Early Review - Pure by Julianna Baggott

US cover

Pure (Pure #1) by Julianna Baggott
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Dystopian Young Adult
Received for review from publishers

Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 448
Publisher: Headline (UK)
Release date: February 2nd, 2012

Summary: We know you are here, our brothers and sisters... Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Thoughts: I wanted to wait for this book to come out before I raved about it. Honest to God, I planned on waiting. Because, really, I loathe it when people rave about books that aren't available for puchase. But in this case, I just couldn't keep it all in. This book is fan-bloody-tastic, and I need to share.

Pure is quite possibly the most terrifying YA novel out there... which is saying quite a bit. The Hunger Games was terrifying, as was Blood Magic and The Replacement. But the very premise on which Pure is based is so horror-film terrifying that it has to take the cake as the scariest YA book I've ever read.

Ok, so how do I explain?

Well, Pure is set in a post-apocalyptic world. But unlike a lot of books, it isn't set 50 years after the apocalypse - this end-of-the-world is in living memory. And the people suffering hurt all the more because they can remember the time when they weren't in pain.

Pain, you ask? Well, that's an understatement. Pure is set after a nuclear explosion has decimated the world. But the problem isn't with the casualties of death, it's with the pseudo-scientific effects of the radiation. At the time of the attack, people were merged with their surroundings. By surroundings I mean objects, animals, trees, dirt, and even other people. They fused together and everyone became, well, everyone else.

To say that this event made people less-than-friendly is an understatement. While the fused survivors are to be pitied, they are also the most fearful characters I've read in a long time. I found the whole premise utterly realistic and utterly haunting. Pure held me captive.

The reason, however, that Pure isn't getting 5 stars has to do with the nitty-gritty character business. While I surprised myself by enjoying the multi-narrator style, there were things I found a bit too coincidental. Not to mention that some of the relationships in the novel felt rather... rushed. Unfortunately, these inconsistencies kept me slightly apart from the main characters. My hope is that I grow to understand them more in the next novels!

Bottom line? Pure is an original, steampunk-esque take on dystopian fiction. It's the stuff of nightmares and you're going to love it.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games (Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Dystopian Young Adult

Rating: 5 stars
Pages: 374

Summary: Set in a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called The Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdee steps forward to take her younger sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Thoughts: I adored The Hunger Games. I consumed the novel in less than a day, and suffered from acute post-amazing book depression. But since everything that could possibly be said about this book has already been said, I'm doing something a bit different for this "review". I'm giving you a few book-a-likes: novels that, if you loved, pretty much garuntee that you'll love The Hunger Games (and vice-versa!).

Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Review
Both Katniss and Graceling's Katsa have had lives that have made them extremely mistrusting, almost emotionally numb, and reliant only upon themselves.  And yet, despite their harshness and their talent for making things die, they're easy to root for.  The only difference? Katsa manages to get through a lot of her issues in the one novel. It's going to take Katniss a while longer.

Enclave by Ann Aguirre - Review
Enclave deals with one of The Hunger Games' key issues: children killing out of necessity.  Enclave's Deuce also shares many of Katniss' vulnerabilities: they would both sacrifice themselves for their families, and both are complete innocents when it comes to romance. Had Deuce been born in District 12, her name would have been Katniss (although Deuce does have much better control over her temper!).

The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong
This one is bit of a stretch, since I can neither say it takes on any of the sociological issues that The Hunger Games addresses nor that it's protagonists have anything in common.  However, both of Katniss and Maya are fierce, fierce, fierce leading ladies.  If you want another novel with a tough-but-sensitive star, read The Gathering.

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre - Review
All that react-before-thinking that Katniss has going on?  Grimspace's Jax has that in spades.  And I'm not quite sure what it is exactly, but there was a certain vibe in The Hunger Games which reminded me all too strongly of Grimspace.  If you're willing to take my word for it, give this Adult Sci-Fi novel a shot.

Bottom line? All the above books I gave 4.5 stars or higher, and would 100% recommend them.  I hope by comparing them to The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins fans will add them to their wishlist.  But if you were like me, who emphatically resisted all the hype surrounding this novel, I hope this post gave you some incentive to start reading Collins' fantastic trilogy!

Review - Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Enclave (Razorland, Book 1) by Ann Aguirre
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Apocalyptic Young Adult
Received for review from Macmillan US
Debut 2011 Author - Released today!

Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 272

Summary: In Deuce's world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed 'brat' has trained into one of three groups-Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms.

Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember. As a Huntress, her purpose is clear--to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She's worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing's going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade.

When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce's troubles are just beginning. Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn't like following orders. At first she thinks he's crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don't always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth.

Thoughts: Some authors are just born better than others. Call it a natural selection or literary Darwinism, but I have found it to be one of those undeniable facts. They sit a cut above their piers, and make you glad to be a reader. Enclave is the third Ann Aguirre book I've read, and it confirmed what I suspected: she is one of those authors.

In case you were wondering, Enclave is a zombie apocalypse book. There are a lot of dead bodies, a few crazy!backwards!gangs, and people who will try to eat you. But that being said, it is a very different take on the whole thing. In fact, I could probably go into a whole spoiler-filled debate about whether or not Enclave should be called a zombie apocalypse book... but you'll have to read it to see what I mean.

Okay, so on to the goodness. I absolutely adored the two main characters - Deuce and Fade. For starters, both of the characters are basically adults.  Life has made them grow up fast, and there's little time to sulk about it.  A century ago, it was completely normal to raise children at the age of 15 - so it's only logical that we'd fall back into the habit post-apocalypse. Both Deuce and Fade have embraced their responsibilities and are all the stronger for it.  Deuce rather reminds me of Rose from the Vampire Academy series (only about 15 years more mature) in the sense that she puts protecting others first. It's inspiring to read and I hope more YA authors (*cough* and adult authors *cough*) consider writing more responsible!mature!characters. As Enclave proves, they can be just as entertaining.

Even though there is some romantic tension between Deuce and Fade, there are many more important things that take precedent (like survival, and whatnot). Not to mention the fact that, despite being hardcore warriors in their own right, they are pretty innocent when it comes to the whole romance business. It's a different world, and that kind of intimacy is something that couldn't stay alive. As readers, of course we know what to look out for, but seeing characters who do not even know what a family is... well, watching them start to develop one on their own is amazing.

Aguirre also hits on a few issues that I think some people will really be... um... shocked by? That's not the right word... let's just say she includes a few plot twists later in the book that may have you up in arms. We have all gotten rather accustomed to some things being labeled as badbadbad - unforgivable under any circumstance. But sometimes self-preservation is more important than justice - occasionally a person can do evil things for an apparently good reason.

I'll leave you to ponder that one.

Bottom line? Ann Aguirre will rock the YA world. She absorbs you into her novels and pulls twists out of places you didn't even know existed. I'll be buying the hardcover.

Review - Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Bookdepository / Amazon UK / Amazon US
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Dystopia Young Adult
Received for review from Hodder & Stoughton

Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 441

Summary: Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Thoughts: I read a number of reviews for Delirium before writing mine, and was surprised by the diverse reaction. There are a ton of glowing reviews out there, a few "I don't get the fuss" reviews, and a some "this is just a bad book" reviews. And each and every review I've read - across the spectrum - I have agreed with. There are some themes are raised by the book that some people hated and others loved - it's just a matter of taste. You know when you really enjoyed a book when the negative reviews don't change your mind.

While I really enjoyed the plot and the characters and all of the over-arching themes explored in Delirium - it is Lauren's writing that makes this book a keeper.  Lauren just has such a soft, elegant style to her writing. She molds and shapes her words and sentences with stellar technique. The way she writes reminds me of Maggie Stiefvater: she writes lyrical books that make you want to draw hearts around paragraphs while you're reading.  Lauren understands love - not just romantic love, but family love - and her descriptions of the emotion are simply stunning.  This book made me re-examine the relationship I was in at the time, reminding me to appreciate love - and the delirium that accompanies it.

Even though I wasn't over-the-moon-in-love with all of the characters, I enjoyed their part in the story.  I went in expecting to read a straightforward forbidden romance, but what I ended up with was, well, something else altogether.  Delirium was romantic, but it was also so much more than that.  It was a book about the bonds we share with family, friends and even our pets.  Stunning stuff. Not to mention, it has a few pretty fantastic twists that I never saw coming.

Bottom line?  Go out and get yourselves a copy right now - especially if you are a fan of Linger or Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.  Delirium is a lovely, elegant novel that I'd recommend to even the most hesitant of readers.  And don't be put off by the doom-and-gloom you're rightly expecting - it's totally worth it.