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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Had I read this before other similar books I may have rated it higher, but it wasn't especially original after having read The Hunger Games and Divergent. Still, if you are looking for similar books, it was also enjoyable, and I will definitely have to read the next one when it comes out.
Excellent and clever YA novel, a dystopian story about a future US than has deemed love a disease. The disease metaphor was handled interestingly and fairly adroitly; and I like that it's not just the teen idea of lovey-dovey love that's the illnes, but all forms of love. I liked the format and addition of "historical documents" illustrating the expunging of love from culture, including religious tracts, government healthcare articles, history books, etc. Sure to be a solid series aimed straight at my daughter's starry-eyed demographic, but that's okay if it's not crap, and this doesn't appear to be crap.
Lena has grown up waiting for the day she would turn eighteen and get her “procedure” – a cure to the devastating disease amor deliria nervosa (more commonly known as love). She has grown up fearing the disease and its consequences – it drove her mother to suicide after all, didn’t it? But as her birthday draws closer, Lena begins to see the world as she knows it in a different way. This character and setting driven novel will appeal to fans of other dystopian fiction like Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series and the cliff hanger ending will leave readers breathlessly awaiting the sequel, Pandemonium. –Erin J.
I found that the book was hard to get into. For me it didn't get exciting until about chapter 23. But except from that it was a great book!
Random thoughts:
1. YA dystopian novels and I have a love-hate relationship. There's something very eye-roll-inducing about these YA novel plots, characters, and writing style, and it irritates the hell out of me, but I keep getting sucked in.
For example (these all came from the same page):
"It all seems so normal--so deliciously, wonderfully normal--that I'm filled from head to toe with a joy that makes me dizzy."
"I want to hold this moment inside of me forever, keep it safe, like a shadow-heart..." (What is a 'shadow-heart'?!)
"Salt stings my eyes and I blink rapidly, not sure whether I'm sweating or crying."
2. I don't think I've ever come across such fast-paced last chapters. CRAZINESS.
3. So. Saddened. by the ending.
1. YA dystopian novels and I have a love-hate relationship. There's something very eye-roll-inducing about these YA novel plots, characters, and writing style, and it irritates the hell out of me, but I keep getting sucked in.
For example (these all came from the same page):
"It all seems so normal--so deliciously, wonderfully normal--that I'm filled from head to toe with a joy that makes me dizzy."
"I want to hold this moment inside of me forever, keep it safe, like a shadow-heart..." (What is a 'shadow-heart'?!)
"Salt stings my eyes and I blink rapidly, not sure whether I'm sweating or crying."
2. I don't think I've ever come across such fast-paced last chapters. CRAZINESS.
3. So. Saddened. by the ending.
I started off not quite sure if I would like this but ended up loving it as Lena became stronger and Alex more defined. I know can't wait to read the next in the series!
Started out thinking it was kinda dumb. But I liked it a little more towards the end, espeically because it made you really think about how conservative you would need to be to fit into this type of society.
Loved this book just as much as the first time I read it!