Showing posts with label love triangle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love triangle. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Dystopian April #5: Pandemonium



WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS


I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Review:
Okay, first of all, let me just start out by saying this book was incredible. I loved it. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The tension and the suspene was there from the middle to the end. The beginning the soft recovering Lena goes through was just right. GOD! I dont' like it that I have to wait forever for the last one!

Okay, so, the book takes place six months after Lena escaped Portland. Now you're wondering what happened in those six months? Well, in the book, for the most of it, it goes back and forth between Now and Then. Then being when Lena was in the Wilds recovering and trying to put herself back together. Now being the six months later and Lena's in New York on an undercover mission. I personally like it when there's flashback in a book. It gives more background information about what happened in the past and what didn't.

In the book, we get introducted to a new set of Invalids, the Scavengers, and a new organization, the Deliria-Free Americ, or DFA. The Scavengers want the cure completely gone. The DFA want the cure done even earlier. They use Thomas Fineman's, the leader, son, Julian, as an example on why because he's dying of a tumor in his brain. They say the cure will save him. Gah. That's b.s. But later on at the rally, well, something happens and it's kinda obvious if you're extremely smart. After I read, I said to myself "Duh. Why didn't I see this coming?" I really liked what happened, I just hate it how and why Julian and Lena were involved in it.

One thing I was somewhat disappointed in was that I expected there to be much more action. I figured that there be some big rebellion and Lena would be a part of it. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of action, but it contained a surprise attack and some fighting toward the end. I just wish there was more.

Lena in this book is so different from Delirium. In Delirium, she's the good girl that falls in love and starts taking risks. In Pandemonium, she's fearless, bold, and a good fighter. In the Then chapters, she's very weak, but as she goes through the months trying to gain her strength, she starts to become stronger in mind and body. But despite this, she still has nightmares about Alex, her mom, and some of the other people she left behind, which sometimes comes back to her during the day, making her vulnerable.

Julian. I didn't like him at first because he felt more like a child than a teenager to me. He was molded in to be a perfect child. He didn't know how Lena would act or what to do if and when they got free from their prison. Afterwards, when Lena starts getting weak a bit, he does start acting like his age and helping her and talking to others. But I think it's mostly because he's never been around girls that I thought he acted like a child. But due to his curiosity and his newness to Love, he starts to fall for Lena.

Speaking of falling, I hate it that Alex was not in the book. Well, he was, but in spirit. I will say that Lena thought he was dead since she hear no word about him from the beginning, leaving her cause to fall for another. BUT IT SUCKS! I loved Alex. And I feel that Lena just kinda forgot about Alex and moved on to Julian, who I don't think they should be 'in love' because they didn't know each other for that long. I think they just both wanted to feel again. But what happens at the end. I hated it!

The rest of the characters were very well developed, each with their own story and personality. I hated Raven's back story. It was so sad. And what happened to her later on in the book got me so frustrated! I wanted to punch something. And then there was the surprise near the end of the book with a character you wouldn't have thought was still alive. I was like "No way. This can't be." It was amazing!

Wish Alex was in this book more.

Future: One more. That's depressing just thinking about it.

Quotes:

Dialogue between Julian and Lena on page 300. Some parts were left out.

"What does it feel like to be infected?"
"I--I can't describe it."
"I want to know." His words are a whisper, barely audible. "I want to know with you."

"Don't believe her." Page. 175. Read it and you'll understand.


This book had me sitting on edge the whole time. Suspene, drama, and romance don't lack in this book. Beware for an emotional, action packed ride of your life.


Rating
It was AMAZING! I want to say I couldn't put it down, but my weekend got busy.

Cover:
You can really see the difference in the covers. Lena on Delirium is the good girl, whereas on Pandemonium she's the girl with attitude that will kick butt when needed.

Ending:
(Pardon my language.)
F*** Cliffhangers!


*Won this book.


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Saturday, March 10, 2012

Contemporary March #8: Lola and the Boy Next Door


*CONTAINS SPOILERS

 
Goodreads: Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door
.

 
Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door has a classic plot to it with a twist.
Plot:
  • Girl's dating a boy.
  • Girl's best guy friend likes her likes her.
  • Girl starts returning the feelings.
  • Girl is torn between the boys.
  • Girl breaks up with boyfriend.
  • Girl gets together with bgf.
  • Happy Ending
The twist:
  • Boyfriend is 5 years older than the girl.
  • Girl's virginity isn't precious. She already lost it to the boyfriend.
  • B.G.F. was once a 'boyfriend' to the girl, but then had to move, again.
  • In my opinion, boyfriend is looking for a good time instead of commitment (even though he says he loves her).
  • Sex plays a decent role in the book.
  • Girl is into making costumes.
  • Parents are gay.
This book was okay. I liked it, but I didn't love it. It wasn't one of those book that instantly clicked with me. Maybe it was because I was reading one book for English that took up most of my time (The Grapes of Wrath--horrible book), or that I was reading another book on the side. I don't know, but don't get me wrong, I did like it.

I want to say it was the classic plot. Girl getting through high school with an extremely close friend and a talent most people think is weird. I've several books like this. The only differences were the ones I listed above. I mean, how many books like this have you read with gay awesome parents? Not many.

One thing I did really like about this book was the way they protrayed sex. In the book, Lola does lose her virginity prior to the book to her boyfriend, and then has sex at least twice more afterward. So, instead of that "Oh, I'm going to wait until marriage to have sex!", Perkins shows what really happens these days with high schoolers/young people dating. More and more teens are having sex these days. I'm surprised that the sales of birth-control haven't spiked yet. But at least it isn't innocent love.

Cricket. Loved him. I feel sorry for him though. According to him, his great-great-great grandfather, Alexander Graham Bell, stole the idea of the telephone from someone else and took all the credit. And hates that the money the family has comes from the stolen idea. Plus, he feeling that his genius in engineering is a bit bad because of who he got it from. Though he does like his talent too.
Cricket isn't like most boys in YA. He's a tall, lanky, cute nerd. Not a hunk. It's different and I like it. Plus, he has cool pimp-stripped pants. :D And he's only a year older than Lola. It's better than five.

Lola is a different heroine from most YA heroines. Instead of being a paranormal fighter or some soft sweet girl or a girl trying to find her life, she's just a regular girl wanting to get through life with her mother bothering her family and having fun with her boyfriend while working at the local theather. A lot, but she's pretty normal, except the fact she wears costumes she creates and wiggs. Now, most people would view this as weird and she trying to hide who is actually is, like what her jackass (pardon my French, but it's true) boyfriend thinks, but it's the way she expresses herself. Plus, it shows off what she can do. The only thing I didn't like was her choice of a boyfriend. She could do so much better. Her boyfriend, Max, screams bad boy/gang member/pot head, which he is 2/3 of it. Thank God....let's leave it at that.

Calliope is a brat. From a young age, she's been a competitive figureskater. And with that, her schedule and coaches have made the family move constantly to the point where both were homeschooled. Cricket hates it, but no one really cares. And because they were always traveling, Cricket was her only friend. And she got protective of him, and because she didn't want to be lonely or be left behind when he went to college, she tried to push Lola away from him. What a brat! I really hate people like this. I wish they would stop thinking of themselves and see that keeping that sibling close to them is doing damage.

Future: Standalone.

Quotes:

"No. You're delightfully screwy, and I wouldn't have you any other way. Drink your tea." Max (unfortunately) pg. 17

Despite the fact that I didn't love this book, I still recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary. It's a cute read filled with costumes and gadgets made by our colorful characters.

Rating:
Cover:
Ending:



*I won this book. No review necessitary.


 

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Up Next:

Actually, the review for this will be up soon. I finished this one Thursday. :D