Divergent by Veronica Roth

Genre: dystopian, adventure
Series and Book #: Divergent Series #1
Pages: 487
Synopsis:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating, boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept, hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves…or it might destroy her.

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W-O-W. Like, mind-blowing awesomeness is all wrapped up into 487 pages. Veronica Roth is a 2011 debutee and she's created a memorable novel that will attach to you, begging you for more! It's somewhat like other dystopian fiction--government's corrupt but everyone thinks its perfect, the hero/heroine discovers something they never knew about themselves, etc. etc. But Veronica managed to put those things aside. She spent so much time building up the different factions, and it really paid off. Most of the time while I was reading, I was wondering which faction I'd be in (and I still have no idea). It takes a great author to pull a reader into the world and have them considering the same things the MC is.

Four was stellar. The perfect guy you'd ever want to meet. Even if her book was terrible, I'd probably keep reading just for Four. ;)

Overall, Veronica's first novel is a champion. The characters were excellently written, the world was mesmerizing, and it pulled me in, which I think is the biggest aspect of this novel that I love. I can't wait to read more from this series to see how it all ends.

The Cover: AH-MAY-ZING! It was clever to put the symbol of Dauntless on fire, and the dark outline of Chicago in the distance really sets the theme for the book.

Kiersten White's Super Contest!

Most of you know who Kiersten White is, the fabulous author of Paranormalcy. Well, she's having a contest over on her blog where you can win these prizes:

• Signed ARC of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Lani Taylor
• Copy of Lola and the Boy Next Door plus an Anna and the French Kiss bookmark
• Paperback copy of Paranormalcy and hardcover copy of Supernaturally, both signed by Kiersten herself PLUS two signed bookmarks
• BONUS: if you buy both Daughter and Lola, you'll receive a signed copy of Anna and the French Kiss!

Even though it's hurting my chances of winning...(just kidding, I love this contest and I love all my readers!)...sign up for it! It's open internationally, to everyone!
http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com/2011/09/lola-and-daughter-of-smoke-and-books.html

Releases: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, A Beautiful Dark, If I Die

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

 

It can.

 

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

 

There is.

 

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

 
She's wrong.

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

On the night of Skye’s seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites—like fire and ice—Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye’s life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move—only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.
 

In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who she can’t help falling for, and Devin, who she can’t stay away from, the consequences of Skye’s choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine.

If I Die (Soul Screamers #5) by Rachel Vincent

The entire school's talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee's no ordinary high-school junior. She's a banshee—she screams when someone dies.

But the next scream might be for Kaylee.

 

Yeah—it's a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee's going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend's needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren't quite human, either.

 

But Kaylee's borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life.

 

Anything.

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Great selection today. We've got one of my Top Ten picks for 2011 (The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer), a new read that's gotten great reviews (A Beautiful Dark), and the continuation of the Soul Screamers Series, whick I've only read the first one of, but it was a good first novel! Be sure to check these out!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

Genre: social issues
Series and Book #: none
Pages: 310
Synopsis:

Will Grayson, meet Will Grayson

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers cross paths. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, culminating in heroic turns-of-heart and the most epic musical ever to grace the high school stage.

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John Green and David Levithan have created a story that is uniquely theirs, and has two different but alike characters, both named Will Grayson.

Will Grayson #1, or o.w.g, was confused and unsure about who he was and what he wanted. He was also mad at himself for messing up his relationship with his Group of Friends, and being stuck with Tiny Cooper (his not-so-tiny gay best friend), and Tiny's fellow Gay-Straight Alliance friends. Will Grayson #2 is seriously pessimistic and depressed, but he has Isaac, a boy he's met on the Internet, to cling to. And that's what's keeping him afloat, while o.w.g's float is Tiny. But when o.w.g and Will Grayson #2 meet, things start to come undone for them and the rules they've built for themselves start to become obsolete as they're lives smash together, and they stop not-feeling.

This book had many, many strengths (including the final chapters with the musical) but the swearing was overpowering, if not unnecessary. I understand that cursing is required to put a point across with more force than someone would usually use, but to use it as often as John and David did, I thought it was needless.

Overall, John Green writes in the usual, poetic way he has, and David Levithan (although I don't think I've read any of his previous novels) makes Will Grayson #2 come across as the person he thought he was, and the transformation was subtle enough that I thought it was nonexistent. Even though the beginning was rocky, and I had trouble looking past the constant swearing, I loved the end and the message it sent: be yourself, no matter who you are.

The Cover: I thought the lights catch the reader's eye, and the Will Grayson's were right to be nearly blending. 

Releases This Week

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (September 20)

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses. The one who has never done anything remarkable, and can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior, and he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.
Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.
Most of the chosen do.

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey (September 20)

It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died.

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants—what she must do—is to bring Danny back.

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it.

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her—and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right.

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought—even if it means breaking her heart all over again.

Beautiful Days (Bright Young Things #2) by Anna Godbersen (September 20)

For the bright young things of 1929, the beautiful days seem endless, filled with romance and heartbreak, adventure and intrigue, friendship and rivalry.

After a month in New York, Cordelia Grey and Letty Larkspur are small-town girls no longer. They spend their afternoons with Astrid Donal at the Greys’ lush Long Island estate and their nights in Manhattan’s bustling metropolis. But Letty’s not content to be a mere socialite. She is ready at last to chase her Broadway dreams—no matter the cost.

Cordelia is still reeling from the death of her father at the hands of Thom Hale, the man she thought she loved. Now she is set to honor Darius Grey’s legacy . . . and take her revenge.

Promised to Cordelia’s half brother, Astrid is caught up in a world of dazzling jewels and glittering nights—and the sparkle is blinding. Charlie Grey is a gangster playing a dangerous game; and for Astrid, Cordelia, and Letty, the stakes could be deadly.

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The Girl of Fire and Thorns sounds like an interesting, suspenseful, romantic, dystopian read with unique qualities.

Cold Kiss sounds like other books I've read before, if not a bit creepy. This seems like a novel for a chilly winter day.

Beautiful Days, the sequel to Bright Young Things (which I still need to read) sounds just as great as the prequel. I love the 1920's, and I really liked Anna's novel The Luxe, so these sound amazing!

Daily Dose (34)

Daily Dose is a weekly meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly where we share photos we've found on the Internet.

Release: Away (The Line #2) by Teri Hall

After crossing the Line, Rachel finds herself in a world where survival is never guaranteed - a world where bizarre creatures roam the woods and people have strange abilities. Everything has gone to ruin Away and the survivors have banded into warring clans. Rachel finds her father being held prisoner by a tribe of Others, and she and her new friends set out to rescue him. But when they cross back over the Line, Rachel and Pathik make a foolish decision, bringing them into further danger that can only be resolved with an unthinkable sacrifice.

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I have yet to read the prequel to Away, titled The Line, but I can't wait to see what its about. I always enjoy reading dystopian novels just because they're always thrilling, paranormal whirlwinds filled with action and romance. Can't wait to see if this is as great as it looks!