I picked up this advance reader copy of Coda at the NCTE convention in Las Vegas in November, and it intrigued me enough to make me pick it up ahead of the (likely hundred) books ahead of it in my to-be-read pile. For readers interested in technology, music, and/or dystopic literature, it's a great selection.
Anthem lives in a world where music is the basis of socital organization--and control. After a war of undetermined nature, the Corp has established a system of energy development using humans, with music as the driving force and drug of choice. Adults tune in to music--and, indeed, are required to do so lest they have the police call upon them--and "track" for entertainment, mood enhancement, and survival--paying credits for each encoded (brainwashing) song on the basis of strength and need. With the commoditization of music comes its tight control, so Anthem and a group of friends secretly practice on improvised and blackmarket instruments, building up a sound that they hope will start a revolution.
Trevayne's first book is interesting, sort of a teen-targeted early William Gibson novel. While less gritty than that in Gibson's Cyberpunk tomes, Trevayne's alternate world is also one in which technology has changed the shape of society. Whether the change is for better or worse depends on who is ultimately in control.
In May of 2011, I recommended Divergent to those enjoying The Hunger Games. After reading Roth's second book in this series, Insurgent, I am not convinced that it is as good as HG, but it is still a decent TeenLit selection that will keep me looking for future releases.
To learn more about the premise of the Divergent series, check out my review of the first book. As with any series in general, but with TeenLit in particular, it's pretty important that you read these things in order. In fact, if you haven't read Divergent and plan to check it out, I'd suggest that you stop reading here so as not to encounter any spoilers.
If you're still reading, that means you've already read the first book, don't plan to read either, or simply are one of those (weird) people who reads the last page of a book first. Either way, I'm letting you know that Tris joined the Dauntless faction--something I withheld in my review of Divergent. As a member of this group, she fought a battle with Erudite, the faction that led a war on the other factions by controlling the minds of people in the remaining four groups and forcing them to engage in violence against each other. Some of the Dauntless actually joined the Erudite in this endeavor, and in the second book they are referred to as the Dauntless traitors. By the time the second book opens, there is a calm in the fighting, as Tris and other Divergent Dauntless (including the beloved Four/Tobias) were not affected by the simulation and managed to interrupt the mind-control activity.
In Insurgent, Tris and her fellow Dauntless leave their headquarters and spend time with both the Candor and Abnegation--in addition to making contact with the factionless outsiders of society. Ultimately Tris must decide whether she will remain faithful to her chosen faction or seek the truth regardless of the consequences. You may have a decent guess, but you'll have to read the book to find out whether or not you are right.
(PS: As with my reflection on the Delirium/Pandemonium series in my previous posting, I am also pondering what the third title in this series may be: Divergent, Insurgent, Convergent?)
In recent posts I've complained about the fact that the romance aspect of some of the recent teen novels I'd read had become overplayed. This is particularly true in sequels, where each book seems to get more and more focused on the characters' relationships and less on the societal constructs established in the early books. I'm a long way from being the target audience of these books, but I can't help wondering why this happens. If the teen readers liked the early books enough to continue with the series, didn't this indicate that they, too, were fond of the actual premise of the book? Why sideline the exploration of dystopic societies and ethical problem solving in favor of rated-PG kissing?
I can't really complain about the trend with this sequel, as I was forewarned by the very subject matter of the first. In fact, while getting ready to write this review, I went back and read my discussion of Delirium, the book before Pandemonium, and had to laugh at this observation: "This
one leaned a bit too far toward the romance end of things for my taste; I
can tolerate the romance as long as the world developed behind it is
interesting and compelling. In this book, however, the romance is
center stage." Over the course of the review, though, I explored a few things I really liked about the book, and I suppose that's what I responded to when I saw it available at my local bookstore. Fortunately, in this book, Lena is on her own for the first half--which flashes back and forth between her life in the Wilds, beyond the fenced-off community of the standard society, and her reintegration into that society as a secret rebel. She may be pining for her lost love, but at least she is taking action and becoming a strong person as well. And, by the time the new boy comes into the picture, there's been time for Lena to explore the novelty of a society that allows self-expression and emotion and to see how the lack thereof is affecting the regime inside the walls.
I'm really hoping that Oliver's next book in the series (The ending of Pandemonium implies that there most certainly will be one.) continues in this direction. For now I'm trying to decide what the next book's title will be, seeing as it should really end with an -ium suffix.
Fresh off the heels of complaining about the romance in my previous TeenLit read, I picked up this teen romance. It seems a bad choice in retrospect, but I couldn't help myself; I read the first volume in the series some time ago and had been looking forward to the release of the second. In Entry 62, I discuss the first book, Matched, which I liked enough to call a teen version of 1984 or Brave New World. The Society (Yes, with a capital ess) depicted in Matched was interesting, allowing the romance to mellow in the background as readers were exposed to additional infringements on freedom taking place behind the calm, white-washed surface of Society.
In Crossed, though, Society takes back stage as Cassia and Ky struggle to define themselves, find each other, and survive in the Outer Provinces and beyond. There are only limited glimpses of the world they are escaping and the world they are fleeing to (likely not as ideal as Cassia believes), and during the remaining time were are stuck with the two young lovers, yearning, and long meaningful glances. The end of the book, however, left me with hope for the future of the franchise, as it is clear we are going to get dumped back into Society and unSociety in the third book. Please, Condie, tip the scales back to social commentary and away from moony teens.
The first book in one of Patterson's co-authored (one reason for his prolific production) TeenLit series, Witch & Wizard tells the story of a brother and sister dragged from their homes and imprisoned in the middle of the night by a newly "elected" totalitarian regime, which promptly charges and convicts them of witchcraft. While formerly unaware of their powers, the teens come into their own through a process of conflict and need for survival and join a group of runaway children set on (of course) saving the world. I wouldn't say it's the best of its type, and I prefer Patterson's Maximum Ride series (entries 87-89), but the straight-forward style and sense of humor will appeal to Tween and Teen boys and girls.
I enjoyed the Thursday Next series Fforde started a number of years back, although I lapsed and haven't read the most recent volumes. When I came across this in the Borders 50% off sale, though, I decided to give it a try. In this novel, Fforde's zany humor is evident, as is his love of words and vivid language. Here, however, we also have the added excitement of a whole new dystopic world called Chromatacia--one based on color and the ability of humans to perceive the colors around them--an ability which defines their class status within the Colortocracy, the jobs they can hold, and even who they can love or marry. This is Fforde at his best, and I'm inspired to catch up on the Thursday Next series as well!
It's probably not fair to this book that I (temporarily, I'm guessing) reached my fill of teen dystopian romances midway through reading it. It's a genre I generally like, but this one leaned a bit too far toward the romance end of things for my taste; I can tolerate the romance as long as the world developed behind it is interesting and compelling. In this book, however, the romance is center stage.
Why this took me by surprise, I don't know, as it's basically stated on the jacket cover. After all, 17-year-old Lena lives in a world where love is considered a life-threatening disease, where 60+ years earlier scientists came up with a surgical "cure" to relieve people of its symptoms. The surgery to prevent delirium takes place at age 18, though, and any reader of TeenLit knows what will happen in those circumstances--especially after learning that Lena's mother's cure just never took, even after three attempts, and she ended up committing suicide when Lena was a child. And then she meets a boy from the wilds: the areas outside the highly policed and controlled cities, where people don't get the cure and still choose their own mates, ways of life, etc.
Despite my lack of enthusiasm for Delirium, I must admit I'll likely read the sequel; writing about it now makes me consider some of the story elements and concepts I did like, such as making me reflect in how quickly a culture can be changed due to revolution/technology/chaos. I think I just read myself into a genre rut here and need a bit of a break.
(By the way, if you were wondering what is so special about the Special Edition: there's a Q & A section and the first chapter of the sequel. I actually chose it because I liked the cover better.)
One of the blurbs on the back jacket of the book calls Matched a "dystopian love story," and I suppose that is as good a descriptor as any. The dystopian part of the description makes it rise above the level of typical teen romance, though, exploring what happens when a society attempts to control every aspect of the lives of its members--from birth (who can bear children, when, and how many), through marriage (if and to whom), and death (by midnight on your 80th birthday). In doing so, Condie encourages her readers to weigh the importance of freedom versus chaos and raises the question of when it's necessary to question authority.
The story kicks off with 17-year-old Cassia riding the train to the city with her parents, her childhood friend and his parents, and many other well-dressed 17-year-olds and their families. As the story unfolds, we learn that the same thing is happening throughout the country, where young men and women are heading to their city hall for a banquet during which they will be introduced to their "match"--the person they will court and then marry at age 21. Characteristics and aptitudes have been entered into a database so that the match chosen for them will be the best possible, ensuring the genetic health of their offspring and a compatible lifestyle for the couple. Cassia has never before questioned the arrangement and looks forward to the unveiling of her match over large TV screens, a system to make matches possible across large geographic areas.
As they must to make a story, things eventually go wrong with Cassia's match, and she begins to question the very basis of her world. In the process, a fascinating social experiment is revealed, wherein people's education, meal preparation, occupation, and leisure time is standardized and scheduled. And, when things aren't going just as you'd hoped, you can always take the blue, green, or red pill that you are required to carry with you at all times.
In many ways, the storyline borrows elements of 1984 and Brave New World: there is a war in the borderlands and technology is highly advanced. Unlike those novels, though, Condie has clearly set Matched up for a sequel--or even more likely in the teen world, as the first installment in a trilogy--and I am looking forward to seeing where it leads.
