Highlights / Lowlights: REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver

Title: REQUIEM
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium #3
Genre: YA Futuristic, Dystopian
Published: March 5th 2013
Pages: 391
POV: 1st person, dual POV
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover
Source: Gifted from family

"Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor."

Highlights: I highly enjoyed the dual narration, switching from Lena to Hana's perspective gave a nice view of how different life is for both girls. Hana's voice is slightly detached due to her Cured status, so her perspective is a bit more fascinating to me than Lena's. The writing is, of course, as lovely as it always. Oliver has a way with words. I enjoyed the realism; people die and betray one another, and life isn't always perfect or nice for these characters. Life in REQUIEM is raw and heartbreaking, while also being stark and beautiful. All in all, REQUIEM is a vividly and beautifully written conclusion to the DELIRIUM trilogy that some readers will adore while others will struggle with the ending. 

Lowlights: I can enjoy open endings, but I don't think it works well in this book. (SPOILERS-Highlight to read) What happens to Hana after she leaves Fred? Does Fred die or does his house explode? What about Julian? What the bleep happened to Jenny (who was seen once by Hana and then never mentioned again) or Lena's Aunt or Lena's sister? What about the war? Will tearing down Portland's walls do anything to help the Invalids? I feel like Oliver led to me a door and told me to go on inside — but she forgot to give me to the key to unlock it, so I'm stuck twisting and turning the handle to a door that will never open, so I'll never see what's on the other side. Instead of giving answers, Oliver leaves readers with the unsatisfying taste of uncertainty. When I read a series or a trilogy, I expect a majority of the questions to be answered at the end.

Final Thoughts: While I did not love REQUIEM the way I adore Oliver's other works, I do think this trilogy is very worthwhile to read. The writing is gorgeous, but the (lack of an) ending brought the story down a few levels for me. 

Story Rating: 4 out of 5
Ending Rating: 2 out of 5
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5

 

 

Review: SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo

Title: SHADOW AND BONE
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Published: June 5th, 2012
Series: The Grisha #1
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 358
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart."

Alina Starkov is hardly an exceptional being – she's a thin, sickly orphan girl who cannot even sketch very well when it comes to her job as a junior cartographer's assistant in the Ravkan army. But, after she unleashes her hidden Grisha (talented people who use the Small Science of the elements) side in order to save her childhood best friend Mal, Alina is whisked away to live like a Grisha. And as she learns to unleash the Grisha part of herself, she slowly evolves into something more than a sickly orphan. But, it's not being Grisha that makes Alina a fascinating protagonist –  it's her growing determination and budding confidence, along with her weaker moments, that cause her to become a character a reader can root for.

SHADOW AND BONE is richly descriptive and engrossing. I'm an avid fan of YA fantasy novels, so Bardugo had a lot to live up to in my mind – and she nailed it. From the first page, Bardugo thrusts the reader into another world with an intriguing 3rd person introduction, before switching to Alina's POV for the rest of the novel. Bardugo writes her settings vividly and expertly evokes the wanting, the adoration, the hatred, the desperation, and every other emotions swirling around inside her characters. This novel is a slow burn, taking its time as it builds the plot, setting, and develops the characters. In all, SHADOW AND BONE is a pleasant surprise that has me eagerly looking forward to more works written by Bardugo. 

Highlights: The world building is excellently done, richly described. As far as villains go, the Darkling is one the best that I've read in a long time, simply because he is layered as a character. I still do not know how I feel about him, and I think that's a mark of a well-written and complex villain. Plus, there is a stunningly incredible map inside this book¹. Alina's growth from taking the easy way out to taking the hard path made her very endearing to me. 

Lowlights: For the most part, not much happens during the middle of the story. Most of the exciting parts happen right at the beginning and then at the end, with the middle being more about Alina struggling and coming to terms with her Grisha side. It wasn't enough to bother me that much, I was just surprised at the pacing of the story. 

Cover: Excuse me while I fangirl over that cover art. I'm a fan of illustrated covers, and this one is exceptional. Simple, with a nice mixture of light and dark swirls (and I love how the lighter ones also resemble antlers). It perfectly portrays significant aspects of the novel visually.

1 I love maps. Maps in books = awesome. Seriously, just look at it:

Map image from Leigh Bardugo's website; Quote from pg. 240

Review: Uncontrollable by SR Johannes

Uncontrollable (The Nature of Grace #2)
S.R. Johannes
September 24th, 2012
300 pages (Kindle edition)
Coleman & Stott
Source: Author

As Grace recovers from tragedy, her science class is chosen by Agent Sweeney at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help with research on the new "Red Wolf Reintroduction Program".

While she’s excited about helping with the conservation of the endangered wolves, Grace knows this means being outdoors in the worst winter recorded, in a place she no longer feels comfortable. It also means working closely with Wyn (her ex) and his annoying girlfriend (Skyler), a girl whose idea of getting close to nature is picking silk plants and growing fake plants.

After a couple of wolves show up dead, Grace almost quits. However, when a fellow project team member goes missing, Grace continues the assignment under a renewed suspicion that someone might be sabotaging the conservation program. She quietly begins to hunt for clues.

Little does she know, she is being hunted too. 

When Grace is offered the chance to work on a project studying red wolves for extra credit, she jumps at the opportunity to get back into the woods and get her mind off the past. But what was supposed to be a simple project quickly goes wrong as wolves begin dying under mysterious circumstances and Grace  suspects that she's being watched by someone in the woods. Trying to survive the harsh winter is challenging enough, but Grace just might have to outwit an old enemy's malice too.

Once again, Johannes excels at creating a thrilling story that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Grace's life has complicated since the last novel – her town blames her for its troubles, Wyn's angry, and she's lost two important people in her life. Thankfully, all the good qualities from the previous novel are still present, and Johannes demonstrates plenty of growth among Grace, her family, and her friends. And, as always, Johannes wraps everything up into one thrilling conclusion that will leave readers eager for another novel. All in all, Uncontrollable is great followup to Untraceable – this is one series worth checking out. 

Highlights: Even while I guessed the big twist early, Johannes threw a few more surprises my way. I love how important Grace's family became in Uncontrollable – loved Birdie! Nice descriptions of the settings. I love how the characters in this series are not perfect people. I'm glad the author didn't try to force a romance where it wouldn't work, even if one of the characters did want a relationship. The suspense, the danger, the excitement...it was so difficult to set this story aside. 

Lowlights: Compared to the previous novel, the finished version of this book seemed a bit unpolished - I found many simple errors that could have been caught with another edit. Grace jumped to conclusions again, (spoilerish) assuming everything was Al's doing. Also, I missed Mo and that romantic plot (I'm not a Wyn + Grace fan, regarding romance), but was glad to see Mo in the end.

Note: I think it might be possible to read this book without having read the first novel, but you'd be better off reading Untraceable first.

Rating: 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Release: September 13, 2011

Pages: 400 (hardcover)

Publisher: Doubleday

Source: Amazon Vine

Summary:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will....read more at Goodreads.

Review:  A magical tale where the stakes are high and the consequences even higher, The Night Circus is truly made of dreams and wonderment. 

The third person narrative switches mainly between Celia, the daughter of Prospero the Enchanter; Marco, a young man who was picked up in an orphanage by a mysterious grey man; and Bailey, a young boy awaiting the Cirque des Rêves arrival to his town once again as he struggles to decide his future...Two schools of thought regarding magic, two students in a battle creating the most extravagant magic possible, and only one of them will win in the end. 

As the story moves from childhood to adulthood, brief excerpts from experiencing the Cirque des Rêves will tantalize you. By the time this magical circus truly begins in the story, you won't be able to tear yourself away from the enchanting qualities it holds as well as the build up to the surprising conclusion. Each different tent displays creative and unique attractions (I loved the cloud-like one). The circus was, without a doubt, one of my favorite parts. The plot moves slowly, and time is taken to appreciate the details with plenty of description. Readers who love descriptive stories will enjoy this for how easy to visualize it is (and readers who do not like too much description may want to pass this one by).

Highlights: I could have read this book for weeks. I would have gladly read double the page count. Morgenstern's story is enchanting and she has written a wondrously magical circus that I wish I could visit. I also never quite knew where everything was leading to right away, which is enjoyable for a reader like me. I absolutely adored Poppet, Widget and Bailey's characters (along with their stories).

Lowlights: At times, the magic overtook the novel, and the more "meaningful" moments between characters just didn't impress in comparison. Imaginatively, this story rocked, but it lacked emotionally. I didn't know the main characters, Celia and Marco, well enough to enjoy them or believe their "love" for each other - I couldn't see the connection. Another issue is that the date jumps around too much to keep things straight, and the ending was also a bit unclear regarding what happened with Celia & Marco.

Note: There's really only one "romance" scene (nothing too descriptive), and because of that, this story has YA crossover potential for older YA readers. 

Rating: