30 Day Book Challenge: Day 15

We're half way through the challenge! Yay!

Day 15- Favorite classic book

 

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I already mentioned The Hobbit as my favorite book so I don't want to mention it again, but Fahrenheit 451 is a good second pick for favorite classic. In case you don't already know what this is about, Bradbury writes about a society where books are illegal to own and houses no longer burn... books do. I read the book last year for the first time.

This society is kind of put off by independent thought and the TV is the main source of entertainment. No longer limited to a small television, these take up entire walls and can interact somewhat with the viewer. As far as size goes, we basically have that with large screens and projectors today. Guy Montag (the main character) is a fireman, whose job is to burn any books that are found. His problems start when he decides to bring a book home instead of burning it. Once he reads it he starts thinking differently and wants to find more books to read.

I was a bit taken aback by the concept of books being an illegal thing. They basically believe free thought is achieved through reading... and I don't totally disagree with that part, but they believe free thought is a bad thing and that it causes the problems in the world. An interesting thing to think about and can make people talk about the importance of literature.

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30 Day Book Challenge: Day 14

Day 14- Book that should be on HS/college required reading list

 

1984 by George Orwell

I had a lot of ideas for books that I could choose for this. Next to 1984 I would probably pick Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I liked 1984 because it showed (at least to me) the importance of independent thought and the need to keep governments from taking total control over its people.

Yes, there were some parts that dragged on a bit, but for the most part you see a world that is strictly regulated and where the government controls everything and regularly spies on the people. I think that a book used to educate should be a source for topics of conversation and this book has plenty.

What would you recommend? Let me know in the comments!

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Divergent (Book 1) by Veronica Roth

Description

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

I feel OK reviewing this now because for quite a while there hasn't been a release date for the final book of the trilogy. Nothing annoys me more than starting a series and having it end with a cliffhanger and not knowing when the next book will come out. But now that I know Allegiant will be out in October (yay!), I can confidently tell you that you can start reading without having too much time to freak out in between Insurgent (book 2) and Allegiant. Also, Divergent the movie will be released next year (March 2014 estimated) so you should definitely read it before the movie comes out! Now on to the actual review!

Society has taken a weird turn, dividing everyone into 4 different groups. There is also a 5th faction, Divergent, who are outcasts because they either didn't fit in any group and did not choose or they failed the "initiation" into the faction they chose and are now without a faction to call home. The book is based in a Chicago that has since fallen apart. The reason for the factions was to make society more peaceful and to stop war.

Tris has to decide which group she will join because the results of the "test" they take to help them decide what to choose wasn't exactly clear... this is an understatement but I don't want to spoil it for you. But it's pretty cool. She also has some special skills in the tests that I also won't mention because spoilers! She wants to not disappoint her parents by picking something outside of the faction she grew up in but she feels like she just doesn't fit in.

This was another book that was hard for me to put down. But I was able to read this without freaking out too much about when the next book would be out because it wasn't too cliffhanger-ey. Book 2 ends with one of those though... just to give you a fair warning. A great series and I can't wait until October!

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Description

Tally Youngblood is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait for the operation that turns everyone from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to party. But new friend Shay would rather hoverboard to "the Smoke" and be free. Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The "Special Circumstances" authority Dr Cable offers Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

This is another "dystopian" type of young adult novel. I can't help it, I love them! This series is based in a future where everyone gets surgery when they turn 16 to make them "pretty." It gives everyone who has it similar looks- because until you look like everyone else, you're "ugly" and are separated from the "Pretties." Once you become pretty you get to live in Pretty Town and go to parties and your life becomes amazing or whatever.

The setting is around 300 years in the future where the old cities were abandoned and the people who used to live there are called "Rusties'." The Rusties' cities have decayed after a bacteria that infected the oil society had been so dependent on, making it unstable. Society fell apart and everything made of the old metals was abandoned and rusted (hence, Rusties'), including cars, buildings, etc.

Tally and Shay meet 3 months before their 16th birthday (which they share) and become friends. Shay isn't really interested in becoming pretty while Tally wants to be like everyone else. Shay leaves for the smoke before their birthday leaving Tally in a bind because the cruel and scary looking Dr Cable says Tally won't become pretty until she finds the smoke (following the clues Shay left her) and alerts Special Circumstances. Because (for reasons I'm not going to tell you about) the government wants everyone to be pretty and those ugly people in The Smoke living their lives are going to ruin everything. But Tally starts to care for these people causing a dilemma for her.

I really liked the concept and it made me think about society's concept of "pretty" and why it's better to be yourself than to cave to society's pressures. All the feels! Plus they have cool hoverboards... HOVERBOARDS! Definitely worth a read!

The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1) by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was OK, but could have been better. The main character Thomas wakes up in an elevator with no memory other than his name and when he is let out he is surrounded by a large group of boys in something they call "the Glade," which is surrounded by walls that shut every night. There are some crazy weird machine things in the maze (outside the walls of the glade) that will try to kill you and if they sting you you get memories back that apparently are bad. But you don't know much of anything during this book because as soon as Thomas is going to be told what's going on something happens and it's like "I was going to tell you but I'm busy now so never mind." This is pretty much the entire book! SO frustrating!

I was hoping this would be another Hunger Games futuristic end of the world type book but too much of nothing happens for so much of the book that you get tired of it. Now this is supposed to be a trilogy and I think I'll probably read the other two books just so I can know what happens. Because, apparently, even though I'm frustrated with Dashner's writing style, the story is still interesting and I want to know what happens. You're left with a cliffhanger and I'm interested with where the story was going.



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Mockingjay (Book 3 of the Hunger Games series) by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've used the word "haunting" in the past to describe The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. This book is the most haunting of the 3. The series has effected me in so many ways. It's one of those books that stay with you well after reading it. I actually feel for the characters in a way I haven't before. Their injustice and struggles have had me on the verge of tears (and sometimes actual tears). It made me feel so sad, which, I'm not sure is good or not. However it is such wonderful writing that you can't help but feel.



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Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In the second book in the Hunger Games Triology, new horrors arise. Katniss is still in trouble for her act with the berries. For the Quarter Quell it has been decided that winners of the hunger games must go back. Filled with sadness and the start of uprisings. Katniss and her Mocking Jay pin become the symbol of the Uprising. It's a fantastic book and I can't wait to read the last installment, Mocking Jay.




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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I realize I haven't written anything in like, forever OMG. Truly though, I've been very busy lately. I got a new job! Hence the busy schedule. Last month I read The Hunger Games and loved it very much.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I absolutely loved this book. Even though it has been a month since I first read it, I still think about it. On my mind most is the horrible things the characters went through. I love the characters. The author does a good job of making us feel for the characters. I've never felt so connected a story as I have been with The Hunger Games. Truly mesmerizing.

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