let's fight to the death!

what's up with dystopian ya lit? is it the new "thing"? will it go out of style, so to speak? because if it is the new thing then i hope it stays (for-eva) because it's, um, what's the word i'm looking for...FREAKIN' AWESOME! i love that these books scare the crap outta me. i also do not mind the abundance of sexy boys (peeta, mmmmm). i honestly can't get enough of the stuff. and do you know why it's better than the vampire fad (well, besides the gruesomely obvious reasons)? because each story is original. i never know what's going to happen, unlike the bajillion twilight wannabes out there (p.s. why are you wannabes anyway? why would you want to BE that awful?).

vampire novel layout:

boy meets girl/girl meets boy

boy/girl finds out their love interest is a vampire

boy/girl decides it's the best life decision to follow in their vampire love interests' footsteps and become a vampire themselves (i always say that's the best choice)

dystopian novel layout:

i have no freakin' clue!

boy and girl are in a catastrophic america (boy is usually very attractive-this cliche i do not mind in the least)

sometimes boy and girl must fight crazed zombies

sometimes boy and girl must fight their own species to the death for their own survival

sometimes boy and girl must live in a teenaged built community and find their way out of a freakin' maze

really, the possibilities are endless. and i love it.

this is why it is no surprise that i devoured The Maze Runner by James Dashner. when we meet Thomas he is in a box with no memories of himself or the world around him. sure he has concepts of things like a family, nature, friends, but he has no recollection of names, events, or anything specific pertaining to these concepts. they're empty meanings to him. and all he knows for sure before entering the Glade is that his name is Thomas. once he arrives at the Glade (via this convenient metal, pitch black box of serenity-no, not serenity more than likely terror and cruelty) he meet the Gladers-a bunch of boys around his age who also don't have memories of their past who one by one each month were thrown into the same situation as he is now. Thomas quickly learns the ins and outs of life in the Glade (call everyone and anyone a shuck or shuckface-it's charming, really), nobody knows much or at least is willing to share so don't ask, and never go into the maze under any circumstance. but of course, Thomas violates these rules. what is the maze? how have these boys been here for two years and never solved it? and who or what is controlling it? these are questions Thomas desperately tries to find out, and as he does he learns more about his part in the elaborate plan of the Creators. people who have gone through the Changing seem to know him and things are extremely familiar-almost homey to Thomas at the Glade. and to top it all off a girl was sent down to the Glade-the first ever-who also seems to have an intimate connection with Thomas. so many seemingly unanswerable questions make this novel a real page turner. well written, fast-paced, and even charming (the relationships the boys build are reminiscent of Lord of the Flies only they take care of each other) you must read this novel. must, must, must!

smooch worthy character:

Newt. he's one of the leaders of the Gladers and I found him to be quite adorable. and there's something about that take-action kind of confidence that's oh-so-sexy.

twist and shout:

there are about as many twists in the novel as there are corridors in the maze. and what lies beyond the Glade is enough to make anyone scream and run for cover. notable goosebumps and impossible to ignore anticipation (aka i couldn't put it down)

final thoughts:

when is the next book coming out?!

Candor by Pam Bachorz

Oscar Banks is a business man, like his father. He finds new, rich, rebellious clients who move to the idyllic town of Candor (which he father built from the ground up) and helps them escape before the become brainwashed. Because Oscar Banks has figured out the secret to Candor-that their are thousands of subliminal messages in speakers surrounding and inside the city giving instruction on how to be model citizens. "Respectful space in every place". Oscar has figured out how to create these messages himself by watching (covertly) his father and puts counter messages into CDs which he distributes to clients and himself (like his one CD that he made so he wouldn't forget he had a brother).

So when Nia moves with her orange can of spray paint ("Keep Candor beautiful") and skateboard, she seems like the perfect client for Oscar. But there's something about her that makes Oscar want her to stay. Plus, she doesn't believe a thing he tells her about the Messages. So he gives her a CD with Messages urging her to stay and not tell their secret (what secret? you'll have to read the book!).

A story about what crosses a moral line, love, and fighting to be yourself in a world of conformity, this is a brilliant novel. I was up all night reading it. It's fast-paced and suspenseful. I was turning the pages so fast that I had to go back at times and fill myself in on what I rushed over to get to the next part. The characters are solid and Oscar's fight to save Nia is genuine and heart-breaking. This isn't a skip down the lane, happily ever kind of book. And even though I was sad and angry about things in this book, those things made the book more real and that much more devastating.

I definitely say, if you haven't, go pick this book up now! It's a short read that will make you think and leave you finding your breath at the end.

Rating: 5.0

You also may like:
Feed by M.T. Anderson
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
(I highly, highly recommend both of these books)

And if you want to learn more about the town of Candor, Florida go here: http://www.candorfl.com

Happy Reading!

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer was heartbreaking. I had read Life as We Knew It and enjoyed it, but Pfeffer's third novel takes the post-meteor world to a completely different level. I couldn't put this down, it was unpredictable and exciting.

The novel starts out much the same as it left off in Life as We Knew It. We meet Miranda, Matt, Jon, and their mom again fighting to have food on the table every day, raiding houses for simple things like shampoo and toilet paper, and hoping the electricity will come on if only for a few hours. But when Miranda's dad shows up with six more people Miranda's family soon learns hard lessons like hunger, grief, and even love. Miranda and her family along with fighting for survival must believe in hope and what it means for each of them. For Miranda, it was the hardest to find.

I was introduced to a few new characters since I didn't read The Dead and the Gone but I don't think it left me at a disadvantage at all. I instantly feel in love with Alex and Julie and I think readers will too. Alex is a strong older brother who discovers throughout the book that their may not be a set of principles in this new world to "be good". Miranda and Alex together were real. I felt that if I were ever to live in that world, that's the kind of desire and I would have. All the relationships in this novel were scarily real. It's almost as if Pfeffer knew how to place the world she created within our world so well that I'm afraid one day I might actually have to live in it.

The scariest thing about this novel was how real it is. Who's to say a meteor won't move the moon a little closer? One of the parts of this novel that struck me the most (besides the end, which, is amazing and heartbreaking at the same time) was when Miranda found a mound of bodies when she ran away. In that mound there were people she knew. Just piled there. Pfeffer didn't even need to paint that picture vividly for me to get a sense of the tragedy. And when I read that I felt something awful, more than words could describe.

This novel was face-paced, exciting, and I kept reading to know what was going to happen next. Reading this novel you really see the character development and feel something deep for all of them. Pfeffer did a fabulous job putting real people in a world that could be real and creating love and hope out of grief and hopelessness. I definitely reccommend it to everyone!

Rating: 5.0

I received this copy via Net Galley.





Happy Reading!