5 Stars

Review: Only Ever Yours

09:30

Only Ever Yours
By Louise O'Neill

 Source: Personal purchase, paperback
Genres: Young adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Feminism

Goodreads Synopsis:
frieda and isabel have been best friends their whole lives.
Now, aged sixteen and in their final year at the School, they expect to be selected as companions - wives to wealthy and powerful men. The alternative - life as a concubine - is too horrible to contemplate.
But as the intensity of the final year takes hold, the pressure to remain perfect becomes almost unbearable. isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty - her only asset - in peril.
And then, the boy arrive, eager to choose a bride.
frieda must fight for her future - even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love, she has ever known...

I have been putting reviewing this off for ages now, but now I’m finally gathering my thoughts to attempt a review. Because it’s just that good. Anyone who has had the pleasure of reading this will know just how hard-hitting and important it is. I didn’t love reading it, because it was a truly harrowing read, but  what I did love was how important it is, and how much it gave me to think about. it’s one of my favourite books because of this. I recommend it to everyone - regardless of your gender.

I can’t tell you how important this book is. You just have to read it for yourself, and I think the less you know, the better. It’s a haunting view of our society, but after reading, and thinking a hell of a lot about society, it’s scarily true. I know we don’t generally see women in the same way that they do in frieda and isabel’s world, but if you really think about it, we’re not too far off.
This has made me want to do something about it. I’m a teenage cis girl who has dealt with sexism for my whole life. Usually, I’ve just learnt to “accept” it, but this book has really inspired me to do something. Although life isn’t as bad as it is for the girls in Only Ever Yours, our society could become this way, and I don’t want it to happen. This book has inspired me to try and make a change (even if it’s really small).
If you’ve ever spoken to me (especially in real life), you’ll know I’m an intersectional feminist. I knew as soon as I heard about this book that I just had to pick it up. Before, I hadn’t read a book that was so blatantly feminist - it’s a hard thing to brand yourself as today, in a world that pretty much hates feminism. I was so shocked to read this, because I wasn’t expecting it at all. I have recommended it to everyone, because it’s just so good.

Please, please, just read this book. Even if you don’t “enjoy” it, it’s one of the most important books you’ll ever read, and is so cleverly crafted that I don’t see how anyone could ever regret reading it. My hat goes off to Louise O’Neill for writing such a crucial book, and I know I will read every single book written by her in the future, because I know they won’t disappoint.

4 stars

Review: Slated

16:52

Slated
By Teri Terry

 Source: Library, paperback
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Thriller, Romance, 

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kyla’s memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.

She’s been Slated.

The government claims she was a terrorist and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?

I really didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I have read Teri Terry’s other book, Mind Games, and I enjoyed that too, but I didn’t really think it was anything special. I went into Slated a bit dubious, but I ended up really enjoying it. As with the author’s other book, the plot and ideas where the thing that made it stand out.

This is a science-fiction dystopian, and had all of my favourite elements of one. At the start, it was quite confusing and nothing was really explained, but I liked this because it meant I was hooked from the very beginning - I just had to find out more! As the book progressed, things were partially explained, but a lot was left open-ended, which makes me really desperate to read the sequel!
The characters in this book really didn’t stand out as anything special. Kyla was quite a good protagonist, and I enjoyed reading about her, but she’s definitely not my favourite. I felt at times she could be a bit naive and too innocent - I think if I was in her situation, I would have been less dependent on others and done more for myself.

The romance in this book really didn’t do anything for me. There were only a few small touches of it, but I skimmed through these scenes because they were just boring. I’m never a fan on romance in dystopian, and this was no different. It didn’t add anything to the story, and I think it should have just have been left out.

I really enjoyed this book. It was perfectly paced and so exciting that I was gripped throughout. I would recommend to fans of science fiction, and to people who are new to the genre - the style is simplistic so the book isn’t too hard to navigate. A lot was left unanswered (I think more questions were raised than answered!), so I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series. Overall, a really fun read!

4 stars

Review: Ready Player One

16:49

Ready Player One
By Ernest Cline

 Source: Library, paperback,
Genres: Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

It's the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place. We're out of oil. We've wrecked the climate. Famine, poverty, and disease are widespread.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade is obsessed by the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this alternate reality: OASIS founder James Halliday, who dies with no heir, has promised that control of the OASIS - and his massive fortune - will go to the person who can solve the riddles he has left scattered throughout his creation.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that the riddles are based in the culture of the late twentieth century. And then Wade stumbles onto the key to the first puzzle.

Suddenly, he finds himself pitted against thousands of competitors in a desperate race to claim the ultimate prize, a chase that soon takes on terrifying real-world dimensions - and that will leave both Wade and his world profoundly changed.

My review:

There was so much hype around this book, so I was expecting it to be amazing. I really love dystopian and science fiction, it was perfect for me. I did expect the world building to be a little slow, so it didn’t come as a surprise, but I didn’t find it boring at all. There’s so much hype around this book so I knew I just had to read it.
The concept was really cool. Although the idea about the human race failing to technology was not the most original, the spin that this book put on it made it so much more original. It was very predictable, but I didn’t mind because I wanted to find out how the characters got to that ending.


The book was filled with geeky ‘80s references that I didn’t get all the time, so they mostly blew over my head. I think this means that although most people class this book as Young Adult, I’d definitely recommend for all ages, especially adults. It wasn’t crucial to the plot, but I know that if I was older I would have gotten more out of the book, because I know they would have been right up my street.


Although the book was slow in some parts, there was lots of action. Every time I was about to get a little bored, a fast-paced fight scene appeared and I was instantly hooked again. The writing style was very addictive so it was relentlessly readable.

The way that the book is set in the future, yet gives a message about today’s society was truly haunting. I know this book won’t be for everyone, but I definitely really enjoyed it. Also, I believe it’s being made into a film, and I think it will work really well, so I’m really looking forward to that!

 Rating:

2.5 stars

Review: The Program

09:00

The Program
By Suzanne Young

 Source: Personal purchase, e-book
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance, Science Fiction, Mental Illness, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

 My review:
I expected this book to be amazing. The concept was really promising for a heart-breaking and gritty dystopian, that could have been painfully relatable to today’s society. Although it was scarily similar to today, I was disappointed. It was a love story first, dystopian second. Some may find it beautiful and heart-wrenching, but I just got a bit fed up with the book. It was a bit repetitive, and I thought it had the potential to be so much better.

My main problem with the book was the focus on romance. I was disappointed with the lack of world building and the description of the dystopian setting. I know some will really enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t for me at all.

It got a little repetitive and slow moving towards the middle too. Sloane was a very annoying lead, so I got tired of her ‘mourning’. I feel like she could have done more to change her situation (because she obviously wasn’t happy with it), instead of just thinking about herself, and how she was feeling at the time.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I feel it has too many flaws for me to continue with the rest of the series. The ending was very inconclusive, but not much was left to happen, so I think this would have worked as a stand-alone too. I know that fans of romance will really enjoy this, so I would recommend it to fans of Shatter Me, though the writing style isn’t as poetic or beautiful.

Rating:

4 stars

Review: Vicious

10:00

Vicious
By V.E. Schwab

 Source: Library, paperback
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the arch nemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

 My review:
After reading V.E. Schwab’s other book, A Darker Shade of Magic, I knew I was going to enjoy this one. It had a really original concept that I instantly became intrigued by, even though I’m not a huge fan of comics or superhero films. It was fast paced and really addictive, so I constantly wanted to read on.

I found the relationship between Victor and Eli so interesting to read about. The way they had turned from best friends, to rivals, to arch enemies, made the book so much more unique. They both changed a lot through the story, and to experience that, along with the constant action and nerdy science-fiction explanations and ideas, made this book so much more original.

I also really enjoyed the themes woven through the book. The jealousy and rivalry between Victor and Eli made this book stand out, because of the way this is something that is explored so little. I also really enjoyed the way the line between being a hero and being a villain is shown, and the way that the book questions the difference between heroes and villains.

The plot was also really enjoyable. It was original and unpredictable, so I was constantly gripped. It ha so many twists and turns, but they were perfectly paced and explained so I was never confused. The flash-backs never became boring either, as it was obvious they were going to become important later in the story.

Although this book was a little slow to start with, as soon as I got into it, I enjoyed it so much. Everything explored was really original, meaning the book was never predictable. I’m now super excited for the sequel to be released (as I think the author announced she was writing one) - I found the ending to round off the book well, but there is definitely area for a sequel. I know I’ll definitely be reading it!

 Rating:

4 stars

Review: Atlantia

17:33

Atlantia
by Ally Condie

 Source: Personal purchase, e-book
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Romance, Mythology, Mermaids

 Goodreads Synopsis:
Can you hear Atlantia breathing?
For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose.
Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths. 


This was a really pleasant read. All of Ally Condie’s books are really enjoyable reads - I feel that I can just breeze through them. This was a really cute book, and it made a perfect holiday read, as I read it while I was camping.


The plot and concept of this book was really good. It’s really original, and I haven’t heard of anything like it before. The themes were great too - I especially liked the themes of family and sisters because I have a sister, who I feel the same way to as Rio does to Bay.


In my opinion, this book should have been paced a bit quicker. The beginning dragged a little, and I did have to persevere, but I had a break after reading about the first 10%, so when I jumped back into the world it felt new again and wasn’t slow.


The romance in this book was perfect. There wasn’t much of it, which I liked, but the bit that was there was not cheesy or cringey at all. It fitted well with the main story line, and it didn’t distract at all. Rio and True fitted together so well - I can actually see why they like each other, which is unusual.

Overall, this was a good book. Although Rio got a bit annoying at times, she was a great lead. All aspects of the book fitted together so well - it was really polished and well constructed.

My reaction:

Can someone please tell me if this book is in a series? When I first added it to Goodreads, it said that it was, but then when I went on today it said it wasn't part of a series. This book would make a great stand-alone if it was wrapped up a bit better, but I also don't think I need a series. Does anyone know more on this? Please tell me below!

My rating:


3 Stars

Review: Red Queen

12:11

Red Queen
By Victoria Aveyard

 Source: Gift, e-book
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

 To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

 Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

 But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

 Review:
I didn’t - and still don’t - understand all the hype for this book. I have only read amazing reviews on this book, and the whole of bookstagram have been loving it. I thought this book was okay - I enjoyed it, but I definitely wouldn’t rave about it or recommend it. Everything was just average.
The concept was kind of original, but not really - the world is split into 2, not really very original. I was a bit bored at the start - the scene setting dragged a bit, and because we hadn’t known the characters for long I didn’t really care about them, so overall I didn’t care about much in the start!
In many places, it was really slow moving. When I finally thought something big was going to happen, it just flopped and didn’t turn out to be that exciting. I definitely had to persevere through quite a big chunk of this book.
Mare was an okay protagonist. At some points she was brave and courageous, but not outstandingly. For most of the book she was just average lead, nothing special. She didn’t stand out at all, and was maybe even a little annoying because she was so plain.


The romance was terrible. There was barely any (which I actually quite liked), but what was there was measly and cringey. I can see potential for the other books in the series, but at the moment I wish it was just cut out.

Overall, this book definitely did not deserve all it’s hype. I have had so many people tell me that it was their favourite book or that they were super excited for the next book but this is definitely not my opinion. I will buy the next book in the series, but I’m not really excited or anything.

My reaction:

My rating:


4 stars

Review: The Death House

15:59

The Death House
By Sarah Pinborough

Source: Gift, e-book
Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Romance

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 Toby's life was perfectly normal... until it was unravelled by something as simple as a blood test.

Taken from his family, Toby now lives in the Death House: an out-of-time existence far from the modern world, where he, and the others who live there, are studied by Matron and her team of nurses. They're looking for any sign of sickness. Any sign of their wards changing. Any sign that it's time to take them to the sanatorium.

No one returns from the sanatorium.

Withdrawn from his house-mates and living in his memories of the past, Toby spends his days fighting his fear. But then a new arrival in the house shatters the fragile peace, and everything changes.

Because everybody dies. It's how you choose to live that counts.

 My review:
The concept of this book struck my attention straight away - people get sent to a creepy house to get murdered? Yes please! Although this book had been described like The Fault in Our Stars, I just ignored that because I’m a very open minded person (ha ha no), and the synopsis of this book pulled me in.
I can really see the similarities to TFIOS. They were both about living and dying, and if you enjoyed TFIOS (which I didn’t), you will almost definitely enjoy The Death House (which I did).


One of the reasons why I didn’t enjoy TFIOS is because it had no plot. This book didn’t either, which was a bit annoying, although it was really short. I flew through it really quickly - it only took a few hours to read, but it stayed with me.


I disliked every character in this book. They were all so unrealistic and boring, and had no originality to them at all - they had no depth. All of the boys were typical - they all had really set ‘personalities’ and did exactly what they would do at the start and end of the book - no-one developed at all, which made the book boring.


The character who I hated the most was Clara. She was so cliche and dull, although her character was meant to be free-spirited, wild, and happy. There was no way she would actually be with someone as boring as Toby. I was bored by her because she has been done before so many times. Her character stayed the same throughout the whole book.
This book should not have been described on Goodreads as Horror, Science Fiction, and Thriller. It was mostly romance - there were barely any elements of Horror (it wasn’t scary at all), Science Fiction, or Thriller, which was really disappointing. And the romance was a bit cringey too!
The ending really made this book for me. I know, if you’ve read this book, you will be screaming what?! but I feel like it needed to be done. It fit in well with the story, and made it much more worthwhile. It had meaning, and made the book loads better. Without the ending the way it was, I would have given this book a really low rating, but with that being the last thing I read, it made me like the book much more. The ending was the thing that separated this from TFIOS.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The majority was boring, but it picked up at the end and it really gave me something to think about.

 My reaction:

My rating:


3.5 stars

Review: A Thousand Pieces of You

18:32

A Thousand Pieces of You
By Claudia Gray

 Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Mystery, 
Page count: 368

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

 My Review:
The concept of this book was so cool. A book with a stunning cover and about time-travel? What's not to love! So, I bought the book. I don't regret it (because that cover just looks so pretty on my shelf I just don't even care!), but I wish I didn't buy it in such a rush, or maybe bought some other books instead.
The plot of this book was quite bad. I loved the bit about dimension-hopping, but it had too much romance and not enough dimension-travel. Nothing much happened - at the end it tried to be dystopian, but it didn't really work that well. I was pretty bored on all the romance bits, and this book would have been a much higher rating if there was less romance.


I hated the love triangle. She was in love with the wrong guy (in my opinion), which made me hate all of the romance - I really didn't ship them at all, so I was just rolling my eyes, and trying not to skim over them, which I did end up doing. They fell in ‘love’ too quickly for me - I would have liked them to get to know each other more before they slept together!


Marguerite annoyed me quite a lot. She didn't realise things that I got really quickly, and was really shallow. All her decisions were not thought through - if she thought about what she was going to do more, the story would have gone a whole different way.

Overall, I enjoyed this book because it was so original, but I would have enjoyed the book much more if there was less romance.

My reaction:

Rating:


Favourite Quotes:

“Every form of art is another way of seeing the world. Another perspective, another window. And science –that’s the most spectacular window of all. You can see the entire universe from there.” 

"We look into each other's eyes, and I feel something I've only ever felt once before - this dizzying sense like being at the edge of a cliff, both scared to death and yet feeling this inexplicable, insane urge to fling yourself into the sky"




4 stars

Review: Enclave

19:25

Enclave
By Ann Aguirre

Source: Personal purchase, paperback,
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, 

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters--or Freaks--who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight--guided by Fade's long-ago memories--in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs.

Ann Aguirre's thrilling young adult novel is the story of two young people in an apocalyptic world--facing dangers, and feelings, unlike any they've ever known.


 My review:

 This book was everything I've been looking for. It's been so long since I've read a dystopian as good as this. Enclave had literally every aspect I like in books: action and fight scenes, really gory descriptions, disease (my one true love), slow-burning romance, a well-thoughtout world, originality, and light-hearted moments too. I really didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did - although I knew I was going to like it, I never knew how great it was. 

 It had a great beginning. It jumped straight in on the action (not some annoying build up like in some other books). The world building was really clever - I found out about the world pretty quickly, though it didn't bore me at all. The writing was really clever, and it kept this standard throughout the whole book.

 The messages this book sent pleased me. For once, a book says sexism is not okay (!!!), not naming any names *cough* The Selection *cough*. Also, it teaches to never give up, which I think is really important in a book. Another thing I thought was a great aspect was that small children were called brats. This made me smile - I am not the biggest fan of little kids (they just smell and are dirty and ew), and calling them brats just seemed perfect. 

 Deuce, the protagonist, was amazing. She was so strong, yet flawed so she was more real. At times, she was a little bit stupid, but that's just to be expected - nobodies perfect! She was really tough, and protected everyone, which I loved. She really showed the men up!

 All the other characters were good too - they had depth, so seemed really real. I especially liked Fade (him and Deuce just need to be together!) because he was really tough, yet had another side which was interesting to find more about as the story progressed.

 I would recommend this book to dystopian fans - it has all aspects of a great dystopian, yet is still really original too. I am definitely going to pick up the rest of the series soon! My reaction to this book:

My rating: 

3 Stars

Review: These Broken Stars

20:11

These Broken Stars
By Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

 Source: Book depository
Page count: Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, 
Genres: 374

 Goodreads Synopsis:


Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive -- alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth. The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.


 My Review:


 I'm going to start off by saying how this book was beautifully written. I was so jealous of the author's writing - they really made a sense of mood, and the description was amazing.

The book took a while to get going, but once I was past the start, I really enjoyed it. The middle was definitely the best part - the starting and ending definitely weren't as good, and bored me a little. But the middle was so good! I was racing through that, so it did disappoint me a bit when I got to the end.

Which was so confusing! Anyone else who has read this book must agree with me. It was so strange and odd! It was also not satisfying at all *sigh*. So, it really was disappointing, which is sad, been as this book is so hyped about.

Though, I did really like Tarver. He was a great character, really nice to read about, and kept on going, which is what I was looked for in him and Lilac.

Although, Lilac was a disappointment. She was always complaining and getting things wrong - she was really irritating to read about. When she did finally grow up, she just got foolish and reckless - as if all of sudden, she had a complete change of heart, and now doesn't care about her life at all. This was really annoying!

But, saying all this, I did go into this book with really high expectations. I had heard such good things about this book, which made me think it was going to be great. One of the main selling points on the back of this was the character development - this really puzzled me because the character development in this book was appalling. Tarver just developed to be a whiny character in the end, and Lilac just turned out to be stupid. This really made me wonder - why put that on the back of a book cover? I know it sold the book a bit, but the quote was from someone's review. Why would you put that in your review? To me, it's just a lie.

Though, I was that excited to read this book, that in hindsight, I don't think it could have ever lived up to my expectations. I did really enjoy the book though, and I am going to buy the rest of the series!

Rating: 

3.5 stars

Review: Shatter Me

13:17

Shatter Me
By Tahereh Mafi

 Source: Physical
Page count: 338
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, 

Goodreads Synopsis:

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

 My Review:

 I'm going to start off this by saying: loads of people hate this book. How? I thought this was amazing - I was really excited throughout the whole book, and wanted to just keep on reading. The description was great - it was different to other books I've read as it had loads of similes and metaphors, most of them were really original (but some of them really didn't make sense!). The writing was really clever - it made me feel empathy for Juliette by page 23 - this is very unusual for me, as normally I never feel like that at such an early stage in a book!

 One thing I really didn't like in this book was the romance. It was too intense - they had only known eachother for a few weeks, and they already had a really passionate relationship. In my eyes, it was too early for them as a couple. Too much insta-love! I also didn't like how the dystopia seemed to be based around the romance, not the other way round. For me, I would have liked more action and less romance.

 Another thing I didn't like was the fact that they were on the run, yet wasting valuable time kissing! It was a really dangerous situation - they were running for their lives! I know that if I was Juliette I would be focusing on how to stay alive, not using time to spend gazing into my boyfriend's eyes. 

 I think the book needed more dystopian aspects, and for it to be less centered around the romance. There wasn't much world building because it was so character-based - I would have prefered to know more about The Reestablishment so we can hate them more. I would have also liked to know more about Juliette before she got locked up - this way we would care more about her, and I the way it is so character-centered would become more effective.

 I also hated the British stereotype in the book! I am British, and Mafi made her only British character say things like "blimey" and "bloody confusing". No-one says things like that! British people don't speak much differently to Americans, and aren't at all posh. This annoyed me so much!

 From my review, it sounds like I hated this book, but I really didn't. It had me captivated from the beginning and I was hooked until the very end. I need the next book now!

 Rating: 

 I would recommend it if you enjoyed Divergent.

 Please note: This month I am extremely busy: I am loaded with exams and homework *cries*, and I am doing NanoWrimo too, so I won't be able to post as much.