Tag: Genre: YA Fiction

Book List 2014

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

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The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)The Maze Runner by James Dashner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn’t really know what to think of this book at first. I found the language used, instead of swearing to be honestly jarring at first before I settled into the story. It pulled me in and I was intrigued, brain working to try and figure out what the maze could mean and why children? I know, logically dystopian fiction does seem to be the most popular genre in YA literature as of late, but each writer has their reason.

I grew to enjoy the characters, even though they weren’t people I would like in real life, Thomas filled with a sense of morals that he couldn’t necessarily reconcile with any sort of memory, Teresa with her mind-speak, Chuck with his good humour and in the end protective nature.

I’m quite excited to read the next book.

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Book List 2014 · Reviews

Peter Pan by J.M Barrie

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Peter PanPeter Pan by J.M. Barrie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’d never read this book as a child, or had it read to me, which makes me really glad I ended up reading it as an adult.

It’s a world of escape, this whole novel and yet at the heart of it is the reality that no matter what we do all have to grow up but it doesn’t mean that we have to forget who were were as children. We don’t need to forget our friends, imaginary or not, or the fact that we believed we could fly, believed in fairies or something else.

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Book List 2014 · Reviews

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

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FangirlFangirl by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I feel like my life has been highjacked by an author and used for fictional purposes, and yet I am perfectly okay with that.

I read this novel in the span of two hours, with the knowledge that I was probably reading what will end up being my favourite book of 2014 and it’s only the beginning of the year. What does that mean for the rest of the time? I don’t know. I’ll find something.

I would like to preface this review by saying I absolutely, positively did not want to read this book at all. It was everywhere though and I couldn’t avoid it so finally I gave in.

After all a book about a girl who loves fan fiction and a fictional world so in tune with books I’d loved (possibly Harry Potter, possibly the Magicians) couldn’t even be that good could it?

I was wrong.

Cath is a very fulfilling and enriched character, with all of her flaws laid out before her and sadly it is in her that I see my own flaws. The ability to bury ones self in a fictional world to avoid what is going on around you is seen in this book. But the realization that the world around you might not be so bad is what makes this novel great. When she began to come out of her shell I felt a sense of pride.

This book is just awesome. It’s not masterful literature and might not be considered a classic by anyone who isn’t in a fandom but it’s fun, and it’s a fast read and altogether lovely.

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Book List 2014 · Reviews

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

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Eleanor and ParkEleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eleanor and Park is a book so well written about how even in youth there is a sort of classist division which needs to be struck down.

I know I might be reading too much into it but I completely and utterly fell in love with this book and everything it stood for. The ability to see beyond what’s there and to find common ground no matter what we look like is something that I wish people were more aware of.

Eleanor is not the most likeable of characters, but seems mainly to be a victim of circumstance, and when circumstance dictates that she needs to change her life in some small way, or even in a large one she does and that is what is so great about this book.

Park is a character who evolves from someone who passes judgment to realizing that not all people are who they seem to be and that your life can change if you take one simple step.

In some ways this novel was reminiscent of a John Hughes film, in that the characters spoke in a way that people actually do and teenagers are not treated as anything but human beings who might not be fully developed yet.

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Book List 2013

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

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Allegiant (Divergent, #3)Allegiant by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was written in a much different style, I felt, then the previous two. It offered POV’s from two characters, including Four/Tobias, who I had always wanted to know more about, in terms of his thoughts and feelings. This book provided a great insight to more of his fears, as well as his past which was nicely written and detailed.

The ending of this book was almost jarring, because I never suspected that this was the route these novels would take, call me naive but I really didn’t. Yet it seemed loyal and true to the character of Tris, and her general response to run into things first without taking time to think about how it would effect those left behind. It was a selfless and selfish act, all rolled into one and something I really enjoyed.

The writing style is still a little loose, and not tightly tied together enough, with a few eye rolling dialogue moments but yet there is something about the way it is written that just draws me in. It’s good story telling.

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Book List 2013

Matched by Ally Condie. A pleasant surprise.

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Matched (Matched, #1)Matched by Ally Condie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I bought this book on Kobo after some discussion about the YA dystopian fiction trend, as a friend recommended it to me and although I initially was unimpressed my opinion quickly changed.

This is one of those novels where it’s almost hard to get a handle on the other characters because of the POV. We love Cassia’s grandfather and parents because she loves them. We love Ky because she does, but characters like Xander remain unfulfilled because we only see one point of view. I think this develops a bit of weakness in a plot that is supposed to be about a love triangle. Ky is preferred because he seems like the only choice. This is fantastic in terms of us wanting to be in the characters shoes fully, but not so good if you’re a reader who likes to pick their own path.

The character of Ky though, is simply fascinating. An aberration who is nicely flawed in his jealousy, but passionate in his maintenance of his own person, and not giving in.

The world in Matched is one that scares me, with food moderated so heavily as to manipulate a population, which in the history of the world is not unheard of and while history does repeat itself in reality, it made this plot more real. The restriction on knowledge and books however was something that terrified me, as the thirst for knowledge itself actually seemed to be taken away from these people.

All in all, I’m excited for next pay day to get my hands on the second novel.

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Reviews

Book 18: Glasses Houses by Rachel Caine

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Book 18: Glass Houses by Rachel Caine ★★★☆☆

I am hesitant to give this book anything more than three stars because quite frankly I’m lucky to have finished it, much less in a single day like I did. However the ending was quite intriguing and since it’s a cliffhanger I might actually have to read the rest of it.

The characters are not very well fleshed out, but better than most, and the vampires are actually quite creepy and eerie in this book, which is definitely a step up from Twilight but is it fantastic? No.

Number of vampire fiction books for teens better than Twilight count: 1 so far. 7 more to go.