Once upon a time, in a distant future where Earth's borders and technologies have shifted after a devastating Fourth World War, a young orphaned cyborg named Cinder trudges through life trapped under the thumb of her unkind stepmother. Cinder, who holds a lesser place in society because her human body has been augmented with robotic parts, happens to be one of the best mechanics in New Beijing but she never expected that her reputation would lead the handsome heir to the throne, Prince Kai, to visit her booth at the market and ask for her help fixing a broken android. Then the mysterious and deadly plague sweeping the nation infects two very important people: Prince Kai's father, the emperor, and Cinder's beloved younger stepsister Peony. Suddenly Cinder becomes intimately involved in the dangerous international and interplanetary struggle for power that forces her to dive into her unknown past and its connections to the plague and the entire future of the planet Earth.
I first came across this futuristic Cinderella retelling when I signed up for the 2012 Young Adult & Middle Grade Debut Authors Challenge and began browsing around the connected Goodreads list. The premise alone was enough to get me interested: Cinderella is a cyborg with a dark past in a future Chinese-influenced empire? Sign me up!
Generally, Cinder lives up to its fun premise. It combines popular sci-fi/futuristic fiction concepts (another world war, cyborgs, interplanetary/alien communication, unknown plagues, etc.) with the ever popular fairy or folk tale retelling. The result is a fresh and enjoyable novel with broad appeal to a variety of readers. The setting of New Beijing is unusual and absorbing, combining elements from different time periods and cultures in a way that fits into the version of the future Meyer has sketched out. The traditional fairytale royal family and special ball seem a little out of place in a world where cyborgs and robots exist and the government is negotiating with a civilization from another planet but somehow it works. Cinder is a lovely protagonist, determined and smart but also vulnerable and intensely aware of her subhuman status in society. The mystery of the plague and its connections to Cinder and the extraterrestrial Lunars are full of exciting, if occasional predictable, twists and turns. Overall, a delightful debut novel that will have all your fantasy, fairytale, and dystopian fans begging for the sequel!
There is no denying that dystopian or speculative fiction are very popular areas of writing and publication right now; since the explosion of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins over the last year, fiction set in some potential (and usually frightening) future has been filling the bookshelves at a nearly unprecedented rate. However, since much of this fiction is both thrilling and thought-provoking, I cannot complain!
Wither by debut author Lauren DeStefano may be one of many new entries into this subgenre but it still stands out from the masses of recently published dystopian sagas. The best speculative fiction usually grounds itself in issues and questions of the present day and Wither is no exception. For this novel, the potential devastation of the human race comes from our own attempts to improve the world--in this case through medical and scientific engineering and manipulation of human biology.
About 70 years ago, science at last succeeded in creating perfect children; a generation of babies were born to be nearly indestructable, immune to diseases and with unpredicatably long life spans. However a development that seemed to be a marvel of genetic research has turned out to be the downfall of the humanity. Every generation since that first, miraculous one is stricken with an inexplicable flaw; females die of a mysterious virus at age 20 and male die of the same illness at age 25. Most of the globe has been destroyed by war and the United States has become a nation of desperate people. While scientists work to discover a cure and orphans flood the country, young women are frequently snatched from the streets and sold into polygomous marriages with weathly men in an attempt to prevent the population from dying out.
Sixteen year old Rhine Ellery is unlucky enough to be one of these unwilling brides. Suddenly Rhine finds herself in an unfamiliar world of luxury as one of Linden Ashby's three new wives. Athough she now wear custom designed gowns and never goes hungry, Rhine remains entirely focused on escaping her beautiful prison and finding her way back to her twin brother. Even as she connects with her sister wives and begins to feel pity and affection for their equally imprisoned husband, Rhine never fully allows her determination to waver; she will live her last four years in freedom or die trying.
The premise is intriguing and DeStefano's prose is lovely and evocative; however, the real strength of this novel lies in the characters. Rhine's conflicting emotions and increasing complex relationships with the people surrounding her are the core of the novel. Her changing emotional connections with her husband, her sister wives, and the servant Gabriel are fully fleshed out and delicately developed over the course of the plot. There are no simplistic 'good guys' and 'bad guys'. The most obvious villain is Rhine's father-in-law, a First Generation scientist whose obsession to find a cure that will save Linden before his twenty-fifth birthday has pushed him into very murky ethical territory. However, even he is a three dimensional character whose motives remain sympathetic and understandable even as his actions become more and more terrifying. Wither provides us with a chilling peek at our possible future. The novel reminds us how easily those in power will dehumanize others in the rush to survive and how quickly the greater good might overpower the rights and freedoms of the individual masses in such a situation.
WARNING: While this summary is spoiler-free for Mockingjay, it is not spoiler-free about the first two books in the Hunger Games trilogy. So if you haven't gotten a chance to check out The Hunger Gamesor Catching Fire, you might not want to read ahead. Also, you should go hunt them down at your local library or bookstore asap! When there are spoilery sections in the review I will warn you :)
SUMMARY: Katniss Everdeen, the now infamous 'girl on fire' and Hunger Games victor, has managed to survive yet another ordeal in the arena. Rescued from the Quarter Quell by the rebel force, Katniss now finds herself playing a whole different kind of game. Her home district has been destroyed--firebombed by the Capitol following Katniss' own explosive act of rebellion. But under the leadership of Gale, her best friend and hunting partner, many residents, including Katniss's mother and beloved sister Prim, have escaped to the rebel stronghold, the mysterious District 13. So not only do both District 13 and a full-fledged rebel movement exist--the revolution against the Capitol has been underway for a while and it's gaining momentum by the minute. And this revolution's leadership have rescued Katniss and brought her to District 13 with express purpose of using her popularity and symbolic status to advance their cause. Of course, no one has consulted Katniss about these careful plans. Meanwhile, Peeta has been taken by Capitol forces and placed in the hands of cruel President Snow. The rebels claim that Katniss' participation is crucial to their success. But is Katniss willing to become a pawn in someone else's game again and take responsibility for the millions of people at risk in the campaign? Can she become the Mockingjay and withstand the great personal damage and expense that goes with it?
ONESMARTCUPCAKE SAYS: I initially read the first and second books in Suzanne Collins' awesome trilogy last spring. I was a bit belated, I know, but I'll use being out of the country as an excuse. Anyway, from the first pages of Hunger Games I was totally addicted to these brilliant books. I have always enjoyed dystopian narratives, from The Giver to Fahrenheit 451 and my interest was immediately peaked by Collins' premise of a future in which the socio-economic gaps have expanded to extremes and the obsession with the media, especially reality television, has become lethal. The compelling action-packed prose kept me turning the pages and the characters, especially the awesome Katniss Everdeen, had my heart hooked as much as my brain. But I love the Hunger Games trilogy because it is much more than a good dystopian thriller with a cool heroine; these books attempt to grapple with the very current realities of violence, socio-economic inequality, and war. Collins' novels explore the ways in which such realities are interconnected and how children and teenagers react to and interact with them. Now,taking into account all those qualities, it is my opinion that Mockingjay was a superb and fitting conclusion to this excellent series.
WARNING: It will likely get a little spoilery from here on out. Just so you know.
Mockingjay continued to do all the wonderful things that the first two books did: it kept a good, quick pace and it delved into Katniss' head with honesty while also managing to provoke ethical and moral questions. But this novel is unique from the others in a variety of awesome ways. Unlike the first two books, we are no longer in the Hunger Games arena. Instead, the reader is plunged into the experience of being part of a war effort that is equally saturated in blood and televised propaganda. But, as Katniss observes several times throughout the narrative, it remains a bizarre game with rules of unclear morality in which many players are merely pawns. And this concept leads me to one area that I think was handled especially beautifully in the narrative: the lines between the 'good guys' and the 'bad guys' remain unclear and this ambiguity seems directly connected to both sides willingness to use violence and manipulation to achieve their ends. In Mockingjay, Collins explores the role media plays in this process in new ways. The rebels choose to use Katniss in televised propaganda in order to advance their cause and maintain support among the districts. Katniss soon realizes that she has been transformed from a person into a symbol, and it is the double-edged sword of this process and its effects on the individual involved that Collins details in this latest novel. Mockingjay also shows us an even darker and more broken Katniss than previous novels. Our heroine remains angry, distrusting, and strong but simultaneously she is conflicted, depressed, and damaged. When the novel opens, Katniss is still recovering from the physical and emotional trauma of her last moments in the arena. She has acquired a tendency to hide in small places and repeats a mantra of facts to herself when confusion threatens to overtake her. As the narrative progresses, we also see Katniss's internal struggle with continuing depression and the conflict between her rage at the Capitol and her growing disgust with violence as a tool. Later in the novel, the readers will also encounter a very damaged Peeta whose torture in the Capitol may have altered him irrevocably in painful and negative ways. Along with these intensified portrayals of trauma and its effects, the novel has more graphic violence and even more tragic and seemingly pointless deaths. And, in my opinion, all these factors are what make Mockingjay utterly brilliant.
From my minimal browsing on the web so far, the reactions to Mockingjay have been mixed. Some readers seem to have been disappointed in the conclusion to the now infamous love triangle of Katniss, Gale, and Peeta for a variety of reasons. Either the end wasn't dramatic enough or the choice was unsatisfactory. Now, I will admit that if pressed (lightly), I would have come down on the side of Team Peeta. But frankly, I think that the conclusion to that portion of the story is merely a part of the larger conclusion just as the romance has always been part of the much larger and more complex narrative. I felt very satisfied by Collins' story, which tied Katniss's choice into her larger need to heal and recover. She also developed the relationships between Katniss and Peeta and Katniss and Gale organically and within the context of wartime maturation. Some other readers seem to have found the book to be too depressing or sad. Is Katniss less outwardly spunky than usual perhaps? Well, she is dealing with the after effects of serious emotional and physical trauma while struggling with the ethics of participating in a war--even an apparently justified one. So I think her occasional weakness and confusion is not only merited but necessary in the kind of story Collins is telling. I also appreciated what other readers' seem to find disappointing: the seemingly pointless deaths of well-liked characters. But, again, if Mockingjay aims to tell an honest story about war then death cannot always be obviously heroic and meaningful. Finally, I found the gentle, sad conclusion to the novel fitting; we leave Katniss somewhat bitter and still damaged but ultimately hopeful that the future might be brighter despite its bloody foundations.
Collins has written a masterful conclusion to a series that will take its place on the shelf of significant contributions to young adult fiction. She has dealt with war, death, torture, social inequality, and refugee life with brutal honesty. This book in particular pulls few to no punches in terms of displaying the violence, pain, and horrors of war. But she does all this while maintaining a compelling narrative filled with characters readers will find themselves caring about deeply. I have yelled, cried, and shivered my way through reading this trilogy and Mockingjay was no exception. This novel is an intense, heart-pounding, and fist-clenching experience that also manages to provoke thought and inspire great emotion. And I loved every minute of it so much that I went back and reread it in combination with the first two books almost immediately after finishing it.
So, in other words, I really, really liked Mockingjay. I feel as though my thoughts are still being processed but I tried my best to get the bulk of them out here-hope I did okay! What are your thoughts on Mockingjay?
Scattered Thoughts After Viewing About 2.5 Seasons
So I have a confession to make. Until about two weeks ago, I had never watched an entire episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.Whew! It feels better to get that off my chest. I had seen a clip or two in passing but that was it.I heard about the show a lot though.Many of my friends are huge fans and it was mentioned frequently in articles, message boards, and discussions alongside many of my favorite tv obsessions, such as Veronica Mars and Firefly.It was actually getting to the point where I was starting to feel slightly ashamed and somewhat confused as to why and how I had missed this pop-culture bandwagon. So a few weeks ago I had an hour off and deciding tool around on Netflix, that enabler of all my television addictions.Low and behold, Netflix instantly provides access to entire series of Buffy.
Since that fateful day, I’ve watch approximately 2.5 seasons of BTVS.And as predicted, I’m completely addicted. The combination of pulpy fun, quirky and smart dialogue, complex teen characters, and dark humor is irresistible to me.So I naturally felt the urge to discuss my newfound Buffy love.Sadly, no one in my vicinity seems terribly interested in my pop culture catching-up. So I will simply state my thoughts to the broad and anonymous online world instead.
First, quick overview if you too have not seen BTVS. While just over a year ago she was an ordinary 15 year old California girl worried about clothes and boys, Buffy Summers has been transformed into the Slayer-the young woman of her generation destined to become the primary combatant in an ongoing war against the powers of evil, especially the undead. After a rather obvious mishap in her hometown of LA, now 16 year old Buffy and her mother have moved to Sunnydale, CA where they hope to begin a new life free of Buffy's recent 'behavioral issues.' However, it turns out that Sunnydale is ripe for Buffy's arrival; the town is located over a Hellmouth and so experiences an unusually high amount of supernatural activity. Unable to escape her destiny, Buffy takes on her role as Slayer with the aid of her Watcher/high school librarian Giles and her new friends Willow and Xander.
My instinctual reaction to Buffy is similar to my reaction to other awesome inhabitants of that fantastical place known as the Whedonverse: this is how good sci-fi is done.Whedon creates a believable and interesting universe but does not allow the mythos or the world-building process to overpower either the story or the characters.Instead the supernatural elements are used to discuss current, human issues in new, revealing ways.My tv preferences are frequently like my reading preferences: I’m all about the characters.While the supernatural aspects can always draw me into a show, it’s the characters that keep me watching.The fantastically clever and amusing writing doesn’t hurt either.
The title character took a few episodes to grow on me; I was more immediately a fan of ‘the Scooby Gang’ than the Slayer herself.But she has grown on me.I like Buffy and I think that in many ways she, like Veronica Mars, stands out among female characters on television.I enjoy her snarky wit, of course.But more so, I enjoy the combination of vulnerability and pure anger that she illustrates.Like Veronica, Buffy has some distinct flaws and she makes mistakes.She does not always win.She can be incredibly tough yet still break down into an emotional wreck.Also, her gifts and training as a Slayer give Buffy the opportunity to be aggressive and to express her anger more openly than most women are ever permitted or encouraged to do.This ties in with a larger topic I’ve been thinking about for over a year now: the portrayal of angry young women in YA media.I first began thinking about this after reading the amazing Graceling by Kristin Cashore and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart last summer and the thoughts are still brewing in my mind.
But, I think I will let those thoughts brew a little while longer before I share them in detail.After all, I still have SEVERAL more seasons of Buffy to catch up on, in between reading, writing, and that whole having a job business. But watch for more teen tv chatter mixed in with the book reviews and an upcoming booklist over the next few weeks!
SUMMARY: A seventeen-year-old girl has just woken up from a yearlong coma, the result of a horrific accident from which she is still recuperating.At least this is what she been told.Jenna Fox woke without remembering her life or her name; there are strange gaps in her vocabulary yet her knowledge of history, literature, and science seems unnaturally detailed.Jenna’s only connection to her mysterious past is the series of home videos recording the first sixteen years of her life that her tense mother and absent father have instructed her to watch.But soon Jenna’s memories begin to resurface and she starts to ask questions no one seems willing to answer. Can she really be the same person as the carefree girl in the videos?What actually happened after the accident?Why will no one speak about the important event itself? What have her parents risked to save their precious child?
ONESMARTCUPCAKE THINKS: I need to make a confession.You know the whole ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ thing?I totally ignore that rule in many situations.While I will never give up on a book because it has an uninteresting cover, I will consistently at least pick up a book based on my interest in its cover or title.The Adoration of Jenna Fox first caught my eye in this precise fashion. I had seen the title somewhere and then saw the cover and was totally caught by the neat cover art.But it was the addictive mystery that kept me reading once I opened the cover.
I liked The Adoration of Jenna Fox. The suspense and slow revelation of the primary mystery kept me turning the pages.The premise allows Pearson to provoke fascinating and frighteningly current questions about the technological rush to beat death, scientific and medical ethics, and the definitions of humanity.Additionally, I quite like Jenna.Her struggle to understand herself is filled with an earnestness, fear, and uncertainty that would seem familiar to any teenager and anyone who remembers being one; while most seventeen-year-olds’ search for identity takes place in less extreme circumstances, the emotions remain universal.
However, upon completing the novel my final impression was of enjoyment with slight disappointment.The ride had been thrilling but at times, a little hazy.While I found most of the secondary characters interesting, some (such as Dane or even Allys and Ethan) were underdeveloped in comparison with Jenna or her grandmother.Also, there were occasional events or plot points that lacked full explanation or connection to the larger narrative. However, I enjoyed The Adoration of Jenna Fox; it’s a sci-fi thriller with a touch of romance and medical ethics thrown in and the unique combination results in an addictive and thought provoking novel.
or 
, you might not want to read ahead. Also, you should go hunt them down at your local library or bookstore asap! When there are spoilery sections in the review I will warn you :)
