Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu

Author: Marie Lu
Title: Prodigy
Series: Legend #2
Publication: January 29, 2013
Publisher: Putnam
Genre: Dystopia
Pages: 384 pp.
Rating: 5 out 5
Source: Around the World Arc Tours
Synopsis

Jan. 4. 1932 Hours.

Ocean Standard Time

Thirty-Five Days After Metias’s Death

June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengence, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

Thoughts: This is edge of your seat good. That news at the end, one word: Bewildering. Needless to say, I am extremely curious how this transpires in book three. June and Day find themselves on a train to the Patriots headquarters seeking assistance in locating Day's brother, Eden,  and medical aid for Day’s  injured leg. Their biggest problem: will the Patriots help them since they have no money to bribe them this time? No, but what they want is much more than either of them are truly prepared for...can they really kill Anden, the new Elector Primo, without giving him the opportunity to be the change that is needed in the Republic . Now, left with this awful choice they uncover a plot more twisted than either can imagine.

June has the making of a phenomenal female heroine. She's tough, calculating, perceptive, and packs a mighty punch. If this does get made into a movie, some starlet has some big shoes to fill. I love the depth of June; her physical and mental capabilities are astounding. She is not a one-dimensional character and I like the different levels that she plays in this book. Day has this magnetism about him that pulls people to him. True, he may not have the skills that June has or even the calming ability of his friend Tess, but he has this presence that commands attention. I guess also helps that he has pretty hair. The attraction between the two of them is so much fun to read. They appear to balance each other out, and I hope that they end up together. Fingers crossed!

The writing is eloquent and detailed. The author truly has a way of giving a sense of the scene that's inviting and visually engaging to the movie theatre in my head. I was emotionally invested in this story. I love the characters and this world that Lu has created. This is going down as one of my favorites!

Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Book summary:

MY VAMPIRE CREATOR TOLD ME THIS:

"Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. The question is not if it will happen, but when. Do you understand?"

I didn't then, not really.

I DO NOW.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die…or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Review: When I got this book, I thought oh boy, more vampires but this is much gorier, and absolutely no sparkling here. Kagawa does a good job of sticking to the traditional vampire lore but with a few interesting tidbits. It is set in a dystopian society where the vamps are at the top of the food chain and the humans are the meat, well the blood source. I was not able to truly connect with the characters, people died and no tears were shed. Allie, the main character is tough, and just trying to survive each day, but once she becomes the thing she hates, she fights to hold onto her humanity. One of the most interesting things about Allie is her struggle between the monster within and her heart, and this is an important theme in this book and I am quite sure it will be in the next installments as well. Really,how do you fight yourself? Now, I felt it went on a bit long and this for me slowed down the pace. I think if was a shorter, this would help the read go much smoother. What is great about this book is the action, lots of cool sequences that are visually stimulating, and would look great onscreen. Which leads to my next point, the movie rights(option) for this series has already been snatched up before this book was even released. Overall, good read! Gory, action-packed and must read for those fanatics that want a more original, yet traditional vampire society. 



Author: Julie Kagawa
Title: The Immortal Rules
Publisher:Harlequin Teen
Publication: April 24,2012
Audience: 14 and up
Genre: Paranormal, Dystopian
Source: publisher via Netgalley
Rating:3.8 out 5
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Review&Giveaway: Starters by Lissa Price

Author: Lissa Price
Title: Starters
Publication: March 13, 2012
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Imprint: Delacorte BFYR
Age: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian, Sci-Fi
Length: 352pp
Rating: 5 out of 5
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
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Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man. 

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

Review: Price has created a truly original concept that is beautifully creepy. I mean imagine someone older than you that doesn't want you to work but is just fine with using your body, so they can feel younger. Jeez! Callie, doesn't agree with it either but she's doing it for her little brother Tyler.She is three rentals away from a nice home and food for them both. All she has to do is survive until then, but not everything goes as smooth as the Enders at Prime make it out to be, something has changed. Someone is out for blood, and Callie's finger may be the one to pull the trigger. This story is well written and the characters are wonderful. Callie has such fire and heart, and the Old Man makes for a mysterious and devious antagonist. I have my theories about him, but I'm not going to tell. There were two male interests for Callie, though I was much more intrigued by the interaction between her, Helena(the renter) and the Enders.This book will make you wonder, what if this was the future for our world. It's the young versus the old, but what about the people in between? I'm curious because all of them can't be gone.Fast-paced, intriguingly suspenseful...this is a must read!

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