07 Monday Oct 2013
Tags
book, books, Catching Fire, dystopian, fiction, hunger games, science fiction, Team Katniss, Team Peeta
I’m embarrassed to admit that when the whole “Team Gale” “Team Peeta” thing happened, I was Team Peeta because I didn’t come up with this answer. Now that I’m reading Catching Fire, I’m noticing the love-triangle drama that wasn’t in (or wasn’t as prevalent at least) in book 1. I can’t discus it further without spoilers I’m afraid so, minor spoilers follow.
19 Friday Jul 2013
Tags
book, book review, books, dystopian, ernest cline, fiction, ready player one, review, reviews, sci-fi, science fiction, YA, young adult
genre: adventure, science-fiction, YA, dystopian
Ermisenda has already reviewed Ready Player One, but I wanted to throw in my two cents. I’ve had it on my TBR list for over a year and thanks to my new Audible account, I finally got around to reading it. I came in with high expectations and I was not disappointed. Keep reading to see if I agree with Ermisenda and gave Ready Player One a four star review or if I thought it was good enough for five.
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune–and remarkable power–to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved–that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt–among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life–and love–in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?
Amazing! I was gripped from the moment it stated, in part because I recognized the narrator. Wil Wheaton. Eureka, Big Bang Theory, Star Trek, Wil Wheaton. I was completely nerding out. I have no idea what Wade Watts looks like, because I had an eighteen year old Wil Wheaton in my head. Even though I grew up in the 90s and I’m not the gamer Ermisenda is, there were plenty of 80s references I knew. I didn’t mind the random tangents that occurred when a reference had to be explained because the plot was well paced and full of action. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but there was one point when I gasped and thought, “s**t just got real.” When billions of dollars at stake, people were not playing around. This was also the first time I’ve used the phrase, “wow, that kid has some balls.”
Ready Player One was a mixed bag of everything, with elements of fantasy, adventure, romance, and murder mystery, all wrapped up in a YA sci-fi package. One of the best books I’ve ever read. It also had some very thought provoking themes, for example:
5 out of 5 stars.
-Eliabeth Hawthorne
To see what other books we’ve reviewed, or request a review, see our Book Reviews page.
09 Tuesday Jul 2013
Tags
abnegation, action, amity, book review, candor, dauntless, divergent, dystopian, erudite, romance, teenagers, veronica roth, ya novels
A future where our world is split into five factions to stop future wars, what could possible go wrong? Find out why I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars!
(Taken from Goodreads)
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.
There is a lot of hype over Divergent on Goodreads and elsewhere. I listened to Divergent through an audiobook. I was very impressed with the first few chapters of this book. I felt like the story was grounded, I was able to immerse myself in this Faction-based world.
I wasn’t super in love with Beatrice but I liked her enough. As the story progresses, we see as she hardens. I liked this transformation and I thought that there were sufficiently significant events that occur to appropriately shape her personality and thoughts on the world. She learns about how dark and cruel this world can be, and she begins to internalise these features into her personality. Continue reading
04 Thursday Jul 2013
Ermisenda has already reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, but as she read a paperback, she hasn’t gotten to nerd out on the audio book. What makes the audio book special?
I have never recognized a narrator before. Perhaps because I’ve never listened to amateur hour, I’ve not been able to appreciate the better narrators. All of them are great, no complaints. I’m sure publishers probably have their favorites, but I think of them as voice actors and treat it as expected that they should be good at their job.
Ready Player One is narrated by Wil Wheaton. I cannot think of anyone better suited to be the voice of (ironically) Wade Watts, a nerdy seventeen year old obsessed with the 1980s in order to win a billion dollars in a video game last will and testament. For those of you who don’t know who he is, he’s a character in Star Trek and Big Bang Theory.
I am now in chapter 15 of the novel and have been listening for almost three straight hours, unable to go to bed. S**t just got read. Despite the somewhat lukewarm review from Ermisenda, I’m in love with this book. I’m in the middle of seven novels right now but this is the one that has me captivated, maybe because I’m a little older than her and grew up on many of the books and films referenced in the book.
A full review will come; I REALLY hope this isn’t like Wallbanger, which started out wonderfully then crashed and burned.
-Eliabeth Hawthorne
28 Friday Jun 2013
Tags
80s references, action, adventure, book review, books for gamers, dystopian, ernest cline, futuristic, games, geeky books, oasis, ready player one, romance, sci-fi, strong female characters
Super geeky gamer-style adventure/action novel with copious amounts of 80s references. This is why I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars!
(Taken from Goodreads)
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune–and remarkable power–to whoever can unlock them.
[…]
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
[…]
A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready? Continue reading
14 Friday Jun 2013
Tags
Ally Condie, book, book review, books, dystopian, Matched, reviews, science fiction, YA, young adult
genre: dystopian YA, sci-fi
I wanted to give it five stars, I really did. The world building is excellent and characters realistic, but there was nothing to keep me hanging on each word, not wanting to pause. I recommend it for young adults.
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander’s face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate… until she sees Ky Markham’s face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it’s a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she’s destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can’t stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society’s infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.
11 Wednesday Jan 2012
Tags
adventure, book, book reviews, books, dystopian, fantasy, fiction, reading, reviews, science fiction, suzanne collins, The Hunger Games, YA, young adult
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games #1
Suzanne Collins
genres: adventure, dystopian, science-fiction, young adult
synopsis from Goodreads
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies 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 and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister Primrose, regards it as a death sentence when she steps 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. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
Ermisenda has already reviewed The Hunger Games Trilogy, but with the movie coming out this year, I just had to read the book first and see if it stood up to the hype. Yes, we’ve decided that occasionally you will get to hear both of our thoughts on a book. The Hunger Games is our guinea pig.
20 Tuesday Dec 2011
Tags
action, books, Catching Fire, dark, dystopian, ebooks, female, fiction, life, Mockingjay, review, suzanne collins, The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games Series, war, writing, YA
Overall, I loved this series. I bought it because everyone had been raving about it. I kind of dismissed the comment and went to find out what was so good about this series. They were so good. These books were gripping and I couldn’t put them down. I originally didn’t read too much young adult but recently I have been reading more and more. It’s been a good phase so far.
The Hunger Games was fantastic. I thought it was brilliant, original and fast-paced. That was the kind of book I had been looking for. An action packed world with a kick-ass female character. One thing that annoys me about YA in general is that the world’s often seem unrealistic and the romance usually makes me want to vomit. This one didn’t have that effect. Sure there was a love triangle but to me I think it’s more of a third wheel approach (at least to me it was obvious who Katniss would choose). Romance isn’t the height of the book which I enjoy, the main focus is the action and gripping plot.
First one is a definite 5 out of 5. I recommend it to all.
Ermilia 