Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Series: The Chemical Gardens, Book One

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Format: Paperback

Published: 4^th August 2011

Number of Pages: 320

Book: For Review from Harper Voyager*

Genre: Dystopia, Science-Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Death, Mild Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Blog: Lauren DeStefano

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

In our brave new future, DNA engineering has resulted in a terrible genetic flaw.  Women die at the age of 20, men at 25.  Young girls are being abducted and forced to breed in a desperate attempt to keep humanity ahead of the disease that threatens to eradicate it.

16-year-old Rhine Ellery is kidnapped and sold as a bride to Linden, a rich young man with a dying wife.  Even though he is kind to her, Rhine is desperate to escape her gilded cage – and Linden’s cruel father.  With the help of Gabriel, a servant she is growing dangerously attracter to, Rhine attempts to break free, in what little time she has left.

Review:

Sixteen-year-old Rhine is stolen from her home and sold to the highest bidder.  She is married to Linden, an ignorant twenty-one-year-old, whose father is trying to find a cure for the virus that has infected mankind, causing them to die young.  Rhine only has four years left.  And she does not intend to spend them here, in this luxurious prison.  But how can she escape?  And what will she be forced to leave behind if she does manage to get out?

I was trying to explain this to my friend, who thought it looked absolutely horrible.  The only way I could was to say that, yes, it is not a nice world, but the book itself is beautiful, life-affirming.  Horribly beautiful.  And it was.  I was addicted, unable to stop reading.  I loved Lauren DeStefano’s writing, characters, world and plot.  Everything was just so new and amazing – how many dystopias have the humans dying young rather than living for decades past our lifetime?

Rhine was a wonderful character.  She was so strong, never even thinking about giving up, not even once.  Though it may have been easier to stay in her pretty prison, she knew she had to get out.  And I could feel the bond between her and her twin brother, Rowan, even though I never actually ‘met’ him.  She was just so amazing: serious and brave.  I loved her, her spirit, her kindness.  Such a wonderful, wonderful character, who I can’t wait to see evolve in book two.

Her first sister-wife, Jenna, was just as amazing.  Calm, sweet, quiet Jenna, who hated being trapped just as much as Rhine did, escaping into her romance novels.  I fell in love with her: she would do anything for her sister-wife, and vice-versa.  The third sister-wife is Cecily.  I found her annoying at first: an immature, silly little girl.  But then I got to know her.  She was just such a sweetie, innocent and fragile.  I loved her too, and hated that she had to mature so very fast.

The husband, Linden, was just as innocent.  He had no clue what his father was up to, no idea what it had cost his wives when they were taken.  In his own way, he was just as much of a prisoner as Rhine was.  He cared for his wives, Rhine in particular.  He wasn’t a bad person: in fact, he was a sweetheart.

His father, on the other hand, was evil.  He made my skin crawl: I hated the man, and everything he stood for.  He lied constantly, and experimented on his own grandson.  Once again: pure.evil.

Finally, Gabriel, the other love-interest and the wives’ attendant.  He was sweet, though he wasn’t in it all that much.  Somehow the relationship between him and Rhine wasn’t as real as I would have hoped…  Oddly enough, in this love-triangle, I’m leaning towards the ‘baddie’, towards Linden…

What made this book truly special was the sister-wives’ bond.  They were so close, and the sisterhood between them felt real.  It was simply beautiful.  As for the relationship between Rhine and Linden, to begin with, it was fake, fake, fake.  But, Linden honestly loved Rhine, and she loved him, though she wouldn’t admit that to herself.  He took care of her, and she took care of him.  There were times when I honestly couldn’t predict the ending, couldn’t figure out how it would end…

And, at this one point, I was choking up with tears.  It was the story, yes, but more it was the world.  It was horrible.  I hated even an imagined world like it.  All of this suffering caused by us humans: the real life monsters.  The message: how far should we be willing to go to make ourselves immune to diseases?  How far, when we don’t know what the consequences may be?  What if, by our science, we make a world like this, where children grow up without parents, people have babies at thirteen, girls are forced into marriage – what then?

More importantly, it taught me that life is short.  But it could be shorter, could be worse.  Don’t waste your life. 

I laughed, I cried, I smiled; I was terrified, shocked, horrified.  It was amazing: a roller coaster of emotions and thoughts.  I adored Wither: I was addicted, unable to put it down.  It’s now one of my favourite dystopias, which is saying something, seeing all of that genre I’ve been reading lately.  I’m desperate for more!  I need Fever, now!

P.S. Sorry for such a long review!  I just loved this book, and had too many thoughts!

Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

XVI by Julia Karr

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Harper Voyage in exchange for an honest review

Winner of The Book Addicted Girl's 200 Follower Giveaway...

Hi!  I'd like to thank everyone who took part in my giveaway of Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton: so many people entered, and I'm just so sad I couldn't give a book to everyone! 

But, here is the lucky winner, picked using Random.org....

Tessa @ From The Book Blogs of TB

So, congrats Tessa!  The book should be with you soon, and I hope you like it!  :D

Entangled by Cat Clarke

Publisher: Quercus

Format: Paperback

Published: 6^th January 2011

Number of Pages: 256

Book: Bought

Genre: Realistic-Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Mystery, Magical-Realism, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Alcohol, Sex References

Author's Blog: Cat Clarke Writes YA

“The same questions whirl round and round in my head:

What does he want from me?

How could I have let this happen?

AM I GOING TO DIE?”

Seventeen-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with a table, pens and paper – and no clue how she got there.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she’s tried to forget.  There’s falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal.  But there’s something missing.

Grace must face the most important question of all.  Why is she here?

A story of dangerous secrets, intense friendship and electrifying attraction.

Review:

Grace Carlyle is damaged, scarred – and not just on the outside, where there are the criss-crossing scars from her cutting.  She’s not perfect and she knows it.  But when she wakes up in a room, help captive by a boy she doesn’t even know, she needs to find out WHY.  With a pen and paper, she tells her story, her life.  Her mistakes, her successes.  Her friends, boyfriend, family.  She needs to figure it out, unravel the mess that is her life.  She needs to figure out WHY.  Fast.

Wow.  Just… wow.  This story of kidnappers and flashbacks could have so easily gone wrong.  Yet, everything was perfect; it was put together in a way that made me want to just sit and read and never put it down.  I was instantly drawn in, hooked from the very first sentence: “I met Ethan on the night I was planning to kill myself.  Pretty inconvenient, when you think about it”.  It was amazingly written, the characters all felt real and so did Grace’s pain.   She was amazing.  This book was amazing.  I adored it.

Grace was a wonderfully strong character, her voice so real.  She was the driving force, the life, the power.  She could easily have been ‘that girl’.  The one who is pathetic and suicidal and clingy, but she wasn’t.  She was real.  She was human.  I loved her for her faults, loved that she wasn’t perfect.  And more than anything, I loved her strength.  Grace was brilliant.  Yes, she was damaged, broken, but I didn’t pity her or look down on her: I hurt for her.  I just loved that she could be sarcastic and almost light-hearted, considering the position she was in.  She was just incredible!  Warm, ironic, stubborn.  She was refreshing and one of my favourite heroines, plus she reminded me what I loved most about fiction and writing.

Grace had issues with her mother, which I found particularly interesting.  Ever since her dad died, Grace’s mother couldn’t be bothered.  She didn’t notice that Grace was cutting or drinking, nothing.  I had a theory behind this sudden disinterest – one which proved to be accurate – but all Grace could see was a mother that didn’t care.  Which is why her friendship with BF Sal was so important to her.  The two completely relied on one another.  Their relationship was sweet, and meant everything to Grace.  Which was one of the problems…

I can honestly say I couldn’t guess where the plot was going.  I couldn’t guest the twists, the turns, nothing, nada.  I just could not figure out – no matter how hard I tried – who Ethan was!  It took me forever to get even an idea, and by then I couldn’t be bothered to think, I was so absorbed in the story.  I loved that Grace’s life, her kidnapping aside, was so realistic, so relatable.  Somehow, Cat Clarke took every day – for some of us, anyway – occurrences and changed them, made them surreal.  I just could not stop reading.  There was humour, happiness and love, fear, confusion and sadness – such bone crushing sadness that it made my eyes fill with tears.  I felt absolutely everything Grace did, like they were my own feelings.  It hurt.  I cried.

One of the most amazing, unpredictable, incredible, beautiful books I’ve read in a long time.  Cat Clarke is an author to look out for!  I know I’ll be on the lookout for all of her future books.

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Flawless by Lara Chapman

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

British Book Challenge (Hosted by The Bookette)

A-Z Reading Challenge (Hosted by Book Junky)

Happy Reading

Megan

Die For Me by Amy Plum

Series: Revenants, Book One

Publisher: ATOM

Format: Paperback

Published: 5^th May 2011

Number of Pages: 352

Book: Bought

Genre: Dark Romance, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Action-Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Blog: Amy Plum

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal.  But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister Georgia and I were orphans.  We put our lives in storage and moved to Paris to live with our grandparents.  And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again.  Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet.  Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy.  Because Vincent is no normal human.  He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day.  He also has enemies… immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I’m fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart – as well as my life and my family’s – in jeopardy for a change at love?

A stunning novel of life, death and the lengths we go to for love.

Review:

Kate has just lost her parents in a car accident; her and her sister, Georgia, have moved to Paris to live with their grandparents.  While reading in a café, Kate sees them sitting at another table.  One boy in particular captures her mind.  He is so very mysterious and beautiful that Kate assumes she has no chance.  Then she almost dies, and suddenly Vincent is hers.  Kate is pulled into a world of self-sacrificing immortals known as Revenants.  They are in a struggle against another, murderous group of immortals called the numa.  Can Kate survive in this world?  Does she even want to?  Is she willing to die, or worse: get her heart broken again for a chance of pure love?

This has got to be the most original zombie story I have ever read.  No, make that one of the most original paranormal-romance stories.  So many are all about the vampires, these days, therefore a nice, new zombie series was just what I’d been looking for.  Admittedly, there were a few plotlines that were slightly familiar from other YA books, but I honestly forgot all about them as I read.  I just loved the concept, storyline and characters! 

Kate was a good lead: a little helpless, but independent: not clingy, which was nice.  She was intelligent, sweet, a complete book addict and absolutely believable.  I could see myself actually meeting her in real life – and liking her.  The love-interest, Vincent, was romantic, chivalrous and gorgeous.  One of the things I loved most about him was the nickname he had for Kate: “mon ange”.    Their relationship was wonderful: slow and steady, beautiful and touching.

But what made this book stick out from so many other paranormal romances were the supporting characters.  They were all just amazing!  Charlotte, the bubbly Revenant, who became Kate’s best friend.  Ambrose, who made me laugh – especially when he called Kate “Katie-Lou”.  Mischievous Jules, who really cared about Kate and who I fell in love with.  Gaspard, the poet-turned-super-swordsman.  As for Kate’s family, I could completely feel the connection between them all.  Her sister Georgia, the party girl, who would do anything for Kate and was an all-round brilliant big sister.  Her Mamie and Papy, caring, loving: simply wonderful grandparents.  That’s what was so special: the connections between all of the characters, main and supporting, were so real, so believable.  Perfect.

Although the action didn’t kick in until later on in the story, the romance and friendship was just spot-on.  The writing was beautiful, the setting was new and genius, everything was just amazing.  What made this so very believable – besides the characters – was their reaction to the unusual and unnatural.  Kate didn’t just automatically accept what Vincent truly was: she took time to adjust.  Have you noticed that in many paranormal books the human just instantly believes and accepts what her supernatural beau is?  It’s almost as annoying as love-at-first-sight, in my opinion anyway, so the lack of it just secured this book as one of my favourites.

There was romance, humour, realistic characters, wonderful settings and completely new species of paranormal beings.  It was just an amazingly new and fresh book.  I, for one, cannot wait for the next in the series!  I want more of Kate, more Vincent, more Jules, more Revenant… and I need to know what happens next! 

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Finding Sky by Joss Stirling

Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Happy Reading

Megan

Waiting on Wednesday (#21)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, and it's a weekly meme all about the books that are coming out soon that we really can't wait to read.

Another keep-it-simple WoW.  All I am a-waitin' for is...

Pandemonium

Series: Delirium, Book Two

By: Lauren Oliver

Published: 1st March 2011

Published By: Hodder & Stoughton/HarperTeen

Found: On Amazon/Sammee (I Want To Read That)'s Blog

Synopsis On Goodreads

Delirium has got to be one of my favourite dystopias - in the very least the one with the worst ending.  I lent Delirium to my friend, who, after reading it, came to me and said "OMG, that was the worst ending ever!  When is the next coming out?  I need the next book!"  I completely agreed, so decided I'd find out.  It doesn't come out 'til next March!  Oh, horror!  But this cover... isn't it beautiful?  And the next book sound so good.  I can't wait!  This is one I may just go insane waiting for! 

Well, that's me. 

What are you waiting for this week?

Annexed by Sharon Dogar

Publisher: Andersen

Format: Hardback

Published: 2^nd September 2010

Number of Pages: 320

Book: Borrowed From the Library

Genre: Historical Fiction, Real-to-Life Fiction, Realistic-Fiction, YA, YA-Adult Crossover

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Alcohol, Drug References, Mild Swearing

No Violence, Death 

‘I’m scared.

Scared I’m a coward.

Scared we’re trapped.

Scared we’ll be caught.

Scared that it’s my own ghost standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for me…

That this is it – all that’s left of my life.’

Everyone knows about Anne Frank, and her life in the secret annexe – or do they?

Peter van Pels and his family are hidden away with the Franks, and Peter sees it all differently.  What is it like to be forced into hiding with Anne Frank?  To hate her and then find yourself falling in love with her?  To know you’re being written about in her diary, day after day?  What’s it like to sit and wait, to watch through a window whilst others die, and wish that you were fighting?

Anne’s diary ends on August 4 1944, but in this imagined story, Peter’s experience continues beyond the betrayal and into the Nazi death camps.  ‘Is there anybody there?’ he asks.  ‘Is anybody listening?’

We should be.

Review:

Everyone knows the story of Anne Frank, the girl forced into hiding during World War Two by the Nazis.  But have you ever thought about what it was like for the others in the Annexe?  Peter van Pels lived there, with the Franks and his parents.  He hates it to begin with, hates everyone – Anne in particular.  But then it all changes, and he falls in love with the girl who annoyed him most.  How long can they stay hidden?  And what happens to Peter afterwards, once they get found?

I remember reading Anne Frank’s diary as a little girl, whilst doing WW2 at school.  The true horror was sort of lost on me then, but when I picked it up again recently, I saw everything.  The death, the pain, the world.  And I also saw her life, her spirit, her essence.  Annexed made it all feel so much more real.  It was an incredible book: sad, beautiful, and horrible, it shows that love grows in the unlikeliest places and that to many bad situations, there can be something worse.  I just sped through it, devouring it.  My mind is still spinning.

Written in a diary-like form of memories, with the currently dying Peter – lying in a concentration camp sick-bay – chipping in now and then, revealing what he now sees as obvious, cherished, stupid.  The writing was amazing, real, so full of life and hope and despair – so raw.

Peter was a wonderful character: so strong and smart.  He may not have said a lot out loud, but inside he told all that was important.  What really got through to me was how scared he was to hope, how terrified he was of being disappointed.  He was scared that he’d die, without doing any of the things he wanted to do.  And all because he was Jewish.  All Peter longed for was no labels, to be seen simply as Peter, not a German, not a Jew, just Peter.

It was really interesting seeing Anne from another point of view.  She was just as full of life, hope and ideas.  Often, she would get so enthusiastic or overwhelmed by one emotion or another that she would shake.  Peter described her as being “lit up”, commenting that he was surprised that she didn’t “burn” due to her all-consuming “passion” for words.

All the other characters from Anne’s diary were precisely the same.  Peter’s father was strong, brave and good-humoured.  His mother was sweet and caring, always helping Peter out.  Anne’s father, Mr Frank, is still one of my favourite historical people.  Strong, quiet, kind-hearted, practical Mr Frank, so full of hope.  Anne’s mother wasn’t in this book as much, but I still could understand why Anne wasn’t overly keen on her at times.  As for Margot, Anne’s sister, she was just as quiet and sweet.  She wanted to be a doctor – though I’m not sure if that is fact or not – and it’s so painful that she was unable to be.  Margot Frank would have made a wonderful doctor…

What was truly special was Anne and Peter’s relationship.  To begin with, Peter couldn’t stand her.  Then, slowly, he fell in love with her passion.  It was just intriguing to see what it was like to be the one being written about, how scared Peter was at saying something stupid that could be published for the world to see once – if – the war finished.  Their talks were also brilliant.  They were made more perfect once I saw how much they meant to Peter once they were over – once he’d lost Anne…

Part two was set in the concentration camp, part one about life in the Annexe.  It was horrible.  I cried.  It all just felt so real, so terrible, like it was happening as I read.  God, the things Peter went through…  It was horrifying, devastating…  I can’t imagine it happening to a flesh-and-blood human, to the real Peter.  But, as Peter said in Annexed: “This is not a story.  This is the truth.  These things really happened.”

This was a wonderful story, so heart-breaking it was honestly untrue.  I knew how the story ended, obviously, yet I still hoped, prayed that the story would miraculously change.  I cried, because that was clearly such a stupid thing to wish for, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever wanted to change an ending as much as I did whilst reading this.  This book will stay with me forever.

Historical-Fact Teaser – May Ruin Book If You Don’t Know…  You Have Been Warned!

Peter van Pels died aged eighteen, after seven months in Auschwitz.  “Are you listening?”  You should be.  We all should.

Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

British Book Challenge (Hosted by The Bookette)

Happy Reading

Megan