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kreela 's review for:
The Princess Trials
by Cordelia Castel
I am so glad I never read or watched Hunger Games, nor did I read The Selection. Lea Maize starts as a Harvester tending crops of tomatoes, which is why I did not immediately catch on to the name. She designs a blowgun to protect the other women with the native hollow grasses that catches the attention of the Red Runners. Although her mother already asked her to consider the Princess Trials (what kid listens to their mom, after a certain age?), her trainer in the Red Runners actually convinces her to try out.
To be honest, for such a bright beginning, I thought Lea would be more resourceful. Instead, she dismisses her own logic to believe that she can instantly turn into a spy, find a hidden tunnel for the Red Runners to infiltrate and take over the castle, and become the heroine she wants to be. Unfortunately, what she does not know can kill her. What she does not know is that this is a George Orwellian place where the media is manipulated to a predetermined outcome, and injected medical devices can not only track you but kill.
While this is bad enough, the other contestants are just as willing to manipulate the system to become the queen....who is live and well, thank you very much.
My worst and most haunting novel of all time was George Orwell's 1984. To see a future that echoes current events leaves me shuddering and awake all night. It pains me to see independent media portrayed as arms of the state, and it pains me to finish the book. But I totally did. The amount of pain, torture, and betrayal Lea goes through just makes me wonder why. She finally realizes that she was manipulated from the start, is still being manipulated, and that she is losing control of reality.
There is some hope. The moms are in control. No, seriously, her own mom seems to be a stalwart at home, that perfect American who became awesome through hard work and a positive attitude. (Her dad is cool, too). Her rebel leader seems like a perfectly evil manipulator, but the rebels are small fry. The queen and her right-hand protector, both strong women, stop the manipulation at key points.
If you can survive the torture, perhaps you too can find the source of water, the source of life....but what good does it do when the entire system is so corrupt? Maybe we will find out in book 2.
To be honest, for such a bright beginning, I thought Lea would be more resourceful. Instead, she dismisses her own logic to believe that she can instantly turn into a spy, find a hidden tunnel for the Red Runners to infiltrate and take over the castle, and become the heroine she wants to be. Unfortunately, what she does not know can kill her. What she does not know is that this is a George Orwellian place where the media is manipulated to a predetermined outcome, and injected medical devices can not only track you but kill.
While this is bad enough, the other contestants are just as willing to manipulate the system to become the queen....who is live and well, thank you very much.
My worst and most haunting novel of all time was George Orwell's 1984. To see a future that echoes current events leaves me shuddering and awake all night. It pains me to see independent media portrayed as arms of the state, and it pains me to finish the book. But I totally did. The amount of pain, torture, and betrayal Lea goes through just makes me wonder why. She finally realizes that she was manipulated from the start, is still being manipulated, and that she is losing control of reality.
There is some hope. The moms are in control. No, seriously, her own mom seems to be a stalwart at home, that perfect American who became awesome through hard work and a positive attitude. (Her dad is cool, too). Her rebel leader seems like a perfectly evil manipulator, but the rebels are small fry. The queen and her right-hand protector, both strong women, stop the manipulation at key points.
If you can survive the torture, perhaps you too can find the source of water, the source of life....but what good does it do when the entire system is so corrupt? Maybe we will find out in book 2.