Book review: LEGEND

Legend (Legend, #1) - Marie Lu
Genre: YA dystopian
Publisher: Penguin
Source: ARC from BEA '11
Legend @ Parental Book Reviews
Recommended for: all ages

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias' death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

---
The NUMBER ONE thing about dystopian novels, for me, is believability. It's the reason I loved Divergent and the reason I'm nixing Wither and Delirium, based on other trusted reviews. I have to believe that this future is plausible. And not in some slight, "absolute power corrupts absolutely!"-kind of way. Simply put, Marie Lu created a futuristic scenario that seemed believable. Dystopians, though, don't always have to sell me something, and actually, I prefer it if they don't, or make me feel like I'm listening in on a lecture. So maybe it wasn't a symbolic criticism of communist totalitarianism, a la Brave New World, maybe it wasn't an attack on the education system's literacy issues like in Fahrenheit 451, and it wasn't...whatever The Giver was supposed to be. BUT...I can imagine a world like the one presented here, and what's more, I could watch the characters interact, run, fight, and learn with them as they unravel a network of secrets. This was my kind of novel.
And while Legend is one of a handful of dystopians centering around a militaristic society, it was one I could believe. I loved Marie Lu's futuristic Los Angeles - perfectly gritty and captivating at the same time.

Know what else was believable about Legend? The characters. Marie Lu did a fabulous job alternating narratives between Day, the Republic's most wanted criminal, and June, a young military prodigy. Usually I like either a 3rd person narrative, or just one narrator in first-person format. Here, though, it worked fabulously. Both characters were interesting at BOTH times. And I liked how June was portrayed, in a way, like a product of the system, manipulated for so long. Yeah, she sits by while some seriously disturbing things happen around her, but what's more believable - immediately questioning the society you were brought up in and turning against it, or having to learn the truth the hard way?
Won't say that much on Day - I liked him, and I especially like the way Marie chose to portray him. He had spunk and a bit of an attitude, but he never crossed the line into 'bad boy land.' Thus, he was a character I could care about, root for, and follow.
I have to give a quick mention to the villains of Legend. Commander Jameson reminded me a great deal of Dr. Cable from Uglies. Such an evil you-know-what, but dynamic, nonetheless.
Unlike a lot of other readers, I don't require a lot out of villains. I'm comfortable with them being evil-without-a-reason. I don't need to psych all the characters I read. They just need to keep my interest. Commander Jameson, while assuredly evil, was also dynamic and captivating. That's all I need in a good villain.

Legend, right at 300 pages, isn't a particularly long novel, but that's okay! One thing I like about Marie's writing style is her ability to say what needs to be said, quickly, and move on. Hey, not every novel needs to be Divergent-length. Just because it's short doesn't make it any less captivating, or any less skimpy on the details. Everything you need to know is answered, in some way, in the novel. Other things will probably be unearthed more in the sequel, which I cannot wait to have!

So if you consider yourself, AT ALL, to be a fan of dystopian, and if you're like me and getting tired of novels that are ROMANCE-first, dystopian-second, definitely check out Legend!
Rating:
Ahh, it feels so good to give out a 5-star rating again!

Legend @ Amazon
Marie Lu's website

COVER WARS!
US vs. UK/Aus cover. Which do you prefer?
vs.

In My...Suitcase!

Just got back from ALA Midwinter!

Recap will be posted later, but here are the books :)

Here was the whole stack...about 70 books, way more than at BEA!
By far, my favorite publishers were Candlewick, Harcourt, and Macmillan. Their representatives were so friendly and knowledgeable. It was absolutely great to talk to them.

The Storm Makers - Jennifer E. Smith
Three Times Lucky - Sheila Turnage
When the Sea is Rising Red - Cat Hellison
Everneath - Brodi Ashton
Seraphina - Rachel Hartman
The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind - Meg Medina
Lucky Fools - Coert Voorhees
Long Lankin - Lindsey Barraclough
When You were Mine - Rebecca Serle
BZRK - Michael Grant
The Drowned Cities - Paolo Bacigalupi
Froi of the Exiles - Melina Marchetta

Sweet Evil - Wendy Higgins
For Darkness Shows the Stars - Diana Peterfreund
The Demon Catchers of Milan - Kat Beyer
Arise - Tara Hudson
Partials - Dan Wells
Struck - Jennifer Bosworth
Renegade Magic - Stephanie Burgis
After the Snow - S.D. Crockett
Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo
Fracture - Megan Miranda
Switched - Amanda Hocking
Of Poseidon - Anna Banks
The Faerie Ring (hardcover) - Kiki Hamilton
Cinder - Marissa Meyer

Once - Anna Carey
Seeds of Rebellion (Beyonders, #2) - Brandon Mull
Every Other Day - Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Gilt - Katherine Longshore
Chronicles of Egg: Deadwater and Sunrise - Geoff Rodkey
Insignia - S.J. Kincaid
Belles - Jen Calonita
The Catastrophic History of You and Me - Jess Rothenberg
Waking Storms - Sarah Porter
Dust Girl - Sarah Zettel
The Book of Blood and Shadow - Robin Wasserman
The Hunt - Andrew Fukuda
Down the Mysterly River - Bill Willingham

Enchanted - Alethea Kontis
Wonder Show - Hannah Barnaby
The False Prince - Jennifer Nielsen
Grave Mercy - Robin LaFevers
Illuminate - Aimee Agresti
The Springsweet - Saundra Mitchell
Prairie Evers - Ellen Airgood
Monument 14 - Emmy Laybourne
Ripper - Amy Carol Reeves
The Story of Us - Deb Caletti
Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone - Kat Rosenfield
The Difference Between You and Me - Madeleine George
Losers in Space - John Barnes
The Gathering Storm - Robin Bridges
The Deserter - Peadar O Guilin

Kiss, Crush, Collide - Christina Meredith
Fear (Gone, #5) - Michael Grant
Pretty Crooked - Elisa Ludwig
Arcadia Awakens - Kai Meyer
A Confusion of Princes - Garth Nix
The Calling (Darkness Rising, #2) - Kelley Armstrong
Until I Die - Amy Plum
Faery Tales and Nightmares - Melissa Marr
The Sweetest Spell - Suzanne Selfors
Hemlock - Katherine Peacock
Such Wicked Intent (His Dark Endeavor, #2) - Kenneth Oppel
Storyhound -
Bitterblue (Seven Kingdoms, #3) - Kristin Cashore

:D

In addition to nabbing great books, I also got to meet some great bloggers and Goodreaders as well! I had a great time with Lena from Addicted 2 Novels, Sasha from Sasha & Em: A Tale of Two Bookies, Michelle from Windowpane Memoirs, Jess from Gone with the Words, and lots of others :D But I spent the most amount of time with the lovely Christie at The Fiction Enthusiast, whom I've "known" on the blog circuit for a few years now, and my buddy Lyndsey from Strangemore (and Goodreads!) It was a BLAST.
BLOGGERS AND GOODREADERS: If you live anywhere near Anaheim, CA or Seattle, WA, you have *got* to make plans to attend the next ALA events! Annual will be held in the summer in Anaheim, and the next Midwinter meeting will be in Seattle. These are incredible events for all kinds of book lovers - librarians, bloggers, or readers. I saw several groups of kids affiliated with schools who were going around the exhibit hall as well. To me at least, ALA Midwinter was a much less hectic, more organized event. I highly recommend attending the next conferences if you live in the vicinity. And of course, there's always BEA '12 in NYC!!! So I'll see you all in New York!

gone to ALA Midwinter!

From Friday-Sunday, I'll be attending ALA's Midwinter Conference "deep in the heart" in Dallas, Texas.
Will resume regular blogging next week!
(And I'll actually be able to do a Mailbox post!)

I'll be tweeting about books, authors, and such here:
@alwaysamelia

Top 10 Maggie Moments from "Downton Abbey"!

Has anybody else caught the Downton fever?I love all of the characters in the huge ensemble cast of "Downton Abbey," but for me, Dame Maggie Smith steals the show each week. Almost makes me forget about a certain Minerva McGonagall...almost (:

So here are the Top 10 Maggie moments from season 1 of "Downton Abbey"




Seriously, who needs Betty White when you've got freaking Maggie Smith?

So put that in your pipe and smoke it!

weekly HOBBIT video #3

Here is the third production video/making-of documentary, originally uploaded by the production team of THE HOBBIT!

Review - THE FAERIE RING

The Faerie Ring - Kiki Hamilton
Genre: Young Adult historical fantasy
# of pages: 363 (ARC)
Publisher: Tor Teen (Macmillan)
The Faerie Ring @ Parental Book Reviews
Recommended for: All Ages

In an effort to crack down on in depth-but-rambling reviews, I'm going to structure this by pros & cons

Pros
Premise: The Faerie Ring has a lot of positive qualities. For one thing, Tor Teen knows how to write a synopsis that draws in a reader: "Prince, pauper, thief...all must work together to secure the treaty..." As soon as I read this last sentence, I was hooked. I had to get my hands on this book. And the premise was very interesting. I'm sure we've all read faerie books before, but I can't name another one off the top of my head that takes place in Victorian London and attempts to create a shaky relationship between the British crown and the faerie courts. I would say that the story's setup was rather original (no modern-day teenage girl finding out she's a faerie princess, in other words). In fact, the whole setup was very promising and I was resolved, no matter what, to see this story through to the end. More on this later.

Readability: In addition to a genuinely interesting plot, The Faerie Ring has what I'd call a good readability factor. It's the kind of book that I can easily recommend to a wide variety of readers: middle school and high school alike, as well as adults. For me, that is a huge deal and a big plus in this novel's favor. I like books with zero content, and not because I'm a rigid prude or anything like that, but it is always good to have books that I can easily recommend. And it's not just a content issue: The Faerie Ring had enough action and suspense and very little romance that I think boys and action/adventure-preferring girls will be able to enjoy this novel as well

Cons
Plot issues: The more I delved in to this, the more convoluted and "messy" the plot became. About 100 pages from the end, I had no idea who had this dadgum ring that everybody's chasing around, and I didn't really care, either. I just wanted it to end.
...
That's rarely a good thing for a reader to say: "I just wanted it all to be over." And yet that's how I felt. It's hard to describe without going into spoilery details, but it seemed like the characters - heroine Tiki in particular - just started taking 1 chapter to do something that she could've done in 1 page's worth of time.

Believability: But the main thing about the plot had to do with believability. I just couldn't totally climb on board with a lot of things that happened in this novel because they seemed so far-fetched.
Tiki is a barrister's daughter who knows how to read (at a high reading level, I might add) and dance and is skilled in etiquette, yet through totally random circumstances she finds herself a street urchin pick-pocketing with a family of other orphans to make ends meet. I never felt enough desperation for her circumstances. They always made stole just enough money, had just enough food...they seemed like a very functional family. I argue that among street urchins in Victorian London, 'functional' might not be desired result. At one point, the orphans find a dress so that Tiki can 'go undercover' (for lack of a better phrase) at a royal ball held at Buckingham Palace. With a bath, a cute hairdo, and a dress that's been hemmed just right, Tiki manages to fool everybody (including two princes) into thinking she's part of the landed gentry. Um, really...?
So much of this 300+ page novel just seemed like a stretch to believe. Everything was a little too easy, a little too convenient.
And while I wasn't moved by the love story element, there wasn't really wrong with it, either. Same old scenario: girl holds the guy at arms length and basically acts crabby until 2/3 of the way in, then decides she's in love and has been all along! Okay, I guess. It's better than having a content issue.

But that's me. I've lost count of how many books I've read since August 2008 when all this started. I feel like I've read it all before, and as a result, it takes way more to make an impression on me. So would I recommend The Faerie Ring?
Absolutely. There's nothing particularly wrong with it - it just didn't hold my attention.
But I'm older, I'm pickier, and I'm just ADD-enough that unless there genuinely well-written dialogue, or a fight scene involving a sword, or SWEET romance (not inappropriate and not clean-but-crabby) or talking mice...I get distracted.

In-a-sentence:
Although The Faerie Ring didn't end up holding my attention for a number of reasons, I'm almost positive that you won't be as picky or easily-distracted as I am, so give it a go. It's a quick read that is fairly original and good enough for all 11+ages.

Book Quote of the Week!

Book Quote of the Week


"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."


From: The Four Loves
Author: C.S. Lewis
Genre: Adult nonfiction (apologetics)