Proletariat
WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST BOOK. OTHERWISE, YOU'RE GOOD, OTHER MYSTERIOUS READERS WHO IS LITERALLY READING THIS TEXT. 8D.In the second instalment of Holly Black's Curse Workers series, Red Glove comes back with our protagonist Cassel Sharpe, with a whole new batch of problems. Not only is Lila, the girl he has a crush on, madly in love with him—blame his emotion worker mother—a family member has been murdered, with the only clue being a woman in red gloves entering the apartment. Federal agents are trying to make Cassel solve the murder case, but Zacharov, head of one of the mobs, is also attempting to recruit the transformation worker for his abilities. Unfortunately, if he sides with the Feds, he'll lose all respect with the other mobs, and he can't join the mob because the government has some leverage over him. With that and other minor subplots, you could say that Cassel has a lot on his hand.I actually finished [b:White Cat 6087756 White Cat (Curse Workers, #1) Holly Black http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1331930853s/6087756.jpg 6264661] around year ago, and I don't know why I bought Red Glove just last week. It was a pretty solid read compared to the earlier one, with the almost the same amount of suspense and fluidity. I felt that the first book was slightly better, but then again, books in the middle of the series are pretty hard to pull off. The author manages to do a spectacular job with it though, which I admired. Somewhere a quarter into the book, I had to put it down to do something else. What happened next? I just kept murmuring to myself, “One more chapter,” over and over again . . . until I ended up finishing the book. xD So if you loved [b:White Cat 6087756 White Cat (Curse Workers, #1) Holly Black http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1331930853s/6087756.jpg 6264661] then could turn into another favorite on your shelf. The characters are back, with the same amount of epicness. Lila's actions during the end of the book are believable, and I was actually surprised hearing Daneca's secret–although admittedly, I kind of figured it out once the heavy hints were dropped. Cassel's character continues to amaze me, as he manages to be a realistic male voice and a character I was rooting for in the story. These days, sometimes, I feel either too neutral or feel too annoyed at the character that when they're in a bad situation, the GIFs bellow express my opinion clearly.Thankfully, Ms. Black pulls Cassel off quite successfully. He makes mistakes sometimes, and sometimes he pulls things off. Although I'm not one of those screaming fangirls in a boy-band concert, I do like him a lot.Anyway. Back to the story. The book also manages to keep the mystery of one of the major plotlines, his brother's murder, actually a mystery. Haven't we all read that book where you could instantly who did it once he or she's name was mentioned? Nothing like that here, and I usually guess things correctly. The twists and turns that were delivered were presented well, and kept me hooked.“So, Max, if you loved it so much, then why not the full five stars?” one may ask. Well, I do have to admit that however engaging the threads to the tapestry are, all of them demanded to be given equal attention despite being a bit unnecessary to the plot. There were times that I felt like skipping ahead, as I felt bored with the scene. I just wished more attention had been given to the main storyline, as it was way more interesting than the other details Holly Black had in mind.Overall, it was a pretty good book. The rest was a smooth ride, and I felt like there was enough information presented to satisfy the reader, but not too much that it makes you want to read the next book. Well, it worked on my anyway. :DIn A NutshellMissing the case of the dreaded Middle-Book Syndrome, Holly Black crafts her alternate world almost perfectly, despite the major flaw. Indeed, Red Glove leaves you curious enough to pick up the sequel [b:Black Heart 1721146 Black Heart (Vampirates, #4) Justin Somper http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255656460s/1721146.jpg 1718524]. Four stars.
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:
Meet Cinder, a cyborg mechanic making a living in the streets of New Beijing. She ‘earns' her keep by repairing items, under the eye of her evil stepmother. Cinder is quite used to her stepmother's cruel treatment, but everything changes when Peony, her stepsister, falls to a mysterious illness–and Cinder takes the blame. With the Prince suddenly visiting her shop and mysteries not only concerning her world, but past, she is pulled into a whole different life . . .
At first, Cinder by Marissa Meyer seems to have it all—a retelling of the classic Cinderella as a cyborg mechanic, set in future Beijing, the pretty cover—what more could you ask for?
Two words: world-building.
In every dystopia, creating the world the reader lives is probably one of the most important things to do. Scratch that—the most important thing. Why? For starters, when people want to see the future, they want to see changes from their everyday lives. Explanations are also a must. I mean, I don't think you'd believe right away that zombies feed on popcorn without any scientific evidence. Unfortunately, when I began settling myself into the 390 pages of Cinder, I found myself not reading the story for the plot and world, but for the characters. A big dystopia no-no.
As an example, one thing that I wanted to see were more Chinese references. It's a bit of a shame though, since living in a Chinese community, I felt like some of the customs could've been easily inserted here and there throughout the story. The only things I saw related to their culture were the emperors, the marketplace, and the names of the characters. I found the emperor part a bit sketchy too, since now, China has become a Communist country. If there was a reason that they reverted back to their old ways, I would've wanted to hear it.
It's not only that. Remember what I said about explanations? Yeah, that was my second pet-peeve. Aside from the part when Cinder first meets the doctor and learns about the reason for the chip in her spine and the bioelectricity detecting reason for the withholding for her abilities, I felt like I wasn't learning much about the story. Take the Lunars. All I got from them was that they were originally humans from the moon, but over the years, they evolved and gained superpowers, and they've turned insane and their goal is to take over the whole Earth.
Yeah, that's great. Don't bother to write complex plots. Just fill in the basic information, so that the readers will buy the next book, desperate to find out more. Or at least that's what will happen in my case.
Meyer does a great job on playing the angles for the characters though,. At once, I support Cinder, love Iko, and sympathize with the struggles of the emperor's son, Kai. I loathed Cinder's stepmother, felt the loss of Peony, and get creeped out at the Lunar queen's actions. Wow. Only a total psychopath would want to destroy the ‘useless' people. Along the way, I at least snickered when the comedic scenes came by (well, Peony's words did annoy a bit by the end) and adored the romance between Cinder and Kai. Not seeing any ‘omigosh I love you, let's make out ‘cause our love is forbidden' kind of jumbo here. Thank God for that.
The Cinderella tale was almost non-existent. While I would've wanted to see more scenarios interpreted, I'm glad that it gave it some sort of twist as opposed to just sticking rigidly to the story. However, it's also a neutral zone for me.
The plot wasn't exactly riveting to be honest. From the first sixty or so pages, I predicted a couple of things that were going to happen. All of them came true, except for one, which was admittedly a bit far-fetched. Two of them were cliché. I don't know if this is because I'm used to knowing the ‘twists and turns' due to my obsession with reading, but they weren't so hard to guess. For people who love to be puzzled while reading, this book isn't for you. The science-fiction part was a bit interesting—but not riveting either. The additions like the memory chips and such were okay, but nothing out of the box that made me go, “Wow! This is awesome!”
Overall, although this might be a hit with the mainstream readers, it didn't work out for me. If the dystopia was built up in this book and the events harder to guess, this might've been a three-starred book for me. Since it wasn't, hence, the score. Nevertheless, if you're in a bookstore waiting for someone to appear, just sit down and read a copy of Cinder—it's good for passing time, but not worth buying a hardcover of.
In A Nutshell
Despite the lack of surroundings, I didn't hate Cinder, and I'm sure that others will find this interesting. The main idea and the easy flow of Meyer's writing will keep most people hooked. I guess it just wasn't the right book for me. Two-point-five-stars.
The nostalgia is killing me . . .
Brain: It was only five years ago, dude, cut the crap–
Me: Hush.