relationship between the characters.

I’m really not sure what else to write in regards to Unravel Me. I found it to be absorbing and I wonder how the third book will turn out and how it will end. Juliette has become stronger, more independent, able to make her own decisions, and although she is impulsive as her confidence and abilities grow she does it to protect those she cares about. Throughout Unravel Me Juliette reveals more about her longings and dreams, pouring out her emotions, served raw on a plate. The most delicious parts of Mafi’s meal are below to end this review.

1.

It’s like a button in my brain is broken, like I’ve developed a disease that forces me to apologise for everything, for existing, for wanting more than what I’ve been given, and I can’t stop.
It’s what I do.
I’m always apologising. Forever apologising. For who I am and what I never meant to be and for this body I was born into, this DNA I never asked for, this person I can’t unbecome. 17 years I’ve spent trying to be different. Every single day. Trying to be someone else for someone else.
And it never seems to matter.

2.

I always dared to identify with the princess, the one who runs away and finds a fairy godmother to transform her into a beautiful girl with a bright future. I clung to something like hope, to a thread of maybes and possiblys and perhapses. But I should’ve listened when my parents told me that things like me aren’t allowed to have dreams. Things like me are better off destroyed, is what my mother said to me.
And I’m beginning to think they were right.

3.

It’s like my face is pressed up against the glass, watching a scene from far, far away, wishing and wanting to be a part of something I know I’ll never really be a part of. I forget sometimes, that they are people out there who still manage to smile every day, despite everything.
They haven’t lost hope yet.
Suddenly I feel sheepish, ashamed, even. Daylight makes my thoughts look dark and sad and I want to pretend I’m still optimistic, I want to believe that I’ll find a way to live. That maybe, somehow, there’s still a chance for me somewhere.

4.

Because sometime you see yourself – you see yourself the way you could be – the way you might be if things were different. And if you look too closely, what you see will scare you, it’ll make you wonder what you might do if given the opportunity. You know there’s a different side of yourself you don’t want to recognise, a side you don’t want to see in the daylight. You spend your whole life doing everything to push it down and away, out of sight, out of mind. You pretend that a piece of yourself doesn’t exist.
You live like that for a long time.
For a long time, you’re safe.

And then you’re not.

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for the copy to review.

What others thought about this book:

Sarah @ Saz101:

Unravel Me sizzles with passion and chemistry, and offers surprise twists to keep those pages turning well into the wee hours. Fans will delight in Unravel Me as it unravels its spectacular heroine just in time to leave them desperate for more.

Jen @ Shortie Says:

I can’t even… Just wow.

Books in the series:

1. Shatter Me (November, 2011)
2. Unravel Me (February, 2013)
3. Untitled (February, 2014)

Title: Shatter Me, The Juliette Chronicles #1
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publication: November, 2011 by Allen & Unwin
Format, pages: Paperback, 348
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Romance
My Rating:  

From Goodreads:

“You can’t touch me,” I whisper.

I’m lying, is what I don’t tell him.

He can touch me, is what I’ll never tell him.

But things happen when people touch me.

Strange things.

Bad things.

No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.

But Juliette has plans of her own.

After a lifetime without freedom, she’s finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she’d lost forever.

Tahereh Mafi has entered the Young Adult scene with a defiantly striking and distinct prose in her debut novel Shatter Me, garnering mixed responses from readers, some overtly displeased while others embraced the change in style. I, for one, revelled in the beauty of the words and the stream-of-consciousness-like writing. Perhaps being different isn’t all that great in such a media when the literary norm has been set in concrete centuries ago, with little transformation and originality able to be done by new writers. Mafi’s prose is a perfect fit for Juliette’s character, however, because she’s someone who has been locked away for 264 days, away from civilisation and zero contact with others, so, therefore, the way in which she thinks, reacts and perceives to the world around her has altered, and this change is exhibited in the writing – only, really, if you want to see it that way. Additionally, Juliette’s love of words, of numbers, and of writing in her journal may also be a contributing factor, with Mafi creating a style that screams ‘Juliette’. Although it took a while to adapt to Mafi’s writing, I’ve developed a taste that I would love more of.

I’ve been locked up for 264 days.
I have nothing but a small notebook and a broken pen and the numbers in my head to keep me company. 1 window, 4 walls, 144 square feet of space, 26 letters in an alphabet. I haven’t spoken in 264 of isolation.
6,336 hours since I’ve touched another human being.

Juliette’s inner struggle to accept who she is, with an ability such as hers, is something that makes falling in love with her easy. Throughout Shatter Me she is manipulated, ordered and forced to use her power, tried to be shaped by Warner into a weapon against enemies of The Reestablishment, something that Juliette wants no part of. Her disastrous past combined with her naught self-acceptance and the destruction she knows she can cause becomes Juliette’s formidable force and resistance against those that want to use her. Slowly throughout Shatter Me she discovers more about herself and her ability through her journey from escaping Warner’s grip with Adam, a childhood friend and somebody she can touch, to Omega Point, the base for the resistance filled with people just like her. There was much to take interest in when it comes to Juliette.

I took a sincere liking to Adam. At first his deceiving to Juliette in the beginning under Warner’s orders made me weary of him, but as the novel progresses you hope Adam is the one that Juliette will be with in the end. The more the two of them are with each other the more we see them change, be truthful, be accepting of one another’s secrets, finally with someone that they can confide in things with. Shatter Me centralises on Adam and his predicament as an older sibling and guardian for his younger brother. There is also Warner, who was the main antagonist in this novel, and is pretty evident to become a love interest as such books usually go. I detested Warner for his conniving, manipulative, and dominant stance with the people around him. Of course, it comes with his position. For me, Warner was very one-sided in Shatter Me, only ever after one thing: Juliette, either that be for her power or to sate his possessiveness and obsession to be with Juliette romantically. He was a complete and utter psycho, someone who I would love to treat by bashing his loose head against the ground at Juliette’s feet.

Mafi’s thrilling plot from Juliette’s escape from isolation to Juliette’s discovery of others like her makes Shatter Me a pretty good beginning to the trilogy. However, I was holding out for more in this book than just a precursor and introductory to what can be expected from the second book. The conflict scenes were resolved all too easily, with a fake kiss being used for one of them as a tool for escape and defence, a tool for kindling vulnerability. The way the story unfolded worked though, with Omega Point being almost like a paradise; Juliette and Adam are on a journey to find this haven, even if it took a while to come to it.

Mafi has created a world where fans of X-Men and The Hunger Games can enjoy seeing two of their enjoyments, superpowers and dystopia, mash  together in a surprising and moving tale of self-discovery and self-acceptance.

What others said about this book:

Brodie @ Eleusinian Mysteries of Reading:

The best part about this book is Tahereh’s amazing ability with words. Her style is so unique and original, I’ve never read anything like it. Every single word is so carefully structured, full of passion and love and tenderness.

Lisa @ Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me:

This novel drove me insane and up the wall. It made me feel like jumping, screaming and crying in absolute joy! Shatter Me is most definitely one of the best books of 2011, if not ever.

Books in the series:

1. Shatter Me (November, 2011)
2. Unravel Me (February, 2013)
3. Untitled (February, 2014)

The Eslites by C.M. Doporto
January 2nd, 2013
My Rating:  

The Eslites is about Miranda Mays who is recruited by an alien race known as the Eslites as she is a superior donor, and it is these donors that are required to help this non-human race from extinction. It is a quick short story, but I feel it was incomplete; it felt like there was much more to it that needed to be told. If it were a full novel I’d be intrigued. The Eslites shows potential as it gradually develops into a paranormal-based story from its science fiction set beginning despite the length of it. A nice introduction.

Thanks to C.M. Doporto for a copy to review.

• • •

The Search for Sam by Pittacus Lore
December 26th, 2012 by HarperTeen
My Rating:  

The Search for Sam is the fourth novella of Pittacus Lore’s Lorien Legacies: The Lost Files, which continues Adam’s (or Adamus’s) adventure after he was nearly killed and abandoned by his father at the end of the third novella, The Fallen Legacies. We follow his living in Africa (where Swahili is spoken – Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda – there somewhere), back to the Mogadorian estate and his home, and through to the army base in Mexico in which we were introduced to in The Rise of Nine as Adam resists against his race’s endeavours and save the Garde. Along the way we learn the whereabouts of Sam’s father as well as Sam himself. It was nice to see Sam appear again since he’s my favourite character in the series. As I said with the previous novella, the next instalment of the Lorien Legacies is sure to be a game changer with the professional debut of Adam in the series and I’m looking forward to seeing him interact with the Garde members he has yet to meet.

 • • •

Shadow Days by Andrea Cremer
December 10th, 2012 by Philomel
My Rating:  

Shadow Days follows Shay as he moves to his uncle’s (Bosque Mar’s) mansion in Vale, leading up to that bear attack which begins the events of the Nightshade trilogy. It was great to read from Shay’s POV and learn a bit about him before we meet him in Nightshade through the eyes of Calla. It was quick with Andrea Cremer’s signature writing and lines such as, ”Several hours of reading about Katniss Everdeen’s problems made me decide my life was pretty damn good.” However, it was pretty much filled with things we already knew and so much of the discoveries by Shay within the mansion weren’t that big. Still, it was a nice read and gave me another reason to return to Cremer’s world.

Here I am, finally posting words, thoughts, on three final instalments that I read in the last few months of 2012, even if I have little to say. Hence why these are mini-reviews. These books are Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick, the last book in the Hush Hush quartet, Reached by Ally Condie, the final in the Matched trilogy, and Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, the last in the Caster Chronicles. The final book in series are usually the hardest and most demanding to write, because you not only have to tie all those story arcs and loose ends together perfectly but you have to make it gripping and explosive and memorable, have something in it that the reader will want to return and reread the series. Some writers succeed and some fail; these books are always the most anticipated. And no doubt the most emotional.

• • •

Title: Finale, Hush Hush #4
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publication: October 1st, 2012 by Simon & Schuster Australia
Format, pages: Paperback, 458
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal – Angels, Fantasy
My Rating:  

From Goodreads:

Fates unfurl in the gripping conclusion to the “New York Times” bestselling Hush, Hush saga.

Nora is more certain than ever that she is in love with Patch. Fallen angel or no, he is the one for her. Her heritage and destiny may mean they are fated to be enemies, but there is no turning her back on him. Now Nora and Patch must gather their strength to face one last, perilous trial. Old enemies return, new enemies are made, and a friend’s ultimate betrayal threatens the peace Patch and Nora so desperately want. The battle lines are drawn–but which sides are they on? And in the end, are there some obstacles even love can’t conquer?

Finale was a good conclusion to the Hush Hush series. It’s not the most memorable series of all the books I’ve read and certainly does not make me go cray cray over them, but there’s the plot twists that kept me coming back and the war between the Nephilim and Fallen Angels that kept me interested. Nora isn’t the brightest, and I guess that’s why in Finale she gives me something to remember: that I called this book ‘The Book of Lies and Doping” instead, because that’s all there ever was in Finale in regards to Nora. It certainly made the plot progress but I found it was such a forced plot device like Nora becoming amnesic at the beginning of Silence. It’s these things that are memorable; not much of anything else. I had an inkling and I called the culprit early, which was saddening as I was expecting a little more. But the last fifty pages was what I liked the most, where there was a battle and much action to be lost in until the final page of the book and the series.

• • •

I remember what Anna called the three of us.
The Pilot. The Poet. The Physic.
They are in all of us. I believe this. That every person might have a way to fly, a line of poetry to put down for others to see, a hand to heal.

Title: Reached, Matched #3
Author: Ally Condie
Publication: November 13th, 2012 by Penguin Australia
Format, pages: Paperback, 520
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia, Science Fiction
My Rating:  

From Goodreads: 

After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.

I have to say… I loved the prose in this book. So many amazing lines. Especially in those final pages.

I loved Matched because it was a more subtle and introspective dystopia than what people expect from such a genre – it had little action; it was a change from the usual. I didn’t find Crossed to be all that engrossing because I was expecting more from it, instead of traversing across The Carving. But Reached, oh my… Reached picked up that introspective feel again, and with the beautiful prose and characters there was so much more to love. So much more to think about. So much more to reach. Ally Condie ties the trilogy up perfectly, and if I reread Crossed I know I would enjoy it much more than I had the first time as I’d know why Crossed was Crossed – not a sequel, but rather the middle section of an overarching story. Cassia, Xander and Ky were perfect leading characters and it was sad to leave them behind as I turned the back cover of Reached and reflected on the meaning of this trilogy. Brilliant!

• • •

Maybe there isn’t a meaning to life. Maybe there’s only a meaning to living.

Title: Beautiful Redemption, The Caster Chronicles #4
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Publication: October 26th, 2012 by Penguin Australia
Format, pages: Paperback, 451
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Supernatural, Romance
My Rating:  

From Goodreads: 

Ethan Wate has spent most of his life longing to escape the stiflingly small Southern town of Gatlin. He never thought he would meet the girl of his dreams, Lena Duchannes, who unveiled a secretive, powerful, and cursed side of Gatlin, hidden in plain sight. And he never could have expected that he would be forced to leave behind everyone and everything he cares about. So when Ethan awakes after the chilling events of the Eighteenth Moon, he has only one goal: to find a way to return to Lena and the ones he loves.

Back in Gatlin, Lena is making her own bargains for Ethan’s return, vowing to do whatever it takes — even if that means trusting old enemies or risking the lives of the family and friends Ethan left to protect.

Worlds apart, Ethan and Lena must once again work together to rewrite their fate, in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series.

I pushed myself in December to read Beautiful Chaos and Beautiful Redemption so that I know how it all ends and can have a fresh slate before watching the Beautiful Creatures film and experience this story again but through film and stunning visuals. Beautiful Redemption was a bittersweet ending to this series, but I felt like it needed a lot more – I was waiting for much more, considering everything Ethan goes through to return back to Lena and all the events that lead up to the end ever since the beginning. Sure, there was interesting twists here and there, but the pacing of the plot was all over the place – slow, then fast, slow, then fast. I just wanted to hurry it up and get to the actual conclusion that we have all waited for, the major conflict between Ethan and Angelus, but Angelus was such a sloppily-created villain that I knew he could do no real threat and as much damage as Seraphine had done previously. Obviously, it was probably because I knew Ethan had to win, but everything seemed a bit too easy and smooth sailing (e.g. the fight with Abraham where I was expecting a BATTLE OF HUNDREDS but got a standoff of five). Still, this book would look stunning on the big screen and I cannot wait for all four books to be adapted and for Gatlin County to become reality. Goodbye E&L.

• • •

That’s another three series completed. I wonder what’s next in 2013…

Title: Prodigy, Legend #2
Author: Marie Lu
Publication: January 29th, 2013 by Putnam Juvenile
Format, pages: ARC paperback, 371
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia
My Rating:  

From Goodreads: 

June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

In this highly-anticipated sequel, Lu delivers a breathtaking thriller with high stakes and cinematic action.

This review is coming to you six months too late. Maybe not six months too late, but rather this review was written six months after I read it so details may not be crisp clear. However, having said that, Prodigy was not as memorable as its predecessor Legend. Marie Lu wrote a fantastic sequel, adrenaline-filled and surprises at every turn we make, but it didn’t have that same emotional impact and the momentous occasions that Legend had, occasions that made indelible impressions on me. Maybe it was because I was reading Prodigy at the time I was getting my wisdom teeth out, which was a pretty momentous occasion in itself, stealing my interest away from the book. Maybe. But I’m not going to make reasons for why Prodigy didn’t stand out to me. I will definitely reread Prodigy to see if my thoughts change – most likely before the third book in 2014 – but for now, just know, that Legend was better.

In Prodigy, Lu expands the futuristic society of this world, which we only saw one piece to the puzzle of in Legend. Slowly, Lu gives us more pieces to the puzzle, and in the end creates a visually dynamic and dimensional map for the reader to immerse themselves in and experience. We discover how the continent was split into two separate areas: the Republic and the Colonies. We also see more of the Republic and what lies outside the Republic: a greater world that watches the Republic’s every news, every movement, every change. It is through Day’s and June’s adventures that we get the opportunity to visit a place that they never knew existed, a city of towers of glass and metal, much different to anything in the Republic and the Colonies. This new discovery of theirs comes at a cost, and although it exceeds their wildest imaginations, everything is not what it seems behind its mesmerising facade.

Surprises lurk throughout Prodigy, many you will not expect, with some pertaining to the characters while others about the world. The attraction between June and Day continues to blossom, but while one has someone else vying for their affection, that someone jealous of what they can’t get, the other questions their own situation, fighting an internal battle about who they fit much better with. Prodigy to me was a relationship-heavy book. For most of the time I’d turn my head away or roll my eyes because of the silliness that is present, but I soon realise that these parts of the story further develop each of the characters, the major and the minor. Day and June may seem invincible externally, but internally they fight their own wars, which ends in heartbreak and disillusionment, leaving you, the invested reader, crying out for the third book.

Marie Lu knows her readers, and I’m sure she will continue to use that strength of hers in book three. I’m looking forward to see how Day’s and June’s stories end. I. Need. You. Now. Book. Three! Maybe Prodigy was memorable after all, but like I said, not as memorable and permanent as the legend that was Legend.

A big thank you to Sasha from Sash & Em for sending me an extra ARC she had lying around. Much love!

What others have said about this book:

Steph @ Cuddlebuggery:

Marie Lu has me hook, line and sinker. I’m completely enthralled in this series and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Savannah @ Books With Bite:

Take it from me when I say this is YA at it’s best!! It’s raw and genuine. Nothing that I read before, Prodigy threatens every book out here. Prodigy is EPICNESS!!!

Books in this series:

1. Legend (November, 2011)
2. Prodigy (January, 2013)
3. Untitled (2014)

‘Ixion’s not a place for friends. They die or they leave. On Ixion you need allies.’

Title: Shine Light, Night Creatures #3
Author: Marianne de Pierres
Publication: November 1, 2012 by Random House Australia
Format, pages: Paperback, 239
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia
My Rating:  

From Goodreads:

Ixion. The island of ever-night.

If she had a choice, Naif wouldn’t go back. But her friends will die if she doesn’t find a cure for the badges that are slowly killing them, and her brother is there, fighting against the Ripers who hold everyone in thrall. And Naif has knowledge that might save them all.

First she must solve the mystery of Ixion’s eternal night. Then she must convince everyone – rebels and revellers alike – to join her cause. And all the while, she must fight the urge to go to Lenoir – her greatest love, her mortal enemy.

The secrets of Ixion must be revealed. The evils must be stopped. A new dawn will come.

When you get a book, begin reading immediately, and devour it within a matter of hours, then that book must be juicy and gripping and excellent. Shine Light was one of those books. After reading Burn Bright and Angel Arias last year, all I wanted to do was find out how everything concluded – Naif’s conquest, the Ripers’ ruination, the night creatures’ survival… and Ixion’s illumination. I wanted to know more, experience more, discover more; and I sure did get more than I had hoped.

Shine Light was a fantastic final instalment in the Night Creatures series. If you had any questions or speculations from the previous two books then have no fear. Answers slowly come to light as we journey from Ruzalia’s airship to Danskoi, beginning to end. Have you ever wondered why Ixion was forever, eternally in darkness? Shine light, burn bright, and READ THIS BOOK, baby bats, because then you will learn why. Marianne de Pierres bleeds the pages of Shine Light with wonder, pleasure, knowledge… and most of all, hope for a brighter world.

In Shine Light Naif and those she befriended along the way in Burn Bright and Angel Arias return to Ixion to uncover the many secrets and mysteries that have been buried beneath the feet of its ignorant and carousing youth and veiled behind a sky of darkness. As Naif and crew learn about the truths of Ixion, so does the reader – truths continue to spring from the pages, like mice triggering traps for some wanted goodness they rarely ever come across. And once Naif and co. do, they use their new-found knowledge to bring good, hope, and light to Ixion.

This series has a splendid cast of characters; each character changes in ways we do not expect them to, especially in Shine Light. I loved the addition of Liam in Angel Arias, and to learn more about him and the person he is – or was – in Shine Light was great, as well as his relationship with Suki (Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!) and the overarching role he played/s in Ixion’s past, present and future. One character that changed considerably was Lenoir. Lenoir sacrificed a lot to help Naif and company achieve what they set out to do, even if it harmed him. After all, there is no good without sacrifice. And sacrifice he sure did. And Naif and Jarrod and Emilia… all the feels!

Shine Light was complete; the Night Creatures series is complete. However, when I reached the end of this book I was a bit surprised. Sure, I was surprised at everything that happened in the last thirty or so pages, but I was really surprised at how fast the final pages and climax was; it came and it went. I just wish there was more conflict, that it was drawn out, and that there was something… more. It concluded all too fast considering how much of the book focused on uncovering the truths and righting them. It ended great, just not the great I was expecting. But I still really, really enjoyed it! And the very end – I. Loved. It! I continue to wonder what happens next (I found it quite reminiscent of The Phantom of the Opera, however that is just my interpretation). If there’s ever an opportunity to return to Ixion, I’ll be there with streamers in my hands and bells on my feet.

Other books in the series:

• Burn Bright (March, 2011)
• Angel Arias (October, 2011)
• Shine Light (November, 2012)

Don’t miss the upcoming Shine Light Blog Tour – With A Difference!

‘What if she won’t come with me?”
‘Oh, she’ll come,’ Terra Spiker says. ‘It’s the fate of all creators; they fall in love with their creations.’

Title: Eve and Adam
Authors: Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate
Publication: October 1st, 2012 by Hardie Grant Egmont
Format, pages: Uncorrected Bound Proof Paperback, 312
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
My Rating:  

Sixteen-year-old Evening Spiker lives an affluent life in San Francisco with her mother, EmmaRose, a successful geneticist and owner of Spiker Biotech. Sure, Evening misses her father who died mysteriously, but she’s never really questioned it. Much like how she’s never stopped to think how off it is that she’s never been sick. That is, until she’s struck by a car and is exposed to extensive injuries. Injuries that seem to be healing faster than physically possible.

While recuperating in Spiker Biotech’s lush facilities, she meets Solo Plissken, a very attractive, if off-putting boy her age who spent his life at Spiker Biotech. Like Evening, he’s never questioned anything… until now. Solo drops hints to Evening that something isn’t right, and Emma-Rose may be behind it. Evening puts this out of her mind and begins her summer internship project: To simulate the creation of the perfect boy. With the help of Solo, Evening uncovers secrets so big they could change the world completely.

Goodreads || Book Depository

The first thing I did earlier this year when I found out about this book was squee like tomorrow was never coming. If you know me then you know that whatever book Michael Grant comes out with… I. Will. Read! But seeing that Eve and Adam was written by both Michael Grant and wife Katherine Applegate, Animorphs creator and The One and Only Ivan author, then you would suspect that the book will be nothing short of extraordinary. Why shouldn’t it? Eve and Adam was extraordinary to some degree, but that depends on how you view this book. If you read Eve and Adam expecting it to be exactly like the Gone series or BZRK or some literary wonder, then you’re not thinking straight – you’re glitched! Sure Eve and Adam is imperfect, but after all, this book explores imperfections; it’s about imperfections… and perfections. And you know what else? It’s freaking commercial!

Basically the synopsis is all you need to know about Eve and Adam. What it does not say though is that it is fast-paced and you will have it down before you have even started. Having read most of Michael Grant’s work, from the first page there is this aura that immediately makes me aware that it is his writing. I did not even notice changes in the writings between Eve’s chapters (written obviously by Katherine) and Solo’s/Adam’s (Michael’s); they transitioned seamlessly. I enjoyed Eve and Adam as I do all of Michael Grant’s work, but there was this sense that they intended to write a story much too sarcastic and outlandish for its own kind. The thought that this was a “toy” for this married duo rather than a ‘I’m-taking-this-seriously-book’ was in the forefront of my mind for most of the time. But these thoughts did not influence me in anyway. I enjoyed Eve and Adam for what it was.

Oh there was insta-luv, but an insta-luv I accepted. I didn’t find Eve and Adam to be heavily built upon the romance so it didn’t bother me. The romance in this book was a side dish to the main course of the science fiction elements, the genetic manipulation and engineering. Within 300 pages how else were you going to set up a relationship that was important in making the plot proceed? Solo’s character was very self-driven because of his haunting past. Once he befriends Eve and they form a relationship, he discovers more about himself and his parents as well as his role in the Spiker organisation. He feels like such a prisoner in that environment and wants to break out. To him, everything that Spiker is doing is wrong, so he attempts to save not only his own skin but the lives of others that may fall victim to the hands of the corporation – he especially wants to save Eve, who is just as lost in this new-found world and life of hers after her accident.

If you want something thoroughly entertaining where suspending your disbelief is required, then Eve and Adam is the “perfect” book. If you don’t suspend your disbelief then this book is going to have a hard time convincing you as to what may happen in a future ahead of our time. After all, quite a lot of it has already happened today. Eve and Adam is farcical and you should finish it having been entertained. Or at least leave wondering why no one is staring at you since you are the most perfect and hottest being on this planet… second to Adam.

Most recent thought: Eve and Adam felt like a one episode sitcom cross soap opera.