REVIEW: Matched - Ally Condie

REVIEW: Matched - Ally Condie

When someone talks about dystopian YA fiction - this trifecta comes to my mind: The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Matched.

Matched is a wonderful YA novel about a society that "matches" you to a mate. Cassia, the lead character, is matched to her best friend Xander, but when viewing her Microcard with Xanders name on it - she learns that she was matched with another - Ky. This turns her world completely upside down and now she has to figure out if she trusts the society which has raised her or investigate everything that she's ever known.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a really good YA dystopian fiction.

Goodreads stars: 5/5

REVIEW: The Maze Runner - James Dashner

REVIEW: The Maze Runner - James Dashner

I had a really hard time getting into this book. I read it for book club, and the consensus was that everyone had a difficult time getting into it. Like with "Uglies" I wished that James Dashner would have kept a thesaurus close by. I understand that these boys are isolated and they are creating the words for the life they are living, but it became incredibly redundant. There were times when I was screaming at the book "OK I GET IT. THEY LIKE THE WORD SHANK." Also, by the end of this book we were lead to believe that each one of these boys are incredibly intelligent - so wouldn't they have multiple words for things? I hardly doubt that Shank is the only word they would come up with to describe each other.

With that said - I did eventually get to the turning point where the book became interesting. The last half of the book I zipped through - and it left me wanting to read the rest of the series to get some answers. However, when I started the next book I quickly realized it was just as frustrating as the first and could not finish it.

The book is becoming a movie which will be released this summer. I think it has potential to translate onto the big screen. As much as I am not a fan of just "seeing the movie", in this case I might just do that as I can not seem to get through the second book.

Goodreads stars: 3/5

REVIEW: Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

REVIEW: Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

I really disliked this book.

I know that it has avid fans, and that is fine. But it was not for me. If there is not one person I can root for in a book, I don't want to read it. The real world is screwed up enough, I don't want to have to live in my books as well. There was not one single character I cared about. Especially after the reveal. In my opinion - both characters had what was coming to them.

Goodreads stars: 1/5

REVIEW: Free to Fall - Lauren Miller

REVIEW: Free to Fall - Lauren Miller

I was recommended this book from Amazon probably due to my love of dystopian YA fiction (Now that I think about it, that seems very ironic to me) . Although this is technically a dystopian story - the future is much closer to present time than most dystopian literature.

The book is set in 2035 and society has now become completely dependent on a technology called Gemini (Apple iPhone) and especially with a program called Lux (Suri anyone?). This day in age, no one makes decisions on their own anymore and require the recommendation for everything from what to eat to what to wear (what to read?) from Lux. It follows the life of Rory Vaughn who has been accepted into an elite school called Theden. As with every dystopian that is around now a days, she falls in love with a boy who is "unplugged" and discovers that Lux may not be the program everyone thinks it is.

This is a typical YA dystopian book that I wouldn't consider earth shattering in any way. It is a good and easy read, but the typical dystopian formula is there so in the future it will be hard to differentiate it from the thousands of other dystopian books that exist.

Goodreads stars: 4/5

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

A decent YA book about a girl who has the perfect life - until she dies. She is given 7 chances to relive her last day and to do things differently and untangle the mystery around her death. While doing this she comes to realize the true meaning of life and the value of the people that surround her. Lauren Oliver did an excellent job of transitioning the lead character from a privileged "mean girl" to that of someone the reader actually cares about. It's a truly heartbreaking tale, but a satisfying one.

Goodreads stars: 4/5

REVIEW: Delirium - Lauren Oliver

REVIEW: Delirium - Lauren Oliver

(Please use this review for the last two books of this series: Pandemonium and Requiem)

This book is what made me fall in love with Lauren Oliver. In the world of dystopian fiction - this book definitely stands out as one of the best. It follows character Lena in a future in which we "cure" everyone of delria nervousa, or as we know it - Love. The society is taught that love is a disease and it is mandatory for all 18 year-olds to have a surgical procedure to make sure they never acquire the disease. Months before her own procedure, Lena falls in love with an invalid named Alex. This throws her life into complete chaos.

I would highly recommend this book if it weren't for one thing - the last book in the series is awful. Poorly written and just ends. Almost as if Lauren Oliver got sick of writing this story and just wanted it to be over. That is what is most heart breaking for me - it really had potential to be in the ranks of The Hunger Games or Divergent, but it seems like Lauren Oliver got bored and ruined it for herself. So really, reading this book is up to you.

You have been warned.

Goodreads stars: 5/5 (book) 2/5 (series)

REVIEW: Alligent - Veronica Roth

REVIEW: Alligent - Veronica Roth

I wouldn't say I was disappointed with this book.

Although not as earth shattering as the first two, I do think that this book was a good wrap up to an amazing book series. I was not a fan of the Four/Tris point of view change, but by the end of the book I realized the necessity of it. I do think that she changed the essence of the series - which is why I think a lot of people were not fans of this last story. I missed the factions and psychological part behind them, but again I understood the change. The book did leave me in a bit of a book hangover though - I was bawling at the end, and I'm still not sure if was because of how it ended or that because it actually was the end. I still recommend this book series to everyone who hasn't already read it, and it is still in the top 5 of my favorite book series of all time.

Goodreads stars: 4/5