Review: Legend By Marie Lu

Set in a dystopian future, in a Los Angeles that is at war, plague-ridden and divided, Legend is told from two perspectives: that of Day, a Robin Hood-like fugitive trying to protect those he loves, and June, a Government golden girl bent on avenging her lost brother. They're both strong characters, but while Day is easy to like, June took a while to warm to. It was so obvious the Republic was evil, and yet she was on their side for much of the book, making it hard to sympathise with her. Of course, she's a privileged teen who has been brought up to believe in her Government, so it's natural for her to have that viewpoint, but then again, she's supposed to be a freaking prodigy, so it was extremely frustrating that she took so long to figure things out - and even then, she couldn't do it on her own. It was a bit unbelievable and made it hard to really get behind her.

Day, on the other hand, was the underdog from the start - and who can resist the underdog?! Not June, that's for sure. Their romance was inevitable, but perhaps because I didn't particularly like June, I didn't really feel any chemistry between them. I could see why they were a good fit for each other, but I just wasn't aching for them to get together. It was also difficult to believe that both Day and June were 15. Even taking into account all they've been through, they didn't really feel like 15-year-olds at all. I know it's YA, but I don't get why they need to be SO young - you could make the characters 18 and it wouldn't make any difference. If anything, it would make it feel slightly more authentic.

The story itself was good and fast-paced, and I was glad to see that it was quite different from The Hunger Games (the only other YA dystopian I've read), but unfortunately it was pretty predictable. On the plus side, Lu's world-building was strong, and although I would have liked a bit more detail about the history of the Republic, it did feel like a realistic (if terrifying) possibility. Lu's writing was smooth and it's a credit to her that, after just reading a book written in the present tense and not enjoying the style, I didn't even notice until I was near the end of Legend that it, too, was written in the present tense. It was so effective and fluid I didn't consciously register it or feel put off at all.

One little niggle I have to express - and it's not with Legend in particular, but with what seems to be most YA books these days - is that the story isn't contained within one book. It's not that I don't like series, because I do, but I still feel that within a series, each book should tell a complete story even if there's a larger story arc. Legend did do this to some degree, but there were a few threads left hanging that irked me a bit. If it wasn't a consistent thing across many series, it probably wouldn't have bothered me at all. As it is, it just made me roll my eyes. All in all, Legend was a good book that didn't quite blow me away.

Rating: 3.5/5

Eye Candy
Day is described as Caucasian/Mongolian, with white-blonde, long hair, piercing blue eyes and a beautiful face. He was tough to "cast", but I imagined him as Jamie Campbell Bower:

June is athletic, with dark hair and black-gold eyes (side note: have you ever met anyone with black eyes? I don't think I have. They seem to crop up a bit in fiction). I pictured Nina Dobrev (June totally wears a pretty white gown in the book, so I thought this pic was appropriate):

Fine Print
Genre: Dystopian/Young Adult
Published: December 2011, Razorbill
Get It: Book Depository

Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I was surprised at the strong reaction I had to City of Bones, the story of the mysterious underworld of New York City (no, not the mob - the paranormal). You see, it made me freaking mad.

I wasn't mad the whole way through, of course. At first, I felt kinda "meh", and wondered why everyone raves about the book so much - more specifically, the love interest, Jace Wayland (he just wasn't doing it for me)...

Then, about a third of the way in, I really got into the action and found it hard to put down. I loved Clary, the strong, smart, quick-witted protagonist, and Jace was growing on me. I enjoyed their relationship, and thought how refreshing it was that there were no apparent obstacles for them being together (though I did wonder how the tension would be sustained throughout the rest of the series)...

Little did I know there was a big freaking twist at the end...

Yeah, that about sums up how I feel about the book right now. I liked it overall; though there were a few inconsistencies in the plot, it moved along at a good pace and provided plenty of action, while the characters were all likable and real (er, as real as Shadowhunters can be, that is). I saw one twist coming a mile away, but there was another that, as you might be able to tell, I was NOT expecting. I usually enjoy when that happens - it's definitely a sign of good writing - but this one just made me very cranky. I nearly threw my book across the room, I was so mad; instead I just ranted to my poor fiance for five minutes while he nodded along with a bemused expression on his face that said, "I'm trying to look interested because it interests you, but really I don't care, because it's a BOOK." When that didn't satisfy me, I went to Google - yep, I looked up spoilers. They calmed me enough to make me want to continue with the series... but I'm still kinda mad.

Rating: 3/5

Spoilery Talking Points

• There's not much I can say except... WTF?! I was not expecting incest in this book. I was most shocked that, in all the praise I'd read for it, I'd never come across any mention of this little twist. I wondered how everyone could swoon over Jace if he's in love with his sister. Which made me think maybe she wasn't after all, and sent me searching for spoilers. But I was still surprised the book ended with you thinking Clary and Jace are siblings... in love. Seriously, WTF?!
• One thing I wasn't surprised about was Valentine being Clary's father. What a creep! I was kinda disappointed with Jace in the end when he so readily believed everything Valentine said... but then, I guess he'd be pretty messed up after the years of emotional and physical abuse he endured. That hunting bird story?! Yikes.
• I'm sure there were other things I wanted to discuss, but I'm finding it hard to get past anything other than the brother/sister thing right now... Was anyone else as shocked or angry as me after reading this book?

Eye Candy
With Jamie Campbell Bower and Lily Collins cast as Jace and Clary in the upcoming movie, I automatically pictured them.

I think Lily totally works for Clary, but despite Jamie Campbell Bower's prettiness, Jace was coming off more creepy than cool when I pictured him. So I didn't get far before I switched to picturing...

Alex Pettyfer, circa 2008 when he had longer hair on his head and less on his face. Also, before I knew he was such a douche. Though the douchiness kinda works for Jace (well, the arrogant part of it anyway). As for the others, I pictured Nina Dobrev as Isabelle, Ethan Peck as Alec and Penn Badgley as Simon.

Fine Print
Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal
Published: 2007
Publisher: Walker Books
Get it: Book Depository

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Hellooooooo, PeeGale!

That's right, I finally read The Hunger Games. I finally understand what all the hype is about. I was afraid it wouldn't live up to it - but it did! I've avoided it for so long because this kind of story is not usually my thing. Y'know, the whole dystopian future thing, where the most popular reality TV show is so, so much scarier than Jersey Shore, as the country watches children fight to the death - it just doesn't usually do it for me. Except now I think maybe it does. Or this series does, at least.


What really drew me in was the characters. They're brilliantly established with a surprising amount of depth - especially Gale, who barely gets any face time in the book and yet is such a strong presense. I immediately liked the fierce Katniss, and was so happy to meet a protagonist who could put the "hero" in heroine. Collins' prose is well-paced and easy-to-read, and while a half-starved fighter like Katniss isn't exactly someone I have a lot in common with, I was completely immersed in her, feeling everything she felt. To the point where I'm firmly on the fence between Peeta and Gale. Seriously, those guys - wow, who could pick between them? Team PeeGale all the way!


I have to admit, initially I was a bit suss about reading yet ANOTHER love triangle, and a couple of times I did think, "Really? The only way to survive is to get all romantic?!" But hey, I'm a sucker for romance, so I guess the citizens of the Capitol must be, too. Plus, Collins has crafted such great characters that it's a very interesting triangle, at least. The only thing I don't like is that Katniss can't choose both... or can she? Does polygamy fly in YA? Probably not - maybe I'll have to check out the fanfic to get my way. Until then, I'm launching straight in to Catching Fire. I'm addicted. It's about time, right?


Rating: 4/5


Spoilery Talking Points

• Rue, ohmygosh, that was hard to read. 
• A couple of things I still don't quite get are why Peeta teamed up with the Careers to start with (the only thing I could think of was to keep them away from Katniss?!), and also what the hell was going on with those muttations. Were they just made to look like the dead contestants? Or had they actually been transformed into those wolfie creatures? Huh?
• I wanted more Gale - especially at the end. I felt a bit robbed of his reunion with Katniss, and I wanted to know his reaction to everything that went down in the Games.
• I felt so bad for Peeta at the end. He's done so much for Katniss and loved her for so long, without her even knowing. Poor guy!

Eye Candy
I can see now why there's been so much controversy over the casting. But I think Jennifer Lawrence will make a great Katniss - the guys, I'm not so sure about. Especially Josh Hutcherson as Peeta. Though I guess he must have done something impressive to be cast. Still, he's definitely not my idea of Peeta. In my head, for the moment, the characters look like:

Nina Dobrev (Katniss)

Gregg Sulkin (Gale)

Alex Pettyfer (Peeta)

 

Review: The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries, Vol. 1: Origins

Whew. Is that a long title or what? I didn't even include the author in my post heading - mainly because I'm not quite sure who wrote it. The cover says "based on the novels by L. J. Smith and the TV series by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec", and  there's no other mention of who the author is. I'm not sure if this means L. J. Smith wrote it, but I'm assuming she didn't, because it's a total departure from her original Vampire Diaries books.

Stefan's Diaries is, as the name suggests, told from the perspective of Stefan Salvatore. It's a prequel to the TV show (which is based on L. J. Smith's books), telling more of the story that viewers have seen only glimpses of in flashback scenes. We see Stefan and his brother, Damon, meet the vampire Katherine; each fall in love with her; become vampires themselves; and end up hating each other (no spoiler alert is necessary because knowing that is kinda the whole motive for reading the book).

I picked this book up after experiencing major VD withdrawals (ahem, no pun intended) due to the show being on hiatus, and it definitely gave me the fix I needed (although I would have preferred a bit more Damon, but I'm biased). I loved the flashback episodes on TV, so it was a delight for me to be able to discover the whole back story in detail. The writing was adequate with only a few groan-worthy moments (actually less than I was expecting!), and even though I knew exactly where the story was going, I was excited to find out how everything would fall into place.

Being totally obsessed with the TV show, it's hard for me to say whether this would appeal to those who haven't seen it, because, to me, that was the whole appeal. It'd definitely be confusing if you've only read L. J. Smith's original Vampire Diaries books, because in those, the back story of the brothers is completely different (they're alive in the 1600s, not the 1800s, and are from Italy, not Mystic Falls, and, er, Damon is kinda evil from the start). If you are a fan of the TV show, however, I would say it's definitely worth a read. I totally want to rewatch the show from the beginning now, with all this knowledge of the characters' history and headspaces. Like I need an excuse.

Rating: 3/5.

Talking Points

• Although the writer attempted to go all olde worlde with the language, it was really jarring for the characters to refer to everyone - including people they'd just met and their elders - by their first names. I might be wrong (but I don't think I am), but that's a MODERN thing.
• While we're on the subject, I also thought Katherine's character was a tad modern. I get that she's supposed to be a free-spirited, strong-willed vampire chick, but all the flirting/touching/swimming/running/skin-baring she does in public would have been just a bit more scandalous than it's shown to be.
• I'd like to know more about Katherine's interactions with Damon. We get the full picture of how she got Stefan to fall in love with her, and how he turned against her, but we still don't understand exactly what she said or, ahem, did with Damon. She told Stefan that she treated him like a brother, but given Damon's feelings for her, I somehow don't think that's true. Damon's Diaries, anyone? *Wishful thinking*
• (Minor spoiler alert) It was interesting that the writer introduced the crow at the end, and its apparent connection to Damon. The crow appeared in L. J. Smith's original books, as well as in the pilot episode of the show, but has since disappeared from the series without a mention. I wonder if they'll explain more about the connection in the other two volumes of Stefan's Diaries.
• Which brings me to the fact that, yes, this is part one of a trilogy. When I first started reading it I thought that, while this book really appealed to me, I didn't really see the point of turning it into a trilogy, because the back story/love triangle is pretty much totally explained in this one. However, after finishing it - and reading the preview of the next book - I'm kind of curious to read the rest. It might be interesting to see exactly how Stefan found his way back to his humanity, Damon lost his, and they totally lost each other. And, of course, how they discovered the rumours about Katherine's whereabouts and what drove their return to Mystic Falls (assuming all that is covered in the books, of course).

Eye Candy
What the characters looked like was a bit of a no-brainer for this one, seeing as, y'know, it's based on the TV show that I'm just slightly addicted to. I even had the flashback episodes as a visual references for the old timey clothes. Not gonna lie, though - I pictured Stefan and Damon's modern hair. Their old timey hair just sucks.

Damon knows the trick to covering bad hair days...

...he never leaves home without a hat.

Otherwise people laugh at him. Oh Damon, don't look so concerned - you only have to wait 250 years for the GHD.

In the meantime, be grateful that your hair still looks better than Stefan's.

Hoorah for GHDs and hair gel!

Wait a minute, I don't remember a reference to Damon shirtless. *rereading*

Did someone say Damon shirtless?

Why, yes, I believe I did.

I think we need that from another angle. You know, for accuracy purposes. Or something.

So THAT'S what he'd look like sleeping.

OK, I'm done now.