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Lorien Legacies: I Am Number Four
Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Time: 6:21 AM
Author: Pittacus Lore
Ratings: 4.5/5
Synopsis: None of us came here. We look like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books -- but we are real.
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England
And Number Three in Kenya
I am Number Four
I am next.
Review: The story revolves around the "9" aliens or Lorics from the ravaged planet Lorien. They are called "Garde" because of their special powers, called Legacies, which not everyone has in the planet. They came here with their guardians who are supposed to keep them safe because they're the ones who will save the Earth. And get Lorien back.
Unfortunately, their enemy, the ones who ruined Lorien followed them on Earth. The 9 are protected by a special charm that allows them to be safe as long as the one preceding them is not killed. They can only be killed according to their number. Unfortunately for John, Number Four, the first three were already dead. The story actually revolves around Number Four. And the story slowly unfolds as to their history. The plot slowly reveals the powers that John has inherited from the elder Garde.
John has never really developed any close relationships with other people except for Henri, his guardian. However, once he got the signal that Number Thre is already dead - they get this searing pain and mark etched on their flesh. Dark Mark, anyone? - he and Henri decided that it's time to go. They went to this sleepy town called Paradise in Ohio and there, he meets Sarah and like every other story with a teenage boy and a teenage girl, they fall in love. Everything goes peachy until the Mogadorians tracked them and they had no choice but to fight?
Who wins?
Go read the book. I swear it's a good read.
The only thing I didn't look like about the plot is that it felt a bit too dragging especially on the part where he and Sarah were growing more in love. Furthermore the sudden entry of a surprise character in the end just really caught me by no surprise. It was good, perhaps it was needed, but there was no foreshadowing at all and it just felt confusing.
The story has all the elements of a good read: light humour, action, adventure and a bit of romance. There is also the play on family ties and solid friendship. I likednthe way it was written because the friendship and romance didn't feel shallow to me. I think John's relationships were really established, which helped cement the emotion behind the succeeding scenes when Henri died and when his new friend Sam Goode stuck by him til the end.
It's a good read for anytime of the day and I recommend it.Labels: Action, Adventure, I Am Number Four, Lorien Legacies, Pittacus Lore, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
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Battle Royale
Date: Thursday, January 28, 2016
Time: 8:56 PM
Author: Koushun Takami
Ratings: 4.5/5
Synopsis: In the Republic of Greater East Asia, a frightening event called the "Program"takes place once a year in order to keep the citizens compliant and distrustful of one another. Third-year junior high classes are randomly selected throughout the nation, relocated to an isolated area, and forced to kill one another just one survivor - the victor remains.
This year, it's 15-year-old Shuya Nanahara's class that gets chosen and relocated to a small island. Shuya is forced to watched his friends die and his classmates go crazy. But what if there were some way to beat the fascist government's supposedly infallible system?
Review: Battle Royale is brutal, both physically and mentally. It tosses you into the middle of a corrupt world and forces you to be witness to an event that's deadly and well established. Innocent and not-so innocent teenagers die every few pages in unapologetic prose. No sooner do we come to know a student's personality and the past when he or she is killed, the abruptness of losing someone interesting you've just begun to know a definite stomach-turner, a definite shake up.
If this kind of dystopian literature is your kind of thin, there's plenty of it to be had. Even if you've got a weak stomach for violence, however, Battle Royale still gives you alot to think about. Koushun Takami's writing is nothing striking, and yet there's something about the plainness of it, the bluntness of the translated version that gets inside your veins and messes up your organs. It's the way he gives us a brief character of each of the 42 students - and then takes them away in horrifying manners. It's the way that this book's world takes the existence of the "Program" as expected, unchangeable. And it's the way that this book makes you doubt yourself and the characters, not sure whom you should trust, just as the government intends for you to react.
This book has inevitably been compared to The Hunger Games, so why not say what I think about the two? The Hunger Games is clearly YA, readers are spared the too-gruesome details and through the eyes of Katniss, are spared the intensity of the horror that arises when a character whose history you know dies. Battle Royale is a stand-alone novel, which makes its shocker of an ending all the more satisfying; whilst I have yet to read the next two books in Suzanne Collins' series, I can only hope that she will deliver an equally believable and satisfying answer for Katniss and her world.
If I had to make a choice between the two, I'd go with The Hunger Games, for its less stomach-churning material and the successful development of memorable characters. However, Battle Royale provides more questions to think over, more disturbing ideas and images that will keep you up later in the night. If you do not have a weak stomach and have the time to read an intense 600-page work, I suggest picking up Battle Royal in order to completely annihalate everything you've previously thought about the dark side of human nature and our curiosity in violence and death.Labels: Action, Battle Royale, Dystopian, Horror, Koushun Takami, Thriller
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The Mortality Doctrine: The Eye of Minds
Date: Saturday, January 16, 2016
Time: 6:09 AM
Author: James Dashner
Ratings: 4/5
Synopsis: Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it's addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?
But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he's holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific - the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer's motives are a mystery.
The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker. And they've been watching Michael. They want him on their team. But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can't even fathom - and there's the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.
Review: James Dashner does it again. A competent successor to The Maze Runner series, The Eye of Minds is a captivating and suspenseful sci-fi adventure that left me craving the next installment of the trilogy.
The Eye of Minds follows the journey of Michael and his friends, Bryson and Sarah, as they tracked down a crooked madman hacker who has been using his skills in the VirtNet to corrupt others and render the human bodies of his victims brain dead.
In the world that Dashner establishes, those who can afford to purchase a "Coffin", the piece of technology that can transport the mind to the VirtNet, are empowered with the ability to explore an almost limitless world, in which death does not exist. When reading, it is evident that Dashner put alot of detail and forethought into the workings and infrastructure of the VirtNet, and this is what really makes the world that Michael lives in an original one.
As for the characters, I found the dialogue that they exchange amongst themselves entertaining, but I could muster nothing on a more profound level. Although the frequent exchanges of banter and sarcasm among the trio of friends brought a sense of realism to the story, I did not sympathise with or relate to any of the characters on a deeper level, which I presume has to do with the lack of character insight and development throughout the course of the novel.
Although the premise of the book kept me turning page after page, I began to lose interest somewhere near the hundred page mark, when Michael and his friends are in throes of their journey. This was undoubtedly influenced by the repetitive nature of the tasks that the characters faced. After they moved past an obstacle, another would appear shortly after, and following that one's completion, the characters would be faced with yet another obstacle to overcome, and so on and so forth. This is where I began to focus less on the character's current situation and just wanted to reach the final pages of the book to discover what conclusion was in store. However, I put my big girl panties on, sat down and read through it all.
Good decision. After braving through the book's drier sections, fueled primarily by anticipation of its conclusion, I was presented with a major completely unexpected plot twist. And boy, was it a twist - the kind that causes the story to make sense on an entirely new level. I won't delve into further details for obvious spoiler avoiding reasons, but I will mention that upon reflection, I realised that Dashner does provide subtle clues that foreshadow the plot's sudden twist. However, I had gullibly attributed these clues to a cause that Dashner leads the reader to believe, but is essentially a distraction from their real cause, which only contributes further to the element of surprise contained in those last few pages.
Overall, despite my criticisms of the book, I recommend this to any YA'ers out there who are craving a sci-fi adventure with a hint of danger and mystery. Read through the weaker spots and you will encounter an ending well worth the wait.Labels: Action, Adventure, Gaming, James Dashner, Sci-Fi, The Eye of Minds, The Mortality Doctrine, Young Adult
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Insurgent
Date: Thursday, January 7, 2016
Time: 6:55 AM
Author: Veronica Roth
Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: One choice can transform you - or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her. Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves - and herself - whilst grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge,and choices will become even more irrevocable - and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries and shifting relationships. Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
Review: I am not sure why I took so long to get around to reading Insurgent but I couldn't bring myself to read it straight after Divergent I think I just want to bask in the amazing feeling of experiencing Divergent first. Anyway, I decided to re-read Divergent and read Insurgent straight after in preparation of Allegiant and HOLY COW, it was amazing, astonishing and horrifyingly brilliant. I can't express my thoughts and feelings on how I feel about this. This might potentially be a dramatic review, just a warning.
Insurgent picks off exactly from where Divergent ended, with Tris and Tobias on the train trying to escape the crumbling world that has been ravaged by war, lives have been cost, factions are waging destruction on each other as well as factions being divided into smaller groups and joining with others. I shouldn't say anything more except that if you haven't read Insurgent, you need to. Preferably straight after you've read this review and stocked up on Nutella. Insurgent will have your heart pounding, your mind racing, your palms sweating and your whole view on their lives, and the story, completely altered.
Alot of people who reviewed Insurgent said it didn't live up to Divergent, but I loved it, I might take it so far as to say it was even slightly better than Divergent. Everything is so extremely different, from the characters' growths to the new revelations of the world Tris lives in. You might also, like myself, find how reading Insurgent overwhelms you with a strong sense of nostalgia for Divergent. It makes you miss the old times, the order and not the quite as brutal destruction that now envelops Tris' new world. I felt like I was literally in the story and, like the characters, I yearned for the better days. As you see how dramatically the characters have changed and how they've had to grow up, you will feel such a deep sympathy for them. All I can say is that this book is utterly amazing and that your mind will be blown by what you will discover in this book.
The amount of change of the characters showed in this novel was unexpected, but I loved learning their stories and seen their world through the new eyes they seemed to own. In Divergent, Tris was hardcore, she wouldn't let anyone get in her way, she would instantly fire a gun without thinking but due to the life-changing events that she has had to experience you begin to see her resolve slowly crumbling before your eyes and it saddened me, it really did, as I love Tris and she was one of the first YA characters I was ever introduced to and she will always hold a special place in my heart. I was so accustomed to seeing this daring, dauntless Tris and the new side she revealed in Insurgent was not what you would ever expect from her, her new side that would eventually let the tears come (without being taking self-pity on herself), who would give in to death without fighting back and the Tris who can't even pick up a gun. Her new side hinted of the fragility that was beneath the hardened facade she had to display in order to survive.
The events she had experience had broken her so much that she no longer valued her life and at times, all she wanted was escape. It was excruciating for me, as a reader who loves these characters more than any other characters, to see them ache like this, see them lose the once they love. You could see the grief, guilt, anger, frustration and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and despair envelope and Tris and the other characters, like a smothering blanket and I was rooting for her till the end that she would make it through this and she did, because Tris. Tris is brave and amazing and we should all strive to be a little like Tris.
Then there was Tobias who I just fell in love with all over again. I really begun to see just what a devastating impact his father's abuse had on his life and how it shaped him to be who he is. It was beautiful the way him and Tris loved each other and how they needed each other to survive in this world, but also knowing that they couldn't depend on each other to survive in this world, but also knowing that they couldn't depend on each other because the world they live in might cruelly rip them apart. Tobias and Tris' relationship was beautiful and it broke my heart when they were slowly slipping out of each other's grasp due to the world they live in.
When him and Tris were slowly drifting apart and been involuntarily distanced by the secrets they kept and the betrayal they felt at time. Whenever she lied to him again so that she could save someone else I wanted to shake her and yell at her that she was jeopardising such an amazing relationship whilst simultaneously risking her life and she's not thinking about what will happen if she dies, what will happen to Tobias.
I loved how in-depth the secondary characters were. From the ones I grew to love, to the ones I detested with passion, I absolutely adored Christina and how she forgave Tris for what she did and remained being a loyal friend and helping Tris on her latest rescue missions to save the world. I loved Uriah, Marlene, Tori and even Lynn. They all had their own distinct personalities. Then their were also the characters I loathed, ones that did evil to the world for their own guilty pleasure, yet you could still see all the complexes they themselves had and you could see why they became this way. There was one character that has been malicious and vile since Divergent yet partakes in a surprising courageous act, and then there is one character who was incredibly close to Tris and who I thought adored her and whom she loved, who then betrayed her. I was gobsmacked.
Veronica Roth has such impeccable skill, it's incredible.
The plot was amazing and I honestly I couldn't put Insurgent down, I needed to take deep breaths at some points to calm down, I needed to let the news sink in that yet another character I had grown to love had been brutally murdered, by force or by free will. I loved how I got to see more of Tris' world she lived in and how we got to learn more about the different factions and initiation processes. Every minute of Insurgent I read, I adored. Some parts would make my heart ache with a sweet, romantic, private moment shared and other parts I would want to let out a frustrated scream as to how Veronica Roth could think of doing this to the characters. And that ending, oh my that ending.
That ending. What the cheese cakes was that? So unexpected. I literally just stared in shock at this page and felt like my whole life had been a lie, as you can see my flair for being dramatic has now kicked in. Never when I first started reading Divergent did I expect this is what would become of Tris's society, how protected and sheltered they actually were by being placed in factions according to their personalities. I was shocked by the ending of Divergent and was excited as to where Veronica would take the next two books and Insurgent was mind-blowing, out of this world amazing, That ending had me literally feeling numb inside, it had me terrified as to what was going to meet Tris and the others the other side of the fence. Some people might now have liked how Veronica Roth ended Insurgent but I loved it and I absolutely am complete enthralled as to what will be happening in Allegiant.
I loved the writing in this, despite the cruelty and brutality in the writing. There were quite a few humorous moments that had me smiling and bookmarking the sentences. I love the way Veronica Roth writes the action and fighting scene as well, she writes it perfectly and it doesn't feel like the characters are treading through treacle like in some books I've read.
This was an astonishingly amazing, heartbreaking novel that shows what the cruelty humans are capable of and how destructive witnessing such horrors can destroy even the bravest of heroes, but how with love and friendship you can overcome any obstacle. Veronica Roth shows us her full potential in Insurgent and just how spectacular her writing skills are. This book has betrayal, love, war, romance, and will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. After reading this book and seeing what our destructive human nature can do and how guilty our mistakes can make us feel, you will want to try and be a better person. Veronica's books not only give me a look into a whole new world and have me running on adrenaline as well as being transfixed, but also teach me life lessons. Teach me how to be a better person. On almost every page there is quote worth noting. Read this book, it's honestly, simply, stunning.Labels: Action, Dystopian, Insurgent, Veronica Roth, Young Adult
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Divergent
Date: Friday, January 1, 2016
Time: 3:04 AM
Author: Veronica Roth
Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to particular virtue - Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and the 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 to determine who her friends really are - and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating 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 a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves... or it might destroy her.
Review: Sorry for the comparison, but Divergent largely remind me of The Hunger Games because that is one of the few dystopian book I've read. But I think Divergent brings something new to the table anyway, and Roth's writing style differed from Collins, so the comparison didn't hover in my mind whilst I was reading.
Now I understand what all the hullabaloo about Four was. He does sound fantastic and hot and just ideal. I half related to Tris, but not so much. I was able to relate to that wanting to be proper and good all the time but just couldn't. I could not relate, however, to her strength and ability to kill. I don't think I am strong or brave enough for that.
After reading, I couldn't help but which faction I'd choose if I lived in that world. I liked Erudite because I do like to learn. And I also liked Candor because I value honesty. But of the five factions, I will go for Dauntless, because I think they're the faction that teaches you to be most self-reliant and how to carry on.
All in all, Divergent was a nice surprise, and I think actually added value to my reading experience. I do love to venture in other categories/genres but I like it to take it slowly. My experience with The Hunger Games and Divergent has so far been good so I think I am going to read more of the same books.
Have you read Divergent? Which faction do you think you belong to or will choose to be part of?Labels: Action, Divergent, Dystopian, Veronica Roth, Young Adult
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The Hunger Games
Date:
Time: 2:06 AM
Author: Suzanne Collins
Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: Could you surivive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies in the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as death sentence when she keeps forward to take her sister's place in the games. But Katniss has been close to dead before - and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender.
If she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will survival against humanity and life against love.
Review: Wow. Simply wow. I am awed by this book and to be dead honest with you, I don't actually know what to say. This novel was perfection, real, sweet perfection. Tried reading The Hunger Games moment after I bought the whole series but didn't like it, got up to Chapter Four and had to stop. But one time out of boredom, tried reading it again. I finished it in 2-3 days. Thinking back, I am not actually sure why I didn't like it back then, but I loved it the second time around and that's all that matters.
The Hunger Games is a young adult dystopian novel that in the nation of Panem, lies a Capitol surrounded by twelve districts. To make sure the districts obey them, each year each district, has to send a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, on live TV where they will fight to the death. 24 tributes. One winner.
It felt like that that time, I was probably the last person on earth to read The Hunger Games. When someone used to ask me if I had read The Hunger Games and I would reply with a no, they would just stare at me. And I'd be like yep, whilst looking awkwardly at the ground. I am very proud to say that I have read The Hunger Games. It was an excellent, original novel. A hauntingly possible idea, real, fierce but lovable characters and an abundance of action, The Hunger Games will leave you craving for more, and I am extremely happy that I have read this stunning piece of literature.
The idea, the book, everything was amazing. The Hunger Games was a brutal event that I hope will never take place in our world. It's a horrifying thought that one day, however it possibly could.
The plot was perfect not for one minute did I get bored. I was intrigued from the beginning but I literally couldn't remove my eyes from the pages once it was announced that the 74th Hunger Games had begun, that's when my attention was even more focused than before.
Katniss is my new favourite fictional heroine, in fact she is probably even a role model to me. She stands up for those she loves and will literally fight to the death for them. It was amazing looking at her strategies on how to win and I was cheering her on the whole way. And since reading The Hunger Games I even wanted to craft a bow and arrow from the trees in my garden and I want to begin an archery lessons.
Peeta to be honest, I didn't like him that much in the beginning but he grew on me, he really did. You could see he actually really liked Katniss and he thought the romance was real but Katniss thought it wasn't authentic and her viewpoint was that the romance was just for the games and that ending practically broke my heart. I feel so sorry for Peeta and I just want Katniss to make it right because you could see the pain emanating from him when she spoke about the romance strategies and how she wasn't sure about her feelings for him.
The writing was fantastic. Suzanne Collins is a fantastic author. Her descriptions were perfection and I could imagine everything so clearly, as if it were a movie being played in front of me, and throughout the book it felt like I was Katniss as if I was experiencing all the pain, all the suffering she was going through, and her need to survive.
The Hunger Games was phenomenal and I just want to shout from the rooftops about how epic this novel is, and I am pretty sure I'll have thousands of people agreeing with me how amazing it is. Dealing with love, loss, survival and inner strength. The Hunger Games will knock you off your feet. You will feel the characters' need to survive, and you can feel the tragedy that consumes them when one of the others they are close to, dies. You just feel everything.
The Hunger Games is perfection.Labels: Action, Dystopian, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Young Adult
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The Scorch Trials
Date: Thursday, December 31, 2015
Time: 9:13 PM
Author: James Dashner
Ratings: 3/5
Synopsis: Solving the Maze was supposed to be an end.
Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn't done yet. Phase two has just begun. The Scorch.
There are no rule . There is no help. You either make it or you die.
The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch - the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broke . All bets are off.
There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers' destruction - and they're determined to survive.
Review: Some people before they read the series, they already watched their movie adaptations. The effects and the concept visualisations according to them were excellent and worth watching actually. Screaming out of fear because of the breathtaking and surprising parts, like the scene when they were being chased by the Cranks... so on and so forth.
But... if you are a type of person who has already read the series before the movie, the outcome will be very disappointing. For real. And as for me I am also disappointed with the story.
The first book started out great. I mean, the fighting and chasing scenes between the Gladers and the Grievers left me openmouthed. It is shocking, fast-paced, and it's not boring. I understand that Dashner left us some mind-bugging questions about the WICKED and their sole purposes. I was actually waiting for an answer about it here in the second book. But it turns out empty. So here's my rant about it.
I really don't know how I am going to rate this book. At first, the story caught my attention, since it's full of thrilling and promising scenes, especially the part where Brenda and Thomas met Mr. Nose. They ventured upon different kinds of trials (which is fine with me since I am looking for that kind of story. I need a break from romantic/dramatic novels).
Even when I reached the half part of the story, I am still hooked up with it. But as I go on deeper, I find it exhausting. Yes, I feel exhausted with the things that are happening with Thomas and with the other Gladers. I am tired of those shucking lies and betrayals. I am annoyed with the endless experiments and tests done by the heartless WICKED. It's all too much for me to take that my head really ache . I was well -informed with the virus, The Flare, the Cranks, etc. I am so fed up with these details and it seems like Dashner restated those details over and over again. I was waiting for that cure, the blueprint. I was waiting for something new to happen, waiting for what they call progress... It's like they'll start all over again. Another dumbfounding challenge awaits.
And I was really annoyed with Thomas and his dreams. As if he was always sleeping within the entire story. That is so cliché.
"Wicked is good." But the story isn't.
I gave this novel a three since my expectations were turned down and the questions that were bugging me from the first book were left unanswered.
But it's still a must read for everyone. If you're looking for action-packed and if you already started reading you should continue.Labels: Action, Dystopian, James Dashner, Sci-Fi, The Scorch Trials, Young Adult
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The Maze Runner
Date:
Time: 7:38 PM
Author: James Dashner
Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: If you ain't scared. You ain't human.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's surrounded by strangers - boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, Shank.
Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless ever-changing maze. It's the only way out - and no one's ever made it through alive.
Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
Remember. Survive. Run.
Review: What made me read this book is because of its unique premise and story line. I never thought of being trapped inside a huge maze, and forced to live there for a long time. Thinking about it makes me cringe, and scared because what will happen if you get stuck in that maze, right?
"Looks like a maze," Thomas whispered, almost laughing to himself. As if things couldn't have gotten any stranger. They'd wiped his memory and put him inside a gigantic maze. It was all so crazy but it really did seem funny.
-Chapter 4, p. 26.
The story is well-written, I like how Dashner illustrate the whole setting of the story, in fact he really described it in a more accurate and specific way which really helped me to form a mental image or somehow, to visualise the concept of the whole plot of the story.
He glanced upward again, half expecting it to have changed back to normal. But it was all gray. Not cloudy, not twilight, not the early minutes of dawn. Just gray.
The sun had disappeared.
-Chapter 34, p. 218
The story also has that mood and it has that different kind of perspective when it comes to the characters. They're using words which we called "Glader's slang" like shanks, shuck-face, klunk, slim-it, slinthead and etc.
All I can is WOW! This novel did not disappoint me, well the movie adaptation does... because the story was alot more different in the film. (It has always been the issue. What's new?) It's a way too scary than the film because the details of the story was delivered in a more precise way. I imagined myself standing in the middle of the Glade, surrounded by the Griever's. I also imagined Minho saving me from them. It's not that I don't like Thomas, but Minho's much more attractive for me.
My heart aches for Chuck's death. He's one of the characters that I love next to Minho.
The Maze Runner is now my favourite dystopian novel. If you haven't read it, you're missing half of your life already Shanks!Labels: Action, Dystopian, James Dashner, Sci-Fi, The Maze Runner, Young Adult
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Lorien Legacies: I Am Number Four
Author: Pittacus Lore
Ratings: 4.5/5
Synopsis: None of us came here. We look like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books -- but we are real.
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England
And Number Three in Kenya
I am Number Four
I am next.
Review: The story revolves around the "9" aliens or Lorics from the ravaged planet Lorien. They are called "Garde" because of their special powers, called Legacies, which not everyone has in the planet. They came here with their guardians who are supposed to keep them safe because they're the ones who will save the Earth. And get Lorien back.
Unfortunately, their enemy, the ones who ruined Lorien followed them on Earth. The 9 are protected by a special charm that allows them to be safe as long as the one preceding them is not killed. They can only be killed according to their number. Unfortunately for John, Number Four, the first three were already dead. The story actually revolves around Number Four. And the story slowly unfolds as to their history. The plot slowly reveals the powers that John has inherited from the elder Garde.
John has never really developed any close relationships with other people except for Henri, his guardian. However, once he got the signal that Number Thre is already dead - they get this searing pain and mark etched on their flesh. Dark Mark, anyone? - he and Henri decided that it's time to go. They went to this sleepy town called Paradise in Ohio and there, he meets Sarah and like every other story with a teenage boy and a teenage girl, they fall in love. Everything goes peachy until the Mogadorians tracked them and they had no choice but to fight?
Who wins?
Go read the book. I swear it's a good read.
The only thing I didn't look like about the plot is that it felt a bit too dragging especially on the part where he and Sarah were growing more in love. Furthermore the sudden entry of a surprise character in the end just really caught me by no surprise. It was good, perhaps it was needed, but there was no foreshadowing at all and it just felt confusing.
The story has all the elements of a good read: light humour, action, adventure and a bit of romance. There is also the play on family ties and solid friendship. I likednthe way it was written because the friendship and romance didn't feel shallow to me. I think John's relationships were really established, which helped cement the emotion behind the succeeding scenes when Henri died and when his new friend Sam Goode stuck by him til the end.
It's a good read for anytime of the day and I recommend it.Labels: Action, Adventure, I Am Number Four, Lorien Legacies, Pittacus Lore, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
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Battle Royale
Author: Koushun Takami
Ratings: 4.5/5
Synopsis: In the Republic of Greater East Asia, a frightening event called the "Program"takes place once a year in order to keep the citizens compliant and distrustful of one another. Third-year junior high classes are randomly selected throughout the nation, relocated to an isolated area, and forced to kill one another just one survivor - the victor remains.
This year, it's 15-year-old Shuya Nanahara's class that gets chosen and relocated to a small island. Shuya is forced to watched his friends die and his classmates go crazy. But what if there were some way to beat the fascist government's supposedly infallible system?
Review: Battle Royale is brutal, both physically and mentally. It tosses you into the middle of a corrupt world and forces you to be witness to an event that's deadly and well established. Innocent and not-so innocent teenagers die every few pages in unapologetic prose. No sooner do we come to know a student's personality and the past when he or she is killed, the abruptness of losing someone interesting you've just begun to know a definite stomach-turner, a definite shake up.
If this kind of dystopian literature is your kind of thin, there's plenty of it to be had. Even if you've got a weak stomach for violence, however, Battle Royale still gives you alot to think about. Koushun Takami's writing is nothing striking, and yet there's something about the plainness of it, the bluntness of the translated version that gets inside your veins and messes up your organs. It's the way he gives us a brief character of each of the 42 students - and then takes them away in horrifying manners. It's the way that this book's world takes the existence of the "Program" as expected, unchangeable. And it's the way that this book makes you doubt yourself and the characters, not sure whom you should trust, just as the government intends for you to react.
This book has inevitably been compared to The Hunger Games, so why not say what I think about the two? The Hunger Games is clearly YA, readers are spared the too-gruesome details and through the eyes of Katniss, are spared the intensity of the horror that arises when a character whose history you know dies. Battle Royale is a stand-alone novel, which makes its shocker of an ending all the more satisfying; whilst I have yet to read the next two books in Suzanne Collins' series, I can only hope that she will deliver an equally believable and satisfying answer for Katniss and her world.
If I had to make a choice between the two, I'd go with The Hunger Games, for its less stomach-churning material and the successful development of memorable characters. However, Battle Royale provides more questions to think over, more disturbing ideas and images that will keep you up later in the night. If you do not have a weak stomach and have the time to read an intense 600-page work, I suggest picking up Battle Royal in order to completely annihalate everything you've previously thought about the dark side of human nature and our curiosity in violence and death.Labels: Action, Battle Royale, Dystopian, Horror, Koushun Takami, Thriller
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The Mortality Doctrine: The Eye of Minds
Author: James Dashner
Ratings: 4/5
Synopsis: Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it's addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?
But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he's holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific - the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer's motives are a mystery.
The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker. And they've been watching Michael. They want him on their team. But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can't even fathom - and there's the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.
Review: James Dashner does it again. A competent successor to The Maze Runner series, The Eye of Minds is a captivating and suspenseful sci-fi adventure that left me craving the next installment of the trilogy.
The Eye of Minds follows the journey of Michael and his friends, Bryson and Sarah, as they tracked down a crooked madman hacker who has been using his skills in the VirtNet to corrupt others and render the human bodies of his victims brain dead.
In the world that Dashner establishes, those who can afford to purchase a "Coffin", the piece of technology that can transport the mind to the VirtNet, are empowered with the ability to explore an almost limitless world, in which death does not exist. When reading, it is evident that Dashner put alot of detail and forethought into the workings and infrastructure of the VirtNet, and this is what really makes the world that Michael lives in an original one.
As for the characters, I found the dialogue that they exchange amongst themselves entertaining, but I could muster nothing on a more profound level. Although the frequent exchanges of banter and sarcasm among the trio of friends brought a sense of realism to the story, I did not sympathise with or relate to any of the characters on a deeper level, which I presume has to do with the lack of character insight and development throughout the course of the novel.
Although the premise of the book kept me turning page after page, I began to lose interest somewhere near the hundred page mark, when Michael and his friends are in throes of their journey. This was undoubtedly influenced by the repetitive nature of the tasks that the characters faced. After they moved past an obstacle, another would appear shortly after, and following that one's completion, the characters would be faced with yet another obstacle to overcome, and so on and so forth. This is where I began to focus less on the character's current situation and just wanted to reach the final pages of the book to discover what conclusion was in store. However, I put my big girl panties on, sat down and read through it all.
Good decision. After braving through the book's drier sections, fueled primarily by anticipation of its conclusion, I was presented with a major completely unexpected plot twist. And boy, was it a twist - the kind that causes the story to make sense on an entirely new level. I won't delve into further details for obvious spoiler avoiding reasons, but I will mention that upon reflection, I realised that Dashner does provide subtle clues that foreshadow the plot's sudden twist. However, I had gullibly attributed these clues to a cause that Dashner leads the reader to believe, but is essentially a distraction from their real cause, which only contributes further to the element of surprise contained in those last few pages.
Overall, despite my criticisms of the book, I recommend this to any YA'ers out there who are craving a sci-fi adventure with a hint of danger and mystery. Read through the weaker spots and you will encounter an ending well worth the wait.Labels: Action, Adventure, Gaming, James Dashner, Sci-Fi, The Eye of Minds, The Mortality Doctrine, Young Adult
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Insurgent
Author: Veronica Roth
Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: One choice can transform you - or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her. Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves - and herself - whilst grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge,and choices will become even more irrevocable - and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries and shifting relationships. Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
Review: I am not sure why I took so long to get around to reading Insurgent but I couldn't bring myself to read it straight after Divergent I think I just want to bask in the amazing feeling of experiencing Divergent first. Anyway, I decided to re-read Divergent and read Insurgent straight after in preparation of Allegiant and HOLY COW, it was amazing, astonishing and horrifyingly brilliant. I can't express my thoughts and feelings on how I feel about this. This might potentially be a dramatic review, just a warning.
Insurgent picks off exactly from where Divergent ended, with Tris and Tobias on the train trying to escape the crumbling world that has been ravaged by war, lives have been cost, factions are waging destruction on each other as well as factions being divided into smaller groups and joining with others. I shouldn't say anything more except that if you haven't read Insurgent, you need to. Preferably straight after you've read this review and stocked up on Nutella. Insurgent will have your heart pounding, your mind racing, your palms sweating and your whole view on their lives, and the story, completely altered.
Alot of people who reviewed Insurgent said it didn't live up to Divergent, but I loved it, I might take it so far as to say it was even slightly better than Divergent. Everything is so extremely different, from the characters' growths to the new revelations of the world Tris lives in. You might also, like myself, find how reading Insurgent overwhelms you with a strong sense of nostalgia for Divergent. It makes you miss the old times, the order and not the quite as brutal destruction that now envelops Tris' new world. I felt like I was literally in the story and, like the characters, I yearned for the better days. As you see how dramatically the characters have changed and how they've had to grow up, you will feel such a deep sympathy for them. All I can say is that this book is utterly amazing and that your mind will be blown by what you will discover in this book.
The amount of change of the characters showed in this novel was unexpected, but I loved learning their stories and seen their world through the new eyes they seemed to own. In Divergent, Tris was hardcore, she wouldn't let anyone get in her way, she would instantly fire a gun without thinking but due to the life-changing events that she has had to experience you begin to see her resolve slowly crumbling before your eyes and it saddened me, it really did, as I love Tris and she was one of the first YA characters I was ever introduced to and she will always hold a special place in my heart. I was so accustomed to seeing this daring, dauntless Tris and the new side she revealed in Insurgent was not what you would ever expect from her, her new side that would eventually let the tears come (without being taking self-pity on herself), who would give in to death without fighting back and the Tris who can't even pick up a gun. Her new side hinted of the fragility that was beneath the hardened facade she had to display in order to survive.
The events she had experience had broken her so much that she no longer valued her life and at times, all she wanted was escape. It was excruciating for me, as a reader who loves these characters more than any other characters, to see them ache like this, see them lose the once they love. You could see the grief, guilt, anger, frustration and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and despair envelope and Tris and the other characters, like a smothering blanket and I was rooting for her till the end that she would make it through this and she did, because Tris. Tris is brave and amazing and we should all strive to be a little like Tris.
Then there was Tobias who I just fell in love with all over again. I really begun to see just what a devastating impact his father's abuse had on his life and how it shaped him to be who he is. It was beautiful the way him and Tris loved each other and how they needed each other to survive in this world, but also knowing that they couldn't depend on each other to survive in this world, but also knowing that they couldn't depend on each other because the world they live in might cruelly rip them apart. Tobias and Tris' relationship was beautiful and it broke my heart when they were slowly slipping out of each other's grasp due to the world they live in.
When him and Tris were slowly drifting apart and been involuntarily distanced by the secrets they kept and the betrayal they felt at time. Whenever she lied to him again so that she could save someone else I wanted to shake her and yell at her that she was jeopardising such an amazing relationship whilst simultaneously risking her life and she's not thinking about what will happen if she dies, what will happen to Tobias.
I loved how in-depth the secondary characters were. From the ones I grew to love, to the ones I detested with passion, I absolutely adored Christina and how she forgave Tris for what she did and remained being a loyal friend and helping Tris on her latest rescue missions to save the world. I loved Uriah, Marlene, Tori and even Lynn. They all had their own distinct personalities. Then their were also the characters I loathed, ones that did evil to the world for their own guilty pleasure, yet you could still see all the complexes they themselves had and you could see why they became this way. There was one character that has been malicious and vile since Divergent yet partakes in a surprising courageous act, and then there is one character who was incredibly close to Tris and who I thought adored her and whom she loved, who then betrayed her. I was gobsmacked.
Veronica Roth has such impeccable skill, it's incredible.
The plot was amazing and I honestly I couldn't put Insurgent down, I needed to take deep breaths at some points to calm down, I needed to let the news sink in that yet another character I had grown to love had been brutally murdered, by force or by free will. I loved how I got to see more of Tris' world she lived in and how we got to learn more about the different factions and initiation processes. Every minute of Insurgent I read, I adored. Some parts would make my heart ache with a sweet, romantic, private moment shared and other parts I would want to let out a frustrated scream as to how Veronica Roth could think of doing this to the characters. And that ending, oh my that ending.
That ending. What the cheese cakes was that? So unexpected. I literally just stared in shock at this page and felt like my whole life had been a lie, as you can see my flair for being dramatic has now kicked in. Never when I first started reading Divergent did I expect this is what would become of Tris's society, how protected and sheltered they actually were by being placed in factions according to their personalities. I was shocked by the ending of Divergent and was excited as to where Veronica would take the next two books and Insurgent was mind-blowing, out of this world amazing, That ending had me literally feeling numb inside, it had me terrified as to what was going to meet Tris and the others the other side of the fence. Some people might now have liked how Veronica Roth ended Insurgent but I loved it and I absolutely am complete enthralled as to what will be happening in Allegiant.
I loved the writing in this, despite the cruelty and brutality in the writing. There were quite a few humorous moments that had me smiling and bookmarking the sentences. I love the way Veronica Roth writes the action and fighting scene as well, she writes it perfectly and it doesn't feel like the characters are treading through treacle like in some books I've read.
This was an astonishingly amazing, heartbreaking novel that shows what the cruelty humans are capable of and how destructive witnessing such horrors can destroy even the bravest of heroes, but how with love and friendship you can overcome any obstacle. Veronica Roth shows us her full potential in Insurgent and just how spectacular her writing skills are. This book has betrayal, love, war, romance, and will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. After reading this book and seeing what our destructive human nature can do and how guilty our mistakes can make us feel, you will want to try and be a better person. Veronica's books not only give me a look into a whole new world and have me running on adrenaline as well as being transfixed, but also teach me life lessons. Teach me how to be a better person. On almost every page there is quote worth noting. Read this book, it's honestly, simply, stunning.Labels: Action, Dystopian, Insurgent, Veronica Roth, Young Adult
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Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to particular virtue - Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and the 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 to determine who her friends really are - and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating 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 a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves... or it might destroy her.
Review: Sorry for the comparison, but Divergent largely remind me of The Hunger Games because that is one of the few dystopian book I've read. But I think Divergent brings something new to the table anyway, and Roth's writing style differed from Collins, so the comparison didn't hover in my mind whilst I was reading.
Now I understand what all the hullabaloo about Four was. He does sound fantastic and hot and just ideal. I half related to Tris, but not so much. I was able to relate to that wanting to be proper and good all the time but just couldn't. I could not relate, however, to her strength and ability to kill. I don't think I am strong or brave enough for that.
After reading, I couldn't help but which faction I'd choose if I lived in that world. I liked Erudite because I do like to learn. And I also liked Candor because I value honesty. But of the five factions, I will go for Dauntless, because I think they're the faction that teaches you to be most self-reliant and how to carry on.
All in all, Divergent was a nice surprise, and I think actually added value to my reading experience. I do love to venture in other categories/genres but I like it to take it slowly. My experience with The Hunger Games and Divergent has so far been good so I think I am going to read more of the same books.
Have you read Divergent? Which faction do you think you belong to or will choose to be part of?Labels: Action, Divergent, Dystopian, Veronica Roth, Young Adult
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The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: Could you surivive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies in the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as death sentence when she keeps forward to take her sister's place in the games. But Katniss has been close to dead before - and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender.
If she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will survival against humanity and life against love.
Review: Wow. Simply wow. I am awed by this book and to be dead honest with you, I don't actually know what to say. This novel was perfection, real, sweet perfection. Tried reading The Hunger Games moment after I bought the whole series but didn't like it, got up to Chapter Four and had to stop. But one time out of boredom, tried reading it again. I finished it in 2-3 days. Thinking back, I am not actually sure why I didn't like it back then, but I loved it the second time around and that's all that matters.
The Hunger Games is a young adult dystopian novel that in the nation of Panem, lies a Capitol surrounded by twelve districts. To make sure the districts obey them, each year each district, has to send a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, on live TV where they will fight to the death. 24 tributes. One winner.
It felt like that that time, I was probably the last person on earth to read The Hunger Games. When someone used to ask me if I had read The Hunger Games and I would reply with a no, they would just stare at me. And I'd be like yep, whilst looking awkwardly at the ground. I am very proud to say that I have read The Hunger Games. It was an excellent, original novel. A hauntingly possible idea, real, fierce but lovable characters and an abundance of action, The Hunger Games will leave you craving for more, and I am extremely happy that I have read this stunning piece of literature.
The idea, the book, everything was amazing. The Hunger Games was a brutal event that I hope will never take place in our world. It's a horrifying thought that one day, however it possibly could.
The plot was perfect not for one minute did I get bored. I was intrigued from the beginning but I literally couldn't remove my eyes from the pages once it was announced that the 74th Hunger Games had begun, that's when my attention was even more focused than before.
Katniss is my new favourite fictional heroine, in fact she is probably even a role model to me. She stands up for those she loves and will literally fight to the death for them. It was amazing looking at her strategies on how to win and I was cheering her on the whole way. And since reading The Hunger Games I even wanted to craft a bow and arrow from the trees in my garden and I want to begin an archery lessons.
Peeta to be honest, I didn't like him that much in the beginning but he grew on me, he really did. You could see he actually really liked Katniss and he thought the romance was real but Katniss thought it wasn't authentic and her viewpoint was that the romance was just for the games and that ending practically broke my heart. I feel so sorry for Peeta and I just want Katniss to make it right because you could see the pain emanating from him when she spoke about the romance strategies and how she wasn't sure about her feelings for him.
The writing was fantastic. Suzanne Collins is a fantastic author. Her descriptions were perfection and I could imagine everything so clearly, as if it were a movie being played in front of me, and throughout the book it felt like I was Katniss as if I was experiencing all the pain, all the suffering she was going through, and her need to survive.
The Hunger Games was phenomenal and I just want to shout from the rooftops about how epic this novel is, and I am pretty sure I'll have thousands of people agreeing with me how amazing it is. Dealing with love, loss, survival and inner strength. The Hunger Games will knock you off your feet. You will feel the characters' need to survive, and you can feel the tragedy that consumes them when one of the others they are close to, dies. You just feel everything.
The Hunger Games is perfection.Labels: Action, Dystopian, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, Young Adult
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The Scorch Trials
Author: James Dashner
Ratings: 3/5
Synopsis: Solving the Maze was supposed to be an end.
Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn't done yet. Phase two has just begun. The Scorch.
There are no rule . There is no help. You either make it or you die.
The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch - the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broke . All bets are off.
There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers' destruction - and they're determined to survive.
Review: Some people before they read the series, they already watched their movie adaptations. The effects and the concept visualisations according to them were excellent and worth watching actually. Screaming out of fear because of the breathtaking and surprising parts, like the scene when they were being chased by the Cranks... so on and so forth.
But... if you are a type of person who has already read the series before the movie, the outcome will be very disappointing. For real. And as for me I am also disappointed with the story.
The first book started out great. I mean, the fighting and chasing scenes between the Gladers and the Grievers left me openmouthed. It is shocking, fast-paced, and it's not boring. I understand that Dashner left us some mind-bugging questions about the WICKED and their sole purposes. I was actually waiting for an answer about it here in the second book. But it turns out empty. So here's my rant about it.
I really don't know how I am going to rate this book. At first, the story caught my attention, since it's full of thrilling and promising scenes, especially the part where Brenda and Thomas met Mr. Nose. They ventured upon different kinds of trials (which is fine with me since I am looking for that kind of story. I need a break from romantic/dramatic novels).
Even when I reached the half part of the story, I am still hooked up with it. But as I go on deeper, I find it exhausting. Yes, I feel exhausted with the things that are happening with Thomas and with the other Gladers. I am tired of those shucking lies and betrayals. I am annoyed with the endless experiments and tests done by the heartless WICKED. It's all too much for me to take that my head really ache . I was well -informed with the virus, The Flare, the Cranks, etc. I am so fed up with these details and it seems like Dashner restated those details over and over again. I was waiting for that cure, the blueprint. I was waiting for something new to happen, waiting for what they call progress... It's like they'll start all over again. Another dumbfounding challenge awaits.
And I was really annoyed with Thomas and his dreams. As if he was always sleeping within the entire story. That is so cliché.
"Wicked is good." But the story isn't.
I gave this novel a three since my expectations were turned down and the questions that were bugging me from the first book were left unanswered.
But it's still a must read for everyone. If you're looking for action-packed and if you already started reading you should continue.Labels: Action, Dystopian, James Dashner, Sci-Fi, The Scorch Trials, Young Adult
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The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: If you ain't scared. You ain't human.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's surrounded by strangers - boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, Shank.
Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless ever-changing maze. It's the only way out - and no one's ever made it through alive.
Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
Remember. Survive. Run.
Review: What made me read this book is because of its unique premise and story line. I never thought of being trapped inside a huge maze, and forced to live there for a long time. Thinking about it makes me cringe, and scared because what will happen if you get stuck in that maze, right?
"Looks like a maze," Thomas whispered, almost laughing to himself. As if things couldn't have gotten any stranger. They'd wiped his memory and put him inside a gigantic maze. It was all so crazy but it really did seem funny.
-Chapter 4, p. 26.
The story is well-written, I like how Dashner illustrate the whole setting of the story, in fact he really described it in a more accurate and specific way which really helped me to form a mental image or somehow, to visualise the concept of the whole plot of the story.
He glanced upward again, half expecting it to have changed back to normal. But it was all gray. Not cloudy, not twilight, not the early minutes of dawn. Just gray.
The sun had disappeared.
-Chapter 34, p. 218
The story also has that mood and it has that different kind of perspective when it comes to the characters. They're using words which we called "Glader's slang" like shanks, shuck-face, klunk, slim-it, slinthead and etc.
All I can is WOW! This novel did not disappoint me, well the movie adaptation does... because the story was alot more different in the film. (It has always been the issue. What's new?) It's a way too scary than the film because the details of the story was delivered in a more precise way. I imagined myself standing in the middle of the Glade, surrounded by the Griever's. I also imagined Minho saving me from them. It's not that I don't like Thomas, but Minho's much more attractive for me.
My heart aches for Chuck's death. He's one of the characters that I love next to Minho.
The Maze Runner is now my favourite dystopian novel. If you haven't read it, you're missing half of your life already Shanks!Labels: Action, Dystopian, James Dashner, Sci-Fi, The Maze Runner, Young Adult
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