The Giver by Lois Lowry
Book 1 in the Giver Quartet
Young Adult Fiction // Categories: Dystopia, Science Fiction
Release Date: January 24, 2006 (first published in 1993)
Publisher: Ember (Random House)
Rating: 4 stars
I made plans to read this book back in March 2014 before the movie came out, but I pushed it aside due to my disinterest. For some strange reason, I recently really wanted to watch the movie (but refused to before I had a chance to read the book) so I decided to sit myself down and just get through it. I was very fascinated with the society from the beginning and I kept wanting to read on, but the ending was a bit anticlimactic. I wish it could've been a bit longer but other than that, I liked it. If you've read Gathering Blue, how is it? I'm still unsure if I want to continue with the series.
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Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth
Young Adult Fiction // Categories: Dystopia, Science Fiction
Release Date: July 8, 2014
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books (HarperCollins)
Rating: 4 stars
After being away from the Divergent world for a while, I was excited to experience some new (and familiar) events from Four's perspective. I loved being able to see how he reasons and how he interacts with those in Dauntless before he befriends them. Although The Traitor (the last novella in this bind-up) overlaps with pieces of Divergent, I didn't mind. If you love Four as much as I do, you will appreciate this book :)
"You're the one who has to live with your choice," she says. "Everyone else will get over it, move on, no matter what you decide. But you never will." (p. 5)
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Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Young Adult Fiction // Categories: Historical Fiction
Release Date: April 3, 2012 (first published in 2011)
Publisher: Speak (Penguin Books USA)
Rating: 3.5 stars
I finished this a couple of days ago and I'm still torn on how I should rate this. The entire story moved at a slow pace, but it needed to be that way to show growth and perseverance in all the characters. It felt a bit like reading diary entries (which I typically don't enjoy reading) and the way it was written made for a quick read. I've personally never known about the genocide of Baltic people (it often gets overshadowed by the Holocaust, as Sepetys states in her Author's Note) so I am very thankful that I came across this book. Although it was a painful reality, I think everyone would benefit from reading Between Shades of Gray. I wish I read it in middle or high school.
If you've read any of these three books, how did you feel about them?
I read The Giver a long time ago but barely remember anything about it. I think I should give it a re-read, especially since it is such a well-regarded book. I wonder if you will like the film - I've read mostly negative thoughts on it.
ReplyDeleteI did want to read Four once upon a time, but after finishing the trilogy, I never did get around to it. I don't know if I will though, since I was so disappointed by the last book. But maybe someday!
The movie turned out alright — they changed a couple of things to make it flow better, but I don't think I like the way they changed it :/ If you're not in love with Four (the person), I think you'll be okay with skipping it!
ReplyDeleteThannks for this
ReplyDelete