It Comes In Waves - WRI Reviews: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

#bookreview #5thwave @RickYancey #booktomovie

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Pages: 457
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Source: Public Library via Overdrive
Format: ePub
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ 

Summary:
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.


Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Goodreads

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My Review

This book took me forever to finish. I just couldn't get into it. We all know that the movie adaptation is coming out on the 22nd. If I go just from what I've seen on the commercial, did it look like they changed some things which is expected though how hard is it really to stick to the damn book!

Cassie is alone. Her parents are dead and he brother is gone. I never felt like it let me in on what her life before the Arrival was like though. People keep saying that her brother was taken. No he wasn't. His father made him go. He was being deceived, yes but at the end of the day, he convinced him and Cassie to get on that he had to get on the bus.

Once you get to the point where other character beginning talking the pace picks up a bit. The characters are okay but I never made a connection with any of them. The plot is an interesting one if you think about it. It's an alien invasion that really isn't an invasion because they've been here for years. The storyline is there but the characters just wasn't that interesting to me.

I just realize what it is that bothered me about this book. When things happened we were told about it but it wasn't explored enough for me to experience any of the events that went down in the book. There was so much that had to go on in the book that no one thing could be lingered on.

It is an okay book. I do wonder what will happen next. It's just that I'm not running off to read the next book right away. I'm pretty sure that the movie will be one of those rare times when I like the movie better.

Of note:
"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," Stephen Hawking

 Cassie for Cassiopiea - will that become significant in the second book?

About the Author
Rick is the author of fifteen novels and a memoir. His books have been published in over thirty languages and have earned numerous accolades and awards from around the world. His young adult novel, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, was named a "Best Book of the Year" by Publishers Weekly and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. In 2010, Rick received a Michael L. Printz Honor for The Monstrumologist. The sequel, The Curse of the Wendigo, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His latest novel, The 5th Wave, the first in an epic sci-fi trilogy, made its worldwide debut in 2013, and will soon be a major motion picture for GK Films and Sony Pictures.

Author Links

Facebook  -  Twitter  -  Website  -  Tumblr  -  Goodreads  -  Youtube  -  Google+

Challenges

15/6 books

8/9 books

0/5 books

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Blog Tour: The Touched by Jennifer Weiser

@jenniferweiser @XpressoReads #giveaway #blogtour

The Touched by Jennifer Weiser
pages: 416
publisher: Limitless Publishing, LLC
source: Xpresso Book Tours
format: ePub
rating: 4 stars

Summary:
The first sixteen years of Arabella Penthallow’s life have been a lie…
In a world where deception is the key to survival, Ara has kept up the charade of being a perfect Legion Leader’s daughter. But a darkness stirs, and she discovers she is Touched, a mortal gifted by the Gods. The Touched are as rare as they are feared, and Ara is forced to leave Union City for neighboring Midnight City to protect herself and those she loves, leaving Tove Thorn, the boy who has always known her heart, behind.

Carter Decker has vowed to burn Union City to the ground…

Midnight City’s cocky, infamous bad boy always gets what he wants, and he wants Union City to pay for burning his mother alive because she was Touched. When Carter meets Ara, she is everything he’s been taught to hate. Then he learns she is Touched—just like him—he isn’t sure who he hates more…the Touched girl whose father killed his mother, or himself for being tempted by someone he’s sworn to kill.

They are told they’re fated to be soul mates…and they each wish the other never existed.

When Midnight City is attacked by Union City, Carter and Arabella will do the unthinkable…even if it means falling for the enemy. The truth lies in Arabella’s home nation, and Tove is waiting. Soul mates or not, he has an advantage Carter doesn’t, fated souls be damned.

War is coming…and Ara is the prize.

GOODREADS

PURCHASE

AMAZON 

My Review:
This is a good book. It is told in varying povs. This is a read for those looking for a good dystopian. I love the characters. It is different, exciting, and just plain interesting. Imagine what it would be like to live with this desire for vengeance only to fall for someone you feel you ought to hate. Then imagine what it would be like to be a person having to hide what you know will get you killed.

This is a book for those who like the mix of paranormal vs normal people. Characters who have their own clear voice. You won't get lost as to which character is speaking. And of course for those who wanted a couple of swoon worthy characters.

About the Author:
Jennifer Weiser is a young adult author who has always been a book nerd and a bit chocolate obsessed. Writing has always been a favorite escape, but quickly became a passion not long after the birth of her daughter. When she isn’t combing the shelves of her local book stores or blogging about newest book obsessions, you can find her nestled in her nook creating worlds she hopes that one day will inspire her daughter, who not only has given her the courage to follow her dreams–but offers the inspirations that help color their worlds together.

AUTHOR LINKS

GOODREADS  *  FACEBOOK *  WEBSITE  * TWITTER

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Shoot the Breez #4

#shootthebreeze

Rants Disguised As Fiction

I came across this topic on Ensconced in YA. I understand what she means by actual rants disguised as fiction. You know, those books where the characters go on and on about a particular subject that you know that the author is trying to get something off his or her chest. With that said, I think that most dystopian novels are an author point of view of what will happen if a certain "something" gets out of hand. The author's warning of hey we better pay attention or this will happen. Let's look at some examples of what I mean.

The movie The Matix. The warning is our dependence on machines will be our downfall. Also the premise for I Robot, and the Terminator movies.

Matched Trilogy. The warning is creating a perfect society where everyone (well those the society leader see fit to include) is happy and taken care of create a society that has lost its freedom.

Jennifer Government (loved this book!). The warning is an all capitalist society will do anything for money and those without money might as well don't exist. A review on this book is coming soon so you can see just what I mean. Many people see the world in this book as far fetched. I see it as an all too real possibility, again see my review.

I love reading these types of books. Ensconced in YA is right though. It is a tedious read if the book just drones on and on in a non stop rant narrative sprouting out the authors propaganda. Hey, we are readers, we want to read your take on what would happen to the world but we bought a book of fiction not an essay so give us a story to follow along with.

Jennifer Government by Max Berry

#throwbackthursday

Jennifer Government by Max Berry

Paperback: 321 pages
Publisher: Vintage (January 6, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400030927


From Kobobooks:
Taxation has been abolished, the government has been privatized, and employees take the surname of the company they work for. It's a brave new corporate world, but you don't want to be caught without a platinum credit card--as lowly Merchandising Officer Hack Nike is about to find out. Trapped into building street cred for a new line of $2500 sneakers by shooting customers, Hack attracts the barcode-tattooed eye of the legendary Jennifer Government. A stressed-out single mom, corporate watchdog, and government agent who has to rustle up funding before she's allowed to fight crime, Jennifer Government is holding a closing down sale--and everything must go.

A wickedly satirical and outrageous thriller about globalization and marketing hype, Jennifer Government is the best novel in the world ever.

My Review:
Let me tell you that I love this book. I have read it at least five times. I'm finally getting around to write a review for it. I must warn you now, this will be a long one. Let's go.

The characters in the book can be rather annoying. Most of them have a one track mind. This is actually a book that if you love it you love it for everything other than the characters. In the world of Jennifer Government. Capitalism rules. Everything has a price tag. Why I love this concept is because it as far fetched as one may think. In the book, everything is a sue able offense and let's face it, you can sue for just about any reason now and have a good chance at a payday.

With money being the most desirable item in Jennifer Government that mean having a job ranks as number 2. Everyone is born with a first name only. A person surname is the company they work for or the school they attend. If you do not have a surname then that means you are unemployed and thus looked down on. This part reminds me of slavery in America. Slaves last names were the name of their owner. If they were sold then the name changed to the new master. I don't know if this was intentional by Mr. Berry. I saw it as people being a slave to their jobs.

Hack Nike work as a Merchandising Officer. A position that is pretty low. He signs a contract (he was pressured into not reading it or keeping a copy) and learns that he is now obligated to kill 10 people. The killing is to hype up the new sneakers the company has coming out. Hack unable to do so outsource the job and things go downhill from there. Hack is not a likable character at all. He is a whip, a pushover. At the end of the book he becomes more assertive but really he's just turned into a guy with a chip on his shoulder.

John Nike is all about dollar signs. He doesn't see anything wrong with doing whatever is necessary to make money even if that means killing people. For most of the book, people admire him for this quality as it is having a positive effect on profits. However, John Nike soon learns that even he is only as good as the results he is able to obtain.

By the end of the book, a war between the two loyalty companies break out. And John Nike learns that he really isn't above the law. Jennifer Government is way too consumed with her job but the book doesn't make it seem as if she learned to value her time with her daughter any more than she did in the beginning of the book. In fact, there is no mention of whether or not the world of commerce changes in this book or not. So if you are looking for that they you'll than likely be unsatisfied.

This is perhaps the only book I have read so far where to concept of the story made me love the book because the characters did not. This definitely a book where you have to read it for yourself to see if you would like it or not. If you are the type of reader who want characters you can root for then bypass this.

Challenges:
2012 Support Your Local Library
Dystopia
Mixing It Up 2012

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

#seriessunday


Hardcover, 374 pages
Published October 31st 2008 by Scholastic Press (first published 2008)
ISBN 0439023483 (ISBN13: 9780439023481)


From Kobobooks:
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen who lives alone with her mother and younger sister regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival for her is second nature. Without really meaning to she becomes a contender. But if she is to win she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. Acclaimed writer Suzanne Collins author of the New York Times bestselling The Underland Chronicles delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy adventure and romance in this searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present.

My Review:
Okay, so I saw the movie before I read the book. I must say that it did make a difference in the experience of this book. I applaud Katniss for having enough love to take her sisters place. The world in which Katniss lived in isn't as relate able as other books I have read but the way it is describe and the characters made it believable. The Hunger Games is cruel and sadden. It's a fight to the death while everyone in the districts are required to watch. The people behind the games can manipulate situations to make things more interesting which usually means more dangerous.
So the part that got to me the most (because of the movie) was anything that had to do with little Rue. The girl in the movie resemblance my nieces so much that I cried when she died (both when I saw the movie and again when I read the book). I was not surprised that she died for two reasons. One, she was the youngest. I mean what chance does a twelve year old have against eighteen year old, especially eighteen year old males. Sorry to the feminist out there but you have to admit a twelve year old female against and sixteen to eighteen year old male will lose every time (in a physical fight). Second reason I knew she was going to die, she's black. We usually don't make it to the end of the movie. (Not a racist comment, not a race card [though I could give some examples of a couple things in the book that rubbed me the wrong way]...just many years of observation. Check out any thriller or horror movie if you want proof.)
The love story in the book didn't interest me at all. I honestly didn't care who she ended up with. I will read the second book as I am interested in what the Capitol has planned since I am sure that they will try to make her pay for the stunt she pulled at the end of the games.

Challenges:
2012 Support Your Local Library
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge
Dystopia

Shoot the Breeze #3

Shoot The Breeze #3


I have been working 12+ hour days for weeks. I have been able to listen to audio books and read but I have been slacking on writing reviews. I'm up to about 24 reviews to write. That hasn't stopped me from adding to my TBR list. I just saw a book yet to be release that looks like a good read.



Click the picture to be taken to Goodreads

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent (noun) – a person who acts in opposition to the established authority, who is not necessarily regarded as a belligerent pg.458

Oops she did it again? Insurgent by Veronica Roth is the second book in the Divergent trilogy.  The series takes place in dystopian Chicago. The city is divided into five factions called Amity, Dauntless, Erudite, Abnegation, and Candor. During the choosing ceremony, 16 years must choose which faction they will become apart of. Then there are the factionless. To become factionless is a fate worse than death the society is told. They are not mention much in the first book but is the main presence in the second.

Insurgent picks up where the first book left off, literally. At first I thought that maybe this book would be just a filler novel. Just when you have that thought, she hits you with a mystery. Marcus (Tobias father and a leader of Abnegation) and Johanna (spokesperson for Amity as that faction has not set leader) are walking in the orchid with Tris overhears a conversation about important information which is the reason why the Abnegation were killed during the stimulation attack. This is the basis for this book. What information is so important it was worth killing and dying for? Of course there are side stories and twist and turns along the way. The love story between Tobias and Tris is in the open. Tobais family story is told. Tris learns more about her family including brother, Caleb which I must say I did not see coming.

The true shocker is the ending cliffhanger. The important information you are teased with throughout the book. I can’t tell you obviously it would ruined to book for some of you. So I will say this. If you like the first book then this is a must read. However, don’t think you will be satisfied with the ending because you won’t. It is a cliffhanger. It set you up for the next book. Those you have not read the first one can read this one and enjoy it but it is really not a stand alone book. There are references to previous events that you would most likely want to know about. All in all it is a good book. So did she do it again? Yeah, she did.

TBR list 3

Rating 4stars

Hardcover 525pgs

Challenges:

Dystopia

Soundtrack Challenge: Dirty Dancing

2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge

Quotes

“It smells green, the way a leaf smell when you tear it in half.” pg 17

‘ “Sleep” he says. “I’ll fight the bad dreams off if they come to get you.” ’ pg 50

Things to think about:

The way Amity keeps peace. Is that really peace? Or is that in itself a betrayl of what Amity is suppose to be about?

Is what Amity does to keep the peace in their society that much different than what Jeannie was doing to keep the truth from the whole society (meaning the mind control)?

So people said they could not get into the story because they could picture a world where those factions exist. Why not? I see it. Though not so clearly defined but we do have people and professions that fit into each faction including the obvious factionless.