I promised Graydyl ages ago that I would write a book report on the terror known as 50 Shades of Grey. The sad part is, I am dreading going back through the e-book to write my review, and so I have been shamelessly procrastinating. Instead, I now present to you a triple book report on three YA dystopians.
1. Divergent by Veronica Roth
Premise: In this dystopian version of Chicago, society is divided into five factions: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. All 16 year-olds must take an aptitude test that determines which faction they are best suited for. Our heroine, Beatrice, has been living with Abnegation with her family, but has never felt like she belonged in the "selfless" faction. When she takes her aptitude test, however, the results are inconclusive and she is told that she is "divergent"--a dangerous fact that she must hide. At the choosing ceremony, Beatrice chooses to join Dauntless and adopts the name "Tris"--which means leaving her family in Abnegation--and now must undergo the grueling initiation process to join Dauntless or be condemned to live faction-less in society.
My Take: Divergent has been compared a lot to The Hunger Games, and to a certain degree the tone of the story is rather similar. There's a greater plot about political discord that Tris begins to uncover by the novel's end, much in the way Katniss gets dragged into something bigger by the end of the Games. Throughout the story, there's a hint of this that rumbles under the rest of the main plot.
What's the main plot? The Dauntless initiation. This, I felt, was the most compelling part of the story. Reminded me of when I had to go through pledging, a little bit (ha-ha). There are high stakes involved, so the danger to Tris feels quite real. I'm not a huge dystopian reader though, so this wasn't one of those books that particularly stuck to me after I finished reading it. (In case you haven't figured it out, I'm more of a contemp girl.)
Because of how fast the pace went though, I don't feel like I became particularly attached to any of the characters, except maybe Tris. A couple side characters die, but I just kind of went "meh." Maybe I'm just heartless. And on that note...
Love Interest: For some reason, I did not get very attached to Four, Tris' love interest. I don't know why--he's the standard "tall, dark, and handsome with a mysterious past" type that I usually gun for, but this time I felt nothing. Four is quite a popular character with other readers though, so must be something wrong with me... I do give props to Veronica Roth for not making Tris and Four another sorry case of Insta-love.
Verdict: If you like action-packed dystopians, this is the cream of the crop and will probably be a big deal once the movie comes out. Better read it before then!
2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Premise: Our next 16-year-old heroine is a cyborg named Cinder. She lives with her two step-sisters Pearl (the evil one) and Peony (the nice one) and her evil stepmother, who takes all of the profits from Cinder's business as the best mechanic in New Beijing. One day, Prince Kai--the future emperor--shows up at Cinder's market booth and asks her to repair a suspicious android before the annual ball. In the meantime, a fatal plague has been infecting the New Beijing population--the same one that killed Cinder's adoptive father--and soon Peony becomes infected with the disease. Blaming Cinder, the stepmother volunteers Cinder for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived. Cinder soon finds herself caught up in the international drama between the human governments and the Queen of the Lunar colony. War is brewing and the mind-manipulating Lunars are intent on conquering Earth.
My Take: I am a sucker for fairy tales, so this book was right up my alley. Cinderella is always a tricky one to retell, simply because it is so overdone. All the more impressive if the author manages to pull it off in a unique way, and I think Marissa Meyer nailed it. The ballroom scene--my favorite of the Cinderella trope--was just as climactic as I was hoping it would be.
There was a bit of magical fantasy in this--the Lunars are like a different breed of humans with the ability to manipulate Earthen minds. There are whispers of dark political secrets regarding the Lunar royalty that Cinder hears about. Again, the political undercurrent bides its time under the main storyline before rearing its ugly head at the novel's end, setting things up for the next book in the trilogy.
Unlike Divergent, with this book I saw the plot twist coming only a few chapters in, but I originally just chalked it up to me being smart (ha-ha). A little more than halfway into the book, however, I wanted to smack dear Cinder on the head, "Girl! Open your eyes and connect the freaking dots!" By then, it was already too obvious.
Love Interest: I liked Prince Kai. I guess I must have a thing for princes--he reminded me of Char from Ella Enchanted, except of Asian descent. What I didn't quite buy was why he was so intrigued by Cinder that he wouldn't be put off by the fact that she kept rejecting his invitations to go the ball. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I am under the impression that a guy willing to subject himself to this many rejections probably has quite a bit of self-esteem and pursues the girl for two reasons: 1) Reclaiming his wounded pride, and 2) Enjoying the thrill of the chase. Prince Kai doesn't seem to be pursuing Cinder for either reason.
Verdict: Intriguing futuristic retelling of Cinderella--not as action-packed and more like a sci-fi fairy tale.
3. Legend by Marie Lu
Premise: The book is told from two alternating perspectives. June is a 15-year-old girl, a military prodigy born into wealth and prestige. Day is a 15-year-old boy from the slums and the most wanted criminal in the Republic. A plague has been sweeping through the poorer districts of the Republic, a corrupt society where the rich receive the antidote for free but the poor are charged with prices that they cannot afford. A member of Day's family becomes infected with the disease, and Day desperately tries to get his hands on an antidote. When June's brother Metias is murdered, Day becomes the prime suspect and June vows to avenge his death. Locked in a game of cat and mouse, June and Day soon discover the truth behind Metias' death and uncover a sinister secret about the government.
My Take: First things first, I love the dynamic between June and Day. The cat and mouse set-up reminded me of a childhood favorite, Saint Tail, which pitted a master thief against a detective who vowed to capture her. Something about mortal enemies that inadvertently fall for each other makes me sa-WOON.
Unlike Cinder, where I saw the plot twist coming from a good distance away, it took me awhile to figure out the truth behind Metias' death, but it was also one of those moments where I was like "Gah! There were totally signs of it at this part and that part!" The plot was compelling and definitely kept me from putting the book down.
On an unrelated note... yay for Marie Lu! I totally creeped on her Deviantart account when I was a wee girl looking for pretty pictures for my Xanga weblog. Back then, I think she was working a fantasy piece called The Glass Sonata, because she had so many character sketches up. It's so cool to see how far someone has come in the last eight or so years. (Gives me some hope for myself, ha-ha.)
Love Interest: June and Day share the story equally, so it's not so much about a specific love interest as the chemistry between them. Out of the three books I've reviewed, Legend brought the best to the table. June and Day were attracted to each other rather quickly when they first met, but it was believable--two prodigies meant for each other! June is the girl I aspire to be (a genius badass) and Day hides a heart of gold under his tough kickassery. Also, did I mention that Day is half Russian and half Mongolian with blue eyes? I can't even imagine who on this Earth will be able to look the part of his character, should they make a film version of this story.
Verdict: Fast-paced cat and mouse story with two compelling lead characters--June and Day are AWESOME.
