REVIEW: Orleans by Sherri L. Smith

Orleans

by Sherri L. Smith

Synopsis from Goodreads:

After a string of devastating hurricanes and a severe outbreak of Delta Fever, the Gulf Coast has been quarantined. Years later, residents of the Outer States are under the assumption that life in the Delta is all but extinct… but in reality, a new primitive society has been born.

Fen de la Guerre is living with the O-Positive blood tribe in the Delta when they are ambushed. Left with her tribe leader’s newborn, Fen is determined to get the baby to a better life over the wall before her blood becomes tainted. Fen meets Daniel, a scientist from the Outer States who has snuck into the Delta illegally. Brought together by chance, kept together by danger, Fen and Daniel navigate the wasteland of Orleans. In the end, they are each other’s last hope for survival.

What I thought:

 First off, as an O-Neg, the whole concept of this book was terrifying to me!

 Let's talk about the story and writing though.

This book is written from Fen and Daniel's point of view,

and when we're listening to the world through Fen's voice, it's a very distinct voice,

and much like reading a Mark Twain book, it's at first a little jarring.

It didn't take me long to get into the groove of it, though, and once I got going, I couldn't stop.

I sat down and read this book start to finish in one sitting.

Fen's story is heart-breaking, heroic, inspirational and terrifying.

At every turn you find yourself hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Fen's ethnic background is incredibly different from mine,

but I had no problem relating to this character, because she's not really dealing with

common problems a typical American teen would have to deal with.

She's so far removed from the world I know,

the world any of us really knows,

that I related to this character on a more visceral level.

Daniel, on the other hand, was someone I had an easier time relating to,

in terms of lifestyle. He stumbled into things in a way that was believable...

and I feel like if I were going to be a character int his book, it might be him,

but without being so incredibly lucky.

This book is an interesting dystopian written in a strong, unique voice, with an interesting plot.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent

by Veronica Roth

Synopsis (via Amazon):

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.


Characters:
Beatrice "Tris" Prior: The main character, Beatrice is from the faction of Abnegation, who are supposed to be the selfless types... but she's always felt she doesn't fit in, because by nature, she is not selfless. She chooses to go live with the Dauntless faction instead. Dauntless is a faction of warriors and risk takers, and also where Beatrice changes her name to the shortened version of "Tris"
Beatrice sees herself as unattractive... but as per usual in YA novels, it's simply her own perception of herself.
Four: Tris's instructor when she starts training as a Divergent. He is the main love interest, and a boy with secrets. I don't know what it was, but something about Tris and Four's love story really struck home for me. Maybe it's that it was born through blood and tears... and not just two dopey teens mooning over one another with little to no explanation of attraction other than hormones.
Thomas: Another High School student, and the one who lured Cas there in the first place... he is a mind-reader and a witch (although this book does not make it clear if ALL mind readers are witches or not). He attempts to befriend and watch out for Cas, and is dogged about it, even though Cas is a total jerk to someone who, you would think, Cas would recognize immediately as an important ally.  
Caleb Prior: Tris's older brother, who choose to go live in the Erudite faction, which is the "intelligent" faction, always seeking to learn new things.
Christina: One of Tris's first friends in Dauntless, she is a good friend, but struggling through issues of her own.
Peter: Another Dauntless boy who is cruel and vicious. He causes plenty of problems for Tris and her friends.
Will: Another good friend of Tris's, and Christina's love interest.
Marcus Eaton: One of the leaders of the Abnegation group.
Al: A sweet, but weak willed, Candor born Dauntless initiate, and a friend of Tris's.
Tris's Parents: Tris's father is one of the leaders of Abnegation, and both of Tris's parents have secrets they're hiding.

 Writing: The book is fast flowing, with constant action, making it a quick read. The language is dynamic and the prose flow smoothly from one event to the next.

Ending:

Shocking. That's all I have to say. Shocking.
While I saw some of it coming, I truly did not expect half of what happened in the last few pages of that book.

Plot:

I enjoyed the plot of this book. Granted, it's one of those dystopian futures, much like the Hunger Games, where you sit around for a while wondering why anyone would even set their whole society up like that in the first place... although it's more plausible when you realize that this is, in face, not the entire world, but one large city (Chicago).  
The story actually spends most of its time following the personal struggle of the main character, Tris, as she fights to earn her place in the Dauntless society, and to find out who she really is. 
The story then smoothly transitions from Tris's own inner struggle, to a much larger war that has been raging in secret between the factions. Tris and her friends are pulled into it in a plausible manner and the scene is set for book two.

Believability of World: Like I said, it's one of those dystopian novels that make you wonder, "How did the society even get like this?" ... but for me, that doesn't ruin the story in the least. I expect dystopian novels to have extreme societies.. and this one has a structure that is believable and fun to watch unfold.

Overall Grade: B ~ This was a fun, fast read. Would I reread this book? Probably not. It didn't bring anything new and ground-breaking to the dystopian genre... but will I pass it on to others to read? Heck yeah. An absolutely enjoyable book.

REVIEW: Matched

  Matched
by Ally Condie

Synopsis:
Cassia is happy and content with her life in the Society... and she's ready to be Matched to the man she will marry... and when her best friend Xander shows up as her match, she thinks everything has fallen into place... but really, that's just when everything starts to fall apart. Everyone who is Matched gets a media card with information about their match to take home... but when Cassia tries to read hers, another face appears, one that isn't Xander's... one of another boy she knows... and then, on top of that, Cassia's Grandfather leaves her with more questions than she's ever had before when he passes... and he leaves her with another gift too... a forbidden one. Now Cassia needs to figure out what she wants from life... does she want to let the Society dictate everything, or will she listen to her Grandfather and her heart?

Character Likability:
Cassia: She's a strong, willful, intelligent girl who knows what she wants. I enjoyed her character because following her was akin to watching someone wake up from a deep sleep... there were things around her that she'd turned a blind eye to without thinking about it... because that's what everyone did... but when her eyes are opened by her Grandfather... she realizes how strong she is, and how much there is to be done.
Xander: Cassia's best friend and official Match, Xander seems like he would be a very one-dimensional character, but he's not. The boy has secrets and strong feelings, he knows things and as the story progresses, you get more and more of a sense of that. I feel like as this story continues in the other two books, we will see Xander become quite complex.
Ky: A quiet, guarded boy... Ky offers the most telling, interesting bits about himself while still remaining silent, through drawings. He's obviously brilliant... but I still want to hear more of Ky... I felt like he was the love interest... but for the time being, not much else was expected of him. He was there to reveal to Cassia a world she didn't know existed... but as for him on his own, he hasn't existed much outside of supporting Cassia's discoveries. I'm very interested in seeing more of his story, and learning more about his motives.
Grandfather: Pretty much the catalyst for everything else that happens, he makes Cassia start to question.
Cassia's Parents: Interesting characters in themselves, it seems Cassia's entire family is prone to sticking out in one way or another... I can see her parents playing a bigger role in future books as well... and there is great potential in them for deeper, well constructed characters.

Quality of Writing:
I had two problems with the writing in this book. One was the repetition of the word "I"... they jumped out at you, assaulting you from almost every sentence. The repeated over-use of the word "I" actually began pulling me out of the story it appeared so often. My second problem was with sentence structure. I know that Cassia comes from a society where they were supposed to cut out the frillery and stick to what was needed... and with that concept the short sentences would have worked well, had that been what they actually did. They didn't though, instead you just ended up with all that frillery broken down into really short little sentences. It too pulled me out of the story, as I sat there wondering why it was necessary. Other than those two things, the story was well paced and the plot flowed easily, making this a quick read.

Ending:
Nothing really shocking or unexpected happened at the end of this book. It was still dramatic and made me want to read the next book, but it wasn't mind blowing. That's not at all a bad thing... especially since this is a trilogy and I suspect that the biggest punch will come in the last book in the series.

Plot:
While this book was fun and interesting to read, it was a plot any avid reader will have seen before. If you've read The Giver by Lois Lowry or 1984 by George Orwell or Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, then you've read Matched. It is the story of a world where decisions are made for the people, and the people are encouraged not to think about them. It is a world of mindless following and strict control.
Now, while the prose aren't quite as skillful as the books I compared it to, I think that another telling of this type of story, in this format, is a wonderful idea.
Putting such powerful concepts in the hands of today's youth, making them think about the world around them, and hopefully getting them interested in books like 1984... and why those books were written, I think is a really important thing, and Matched may be able to generate such a spark.
Now, I've heard this book also compared, a lot, to another recently released series, The Hunger Games... which I have not yet read... but now hearing that it is, in fact, a dystopian series much like Matched, I think it's time to pick The Hunger Games up... and then I can make a more informed comparison between those and Matched.

Believability of World:
It's not just a believable world, it's a world that, to a degree has already happened over and over here on this planet... and it's the sort of story that warns "This could be happening to you right now"


Overall Grade: B