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Clary has never been more confused. The man who threatens all the Shadowhunters is actually her father, Valentine, the boy she couldn't stop thinking about is actually her brother, and there is a whole world her mother kept from her that is full of warlocks, vampires, demons, and werewolves, among other creepy beasties. Having been brought up as a mundane, Clary must find her way in the Shadowhunter world or quickly be devoured by it in City of Ashes: Mortal Instruments, Book Two by Cassandra Clare.
Clary doesn't know what to do about Jace now that they recently found out they share a father, and an evil father no less. She has trouble reconciling her feelings for Jace, but she knows her friend Simon, a simple mundane, is the less creepy option. Meanwhile, Jace has been thrown out of the only home he ever knew with the adoptive Lightwood family. Lost and alone, Jace is being punished for the sins of the father he never knew or had allegiance to. But now a war is brewing between Downworlders. A werewolf child and a warlock child were found dead, bled to death, and there is no one more logical to blame than the vampires.
The vampires swear they had nothing to do with the deaths, but everyone suspects them. When Jace is investigated by the Clave and held prisoner in the Silent City, his father breaks in. He comes to see Jace and ask for Jace's help, but his own son was not his purpose for visiting the city and killing all the Silent Brothers. He was after the Mortal Sword. With or without Jace's help, Valentine plans to reverse the allegiance of the sword from good to bad so he can control the demons and finally fulfill his purpose- the extermination of the Downworlders who threaten the lives of humans and Shadowhunters alike. Even if the Clave doesn't believe in Jace's innocence, Clary and his adoptive siblings refuse to let him suffer for the evils Valentine has acted on. But will they make it in time to stop the conversion of the Mortal Sword?
These books sometimes seem overwhelming because they are quite large, but whenever I read one of Clare's books, I am immediately dragged right into it. I regret to admit I started this series almost 2 years ago and haven't kept up with it since. However, I have been keeping up with the Infernal Devices series, which renewed my interest in this series. Clare does a good job of giving you enough background that you can pick up a book even if you haven't read the one before it in a long while, and for that I was grateful (lately my ever-growing pile of books prevents me from much rereading). And after a few brief pages of catch-up, I was thrown right back into this story with a vengeance. The story was interesting and exciting, and as with all her books, she ends it with a satisfactory conclusion (no real huge cliffhangers) but still keeps you wanting more and leaves the end open for the next installment.
The stories are perfect for anyone who likes supernatural or paranormal stories. They are full of mysterious creatures, many of whom balance between their true evil nature and the life the Clave forces them into. There is a god deal of death and violence, but it is mostly of the supernatural type and isn't particularly gory. I love the excitement and in particular, the characters. Jace is that typical bad boy who really has a heart of gold despite his crusty, snarky exterior and you can't help but love him. My one icky-factor is the weirdness between him and Clary, who now appears to be his sister. So we have a Luke and Leia moment, but why is it continuing? And why aren't they grossed out now that they are brother and sister? I can only imagine this will resolve itself eventually and Clare won't have a Flowers in the Attic moment, but who knows where this plans to go... just please make them not be brother and sister because I am all in on team Jace!
Life is about perspective. The idea of spending your entire life stuck in a spaceship (granted a really really big one) can be either a life doomed to claustrophobia and dreams of the outside, or it can feel safe, like the only home you have ever known. Perspective can mean the difference between contentment and a desire to find anyway to change. In Across the Universe, Elder and Amy couldn't be more different if they tried: one born on the ship and meant to lead, and one born centuries earlier on earth and just included to pacify her important parents. But Amy's removal from the frozen state sent everything on ship Godspeed hurtling down a new path. Now, in Beth Revis' sequel A Million Suns, we find out just how far off the beaten path the ship has gone.
After learning about the problems with the ship and the decades of lies that have been passed around, Elder is determined to fin out just how far off course the ship has been blown from finding their new planet. He isn't prepared to learn the ship actually hasn't moved for years. Now that he has removed the sedative from the ship's system, all the citizens of Godspeed are less like zombies, able to think for themselves, and ready to stage a mutiny. Elder wasn't ready to take the leader's position in the first place, but he certainly wasn't ready to be tested so quickly. Now he must find a way to keep the ship together and still find the planet they were supposed to reach decades ago.
Amy knows she may never see her parents again since she was unfrozen and they must stay frozen until the ship lands. She barely survived Orion's crazed attacks, but with him safely frozen, she doesn't have to worry about him anymore... until she finds the messages he left for her that hold the secrets about the layers of deceit and mystery that have seeped into every part of the ship. Now she knows she has to follow Orion's clues and messages to find the truth behind the Godspeed. Unfortunately, even though Orion is safely frozen, that doesn't mean Amy is safe. On a ship where everyone is the same, there is nothing normal about her and thousands of people blame her for everything that has gone wrong since she was unfrozen. Can Amy get to the truth behind the lies before the ship is torn apart one piece at a time?
When I started this book, I knew a major part of the story was going to be the people, now out of their drug-induced haze, and how they needed to be controlled or reasoned with. But I really didn't want this to be the whole book. Fortunately, Amy's part of the story gave that nice touch of newness and excitement to the story that made Elder's part, controlling the ship's people, still interesting. I liked the fact that the chapters alternated between the two characters as well. Sometimes you finished an Elder chapter and were like, "What? What happened?" and had to rush through an Amy chapter to find out, and vice versa. This made the story really interesting and made me plow through it quickly! It also keeps the story from getting monotonous, especially since each character was dealing with their own situations. The mystery behind the ship is like an onion. Every chapter peels back a layer of lies only to expose another layer beneath. You think you know what is going on with the ship only to find out it was just another web of lies! And when you finally, after so many lies, get to the truth, you won't believe your eyes!
This was a wonderful follow up to the great first book. It ends in a way that will make you furious you have to wait until next January to read the final piece of the trilogy. The ending opens up a third book that is going to be just as exciting, maybe even more so, than the first two. The writing is clear and easy to read, but there are some situations like rape and murder occurring on the ship. The descriptions aren't gratuitous, but the situations are there. I think this was a great second book and am happy a friend recommended this series! Literally Can. Not. Wait. until the third book- it's gonna be legendary!
Have you ever hurt someone? Have you ever caused someone pain, whether you meant to or not? Do you think sorry was enough to make up for what you did? You better hope it was or you could be the next victim of punishment in Elizabeth Miles' Fury series.
Em is Gabby's best friend, but Em can't stop thinking about Gabby's boyfriend Zach. When Gabby goes away for the holidays, she feels guilty about the fact that she is looking forward to spending time with Zach and no Gabby. What she isn't expecting is that he might feel the same way about her. She knows it is wrong, but she can't help the way she feels, right?
Chase has scraped and climbed his way to the top of the social pyramid with careful execution, but he stil lives in a trailer, a fact that he never forgets. His inspiration was a childhood friend named Sasha whose mother remarried and with the help of her stepfather's money, was flung to the head of the social staircase. But when Sasha throws herself from an overpass and is in a coma in the hospital, Chase struggles with the fact that he may have been involved in her decision to commit suicide.
Both have made mistakes. All their mistakes had reasons and regrets behind them, but they still chose to do what they did. Now things keep going wrong. Chase is haunted by a beautiful girl who he can't stop thinking about. No matter what she does to hurt him or humiliate him, he can't say no to her. When Em starts seeing a similar girl, she feels like she is being stalked. But what they don't know is that the girls following them are much more dangerous than they look...
Fury was an interesting book, but I found myself really confused in the beginning. Actually, I found myself really confused for about 2/3 of the story. I suspected the book was about Furies getting vengeance on bad people and when the couple of kids in the book were doing fairly bad things, I realized my suspicions were right. But I didn't really understand the connection between Em and Chase. It turns out there really wasn't much of a connection other than the fact that they went to school together and kind of knew each other. My other small qualm about this book was their "crimes" for which the Furies were after them. Once you get to the heart of what Chase did, you will agree that the jerk deserves to be punished, but Em's crime, while despicable, isn't exactly death-worthy. I mean, cheating with your best friend's boyfriend is beyond crappy, and you deserve to come back as a dung beetle in a future life, but to die for that? As a teenager (who are notorious for stupid decisions when it comes to hormones and emotions)? It seemed a little harsh. Not sure if I totally agree with that decision on the part of the author. In fact, I might have either had the second story more serious or eliminated it altogether.
The writing was nice and clear, and the characters were multidimensional, which I appreciate. I loved the fact that the Furies' victims were not just pure evil- they were normal people, not all good, not all bad, who made bad decisions. I think it brought the human quality into the story where you almost felt bad for them by the time the Furies caught up with them, which made you feel confused as a reader because you knew they did crappy stuff. It was a great moral paradox to grapple with as a reader and made the stories less black and white. The way the story ended left me excited to see where the story will go in the next two books and opened the possibilities up tenfold. There is so much Miles can do from here! On a whole, great breakout series and look forward to more from this author.
When we last saw Gaia, the midwife from the Enclave, she had been held prisoner inside the walled city and found her mother, who she feared had died. Her mother was pregnant and Gaia was forced to serve as her midwife. After losing her mother in childbirth, she is determined to save her sister. Aided by the guard she cared more about than she cares to admit, Leon, Gaia escapes into the Wasteland. At the beginning of the sequel Prized, Caragh O'Brien, we find Gaia and her sister Maya barely alive in the Wasteland... but still free of the Enclave.
Maya has stopped crying and Gaia knows the end is near. They won't last much longer. Just as she is about to give up, a rider on horseback finds her. She thought horses were extinct! Peter takes her back to Sylum, the community where women are dying out and the ones left control the community. Unlike the Enclave, in Sylum, women are the only citizens who matter and the only ones to vote. Matrarc, the "matriarch" of the community, takes Maya from Gaia to be placed with another family and warns Gaia about the unfortunate reality of Sylum: if you stay, you will have to go through the "entry sickness". Once your body acclimates to Sylum, you will never be able to leave. People have tried and always end up dying in the Wasteland. No one knows what happens to your body in Sylum to keep you from leaving, but they do know that once you make the choice to stay, you have to accept your life will remain in Sylum forever.
Gaia stays, but only for her sister. She fills the space of the long-gone midwife, but butts heads with Matrarc for assisting in a miscarriage. In a society where only 1 in 10 babies is a girl, they realize every baby is precious, but the way to maintain order is to ensure families remain together and the women have strict rules to protect them. Therefore, no man can touch a woman and a kiss is considered attempted rape. As Gaia gets to know Peter, who saved her form the Wasteland, and Will, Peter's brother, she realizes how restricting life must be for people who can't even hug or hold hands unless they are getting married. When Leon shows up from the Wasteland, Gaia knows she must save him from the prison. What she doesn't expect is Leon's bitterness about how well she has finally acclimated to a society where Gaia and the rest of the women are in charge. Now she must find a way to get her sister back and to prove to Leon how sorry she is. Not an easy thing to do when he is in jail and her every move is watched carefully.
It is no secret that I loved Birthmarked, but Prized was a brilliant sequel. It gave us two totally different dystopic worlds within the same series and with the same characters. It would make sense that in Gaia's world, there are entire civilizations completed separated by the Wastelands and other geographic obstacles, and it would only make sense that they would be totally and completely different. This brilliant move made this book just as exciting as the first book in the series. And the idea of a community where women's numbers are dwindling and women are in complete control is fascinating. There was a logical reason for it- men outnumbering women and all trapped there might endanger the women- but it had gone too far to a point where men were little more than slaves. It was an interesting flip flop to something our students are used to learning about and would spark some interesting discussions.
My one very, very tiny pet peeve was some of the jargon or terms used in Sylum. Cuzines were the governing body of women, all married women in proper standing were referred to as Mlady and single women in proper standing were Mlass. Women who were disgraced and refused to marry were called libbies and their prefix was Mx. It was a little confusing at first, but luckily the terminology was limited and didn't overpower the story. I think a nice addition to the book would have been a short glossary for people getting adjusted to the language used in the community. Otherwise, this was a brilliant sequel. The characters continue to be deep and realistic. The story is intricate and beautiful, and the reader, though O'Brien's wonderful prose, finds themselves immersed into the world along with Gaia, tough choices and all. I promise, you are going to go into this book thinking you know where you stand on things and end up questioning everything you thought you understood!
What were you like at 14? Did you try hard to be popular and fit in with the popular crowd? Did you lose friends in the process or forget your way as you tried desperately for the cool kids to notice you? Did labels and name brands mean a lot to you as you navigated your first year of high school? If so, whether you are a city girl or a country girl, you can all relate to Ericka (previously known as Ricky Jo when she was in 8th grade) in The Queen of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker.
Ericka made sure no one called her Ricky Jo. She was starting 9th grade and had no intention of being known as poor farm girl Ricky Jo anymore. it was time to reinvent herself. She had a new wardrobe, she had tried out for cheerleading, and she was on the track of a new group of friends. Even though at home she still had to work in the tobacco fields, getting the crop ready, in school she was Ericka. She lucks out in home room by not only getting to hang out with the Fabulous Four (hoping to change it to the Fabulous Five), but she also sits right next to David Wolfbaker... the boy known as Wolf for more than just his name.
With a rampaging crush on Wolf, Ericka manages to carry on as cool as she can. She and the Fabulous Four have some fun together, but she never finds a way to get herself on the inside of the group. The girls always seem to have an inside joke she doesn't understand or an impromptu sleep over she wasn't invited to. The hardest part s how Ericka's transition has started to affect her best fried Luke and her friends from middle school. She wants to be a good friend, but her attempts to fit in are alienating everyone she originally cared for... and for what? Friends who usually don't seem to care about her as much as they say they do? And Wolf is the worst. She has a crush on a boy who insults her and humiliates her more than he flirts with her, but of course, he is always sweet and adorable the minute no one else is around. She has some big decisions to make: is she sweet farm girl Ricky Jo or cut-throat popular girl Ericka?
I am going to premise this by saying this girl was SO ME when I was in junior high. Everything Whitaker describes about trying to fit in, always finding yourself just outside the popular group, and always feeling sad or disappointed when they didn't include you is an exact description of most of my adolescent years. I look back to those years and cringe, which is why I struggled a little with this story at first. Not because it wasn't well-written, because it was, but because it was SO REAL! I found myself thinking, "Crap?! Did I know this author growing up?" No, but I am sure this story is a lot more common than uncommon. And the beauty of its realistic descriptions is that you feel every single emotion with Ericka. You want to tell her to tell those frenemies to go stuff it. You want her to tell Wolf that he is a total jerk. You want her to kiss Luke. You want her to play basketball which she rocks at instead of wasting her time with cheerleading. And most importantly, you want to tell her she isn't alone, that you know how she feels because you lived through the exact same childhood (possibly minus the tobacco drying in the barn).
I think this is a great book for any girl, but the important thing to remember is that the main character is only 14. Therefore, she acts, speaks, and thinks like a 14 year old, which if you remember correctly, is a pretty bratty and immature time. So while 14 year olds would really relate to Ericka, I worry older girls might find her too bratty and annoying to give the book a chance, despite the fact that they would love it if they did. (Of course that might be because it hits too close to home about how bratty THEY were at 14!). There is a little talk of making out, but nothing too bad (the main character is mostly worried about getting her first kiss), one scene of silly slumber party streaking that showed girls more embarrassed than proud to take their clothes off, and an ugly bout of drinking that had the cautionary hangover scenes to follow. I think this is a great story for any young girl, whether she is strong and determined (even though we know that s usually a facade), or she is unsure of herself and trying to find her way. As an adult woman, if you read this story, you are bound to see a little of yourself in Ericka, whether you like it or not! And since we all remember what a nightmare it was to be 14, proceed at your own risk! But Alecia Whitaker is definitely an author to be watched! She has a fresh voice and wonderful characters and knows how to take a coming of age story and make it more... so much more!
Great title, great cover, terrifying world. A world divided between people who live in automated domes where their whole lives are spent in virtual realities, never experiencing true emotions, connections, or human interactions. The rest of the world are Savages who live outside the domes and live in tribes and civilizations that barely scrape by through hunting and gathering. A world torn between two societies that have nothing in common but need each other in ways they never could have imagined. That is what Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky promises and delivers.
Aria grew up in the domes where life is simple and enjoyable. Work is done through automated machines so people have all the time in the world to enjoy themselves in the virtual Realms where they can be in Medieval Europe in one moment and on the moon the next. Her mother is a scientist and was working at another dome when communication was lost, and Aria will do anything to get news about her, even cozy up to the Consul's son. When a harmless flirtation and teenaged prank goes awry, Aria is blamed for the Consul's son's break with reality where he almost burned down the dome and quietly exiled from the domes. She is sure she won't survive the night, but she didn't expect to come across Perry, the very Savage who saved her from the fire.
Perry has never gotten along with his brother, the Blood Lord of their tribe, but he sticks around for his nephew, Talon, who grows sicker every day. Perry thinks the tribe is in danger of starvation and the ever-growing Aether storms that threaten total destruction each and every day, but his brother refuses to consider moving. When a hover craft from the Domes attacks Perry and kidnaps Talon, he will do anything to get him back, including taking Aria to the domes to trade her digital eyepiece with the evidence that will vindicate her of the fire. Two people who grew up in totally different worlds developmentally but geographically near find themselves thrust together in a harsh world full of angry wolves, terrifying storms, cannibals, and two societies that hate them. But they won't give up until they save their families: Aria's mother and Perry's nephew are the only things that matter now.
This was such an amazing dystopia I want to pick it up and read it all over again (but plan to wait until the second book Through the Ever Night comes out!). This world was a crazy dichotomy between technology-gone-too-far and civilization-thrown-into-the-stone-age. How can you possibly put those two worlds together, you ask? How can you do it and not see ridiculous or utilize time travel? Well Rossi has the secret and it lies within sealed, domed cities! The domed cities are a brilliant way to show the difference between the two societies and still remain realistic that these two societies could exist so close to one another and still never cross paths.
The characters, from Perry and Aria to all the supporting characters throughout the story, are phenomenal. They are deep, dynamic, and realistic with flaws and heroism rolled into one. They don't trust one another at first, obviously, but their circumstances mean they have to figure it out. Life and death situations can do a lot to bring two people together, no matter how different their childhoods were! The supporting characters are not just static caricatures that plague many books. You will find yourself loving them as much as you love the main characters (or hating the bad ones with an equal amount of intensity). Not only did Rossi build an incredible new world, she also nailed the characters better than most books I have read!
I would say this is a good book for any strong middle school student through any adult interested in the genre. The story is so interesting and exciting, you won't be able to put the book down. There is a little mild, vague sexual content, but it is nowhere near graphic or explicit. There is violence, but that is a given when you deal with most dystopias. Over all, I have to say I am dying to read the second book and will be suggesting this book to everyone I can! Brava, Ms. Rossi! You nailed it!
A world without pain can't be bad, right? But if you don't feel any pain, grief, or loss, how can you truly understand love, passion, or desire? In Lauren Oliver's new trilogy, Delirium, you become a witness to a world where a mandatory surgery "fixes" people to prevent them from contracting a dreaded disease: love.
Lena (short for Magdalena) was named for the first woman to ever be cured of love, mary Magdalene. She suffered all her life because of love and started the movement that create a society free of the disease that will cause you to act impulsively, make you crazy, and will undoubtedly end in death if you contract it. Lena's surgery is only a few short months away, but she is desperate for the big day to be here so she doesn't have to live in fear of the dreaded disease. When she goes for her evaluation, something goes horribly awry and the Invalids (people who aren't cured and live outside the protected communities) or their sympathizers stage a demonstration that sends cows through the evaluation building and ends her interview. Since she found herself answering the questions in a way that would surely cause her to fail, she is almost grateful for the interruption. She saw a boy during the cow stampede and now she can't stop thinking about him. Hopefully she hasn't already caught the disease...
Lena's friend Hana has been toying with the boundaries of what is allowed and what will get you branded a sympathizer. Lena tries to get her friend to stop this dangerous behavior, but still she feels compelled to follow her to a party at an abandoned farm. There Lena experiences more emotion and overwhelming stimulation than she has ever experienced, and she flees almost as soon as she gets there. On her way out, she bumps into the same boy from the evaluation, Alex. As the days pass, she keeps bumping into Alex until she starts spending time with him. After all, he is cured, so it is both legal and safe for her to spend time with him. But when Alex admits to her that he isn't cured and is actually an Invalid, Lena can't believe her ears. She can't ignore her heart, either, and finds herself drawn to Alex and happily suffering from the very disease she was so afraid of just a few short weeks ago. What she doesn't expect is how quick her surgery date is approaching and how far everyone will go to "cure" her of the best feeling she has every experienced in her life: love. But is love enough to keep Lena and Alex together?
In the wide world of dystopias, there are the soft dystopian worlds like in Matched or The Giver where you can see how the world went to hell on a road paved with good intentions. Then there are the hard dystopias like Birthmarked and Forest of Hands and Teeth where the world was corrupted by greed and power. This world is more like the first category, giving the world an almost acceptable premise, but we still realize how it has been twisted and warped to create a society that has taken the protection of its citizens too far. You read the book and can't imagine how the people don't see where everything went wrong, but then you think about everything people get used to and can see how people would hold onto this broken world so fiercely- it is all they know. The idea of cutting out love is so hard to imagine, but what about the elimination of pain or grief. To anyone who has lost a loved one or watched a great love end, it doesn't sound like a bad option, does it?!
That is the beauty of this book. The discussion possibilities are simply endless. I went to the reading Lauren Oliver did at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck this weekend and was absolutely in love with her! She was a really normal, cool lady with lots to talk about, in particular, just how hard it is to write a book! I wish my students had more opportunities to meet the authors of the books they love because it is an experience that nothing can compare to. I would recommend this book for a wide range of students from strong middle readers through to young adults. It is a good clean, not-too-harsh dystopia that will be great for any fan of The Giver. The sequel is out and I have it staring at me right now, but I am going to wait a little while to read it. I want all the ideas from Delirium to ruminate and not be clouded by the second book! And if you get a chance to see Lauren Oliver, make sure you do! She is a cool, cool lady who will reinforce your love of her books (not that you need anything but the books themselves, but it can't hurt!).
