Title: Glass Sword
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Series/Novel: Red Queen (Book #2)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopia
Pages: 444
Publisher: HarperTeen
Year Published: 2016
First Line: "I flinch."
"If there's one thing Mare Barrow knows, it's that she's different.
Mare Barrow. Mare Burrow's blood is red- the color is common folk- but her Silver ability, power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.
The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince- the friend- who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling. She is not only one of her kind.
Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king. Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.
But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the monster she is trying to defeat.
Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?
The electrifying next instalment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and blood-segregated world they've always known- and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul."
My Rating: 5/5
I am so happy I had the time this long weekend to finish this incredible book! I haven't finished one in what feels like forever and this book was the perfect to get me back into reading the way I want to. Throughout the weekend, I found myself carrying it with me to find moments when I could pick it up and find out what was happening and to who.
I think that my friends were getting a little fed up with my constant reading habit everywhere we went.
This second instalment really showcases how Mare has been effected by the past and in the present by actions surrounding her. I also think it truly shows you never know who you can trust in a time when you are an unusual individual. People fear what they don't know. I also think the exploration of the country was interesting as there is a distinct difference in the character we meet along the way. The idea of fighting is also large in this book and very well described, making a reader feel like they are in the heat of the battle. I think the additional characters really made a difference to how this was written. It showed different perspectives and gave different ideas about the future of the series. I think that the book also moved at a natural speed which is something that some books have trouble with, this one on the other hand had a perfect flow for me to read throughout the weekend.
And that ending........ just saying. Read it!
THANK YOU VICTORIA AVEYARD FOR SHOWING A CHARACTER WHO IS SO UNREAL YET SO GENUINE!
Thanks for reading,
Love,
Sidny
I finally finished it!!!! I know what everyone in the Young Adult reading community has been talking about. And yes, it's everything they say it is. INCREDIBLE!
I've been reading this book all weekend, whenever I have a minute. And woah, what a fantastic way to spend a weekend. It was awesome.
The change of setting throughout this book was incredible. It really showed different areas of the country and the changes that have been happening since the denouncement of Cal and how people are reacting to their new ruler. It also shows the change in the group known as newbloods. The ones everyone wants to dig their claws into. The additional characters in this book were incredible and really added to the story. Unfortunately I won't be able to get to them all in the character section, but let it be known that their is a constant changing "cast" in this book. Their is also alot of action style sequences so if that's what you enjoy reading you'll really love this.
Characters:
Mare: Mare has changed throughout her time in the palace and several different prisons. She's learning that people fear what they don't understand and know. What they don't find normal in their day to day lives, and some may try to eradicate these things. After she is saved she is immediately in battle with those around her and on the run. After surviving one thing, it just seems that nothing can go her way. For example, the Colonel locking her up after she tries to assist him with his plans for war. I think that Mare is suffering trying to push her different roles in her life to different characters instead of letting her different personalities make up who she is. Which makes sense when she is constantly fearing for her life and those around her. I was very excited by the end of the book to see the Choke and then to be captured... I did not anticipate it, but that ending though, as much as I hated it. Perfect.
Cal: Cal is also lost without his role as a leader of a group. He doesn't fit in the new world in the new rebellion and he doesn't fit among his own kind. Especially as a king killer. I think that the death of his father really affects him as we see his nightmares during his sleep and the way he acts with those around him. The way he reacts in the prison surprises me the most and how he reacts when Mare kills his Silver counter parts. I can't blame her, but I also understand his feeling, these are people he's grown up with. He's known them all his life to harm them would be betraying his own, no matter what they have done. I do hope that he is safe though.
Shade: It's cool, I'll just bawl. I don't need to be happy that's fine! I was angry, but it was a perfect move for an author. A change for sure. I never thought he would be killed after he kinda came back from what we assumed was death in the start, and to be killed in an instant of trying to save his sister was crazy and horribly sad. The description was perfect and fit the shock I felt as it happened. I wish that he would have been around to see the revolution that his actions had caused.
Farley: She is a good person. As much as she is trying to push against bounds of others who are her superior, she becomes an equal with Mare. Some trust her and other's Mare. Together they work to find as many as they can. I am curious to read about her background in Cruel Crown. I think I know what she was asking when she first had questions about Jon. I also wonder how her life will turn out after the capture. I hope the best for her. Shade and her would have made a fantastic couple, just too good I suppose.
Kilorn: We all knew this confession was coming. I just hoped that Mare would be able to return it, but when she couldn't I felt for him. I hope that he is able to find someone who can love him as he needs. I also hope that he doesn't let the jealousy of not having abilities eat him up, and seeing that he is valuable as he is.
Cameron: This fiesty little thing threw me for a loop, but she was also just what the group needed. She was angry and challenging I hope that she puts those characteristics and feelings to good rather than to sit back while Mare is butchered.
Maven: Still a crazy mother f**ker but at least that mother of his is dead. I'm curious if he'll actually kill Mare or just keep her as a pet. I'm also curious what's going on in his head while all this is happening. Madness.
Moments to Remember:
Pg. 315
"'I'm useless,' Farley chirps from her seat. A blade flicks back and forth in her hands, betraying exactly how wrong she is."
Pg. 378
"I'll just wait up here,' Cameron says, watching us from the openin doorway at the top level. Her legs dangle. She even has the gall to whistle, eyeing the last magnetron as he moans."
Final Line: "I kneel."
Thanks for reading,
Love,
Sidny
Title: Reached
Author: Ally Condie
Series/Novel: Matched Series (Book #3)
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Dystopia
Pages: 512
Publisher: Dutton Books
Year Published: 2012
First Line: "A man pushed a rock up the hill."
"Cassia's journey began with an error, a momentary glitch in the otherwise perfect façade of the Society. After crossing canyons to break free, she waits, silk and paper smuggled against her skin, ready for the final chapter.
The wait is over.
One young woman has raged against those who threaten to keep away what matters most- family, love, choice. Her quiet revolution is about to explode into full-scale rebellion.
With exquisite prose, the emotionally gripping conclusion to the international bestselling Matched trilogy returns Cassia, Ky, and Xander to the Society to save the one thing they have been denied for so long, the power to choose."
My Rating: 4/5
I finally had a chance to stay up late and finish this book, with little to no regard to my studies. So take that midterms! I think that this book was a fine summary to a great Dystopian trilogy. It showed the rise of rebellion and a change in a society, while still following three of our favourite characters. We also get to learn about their different roles in the rebellion which is what we have all been waiting for.
Some parts of this final instalment were surprising to me all the same, as a fair amount of new characters come into existence within a torn country. The setting that is ever changing keeps things interesting while helping readers to visualize a change in a futuristic society.
Unfortunately, I'm a girl who is stuck in a rut, and hates a good series to end, and this series is no exception. I can't help but wish there was more, but I'm grateful for what I learned from this series. That sticking up for the rights of all can be as easy as sticking up for something you believe.
THANK YOU ALLY CONDIE FOR SHOWING HOW GRATEFUL WE CAN BE FOR OUR RIGHTS!
Thanks for reading,
Love,
Sidny
This book is the final instalment in this series, which as mentioned is sad but necessary. I see why Ally Condie decided on this place to end. The following three different series through the rise of the revolution and the changing of a world was so interesting, especially from all the separate points of view. I certainly enjoyed seeing the development of feelings between new and existing characters.
Characters:
Cassia: Cassia has changed throughout the Rising. Figuring out who to stick up for, who to trust and who to believe. She's followed her feelings and her heart to get where she is. I think it was interesting to watch her figure out what she is immune to and different roles she could take in the future. One role I found especially interesting was a trader and a poet. Especially the idea of a Gallery. It seems so strange to have thought of during the change of a government, but it worked for her. It helped her cope.
Ky: I was so happy about how he fought with the rebellion, and stayed with Indie even though he wanted to find Cassia. I do wonder about how their relationship may have worked if Cassia hadn't been around or if there was no Matching in the first place. When he fell still, I worried that the author would kill him off, but grateful when he came back to them and helped Cassia to create the chances for all of society, to vote and have a choice.
Xander: I'm upset for him, but he has outgrown Cassia. He has become someone none of us could have ever imagined. A doctor, a scientist and a true caregiver to the people in his care. He gave everything to them and spent so much time working for them, only to be on trial for killing someone who was his role model. I hope that he learns to love again.
Lei: I suspected she was who she first was (this will make sense if you've read it). I hope that she will learn to love again and find a way to commemorate her love in the past while learning to love again and make the most of the new world.
The Pilot: I don't particularly trust this man, he seemed to have good intentions but he got in over his head to quickly. I hope that he can find a place where he truly belongs but really, I don't believe that he should be the ruler of a country! He seems so stranger and unsure near the end, that he wouldn't be someone I chose as a leader.
Oker: He was a role model. He made things as right as he could before passing, but everyone runs out of time eventually. I think that he did what he did in the beginning because he truly thought it was right, and after seeing how it affected those around him, he made the choice to make it right, which is harder to do then some might believe.
Hunter: What the literal heck! I was surprised that he could be capable about such a thing, but when people have been treated unfairly all their lives, it's crazy what they'll do.
Moments to Remember:
Pg. 497
"For so long, we cared about who saw us. Who might be watching, who might be hurt. But now, we are only dancing."
Final Line: "Reaching and reached."
Thanks for reading,
Love,
Sidny
