Thursday, April 11, 2013

Review - Requiem by Lauren Oliver (Delirium #3)

 
Picture from GoodReads



Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Format: Hardcover (391 pages)
Publisher: 3Harper Teen
Publication Date: March 5th 201
Rating: 4/5
Source: Library Loan
Get it at: Chapters | Amazon









Summary from Goodreads:

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

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.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.
My Feelings and Whatnot:

Like the two predecessor of Requiem (Delirium and Pandemonium), the writing quality was magical and enchanting. Although the pace of the story did not pick up until the last 50 pages, the quality of writing just kept me reading and reading.

That being said, there are things that are quite disappointing. I was happy that the author brought back Alex again, and from the very beginning I knew that Alex and Lena were meant for each other. However, the interaction between these two seemed to be very lacking. Because of that, I enjoyed the moments that Julian shared with Lena more. In Requiem, the character development that we see the most is Julian. In contrast to Lena, her character development just went a few step back. Here, she appears to be a whiny little kid and leading Julian on. Aside from the main characters, or should I say, love triangle, we get to see Hana and Grace too. I'm happy that Hana redeemed herself but then I can't bring myself to hate her after reading her back story (Hana, Delirium #1.5). I'm so glad that she made appearance. I'm also happy about the reunion about Lena and Gracie. What bothers me is that Oliver has not explained the other people mentioned in the trilogy. What happened to Jenny? What happened to Carol? What happened to Annabel? I think a lot of characters need recognition as well as they played a vital part in the protagonist's life.

The plot of the story is quite well planned. Although the moral of the story is to fight what you believe in, and tear down any wall of insecurity, the ending of the trilogy did not do justice. The ending is just plain opened. Yes, we do see Lena grow up and learn what's right and wrong, but the main event of the story didn't have an end. To me the ending was not wrapped up and I was actually waiting for another chapters.

I would have give this book a 3/5, however, the quality of writing just bump up a score.


。・:*:・゚`☆、。・:*:・゚`★*。・:*:・゚`☆、。・:*:・゚`★*。

 Quotes

  • “You know you can’t be happy unless you’re unhappy sometimes, right?”
  • “This is what amazes me: that people are new every day. That they are never the same. You must always invent them, and they must always invent themselves, too.”  
  • “There are some losses we never get over.”

。・:*:・゚`☆、。・:*:・゚`★*。・:*:・゚`☆、。・:*:・゚`★*。

About Lauren Oliver

Website | Blog | Twitter  | Goodreads

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Review: Reached by Ally Condie (Matched #3)

 Genre: Young Adult,Dystopian, Romance
Format: Hardcover (512 pages)
Publisher: Penguins
Publication Date:  November 13th 2012
Rating: 4/5
Source: Library Loan
Get a Copy at: Chapters | Amazon  | Barnes & Nobles











Summary from Goodreads:


After leaving Society to desperately seek The Rising, and each other, Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again. Cassia is assigned undercover in Central city, Ky outside the borders, an airship pilot with Indie. Xander is a medic, with a secret. All too soon, everything shifts again.
 
What I think:


I was a bit disappointed with Matched Crossed because of the clichés and slow character development. However, Ally Condie`s work have a lot of potentials, so I decided to finish the trilogy afterall. Reached did redeem itself with its twists and beautiful writing style. The third book of the Match trilogy has indeed showcased the evolution of the author`s writing.

Reached in Cassia, Ky, and Xander`s POVs which sometimes is frustrated and interesting at the same time. There were moments that I did not want to switch point of views because I was too drawn into one character and had to dread reading another two chapters just to get back to the point of view I really enjoyed at that particular time. However, luckily, all three POVs were full of surprises so that dread feeling was not as big as I have anticipated.  

The three endings, since Reached was told in three different perspectives, were great. Although, there are some open-ended points, such as Xander`s case, I did not mind as much as I should. Some parts were bittersweet which was good because not everything is happily-ever-after as there are losses and sacrifices to be remembered.  

My only problems with this book is that the first 100 pages or so, there seemed to have no plots. The 
thoughts of all three characters seemed to be all mixed up at one times. I don`t particularly enjoyed alternating POVs as I got so confuse on who is talking and had to re-read the chapters to understand the event fully. They kept talking about the pilot, which to me, is a bit too repetitive, unless the repetitiveness has a symbolism.

Reached was a good conclusion of the Matched Trilogy. Many of the questions were answers, yet there still a few points that left the readers wondering. The writing was beautiful; however, I think it would be more extraordinary if the layout of the book was more organized. I recommend this book to the people that started reading the second installment and want to see who Cassia ends with or Xander`s fate. In addition, I think this book is perfect for the ones that just starting to read YA dystopian novels as the writing style is simple enough to understand. However, overall, this series is an okay read.


。・:*:・゚`☆、。・:*:・゚`★*。・:*:・゚`☆、。・:*:・゚`★*。

 Quotes:

  • “I wish I could have one without the other, but that's the problem with being alive. You don't usually get to choose the measure of suffering or the degree of joy you have.”
  • “In a story, you can turn to the front and begin again and everyone lives once more. That doesn't work in real life.”
  • "There is ebb and flow. Leaving and coming. Flight and fall. Sing and silent. Reaching and reached.” 


。・:*:・゚`☆、。・:*:・゚`★*。・:*:・゚`☆、。・:*:・゚`★*。


About Ally Condie
Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads