young adult Archives - Page 18 of 19

Yzabel / July 22, 2012

Review: Cinder

My rating: [rating=4]

Retellings of tales usually attract my attention, even though I haven’t read that many of them. Add to this the idea of a *cyborg* Cinderella, and of course I had to give it a shot.

The first thing to say is I had a hard time putting it down. On the one hand, because it is a retelling and makes uses of fairy tales codes, the story follows patterns that make it predictable (it is easy, for instance, to tell who Cinder really is, and I think the author clealry did that on purpose). On the other hand, “Cinder” falls, for me, into this category of books whose events you can predict, yet at the same time are nevertheless thrilled to see happen. Moreover, the tale itself wasn’t all there was to it, since it was intertwined with other plots (the plague, the threat of a war); in fact, I’m not sure that the Cinderella part was that essential to the story as a whole… but all in all, I still enjoyed the cross-references, and the overall plot also removed the problem of “already knowing where it’s going”.

The main character is a skilled cyborg mechanic, with still enough of her human body to long for a place in a society that rejects the likes of her, and not human enough anymore for that same society to fully accept her as more than a mere ward. Not considering the fact that “skilled cyborg mechanic” already sold me from the start, Cinder is also an interesting person to follow. She has spunk, a will of her own, she’s intelligent and resourceful, she fights to lead her own life, and she doesn’t hesitate to act, rather than just runaway—she’s very far from the passive Cinderella from the tale. At times, she was maybe a little too focused on herself, but it didn’t detract from her that much.

Prince Kai, too, is a fairly nice modern retelling of his original counterpart: more than just a handsome prince, he actively thinks about the future of his country, weighs the choices he has to make, and is ready to personal sacrifice if this can ensure the well-being of his people. The relationship that builds between him and Cinder throughout the story is also believable, not instant love, not instant recognition, but feelings and interests that develop through their encounters.

Finally, I was fascinated by the world developed by the author. The tense relations between the Earth and Luna, the devastating plague, a setting not so often used in YA literature (Asia, (New) Beijing), the suspected plans laid out by the Lunars… There was more to “Cinder” than what I suspected at first, and that world seems to stand its own (I hope the next installments will confirm this, since they’ll take place in other settings on Earth and Luna). If one thing, though, I would really have appreciated getting more of a ‘feeling’ for the atmosphere of New Beijing. I couldn’t really picture it, apart from the use of a few honorifics, characters’ names, or the market place. It was too bad, because this setting was part of what thrilled me when I picked the book, and I regretted not seeing, not feeling more of it.

Yzabel / July 20, 2012

Review: The Pledge

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

My rating: [rating=1]

Having been studying linguistics for years, and being interested in whatever is related to the concept of language in general, I was naturally drawn towards this book. A dystopian society divided in classes (castes, rather) through the means of languages, or rather of lackthereof, for the lowest ones? Of course I was bound to perk my ears, manner of speaking. I wanted to see what the author would do with such an idea.

Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed.

I did find a few redeemable things in “The Pledge”. Events that flowed one into each other, for instance. A fast-paced plot in the second part. And a definitely evil and cunning opponent, who would resort to any means to keep on ruling, because it’s what she’s always done, and what both people and other rulers expect from a country’s leader—in order to hold society together. I like evil characters with a definite agenda. It was clear from the beginning that Sabara would be a bitch, and she didn’t disappoint me.

Then came the problems, which turned to be too many for me to enjoy the book.

The role of language, first: why, why, why wasn’t it exploited as much as it could have been? There would have been so many interesting issues to develop here, so many possibilities, beyond the evident aspect of “being able to understand what the others can’t”. Granted, it was presented here as a means to divide people and keep them in their respective castes; however, this was only, in my opinion, a very basic use of the potential destructive functions of language (getting rid of abstract concepts so that people wouldn’t be able to express and rally around them anymore, for instance), and it’s a shame the author didn’t go further with those.

The plot was highly predictable. From the very first chapter, the one with the Queen, I sensed where this would be leading to, and what kind of final confrontation I could expect. Since I don’t consider myself a particularly keen reader (I can never find the culprit in mystery novels), it must mean it was really easy to foresee. Worst was the world depicted in the novel. However great and plausible the idea of language as control, the world itself didn’t seem very logical to me, continuously poising between dystopia and fantasy, as if the author herself couldn’t choose what she wanted to write about. Although it does have a dystopian atmosphere, its roots were very unclear; the names of long-gone cities suggest that Ludania was built on the ruins of the USA, yet what led to its current state jarred too much with such origins. How come a matrilinear monarchy came to replace the former governments, not only in this country, but everywhere in the world? How come people remembered the failure of a ‘democratic revolution’, but not democracy would have been in place even before the monarchy? (And really, historically-speaking, the USA are one of the last countries I’d expect to see veering towards such a type of government. It doesn’t add up.) The powers, too: every Queen is supposed to have some kind of power or powers—Sabara’s hint more at magic, even, than at ‘mere’ psychic powers. How did those appear? Creating a skewed society isn’t enough, in my opinion, to make a good dystopia; here it would have been more useful for the author to simply create her own fantasy world.

As for the characters, I never felt any connection with them. Charlie was only special because of her power, not because of her personality. I felt like all she did throughout the story was to let herself be carried by events, never taking any real decision, nor having any real goal (save for ‘protect my sister’) that would contribute to move the plot forward. I could see no reason why Max, the ‘mysterious boy’, would be attracted to her with such intensity, and the whole romance moved way too fast. At least Angelina had that mysterious side of never opening her mouth to speak, so it was a cause for mild wonder. But Charlie? I was never interested in her, from beginning to end. The other characters weren’t that interesting either, too predictable in their roles and behaviours; I didn’t even understand what Sydney’s role was supposed to be, because whether she was here or not, it didn’t change anything—was she here to show only what pure and kind a soul Charlie is?

I did finish “The Pledge”, and managed not to give up along the way; only I found mysef skimming rather than reading (which is why I read it so fast, come to think of it), and this is a dead-ringer that such a book didn’t amount to much to me.

Yzabel / July 19, 2012

Review: Mockingjay

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: [rating=3]

This is another book I’m not sure how to rate. I’ve given it three stars, as an average mark, but it’d be probably closer to 2.5, if I wanted to be really judgmental (which I’m not going to be, because I still went on reading it quickly, a usual sign that all in all, the story hooked me).

I really, really liked its setting, the backdrop of war depicted in it, with all its ambiguities and varying moral mileage. Maybe those are themes a harsh for a YA novel, but they still gave me the full feeling of a dystopian world here. The Capitol’s depiction as “the side on which the bad guys are on” was clearly tempered by the fact that the rebels’ thought processes aren’t so pure either. Overruling a tyrannical government? Sure, but such a feat won’t come without sacrifices, nor without having to think like your enemies to anticipate their actions… and the fine line between ‘thinking like’ and ‘acting like’ is a fragile one, rather easy to cross. Some characters did cross it—some who appeared above that at first, too. Others remained true to themselves, yet never got out of it unscarred either. The overall atmosphere was quite a desperate one, with its gruesome lot of realistic and no-nonsense situations, diverging opinions, tension-inducing plans, and intensity. Perhaps a little too much sometimes.

There’s also a couple of characters (not always the main ones) whose evolution I liked seeing. Peeta seemed to grow a backbone at last, be more fierce, and show himself as someone who could be dangerous on his own, not only a human shield for Katniss. It came with a price, of course, yet it was interesting to see him go through what befell him—in spite of his (believable) pleas for death, in the end, he was the true survivor. Same goes in my opinion for Johanna (ah, snarky, unpleasant Johanna—I don’t even know how I came to like her, but I do) and Finnick, for coming in the open about what was really going on between the scenes. Finnkic, who got me quite scared at some point, alright, since his path was mirroring Katniss’s so much.

And that’s the part where the author lost me: Katniss’s evolution. She used to be so strong, so active, such a decision-maker. In “Mockingjay”, she’s a mere hull of herself, wallowing in self-pitying, shutting down to the rest of the world, uncaring about what’s going to happen. Alright, she went through many hardships, and those would be painful to anyone, especially a 17-to-18-year-old girl, but… but did we really need to read about this for 300 pages? So she was more of a pawn, a symbol than anything else—but couldn’t she take it into her hands again, and shape the tide actively? Instead, it took quite some time before she accepted to become the Mockinjay, and once she embraced that state, it didn’t last for long: I felt that it was really all for show, that she didn’t really care inside, and if she didn’t, well, why should I? I can’t even blame it on president Snow attempting to break her through Peeta; it looked like she was actively breaking herself, too. The other problem with her, too, was that she remained confined to the background or the sides of the war (the “getting knocked down and waking up in the hospital” moments quickly started to grate on my nerves). I wanted to see her IN the main action! Not telling me about it after seeing it on the news or hearing it from other characters or whatever. This changed in the second half with the Capitol mission, yet even then, she got to see the final battle from the background (and was once again knocked out, thus being shut out of this battle… and I the reader was deprived of another important scene).

And Gale. What the hell, Gale? Did Collins so wanted to put you out of the picture that she had to make you so annoying in this book? Why not killing you off, then? It would’ve been more useful. Poor Gale. I liked him in the previous novels, liked what a stronghold he could be for Katniss to go back to. However, I was under the impression that they shunned each other too much here, that they weren’t even trying… and that the final choice in the love triangle was made from the start. There’s no point in building a triangle then, right?

Finally, I didn’t know how to stand regarding the bleak feeling pervading the book. On the one hand, it greatly contributed to carrying across the author’s message about the futility of wars, and how humans do repeat the errors of the past. On the other hand, was it really necessary to enforce it through the rushed death of certain characters? People die, well, fine, I get it. But killing off Finnick and Primrose in such ways was just meaningless for the first, and way too fast for the other (not to mention that it would have had more impact on us readers too if we had got to know and see her more before that…).

To conclude: excellent setting and narrative conclusion to this trilogy, but poor execution (no pun intended) regarding a few of the characters, including, unfortunately, some of the really major ones.

Yzabel / July 18, 2012

Review: Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

My rating: [rating=4]

Before I started reading the Hunger Games trilogy, a lot of people warned me about the second and third books not being on par with the first one. However, now that I’m done with “Catching Fire”, I feel it’s not really the case for me. This novel was different, and didn’t deal with exactly what one might have expected at first, but in the end, I found it just as enjoyable as the first one.

I appreciated the issues it tackled: the soured homecoming; how nothing could ever be the same again in spite of victory; how victory itself proved to be a form of defeat, as if whatever the Hunger Games’ issues, nothing good could ever be got out of them—something we readers were already aware of, and that was imprinted even more severely on the characters here. For me, this second volume was full of a constant underlying tension slowly spiralling up towards a final intense momentum.

I don’t think the 75th Hunger Games came too late in the book (although I would have appreciated to see a little more of Katniss’s and Peeta’s reaction about the Quarter Quell announcement), because I’m not sure I would’ve enjoyed a story that would have been ‘only’ about such games again. The first half was much useful in distillating the right atmosphere of fear, doubts and ill omens about what would happen; while the revelations at the end, about what was really going on and who was involved, provided a note of hope… yet one that could easily be turned into despair again. I felt that “Catching Fire” was continuously poising on a very narrow line here, just like a rope-walker would do: between hope and its loss; between spreading fire and how it could just as well end up in cold, useless embers; between courage and fear; threats and responding to them; potential friends and potential enemies, and the uncertainty about who was what. I think this greatly contributed, in my eyes, to the intensity of this second part of the trilogy.

But—there is a but—I wasn’t too thrilled about the love triangle aspect here. Perhaps because the two boys appear to be a little too similar? I was annoyed at Katniss’s inability to choose, to realize who she really loves, but really, choosing in such circumstances is just so hard. It would probably have been more interesting if Gale and Peeta had been more contrasted characters.

Yzabel / July 16, 2012

Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: [rating=4]

I’ve had the Kindle version of “The Hunger Games” sitting on my reader for a few weeks, and now that I finally got to read it, I’m wondering: why didn’t I do that sooner? The only reason I didn’t read this book in two days instead of one is probably that I’m staying at friends’ for part of my holidays; had I been left to my own devices, it probably wouldn’t have lasted that long. One thing I can’t deny it is that it’s definitely a page-turner.

The world in which the novel is set seems consistent. We don’t get to know everything about it, but life in Ditrict 12 was described with enough accuracy for me to feel what it must be like; same with the actual setting of the Hunger Games themselves, and the events that unfolded during them, each tribute having to survive not only the others, but also the natural environment—well, ‘natural’ inasmuch as it was crafted by the government, that is. As usual in dystopian novels, I want to know more about what led to such a government, and what happened to the rest of the world, and we’re not given information about that; however, I was still under the impression that this information was lying somewhere behind the scenes, and that the author had actually thought about it. I’m eager to see if books 2 and 3 will confirm this. (I don’t want a whole history book; just the feeling that the world is well-built, even if 90% of that building work is never actually used in the course of the story.)

I didn’t find the characters extremeely developed, but they were enough to make me believe in their presence, and enough to play the part I wanted to see them play. Mostly they showed themselves as sharp and resourceful, and even some that seemed like goners from the start proved that they were able to put on a fight of their own, in their own ways. Although I’m not sure yet about where the whole romance aspect is going to head, I liked how slanted it was: not insta-love, and with the underlying suspicion that it was all an act. (I bet it isn’t, not really, but Katniss seemed to be confused enough about it for me to wonder if she fell in love for real, yet believed she was only acting her part? Or did she act all along? Could such intensity be faked? The fact that she doesn’t get Peeta’s feelings until the end also adds to this twisted side of the romance. Besides, let’s not forget that in such situations of survival, sometimes instincts make people act differently than they would have in normal circumstances, and I think that this could be important here, too.)

The story itelf isn’t the most original per se; the concept of man-hunting isn’t new in writing, and it’s been seen more than once already. That said, even though it’s nothing new, and I suspected where it was going from an early time on, I still liked it, just as I liked the slight twist at the end of the Games. There are times when expecting something and seeing it happen just fills me with thrill; it was the case here. The characters also remain immersed into the action, without spending much useless time on wallowing in guilt, nor giving in to remorse at just the wrong moment. This isn’t always easy to pull. However, one thing I thought was missing, was some real confrontation between Katniss and someone she actually cared about. It seemed to me that conveniently enough, the painful choice of having to face one of her ‘allies’ was always removed from her. For instance, sooner or later she would have had to kill Rue, but she never had to make that choice. The same goes with the wasps or the berries: the direct act of killing was tempered by the ‘natural’ buffer put between killer and victims. Even the poisoning act was, somehow, a way of avoiding a direct kill. I know this is a YA novel, but it would have been even more powerful if once, just once, such a choice had had to be made, and things hadn’t been made ‘easier’ for Katniss in that regard.

Yzabel / July 11, 2012

Review: The Moon Dwellers

The Moon Dwellers by David Estes

My rating: [rating=4]

(Book read and reviewed for {Read It & Reap 78} in the Shut Up And Read group.)

I wish my rating pluging allowed me to give .5 stars, because I’d clearly put this one at 4.5/5 stars. Well, I’d put a 5/5 if not for one thing, that I’ll expand on later on.

Having read David Estes’s first novel, “Angel Evolution”, barely a few days ago, I was amazed to discover to which extent this author’s writing has developed in this new, beginning trilogy. This is clearly a work for which said author took into account various critiques, and used them to improve his writing and storytelling. The result is, frankly, very good.

“The Moon Dwellers” follows two characters on two opposite ends on the social scale: Adele, a young woman who’s been sentenced to jail for life, but decides to escape with her friends Tawni and Cole and find her scattered family again; and Tristan, elder son of the allmighty President, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but intent on estranging himself from this life that doesn’t feel like his own. The story is told in the first person, from the alternating points of view pf Adele and Tristan; while such an exercise in writing can be quite hazardous, here it works well, allowing us to learn more and more about those characters and what their lives are like.

I especially enjoyed said characters’ personalities. Adele and her friends have had to become strong during their stay in jail, and they don’t let anyone dictate them how to behave—they don’t hesitate to fight, and they do it well and with spunk, too, both physically and through sarcasm. As for Tristan and Roc, the one isn’t such the pampered prince as a lot of people believe him to be, and the other, albeit not the best when it comes to handling a weapon, is terrific in the way he managed to keep his sense of humour throughout dark times. Their friendship, too, is made of solid mettle, and feels genuine and very much present.

The one thing I wasn’t too keen on was the ‘insta-connection’ between Adele and Tristan; it has nothing to do with “The Moond Dwellers” per se, it’s simply I as a reader who’s never felt convinced by such strong attractions upon first sight. Also, I thought that at times, events unfolded a little too neatly (the various bomb attacks, especially), reinforcing that aspect of ‘destiny bringing everyone and everything together’. I suppose you either like it or not.

This said, I am nonetheless eager to read the next volume!

(As a side note, I find the cover’s composition absolutely fascinating. The more I look at it, the more it grows on me.)

Yzabel / July 3, 2012

Review: Matched

Matched by Ally Condie

My rating: [rating=3]

To be honest, I’m not sure how to rate this book, so I gave it an average mark. Let’s say, 2.5 to 3 stars.

I kept on putting it down, then taking it again to go on reading. Regularly, I felt like I was getting bored with the story, yet I still felt like I wanted to see it unwind. I think this was due to the characters, with whom I didn’t really feel a connection. I liked discovering what happened to them (even though it was predictable enough, in a way), and they had their good sides, but they just felt a little too dull to me. Neither good nor bad, neither very interesting nor utterly boring. Some of their reactions were a little ill-timed—among other things, Cassia paying attention to Ky just because of that one glitch seemed just a little too convenient to keep my suspension of disbelief totally intact; it would’ve been different had we been introduced to Ky a little earlier on, perhaps, and had we seen the heroine already paying some attention to him as a friend (as it is, he appeared as an almost complete stranger at first, when he was actually someone she had had contact with more than just once, if only at school or games).

Other sides of the novel also left me with mixed feelings. The Society depicted in it was both detailed and not detailed enough, with certain of its aspects coming in as unexpected—unexpected as in “wait, where did that come from?”. For instance, we are told about a war, and all of sudden it’s like some people seemed to knew all along and aren’t surprised at all; only after a while, it’s also like they don’t care anymore, or have forgotten about it. Was Cassia surprised by such news, or not? I couldn’t determine. I sure would’ve liked this element to be introduced sooner for the reader’s benefit.

And yet, I kept coming back to the book, wanting to read more. So I can’t say I disliked it. I just don’t know where to stand regarding it.

Maybe I’ll read the second installment. Maybe not. Even this I don’t know yet. It’s quite weird.

Yzabel / July 1, 2012

Review: Talented

Talented by Sophie Davis

My rating: [rating=3]

(The ebook was provided to me by the author herself, after I answered an ARR in the We ♥ YA Books! group.)

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the world developed in Sophie Davis’s novel. While it seems to be divided into two clear camps at first, it soon appeared to me that the dichotomy was far from being so evident, and that factions and characters were bound to harbour secrets and hidden standards. The last chapters sure didn’t disappoint me in that regard. I also enjoyed discovering how the Agency works, what kind of jobs its employees perform, as well as how missions are carried—I like to see that such ‘details’ were taken into account. The use of varied Talents offer those agents diverse opportunities, and it was interesting to read about that.

The reason why I’m giving it 3 stars ‘only’ is that I was however left with a lingering feeling of frustration at the themes developed throughout the story. I would have liked to see more of Talia’s challenges regarding her job as a Hunter, her desire for revenge, the means she would employ to do so, the choice she had to make between saving herself or enacting her revenge… I understand that this novel is not a standalone, and that such aspects are likely to be developed in book 2 or 3—in other words, that they’re part of a bigger picture. That’s not what frustrated me. I simply thought, when I read the summary, that they’d be keynotes of the story, and in the end, I felt that they were put aside in favour of the developing love triangle. I think I’d have liked this novel best if the romance part had been left to grow in a more balanced way along what I had expected to read about.

The file also contained recurrent typos, such as inverted words and commas in weird places. Unfortunately for me, I’m too trained to notice those things, and they tend to quickly become annoying.

Other than that, I was glad to be handed out this ebook. I spent good moments reading it.

Yzabel / June 30, 2012

Review: Mary

Mary by Ann Haines

My rating: [rating=4]

Mary, a 17-year-old girl from London, moves to lovely Eires Green with her father, mother and grandmother. After a series of bad decisions that led to very dark moments in her life, this is her chance at starting anew: new town, new house, new school, new friends… maybe even a boyfriend! Things definitely seem to be looking up for Mary, who grows to enjoy Bell House more than she thought, and can finally hope to find a place of her own here. However, the more she discovers about her new home, the more she realizes that Bell House hasn’t always been devoid of tragedy… and that tragedy might strike again.

As odd as my way of wording it might sound, this novella had a nicely refreshing spookiness. Little by little, the reader is presented with tiny, light touches of eeriness that help the tension build up in a discrete yet efficient manner; they contrast all the more, in restrospect, with the many apparent perfections of Eires Green. At the same time, it was a refreshing read, in that it didn’t leave me with the feeling of just any ghost story. I was pulled in from the beginning, always wanting to know what would happen in the next chapter, and trying to piece up the hints the author scatters along her story; this is not something I make the effort of doing when I’m not so interested in a book.

If I should list one thing I couldn’t really wrap my mind around, unfortunately, it was the fast pace at which relationships evolved in the story. Although that pace made sense once I reached the end and realized why things came to be that way, it was still going too fast to my liking in terms of chronology (one week seemed too short a time frame to develop such relationships—I guess a few weeks would have felt more ‘natural’).

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed reading “Mary”, and will heartily recommend it.

Yzabel / June 26, 2012

Review: 101

101 by Margaret Chatwin

My rating: [rating=4]

(Book read and reviewed for {Read It & Reap 71} in the Shut Up And Read group.)

After years of abuse at the hands of their father, Trigg and his sister Ren do the unthinkable: they defend themselves… and are taken down for this by the expeditive judicial system of the New Age Order, which sends them both to prison town 101. As Trigg decides to go looking for his sister, and discovers quickly that she has actually disappeared from the time of her arrivel, he gets to know more and more about this new little world he’s stuck in, including the fact that 101 holds its own system of eat-or-be-eaten logics, and that nobody on the outside will do anything about it.

This novel was really a page-turner for me—I kept going on for more, and wasn’t happy when I had to stop to do something else (like, oh, going to work). We don’t get to learn that much about the characters; however, what I did learn was enough to give them existence. I liked how Trigg develops, how he learns to cope with his new surroundings, how he decides to take things into his own hands—yet at the same time, he remains a very humane hero, with his doubts, his fears, his emotions. Ren is a strong persona, too, who manages to stand up in spite of the odds. Characters such as Riker and Pintar, albeit not decribed at length, were quite pleasant to read about. As for the antagonist… all I’m going to write for now is that I so enjoyed hating that guy.

I think I would have wanted to see a little more of Ren, or more specifically, how exactly she managed to cope; the story being from Trigg’s point of view, it was a little limited in that regard. (What happened to her, as we learn later in the story, is no bed of roses, and I very much doubt that even a strong persona would go through that unscathed.) Also, while this is a positive point in terms of the action starting quickly, maybe Ren and Trigg’s former life could’ve done with a little more flesh. For instance, I found their father’s behaviour a little strange (was he just a man beating his kids, or did he actually expect something specific from them?…), and I would’ve appreciated learning more about that, even if at the end of the novel only.