Tag Archive | 2011

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Lena Haloway is less than six months away from getting the procedure known as ‘The cure’. In a world that is surrounded by the all-knowing government, people receive the cure as soon as they are eighteen. Love is a disease that makes one crazy, dangerous and out of control. Everyone is fearful of catching ‘deliria’. Her mother committed suicide because of it; her sister nearly suffered the same fate. Lena is determined to stay in line, receive her cure with accompanying marks and be paired for immediate marriage after college graduation. It’s just as life is supposed to be.

It’s during her evaluation that something changes in Lena. Unable to vocalise her practiced answer, she nearly loses everything, but an unforeseen distraction causes her test to be invalid. It’s also when she meets Alex: a nineteen-year-old boy that bares the mark. He’s cured, providing Lena with a security blanket for their friendship. If he wasn’t, she could be hauled away to the Crypts for being seen with him. Being too busy following all the rules, there’s to more to Lena’s world that she’s never noticed. As the bubbles of her life gradually pop, she’s going to have to make a choice: To love, or to die.

I have to be honest, I much preferred Delirium to Oliver’s Before I Fall. Lena is an excellent example of how effective brainwashing can be. I see this book as a spooky foretelling of America’s future. Living in a country that’s known for its ‘Big Brother’, I found myself wondering how far is too far for a society to be looked at? I can’t imagine a world without free speech or the freedom to love whomever you want. And yet, there are many passages where this easily could have taken place in a modern day America.

This is a story about growing up, falling in love and discovering what is important in life. People are different; a large population cannot conform to one simple ideal. History has proven this and Delirium takes advantage of human nature the right way. What would the world be like if we weren’t allowed to love? What would happen to a society if they found a way to love again? A fast paced read with a love story of Romeo and Juliet, I’m really hoping my local library will have the second book available! (Just checked – it’s a disappointing no.)

Many thanks to the publisher Hodder & Stoughton for sending me two copies from their social media campaign!

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Nov24

Gabry has spent her life gazing out at the world from the safety of the lighthouse. There is no need to explore since the Return has caused the undead to stalk the living. They call them ‘mudo’ and strict precautions are taken to ensure the survival. She’s never stepped out of line, never questioned authority. Just one night is enough to change everything.

One night Gabry embarks across the barrier with her best friend Cira and her brother Catcher. It’s an opportunity for love to blossom and the mudo to attack. One night and the progression humanity has accomplished is knocked down. Now Gabry must venture past the barrier in search of her heart’s desire, but it’s only the beginning. One step turns into another and Gabry can no longer ignore the previous comfort of her life and the lighthouse.

Second books are always bit tougher to get into. I enjoyed the first book so much I didn’t want to be disappointed by expecting a lot from the second. It takes a couple of chapters for Ryan to show that this book is nothing like the second. Even with the zombie attacks there’s so much more to this world that she expands on. It’s fabulous. It got my heart racing; my hands shook as I breezed through the pages.

Slight criticism are that there is another love triangle and comes straight off of the first book it’s a bit repetitive. But then again it’s a zombie apocalypse. It’s not like finding a suitable partner is a walk in the park. I felt that the book was a bit slow, but I was pleased to learn more about this world and how people were able to successful exist. I’m holding off on the third book, I want to savour it and there are many other books I have to get through first.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Nov17

Saba lives with her twin brother Lugh, little sister Emmie and her Pa. They live a quiet life with only one neighbour across the vast but dried up Silverlake. That is, until the men came and took Lugh away, killing Pa in the process.

Saba will never stop looking for Lugh. Leaving Silverlake she travels across the death trap Sandsea hoping to find the men that have taken him. But trouble is at every turn when one-steps away from their safe haven. The rest of the world is a scary place and Saba will have to decide who to trust and where to go, because time is running out for Lugh.

Please note that one of the genres I have added, I have created myself. I’m finding that a lot of the YA I’m reading are starting to fall into the same genres. I chose ‘Endless’ because what Young has mastered is a world in a post-apocalyptic environment that hasn’t been done before: Endless areas of sand and danger at every turn. It’s our Earth after we have destroyed it. It’s written in a phonetic type style, but as our heroine Saba has never been educated to our standards, she makes up words for things that haven’t been assigned a name in her lifetime.

If you’re able to get over the writing style (it’s slightly difficult to push through but the more you read the easier it gets), you are going to be blown away like I was. Finally, Saba, a take-charge girl who will do WHATEVER it takes to get her family back together! She’s strong, resourceful and flawed at the same time. I couldn’t guess what was going to happen next but trusted Young to keep me reading. Blood Red Road really is a fantastic read (hello – there’s a girls only Amazon type power group – seriously cool). There is some romance, which brings it back to typical YA. I don’t know how the second book is going to go. There is so much in this debut novel. For an escape of the daily commute or for an engaging Sunday morning, pick this up and you’ll have difficulty putting it down.

(Just read it now and tell me what you think in the comments)