Pure by Julianna Baggott ♥♥♥
I read Pure because I read a tweet from someone who was recommending it to people who like Hunger Games. I’m always up for a good dystopian novel, so I checked it out.
Aside: I should clarify that Pure is NOT dystopian but post-apocalyptical. Perhaps the distinction doesn’t matter to anyone else, but it would bug me if someone read this and didn’t realize I recognize the distinction. As far as the two similar genres go, I tend to like dystopian better, probably because it’s closely related to science fiction.
Anyway. I didn’t really like Pure, though it’s hard to pin point why. I didn’t despise it, and it’s not particularly poorly written.
I think what bugged me the most about this book is just the images of the deformities: most of the characters have objects or other people or creatures fused to their bodies. I had a hard time with this. I don’ t think we’re supposed to be comfortable with it, but I found it difficult to read because of these images.
And now, when I hear the beating of birds’ wings, I shutter.
A Million Suns by Beth Revis ♥♥♥♥♥
Just finished this last night. I just couldn’t put it down. Thankfully, it only kept me up 20 minutes past my bedtime.
This is the 2nd book in a trilogy (and now I have almost a year to wait for the final book). I liked the first, but it wasn’t necessarily a book that I’d be raving about. Well, this one might have brought the whole series up to ‘raving’ status.
You can read more about Across the Universe here. Please ignore the cover…I can’t stand kissing/passionate embraces on the cover. This is not a romance series, but science fiction of a dystopian bent.
What I so enjoyed about this second book was that the author was able to pull out more surprises, after a fairly surprising first book. Even a few things that I anticipated worked out differently than I thought. Even more interesting, it makes you think about what it means to truly live.
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher ♥♥♥♥
I had heard about this book some time back and finally got to it during the Readathon. It was a good choice, as it’s a fast-paced read. It is the story of a teenage girl who commits suicide and leaves behind tapes detailing the people in her life and their actions that led her to the decision she made.
I think there are 2 major things to take away from a book like this:
1. Our words/actions/inactions affect others more than we think
2. We are responsible for our own choices.
I could imagine using this book as a discussion starter with a teenager about issues such as suicide and interpersonal relationships.