The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
★★★★★

Offred is a handmaid's whose story unfolds in Atwood's famous dystopian novel. She lives in a world run by men, where women are powerless. They've lost their right to make decision, to learn how to read and even to have a job. The rulers claim they have "freed" the women from the painful tasks of having to find a husband or take care of themselves. Any women who are fertile are turned into handmaids and assigned to a home where they are forced to bear children for a married couple.

When I began the book I assumed this was a dystopian set decades in the future, where the women had no memory of life as we know it. I quickly learned that Offred used to have a job, money of her own, a husband and child, etc. The decline into her current policed state was swift and terrifying. That realization made the book even more chilling because it's all too easy to imagine it happening today.

I loved Atwood's bleak prose. Offred's resignation and despair were palpable. The tense relationships between the characters were thrilling. Offred was forced to walk a tight rope of suspicion in every conversation, never knowing who she could trust.

In one scene Offred is using butter she hid and saved from a meal as lotion on her skin. It's been so long since she's been anything but the potential carrier of a child that the concept of being loved is almost obsolete to her now. She says...

"As long as we do this, butter our skin to keep it soft, we can believe that we will some day get out, that we will be touched again, in love or desire."
It was the small acts of rebellion like this, breed from a spark of hope, that made Offred such a heartbreaking character. After Offred loses her ability to support herself she struggles in her relationship with her husband. That shift of dependence in their relationship changed everything...

"We are not each other's, anymore. Instead, I am his."

BOTTOM LINE: I can't recommend this book highly enough. Though it's more than 30 years old, it's more relevant than ever. Atwood's writing reveals the story bit by bit, allowing the horror of the changed society to creep up slowly.I read it for the first time in 2010 and rereading it this year gave the story even more depth.

The Chemical Garden Trilogy

Wither 

(Book 1 of the Chemical Garden Trilogy) 

by Lauren DeStefano 

★★★★ 

Dystopian YA trilogy, there are so many of them!!! After a while they all blur together and honestly this one falls somewhere in the middle of the pack. After reading quite a few heavy books I was in the mood for something quick and fun and this one worked well. 

The first book in the series sucks you in from the first page. Rhine, a teenager with wild hair and different colored eyes, is kidnapped from Manhattan where she lived with her twin brother Rowan. She, along with two other girls, is taken to become a child bride to a rich man, Linden. Even though she’s only 16-years-old, this practice is completely normal in the twisted society the world has become. 

Decades earlier geneticists found a cure for cancer, but in doing so they destroyed the human race. The “cured” generation seems almost immortal, but their children only live to be 20 if they are female and 25 if they are male. The world has been like this for years and the ensuing chaos and overwhelming number of orphans is heartbreaking. 

The two other brides, the aloof Jenna and ditzy Cecily live with Rhine in a mansion that’s more prison than paradise. As Rhine plans her escape she tries to understand the world around her. Although it seems almost harmless on the surface, her father-in-law, Vaughn, runs a darker world behind the scenes in the mansion. An attendant named Gabriel provides a source of comfort in the midst of her loneliness.

Fever 

by Lauren DeStefano 

★★☆ 

Fever picks up right where Wither drops off. Gabriel and Rhine are on the run. They find themselves at a macabre carnival full of things to fear. It felt like a filler book to me. The new characters made more sense after reading the third book, but at the time many of them feel random and over-the-top. I also felt like Rhine and Gabriel’s relationship was always tenuous at best. Fever made me feel even less invested in it somehow. I felt like the whole book could have been a few extra chapters at the end of Wither and the beginning of Sever. 

Sever 

by Lauren DeStefano

★★★☆ 

This final installment dug into the meat of the history of this dystopia. Up to this point DeStefano has only ever hinted at the research that was being done to find a cure. In Sever she is able to fully explore the history of Rhine’s parents, the virus and even Linden and his father’s relationship. I loved having the chance to learn about the background of the characters. We also got the chance to see main characters, like Linden, deepen and show more layers. Cecily was such an insipid, annoying girl in the first two books, but in Sever she becomes a strong woman who stands up for herself and her family. 

For the first time I final cared about Linden, who waffled through the first two books, skimming the surface but rarely leaving a lasting impact. Seeing both Vaughn and Linden’s motivations lent a much-needed sympathy to the characters. I loved Reed, Vaughn’s prickly brother. I felt like Sever did so much to flesh out the characters. I was frustrated at times with Rhine’s passive nature. It seemed like she kept waiting for someone else to take action. She was along for the ride instead of fighting for what she wanted. She would hold her tongue in situations where it seemed vital that she explain why she was doing what she was doing. 

BOTTOM LINE: The trilogy was just what I wanted, fast reads with enthralling plots. There are definitely pieces that feel like they come straight from another dystopian trilogy, like the constant primping of the girls by attendants (Hunger Games) or the brother who becomes a supporter of the villains’ plans (Divergent), but overall I was entertained. I didn’t like them enough to ever re-read them. The characters were often too wooden, the plot too predictable, but they are great for a reading break when you need one. 

“I didn’t dare touch her. Loss is a knowledge I’m sorry to have. Perhaps the only thing worse than experiencing it is watching it reply anew in someone else – all its awful stages picking up like a chorus that has to be sung.”

Mini Reviews: Whale Rider, Here and Now and Cinder

 
Whale Rider
by Witi Ihimaera
★★★
 
I was interested in this one because I’ve been wanting to read more books set in New Zealand and Australia before I travel there later this year. This fictional story introduces us to Kahu, the 8-year-old granddaughter of the Maori chief Koro. She is a disappointment to Koro because only sons can carry on the honored tradition of being a Maori whale rider. Despite Kahu’s clear connection with the whales, her grandfather never sees her for who she is.
 
BOTTOM LINE: The short novel doesn’t give readers long to get to know the characters and perhaps that was why I didn’t love it. I definitely liked learning more about the Maori culture and reading more about the myths in their culture. It’s also a great story for young girls to read. It encourages them to embrace who they are, even if society tells them they aren’t worthy of their male counterparts. I would highly recommend the film version as well, it’s wonderful!
 

The Here and Now

by Ann Brashares

★★☆

 

The latest in a string of YA dystopian books comes from the author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Prenna is part of a time traveling group that’s returned to the past to help save their future. The story is one part “When You Reach Me” and one part “Twelve Monkeys.”

 

Ethan is a “time native” who meets Prenna after she has traveled to the past. The two have an undeniable connection even though she does everything she can to keep her distance and obey the rules of her group.

 

The book definitely has a message it’s trying to get across and it’s not very subtle about it. To the point where it felt more like a PSA then a novel at times it felt like a PSA. We’re all ruining the planet and soon the mosquitos will kill us all. Lest you think I’m exaggerating:

 

“We also wrecked the planets her own habitation and the mosquito will win. And less we succeed in changing of course, it will win.”

 

BOTTOM LINE: Outside of an overarching environmental message the book felt very forgettable. Only days after finishing it I’m having trouble remembering characters’ names and plot points. Another is a long line of YA books that don’t leave a deep mark.

 

“Sometimes I only hear what we don’t say. I only think the things I shouldn’t think and I remember what I should forget. I hear the ghosts in this room, all the people we lost in our old life who are crying out to be remembered.”

 

"No matter how our hearts break, we bend toward life, don't we. We bend toward hope."

 

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

★★★

This is the first books in the Lunar Chronicles, an incredibly successful series. Cinder is a cyborg in this retelling of Cinderella. Some of the classic elements remain the same, there’s an evil stepmother and a handsome prince, but many things have changed. Cinder is a talented mechanic with a strong personality and dreams of her own. I loved all of those aspects of the book.

 

My problem was that I knew most of the major plot points in the first 10% of the book (read it on my kindle.) I remember reading one line and thinking, well obviously this is what's going to happen and then in the final few pages that was the big “twist.” It wouldn’t have bothered me so much if they hadn’t made that a huge reveal at the end. I felt like I didn’t even need to read the remaining 90% of the book at that point.

 

BOTTOM LINE: It’s a quick read and an interesting one. The predictability let me down, but I definitely give it points for being an original version of a well-known story. I haven’t decided if I’ll read the next book yet.

Divergent and Insurgent

Divergent

by Veronica Roth

★★★★☆

Let me start with a disclaimer: In the past year I’ve gotten so sick of YA dystopian novels and so I’ve been avoiding this series like the plague. I loved the Hunger Game trilogy, but the nauseating parade that followed seemed to suggest that there were no more interesting dystopian stories being told. After the Delirium trilogies and then Uglies (I could only stomach one of those) I was so burnt out on stupid love triangles and whiny teens. But in the end I gave this one a chance and I’m so glad I did.

Tris Prior is part of a society that is split into five factions: Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, Amity and Erudite. Each one values certain characteristic above all else and the balance of their society depends heavily on the services provided by each faction. When individuals reach a certain age they must choose their faction. Sometime they choose to remain within the faction they were raised in and other times they choose a new faction. Tris must make that decision at the beginning of the book and the consequences throw her headlong into a new world of challenges.

The book is fast-paced and full of action. The stakes seem higher than in some of the other dystopian novels and that makes for a more interesting story. There’s also a lot less teenage moping and the characters have depth. Roth creates a world full of potential conflict and she doesn’t reveal everything at once. Instead of explaining every deal of the new world, we are propelled forward in the plot and uncover aspects of how their society functions as we go along.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s fair to say this one restored my faith in dystopian novels. I’m sure others might disappoint me, but this one was great.

“I believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.” 

“Those who seek peace above all else, they say, will always deceive to keep the water calm.”

“Human reason can excuse any evil; that is why it’s so important that we don’t rely on it.”

**SPOILERS FOR DIVERGENT BELOW**

Insurgent

by Veronica Roth

★★★★

The second book in the Divergent trilogy picks up right where the first one left off. Their faction is in chaos as half of its members have sided with the Erudite faction and the other half are seeking shelter with Amity. Tris is broken both physically, from a gunshot wound, and mentally, from the death of her parents and Will. She is struggling to come to terms with who she is and what she’s done.

The action never takes a break in this one, which makes it an incredibly quick read. There were a few unexplained plot points or points that didn’t quite make sense and that bothered me a bit. We get the chance to learn more about the factions and all the characters' histories and motivations, which I love.

BOTTOM LINE: A good addition to the series. It keeps the pace moving forward at full throttle and I only wish I didn’t have to wait to pick up the final book.

“I think we cry to release the animal parts of us without losing our humanity.”

“People, I have discovered, are layers and layers of secrets. You believe you know them, that you understand them, but their motives are always hidden from you, buried in their own hearts. You will never know them, but sometimes you decide to trust them.”

**Allegiant, the third and final book in the series comes out tomorrow!

Delirium and Pandemonium

Delirium

by Lauren Oliver

★★★★

Lena is a teenage girl living in a dystopian society in the near future. Scientists have found a way to cure the dangerous disease “deliria” and now everything is simple and easy. The downside to this is that deliria is actually means love, so once you are “cured” you no longer feel love for anything. A group of “Invalids” refuse the cure and live on the edges of society, rebelling against the mandatory cure and all it stands for.

Lena’s life begins to change as she nears her 18th birthday and the date for her cure procedure. He best friend Hana and a new boy named Alex start to challenge her world view and she starts to question the truths she has been told her whole life.

The thing I loved about this book is that, just like The Giver, it focuses on how truly being able to feel things affects every aspect of life. It’s a believable premise because anyone who has been in love understands that it can feel like a disease. The anxious feelings, heartbreak, excitement, etc. all of that goes hand-in-hand with the early stages of a sickness and it’s understandable that people might want to eradicate those feelings.

I love that it deals not only with romantic love, but on love of al kinds. People who have had the “cure” aren’t just content to settle into their life with their assigned mate, they lose interest in almost everything. They often no longer enjoy their favorite hobbies. They don’t show affection for their children or pets. They let all old friendship fall away, etc. Yes, they are spared from feeling depression or pain, but all of the joy is gone as well.  

This isn’t just a love story, though that’s a crucial aspect of the book. It’s more about how love is what gives you a passion for life. It’s the think that makes friendships for wonderful and children so important. Being able to love something means you can hear and song and your hold world stops. The pain is just as important as the joy and a life without either isn’t worth living.

BOTTOM LINE: I couldn’t put this book down. Sure, there are bits that are predictable and the characters feel a bit hollow sometimes, but the book did such great of a job of holding my attention that I’m wasn’t too worried about the writing being perfect. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series.

“If pneumonia felt this good I’d stand out in the snow in winter with bare feet and no coat on, or march into the hospital and kiss pneumonia patients.”

 “Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That’s what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side.”

Pandemonium

by Lauren Oliver

★★★

Following on the heels on Lana’s escape into the Wilds at the end of Delirium we learn what happened to her in that new world. She’s still struggling to change the whole way she thinks about her civilization. Some of the things she’s been told her entire life are deeply ingrained in her psyche and that doesn’t disappear overnight. We meet a new cast of characters as Lana is integrated into a society of Invalids and learns how to survive in that new world.

I was less impressed by Oliver’s second installment of the Delirium trilogy. I really liked some of the elements, learning about the people who lived underground, etc., but other aspects fell flat.

**SPOILERS**

Discovering Alex was still alive at the end of the book made the whole thing feel a lot like a Hunger Games knock off. He is now the scarred boy who sacrifices himself to save a girl and then is angry with her when they’re reunited; it felt like a weaker version of Katniss and Peeta’s story.

I still enjoyed parts of it, but I wasn’t a big fan of the Julian and Lana love story. It felt like a retelling of Delirium only this time Lana took on the same role Alex had in the first book. It was she who had to tell Julian that she was an Invalid. She had to open his eyes to the “real world” and then she had to save him from getting the cure/being executed. It was almost the exact same story in so many ways.

**SPOILERS OVER**

BOTTOM LINE: Though this one was a bit disappointing, I have high hopes for the final book in the trilogy, Requiem, out in next week (March 5.) I think that Oliver has the opportunity to wrap up the series in a powerful way and I hope she doesn’t just fall back on the forced love triangle to fuel the bulk of the story.

Oliver also released two novellas connected to the Delirium series.

Hana

by Lauren Oliver

★★★

We learn Hana’s side of what happened during the time period in Delirium. She is rebelling while Lana tries to play by the rules. There’s an interesting twist at the end, but overall I would have been more interested to know what happened to Hana after Lana escaped to the Wilds.  The story fills in a few holes in Delirium, but it’s lacking in too many ways.

Annabel

by Lauren Oliver

★★★★

This is the story of Lana’s mother, Annabel, and her eventual imprisonment. I loved learning how she fell in love with Lana’s father. Even if their story was a bit far-fetched, I still liked it. It gave a great depth to the character we only glimpse in Delirium and Pandemonium. I hope Annabel plays a bigger role in the final book.

Book Reviews: Shades of Grey

Shades of Grey
The Road to High Saffron
by Jasper Fforde
★★★★☆

In this dystopian future world, color equals status. The Colortocracy is based not on skin tones, but instead on what shades of red, blue, purple, yellow, etc. that an individual can see. People are judged by what color they can perceive and in what saturation.

Fforde has created a complicated and fascinated society. Instead of money, people have merits. When they become difficult they are sent to Reboot to be reprogrammed to behave better. All of this takes place after “The Something That Happened,” though no one knows what exactly that was. The new world is set up with a strict rule structure that must be blindly adhered to. Here’s a great example, for years parents follow the rule “Every child should receive a glass of milk and a smack in the afternoon.” Finally someone realizes that this is simply a typo and should be “snack.” After loads of paperwork and the careful navigation of loopholes the rule was changed.

The book, the first in a series, follows Eddie Russet and his father (a Chromaticologist, who heals people of their maladies using color swatches). They travel to East Carmine, far from the busy city they’re used to. There they meet a “colorful” cast of characters including the prickly Jane Grey and the nonexistent Apocryphal man.

Just like Fforde’s Thursday Next series, the reader must be willing to suspend reality and be swept along in the flood of his intellectual imagination. His writing is clever and provides a constant stream of witty twists and dialogue. If you’ve read his work before and loved it, this is more of the same, unique, hilarious and wonderful. If you haven’t liked his writing in the past, this won’t change that. I am firmly in the loved it camp and will continue to read everything he writes.

Friday Favorites: Fahrenheit 451

“It was a pleasure to burn.”

That is undoubtedly one of the best opening lines in history. It’s simple, beautiful and so complex once you realize what they are burning. For me, Fahrenheit 451 was one of those rare books that shook me to my core. I had read Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World, but this dystopia was so much more terrifying to me. It shows a world in which books were illegal paraphernalia and owning them was cause for death.

Our hero, Guy Montag, is a firefighter, but in this future reality firefighters are the ones who start the blaze, not put it out. They are employed to find and burn books and Montag never questions his profession. Then one night he meets a girl who changes everything for him. She’s not empty and cold like his wife. She sparks some bit of life in Montag and he begins to question the world around him.

The most disturbing aspect of the plot is that the people chose to stop reading books, no one forced them. They became obsessed with television and books take too much time and effort. It’s a bit too close to our current reality for comfort.

***SPOILERS***

My favorite part of Fahrenheit 451 is the brilliance of how Bradbury decided to preserve books that must be burned. The characters themselves become the books. Individuals all over the world memorized and entire novel or book in the Bible and through them the book was kept alive.

**SPOILER OVER***

If you’ve never read this classic I would encourage every book lover to pick it up. It’s less than 200 pages, but it packs such a powerful punch that it remains one of my favorite books of all-time.

I recently read the graphic novelization of this book and it was wonderful. The illustrations are done in vivid shades of orange and red throughout much of the book, bringing the fire to life on each page. The graphic novel pays close attention to the details and portrayed the story beautifully. I would recommend reading the actual novel first, so you can create the world in your own imagination first, but the graphic novel is a wonderful treat for those who are familiar with the book.

Book Review: The Adoration of Jenna Fox a.k.a. I love dystopian novels

The Adoration of Jenna Fox
by Mary E. Pearson
★★★★

Jenna is a 17-year –old who wakes up after an 18 month coma. Slowly her memories begin to return and some disturbing truths are revealed. This dystopian novel deals mainly with science vs. ethics and is hard to put down.

I love dystopian novels. Some of my favorite books fall into this category. I love how truths of human nature are often revealed in these stories and the fact that they’re never very far from our current reality. Writing a book set in a future or parallel world gives the author the freedom to explore touchy issues in an abstract way.

In dystopian novels the line between good and bad is always blurred, it is an exploration of gray in a way that shows just how black and white things often are (if that makes any sense.) The bad guys always have a perfectly reasonable explanation for all the choices they’ve made. Sometimes they even make some convincing arguments, but then you remember what they’ve done and you’re horrified that you even considered siding with them for an instant.

*********SPOILERS FOR OTHER DYSTOPIAN BOOKS*********

For example, in Fahrenheit 451 they burn books, in The Giver they have forced euthanasia, in The Hunger Games it’s the slaughter of children for entertainment.

******SPOILER OVER*********

Though I was completely swept away by this book at first, it seemed to unravel a bit in the second half. I don’t think Pearson knew what point she was trying to make. It was like she was using the book as a platform to discuss the issue and in the first half she brought up some chilling points, then in the second half she seemed to just waffle back and forth on whether she thought it was right or wrong.

My favorite part of the whole book is the character of Lily, Jenna’s grandma. She is the grounding factor for me, the one I can relate to. She’s in the story, but she isn’t the one who has made any of the decisions, so she can be a bit more objective.

The inspiration for this book was born out of Pearson’s own experiences. Her eldest daughter was diagnosed with cancer, then a few years later her youngest daughter was diagnosed with the same cancer. Those traumatic events led her to explore the question of science vs. ethics and wonder how far a parent would be willing to go to save their child. It’s a fascinating exploration, but she didn’t seem to be able to answer her own question.

It’s definitely worth reading, but some elements are far-fetched and it seems to really have to reach to wrap everything up at the end. I do think this would be a fun one to discuss in a book club.

Fluttering Butterflies has a great review here.

Book Reviews: The Handmaid's Tale

This month I've been participating in a read-along over at Classic Reads Book Club. We've been reading The Handmaid's Tale and will be wrapping it up discussions on Sept. 27. So if you've read if before and want to chime in, please do! That being said, here are my thoughts on the book.

The Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
★★★★★

Offred is a handmaid's whose story unfolds in Atwood's famous dystopian novel. She lives in a world run by men, where women are powerless. They've lost their right to make decision, to learn how to read and even to have a job. The rulers claim they have "freed" the women from the painful tasks of having to find a husband or take care of themselves. Any women who are fertile are turned into handmaids and assigned to a home where they are forced to bear children for a married couple.

When I began the book I assumed this was a dystopian set decades in the future, where the women had no memory of life as we know it. I quickly learned that Offred used to have a job, money of her own, a husband and child, etc. The decline into her current policed state was swift and terrifying.

I loved Atwood's bleak prose. Offred's resignation and despair were palpable. The tense relationships between the characters were thrilling. Offred was forced to walk a tight rope of suspicion in every conversation, never knowing who she could trust.

In one scene Offred is using butter she hid and saved from a meal as lotion on her skin. It's been so long since she's been anything but the potential carrier of a child that the concept of being loved is almost obsolete to her now. She says...

"As long as we do this, butter our skin to keep it soft, we can believe that we will some day get out, that we will be touched again, in love or desire."

It was the small acts of rebellion like this, breed from a spark of hope, that made Offred such a heartbreaking character. After Offred loses her ability to support herself she struggles in her relationship with her husband. That shift of dependance in their relationship changed everything...

"We are not each other's, anymore. Instead, I am his."

I can't recommend this book highly enough. Though it's 25 years old, it's more relevant than ever. Atwood's writing reveals the story bit by bit, allowing the horror of the changed society to creep up slowly. The story is masterfully told, creating a chilly world that's a far too easy to imagine.

Book Reviews: Mockingjay

Mockingjay
by Suzanne Collins
★★★★

My Mockingjay review... aka I finally get to join the discussion. For the record I did pre-order this book from Amazon and was looking forward to reading it when it came out. Then I waited... and waited and finally received it on Thursday (9-2-10), a week and a half after it came out. I'm a bit frustrated, but anyway, on to the review. I'm going to attempt to avoid all spoilers. If you're surprised that people die in this book you're probably reading the wrong series.

The book isn't perfect, no book is, but I kinda loved that. War is messy, love is messy and I was glad there was no easy ending. Katniss was so completely broken by everything she had been through that it would have been silly for Collins to reduce the series to a shallow love triangle, so I'm thrilled she didn't. Instead, that triangle became a moot point by the end. Katniss ends up with the one who she needs to be with after everything unfolds. I wasn't shocked, but I wasn't expecting it either. To be honest I never thought too much about the love aspect to begin with. To me, it was fitting that the focus of the story was on all of the people she lost during the series, instead of who she decides she loves more.

The book is heartbreaking. So many characters that we love are killed, but that's war. That's the grim reality that Katniss has to deal with everyday. Sometimes it's hard to remember that Katniss is both a girl and someone who has been repeatedly broken, both psychically and psychologically. This book gave me more of an opportunity to see that pain because she wasn't in the midst of staying alive in every scene. She's really happier when she is in those situations, because she understands how to deal with them better than the stillness. When she's not fighting she's flooded with all the pain she's experienced.

In the end I felt like it was a fitting conclusion to the trilogy and I'm glad I read it. It's not my favorite book of the series, but I think it gave the whole trilogy more depth and gravitas than the other two books. It took the horror that Katniss faced during the Hunger Games and spread it throughout all of the Districts, explaining the importance of the rebellion to anyone who had yet to realize it.

Just like many other readers, I had a few things I wished would have been handled a bit differently. Some of the deaths felt too sudden and abrupt, but then again, that's how war truly is. You don't always get a glorious death moment. In the end there was more good than bad and I'm firmly in the camp of liking the whole series.

"'It costs your life,' says Caesar. 'Oh no. It costs a lot more than your life. To murder innocent people?' says Peeta. 'It costs everything you are.'"

"All around the dining hall, you can feel the rejuvenating effect that a good meal can bring on. The way it can make people kinder, funnier, more optimistic, and remind them it's not a mistake to go on living."

"We are fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and  a great gift for self-destruction."