The Program by: Suzanne Young

Amazon.com

Teen Suicide runs rampant. Depression is a sickness, a virus, it grows deep within its victims and spreads until there is no other choice but Quikdeath. Sloane refuses to let it take her. She's seen what it can do. After her brothers suicide Sloane refuses to follow suit. But, nobody escapes the Program.


The program is a solution, at least that's what the propaganda shoved down teen throats says. You'll come back shiny and new with no memory of your life before. You'll come back better. The program is here to fix what's broken. Sadly, most would rather be broken. The pills wipe away the bad and the good. There is no cloud or backup drive to save you. Once your memories are gone, they're gone. It's Sloane's worst fear and greatest nightmare. One terror she can't wake up from.

While the Program has a plot that would seem to thrill, it focuses more on romance then the dystopian society it has built up. The young adult novel is more focused on romantic tension and bonds rather than destroying an oppressive society. If love amongst chaos is your go to then I recommend this. But, if your priorities lie elsewhere I would not say this is an adventure you would like to partake in. ( 2/5 stars )

Angelfall by: Susan Ee

Angelfall

The apocalypse has settled on Earth. The Angels have come and the world is taken into their deadly grip. Death and destruction reign true as humanity slowly slips into darkness. What the world needs is a hero but that's not who Penryn is, she is just a daughter of man, a human girl trying to survive. If life wasn't hard enough before the apocalypse it might as ell be hell now (literally). Her schizophrenic mother crippled her sister when they were very young. A disability like that gets you killed now-a-days. How is Penryn supposed to protect little Paige from Angels and Demons if she can't protect her from their own mother? That's one of the many questions Penryn asks herself when Paige is stolen by Angels. SHe must team up with a wingless vengeful Angel named Rafe to save her sister, and maybe just maybe the world in the process. But will she get there in time.

Angelfall is a thrilling apocalyptic novel with twist and turns at every page. An amazing cliff-hanger end accompanied by the growing hunger and suspense for what follows keeps readers on their toes awaiting the next book. The way what we know about religion and pop culture blend together to make this wondrous tale is beyond me. It's a swirling storm of family, trust, and daring. A resistance novel mixed with magic and  a moral. Truly fantastic.

Gifted by: H. A. Swain

Gifted

Throughout the book we see the government trying to dictate who the citizens are. They use special schooling and medical procedures to decide who will be a popstar, a scientist, a warehouse worker, and a big shot. Who a person naturally is and becomes isn’t allowed. Society gets to decide not the individual. That is why we see rebellions more commonly known as “brain activist”. These people are fighting for their right to think freely and be who they want to be, not who they're told to be.The whole population is conforming to one man's idea of a perfect society. In this “utopia” your own thoughts aren’t even yours. They are patented and sold by Chason Industries. Only certain select members of the elite are able to afford ASA’s that allow them to become gifted. Without these procedures you are not allowed to have a career in anything. The big shot corporate manager of Chason Industries controls all of society and this cannot continue. It’s time people stood up for themselves and showed the world that their brains aren’t just there for the taking.


This book is one of the better books I have read but lacks a certain crucial piece of a story. It has no falling action and very little conclusion. It seems that the climax is practically the ending. You have this extreme build up to a moment of pure suspense and then are just dropped right into the end. It is one of my extreme pet peeves and bothers me greatly. 3/5 stars.

The Forever Song By: Julie Kagawa

Amazon.com

Alison Skemento, a fringer turned vampire with a seemingly unreachable goal. Her and her somewhat dysfunctional vampire coven are on a mission across the world to stop the psychotic vampire Sarren from releasing his mutated version of the red lung virus called requiem. She is fueled by revenge due to the death of her lover Ezekiel. He was abducted by Sarren, he was tourchered for hours before he was brutally killed. Allison heard the whole thing via demented voice recording. As she travels she keeps hearing Sarren's sick and twisted message in her mind "Sing my little bird and make it a beautiful song" followed by Zekes cries of agony. But when she finds Zeke back from the dead new surprises are in store. He is a childer of Sarren, a vampire who is controlled by their Sire. Zeke is a vampire, a blood sucking demon who shall never once again regain his innocence. Allison is a monster trying to helplessly cling to her only shred of humanity left. Allison, her Blood Brother Jackal, and her sire Kanin, this team of wayward vampires must find a way to change the fate of humanity.

Once again Julie Kagawa has thrilled her readers with a new installation of the Blood of Eden. The third and finally book is a true literary masterpiece. We see the depths of human emotion from each and every character. Love, hate, rage, desperation, and above all fear. I feel that Julie Kagawa can do no wrong when it comes to dystopian societies. She keeps her readers on the edge of there seats for all 485 pages.

Insurgent by: Veronica Roth

Insurgent (Divergent Series)

Tris, Four, Marcus, and the rest of their band of Abnegation refugees have taken refuge in the peaceful fields of the Amity farms. They are outsiders, factionless now. After the Erudite simulation which controlled the Dauntless into slaughtering innocent Abnegation, Four and Tris had to leave the city to avoid execution by the Erudite. They try and stay hiding for as long as possible but when Dauntless traitors ( those who were Dauntless but now work for the Erudite) come looking for them they must flee. They take sanctuary with the factionless who, to their surprise, are more like a faction then the actually factions right now. The factionless are banning together to make an uprising against the Erudite. The factionless plan to join forces with the remaining Dauntless and bring down the Erudite tyrants. But when the Erudite start hunting Divergents she must make a choice. She could choose to be selfish and let others die for her decision, or she could be brave. Tris chooses to be brave. She turns herself into the Erudite, knowing that when they are done with their painful research they will kill her. What is so important about the Divergent that the Erudite want to study them before killing them off? What is Jeanine hiding in the Erudite tower?

Veronica Roth has done it again in this wonderful sequel to Divergent. She is truly a magnificent author who knows who to entertain an audience. She develops such a bond between the reader and the Protagonist that you feel as if you are living this story with them. Every page turn is a plot twist, every chapter is a new addition to the already building tension. This masterpiece of a story is thrilling from the first word to the last mark of punctuation.

Divergent By: Veronica Roth

Divergent (Divergent Series)

Tris is a 16 year old girl from Abnegation. This year she will be subject to the simulation which will help her choose her future faction. Will she choose to stay selfless in Abnegation or will she choose one of the other factions. The simulation is made by the government it supposed to help you make this impossible decision. But when her results come back inconclusive she is thrown into a world she never knew existed. “Fear doesn’t shut you down it wakes you up….” page 313 Divergent. Tris chooses to be brave, she chooses to be Dauntless. But becoming Dauntless comes with a price. To join this faction you must pace a growling initiation process, because if you don’t you are factionless. To be factionless is the lowest thing you can be in this dystopian world. Tris must hide her Divergent state and pass a series of physically and mentally daunting task.  But when the Erudite faction has a plan to take down Abnegation, everything Tris has ever none is thrown for a lope. Will she be able to pass these test? Are there others that are Divergent like her? Is what the Erudite say about Abnegation really true? Tris wants answers to all of these questions, and a war between factions may be the only thing that will answer them.

Veronica Roth's Divergent book is truly remarkable. She shows multiple aspects of this dystopian universe which can relate back to many things in today's society. The word choice and description is truly captivating. Every twist and turn the book takes leads to a new and exciting adventure. This book left me breathlessly awaiting its sequel.

The Giver By: Louise Lowry

The Giver Site Amazon 

The Giver is a fast paced book full of ideas and theories that touch on some of today's most popular topics. These idea’s really grab the reader's attention and is generally the reason I enjoyed it so much. It’s views on the government, what control they should have over the General Population, can translate easily into what is happening today politically. In the Giver the government completely controls what the public does day in and day out it never stops watching and monitoring them. Once one person steps out of line they are killed to keep their opinions from spreading. While in today's government that may not exactly be the case it is close to it we are always watched by the government they monitor what we do on the internet what we post, what we view, they can see it all. Anything we think and want to share can easily be demolished by the government. If we have an opinion that doesn’t match theirs they have the power to take away our means to share it, lock us away, keep our thoughts contained and not let them run wild. 

Another topic the Giver touches on is the importance of emotion. In the Giver emotion isn’t allowed. It is taken away from the public making them emotionless complying robots with no means to express how sad and empty the really are. This is a pressing issue in today's society. Fear of being rejected or showing any sort of emotion toward something causes people to ignore how they feel and hide their true colors. People are so afraid of what someone might think they let them control how they feel, think, and act. It is important to acknowledge this and start expressing how we feel in a civilized matter. We can’t let the fear of others opinions and reactions dictate our right to emotion. If we do we are no better then the robot like citizens in the Giver. Most books have something that always just picks at the back of your mind and annoys you so much but every once in awhile you get that one book that you just can’t find something wrong with and in my personal opinion the Giver is one of those.

I rate this book 5/5 stars.

The Blood of Eden: The Immortal Rules by: Julie Kagaway

 You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the monster you truly fear. This is exactly the case for young Fringer Allison. She has spent most of her life as a lowlife Fringer until a sudden rabid attack changes her view. In the face of impending death she chooses immortal life but at what cost. Her old life is practically erased from her memories. Kanin a vampire who turned Allison will teach her the ways of their kind, but can Allison do it. Does she have the guts to cut of her human ties, to feed off of or eventually kill defenseless humans so she can survive. But when Kanin disappears at the hand of the Masters where will Allison go. Will she find refuge with a ragtag band of humans and their Preacher leader or will she live on her own and take her chances with the rabids. She knows she must save Kanin, but until she can do that, how will she survive.



The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden Book 1)

The Immortal Rules is the first book in the Blood of Eden series by: Julie Kagawa. It is a fantastic story full of relatable characters, exciting plot twist, and perplexing moral questions that even affect today's society. Chock-full of twist and turns it leaves readers excited for its following sequel.
I rate this book 5/5.

Delirium, Pandemonium, Requiem

Lena and her best friend Hana are both eagerly awaiting their cures. The thing that will protect them from contracting the disease. Lena has always been careful, quite unlike rebellious Hana, but when she meets the boy with hair the color of autumn leaves her life takes a turn down a path of rebellion, sorrow, and (most importantly) love. 

source

In a futuristic society amor deleria nervosa is the root of all diseases; cancer, heart failure, even madness. Commonly known as love.


One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the character development. It was interesting to see not only the visible features of the character but also how the cure affects their personality.

I guess the main thing I didn’t like about this book was that the “good guys” weren’t all good. They were murderous and manipulative almost as much so as the “bad guys”. I just wish they could have been a bit more righteous.

Overall I would give this trilogy 4 out of 5 stars.

Hunger Games Catching Fire

The Hunger Games Catching Fire starts out in district twelve where Katniss Everdeen (the winner of the seventy fourth hunger games) is enjoying her new life of  luxury, when Katniss won the Hunger Games with Peeta both of the victors became very rich. After one year, The Second Quarter Quell is read to the country of Panem and the Quell is that The existing pool of victors are re entered into the Reaping and forced to go back into the arena and fight for their lives.

Image from Amazon.com

The tributes for district twelve are Peeta and Katniss and then they were quickly transported back to the capital after President Snow visited Katniss at her home. After the president leaves his threat of executing Gale hanging in the air. She marries Peeta to satisfy President Snow’s wishes.

Once the tributes take their positions inside the metal cylinders Katniss sees something really terrible… But then the platform begins to rise up and into the arena and she overcomes her grief and runs straight at the cornucopia.Then she meets up with allies she didn't know she had and together they run into the forest. With Finnick and Mags at their side Katniss had a good chance of surviving the games.

Later thick toxic fogs surrounds the team killing one of their members. Once again getting over the loss Katniss and her remaining teammates run through the forest to the cornucopia and pick over the  weapons.

Then Katniss and her team find Johanna Mason, Wiress and Beetee which quickly team up with them and very quickly after Enobria and Brutus show up at the cornucopia and the pairs fight but then Enobria and Brutus retreat back into the woods. Later Beetee hatches a plan to kill Enobria and Brutus, and Finnick and Katniss proceed into the woods to set their trap.

But then jabberjays come and mimic Prim and a girl named Annie, nearly driving Katniss into sanity then luckily the birds die out and Katniss and Finnick take a moment to recover then go back and begin Beetee’s plan. Johanna and Katniss start by rolling out wire from a tree that is often struck by lightning. But then Johanna bashes Katniss’ head in and slices her arm in which Katniss believes is an attempt to kill her. 
Katniss survives the assault and goes to find Peeta but instead finds Beetee tied to a tree with a knife. Katniss finds out how the plan was supposed to go and finishes the job.
Katniss meets up with Gale but tragedy has struck district 12 and the capital's wrath is burning brighter than ever in her home district.
I really hated the ending of catching fire because Katniss’ life was bad enough before the hunger games and then this! It would have been so much easier to just murder Katniss in the beginning. However I really like how the arena was set up it was a lot more interesting having them know vaguely what was going to happen

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars because of the incidents in 12

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Linh Cinder is your everyday, second-class citizen--living in New Beijing. That is of-course including the fact that she is part-cyborg and has the uncanny ability to fix objects. But on her 16th birthday she get’s signed up for Letumosis research, after her mother accuses her of giving her sister, this deathly plague. (But if its deadly then why isn’t she dead too?)

The problem occurs when the prince’s dad dies, making him the new emperor, then he receives word that the (Evil) Lunar queen Levana is coming to Earth to attend the Emperor's funeral. After this, Cinder and Emperor Kai go to the Royal Ball together. But Levana notices something strange about Cinder, She is Lunar! New Beijing is harboring a criminal! After she sees this the world plummets into chaos, witch all started with Cinder being a Lunar! (which are suppose to be on Luna, or the moon rather.)

My favorite thing about the book is how it is based off of a Fairy-tale, In this case, it is cinderella. It is like a advanced, set in the future version of the original. they just rename the characters, and the plot just a tad, but never-the-less it’s still a really good book!

I think the one thing that I didn’t like about this book was they didn’t didn’t go into detail about the characters and their background, if they did, a 5 of 5.

Overall I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars

(Source)

Divergent By: Veronica Roth

The book I will be reviewing is Divergent By: Veronica Roth. This book has romance and action throughout the book.

Image from divergent.wikia.com

In this dystopian society, everyone is divided into factions. Tris Prior has decided to go to Dauntless, and there she meets Four. The handsome and mysterious guy who seems to hate her for some unknown reason. While in this faction, Tris learns certain things about herself that could be very deadly for her if anyone found out. Right now, Four is the one who can and will actually help. Without any other choices Tris must trust Four.

This is a series of three books. The next book is Insurgent and then Allegiant.

Something that I liked about this book is that it gave a lot of description about the setting, so that it’s easier to picture what the author is trying to describe.

Something I didn’t like about this book was that it was a little boring. In the beginning and the end it was okay, but in the middle there was not a lot going on and that just made it seem a little boring to me.

I give this 3 out of 5 stars