Insurgent Review

Name: Insurgent (Divergent #2)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperTeen
How Received: Bought
Challenges: Goodreads, 100 Books in a Year, 2012 Sophomore Reading Challenge

Insurgent was the totally action packed response to Divergent that I was expecting! Though I did feel that it dragged in some parts, the character development and the questions raised were completely worth the dry spells.

Tris grew a lot in the book. She had obviously grown a lot throughout Divergent as well, and so the continual growth was not quite as drastic but still had quite an impact. I think Tris really discovered the value of her own life, not only to others but to herself. Also, dealing with the grief of being a murderer was a really important step for her character development, and I'm glad that Roth decided to explore it.

Four was more understandable in this book than he was in Divergent, not only because we knew his character better, but his actions were much more open to Tris. As for the decisions he made, we could understand the motivation behind them much better because Tris was more aware of the situation. The confession he made under the truth serum was so out of character I was honestly thrown, and I really want to know where his and Tris' relationship will go in the next book.

Peter made me happy.

I think one of the questions that Divergent is really good at asking is "What is good? What is bad? Where do you stand?" I also feel like the answer evolves the more you read, which is a really good situation in which to ask yourself these questions.

The book ends on a MASSIVE cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to see where this goes!

Chloe "Likes" Fridays!

I truly do not understand people who say books are boring. Books take what you see and expand it across pages until you are immersed in it, and can immerse others as well.

I also felt like this is applicable because I am really starting to take an interest in "classic" literature lately, ever since I read The Great Gatsby. I used to think that the more long winded language was boring, but now I'm finding myself wanting to explore the different ways writers arranged their words then, as opposed to now.

Oh my gosh

I am SO sorry I didn't get around to posting earlier this week! I had my IB Economics exam on Tuesday and Wednesday which went all right, and then all yesterday I was flying out to Florida, where I am now getting ready for the Science Olympiad National Tournament on Saturday. I'm going to be here until next Wednesday, and so I'll try and get my memes done and that review of Insurgent up ASAP! Thanks for understanding guys

Cinder Review

Name: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
How Received: Library
Challenges: Goodreads, 100 Books in a Year, 2012 Debut Author Challenge

Well, I went into this with dubious expectation and came out much more excited than I had been...I just wish it hadn't taken so LONG between the two.

It's blatantly obvious that this is a Cinderella retelling from the second you know the title of the book. That plus the cover and it's definitely solidified. I appreciate that Meyer elaborated and added more detail into the story so it wasn't just like 50 pages long. But I also feel like there was just one thing too much. Let us have letumosis or let us have a crazy lunar queen, but both was just a tad much for the book, in my opinion. I know that this is why the series is 4 books long (which also seems kind of long to me at least), but with the ending so open this is just the way it left me feeling.

I liked Cinder but I didn't love her. The ways she reacted sometimes didn't seem logical to me. However I really liked her self-discovery journey with all of the crazy stuff that got thrown at her throughout the novel. And the fact that she is really coming into her own.

Prince Kai was probably my favorite character, mostly because he was wonderfully snarky and acted his age. He was closely followed by Dr. Erland though, who I appreciated watching slowly go insane.

You know what happens in this story. You don't need me to comment on it. I will be looking forward to the sequel!

Chloe "Likes" Fridays!

I'm a pretty clean-cut teenager. I spend most of my time at school, watching TV, and on the internet. I don't drink, smoke, do drugs, party, etc. I don't even have a curfew because I don't go out. But books...I am gladly addicted to books. I definitely would resist rehabilitation.

On a side note, this week I decided on top of reading Cinder, I wanted to read Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, and I really liked it. I'm in the process of transcribing all of my favorite quotes from Song of Myself.

Pandemonium Review

Name: Pandemonium (Delirium #2)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: Harper Teen
How Received: Library
Challenges: Goodreads, 100 Books in a Year

Oh my god.

Well, this book certainly did not disappoint after Delirium! This is actually the first Lauren Oliver book that hasn't made me cry, and that's because the Lena and her journey in this book is so vastly different from Lena in Delirium it's almost like they aren't even the same person.

I really liked the Then/Now format, because it really kept the story moving forward much more quickly than doing it in chronological order would have. I especially liked the juxtaposition of Lena adjusting to the Wilds and Lena being an ass-kicking heroine with Julian.

I think that Oliver brings up an important point with Delirium, with that as important as science is, and is becoming, we can't forget the things that make us human. I'm not saying that we should reject science and only read the Bible/Torah/Quran/other scripture, but there always needs to be that freedom of people to choose how they want to live their lives, and with whom.

I really liked Raven's character, and I absolutely fell in love with Hunter as well. I wish we could have seen more of him. Tack was important but I never really gained any emotional connection to him.

I think that Julian was important in terms of having Lena move past Alex, but I'm really worried about the next book. This is going to be so painful, because we've obviously become attached to Alex, but we were allowed to develop a soft spot for Julian because we thought Alex was dead and oh my gosh. I cannot wait for Requiem.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Name: The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2)
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date: October 23, 2012

Goodreads Summary: Two days after Mara walks into a police station in Miami at the close of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, she is committed for psychiatric treatment for what her parents believe is a mental breakdown. But what seems like a hallucination to everyone else is a chilling reality for Mara. Someone from her past has discovered her strange, disturbing secret and that someone wants her to pay. But she's about to discover that the price is more than she can bear.

Dark and thrilling, suspenseful and passionate, The Evolution of Mara Dyer will have readers breathlessly turning pages to find out what will become of Mara Dyer next.

This book was so, so, so, so, so good and compelling and Noah Shaw is so totally pineworthy. He;s reducing me to a puddle just thinking about him. I cannot wait to see where Hodkin goes, because her first book just took me on a wild ride!

Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is...Top Ten Favorite Quotes from Books! 

This is going to end up being super eclectic. I can feel it. 

1. The entire last chapter plus paragraph of chapter before of Linger by Maggie Stiefvater. I can transcribe it here for you almost completely from memory. 

"I slowly climbed back to my feet, walked back into the emergency department through the silently swishing glass doors, and, covered in my girlfriend's blood, lied perfectly for the first time in my life.

'I tried to stop her.'

So it comes to this: I would have lost her either way.

If Cole hadn't reinfected her, I would have lost her in the hospital bed. And now Cole's wolf toxin pumps through her veins, and I lose her to the woods, like I lose everything I love.

So here is me, and I am boy watched-by her parents' suspicious eyes, since they cannot prove that I kidnapped Grace but believe it nonetheless-and I am a boy watchful-because Tom Culpeper's bitterness is growing palpable in this tiny town and I will not bury Grace's body-and I am a boy waiting-waiting for the heat and fruitfulness of summer, waiting to see who will walk out of those woods for me. Waiting for my lovely summer girl.

Somewhere fate laughs in her far off country, because now I am the human and it is Grace I will lose again and again, immer weider, always the same, every winter, losing more of her each year, unless I find a cure. A real cure this time, not some parlor trick.

Of course, it's not just her cure. In fifteen years, it's my cure, and Cole's cure, and Olivia's cure. And Beck-does his mind still sleep inside his wolf's pelt?

I still watch her now, like I always did, and she watches me, her brown eyes looking out from a wolf's face.

This is the story of a boy who used to be a wolf, and a girl who became one.

I won't let this be my goodbye. I've folded one thousand paper crane memories of me and Grace, and I've made my wish.

I will find a cure. And then I will find Grace."

I just think it's so beautiful and Sam is so sad and it just resonated with me so much when I first read it (on a bench at UC Davis. I remember exactly which bench, too). I read it practically every day. 

2. "As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once." -The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I read that line and I knew that John Green was going to be preserved forever in literary history. 

3. "Many times when I read a book, I want to savor each word, each phrase, each page, loving the prose so much, I don’t want it to end. Other times the story pulls me in, and I can hardly read fast enough, the details flying by, some of them lost because all that matters is making sure the character is all right when it’s over." -The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

It's just so true I can't not love it (I know, double negative).

4. "So engrossed was she that she had no consciousness of being observed, and one emotion after another crept into her face like objects into a slowly developing picture." -The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I had a really hard time picking just one quote from The Great Gatsby (which I have now read 4 times in like 2 weeks) but this one always calls to me the most, and I just like to stare at the little highlighted section on the page. This is how I feel when I read. 

5. "My library was dukedom large enough." -The Tempest, William Shakespeare

This has been one of my favorite quotes for years and years. I could sit in a library for days.

Augh this is getting so much harder now. A lot of my favorite quotes are song lyrics. Or things said in Vlogbrothers videos. 

6. And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. -Also Sprach Zarathustra by Freidrich Nietzsche 

I have some people who think I am absolutely insane because I am always excited about something, so I think of this quote whenever I see them shaking their heads. 

7. "Books. People have no idea how beautiful books are. How they taste on your fingers. How bright everything is when you light it with words." -Tolstoy Lied by Rachel Kadish

Still other people don't understand why I like to read books more than I like to see movies (I mean, I also love movies, but not usually book adaptations. Except Pride and Prejudice (2005) because that movie is absolutely perfect despite not being totally faithful to the book). 

8. "There is a voice inside of you that whispers all day long, 'I feel that this is right for me, I know that this is wrong.' No teacher, preacher, parent, friend or wise man can decide what’s right for you-just listen to the voice that speaks inside." -Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

I forgot that this is technically from a book. I use this as a mantra when I am making big decisions for my life, like topic choice for research papers or class choice. 

9. "No, I mean asscrown. The crown on top of the asshat that covers the asshole of the assclown. The very zenith of the hierarchy of asses." -The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

My best friend and I just have a thing for words combined with ass. 

10. "And in her smile I see something more beautiful than stars." -Across the Universe by Beth Revis

I absolutely adore quotes that have to do with stars. I just love stars in general, though the idea of outer space still scares me a little bit. I am a walking paradox. 

So there we go! I absolutely adore quotes, I try and collect them though I don't always do the best job. 

My prom was over this last weekend, and even though most of the music was not at all my style (think continuous LMFAO, who are my least favorite band to ever exist, and 4 year old popular rap songs), when they played What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction I screamed the lyrics so loud I blew out my voice. That one song alone made the entire night worth it. 

Chloe "Likes" Fridays!

You know, it's getting harder and harder to find posts I've liked not related to One Direction. Anyways, onward!

I picked this image because it reminded me of the conversation I had with John Corey Whaley about The Catcher in the Rye and how he had to hide reading it in high school, whereas my school reads it in class. It offhandedly reminded me how stupid book banning is and how book burning is possibly one of the cardinal offenses of the world, but though a book can be burned its ideas cannot die.

I'm almost done with my first ever IB test! Paper 2 of Math SL is this morning!

Why We Broke Up Review

Name: Why We Broke Up
Author: Daniel Handler
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
How Received: Library
Challenges: Goodreads, 100 Books in a Year

Originally I was not going to read this. However, I went to a signing with multiple authors and Daniel Handler was one of the authors present so I thought I would give it a go to see if I would want to buy it.

No.

There were definitely some positives. The writing itself is really interesting and not like any other writing out there. I just could not seem to follow it though. Maybe it was because I kept skipping all of the old movie references, and the syntax wasn't normal. But if you are looking for unique writing style, this would definitely be one for you. (Maybe I should have prefaced this also by saying that I hated Lemony Snicket as a kid. He seemed really pretentious to me, and there was a teeny bit of the same air in this).

I also really loved the art, and that the book was really solid and heavy. At first, I didn't like the style, but as I saw more and more of the paintings I began to appreciate it more.

However, I had two really really big problems, and multitudes of smaller problems. First, I just could not for the life of me connect to Min at all. I was really, really hoping that the spark would come, and it did-50 pages from the end of the book. Little late there. The second problem I had was that I felt like the plot didn't contain enough conflict. Yes, Min's friends don't really like Ed and they're defying social norms. But there just wasn't enough emphasis placed on that to really compel me through the story.

Also, I kept confusing Ed and Al-they're both 2 letter, common names. I always had to think for a second which one was which.

I know a lot of other people thought that this was absolutely great. It just was not for me.