Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium (Delirium #1)

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperCollins 2016

Genre: YA SciFI

Pages: 422

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 YA; TBR Random

In an alternate United States, love has been declared a dangerous disease, and the government forces everyone who reaches eighteen to have a procedure called the Cure. Living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Portland, Maine, Lena Haloway is very much looking forward to being cured and living a safe, predictable life. She watched love destroy her mother and isn't about to make the same mistakes.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena meets enigmatic Alex, a boy from the Wilds who lives under the government's radar. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?

This was just boring… Right away, I knew that the main premise of the world was going to be boring. Another recycled scifi dystopian plot. And sometimes, I can get over the boring recycled plot if the characters are interesting. Unfortunately, I just found Lena super boring. Alex was better, but seemed to dull as the story moved on. I wanted to know more about Lena’s friend, but alas, we had to focus on the “romance” in the story. I won’t be reading on in this series.

Delirium

#! Delirium
#2 Pandemonium
#3 Requiem

Next up on the TBR pile:

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Title: Asylum (Asylum #1)

Author: Madeleine Roux

Publisher: HarperCollins 2013

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 321

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365; UnRead Shelf Project

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, the New Hampshire College Prep program is the chance of a lifetime. Except that when Dan arrives, he finds that the usual summer housing has been closed, forcing students to stay in the crumbling Brookline Dorm—formerly a psychiatric hospital. As Dan and his new friends Abby and Jordan start exploring Brookline's twisty halls and hidden basement, they uncover disturbing secrets about what really went on here . . . secrets that link Dan and his friends to the asylum's dark past. Because Brookline was no ordinary mental hospital, and there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

That was a quick and enjoyable read. I sped through this creepy young adult horror book in just a few hours. I love a good asylum-based horror novel and this one really did hit the spot. We get some likable characters to follow as they uncover secrets about Brookline and about themselves. The plot is a slow build. We don’t get a ton of action until the last 100 pages, but the tension builds consistently through the first 2/3 of the book. I really fell into the creepy setting and kept want the characters to revisit the basement. Enjoyable read for this week. I will definitely be continuing to read the series.

Asylum:

#0.5 Escape from Asylum
#1 Asylum
#1.5 The Scarlets
#2 Sanctum
#2.5 The Bone Artists
#3 Catacomb
#3.5 The Warden

Next up on the TBR pile:

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1)

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Speak 2010

Genre: YA Romance

Pages: 382

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Teen, NPR Romance, 365 Days of YA; Ebook

Anna can't wait for her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a good job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's not too thrilled when her father unexpectedly ships her off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair, the perfect boy. The only problem? He's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her crush back home. Will a year of romantic near-misses end in the French kiss Anna awaits?

I absolutely devoured this book in a day and a half. This is such a great young adult romance. We get that initial meet-cute. We get the complications. We get a ton of will they or won’t they. And we finally get to see the two main characters come together. Even though there were some more serious parts, this was the light-hearted read that I needed for this week. I definitely was rooting for Anna and Etienne throughout the book. I loved the pretty straight-forward plotline propelling the romance. I loved the side characters, especially Rashmi and Josh. All of the characters act like late teens. Often in YA, we get 17 year olds acting either like 13 year olds or 25 year olds. It was nice to see appropriate teen behavior and though patterns. I finished the last page of the book and just sighed with a smile on my face. Lovely little book. I will definitely be reading the two companion books (not quite sequels, but involving some of the side characters).

Anna and the French Kiss

#1 Anna and the French Kiss
#2 Lola and the Boy Next Door
#3 Isla and the Happily Ever After

Next up on the TBR pile:

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Title: Challenger Deep

Author: Neal Shusterman

Publisher: HarperTeen 2016

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Pages: 320

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 Days of YA; Popsugar - “Pop, Sugar, Challenge”

Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.
Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior.
Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images.
Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.
Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny.
Caden Bosch is torn.

This is a very rough, but compelling accurate portrayal of mental illness in a teen. I didn’t quite know what to expect when I picked this one up. I quickly dove into the abyss within Caden’s mind. As in many YA novels, the writing isn’t dense but it took me many days to finish this one as I had to take so many breaks. The subject is just so incredibly heavy. I couldn’t read more than 25 pages in one sitting. However, I found the characters so compelling. I had to keep at it to see where the story led. I’m glad I stuck with it until the end.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Publisher: HarperCollins 2011

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Pages: 357

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 YA (#17); Women Authors; Finishing the Series

One touch is all it takes. One touch, and Juliette Ferrars can leave a fully grown man gasping for air. One touch, and she can kill.

No one knows why Juliette has such incredible power. It feels like a curse, a burden that one person alone could never bear. But The Reestablishment sees it as a gift, sees her as an opportunity. An opportunity for a deadly weapon.

Juliette has never fought for herself before. But when she’s reunited with the one person who ever cared about her, she finds a strength she never knew she had.

I picked this one up as a free Amazon Prime Reading selection. It had been on my list for awhile. However, I didn’t really know anything about it, just all the buzz. I was pleasantly surprised by a dystopian science fiction young adult novel that didn’t annoy me. Like many YA novels, the characters have angst. For whatever reason, the angst didn’t annoy me like I thought it would. The action moves quickly and the world is interesting enough that I got over the angst. I really fell for Adam and found Juliette to be a decent main character. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

My copy also included the first short story “Destroy Me” which detailed the in-between story told from Warner’s point of view. He is a despicable human, but oddly fascinating.

Shatter Me

#1 Shatter Me
#1.5 Destroy Me
#2 Unravel Me
#2.5 Fracture Me
#3 Ignite Me
#4 Restore Me
#4.5 Shadow Me
#5 Defy Me

Next up on the TBR pile:

Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix

Title: Newt’s Emerald

Author: Garth Nix

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books 2015

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 304

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 Days of YA; Monthly Keyword - Emerald; Alphabet Soup - N

After Lady Truthful's magical Newington Emerald is stolen from her she devises a simple plan: go to London to recover the missing jewel. She quickly learns, however, that a woman cannot wander the city streets alone without damaging her reputation, and she disguises herself as a mustache-wearing man. During Truthful's dangerous journey she discovers a crook, an unsuspecting ally, and an evil sorceress—but will she find the Emerald?

I picked this one for the March Key Word, Emerald, but it was one of those books that I did want to read before. And I delighted in this book so much. I love the world building and the similarities to our world. The little touches of magic here and there were delightful. And then we get to the great characters. Truthful is a fun main protagonist. And the Major is not what he seems of course. This was a delightful adventure story full of Regency era fashions and social interactions. Such fun.

Next up on the TBR pile:

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Title: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (TATBILB #1)

Author: Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 2014

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 Days of YA; Women Authors; Seasonal Series - Movie Adaptation

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?

Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

I’ve heard so many people say great things about this book (and by extension, this series), I eventually picked it up. Such a cute story! I immediately loved Lara Jean and her relationship with her sisters. I loved her relationship with the boy next door. I enjoyed the progression of the story into something different than Lara Jean was expecting. I didn’t mind the slightly cliffhanger ending (I’ll borrow the next book in March). I was not a huge fan of the narration style, but I know first person diary like narration is very popular in young adult novels. It’s not my favorite style, but I will forgive it because this book is written for the teen crowd. Cute, if a little immature for my 36 year old self.

Movie Review

Obviously the movie makers made changes to the story, but they kept the core of Lara Jean’s story and I appreciated that. I loved all the actors (with the exception of who played Gen who seemed very stiff in a lot of scenes). Extra fun recognizing Anna Carhart who played Kitty from my kiddos watching Odd Squad. The look and feel of the movie was great. Interested to see if a sequel happens.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Title: The Darkest Minds (Darkest Minds #1)

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Publisher: Disney Hyperion 2012

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Pages: 499

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (365 Days of YA); Seasonal Series - Audiobook

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that killed most of America's children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.
Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

Really disappointed in this book. It felt way too much like YA Dystopia/Apocalypse-lite. The characters were very bland and very predictable. The plot had way too many holes to be believable. And on top of all that, I hate when books don’t explain things and keep everyone in the dark so much that the reader just gets lost. I can’t get behind this one at all…

Darkest Minds:

#1 The Darkest Minds
#1.5 In Time
#2 Never Fade
#2.5 Sparks Rise
#3 In the Afterlight
#3.5 Through the Dark
#4 The Darkest Legacy

Next up on the TBR pile:

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Title: Nimona

Author: Noelle Stevenson

Publisher: HarperTeen 2015

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 272

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 Days of YA

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

I’ve been meaning to pick this one up for awhile now and I finally got it from the library. This is an utter treat of a book! I immediately fell for Blackheart and Nimona and their amazing growing relationship. I love all of the characters, but my favorite was Nimona hands down. She’s such a complex character with hidden depths. I was blown away by the reveals of her character later in the book. I really really loved this story.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Title: The Selection (The Selection #1)

Author: Kiera Cass

Publisher: HarperTeen 2012

Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 338

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 Days of YA; I Love Libraries; Seasonal Series - Parents Still Alive

Prepare to be swept into a world of breathless fairy-tale romance, swoonworthy characters, glittering gowns, and fierce intrigue perfect for readers who loved Divergent, Delirium, or The Wrath & the Dawn.

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape a rigid caste system, live in a palace, and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her, and competing for a crown she doesn’t want.

Then America meets Prince Maxon—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

This book is so incredibly light and fluffy. It's the young adult romantic comedy. And it was just what I needed to read this week. I sped through this volume and enjoyed every minute of it. Definitely a lot of fun. And that cliffhanger just killed me. I must grab the next book in the series soon. In the meantime, I can at least read the short story prequel "The Prince."

The Selection:

#0.5 The Prince
#1 The Selection
#2 The Elite
#2.5 The Guard
#3 The One
#3.5 The Queen
#4 The Heir
#4.5 The Favorite
#5 The Crown
#5.5 Happily Ever After

Next up on the TBR pile:

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Title: For Darkness Shows the Stars (For Darkness Shows the Stars #1)

Author: Diana Peterfreund

Publisher: Balzer + Bray 2012

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

Pages: 407

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 Young Adult, YA Retellings; A to Z - F; Seasonal Series - Free Space

It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret—one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

I remember hearing about this adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion when it was published, but promptly forgot about it. Thank goodness I saw it on my perpetual lists and finally got it from the library. This is such.a treat! Peterfreund has taken the amazing story of Anne Elliott and Captain Wentworth and set it in another time and place. We still get the social commentary on social classes, but now it's in a post-apocalyptic society. We get an interesting society to explore and fun side characters to liven up the party. We get a bit of mystery concerning the Fleet Posts. And we get the amazing spirit and courage of this books Anne, Elliott North. I sped through this volume just waiting for the letter from Wentworth, Wentforth, to Anne, Elliott. And I wasn't disappointed. I'm very interested to see what Peterfreund does in the sequel, but first, I think I'll read the two short stories.

For Darkness Shows the Stars

#0.5 Among the Nameless Stars
#1 For Darkness Shows the Stars
#1.5 The First Star to Fall
#2 Across a Star-Swept Sea

Next up on the TBR pile:

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Title: Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publisher: Felwel andFriends 2013

Genre: YA Scifi

Pages: 454

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (365 Days of YA #49); Fairytale Retellings; I Love Libraries

Cinder is back and trying to break out of prison―even though she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive if she does. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother, or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana.

Sped through this volume in just a few days. I love how on-the-go this story is. there's hardly a quiet moment. Sometimes the breakneck pace can get old, but I really enjoyed racing throughout the world with Cinder and Scarlet. Plus we get to finally see Queen Levana's plan to take over Earth. Loving the new developments and characters. Thorne is a great foil to Cinder and it's nice to see Wolf after reading The Queen's Army. Definitely need to pick up the third book soon and re-checkout the short story collection to read Thorne's story.

The Lunar Chronicles

#0.5 Glitches
#0.6 The Little Android
#1 Cinder
#1.5 The Queen's Army
#2 Scarlet
#2.5 Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky
#3 Cress
#3.5 Fairest
#3.6 Stars Above
#4 Winter

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publisher: Felwel andFriends 2012

Genre: YA Scifi

Pages: 448

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Based on a Fairytale; Fairytale Retelling; Perpetual (365 YA #49, YA Retelling #25)

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

Another middle of the night read. Somehow I forget that I had added this book to my Kindle at some point. Glad I rediscovered it a few nights back. I loved this retelling of Cinderella set in a distant future. I immediately fell in love with Cinder. Such a great character! And the side characters, including the androids, were a treat. But my favorite character was definitely Queen Levana. Very intriguing villain. I can't wait to read more from this world and follow Cinder's journey. Such a great start to a series.

The Lunar Chronicles

#0.5 Glitches
#0.6 The Little Android
#1 Cinder
#1.5 The Queen's Army
#2 Scarlet
#2.5 Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky
#3 Cress
#3.5 Fairest
#3.6 Stars Above
#4 Winter

The Last Star by Rick Yancey

Title: The Last Star (Fifth Wave #3)

Author: Rick Yancey

Publisher: Putnam 2016

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 338

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 Days of YA; Finishing the series; 52 Books - W29

The enemy is Other. The enemy is us. They’re down here, they’re up there, they’re nowhere. They want the Earth, they want us to have it. They came to wipe us out, they came to save us.
But beneath these riddles lies one truth: Cassie has been betrayed. So has Ringer. Zombie. Nugget. And all 7.5 billion people who used to live on our planet. Betrayed first by the Others, and now by ourselves.
In these last days, Earth’s remaining survivors will need to decide what’s more important: saving themselves . . . or saving what makes us human.

I wasn't too excited about The Infinite Sea, but this volume redeemed the series for me. Thankfully we got back to some character development instead of constant action. And we get a satisfies, if not predictable, conclusion to the story. I almost wish this series was a two-parter instead of a trilogy. A lot of fat could have been trimmed from the second and third books to make one volume.

Ffith Wave:

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Title: The 5th Wave (Fifth Wave #1)

Author: Rick Yancey

Publisher: Putnam 2013

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 457

Rating: 4/5 stars Movie: 4/5

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 Days of YA; Popsugar - Movie This Year; Book to Movie

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.
Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

So I grabbed this off the library's Lucky Day shelf on a whim. It hadn't been on my TBR shortlist. And yet, I'm glad I picked it up. I was assuming this was going to be a wimpy alien invasions story heavy on the melodrama and sap. Amazingly, it wasn't. I found myself intrigued by Yancey's world building and characters. I thought Cassie would be our only narrator, but thankfully we get to hear from a few other characters. I got so sucked into the story that I finished this in two days. I don't know what got into me, but I only surfaced once I read the last page. And then I was disappointed by the ending until I figured out that this is a trilogy. Guess who just reserved the second novel from the library...

Movie:

Overall, a decent adaptation of the novel. Of course there were changes, but those changes didn't fundamentally alter the story or characters for me. The pace was okay. Lots of the slower moments and conversations were cut for time and pacing. I get it. It's a Hollywood movie. I would have liked to see more character development especially from Ben and Ringer. But I get it. I did like Chloe Grace Moretz as Cassie Sullivan. Good casting there. The actor who played Ben wasn't quite what I had in mind, but oh well. The twins enjoyed the movie. So I guess it was a win for movie night.

Ffith Wave:

#1 The 5th Wave
#2 The Infinite Sea
#3 The Last Star