Friday Reads: January 31st

     This Friday night, I'm reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth. This is the 2nd book in the Divergent series. This series is about a young girl named Beatrice Prior who lives in a futuristic Chicago where the people are sorted into factions (see Divergent review). I am currently on page 181 of 525. I am enjoying this book so far. The beginning was a little slow but it is picking up the pace. I am so far enjoying the growth of Tris and Four's relationship and the added character development to book one. I also like the evolving of the plot line that makes you constantly think what is going to happen next. I am hoping to get through at least half of it, but I may not have enough time to read since my brother has a friend sleeping over and they are the loudest boys ever *eye roll*. Well, wish me luck.

Recent Book Buys: January 17-24

     Over the past week, I have bought two books. These books are  The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor and Tithe by Holly Black. Both of these books I found at Goodwill for only $1.99 each. Some people may not like to shop at Goodwill because most, if not all, of the items there are used. I too felt eerie about shopping at Goodwill, but I found that you could find books in near perfect condition for a whole lot cheaper than buying them at your average bookstore or online.

     

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

From back cover

The Myth

Alice Liddel was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carrol in his famous storybook.

The Truth

Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss's parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodygaurd, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are separated. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

Tithe by Holly Black

From back cover

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms- a struggle that could very well mean her death.

Book Review: Divergent

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Genre: Dystopian

Page Count: 487

Publication Date: February 28th, 2012 (first published on April 25th, 2011)

Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books

Awards:  DABWAHA Romance Tournament for Best Young Adult Romance (2012), Goodreads Choice for Favorite Book of 2011 and for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2011)
                                                                            Source

*WARNING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

     Divergent by Veronica Roth takes place in futuristic Chicago where teenagers, at the age of sixteen, must choose one of five factions to live in for the rest of their life based on their characteristics and an aptitude test. The five factions include: Abnegation, the selfless, Dauntless, the brave, Candor, the honest, Erudite, the intelligent, and Amity, the peaceful. The main character Beatrice Prior makes a choice that will change her life forever.

     I loved this story! It was filled with action, adventure, and a touch of romance. This book would not let me put it down because it was so fast-paced. The world was very interesting, the plot was enthralling, and the characters were fun and exciting.

     The main character, Beatrice Prior, started out in Abnegation with her family who were all very selfless but felt like she didn't belong and couldn't always put others before herself. She decides to join Dauntless where everyone performs crazy, daring stunts and train to guard the fence that surrounds the city. While in Dauntless, Beatrice decides to rename herself Tris to fully become a new person. Tris finds friends who quickly become like family and help her adapt to her new home. Among these friends are Christina, Will, Al, and Uriah. Christina was quick to befriend Tris. She was kind and comforting but could quickly become a ruthless fighter. Will was also always by Tris' side and supported her when she was feeling down. Al seemed to be strong and protecting but turned out to be a weak coward. Uriah was born in Dauntless so he is very skilled in combat and facing his fears. He is inviting towards Tris when her other friends aren't there for her and is willing to defend her when others attack her. These friends helped Tris to become a daring, determined, strong young woman who refuses to break when others try to put her down. 

     While training to become an official member of the Dauntless, Tris struggles in becoming a devoted member and still thinks back to her selfless ways of the Abnegation. Her instructors, Four and Eric, try to train her to become the best that she can be, but are complete opposites. Four appeared to be strict and menacing but was really vulnerable on the inside. He was amused by Tris in the first stage of training but learned to have faith in her and eventually picked her first for his capture-the-flag team. Eric, on the other hand, is exactly what he appears to be. He was a brutal Dauntless leader who broke down the other initiates and showed no mercy mercy to anyone. 

     The story line flowed very well. I enjoyed how all of the Dauntless initiates had to train physically and mentally to overcome their worst fears. I also liked how the initiates were forced to fight each other in order to become stronger and avoid cowardice. There were many plot twists that took me by surprise and kept me reading to see what happened next. The ending was definitely full of twists and turns that desperately make want to grab the next book in this trilogy.

     All in all, I would whole heartedly recommend this book to anyone and everyone whether they like reading or not.

Book-To-Movie Adaptation: Ender's Game

Ender's Game

Running Time: 114 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: November 1, 2013

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Director: Gavin Hood

Writers: Gavin Hood (screenplay), Orson Scott Card (book)

Stars: Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld

Source

*WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOOK AND MOVIE*

     Overall, I thought that the movie adaptation of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card was excellent. I believe the movie followed the book's plot for the most part. There were some minor details that were left out or changed in the movie but were kept out to shorten the length of the movie.
     However, one major thing that the movie left out was the storyline of Valentine and Peter becoming Demosthenes and Locke. I thought this was a major part of the book that revealed more of Valentine's and Peter's characteristics and their ability to work together to attempt to rule the world. This exclusion will make it harder for Ender to understand Peter's true nature and that he's not entirely evil.
     In addition, the movie left out the bantering between Ender and Bernard. Bernard didn't seem as much as an enemy towards Ender and didn't seem to bother him as much.
     Also, the ending of the movie was set up differently than the book's ending. It seemed as if the director was setting up for a sequel already. They skipped the part when Ender and Valentine, in the future, went to "Ender's World"and Ender wrote the Speaker of the Dead novel and Valentine wrote the stories of Ender's life. Instead, the movie showed Ender after the battle depressed, then had a dream about the video game he played in the battle school. Ender ran out into the open planet of Eros, with Petra chasing after him, and finding the egg of the queen. I realize now that they made it this way so Ender will do the rest of the exploring in the possible sequel.
     Some things that I enjoyed were the special effects. I really liked how they set up the spaceship that launched the students to the battle school. They did a magnificent job with the zero-gravity effects. I thought it looked real how all of the students were flying off their seats as they were launched up into space. Also the battle room and the light guns were very well done. It looked very futuristic with the metal "stars" and the lights shooting from the gun.
     Additionally, the actors who played the characters were right on. Asa Butterfield looked just how I imagined Ender but older. He was perfectly between the shy and self-conscious side and the menacing, serious side. Harrison Ford also played a very good Colonel Graff. He looked the part and played it with greatness. He was protective over Ender without showing it and was also stern with the other students. He spoke with Major Anderson about Ender with extreme confidence while still speaking with all seriousness. Moises Arias was too small, in my opinion, for the role of Bonzo. In the book, Bonzo was described as a big shot and towered Ender. In the movie, Bonzo was muscular but lacked height. When he came face-to-face with Ender, Ender was much taller than him and looked down on him which didn't seem believable to me.
     In conclusion, I felt that the overall movie was very comparable to the book. Although the movie  left out some parts of the book, it made up for it with awesome special effects and a great cast.

Book Review: Ender's Game

Title: Ender's Game

Author: Orson Scott Card

Genre: Science Fiction

Page Count: 324

Publication Date: July 15, 1994 (first published in 1985)

Publisher: Tor Science Fiction

Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (1986), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1985)

Source

*WARNING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS* 

    

    Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card takes place over several years in a futuristic world and centers around a young boy name Andrew "Ender" Wiggin.  50 years before the events of Ender's Game, an alien species, referred to as "buggers", attacked Earth as an attempt to start a new colony. Now the International Fleet (I.F.) takes brilliant young boys to battle school to prepare them for another attack. Ender is one of these boys and plays a great role in stopping the buggers from invading Earth.

    Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I thought there was awesome character development and an intriguing plot line. However, I found the story a little slow-moving but it picked later in the book.  I enjoyed how Ender was able to outsmart and bother all of the other kids at the battle school. I was also utterly amazed at how these six-year-olds were able to command there own armies, set up their own living quarters, and suit up and battle each other early in the morning. Even though I was amazed by the actions of these six-year-olds, I felt it was unrealistic that children so young would be able function at such a mature level. I was entertained by the fast-paced events that occurred in the battle school. I thought it was well put together. I also appreciated the idea of having different armies fight against each other to be ranked the highest. 

    Ender was an amusing character. I found him to be funny, smart and not afraid to stand up for himself while others were picking on him. In the beginning, he was set up to a big shot on campus and the possible new commander of the fleet by Colonel Graff. Ender was very persistent to become a better soldier when others thought of him as a wimpy little kid.  Later in the story, he was able to evolve into one of the highest ranked soldiers in the entire battle school. I overall thought that Ender was a strong and level-headed character who is willing to go through whatever people throw at him even when he's at his worst.

    Other characters such as Petra, Alai, Valentine, Peter, Colonel Graff, and Bean were also well developed. Petra was very caring towards Ender and helped train him when no one else would. Alai was a loyal friend towards Ender and formed an internal bond with him. Colonel Graff had extreme faith in Ender and pushed him to his full extend in order to become a successful commander. He might have pushed him a bit too far but it was only for Ender's own good. I found Bean to be just like Ender when he first entered the Battle School which led Ender to pick on him. Bean was smart, an excellent soldier, and was not afraid to voice his opinions. Lastly, Valentine and Peter are Ender's two siblings who stand on completely opposite side of the spectrum. Valentine was very kind and warm-hearted and has trouble inflicting harm on others. On the contrary, Peter was cruel to Ender and loved to cause him pain and tries to persuade others to his point of view. Deeper into the story, these two very opposite minds manage to work together.

    All in all, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card was an enjoyable sci-fi read filled with action and thought provoking concepts.

Book Discussion: Mararthoning Series

    If you have looked at my recently read books you would have noticed that I read many series consecutively. This is because I love to marathon my series. I find marathoning series a lot easier than reading the books far apart from each other. When I try to read books that are a part of a series separate from each other, I tend to forget what the previous book(s) was about. Reading books in the same series is easier, in my opinion, because I have the ability to read the whole story at once and not have to be left in anticipation to find out what happens next in the storyline. This is also why I mostly wait for a series to be completed before I read them. Also, I like being able to read at whatever pace I like and not have to read slow in order to have a lesser waiting time for the next installment. Marathoning books is also more convenient because I get a longer chance to get to know all of the characters and feel for them as they live their life and go through exhilarating adventures. How do you like to read your series?

P.S  I will start to post every Friday so stay tuned! I will also post reviews after I finish books as soon as possible.

HAPPY READING!

Introduction

 

                                                         

This is my new book blog! On this blog I will be mostly posting book reviews and books I have recently bought or received. I read mainly young adult fiction including fantasy, science-fiction,  and dystopian. I hope you enjoy!