YA Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth
© May 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books

Goodreads description:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated 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.

My Thoughts...


I loved this book so much and I now "gush" about it all the time to anyone who will listen! My poor fellow library employees are probably sick of me popping up recommending this book all the time--but you seriously must read it!  Do you need me to convince YOU?  Alright then--read on!

In Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago, the world is divided into factions that focus on human qualities--bravery, intelligence, honesty, peacefulness, and selflessness.  This world drew me in from the beginning because it made me thing about where I would belong in such a world. Do we all have a quality that stands out above all others? Is there any one faction that I would feel at home in? (Well, with my love of reading, I must admit a fondness for Erudite at the beginning...)

Beyond the highly imaginative world that Roth throws the reader in, she's given us fantastic characters to latch on to.  Our main character here is Beatrice/Tris, the unlikely hero from Abnegation who makes difficult choices at every turn. Where does she belong? What's the right choice? Who can she trust?  Tris displays selflessness throughout while proving her bravery time and time again, whether she's jumping off buildings or fighting for her life.  Tris is a perfect exemplar of the difficulty of fitting a person into one specific "bubble."  And boy, is she FIERCE. She is an incredibly likeable main character that you will cheer for throughout the book.  I guarantee you will become attached to her and beg for more of her story.

Now let's talk love interest--this one sizzles.  I'm not going to lie--I love a good book with a sexy love interest.  Give me a hot boy and chances are I'll read the whole book just to see him over and over again. Four ranks high on my list of sexy book boyfriends.  He is strong and swoon-worthy at every turn.  He isn't at the foreground of the story right away and I liked that while Tris felt drawn to him it wasn't an "inst-love" situation.  She takes awhile to really realize her feelings towards him as she gets to know him.

This book is fabulous.  If you can't guess, I'm trying really hard not to start giving too much away in talking about this--something I definitely struggle with (especially since I'm that weirdo person who reads the end of a book first).  If you enjoy action-packed, quick-paced dystopian reads, then this book is definitely for you. I know it's the obvious comparison but if you like The Hunger Games, then I think you'll love Divergent.  The only sad thing is that you'll have to wait to read the next installment!

Did I mention Veronica is also awesome?  I met her at the Dark Days of Supernatural signing in Naperville, IL, and was so fangirl nervous that I actually told her that my cats ate the cover of my first copy of my book.  Then I wanted to run and hide because I couldn't believe I actually said that... But she was super nice and didn't laugh at me to much. :-D  And she of course still signed my book (you know, my new copy, not marred by kitty teeth marks...)

What did YOU think of Divergent?

YA Book Review: Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston

Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston
© 21 December 2010 by HarperTEen

Goodreads description:

"I don't love Sonny Flannery."

That's the lie Kelley Winslow told to protect the boy she loves from a power he doesn't know he possesses. Devastated, Sonny retreats—to a haven for Lost Fae that's hidden deep underneath New York City. 

But Kelley's not about to let things end in heartbreak. To get Sonny back, she's got to find out who's after his magick—and how to use her own. She's got to uncover who's recruiting Janus Guards to murderously hunt innocent Faerie. She's got to help rebuild the shattered theater company she called family. And she's got to do it all without getting dangerously distracted by the Fennrys Wolf, whose legendary heart of stone seems to melt whenever he's around Kelley.

Thoughts, Musings, Ramblings...


**Spoiler warning! While there shouldn't be any Tempestuous spoilers here, there may be spoilers for the first two books in the series.  If you're interested in the books, start with my review of Wondrous Strange!**


Since this is the final book in the trilogy, allow me a moment to bask in my cover lust. *sigh*  Aren't the covers of these books seriously beautiful?!  I think the artist who worked on these is a genius.  Seriously--beautiful.  The female models perfectly captures Kelley for me, and the covers invoke just the right amount of magical-ness.

Now, moving on to the story, while I wasn't enraptured with book 2 (Darklight), I appreciated everything that I learned in the book as I dived headfirst into this book.  I felt like I knew the characters going in--like they were old friends.  This final book had everything that I felt like the second was lacking - action, action, action!

Ah...what to say without spoiling it?! This book is action-packed and it reminded me of why I got sucked into the first book to begin with.  Lesley Livingston's writing is phenomenal--the descriptions of people, places, scenes, emotions--all wonderful!  I am sad that the series is over now!  (Well, kind of--it did wrap up quite well and any more might get boring...)  This book really had a little bit of everything--action, adventure, intrigue, betrayal, romance...you name it, it was probably in this book!  I love how much Kelley has developed over the course of the three books and how she came into her power slowly over time.  It was refreshing.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable faery series!  I would highly recommend it for the fantastic writing and well-developed characters.  If you haven't read this and you enjoy faeries, read it now!

The Limit by Kristen Landon

From the cover:

An eighth grade girl was taken today . . .

With this first sentence, readers are immediately thrust into a fast-paced thriller that doesn't let up for a moment. In a world not too far removed from our own, kids are being taken away to special workhouses if their families exceed the monthly debt limit imposed by the government. Thirteen-year-old Matt briefly wonders if he might be next, but quickly dismisses the thought. After all, his parents are financially responsible, unlike the parents of those other kids. As long as his parents remain within their limit, the government will be satisfied and leave them alone. But all it takes is one fatal visit to the store to push Matt’s family over their limit—and to change his reality forever.

 In The Limit, Kristen Landon creates a slightly dystopian world where the amount of debt that a family can incur is closely monitored.  When a family goes over that limit, there are consequences.  Generally, a family is allowed to choose what happens next, whether they'll go on strict spending observation or choose more drastic measures.  For Matt's family, the choice is taken away--Matt is almost instantly carted off to one of the state workhouses to help work off his family's debt.  Once there, Matt is tested and assigned to the Top Floor, where the brightest kids are taken to work.  When strange things start to happen, Matt and his small cadre of friends investigate (using their superior intelligence and planning, of course).  The story offers a good amount of action with some moral lessons on the side.

While the storyline isn't overly complex, it was definitely a fun, quick read. (It's a great read for its intended audience)  I enjoyed the main character, Matt, quite a bit, as he progresses through the story.  I really felt he learned a lot through the process (at least it surely seemed that way in the end).  I start off my synopsis by saying "slightly dystopian" because it didn't have the same "doom and gloom" feel to me that a lot of dystopian stories have.  There is definitely the overly-controlling government aspect as a result of too much debt in the country.  However, there wasn't the same sense of previous destruction leading to such control that I attribute to most dystopias.  A similar lesson was there (watch out how you use your resources) but it didn't have the same effect.

There is a good amount of action that goes on throughout--from Matt's original taking to the mischief he gets into in the workhouse (to other things I won't mention for fear of spoiling the story).  The story really plays into the geeky nature of some of the main characters (a lot revolves around computers and math--need I say more?). I think this is a good recommendation for young male readers especially. (Not to say girls won't enjoy! It just seems like people are always looking for good books for boys)