Sunday, April 7, 2013

Rutabaga's Reads 2013: Part 5

Ooh, a short compilation! These three books were all released within the first two months of this year, which is why they’re grouped together. I’m a fan of all three of these authors. Click respective links to see what other books I’ve blogged about by the authors.
Mind Games (Feb. 19, 2013) by Kiersten White.
What would you do to protect someone you love? Fia would kill, and she has. She is the sister assassin, the “hands” of the Keane Foundation, which is much more than an elite boarding school. Fia has perfect intuition. There are Seers, Feelers and Readers, but Fia is in a league of her own. Her older sister, Annie, is a Seer, though she can usually only see her sister. Most of the time, Annie is in the dark, as she is blind.
            Fia is sent on a hit that doesn’t result in the target’s death. Adam is a young, medical research prodigy, and she likes him, because he smiles with his whole face and means it. Then there’s James, son of the imposing and shadowy Mr. Keane. She is the happiest and most miserable when she’s around him. He tells her how to soar under the Reader’s radar, but then uses her intuitive skills for potentially unscrupulous reasons. Fia wants to leave, but she can’t leave her sister at the mercy of Mr. Keane. Because he has none. How can Annie protect Fia? How can Fia protect Annie?
            I think Fia is the epitome of a dark, twisted fantasy in some organized-mess compartment in White’s brain (a good thing!). Fia is so angry and broken that reading her character is fun in a freaky way and brilliant in a skilled way. Annie’s voice is calm even amidst worry, while Fia is all fuming, frenetic energy. It made for a great read with its heartfelt/twisted/loving/brutal ways. If you enjoy YA paranormal thrillers, you’ll want this one on your shelf!
            See also: Endlessly (Paranormalcy trilogy)
Prodigy (Jan. 29, 2013) by Marie Lu.
Again told from the perspectives of June and Day, Day is still the Republic’s most notorious criminal, and June is the Republic’s biggest traitor, though that last part is not broadcast. Both pledge allegiance to the Patriots, a rebel group led by Razor a.k.a. Commander Andrew DeSoto. Their mission? Assassinate the new Elector Primo, Anden Stavropoulos, as his father has recently passed away. Day thinks it should be relatively easy considering his hatred toward the Republic and how they’ve destroyed his family. But June has her doubts, because she remembers how her heart skipped a beat the first time she met him. She doesn’t want to assassinate him, and that confuses her. June is thrown back into the Republic to gain Anden’s trust, and as she gets to know him, she realizes Anden as Elector is nothing like his father was. Is Anden the change their Republic needs to turn around? How can Anden deal with the tension-filled Senators and rally the people? Can they prevent a revolution? Are the Patriots in the right? Is Day? Is June?
            “Prodigy” is the second book in the Legend trilogy, and it was so worth the wait. The book is thrilling and taut, satisfying yet sometimes sad. It is a very compelling work of young adult dystopian fiction, still heavy with carrying the weight of the Republic on their young shoulders, though without all the graphicness of “The Hunger Games.” How I will wait in anticipation to read the conclusion!
            Book One in the trilogy: Legend.
Through the Ever Night (Jan. 8, 2013) by Veronica Rossi.
            As in the first book, this one is seen through the eyes of Perry and Aria. They’re reunited, but tensions run high. Perry is struggling as the Tides’ Blood Lord; they think he’s young and rash, but he thinks he’s doing what’s best for his tribe, especially with the Aether storms worsening. When Aria is introduced to the Tides, they don’t accept her at all because she was a Dweller. Both Perry and Aria want to find the Still Blue, but most of the tribe doesn’t believe it exists. Circumstances prompt Aria to leave with Roar (Perry’s best friend) to find Liv (Perry’s sister) who was traded – yes, traded like a possession – to marry the Blood Lord of a northern tribe. Roar wants her back, and Aria wants answers from their leader, for he supposedly knows the location of the Still Blue. What will it cost Perry to bring peace and safety to his tribe? What will Roar and Aria discover? How many more Aether storms can they survive?
            For fans of dystopia, this is a trilogy to read, and I am liking these books a lot. The main characters are heroic yet flawed, brave but worried. Like we do in real life, the characters make choices with good intentions that may or may not have disastrous results. They plod bravely (and anxiously) through hardships and danger, loyalty and trust issues. This book is fast-paced, and it sure jerks you around at points along the way. Again, it’s not like “The Hunger Games,” but it’s a tough, scary, bleak world that they live in. Here, the nights are as Aether bright as the days. How will they get through the ever nights? How would you?
            Book One in the trilogy: Under the Never Sky.

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