Proletariat

WARNING: CONTAINS SOME MINOR SPOILERS FROM [b:Divergent 8306857 Divergent (Divergent, #1) Veronica Roth http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873996s/8306857.jpg 13155899] IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT YET. OTHERWISE, YOU'RE GOOD. 8DOnce I finished [b:Mockingjay 7260188 Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) Suzanne Collins http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1294615552s/7260188.jpg 8812783], the finale of Suzanne Collin's bestselling series [b:The Hunger Games 2767052 The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) Suzanne Collins http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1326003698s/2767052.jpg 2792775], you could say that I was disappointed with it. The action and plots going on simply did not compete with the one I fell in love with in the original novel, and the second book, [b:Catching Fire 6148028 Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) Suzanne Collins http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1268805322s/6148028.jpg 6171458], was better than [b:Mockingjay 7260188 Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) Suzanne Collins http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1294615552s/7260188.jpg 8812783], yet paled in comparison to the [b:The Hunger Games 2767052 The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) Suzanne Collins http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1326003698s/2767052.jpg 2792775]. Well, folks, if you felt the same way I did with [b:Mockingjay 7260188 Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) Suzanne Collins http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1294615552s/7260188.jpg 8812783], then this girl over here, Insurgent by Veronica Roth gives you everything that you wished [b:Mockingjay 7260188 Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) Suzanne Collins http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1294615552s/7260188.jpg 8812783] ever was: an exciting story with politics deadlier than jumping down from a cliff, betrayals more surprising than your great-aunt's big revelation, action scenes that were intense, and a riveting romance.YAY!Once again, we meet our main character, Tris Prior in another heart-stopping adventure. After her initiation where things got than more than out of hand and escapes the Dauntless compound after getting attacked by her own faction under the influence of the serum, Tris is forced to escape with her friends and her family, including her boyfriend Four—otherwise known as Tobias, but I'll probably never call him that—and try to figure out what to do in the middle of a battlefield. Of course, playing hero with her Divergent abilities is certainly the right thing to do . . . but Roth just piles up the stakes higher and higher, than just when you think things couldn't get worse, it does.This was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting to give this book a four-point-five star rating, because I wasn't so sure whether Insurgent could top [b:Divergent 8306857 Divergent (Divergent, #1) Veronica Roth http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873996s/8306857.jpg 13155899], one of my favorite books of last year. Well, guess what? In my opinion, Insurgent TOPPED [b:Divergent 8306857 Divergent (Divergent, #1) Veronica Roth http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873996s/8306857.jpg 13155899]!Wait, what the heck are you doing, Wilson? Don't throw MY cards into the air, Wilson, you zombie-spawn!First off, I'll start with the plot. The execution of the whole thing was flawless. The subplots didn't get in the way of the main plot, so it wasn't dragging. It was quite fast-paced, and my eyes were glued to the book, still reading even if it was getting quite late and I had only in the fifth chapter or so. Mysteries and revelations are entwined seamlessly in this novel, which intrigued me so. Trust me, the things that are hidden here aren't quite obvious until the last minute. And that's the part where you hang your jaw wide open, and scream, “Oh my unicorn!” Seriously, some of the things revealed will shock you quite a bit! You'll also learn more from the dystopia-Chicago, which adds more depth to the city. While I thought that there could've been more revealed in the first book, there are more details added that instead of feeling admittedly, a bit one-dimensional at times, you can see different perspectives in the world.I really like Tris as a character. She only becomes stronger in this book, and keeping my interest even if sometimes her decisions were pretty stupid. I liked that part, since that shows you how . . . human she is. Tris isn't some Mary-Sue wannabe, but neither is she an Anti-Sue. She messes up, but she has lots of redeemable qualities shown. She even bears guilt for killing Will until the end. How many MCs these days just kill, remorse for a few chapters, and then forget about it? In terms of development, she's definitely matured from the Abnegation girl to a kick-ass heroine. Speaking of the other characters, they have more depth compared to the earlier novel. There are a few characters from [b:Divergent 8306857 Divergent (Divergent, #1) Veronica Roth http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873996s/8306857.jpg 13155899] that show up and play a slightly bigger role, and make you like them some more. The worst part is that a couple of them die, so . . . T_T Four Tobias was also an interesting love interest. Is there angst in their relationship? Yep. Is it realistic? Yep. Is it annoying? Hell no! All the issues they had with one another were valid, and they didn't stem up from unimportant issues. Don't get me wrong, their relationship is still pretty strong in this book—in fact, there are a few steamy scenes—but Four Tobias isn't Tris' entire life. He does play an important role, but thankfully, the entire book doesn't focus on him. They went through a couple of rough roads, but at the end, I think they got through everything together.THE QUESTION:Does Insurgent make an awesome read?THE ANSWER:ANOTHER QUESTIONDo you want the third book in your hands right now?THE ANSWER In a NutshellComparing Insurgent to [b:Divergent 8306857 Divergent (Divergent, #1) Veronica Roth http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873996s/8306857.jpg 13155899] is no easy task. However, Insurgent topples the book due to exploring Tris' world in clearer detail, and engrossing the reader. People will be amazed with this book, and almost certainly, Insurgent is one of the books you'll—or at least I—will want to read all over and over again. Five stars, no questions asked.For more reviews by moi, the Unicorn Goddess . . . and um, a blog I guess (I really don't know what to put here x_x), go to this link:

When I first picked up Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross, I have to admit that I wasn't expecting much. Yes, the blurb piqued my interest, and of course, the cover was pretty—but with the growing number of novels cropping up in the YA department, it's hard to separate the novels that you think you might fall in love with, or to buy a book that makes a big hole in your wallet that you don't quite enjoy. So I was quite surprised when I read this book, and liked it.

The plot centers on a girl named Mira who is running away to her birthplace, Beau Rivage, before her sixteenth birthday to find out the reason behind her guardians' secrecy and veiled words about that town. However, things start to fall apart when she finds out that it's almost like a different world—a world where fairytales roam, and where stories awaken from black letters and white pages. And Mira is connected to that world, with a curse to her own—Sleeping Beauty, in fact. As romances bloom and with a mission to find out her trigger, the thing that'll send her to an endless sleep, along the way, she starts the learn that every rose literally has its thorn.

World-wise, I have to admit that the world created in Kill Me Softly is one of the most interesting places I've read in YA fiction. The concept is original, yet I was able to follow it without any trouble. I have to admit that I haven't read an actual fairy tale, save the Greek mythology phase I went back a couple of years ago. But I was quite surprised to learn about the darkness behind fairy tales, and the way it was presented blended smoothly into the story. I liked how Ms. Cross gave people their own different quirks, although she could've given more personality to the secondary characters.

Speaking of that, I think the characters are the weakest part of this novel. First of all, the main character, Mira, was a bit annoying to read, especially during the romance department, which I'll be talking about later. Her decisions caused a mixture of the following emotions: the ‘WHHHYYYYYYY???' and my personal favorite, ‘WTH!



That's not it. Okay, there's this unwritten, but well-known fact about writing: although you can make your characters evil and whatnot just as long as they're readable. The thing is though, there needs to be some sort of reasoning behind the character's motives AND make it understandable. You can't just expect me to love that character when she lets her boyfriend boss her around because she just loves that kid too much, and it gets to the point he treats her like a slave. In that example, you know that she loves him. But what exactly makes her love him so much?

Those were the same questions I encountered throughout the book. Mira becomes one of those heroines to fall under what I like to call ‘InstantLuv Microwave Meals', where she literally goes out and buy some sexy lingerie on, I don't know—on the first day after she met the guy. The FIRST day.


Dude, even if you think you love the guy and you're going to be together forevah, be logical. Even if this is your first time, listen to the clear side of your brain first. The romance for me was the weakest part of the story, since I just couldn't tap into Mira's emotions. If there had been a bit more explanation and parts that would make me go, “Oh, I get it now!” then I probably would've enjoyed the story more.

Between the two love interests in the story, my ninja senses kicked in and voila—I knew instantly which would be the sleaze and which one would get the girl. Maybe it's because of the numerous YA plots and formulas that have been drilled in my head for years, but the love triangle was predictable. Blue and Felix both had their own issues, so they weren't on the scale on full-on horrible. Although I enjoyed reading more about Blue, both of them were okay.

Speaking of the other characters, the way the myths were blended into their personalities was really cool. They could've been more fleshed out though. I really like Jewel, but we didn't see much of her. Layla and Henley's relationship was also one thing that kept me hooked, and again, although some details were given, not much was given. If a sequel appears for this book, I would like to know more about the other characters. Or, what the heck, focus on the side characters entirely! Their sides of their own stories could be a good read.

I was actually expecting the ending. Actually, that isn't quite the right word. The perfect phrase would be ‘I-kind-of-knew-that-this-was-going-to-happen-but-I-wished-it-didn't'. The ending does tie up those loose strings, and holds promise for a sequel—which I may end up reading. Despite the negativity one might think from reading this review, I did enjoy this book. The writing style was interesting and easy to get into, and the idea behind this was bloody brilliant. If some more things were straightened up, this would be an easy five-starred review for me.

In a Nutshell
For romantic YA book lovers who're interested in living dark fairy tales, this is one book that you won't want to miss out on. This is definitely a book with untapped potential. 3.5 stars.

For more reviews and to support the invisible unicorns (don't ask; it has something to do with lamps) you can visit Max's review blog: ThePaperFortUpstairs. Or, you know, you could Google cute kitties and stare at their pictures for hours. I do that all the time.

The nostalgia is killing me . . .

Brain: It was only five years ago, dude, cut the crap–

Me: Hush.

It was a pretty decent book, but I think the romance ruined it all. Review to come!

Holy unicorns. This is the PERFECT example of a survival novel. Review to come closer to the release date.