My New Gig!

I have some exciting news!
I am officially on board with Book People, the largest independent book store in Texas! I will be writing YA reviews along with other book-hungry teenagers with a passion for writing, interviewing authors, artsy festivals, and blogging!
This new opportunity is such a blessing and I hope it expands and exposes me to a world of fun! :)

The Selection Falls Short

I give The Selection two and half beans out of five and here's why:

While America Singer supposedly does not want to be part of the Selection, a fierce competition between 35 girls to be crowned princess and wife of gorgeous and breathtaking Prince Maxon of Illea, she knows her obvious looks and musical talents could save her family from continuous poverty.
A girl has to make her sacrifices, doesn't she?
But as time passes amidst the glorious presence of his Majesty and maids at her service every hour of the day, she begins to realize that her presumptions of Prince Maxon may have been way too harsh for reality.
Not only that, but he two-year long love of poor boy Aspen remains in the back of her mind through out this televised contest.

The problem I had with this new, futuristic novel that's a first in a trilogy is that too many of the other characters (the other girls competing for the crown, the king and queen) were one dimensional. I felt that while reading, I couldn't feel the competition spirit in the air. It was a bit plotless and I felt like these girls were just roaming around the castle, no real competitive things to prove whether they were princess material or if they were clear compatible matches with Prince Maxon. They had to wait around for someone to slip up and be unladylike, then Maxon would ask for them to pack their things and leave.
Honestly, I didn't see the severity. I felt, while reading, that if Kate Brian, fantastic author of the incredibly mysterious drama series "Private", had written this, girls would have broken rules more often, setting up disastrous pranks, and had teamed up to drive out girls for the taking of the crown. If they really wanted it that bad.
The cover of the book says: 35 girls. 1 crown. The competition of a lifetime. Though, it didn't live up to its expectations.
For apparent reasons, I found myself wanting more. There should have been more. It was quite disappointing. On the good side, I saw flashing elements of a good love story. I liked Aspen and America Singer together, but when Prince Maxon walked into the picture and they formed a likable alliance of friendship, I began to second-guess it all. There was strange, misguided, and unresolved dialogue that didn't get anywhere.
Wooops, I'm talking about the negative parts again. I guess they outweigh the good. Regardless, the conclusion of the book felt like I was still on page one. Nothing was solved, no cliffhangers, and no plot-twists, and definitely no gut-churning surprises or omg-worthy secrets coming to the light.
Oh well. Regardless, I'll still come skipping to Barnes 'n Noble when the sequel comes out. It still kept me interested enough to discover whether she will make her decision on who to end up with, if the competition is worth it, and if the dangers of her country will keep her from her dreams.

Insurgent (Divergent #2)

It's coming and I can't wait to find out what will await Tris, Four, and the people that are pulling the strings in the feuding factions of Roth's alluring dystopian trilogy.

Beautiful cover, don't you think? Can anyone take a hint on what this cover (the tree and the colors) represent? < Probably a question for true Divergent fans.

neck crooks from late-night reading and tantalizing books for brain-feeding,

ReaderBean

The Final Delirium Book

"Requiem"

Are. You. Kidding. Me?

This sounds EPIC. And guess what! This trilogy is! And I can ONLY imagine the beautiful and enticing cover that will follow up such a precious name for the final book in the series.

I feel like I'm hyperventilating! Someone bring me more oxygen, please. These books tug my heart in places I'd rather they wouldn't but they do. You know when you begin watching a TV series that just ends up being so FREAKING delicious that you can't get enough of it and you almost want to stop because it's so addicting and emotional and destroys and builds and corrupts your heart all at the same time?

That's the Delirium Trilogy for me, people. It drags me in like pull of the moon on our oceanic tides.

Lethal and beautiful at the same time. And there are only FEW things that can do that to me. So these books are certainly special.

Pick them up, read them, and fall into the pits of obsession with me. I insist.

Divergent - Review

Fast forward, people. It's a futuristic Chicago divided into factions everyone is born into based on selflessness (Abnegation), bravery (Dauntless), honesty (Candor), intelligence (Erudite), and kindness (Amity).

Beatrice Prior, a sixteen-year-old Abnegation girl, must choose the faction she will become part of for the rest of her life.
Will she stay with her family or abandon them for her heart's desire?
Shortly after her selection, she is thrown into a foreign world, including an older boy with a mysterious attitude and a jumbled past. As he deals with his own rivalries and she copes with this unpredictable lifestyle she has thrown herself into, the world of factions in which she lives in is gradually conjuring a scent of war in the air.
Every decision she makes will determine the fate of her life and the people surrounding her.

Full of secrets, pain, staggering discoveries, breathtaking imagery, tear-jerking action, and gut-churning revelations, this book turns you upside down and inside out as you're clawing for the sequel after such an incredibly wicked ending. This debut novel by Veronica Roth ensures that there's world-building to be done, more of Beatrice's transformation to be made, and a strong heroine for the book to elevate in such an already riveting and fresh dystopian trilogy.

Four out of five beans for this brand new author that latched on to the hearts of many YA-loving, dystopian-obsessed fans out there. While there lacks a bit of world-building and an understanding of how Chicago came to be the way it is, I'm hoping for explanations in the sequel to this fantastic epic, titled--interestingly--Insurgent.