Prodigy | Book Review

Prodigy by Marie Lu

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Color Me: Sequelly Satisfied. I consumed Legend in one breath last year. I loved it (but that was before I got tired of YA dystopias... Ah those were the days...). So I was thrilled to see Prodigy hit the shelves three months ago. And then...I got bored. And then I got excited. And ultimately, I was very pleased with this sequel.

Writing Technique: ★★★ Lu writes like a video game Flash artist (which she is...). Her style is very straight forward, visual, and simple. I like it. It works for this story. I have nothing overly negative or positive to say about it.

Plot/Story Development: ★★★★ I spent the first half of this book bored to tears. It was all like "We're going to do this. Then we're gonna do that." And I was like "Can we please just get to that?!" But somewhere in the middle, things started happening and that was exciting. I like the whole Republic v. The Colonies v. The Patriots v. The People v. whatever storyline. But I'll say that while the story progressed significantly, not a lot happened (if that makes sense). We got from A to B, but there were only a couple stops along the way. That may not be a bad thing. But it made the story seem somewhat simple (despite all the conspiracy stuff going on).

Character Development: ★★★ Day has been a rebel without a cause for most of his life. He's been a one-man army with tunnel vision. This book, he has to learn to play with others. But choosing which others-which cause-is the real struggle. His idealism is challenged and he has to figure out what he wants, what he can do, and what is actually possible for the people. His is a four-star character arc. June's arc is much less tangible. Her almost super-human powers of observation mean she just has to trust her gut and be brave enough to follow through. She gets two generous stars in this department. They balance out to a three.

(Random side note: I don't get why the characters here are so young. June and Day are 15. 15?! I'm trying to suspend my disbelief. But mostly I just have to imagine they're 17 or 18 or 19 or 20... My brother is 16, and I can't imagine him leading a revolution ((as more than just a mascot)), taking a powerful position in government, be in True Love, or pretty much any of the things these kids are supposed to do...)

Message/Theme: ★★★★1/2 loyalty, betrayal, rebellion, enemies, allies, friendship, love, and the many faces of oppression...

Rating: PG/PG-13 for violence and mild language

Overall: ★★★★ A good solid sequel. I'm curious about where we'll go in the third and final--seriously why is everything a trilogy nowadays?! There are other numbers out there besides 3. There's 4 and 5 and 7 and a bunch of others...--book.



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The Adoration of Jenna Fox | Book Review

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Honestly, I'm almost too bored to write this review. I don't have much to say about it - good or bad. So here we go.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a science-fiction, coming of age novel set in a not-so-distant future. Jenna has recently awakened from a long coma with no memory of who she is. As she strives to remember and move forward as Jenna Fox, she realizes the key to future opens a very locked door from her past.

Writing Technique: ★★★ Perfectly acceptable. There were a few moments poetry that were nice. But overall, the writing didn't grip me in any way.

Plot/Story Development: ★★★ Um, yeah, this plot unfolds. There are revelations and twists, etc. But I'm not gonna lie, I thought the twists were gonna be a lot bigger. I was prepared to be knocked off my feet (based on the positive review of one of my favorite authors), but sadly I wasn't even swayed by the light wind of this story. It was...fine. I'll admit, I take issue with the tiny baby of a love story here. If I'm to believe...what she says at the end that they spend the next 70 years together?!, I could use much more supporting evidence throughout. Weak sauce.

Character Development: ★★★1/2 Jenna Fox was never quite enough for me as a character, maybe even as a human. Much of her inner monologue is questioning if she is "enough." I'm not sure the author ever convinced me she was. But what she learns and how that shapes her actions, particularly at the end of the story are...interesting, kind of. Nearly all of the other characters, though, are sadly one dimensional. Even knowing their histories, they never became real people. Ethan, Dane, Alice, Mr. Bender, Lily, Claire, Dad -- they do things, they feel things, they have reasons for them; but they don't really change, and some of them don't really have a point. So...that's kind of a fail.

Message/Theme: ★★★★ Now the questions presented here are much more interesting to me. I wish I package was bigger and brighter. But what the hey, take what I can get. Ideas: What makes a person a person? What is the soul? Can it be lost? Can it be kept in a box? Does the government have the right to determine when the soul, when personhood, when humanity begins and ends? Where is line between POSSIBILITY and PERMISSIBILITY (ethics)? If science and medicine CAN do something, does that mean it SHOULD? What would you do for family? What would you want your family to do for you? There's more, but this is all that really mattered to me.

Rating: PG for language and thematic elements.

Audiobook Performance: ★★1/2 Jenna Lamia is unimpressive to me as a narrator. She straight up ruined [b:Shiver|6068551|Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1)|Maggie Stiefvater|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328839272s/6068551.jpg|6244926] by [a:Maggie Stiefvater|1330292|Maggie Stiefvater|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1359424840p2/1330292.jpg] for me, a book I believe to be nearly flawless. So I'm not sure if my apathy toward this story is not entirely her fault. I can't say she did anything exactly wrong here. But it didn't do anything for me as a listener. Perhaps one day if I have oodles of time, I'll give this book another shot, this time with my eyes. But...my TBR list is pretty long as it is.

Overall: ★★★ My opinion: This story had a lot of potential. I think with more development it could have been great. As it is, it's mediocre. Read it if you want. Don't if you want. It really didn't affect me one way or the other. At least it's short...



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Gone Girl | Book Review

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Writing Technique: ★★★★ Gillian Flynn is either a genius writer or a certifiable sociopath. She wrote from the perspectives of Nick and Amy so convincingly and so differently, I was amazed. And terrified. I was genuinely disturbed by both of these people (but mostly...just the one. You know the one.) For that, I applaud Flynn. Dang good writing. Engrossing. Surprising. Ingenious.

Note on writing things that might be spoilery but might not: This is a FANTASTIC example of an unreliable narrator. Neither Nick nor Amy are exactly what they seem. And for much of the story, you really can't be sure you're getting the truth or the whole story. They are telling the story their way. Unreliable narrators are one of my favorite writing techniques. And this one takes the cake. Kudos!

Plot/Story Development: ★★★★ I loved the evolution of this story. I loved how information was seeped out gradually, and the reader has to pieces the puzzle together for a while. The ending is a killer, I think. So serious thrill and horror comes out as we learn what's really going on, and I liked feeling that chill of "What the heck is going to happen next?"

Character Development: ★★★ I don't think the characters actually change that much. Some, yes. But our understanding of them and their understanding of each other changes a lot. As characters, they are deep and complex and insane - literally - and fascinating to follow page to page. But they don't have a great character arc where you go - ah! lesson learned! Mostly you go - "wow...no matter how bad my life/marriage/younameit is, at least it's not and will never be this bad!"

Message/Theme: ★★★ Be careful who you marry. That's the great lesson here. Themes throughout include: love, hate, adultery, revenge, abuse, manipulation, psychological terror, the court of public opinion, psychosis, and other scary things... This isn't really the kind of book you read to teach you something or inspire you or show you a different perspective in life. It's something to read to freak yourself out, give yourself goosebumps, and walk away feeling better about your life.

Rating: R for a profundity of profanity, crude and graphic sexual language, and a major creep factor. Be warned - this book is heavy.

Audiobook Performance: ★★★★★ Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne are flawless voices for Amy and Nick. Their performances were spot on, lending humor and drama and fear and suspense. I loved hearing them tell this story. I highly recommend listening to this audiobook if you're interested in reading this book.

Overall: ★★★★ This was a fascinating read. I was hooked. I was creeped out. I was surprised. And ultimately I was quite satisfied with this thriller.



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Cinder | Book Review

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A dystopian retelling of Cinderella wherein she is a cyborg living in futuristic China?! UM, stop reading my diary, Marissa Meyer!

I thought this was a good idea when I read the blurb, but it still wasn't that pressing of a need to read it. I finally bought the audiobook, and dang, do I wish I had read this sooner! This book hit all my buttons. I love-love-loved it and that ending came WAY too fast for my taste. I'll be eagerly awaiting Scarlet every day until its February release date.

Here's my take.
Writing technique: ★★★1/2 Meyer did an amazing job of making Cinder's world real and interesting. Despite all the tech speak, I felt I followed along with the cyborg and android descriptions well without it feeling too much like manual. I loved the characters she created in Cinder, Kai, and Iko (especially Iko). She writes well without being too fluffy.

Character development: ★★★ Cinder's discovery of what and who she is in this story is fun. Predictable, but interesting nonetheless. She is a lot more than the frumpy helpless step-daughter of the traditional story. She's strong and quirky and determined. Kai also was far more dimensional than Prince Charming (but really - that's not hard to do!). But his character development didn't quite resolve in this story. I look forward to see what he's like in Scarlet.

Plot/Story development: ★★★★ I looooved that this was NOT really a love story. It's a cyborg story, and an alien story (think The V!!), and a dystopia story with the constant threat of Plague and War... Much of this book's plot was predictable and obvious, but much wasn't. And it was still very enjoyable to watch everything unfold. I really wish it had ended with just the tiniest bit more resolution. That's a weird place to end a story if you ask me.

Message/Theme: ★★★ Hmmm... There could be a message against racism in here (cyborgs and Lunars are highly discriminated against). There is of course the Do The Right Thing Even If It's Dangerous message. And the Embrace Who You Are message. And the Stand Up For What You Believe In and Don't Give In To Bullies Even If They're Bigger Than You. You know, the usual.

Audiobook Performance: ★★★★ Rebecca Soler was a great narrator. She perfect Cinder's sarcasm and wit as well as Iko's and Peony's animated quirkiness and Audrey's, Pearl's, and Lavanna's pure evilness and Dr. Erland's accented eagerness and Kai's normal teenage boy-ness and every android's mechanical drone-iness... She was a stellar voice to the characters. I only wish she had read the more actiony scenes with more urgency.

Overall: ★★★★★ I adored this novel. I swallowed it whole. I love-love-love it. I know if I average my more objective ratings above, I will not get 5 stars, but I loved it too much to give it less. Subjectively, this is a new favorite.



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