Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent (Divergent #1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Series #: 1
Genre: YA/Dystopian/Science Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

First of all I must say that this is one unique story. I first knew about this at Tumblr, and when I got to a bookstore, I bought it without even thinking otherwise. The first few sentences kind of already captured me, so I didn't really put it down for the next 5 hours or so. 

Brief Explanation about 'Divergence' and its Synopsis above... (NO MAJOR SPOILERS!)
So in Divergent, we have sixteen year-old Beatrice Prior. So when people turn sixteen, they have to undergo some kind of aptitude test that will show what one faction they belong to and then evaluate their choices. Chicago has this kind of annual ceremony that's participated by the people evaluated by the test. This ceremony is to chose a new faction. Whether they feel they don't belong in their current faction, they could switch. The decision is entirely theirs, but of course, the test is created to help narrow the choices of the teenagers. But when Tris had her aptitude test, the result showed three equal results, that she was compatible with Erudite, Abnegation, and Dauntless. This means she is divergent, a kind of 'race' wherein people have different mentalities and abilities rather than those who aren't. From the root word 'diverse', divergent means that these people switch their thinkings rapidly, as opposed to those who aren't divergent. Since their government is designed to train people to build a better nation or community, they believe that divergence will only ruin the proposal of a better country. That's why when Tris got her results, her proctor warned her that the government wishes to eradicate the Divergent. Tris kept this secret as well because she's afraid that this could be the very reason of her death. 

I love/d the characters in this book as well as their stories. It feels like every character is crafted finely to create this well-written book. When you read this book, you'd probably get a sense of having an inner Tris deep inside you. We could also get a sense that maybe in a few years or generations, we could have this kind of controlled world. It really is possible. 

It's not entirely similar to THG (The Hunger Games), as most people say. It's something new in the realm of YA fiction and is really interesting. It's a compelling story about strength, love, hope, faith, and secrecy. If you want to spice up your YA selection, then add this to your reading list! I highly recommend this :) Hope you would enjoy/have enjoyed reading this as much as I did.

Book Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Title: Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Author: John Green and David Levithan
Genre: YA/Contemporary
Rating: ★★★★★

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both of them legions of faithful fans.

 I would like to initially say that Will Grayson, Will Grayson is more than what I have expected. Favorite John Green book as of now (Maybe because David Levithan co-wrote it), actually. So as you may have noticed by the repetitive title, there are two Will Grayson's in the story. Different people, different attitudes, different lifestyles.

In each chapter, the point of views switch from Will Grayson, who is a perfectly socially-anxious boy (created by John Green) who doesn't like any of the people's attention and a member of the Gay-Straight Alliance, to will grayson (purposely written in lowercase; created by David Levithan), a boy who we would describe as emotional (or emo), deep, dark, secretive, and quiet.

One night in Chicago, in the midst of the most unexpected events, the two Will Grayson's meet. This is where their lives start to intersect. The two learn how to forgive, forget, be strong, appreciate, and be their own person. Through these wondrous series of events, you'll see what people regard as their problem and how they address them. I think it's such a nice idea how shallow the problems in the book are, but they actually are the problems of most people in real life.

I loved how Levithan and Green made you be in the story. Like how you would love all the protagonists (the two Will Grayson's, Tiny, Jane, etc.) and hate all the antagonists (Maura, Maura, Maura -- and no, Maura is not a repetitive character in the story). There's a wide variety of remarkably impossible-yet-could-be-true encounters and aspects in this amazing book. That's what I found entertaining -- it's so impossible, that you actually visualize the scenes and can see it happening in real life, in the most unexpected circumstances. It's a humorous, invigorating, and close to what's happening and could be happening in our society.

I highly recommend this to fans of previous John Green/David Levithan books and see for yourself how you'd react to this. Maybe it's not for everyone, but I certainly found it entertaining enough that it could receive 5 stars.

Book Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Genre: YA/Contemporary
Rating: ★★★★★

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

I absolutely loved this book. First off, it's about Hannah Baker, a teenage girl who we'd see as normal by first look, but actually has (or had) some issues that she couldn't handle on her own. Hannah here, committed suicide and no one really knew why. But little do people know that before she ended her life, she created 13 cassette tapes that has her reasons.

The book is from the point of view of Clay. He receives these 13 video tapes from an unknown sender, and puts it on to listen to it. I was moved by how he couldn't take hearing it at first. It gave me the sense that Clay must have really cared for Hannah, but didn't show it enough.

After listening, Clay sends them out anonymously to the next person. He grew, as well. Because of listening to Hannah's story, Clay learns to stop being quiet. Quiet in terms of being afraid, that is.

Today, sadly, many people are victims of depression, bullying, hurt, and countless people have already committed suicide because for them, it's the only choice; and I loved how Jay Asher wrote a story about how the little things that we do could affect people differently. I could say it changed me. I learned to simply just respect people and being just someone to talk to, in general. I make it a point that everyone who talks to me will have clearer thoughts by the end of our conversation. It could go a long way, you know.

It's really something. It's mostly about what teenagers, or anyone could be or have been experiencing and how blind the world is. And sometimes all they really need is someone to talk to, but sometimes we don't see how they need our help. And sometimes, it takes them just enough to realize that maybe they're not worth it. I think this book is reaching out to us as well, similarly to how Hannah tried to reach out but didn't succeed.

This is a wonderful book, and even better if you listen to Hannah's audiotapes on youtube. It's a huge eye-opener, sometimes we think we already know, but we have much more to learn about. It could really change your perspective on things and I think that it's worth your time reading it.
 

Book Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Title: Where She Went
Author: Gayle Forman
Series #: 2
Genre: YA/Contemporary
Rating: ★★★★★ (a hundred more if possible)

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future-and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

First of all I want to say how strong the If I Stay series is. I loved its first book -- If I Stay, and now I absolutely adore Where She Went. Well, basically, you can read the series in any order at all. But I suggest sticking to the chronological pacing. ☺

In this second book, we are reading from Adam's point of view. And, you guessed it, Adam's now a big-time rock star with an even-bigger girlfriend in terms of show business. But he still is, truly, madly, and deeply in love with Mia, and he thinks that there's is no one out there who could replace her.

And I both hate and love Adam and Mia. On Adam,  Well, all of his sadness, anger, hurt, and pain from Mia were the roots of his success, the cause of Shooting Star's hit albums, yet he couldn't even bring himself to tell Mia what he truly feels. Well, true, I believe that it's not that easy at all, but it's been eating him alive for the past three years. What I love about him, well, is that he couldn't just hurt Mia, in any way, even if he would wanted to, because that's what those three years did to him. He held on too much to something his heart desires but his brain tries to forget. He even feels sad whenever Mia cries. On Mia, gurl, why didn't you explain earlier? Maybe things could have gone better than they were. MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN MARRIED BY THIS BOOK YOU KNOW. (But I guess Where She Went wouldn't have such an amazing plot if that happened.) (P.S. You'll understand when you read it!)

And to top it all, I loved the writing, how Gayle Forman would make us anticipate and speculate about what happened then, and what will happen now, now that Mia and Adam are basically taking a tour around New York City. I also loved how I could feel each moment as much as the characters did. (Thus the crying I've been trying to hide)

Okay, to settle things, I did cry in both of the two books, okay. It's just so amazing in all ways possible. It feels true; Like Mia and Adam wrote the story themselves. *Again, praising Gayle Forman for that* Where She Went is a compelling love story about reconciliation, the hope of mending the broken pieces, and starting over.

And it's just amazing, how everything comes to life, like all the cliché love quotes are actually true -- for example, "if you two are really meant for each other, then fate will bring you closer." or something like that. Kidding aside, I can't explain how much this series touched me. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting a wonderful read.

Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Page count: 262 pages
Series #: 1
Rating:  ★★★★★
Genre: YA/Contemporary

Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, admiring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. In an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left. It is the most important decision she'll ever make.

Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting, and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving.

Behold fans of Before I Fall! This is yet another book about death and self-discovery.

I love this book to pieces, okay.  I think it's amazing how Gayle Forman created up this story. I mean, before the accident, we get a glimpse of how Mia's family is. How they're weird, funny, and caring. You get to sense how much they really love each other. That's how I cringed reading through the accident, how it was just so sudden. After I read that part, you could basically just sit in a corner and be scared for the rest of your life, because the future is unpredictable. That accident happened to Mia and her family, as much as it could happen to anyone else.

Another thing that I loved was how much I believed it. My head was practically filled with 'what if's' and huge theories that maybe if someone in Mia's situation could be in that state.

And of course, I couldn't have just left this review with 5 stars without a book boyfriend. Here we have Adam, the rocker-type of guy who'd take a job as a pizza delivery guy just to take you to a Yo-Yo Ma concert. And I absolutely loved how he shows his love to Mia, how he thinks she's perfect in every way, even though Mia constantly asks, "Why me?"

In this book, we join Mia as she reassesses her life, her lovelife, and her self. Is it really worthy to stay? Or would it be better to just ease the lives of everyone else worried about her?

I think all in all it was an amazing story about love, choices, hurt and loss. It's absolutely heart-breaking. But then again, you'd have to read it for yourself. This is highly recommended!

Book Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Rating:  ★★★★★
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary

What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

First of all, I've bought, already read and finished this book in 2012. I bought this because it had an interesting cover. But I must say, it still leaves a wonderful impression in my mind.
Moving on, we have our protagonist, who might not possess the protagonist "aura", Samantha Kingston. As the preview states, she has it all. She's the queen bee living by the blinding mist of popularity.

The story begins with Sam and her friends driving home from a party. All of a sudden, the car crashes, and we realize that Sam dies. She eventually wakes up in her room, and experiences the same day all over again. 

In reading the first few chapters, Lauren Oliver would really make you hate/dislike Sam. I mean, who would even like mean girls? She's this shallow, self-conceited, materialistic girl you'd see at most high schools. But throughout the story, you'll really see who Sam is, under all that fame and glamor. Because of that one week, she had developed into this warm, understanding, mature girl that we'd never expect from an it-girl. This is the quality that I've enjoyed most from the book. You'd think it's just a story to solve the mystery surrounding her sudden death, but it's actually a story to resolve herself. 

The characters were all supplementary to Sam's growth. In those seven repetitive days, she has strengthened and mended her bonds towards the people surrounding her. And of course, this book wouldn't be complete without having another fictional boyfriend - Kent, who also plays a huge role in the story. (You'll have to read the book! Haha)

All in all, it was a very lovely book. Lauren Oliver did an amazing job with this, and it's one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to reading the Delirium trilogy. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would enjoy a YA/Contemporary novel. 

Yours,