dystopian

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

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cinder

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder is the best mechanic in New Beijing, so it is natural that the prince would bring his broken android to her for repair.  What he doesn’t know is that Cinder herself is also an android.  She is owned by her cruel stepmother, who uses Cinder to bring in the income for the entire household.  As a plague ravages Earth, the world is also under threat from above as the Lunar queen arrives to pressure the prince into marriage.  As the plague reaches her own family, Cinder is given away to become a test subject.  This brings her into direct contact again with the prince and also gives her new information about her unknown past.  It’s a past that may just be the key to the entire planet’s safety.

This is a glorious melding of science fiction and fairy tale where androids and Cinderella mash up.  It is the strength of the story itself that works well here.  The blend makes the book compulsively readable with the science fiction giving a grittiness to the expected fairy tale story.  At the same time, one looks for the fairy tale components and how they are reinterpreted.  The entire concept works brilliantly.

The middle of the novel does have some pacing issues.  While the reader knows Cinder’s secret past before Cinder does, that knowledge contributes to the slowing of the novel.  There is also a pivotal plot point that is set aside what seems to be a very long time, further slowing the pace. 

Cinder is a dynamic heroine who is notably human and caring.  She is strong, but beyond that is also reassuringly sometimes clumsy and confused.  The reworking of some of the characters of the fairy tale, including one of the step sisters works well.  While the book follows the arc of the Cinderella story, Meyer also inserts new facets that fill the tale with surprises for the reader.

A riveting book that features a strong heroine and a brilliant storyline, this book will be enjoyed by dystopian and romance fans alike.  Appropriate for ages 13-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Feiwel & Friends.

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Review: Prized by Caragh M. O’Brien

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prized

Prized by Caragh M. O’Brien

In this sequel to Birthmarked, Gaia has escaped into the wasteland with her infant sister, following a rumor to guide her.  Gaia is reaching the end of her strength and her baby sister is perishing when she is discovered by a rider from Sylum.  When she is brought into their matriarchal society, Gaia is forced to give up her sister into the society for care and must submit herself to their rules.  No man can speak to her first much less touch her, and a kiss can get you jailed.  Sylum is slowly dying, since there are many more male births than female.  But Sylum also cannot be escaped easily.  Newcomers get physically ill and then after that violent illness are unable to leave.  If they try to leave, they will die of an even more extreme illness.  So Gaia is trapped in Sylum without her sister, trying to follow their rules, when she discovers that Leon is also there, imprisoned.  In order to free him, Gaia has to give up the last of her will to the ruler of Sylum. 

I adored the first book in this series.  The Enclave was a skewed society that was fully rendered and well thought out.  O’Brien has done the impossible in a single series and created within her world another complete society that makes sense, surprises, and then displays its darker side.  Sylum is a world run by women, but also a decaying society where there are few rights especially for those who refuse to follow the rules.  It is a beautiful, green but dreadful place where the darkness is right below the lovely surface.  In short, it is immensely readable and a wonderful dystopian setting.

O’Brien introduces us to new characters just as we are getting reacquainted with those we enjoyed in the first book.  Gaia remains a fierce, independent force who is bright, inspiring and strong.  She is a character thrown into a society she does not understand, who makes waves with every step and friends too.  There are two brothers who serve as additional love interests in this complex society that forbids touching.  They are wonderfully similar but also very different, attractive in different ways to Gaia.  Still, there is also the angry and ever-frustrating yet fascinating Leon to consider.  As Gaia muses, it is actually a love square rather than a triangle.

This is a compulsively readable book, just like the first.  The world is well drawn, but it is the different societies that truly shine here.  I look forward to the rest of the series, because this book was very unexpected and I can’t guess what is going to happen next.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

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Review: Legend by Marie Lu

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legend

Legend by Marie Lu

This dystopian fantasy is set in what used to be the western United States and now is The Republic.  The rising waters have caused issues with power, large slums, and lawlessness.  June is the only person to ever get a perfect score in the Trials, marking her as a prodigy.  She lives a live of luxury with her older brother, who has raised her after her parents’ accidental deaths.  Trained as a soldier, she is about to claim her destiny as the ideal warrior.  Day is the most wanted criminal in The Republic.  From the slums, he has managed several amazing feats of defiance but worries most about his family and the plague that is in their neighborhood.  The two of them would never have met, but then June’s brother is killed and it looks like Day is the culprit.

Lu takes the dystopian genre and weaves a story that both hearkens back to the heart of the genre yet creates something new and amazing.  The setting of a decaying United States at war with itself is slowly revealed through the story.  The results of that war are shown rather than told in details that bring the entire world to life.  From the luxury of June’s life through the squalor and danger of the slums, the setting is a pivotal piece of the tale.

The two compelling main characters add the action, the style and even the romance to this book.  June is trained to be a lethal weapon, yet she questions orders and thinks deeply about the ramifications of what she is doing.  Day is a dystopian Robin Hood with plenty of moxie and appeal.  Both of them wonder at their world, the truth of The Republic.  They also both see themselves as people who are able to make a difference.

The writing here is crisp and clean.  The story is vibrant, fast moving, and stellar.  This is one outstanding dystopian fantasy.  It is sure to appeal to fans of The Hunger Games and will leave many fans eager for the next book in the series.  Appropriate for ages 14-16.

Reviewed from ARC received from Penguin.

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Review: All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin

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all these things ive done

All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin

This is the first book in a new dystopian science fiction series by the author of Elsewhere.  In the year 2083, the United States are in a darker time.  Coffee and chocolate are illegal, water is rationed, phone calls are very expensive, and paper books are antiques.  Anya Balanchine lives with her grandmother who is kept alive with machines, her older brother and her younger sister.  She is the daughter of New York’s most powerful mob boss, who unfortunately was killed years earlier right in front of Anya and her sister.  Her mother is dead too, murdered in her car which is how her older brother received his brain injury.  But Anya is determined to stay clear of her family’s connections and have a real life.  Yet everything comes back to chocolate, crime and family, and what Anya will have to do to protect the people she loves.

Zevin has created a book that takes place in a dystopian world.  While she gives lots of details about that world and about New York City as a decaying giant, the focus is on Anya, her family and her friends.   The book has such focus and is so well written, readers won’t miss the larger world being explained.  Instead this is about an insular world inside of a dystopian setting.  The focus is powerful, creating a gripping reading experience.

In Anya, Zevin has created a protagonist who is razor sharp, very tough, yet melts like chocolate too.  The romance in this book is beautifully built.  It reads as real, poignant, and star-crossed.  Anya is a young woman carrying far more than her share of the weight of the world.  This first book in a series reads as a complete and satisfying story, yet as a reader I was thrilled to see it was only the beginning.

Get this into the hands of fans of Holly Black’s White Cat.  The combination of mob and dystopian make this a thriller that is sure to surprise and delight.  Appropriate for ages 15-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Farrar Straus & Giroux.

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Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

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divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Beatrice lives the selfless life of a person in the Abnegation faction.  She wears gray, avoids mirrors, and tries to always think of other before herself.  But she feels that she isn’t any good at it, unlike her brother, who manages the strict lifestyle perfectly.  In this dystopian novel set in Chicago, there are five factions who keep the peace.  Now that Beatrice is 16, she is tested for suitability in different factions and then is given the choice of which faction she wants to join.  But her results are odd, indicating that she could be suitable for three of the factions, meaning that she is divergent.  It is something that is not only rare but could put her life in danger if others found out.  Now Beatrice has a choice, leave her family behind in Abnegation or stay and be selfless as she has always been taught.

I tried to keep any spoilers from my summary above.  You’ll find that all of that action happens in the first few chapters.  I avoided reviews of this novel, waiting to get my hands on a copy, and I was very happy to discover the world of Divergent myself. 

Roth has created a dystopian fantasy that is a wild ride of a novel.  There is lots of violence, tons of action, and scenes that are guaranteed to raise your pulse from excitement.  And just with any great teen novel, there is romance.  In this case, it’s a romance that may not surprise but builds and matures with grace.  Roth has created a world that is alarming and very different from our own.  The political intrigue of the novel gives it a wonderful depth.

Beatrice is a great heroine who has plenty of self-doubt, learns about herself, underestimates herself, and learns to make friends, depend on others, yet stay uniquely independent.  She is a strong heroine who shows her vulnerability too.  With that touch of doubt, she becomes a much more human character whom readers can relate to.

A delight of a dystopian fantasy, make sure you have this in your library teen collection.  Get it directly into the hands of Hunger Games fans, who will return begging to know when the next book is coming out!  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from library copy.

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Book Review: Enclave by Ann Aguirre

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enclave

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Deuce lives underground in her enclave where life expectancy is short and live is brutal.  From the time she was a brat, she knew that she wanted to be a Huntress.  Now that she is 15, she goes through the naming ceremony and is given the role of Huntress in her community.  It is her job, along with her partner, to protect the enclave from the strange beings, Freaks, that share their underground world.  Deuce is paired with Fade, a Hunter who was not born in the enclave, but found wandering underground.  As Deuce learns more about their society, she begins to question the enclave’s rules and the injustices she sees.  When she sacrifices herself to save a friend, Deuce is thrown out of the safety of her community and forced to survive with just Fade to help her.

The strength of this book was in the underground world, the enclave and its lies, the brutality of the life, the unquestioning people, the darkness and danger.  The world Aguirre created underground is compelling and intriguing.  Deuce’s character is equally successful.  She is a strong heroine whose weakness is ignorance thanks to the enclave.  She experiences real growth as a character as she learns the truth.

Unfortunately, the book does not stay underground.  When Deuce and her partner head to Topside to survive, the book loses some of its strength as well as its unique society and setting.  For me, the book seemed to drag despite the high level of violence.

But for me, worst of all was that the world building that worked so well underground began to fall apart.  The Topside misuse of women angered me, but even worse was the insistence that one of the raped women accept one of the gang as a compatriot in their travels.  That she had to let her repeated rapes go and learn to cope seemed to trivialize rape and survival at the same time.

Readers of dystopian fantasy may enjoy this series, but I will stop reading with this first book.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Feiwel and Friends.

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Wither: Surprising, Exceptional Dystopian

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wither

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

In future America thanks to genetic manipulation that went wrong, people have a very short and specific lifetime.  Women live until they are 20, men until they are 25.  Society has collapsed with science turning toward trying to save the human race.  In this world, girls are stolen from the streets and kidnapped to become wives and keep the population up.  Rhine is a girl who is taken and survives the selection process.  Now she is forced into a polygamous marriage to a very wealthy man.  She is trapped with her sister wives in a mansion; her cage is beautiful and sumptuous but it is still a cage.  Rhine tries to think only of her escape, but it is made difficult as she begins to form relationships with her fellow prisoners, a handsome servant, and her husband.  This book explores uncertainty, love, desperation and strength.

DeStefano’s writing is what elevates this book above other dystopian fantasies.  Her phrasing is subtle and natural, occasionally turning poetic to make a stronger point or present an important event.  Her plotting is masterful.  In a book where much of the time is spent waiting for action, the story never lags or disappoints.  It is a book of quiet desperation not only for Rhine but for the entire society. 

The world building here is particularly exquisite.  There is just enough of the science background given to make the story work.  The real beauty is in the exploration of the effects of the situation, the revealing of a society in decay, the division of wealth and poverty, the allure of a life at ease in a world like this.  It all adds up to a very powerful statement about our current society.

The characterizations are also beautifully done.  From Rhine, the brave heroine who tells the story in first person present tense, allowing readers to figure out what is happening right along with her.  The sister wives are as different from one another as can be, each of them unique and human, each a character worthy of her own book.  Then there is the complexity of the husband, Linden, a man who could have been portrayed as a monster.  Instead he is a man with a background that formed him, a love for others, and who is haunted by loss. 

Ideal for fans of dystopian science fiction, this unique book will have readers unable to put it down and begging to know when the next book in the series is coming out.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

 

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

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Matched: A Dystopian Romance

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Matched by Ally Condie

Released November 30, 2010.

An enticing mix of dystopian science fiction and romance, this is the first book in a trilogy.  Cassia trusts the Society with her entire life.  She trusts it to pick the best job for her skills.  She trusts it to decide who she will love.  She trusts it to decide when people die.  So when she attends her Matching ceremony and the face of one of her best friends is shown as her ideal match, she knows it is meant to be.  Xander is handsome, clever and kind.  That’s what makes it all the more confusing when Cassia looks at his data and she momentarily sees the face of another boy she knows.  Ky is quiet, a mysterious handsome loner who moved to their area from the Outer Provinces.  Cassia finds herself drawn to Ky and starting to think outside of the rules of the Society.  Learning to write in cursive, a skill lost for the people of her city, Cassia discovers a longing to create things for herself outside of the limits assigned by the Society.  Their love itself is forbidden, and something that could bring them to the attention of the Officials at any moment.  Now Cassia must choose between the comfort of life as she has always led to or the danger of the unknown and love.

Condie has created a society that is detailed and fascinating.  Within the Society, she asks questions that modern teens should be considering about privacy, personal choice, and the public good.  These questions are present in the book, but offered up in a subtle way.  The world building here is logical.  Condie excels at slowly revealing the horrors of this world, at first allowing readers to see the world as Cassia does, one with few troubles and many answers. 

Cassia is a great protagonist.  Even though this is a romantic novel, Cassia is strong and brilliant.  A large part of the success here is that Cassia is not concerned about her looks, but more concerned about looking beyond the glossy surface of perfection.  Happily, both of Cassia’s love interests are equally interesting, kind and bright.  This is not about a villain vs. a hero.  It is far more nuanced than that, as are all of the choices that Cassia faces in the novel.

I look forward to the next in this trilogy.  This first book finished with just the right amount of unanswered questions to keep readers intrigued for the next book and not so many as to be frustrating.  Appropriate for ages 13-15.

Reviewed from ARC received from Penguin.

Ship Breaker

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Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Nailer works light crew, climbing into the shells of the discarded oil tankers to gather copper wiring from ductwork.  His job requires him to be small, smart and loyal to his crew.  As a teenager, he knows that he will eventually outgrow the work and that his only hope is to get big enough to join heavy crew or to become a violent drug addict like his father.  When a huge hurricane strikes the Gulf Coast, Nailer discovers a wrecked clipper ship and a half-dead wealthy girl who owned her.  Now Nailer has found another option, to leave the Gulf Coast and his dangerous low-paying work and try to help this girl find her family and safety.  But nothing is a guarantee, especially with his father and others hunting them down.  Set in a future where oil is no longer used and the climate is wreaking vengeance, this book is a dynamic merger of adventure and questions about family and loyalty.

Teen readers of dark, dangerous fantasy will find a lot to love here.  Nailer lives in a world of filth, poverty and loyalty.  It is a society that is original and makes for a great setting against which to posit a hero like Nailer who has no idea he is a hero!  Just the creation of the Gulf Coast and the crews make for incredible world building, but Bacigalupi has created a world around it as well that is just as credible and detailed.  Violence is an important aspect of the book, binding characters together, used as punishment, and also to show bravery. 

The characters of the book are just as fascinating as the world itself and just as well built.  Nailer is a rat with a heart of gold.  He’s a disposable worker, unloved by his own father, who rises above all others in the book to heights of bravery and selflessness.  He grows believably throughout the book, but never stops being himself.  The other characters also show dimension and growth, except for his father, but there are reasons for that that you must discover for yourself.

This is a book that will leave you sweating with panic, heart pounding and pulse racing.  It is a very intense novel perfect for fans of The Hunger Games.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from library copy.

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