Kyle
Before I start this review, I would like to note: if you are one of the (very few) people who highly enjoyed this book, and would hate to see a negative review, just don't get angry and start screaming at me. This is my personal thoughts on the book, and I believe that we can agree to disagree.
Now, I thoroughly enjoyed Matched. Heck, I read it two times, even though I only thought it was okay. I knew it wasn't a very good dystopian novel, but I still found it to be a quick read, even if the world and characters were wooden and quite flat. I gave Matched a 3.5/5 stars at the end of the day, believing that everything would get better and more soild in Crossed. Boy, was I wrong.
Basically, Crossed tells the dual-perspective story of Ky and Cassia, as they're both at the Outer Provinces, Ky sent there to be killed by the Enemy at a camp for Abberations by the Society, Cassia at another camp for Aberrations, searching for Ky. Ky, along with two other Aberrations, Eli and Vick, escape into The Carving, which is basically a formation of various canyons. When Cassia and a group of other girls are transferred to Ky's previous camp several days after his escape, and when she hears that he escaped, she sets off after him (yet again) with another girl named Indie. Along the way, Cassia learns poetry and counltess other meaingless things, and one meaningful piece of information: a rebellion known as the Rising.
If you want to see another excellent review of this novel, I'd reccomend Stephanie's review, which can be found here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/153608886. Basically, all our qualms are exactly the same.
Now, there are two really driving forces for the trilogy: the questions, and the writing style. Some of the questions are much more interesting than others (how did Ky get put in the Matching pool?) The writing was really the only good part about the book. It has some really great metaphors and (some) really good descriptions, and aside from that, nothing else.
Some of the reasons I give it a 2-star over the dreaded 1-star rating is because I devoured the novel over the course of maybe five hours, and I find the world/idea to be very creative, and I do still have hope for the concluding volume in the trilogy.
However, there are some really weakening points for this book/series.
The world-building is horrendously disgusting. We have no idea really how this Society is set up, where it is, who runs it, where all these random Provinces are, what happened to the rest of the world, how did the world come to this stage, what's the difference between the Enemy and the Rising, and don't even get me started on all the random phrases thrown at you (the Warming, Relcassification, Anomolies, Aberrations, The Carving, etc.) Now, some of these phrases get answers (The Carving for example, is a series of canyons) but stuff like Reclassifcation you're meant to decipher for yourself, as well as the Warming (I'm going to assume it's global warming).
The plot? Well, for starters, there isn't a plot. I hate it when authors write a book, fill it with a bunch of pretty metaphors, just to disguise that nothing honestly happens until the end (a good example? MAGGIE STIEFVATER! However, her books are better than this. . . .) The main point of the book was for Cassia and Ky to be reunited, and this scene was prolonged to almost the 200 page mark (I think it was around 193) and then the last 167 pages are an overwhelming amount of poetry, pretty metaphors, Xander's “big secret”, hiking, climbing, poetry, pretty metaphors, more hiking, more climbing, and then WHA-LA! You have an ending.
This book has no tension, urgency, or climax. Apparently the Society is chasing Cassia, Ky, Indie, Eli, and Hunter, but they make one appearance, and that's only a paragraph long, when they fly through the sky quickly towards the end. Seriously? So, not only does this novel have no plot, but not even a true conflict, just a conflict mentioned.
The characters are all boring. Cassia and Ky have little to no personality, and what they do have isn't very interesting. Some of the new characters introduced, such as Vick, Indie, Eli, and Hunter weren't even remotely interesting, and I have no concern for them in the next book. Plus, that little thing that Condie did with Indie was simply just to add some angsty love square, even though it didn't even make sense.
The dual-perspective is a personal favorite of mine, and I love it when it's pulled off well by an author. That's not the case in Crossed though, since I was constantly confused by whether I was reading a “Ky” chapter or a “Cassia” chapter. I told myself going into this book, “Don't get confused Kyle, just make sure you look closely at the chapter heading” and yet I still went like, ��Wait?! Cassia's dad did not live in the Outer Provinces!” only to go “Oh . . . that's Ky talking.”
I still do have hope for the last book in this trilogy, but it better SHINE. As in, I want rebellion, war, and ANSWERS. Also, that brings in a fear I have for this next book. If the Society is to be overthrown by the Rising, and this whole “war” with the Enemy is to be dealt with, wouldn't that mean that looks back and forth and whispers Condie has to write at least one action scene?! GASP Becuase, if Condie DARES to have the rebellion go like this:
Rising: Surrdener!
Society: NO!
Rising: YES!
Society: Okay.
Cassia: Yay! Now I'm goanna go get some of my boy-toy, KY!
I WILL mark every book in this series a 1-star, just for being a massive watse of my time, effort, and money.
3.5
Since I'm a fan of procrastination, and I like writing reviews, I've decided to combine the two and procrastinate homework by writing a review (which I admittedly should do more of, but that's beside the point).
Now, I read Lauren Oliver's sophomore/debut in the dystopian genre novel, Delirium, back in November after going back and forth on it because of the slow pacing in the first quarter of the novel. I appreciated the wonderfully poetic writing, how plausible the love story felt, how the love interest wasn't a creepy stalker and or that he had little-to-no personality, but was a nice, sweet guy who made the main character feel beautiful.
So, when I first heard of Liesl & Po, I was a little apprehensive, since when I'd first discovered it, I'd kind of sworn off the middle grade genre, since after I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (my first YA book) everything afterwards was too juvenile, so I made a permenant residence in paranormal, dystopian, dark realistic fiction, you know the likes. However, after I read A Monster Calls earlier this month, I decided that the genre could still be for a younger audience, but still pack an emotional punch.
The basic plot of this novel is about a girl named Liesl, who has been living in her attic for about thirteen months, ever since her father got sick and her step-mother said she needed to stay there (her mother had passed away several years prior to the beginning). When a ghost named Po, and his dog or cat Bundle (you don't know what it is until the end) come from a place called the Other Side, which I guess can be viewed as Purgatory, depending on your beliefs, which is a place in-between the living and the afterlife, he helps Liesl go to the place where her mother is buried to bury her father's ashes there.
Will, an apprentice to an alchemist, who believes he may have created not only an elixir of life, but a way to raise the dead, accidentally mixes-up the ashes of Liesl's father with the magic, so while Po, Bundle and Liesl travel with the magic, Will is desperately attempting to escape the wrath of his master. Also, just a small fact about the world in which this story is occuring, ever since the alchemist took a “drop of sunshine” for his magic, the sun has not shown for over 2,000 days.
First off, the writing, since it's one of my favorite part about Lauren Oliver's books. While it wasn't as lyrically beautiful as it was with Delirium, which I'd expect since it's for younger readers, it still had a poetic feel to it, and had some really great similies and metaphors at certain points, and there was one scene in particular at the end that I just loved the way how it was written.
The characters are all just lovely as well! Liesl, who is our main female herione, was strong, determined, innocent, and just a great charatcer who I felt like I could root for. Po was nice, and I found him somewhat amusing at times. However, I think the title makes him seem like a more important character than he is. Will, who in my opinion was more important to the plot than Po, was equally interesting for the exact same reasons as Liesl.
The actual plot/pacing is pretty good. It picks up more towards the end (of course) and I liked how it didn't rush itself, and took the time it needed to conclude. I also love how all the characters and their plots woved together to complete it as well.
So yes, that is my review of Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver! Overall, it's a very intriguing, well written middle grade novel, however there is one more thing I'd like to discuss. That's the pictures in the novel, which aren't too frequent, but enough for me to want to talk about them.
While I liked them, and enjoyed admiring the artwork, I'm not sure if it really added anything to the story other than pictures. Now, that may just be because it is a children's book, in which case I understand, but if not for that purpose, and just for the sake of wanting drawings (which I don't believe Lauren Oliver did) they just didn't have that emotional punch that the breathtaking artwork in Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls had. Still, they were enjoyable and pleasant to look at nonetheless.
EDIT: Now that I've dropped this to 1 star. Emily May's review sums it up best:
This is not a dystopia, it is a romance. This is not a novel, it is a collection of similes and metaphors, most of which do not make sense. I originally gave Shatter Me two stars because that's my sort of kneejerk reaction to books I don't like, but after thinking it over for a while, I can't recall anything positive about it that would justify a rating of more than one star.
Well, where do I begin? The writing style of this tried to be lyrical and poetic, and tried to be this big epic dystopian debut, but it truly fell flat.
The world-building is pretty weak, which is always a big no-no with dystopian novels.
The writing - well, just read other reviews and you'll see what I mean.
The characters are all flat and boring in their own “special” and “unique” way. Warner was a total freak, and Adam was just supposed to be this hot guy that had a thing for our main, wimpy female herione Juliette, who did two things of being fairly badass, and was otherwise just running with Adam.
The first half of this book has no plot, and is just Juliette talking to Warner and having a lot of romantic tension with Adam, and then her telling Warner that she's better than him, and different, and that's he a monster, and then she's making out with Adam, and then she's throwing buckets of angst upon you.
The climax of the novel happens too early, and then the last 40-45 pages is just Juliette walking around Omega Point, learning all sorts of things, having two hot make out sessions with Adam, demanding answers from people, etc.
There is a major plot point that is never answered: why can Juliette touch Adam without anything happening to him? You're given a possible answer by the end of the book, but it's kind of stupid, considering that even if Adam WAS like the people in Omega Point, why couldn't anybody else like Omega Point touch Juliette?
The romance is completely built off of lust, and Juliette is constantly giving you descriptions of how hot Adam is, and uses terrible metaphors to describe it.
Point is: don't pick up this book. Will I pick up the next two books in the trilogy? Most likely, since I have this annoying thing where I hate finishing the first book in a series and not continuing on, even if I hate it, just because I want to know how everything ends.
Initially, I didn't think much of Blood Red Road because – well, I hadn't heard of the hype surrounding the novel, as hard to believe as that is. Apparently, it was being called the next Hunger Games trilogy, much like another dystopian novel which I didn't care for too much because I felt like the hype surrounding it wasn't equivalent to the product, and I felt like it fell flat and was just a wannabe. That's definitely not the case with BRR. Is it as good and thrilling as The Hunger Games? No, I wouldn't say that, but it's still a great read nonetheless. Most of the new dystopians that are recently coming out have really let me down (Under the Never Sky, Legend, The Death Cure, etc) but I went into BRR with high hopes, and those hopes were definitely met, and then surpassed those expectations and truly blew me away!
Point is, pick this book up!
Telling the story of eighteen year old Saba, who lives in a desert wasteland, it chronicles her journey across Sandsea to save her twin brother Lugh, who was kidnapped from their home during a sandstorm by men on horseback, who killed her neighbor and father during his kidnapping. Accompanied by her nine year old sister Emmi, who their mother died giving birth to, they are soon captured and brought to Hopetown, where Saba is forced to become a female cage fighter. All I shall say.
For the most part, every single character in this book made a great impression on me! None of them were creepy stalkers, or wimpy damsels in distress. Saba was fiercely determined, and had this wonderful resourcefulness that I haven't seen in a female protagonist since Katniss Everdeen, or the girl on fire. Funnily enough, Saba also acquires a nickname during her cage fighting career: the Angel of Death. Jack, Saba's love interest (that isn't much of a spoiler if you look through reviews, and read the summary, where he's described as a “handsome daredevil”, and at the end of the summary it says BRR has an “epic love story”), was also not a bad character at all, but was in fact funny, strong, and entirely likeable! Nero was an awesome character, even if he was a crow, considering at some points he truly acted like a human being, just . . . with limitations because he's . . . a crow.
The pacing of this novel . . . oh my God, it's so fast and intense, even until the very end! Okay, I wasn't fully addicted until about 15 pages in, but before the first part “Silverlake” there are three pages explaining the relationship between Saba and Lugh, and how Lugh goes first, Saba goes second, and those were definitely the hook and sinker for me. The pacing was so fast, that it added to the addictive quality to the book, and it was the #1 reason why I read the book in a little over a day.
This was the first book in awhile that had be staying up later than I wanted to since October (Daughter of Smoke and Bone), and it's the first book I've never wanted to end! Sure, I love other books, but I WANT to know how it all ends, but this book, I knew once I read the last page, I would have to wait months until Rebel Heart comes out. This was the reason why I hadn't wanted to read it when I did, but I'd read two books in a row that I couldn't get into, so I needed a good adventure story to get me back into reading.
I love this book, and it's definitely one of the better dystopian novels published in the past year or so.
One of my new favorites! I was tearing up the entire last 30 pages (I'm simply not the type of person who cries because of books)! The drawings were fantastic, and the writing had this great, raw, emotional style, even better than in The Chaos Walking Trilogy! I love this book so much, and it's definitely my favorite middle grade novel, besides Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (my favorite HP book personally). EVERYBODY needs to read this, especially if like me, you're family has sufferend many deaths related to cancer.
*2.5/5 Stars
Okay, I'll admit it: I wasn't very interested in this novel ever since I first discovered it on Goodreads. It looked pretty corny based on the cover, and the synopsis was way too much info-dumping for me to really get a feel for how this novel was going to go. Also, I don't know why, but the cover screamed Divergent to me – I don't know why, but that's what happened, and I'm not the biggest fan of Divergent since it was way too over hyped for me, and the actual product wasn't what I had expected or wanted.
By the end of this book, I still think it was a bit of a Divergent wanna-be, but I would say Divergent was a much better dystopian novel since, like Wendy Darling told me, it was just so much more fun.
I was lucky enough to find a copy of Under the Never Sky two days ago, at my local Barnes & Noble, and I was excited, mainly because I'd be able to know what happens before a vast majority of the YA dystopian fans eagerly awaiting this. :P It was definitely an addictive read, in a little under a day and a half, and I was definitely pretty sure that my expectations were actually met, which is side when you see my overall star rating.
Under the Never Sky tells the story of Aria, a seventeen year old girl who lives in the Pod city of Reverie, and Peregrine “Perry”, an eighteen year old boy who lives outside of the Pods, and is the brother of the Blood Lord of his tribe, Vale. Aria's mother, Lumina, who works in genetics, has been sent to the Pod city of Bliss, which is hundreds of miles away from Aria, and recently, the connection of their Smarteye's has been broken, and fearing for her mother, Aria tries to get on the good side of the head of security's son, Soren. Events happen, and Aria is soon thrown out of Reverie, and left to die after being accused of letting the Outsider, Perry, into the city (which she didn't). Perry is furious with Reverie, because they have abducted his terminally ill nephew, Talon. So, they form an unlikely alliance, and set out, both with their separate goals in mind: Aria to find out what is going on with her mother, Perry to rescue his nephew.
Now, there are some positives for this novel, otherwise I would've given it my infamous 0/5 star rating (which I've been forced to give on three occasions). I think that the world in which Veronica Rossi has created is really cool, and interesting with many unique fantasy elements (well, more enhanced senses, but I can view it as fantasy). But, I have some problems with this world. A lot of it is just random phrases thrown out at you in the beginning (Aaether, Smarteye) and I feel like we don't learn enough about the world, and what happened to bring human society to this. Some aspects of the Pod society seemed randomly thrown in at convenient times, like during the “Smell of Violets” scene, when Aria explains that in the Pods, you don't get pregnant like we do now, but using genetics and so forth – basically, even though it would've been too overwhelming, there were some spots that could've really used an info-dump.
I love how the romance wasn't this all consuming thing in which Aria and Perry would just throw their lives away for each other, but that they had bigger things in life and goals that they wanted to achieve, besides getting in each other's pants. I also like how it wasn't physical attraction, since it is described that Perry has a lot of scars across his face, and that he isn't this stunningly beautiful boy that seems to have fallen from the sky.
In terms of likeable characters, I guess I liked Roar and Cinder, who were two minor characters that you meet about midway through the book (a little bit earlier, but around 150 pages in).
Unlikable characters? Well, now this can have a better answer. Our main female heroine, Aria, was extremely bratty and annoying, and was a damsel in distress quite often. I couldn't stand the way how she would constantly call Perry a monster, and a killer, and a savage, directly to his face, even when he would be trying to in fact help her, but she decided to be a spiteful, ungrateful person. Speaking of Peregrine/Perry, I didn't particularly care for him either. He was better than Aria, but for the simple reason that he had no existing personality, and so you can't really hate a personality that isn't there. Just an incredibly bland, boring, male lead.
The romance was also not quite so great either. It comes in very suddenly, when there is little left to read (a little under 80 pages if I'm correct) and the extent of the romance was making out, and yet they seemed to be on the verge of using the L-word. So, while it wasn't based on lust, it definitely didn't have any emotional depth, and felt rushed and just thrown in there because apparently every YA novel needs it.
ALSO! In some ways, the beginning of their partnership is quite psychologically abusive in my opinion. Perry at one point takes out a knife and threatens to cut something out of Aria's head, which can be removed by hand, but Aria won't give it to him, and he is constantly threatening to kill her. I don't know how you can feel something after receiving numerous death threats from that very person.
Also, so many tiny things, like Aria's reaction to when her supposed “best friend” Paisley is killed at the very beginning of the novel (first two chapters, or about 20 pages in), which is unrealistic and brief, and also how plain and boring the writing style is, which does not follow the GOLDEN RULE: “SHOW IT, DON'T TELL IT”. Also, can't forget an anti-climatic ending.
Overall, an unimpressive debut novel, a weak start to a somewhat still promising trilogy. I do believe that the books will become better, and because of how open the ending is, I do believe I will check out the sequel in 2013.
This is definitely a good library book in my opinion.
Also, before I end this review, I am in no way comparing this to Divergent by Veronica Roth, but I just felt like it was trying to become the next Divergent. My feelings are on the individual book, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, and the Divergent feelings I mentioned before were just thoughts before reading. However, I do think fans of Divergent may enjoy this, although probably not as much.
*3.5/5 Stars - A nice final book to end 2011!
I haven't read middle grade for well over a year now I guess. Around the time I finished The Hunger Games Trilogy (before I even knew it was a popular series, let alone part of this enormous book community!), I find myself unable to immerse myself back in the middle grade genre. Becuase of how serious The Hunger Games was, I wanted something darker, something that was truly fantastic that could blow my mind away - so I eventually moved on to young adult, starting with Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, and Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.
Anyway, back to this book. It was light and fun, just like his other book Hillserpent Academy, but still had a sort of dark atmosphere to it, which I liked, and wish all middle grade fiction had.
However, the length of the book kind of dulled some aspects of the book that could've been a bit sharper.
The characters, Rowan, Ever, the grandfather, Pike, and Stitch were in for such a short amount of time that I found it hard to connect to them at first, because of how briskly it was going.
The book itself had a fair amount of action, so the reader can definitely expect some fun adventure scenes. I think the idea was original, and the ending definitely leaves you wanting more (which we will be getting since it is the first book in the Immortalist Trilogy).
Also, speaking of the ending. While I did enjoy it, it does pop out of nowhere, at least a little bit. I think had there been a little bit more time to build up the tension, it would've made the ending seem to unfold at a better pace.
Overall, a really great book, but the length could've been a bit more so that the reader could fully immerse themselves. Definitely can't wait for the sequel however!
*3.5/5 Stars
Really surprising read! Definitely my favorite self-published book I've ever read! Since I enjoy watching Richard's YouTube videoes (mrricharddenney) and I love how much personality he puts into them, I loved being able to read certain passages and say, “Yeah! That DOES sound like something he would say!” I'll definitely read Spellbound (the sequel, and I believe final book) whenever that comes out (I think 2012, but it may be later).
Well, what can I say. There really wasn't anything particularly bad about this book (or Shiver for that matter). I mean, there could've been more of a plot instead of the unneeded plot devices (the parents all of a sudden becoming an annoying part of Grace's life and adding the “forbidden love” garbage), and the characters actually having a life outside of pining for each other, and that Grace and Sam's perspectives could've been more distinct and unique, since I couldn't tell them apart at first, and Cole and Isabel could've been bigger parts of the book. However, this series does have some really great things going for it.
Maggie Stiefvater's lyrical writing style will definitely have readers swooning over the gorgeous prose (as I am), and a pretty good love story (however I do find the obsession Grace and Sam have for each other to be borderline creepy considering they've known each other for a small amount of several months). While the ending was kind of predictable, it was pretty good, and I wish that it hadn't just come out of nowhere though (one minute they're all talking the next the ending is happening).
Overall, while I had some gripes with this book, I still think it was an okay read.
3/5 Stars - I'd say it met my expectations. I've always wanted to read a fantasy dystopian, one that was better than Witch & Wizard/The Gift by James Patterson (and the two co-authors), and it was, but it wasn't all that great either. I felt that the world-building was incredibly weak, the reason for the classes being based on language was . . . well, there wasn't a reason, the main character Charlie was really annoying and weak, the fantasy wasn't even explained, and it was just . . . odd. Also, don't even get me started on how unnessecary the romance in this was. It had an interesting premise, and at times I was enjoying it, and I don't mind Kimberly Derting's writing style (at least it wasn't as annoying as it was when Violet Ambrose narrated The Body Finder - gosh, she was so annoying!), and I like how it had that stand-alone feel, and I truly felt like she was able to basically wrap everything up for the most part, so I don't know why TWO MORE BOOKS are being written. I can bet you the second book will be about the whisperings of a possible uprising, and a love triangle between Charlie, Max, and Xander.
3.5/5 Stars
Legend by Marie Lu was definitely one of my most anticipated novels of the year, ever since I saw Braiden (sonofstageandpage on YouTube.com) get an ARC of it from the publishing company. I went on Goodreads, read the synopsis, and instantly fell in love with the book, and was desperately awaiting to get a copy and start reading. Before buying it, I saw some mixed reviews, but mainly just some great reviews saying that the book as action-packed and awesome.
Well, it was definitely action-packed, and had quite an amount of awesome thrown in there.
Yet I just expected so much more from this novel, based on the product that I bought for about $18.00.
The worst thing about this book is the intense amount of predictability in the major plot twists that completely change the direction of June's thinking process. I felt like so much of it was too easy to figure out, and therefore I wasn't on the edge of my seat whenever a new development about the Republic and how they're truly evil. Some of the easiest things to figure out where how June's parents and brother Metias were killed by the Republic, and that the Republic was spreading the Plague on purpose (I didn't guess why however).
Then, the world-building, which I normally don't pay too much critical attention to, bothered me a lot. I wish that more background information was revealed about the world that Legend takes place in. Such as, where is the border that separates the Republic of America (the West Coast I guess) and the Colonies (the East Coast I presume)? I guess it may be right down the middle of the country, since there is a West Texas and an East Texas.
I also had just several questions that weren't ever answered: why was there a war in the first place? If the Republic is so grand and great, why was the war taking so long, and why where so many people in poverty (I guess the war effort contributed to the poverty, but I find it hard to believe that it went from a shining utopia to poverty in so many places). Maybe the last one was just a question I had, but that's just something I found hard to believe.
Also, the dual perspective of June and Day (did anybody get they're names mixed up? He should've just kept his old name, Daniel) sounded exactly the same, so I guess maybe as a debut novel, Marie Lu should've just kept the perspective for June, since girls tend to write better in the mind of girls, as guys write better in the mind of a guy, since the author understands everything better. However, I will say that Marie Lu did make Day sound like a guy, but also June sounded a lot like a guy and less like a girl. At least, it came across that way to me, but she did have feminine touches to her perspective.
Now, besides those (pretty big) qualms I had with the novel, I won't say that it does succeed on multiple aspects of the book. The action, for example, is simply brilliant, with the skiz fighting (I wish they had so much more of it though!), Day's initial break-in to the hospital where he “kills” Metias (until you find out Thomas did), the final escape scene, the scene where Day is finally captured about mid-way through, and so many other points. It's definitely nice to see the more action-focused dystopian beginning to come back into the picture, since some of the romantically driven ones are beginning to get old.
Now, onto the romance. I went into it thinking that it had more romance than there actually was, so I was pleasantly surprised that it was such a microscopic portion of the overall story arc, and it stuck to the action driven plot that I had immersed myself in. So, if you were afraid of a romance that would devour the good parts, don't worry about it.
The book had a very addictive quality to it, which is why I finished it in two sittings. I always found myself interested in something that was happening, and that this book had little to no slow parts, because of the short page length (305 pages).
It all felt very slight to say it best. I think had the book been longer, with some more character driven elements, the book may have been a little stronger, since the whole point of the novel eventually became completely about the action, and I wasn't able to fully find myself enjoying the characters. I really enjoyed June's pro-active stance in the novel, and I really did feel a whole lot of sympathy for the girl, since she was already an orphan in the beginning of the book, and then she looses her brother, who the reader can definitely tell she genuinely loved. Day had a very unrealistic part of his character, since he can do all this stuff to the freakin' military at age fifteen. He does have a thirteen year old sidekick named Tess, who is barely in the book, but still, he does these things that most grown men couldn't do, especially single-handedly. Thomas . . . that guy was a creep, especially when he was making moves on June.
Also, this irked me a lot: Day randomly shows you a memory of his father, when he shows his mother what I assume was an American dollar that you and I would use today, and how they'll hide it in something that Day or John (his older brother) will have, so that the police don't find it. You know it's in Day's pendant, but after that chapter, it's never brought up again (and it seemed like a big revelation at first).
Overall, Legend is an interesting dystopian novel, but I will commend Marie Lu on writing an interesting, engaging debut novel, that I think will have a fair chance of standing out in the YA genre, which is already so cluttered with comical nonsense that some really great books are hardly ever discovered and while this isn't mind-blowing, it's still a really, really great read (mainly from the library perhaps, or wait until it's in paperback, and cheaper).
It's definitely going to be a great action movie, so I can't wait for that! Wait, they are making a movie, right? Well, they should – anyway, I hope you all have a great Christmas or Kwanzaa, or Hanukkah (I think that ended already, so in case, I hope you had a great holiday!) or whatever it is your celebrating over the weekend or in the future!
As time has gone on, I think 1 star adequately portrays how I feel about this book. About 300 pages too long, boring, rehashed conversations without ever seeming to end, a male narrator who sounds like a girl - and no, not a teenage girl, but that of a much older women - stereotypical characters, anticlimatic ending clearly written to try and have readers read on to find out what happens with Lena, sappy romance.
Not a good mix for this particular reader.
