Matched

Matched by Ally Condie

I recently read (and forgot to add it to the Current Reads blogpost) Matched by Allyson Condie. It's yet another dystopian novel, of which I've read literally ten in the last few months (i.e. Uglies, The Hunger Games Trilogy, Divergent and Insurgent, The Selection and The Elite), and yet another in which the government is completely tyrannical over those underneath them. This government goes so far as to say whom you may and may not love. At a ceremony, upon the eve of your sixteenth birthday, you are Matched, or basically told with whom you are to foster a relationship with the future goal of marrying and producing children. Typically all goes well, and the two comply to the matching and procreate and live on in complete ignorance of the fact that they are being controlled at every turn in their lives. Such is not the case with Cassia Reyes. When she's matched to her best friend it appears that she's going to live out every girl's greatest wish - not only getting matched to someone she knows, but having it be the smart, attractive and sweet Xander? Unthinkable.

When she goes to look at the chip with Xander's information on it, there's a glich... and the face on the screen isn't Xander's.  For a brief second she questions whether or not she was supposed to be with Xander - whether the government is right - and this question grows into general unease about the way things are. She begins to foster a relationship with the boy behind the face - Ky, a boy who is, unbeknownst to the general population, an aberration, someone who cannot be matched. Her act is seen as rebellion to government officials and is treated as such, the consequences being drastic. Cassia finds out that the government can give great joy, and can take it all away if she displeases them. Subtle acts of rebellion don't go unnoticed, and Cassia intends (in the later installments of the series) to do something much more than subtle.

All Will Be Sorted

I enjoyed the novel, though I'm getting to be a bit jaded about the whole formula behind the teen dystopian novel. The inner dialogue of Cassia's character was interesting in it's honesty, and Ky Markham is a bit of a puzzle to figure out. Towards the end of the book I felt rather sorry for Xander, and proud of his loyalty to Cassia as a friend. He's far more than he seems, which may end up being beneficial to Cassia throughout the rest of the novels. The idea of the government dictating who, when, and what I did with my love life was upsetting... admittedly, I'm not a hopeless romantic, but I still am far too rebellious and cannot stomach the idea of another allocating what I do with my life. I'd give the book 6 out of 10, but largely because this was like... the tenth book of its type that I'd read. As always, read on!

The Elite

The Elite

Guys! Guys! GUYS!

I've gotten my hands on a ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy for all you noobs) of The Elite by Kiera Cass. This is the second book in The Selection Trilogy, which will be completed with the final book coming out in... no one knows yet! The Elite will be on sale to the public on April 23rd, so definitely run out and get it the second it does! OR pre-order it! Hardcopy, ebook, whatever!

So... America is still at the palace awaiting the decision of the lovely Maxon, and still meeting occassionally illicitly with Aspen, her once-love. She's having a really hard time deciding bet

ween the two... I mean... seriously? Can you go wrong with two attractive, upper-echelon, white collar men? And both of them are good kissers... I feel
your pain in choosing, America, I really do.

Willy Wonka agrees

Meanwhile, the palace is under intermittent attacks from the rebels. America, named for her feistiness in the womb - her mom had the creativity of 2 Chainz, "she gotta big booty, so I call her big booty...." (Birthday Song, 2 Chainz) (Does anyone else think that is the most obvious rap lyric in history?!) - I'm getting sidetracked. America, because of her rebellious nature and her previous status as a Five, chooses to basically reform the country after getting her hands on some choice banned literature. (Spoiler: it's George Illea's diary of how he overthrew the presidency and made Illea.) 

America is nearly certain, at the beginning of the book, that she is the one who hold Maxon's heart, but as stuff goes down in the castle, and more girls are eliminated, she becomes less certain that his heart belongs to only her. Does Celeste, the pompous and self-important Two who seems to flaunt herself to Maxon, have import in Maxon's life? Does Kriss, the sweet and pretty Three? Do any of the others matter to him? Is Maxon just playing the Selection through politics like a game of chess? Are all the girls simply pawns in his mind? I'm dying to find out who will win in the next book, but until then pick up The Elite in stores on April 23rd!

Divergent and Insurgent

Veronica Roth

I seem to be reading a lot of dystopian novels recently, what with reading The Selection (see my previous post to view that review) and most recently Divergent and Insurgent, two popular teen novels by Veronica Roth. She has only written these two books thus far, and has the third in the trilogy coming out this October (2013)! Definitely check them out in time to read the third one! (Come on, it's not that hard! If I can do it, you can too!) Divergent, the first of the two novels, tells the story of a young girl named Beatrice Prior, growing up in a different Chicago from the one we know now. In this Chicago, people are arranged into 5 groups based upon their roles in society, their general dispositions, and what they value most. These are the Abnegation (self-denial), Erudite (knowledgeable), Candor (truth), Amity (peace) and Dauntless (bravery). Beatrice belongs to Abnegation by birth, but after taking a test to see which faction she is most amiable with, she discovers she is one of the Divergent, a despised and feared group, which often leads either to death or becoming one of the Factionless. 

Divergent

Beatrice chooses to become on of the Dauntless (her twin, Caleb, chooses Erudite), finding their fearless way of life to be alluring, and undergoes a series of challenges to be chosen to be initiated into Dauntless. During this she meets a trainer named Four, named for the fact that there are only four fears he faces in his challenge course, an unusually low number for even a member of Dauntless. She also renames herself Tris, retaining a piece of herself while still changing to absorb the new courage she's found. I finished this book rather quickly, taking about two or three days to read it in between classes. It was pretty good, though a comparisons could be made between it and The Hunger Games, it had enough of it's own plot line to warrant individuality. I'd give it an 8 on the ADDICTING SCALE, for those of you who enjoy this type of novel. For those of you who aren't particularly addicted to teen novels, it'd probably be a bit too low level of reading. 

The second book in the series, Insurgent, focuses on the changes and trials that Tris faces as she goes up against those in control of the factions of Dauntless and Erudite. Full scale war erupts as the Erudite attempt to gain control over the other factions, killing many and using fear serum to control the Dauntless warriors. Only Tris' Divergency aids her in disrupting and going against those who would seek to control her. Her family is disrupted by all that occurs and Tris questions Caleb's family loyalties.  Four is taken captive, and they seek to free him as well as take down the Erudite operations, but the only way this is possible is through the rest of the factions uniting. Will they unite and save lives, or submit to the will of the Erudite leader Jeanine? I'm not gonna tell! Read it for yourself! I'd give this likely the same rank as it's predecessor, though it is full of a lot more action.

Subscribe, read the books, and look out for (currently unnamed novel) Divergent Series 3 coming out October 22, 2013!