#48HBC: Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth. Grades 7+ Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins), May 2011. 299 pages. Reviewed from purchased copy.

In a future Chicago, the population has been divided up into factions. In an attempt to eradicate war, each faction holds certain beliefs and occupies certain duties in society. At 16, kids take the aptitude test and choose whether to stay in their birth faction or transfer to another. This is a huge decision, but for Beatrice, it's harder than most. Beatrice's test was inconclusive. She is a Divergent. And she has to hide that fact from everyone, even her own family. Because society doesn't like people who don't fit neatly into boxes. Those people might destroy everything...

I don't know if that description really does the book justice, but I hope that it intrigues you enough to pick up this tightly woven, action-packed dystopian novel. I have been hearing some great things about Divergent from good friends, so I bought it as a reward for meeting my YHBA goal last month. And boy howdy, am I glad I did!

Tris (as she comes to be known after she chooses her faction) is the kind of character you can't help but root for. She's strong and capable, she's kind but not perfect (and she knows she's not perfect). And, as a Divergent, she's outside the box, not sure where she fits in. And who hasn't felt like that at some point?

Besides the nicely constructed dystopian world and the bonus of a Chicago setting (since I used to live up there, I had a good time picking out all the landmarks as they were described!), this is just a great teen novel. It's about figuring out who you are, starting to make choices for yourself. It's about Tris's struggle to balance where she came from and how she was raised with the choices she's making in her faction and the person she wants to become. And it's about finding the joy that comes from trying something new, taking a risk, and finding that you love what you're doing.

Oh, and of course there's also a dreamy romance thrown in there. To me, Veronica Roth includes the perfect amount of romance. It's slowly built up (not one of those books where their eyes meet and instantly they're inexplicably drawn together) and felt realistic. And it helps that I mentally cast Sean Maher as the leading man:

I know he's too old, but still!

Divergent is an extremely impressive debut novel and I'd hand this to your Hunger Games fans and, oh, anyone who's jumped on the dystopian bandwagon (fans of Matched, etc.).

My 48-Hour-Book Challenge Update:


Time spent reading: 7.25 hours (of this, 45 minutes has been audiobook listening!)
Time spent blogging: 1 hour
Time spent social networking: .75
Books completed: 2
Pages read: (Where's my calculator?!) 936

I woke up a little earlier than I would have liked this morning, but that's okay. I'm feeling pretty good and I might take a nap later. :)

Blood Red Road

Blood Red Road by Moira Young. Grades 8+ Margaret K. McElderry Books, June 2011. 448 pages. Reviewed from ARC snagged at ALA.

Hot.  Dry.  This is what Saba knows on her homestead in the middle of the desert.  It hasn't rained for months.  Her father has been slowly losing it since her mother died nine years ago and he's just about around the bend.  The only bright spot in Saba's life is her twin brother Lugh.  The two are as close as siblings can be and Saba knows that Lugh's thinking about leaving, setting off in search of a better life.  When he goes, she'll follow him.  That's what she does.  Lugh leads and she follows.

But after a violent dust storm springs up, strange men in black coats take Lugh away.  Saba's world is breaking in two, but she's determined to find Lugh and bring him back.  What she finds when she leaves the homestead is a complicated world she has no idea how to navigate, but Saba will stop at nothing to bring back the brother she loves so dearly.  No matter who she has to kill to do it.

Okay, so I'm at ALA Midwinter, right?  And I'm stopping by the Simon & Schuster booth to chat with the reps and editors and I'm asking them what books they're particularly excited about for the spring.  And one of them says, "Oh, Blood Red Road!  It's like our Hunger Games!"  And I'm thinking "Hmm... yeah, right, okay.  Of course you're going to say that because you know it'll sell the book."  And then she says, "And the main character Saba?  She could kick Katniss's ass*!"  And then I'm really thinking "Hmm... yeah, right! And also, how dare you!"

But later that day, I'm at the S&S preview lunch and I'm hearing all about how they were so excited about this book that they're publishing it only months after receiving the manuscript.  And I start thinking that if they're this excited about the book, I am going to have to get my hands on it.  I stop by the booth again and ask for it and they hand me a bound manuscript (no cover image, even) and tell me that it'll make a great read for the plane.

So, in the airport on my way home from San Diego, I actually do crack it open.

And holy cats.  I could not put it down.  I am not the biggest fan of being crammed onto an airplane with a bunch of other people, but I actually wanted my flight to be longer so that I would have more uninterrupted time to read.  I am totally serious.

I was first drawn in by the writing.  Moira Young seriously knows how to show and not tell.  And she writes in this dialect that she's concocted and it gives Saba a voice right off, but I didn't find it difficult to read.  She doesn't even use quotation marks for dialog, which normally I don't like, but in this case it felt totally right for the character.

Saba's mother died from complications after giving birth to Saba's little sister Emmi.  And Saba described her as "A ugly little red scrap with a heartbeat like a whisper" (pg 11)**.  I sat up and took notice.  A bit later, Moira Young perfectly shows us the relationship between Saba and her brother:

His necklace catches the light.  I found the little ring of shiny green glass in the landfill a while back.  I threaded it on a piece of leather an hid it away till I could give it to him fer our eighteen year birthday.  That was five days ago an he ain't took it off since.  What did he give me?  Nuthin.  Like always. (pg 17-18)**


I love how that one slight paragraph instantly gives you the picture of Saba and Lugh's relationship.  He's precious to her and she found him something precious and rare for his birthday, hiding it away until it was time.  She's precious to him and he treasures the gift she gave him, not wanting to take the necklace off.  But he's also still a boy and a brother, so he doesn't get Saba anything.  Him treasuring the necklace so much is gift enough for her.

I have felt that same way about my brother.  Moira Young gets it. 


So, the writing drew me in and I knew I was in for something special.  But THEN.  THEN the action started and it did NOT let up!  Moira Young's got a good sense of pacing and the action ebbs and flows, allowing the reader to catch her breath now and then.  When the action's high, I was glued to the page, breathless, heart pounding.  And even though the book's 400+ pages long, it did not feel that long.  It was a quick read because I just couldn't put it down.

I will say that a LOT happened in the book and I'm not quite sure that everything that happened was completely necessary to the story.  Parts of the book felt like the author was trying to encompass everything you could ever want in a YA book, which was maybe not necessary.  But I will also say that I enjoyed reading every bit of it, so who cares if the story wasn't perfectly streamlined?

The ending definitely paves the way for a sequel and, though there's nothing huge left unresolved, there are definitely some things I'm wondering about that I hope will be addressed in the next book.  Blood Red Road has the kind of ending where I'm definitely looking forward to the next book, but I don't feel like I might die if I can't read it right this second (which is good since, y'know, I can't).

Of course, this is an excellent Hunger Games readalike, although instead of straight up speculative science fiction, there are some elements of fantasy in Blood Red Road.  They have the same fast pace and similar scrappy female characters having to make it in an unfair and incredibly violent world.  I'd also hand it to fans of The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer and anyone who has jumped on the dystopian bandwagon (and doesn't mind violence - there is a lot of violence).

Do not walk, but RUN to your nearest bookseller and preorder this book.  You may also want to buy a copy for, oh, every Hunger Games and/or dystopian fan that you know.

Blood Red Road will be on shelves June 7!

* Probably the rep did not actually say "ass" to me, but I'm saying it here anyway. 
** Quotes are from ARC and may not appear the same in the final copy

Wither

Wither by Lauren DeStefano.  Grades 7+  Simon & Schuster, March 2011.  358 pages.  Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

In a future America where, due to genetic engineering, new children have a lifespan of only 20-25 years, girls are captured off the streets by Gatherers and sold to wealthy families as brides.  Rhine is such a bride, forced into a polygamous marriage to a wealthy doctor's son in Florida.  At fifteen, Rhine only has about 5 more years to live and she's determined to get out of this rotting mansion and back to her twin brother Rowan, back in New York.  But as Rhine gets to know her sister wives and her naive, grieving husband, she wonders if spending her last few years pampered and primped would be so terrible...

I am not going to lie: it took me a little bit to get into this novel.  I kept overthinking the dystopian setting, turning it over and over in my mind to find holes and questions, when what I needed to do was let the words and characters and scenes wash over me.  Once I did that, my friends, I could not put this book down!

It's a pretty twisted world we find ourselves in.  Due to the genetic engineering of a generation of "Super Babies," the descendants of that generation no longer live past age 20 for females and age 25 for males.  Plus, due to catastrophic world wars, the continent of North America is the only place in the world that's not a nuclear wasteland.  The wealthy amuse themselves with parties, makeup, and virtual reality games.  And this is where we find our three sister wives.

In that way, the book has the feel of a period novel.  Yes, Rhine can go swimming in a pool with virtual reality dolphins, but the majority of her time is spent lounging around with her sister wives, becoming increasingly frustrated with her gilded cage.  A big part of the book is the relationships that Rhine develops with her sister wives, stoic Jenna and immature Cecily.  In that way, I think this is a book that will appeal to readers of historical fiction.

And then there's Gabriel, the servant with oh-so-blue eyes to whom she tells her history and her dreams.  It's dangerous to love him, under the watchful eye of her father-in-law, a man bent on discovering an antidote and controlling everything around him.  The romance is very nicely developed - subtle, but believable.  And the characters are very nicely developed. I especially like what Ms. DeStefano did with Linden because by the end of the book, I was actually rooting for Rhine to stay with him (or, well, part of me was, anyway).  I believed in Rhine's struggle with whether she should escape or stay; I was torn right along with her.

With its intriguing world and well-developed characters, I think this is a book with wide teen appeal.  It's Uglies meets Flowers in the Attic (in a good way).

This is the first book in the Chemical Garden trilogy, so I am happy to report that we will hear more from Rhine.  And I have to say that I love the cover.  I think it evokes the feeling of the book perfectly and there are lots of details from the story included, from the pink eyeshadow to the wedding ring.

Debut author Lauren DeStefano is off to a great start with Wither and I can't wait for the next one!

Check out more reviews at GreenBean TeenQueen and Presenting Lenore.

Wither will be on shelves March 22.

Drought

Drought by Pam Bachorz.  Grades 7+.  Egmont USA, January 2011.  392 pages.  Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

For the past 200 years, Ruby has been part of the Congregation, an enslaved religious group that's forced to spend their days harvesting dew from the leaves in the forest to make Water.  Water is the key to everything - healing and the Congregants' long lives - but very few know the secret: it's Ruby's blood that gives the Water its special properties.  Ruby's father Otto founded the Congregation and he left 200 years ago, promising to return. The Congregants wait for him, trusting that he's coming back to save them.  But when a new, kind Overseer named Ford arrives and sparks new feelings for Ruby, she starts to question everything.  What if Otto's not coming back?  What if Otto meant for them to save themselves?  When flighting or fleeing might mean the death of all the Congregants, Ruby has to decide how much she's willing to risk.

The utterly compelling and twisted world of the Congregation was what drew me into this novel.  I just had to know more about them and the more I read, the more fascinated I was.  I kept looking for holes, certain that I'd come across a simple way for Ruby to extricate herself from this warped community, but I found everything to be believable.  Although there's a modern world out there, beyond the forests, the Congregants are a people enslaved.  Physically they've been enslaved by Darwin West and his band of Overseers since 1812, but the Congregants are also enslaved by their own doctrine, believing that Otto, giver of life, wants them to wait for him, to sustain, to endure.

I found Ruby to be a believable protagonist, caught between her desire to fight for freedom and her obligations to her fellow Congregants.  Without her, they'll die.  If she fights or runs away, she's doesn't only risk her own life, she risks their lives as well.  Once Ford arrives and presents her with some new options, Ruby starts to realize that the people she's trusted her entire life might not be what they seem.

Drought is a tightly woven dystopian novel that'll keep teens on the edge of their seats, rooting for Ruby to the last.  It's a great follow-up to Pam Bachorz's first novel, Candor (Egmont USA, 2009), and I'd hand either of them to fans of dystopian lit like Ally Condie's Matched (Dutton, 2010) or Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games (Scholastic, 2008).

Check out more reviews at A Patchwork of Books, The Neverending Shelf, and Mindful Musings.

Drought will be on shelves January 25!

Book Review: Candor

Candor by Pam Bachorz. High School. EgmontUSA, September 2009. Copy purchased.

Candor is a perfect place to live. No one overeats. No one is late. Everyone is respectful to others. Everyone follows the rules.

Because the Messages tell them to.

Oscar, son of the creator of Candor, has figured out a way to block the Messages. He can get people out... for a price. But when Nia shows up, Oscar begins to care for her. He has to save her before the Messages erase her. That means getting her out... but what will Oscar do without her?

I'm a fan of dystopian lit and Candor did not disappoint. I was sucked in by the premise and by the two faces of Oscar. On the surface he's the perfect son, appearing to follow all of his dad's Messages to a tee. He knows he can never let that image slip, but underneath Oscar-Boy-Wonder, he's working against the establishment any way he can.

I won't spoil anything, but I think this book's got one of those perfect endings. It wraps things up sufficiently, but still leaves room for a sequel.

This is a fast-paced story and I'd hand it to fans of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series.

Read more reviews at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy, Jen Robinson's Book Page, Sharon Loves Books and Cats, and Reading Rocks.

Oh, and check out this awesome book trailer: