I Got No Reading Done Today

Well I guess there's always tomorrow...

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had a lot of mixed feelings...

The characters- I only really remember a few because they're all so forgettable and uninteresting. Our protagonist, Ender Wiggin (Think that was his full name), was a very conflicted boy... and by boy I mean child, he was like 6 at the start of the book. He is the third sibling which is bad because population control laws rarely allow that. Along with being made fun of about that he has to deal with his brother, Peter. Peter is evil. He is always focussed on having control and he always abuses Ender (Which made me sad). Thankfully Ender had his sister, Valentine. She is the complete opposite of Peter. She's kind and caring and is always trying to change Peter for the better. Colonel Graff is who really gets the story going. He becomes a father figure to Ender (His real parents didn't really care about him). He says he only wants the best for Ender but little did Ender know that "the best" will come with a price. Here is where the characters start to annoy me. I started to like Alai but the people watching Ender didn't like him having friends so he was cut off from him... this happens to all the other friends Ender meets such a Petra. Petra is the only girl in the Salamander Army and she is pretty respected. I enjoyed her odd relationship with Ender but, of course, it was cut short. Bean... oh where to start. He didn't come into the story until the end but he was my favorite character. He was a little arrogant but being under Ender's wing taught them both lessons in respect. There were 2 main Villains in this book. Bonzo and the aliens. Bonzo was an ok character. He was an unstable, jealous punk (kind of like Peter). He is the head of that Salamander Army and is cruel to Ender because he was envious that Ender was proving to be a good soldier. The fight scene between Ender and him was very climactic. Although it did take place in an awkward place... you'll see what I mean. Lastly the aliens. You might think the book would be centered on them but it's not (which is understandable once you fully grasp the meaning of this book). I do kind of wish they gave SOME descriptions of them but alas they didn't sadly. I mean come on, who doesn't like some aliens?

The Setting- The setting was pretty generic. An overpopulated earth in the could be future. The citizens are in constant worry of another invasion. As the story progresses we move to battle school, a place to train young soldiers. It was in a space station kind of thing. I liked the whole layout of the Battle School, the descriptions could have been smoother but it was ok. The Battle Rooms were very hard for me to picture. I wish they were described better. Command School was the final setting of the book and it was odd. It was again in space and was a more organized Battle School basically.

The Story- The Earth has been attacked by aliens. Earth barely survived the attack. The government realizes that they need to improve themselves and fast. They need a unique soldier ready to face anything so obviously they choose 6 year old children(?) Wtf. Anyway they have been testing children for the exact qualities that they need but they have only gotten few results, none of which are truly commander status worthy. Peter the first born is tested. Too violent they say. Next Valentine. Too kind. Not willing to get her hands dirty. Lastly Ender. The perfect mix of qualities... but unstable. He is taken to Battle School by Graff to train, leaving Valentine and Peter all alone. Once at battle school Ender learns many important lessons during the Battle Room games (I forgot if they had a specific name). He meets friend which I mentioned above. All of which was cool but without many solid characters it felt flat. Down on Earth there is a totally different story going on. Peter and Valentine are planning world domination... yep I said it. 2 teenagers are plotting to take over society and the sad thing is, is that they could actually pull it off with enough planning. Don't expect an alien vs. human theme going into this like I did. Read it with an open mind and it will be very thought provoking.

The Conclusion- THERE IS A HUGE TWIST. I can usually guess at least parts of a story's climax but this was so surprising. Sadly the very end is mediocre at best. I have no desire to read all the sequels but who knows? Maybe if I have no other books to read (Not likely) I might pick them up.

Misc- I loved Free Play. The fantasy world Ender explored was very interesting. He did so many unexpected things. If only his reality was as exciting. The battle scenarios were awesome. Ender got to practice his strategies with a realistic tool and with... People (he he he).

Overall great book. I don't think the movie adaptation will be as good but I hope it is. I recommend this book to anyone to likes to read thought provoking pieces.

Note* I do not like the author as a person. He is extremely anti-gay and he likes to tell others how to live their lives. I don't know how a book like this came from that but I guess he does one thing right.

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The Shadow Empire (The Plantation, #3)

The Shadow Empire by Stella Samiotou Fitzsimons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*minor spoilers*

The story starts out with Freya exploring her feelings for Finn and Damian. With Damian kidnapped the Saviors are working their buts off trying to rescue him. With their plan all ready they get ready to leave until they are interrupted by something very unexpected (not telling). After a bunch of hectic events they manage to get Damian out of the Plantation he was trapped in. To Freya's disappointment he is extremely different. And with a baby on the way she needed him more than ever.

Throughout the story they travel a lot of places... even out of this world. Along the way Freya struggles to bring back the Damian she loved but still not loose her beloved Finn. I have to say I could not put this book down, there was never a dull moment. My only honest complaint was that the end "twist" was a little predictable and there were no big cliffhangers this time around.

This book is an emotional roller coaster so make sure you're ready. Can't wait until this Summer for the next book.

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The Dark Legion (The Plantation #2)

The Dark Legion by Stella Samiotou Fitzsimons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The last book was good, this book was incredible. All the characters and their backgrounds have been established so now it's time for the real war. We are back where we left off with Freya and the Saviors on the run. Faced with Damien's new found feelings for her, Freya is seriously thinking about the choices she has made concerning her relationship with Finn. Lucky for her she has her Sister Pip to cheer her up. The plot starts when two Sliman visit the group with no interest in hurting them. They explain the reason Freya is the way she is and they answer a lot of unanswered questions about the aliens as well. Long story short Freya and the group go with the rebel Sliman to a secure location where each of them can safely train, especially Freya. The rest of the book is super action packed and has a lot of twists that will leave you breathless... secrets that will change Freya's life.

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The Plantation (The Plantation, #1)

The Plantation by Stella Samiotou Fitzsimons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Freya is just a girl... a girl that just happens to live in a world enslaved by an army of aliens. In her world children like her are taken as slaves in places called plantations. In these plantations they are guarded by the aliens "pets", which they call the sliman. Possessed with superhuman abilities the sliman created an inescapable environment for the children... or so they thought. Frya and Finn both have escaped their plantation, Plantation 9. With the help of other kids who have escaped they have made a home for themselves in a group of abandoned buildings. Each of the children mysteriously has a gift which helps them survive. Freya feels useless because unlike the others she doesn't have any gifts or even any special skills, not to mention the fact that all she can seem to do is let everyone down. Under the rule of Damien, a super strong teenager, the group has been able to survive. But everyone in the group is getting restless, they are tired of hiding all the time. They want to take a stand and prove humans cannot be forced to do anything...

(Might have a few factual errors in my review, sorry if I do)

Amazing book, highly recommend this undiscovered gem.

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Insurgent (Divergent, #2)

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ahhhhhhh The sequel to Divergent... So sweet.

The Characters- We have most of the characters back to their same selves. The start of the war changed a lot... Will :,( Four, AKA Tobias, has gotten a lot more serious. Especially about Tris. He hates how she is always willing to sacrifice herself for the dumbest stuff. Their relationship is no longer the fairytale that I fell in love with. Domestic arguments happen A LOT and each of them hurts my heart. Christina is a mess after Will and after she found out what Tris did she stopped being relevant (thank god). Peter also steps up in importance in this book, which I was thrilled about. The war inside him was raging. He didn't know what side to choose... good or evil. I wish he was involved in the beginning more but he was a MAJOR character in the end. Caleb, Tris' brother also stepped up. Now that he is factionless he tried his hardest to fight for his family. He even had a nice little protective thing going on with Tris as well. Nice character. Jeneane... Pure evil takes form. I loved the little battle her and Tris had going on. Yes, I know Jeneane was running a war but her greatest enemy is Tris. Eric comes back as well but compared to Jeneane he was a joke. He was still an issue but not the biggest one. Lastly we have Marcus, Tobias' abusive father. He was a huge mystery through the whole book. He said he knew what the whole war was about. He said he knew a secret that could change everything. Tobias of course didn't believe it for a second. Other Characters like Uriah and Tori were important but I just didn't feel that connected to them.

The Setting- This takes place at the same time we left off and in the same city. This time the other factions are explored and so was the land of the factionless. The Erudite headquarters was a big place as well and I liked it. I had a nice image of it in my head and it felt like a movie. Minor spoiler: (view spoiler)[And hopefully the outside of the town will be explored as well. The end hinted it but I can't wait. (hide spoiler)]

The Story- As bad as this might sound it's true... war makes everything much more intense. Tris and all the other Divergent are wanted by the Erudite/Dauntless army. Most will be executed but some are needed for scientific experiments. Jeneane wants total control (she wants to control everyone's mind) but she can't accomplish that when the Divergent are immune. A lesson that Tris taught her last time she tried. But the leftover loyal Dauntless try to gather up more manpower throughout the factions. Surprisingly they find the factionless already doing the same thing. They're organized and ready to use the pain they've had to fight back.

The Conclusion- The ending of this book was shocking, not as shocking as I hoped but shocking nonetheless. This time there is a huge cliffhanger and it leaves you wanting the third and final book more than ever.

I highly recommend this book. It is super exciting and has incredible characters that you can't help but to love.

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Divergent (Divergent, #1)

Divergent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

AMAZING BOOK!

The Characters- Remarkable. Each character has a unique personality and surprisingly I felt like each of the characters was relevant. Tris (Beatris) is the protagonist of the story and she does not disappoint. She is not perfect and she makes dumb decisions sometimes, but lets face it who doesn't? Four, our next main character, is a very likable man. He is older than Tris and way more experienced. He develops an attraction to Tris and the romance is beautiful. Christina and Will, Tris's 2 best friends, are a big part in the story's progression and I enjoyed them. Peter is our main villain for most of the story and he was by far my favorite character (especially in the second book). He will do anything for power and is willing to burn all his bridges for it. It might not be that obvious but I believe there is a good person buried somewhere in there. Another villain, Eric, is also very power hungry and manipulative. I like him but I think Peter has a lot more depth to him. Al... oh where to start. So confused and so sweet. Al joined the wrong group of people. He might look menacing but he is sweet at heart. I want to feel bad for him but he had a choice... it's his fault he made the wrong one. Even the more minor characters such as Robert were nice to learn about.

The Setting- Dystopian. So it takes place in a very large city in the near future. Society was corrupt so they made a change. They divided everyone up into 5 factions. Each faction serves a specific purpose. Those who believed aggression was to blame for the corruptness formed Amity, who stand for peacefulness. Those who blamed ignorance formed Erudite, who desire knowledge. Those who blamed duplicity formed Candor, who are completely honest to everyone. Those who blamed selfishness formed Abnegation, who are as selfless as possible. And lastly those who blamed cowardice formed Dauntless. Now as complicated as this might sound it is honestly very thought provoking and creative. My only issue with the setting is that no one tries to explore outside the town. I know Tris is curious about what is out there but it just seems a little weird that no one would at least try and explore the outside walls.

The Story- The thing that makes this story that much better is the concept of Divergence. When someone is divergent it is dangerous. Society uses simulations to complete a lot of tasks. Divergent people are able to manipulate these simulations and are much different than the rest of society. And people have trouble with anything different. They find it easier to kill the Divergent instead of understanding them. Everyone fits into one of the factions but what if you fit into more than one? That is the problem every Divergent faces. Tris fits into not just 2 (like most Divergents) but 3 factions which makes her even more of a problem. Without spoiling anything Tris makes her choice and it wasn't an easy one. The drama and fighting that happens next will keep you engrossed in the book till the very end.

The Conclusion- The last quarter of the book in general has such a different vibe. It is definitely the most action packed part of the book and A LOT happens. There isn't a cliffhanger but you will definitely want to read the sequel.

This book will not disappoint so hurry up and read it nnnnnoooooowwwwwww!

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The Death Cure (Maze Runner, #3)

The Death Cure by James Dashner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very impressed with this series as a whole. I thought this was probably the weakest of the 3. The crew is first given a choice. Either to stay ignorant or to have their lost memories back. Now anyone who knows Thomas, Newt, and Minho know that they don't trust WICKED so obviously they choose to stay ignorant. From there each character is tested. Without spoiling a really interesting twist I just want to say that The Flare is a big issue for the crew.

Just like the first 2 books in the series character development sucks. The only characters that I wanted to know more about were still mysterious. Teresa is only in like 4% of the book and she is scattered. Teresa was in the story a lot though and I really liked her personality. And even though I barely knew Newt I felt really bad for him. He was tested to his limit and he alone earned a whole star. Without him this book would have been given a 3 star review.

In my opinion James Dashner is a talented writer that has a few detrimental flaws. His biggest is character development (as I've said a lot). He is amazing at making suspense and adding surprising twists to his writing.

I recommend this book to any Maze Runner fans. The story is ok but don't expect anything that revolutionary in terms of writing style.

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The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, #2)

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very Compelling... Very Action Packed... Very surprising. As the sequel to The Maze Runner I expected an intense thriller. Boy was I surprised. The beginning of the story starts out super fast, much faster than it's predecessor. Our beloved Thomas is thrown into a high-staked adventure with the gang... well at least most of the gang. So we know that what is happening to the teenagers are some kind of tests but we don't know much. All we know is that WICKED is behind it all. As the story progresses many secrets are uncovered. I don't want to spoil the main conflict but it is BAD... like deadly. And the whole world is involved. No one is safe.

The ending was not as impressive as The Maze Runner's ending but don't get me wrong it was still unpredictable and intense. There wasn't a cliffhanger but it is obvious that the story is not over.

The book was great overall. Great plot. Great setting. And great twists that kept me reading. But just like the last book character development is a huge issue. I still barely know any of the so called "important" characters. Teresa is just an annoying mystery that I have no desire to solve anymore and Newt and Minho are great people that I need to know more about to be totally sucked into the book.

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The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was incredible. It had me hooked from the very beginning. It is very mysterious and has very... interesting(?) characters. Thomas was a little repetitive but he had a strong spirit. I really enjoyed some of the other main characters such as Minho and Newt but I felt like I barley knew them. This book might be lacking in character development but it makes up for it with the nonstop action, mystery, and suspense. Altogether a very enjoyable read. It will have you on the edge of your seat (that is if you read in a seat).

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The Program (The Program, #1)

The Program by Suzanne Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was so amazing. I loved the idea of teen suicide being a dangerous epidemic. Adults, scared and confused, had to do something fast. They decided to test a new found solution, The Program. The program is where they send suicidal kids and teens. The idea was very unstable and dangerous but they were getting too desperate. The program's job was simple, teens come in suicidal and leave forgetting why they wanted to kill themselves. This seemed like an amazing breakthrough but is the price it costs worth it? After the teens go through the program they are wiped blank, all of their memories are gone from the past few years. As long as they were alive the parents didn't care what the consequences were, and that's were are story begins...

Sloane is always aware of her surroundings, she knows better to be herself while she is around people. They are always watching... The Handlers, just waiting for an excuse to drag one of them away. Sloane has to deal with her brother's suicide in private, fearing what would happen if she let a tear loose. The only time she can be herself is while she's with her loving boyfriend James, who was her brother's best friend. Together with their friend Miller they comfort each other and keep each other in check. When Miller's old girlfriend comes back from the program Miller looses it and kills himself. James can't take loosing him so he becomes "infected" and looses the want to live. The Handlers soon take notice of this and drag him away to the program... Sloane is devastated and can't do it anymore, she becomes infected...

From here Sloane's journey is challenging, she faces many problems. The story is very compelling and will leave you wanting to read more. The only reason I took off a star is because the ending was not close to how good I wanted it to be.

Still definitely worth the read and I'm really excited for the next book to come out next year.

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Perfect (Impulse #2)

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow, what a roller coaster of emotions.

The Characters- All the characters were very well thought out and relatable in my opinion. Cara struggling with her sexual orientation was very powerful and heart warming. Kendra's story is unfinished. She was so worried about how she looked that she put her health at risk and made a lot of bad choices. Her story just had no resolution like the others did. Sean had a lot of pressure on him and relied on Cara to ease it. That lead him to make horrible decisions and face the consequences. Andre was scared to be different. He loves to dance but his parents frown upon anything that doesn't give him money. His relationship with Jenna was also very interesting.

The setting- A simple suburban town in Nevada was nice. No complaints what so ever.

The Conclusion- Without spoiling anything I liked the end of this book. I think that all the characters got to have a different look at their choices and become better people... Everyone except Kendra (which makes me mad since her situation was deadly)

The Format- Whyyyyyyyy? I HATED how this book was written. I loved the writing but hated the format. I understand that Ellen is a good poet but if you write a book then don't make it seem like a bunch a poems... I promise you those were not poems. It was hard to keep track of the sentences and stay engaged in the story. Also the first page of each perspective was really odd as well. Sometimes it was very nice and relevant but most of the time it was way off topic and annoying. I took a star off because Ellen was making this amazing story into something it shouldn't of been.

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-Josh