Becoming An Adult

January 11th, 2011

Dystopian novels. Oh, what a beautifully messed up breed of books you are.

For those of you that have been living under a rock for the last 2 or so years, let me explain to you what Dytopian literature actually is.

“Dystopia” is (often not always) a futuristic society that has degraded into a repressive and controlled state, usually under the guise of being utopian.

Got that? Great… we shall now continue.

Over the last 2 years there have been a rash of Dystopian novels, (The Uglies, Matched & in a weird way The Hunger Games) so stumbling into another was not all that far fetched.  Segregation of cultures, extreme governments and oppression are hot topics, and (as an added bonus) fascinating to read, but what really makes these novels the “icing” on the metaphorical cake is the interruption of free will.

Free will is the one thing that makes people who they are; it defines us.  We choose our own paths, and ultimately control our own futures, in Dystopian writing…all of that is threatened. You do what you are told, when you are told, and if you disagree you are reprimanded, jailed, and in some extreme cases “extinguished”

Nina is a product of a Dystopian society.  She lives in her assigned community.  She buys the clothes only her “tier” would buy, and on really good days she DOESN’T have to watch her mother get the snot beat out of her. But none of these things keep her up at night… the thing Nina fears most is turning 16. At 16 she will be branded; a big fat XVI, in jet black ink, on the inside of her wrist announcing that she is ready. Ready for what exactly? Ready for sex.  “XVI” in Nina’s world means she is now fair game to every creep, cretan, and (for a lack of a better term) pervert that crosses her path.  And, as if the pressure of being a “sex-teen” wasn’t bad enough, her mother was just murder.  Is Nina really as alone as she thinks she is? Who is the “Resistance,” and why after everything that has happened, would her mother be so hell bent on her hiding her little sister’s baby book?

I will admit that the first 2 chapters of this book made me cringe.  In author-created societies “establishment” is crucial.  We (as readers) want to know what TIME we are in, and WHERE exactly we are. Without these critical details, it is hard to form the STORY in our heads. The problem comes, however, when the author (in either desperation or excitement) tries to shove a “new” and complicated society (complete with their own slang) into 8 or 9 very long, and very run together paragraphs.  This was the case is Julia Karr’s XVI. Luckily… after Karr’s “flash fiction” the novel leveled off and developed into a well rounded read.  Nina was just 1 personality in a whole cast of very interesting characters and while, yes, this book is slated as YA, I found the “parental” story line outshining the… always predictable, never absent, teen angst.

Is this the BEST Dystopian I have ever read? No, of course not, but an enjoyable read? Yes… absolutely.

My advice? Get it, Live it, Love it… pass it on.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: having a GPS implanted in your arm is NOT normal. Question everything!

Click Image for complete details.

(3.5/5)

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Sometimes Words Are All You Have

August 15th, 2010

It has been almost a year since I started KindleObsessed, and yesterday something occurred to me… I’m difficult to please. I know, I know… most of y’all are shaking your heads right now saying “Really Misty? It took you an entire years worth of bashing books to realize you’re a complete pain in the ass?” Yeah, well… apparently. To be honest I’m not quite sure where it comes from. Could it be the number of books I have read in my relatively young 29 years?  Is it the artistic side of my head that has me demanding more from the people who also call themselves creative? Or maybe… just maybe it’s the well known fact that I used to read Thesauruses for fun.  Who knows… or even better… why would you care? You probably don’t,  but that being said… I do actually have a point so I guess I’d better get to it.

I read “His Eyes” over a week ago with every intention of writing a review on it, but the later in the week it got, the more I felt ashamed of my views on this particular piece of work, and wanted to spare the author my thoughts.  The story was actually a good one. Well thought out, wonderful characters, believable. “So what’s the problem?” I’m sure your asking.  Ok, I’ll tell you. It needed to “be more.”

Let me explain, (be more is kind of a vague thought) This was the story of a teenage girl and her quest to fund her really expensive college experience.  In order to pad her pockets she does what most would do… she gets a job.  This job however, is not like every other job, (flipping burgers or brewing lattes) no, this job is to be a “babysitter” for a blind boy, (who in a twist turns out to be her age). Now… we all know where this story goes, it’s kind of predictable, (and that’s ok) it’s not always about the ending, sometimes it’s about the journey, but when the journey feels as though it is at warp speed, there is a problem.

As I said before, I didn’t think the book was bad, it was just lacking. Renee Carter created this wonderful world of circumstantial love, she set up her characters, she drew her audience in, and then she just… well… dropped the ball. Just when I started to really get into the story it ended. She waited way to long to introduce her 3rd act, and then only allowed herself roughly 10 pages to clean it up and make it tidy.  Why?  Is there some digital paper Nazi out there I am unaware of? Why would someone take such great care in creating a world, and forming a relationship with her characters just to tap out when things were getting too emotional?

I guess this is something I’ll never understand, or maybe it is something I should just learn to live with…because lately it seems to be the norm, but do you know what gets me most of all? The sadness that erupts from me when I can tell an author just gave up.

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: sometimes being honest hurts.

For a complete book description click image.

(3/5)

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Seeing Scars

August 12th, 2010

“It’s so curious:  one can resist tears and ‘behave’ very well in the hardest hours of grief.  But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer… and everything collapses.”  ~Colette

How true.

In life we deal with 2 types of pain, emotional and physical. Most of the time the two are mutually exclusive,  however at times they are triggered by the other.  “Willow” by Julia Hoban is just one example of what happens when the inability to control your emotions leads to the compulsion to feel physical relief.

Willow talks to no one, she wears long sleeves regardless of the weather, and she is addicted to pain. Why? because she is a cutter. Unable to deal with the emotional responsibility of  her parents sudden death (that she inadvertently caused) Willow does the only thing she can think…she abolishes her heartache with physical pain, but when a boy named Guy suddenly takes notice of her…and her arms, something snaps.  Will Guy’s intense nature eventually help, or hinder Willow’s little problem? Will Willow ever understand the significance of crying, and if she finally does…will it be enough to stop her destructive behavior?

I know it can sometimes be confusing when I label devastating literature as beautiful… but that’s what it is.  When a book has the ability to make you forget where you are, feel the pain, and love of its characters, and push the boundaries of what is acceptable conversation… it is no longer a book. It is art.  Hoban created a story that was so overwhelming, that at times I felt as if I would explode from the on-slot of sensory overload. The skeletal plot of “Willow” was about love, grief, and understanding… but the lessons in between are what is important: acceptance, compassion, compulsion, redemption, and the ability to let go.  There are several places through-out this novel in which you will hang your head in disbelief, unable to mentally comprehend what is actually happening, and even more moments in which you will find yourself shaking or crying. Let it happen… it’s what keeps you from becoming broken…it’s what keeps you from becoming Willow.

Now, I could write for days, pages of beautiful words to express what I felt for this book… the writing was breathtaking, the plot was wonderful, I fell in love with a damaged girl…but none of it would ever be enough. So it leaves me only one solution,  you will just have to read if for yourself.

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: YOU create your own paradise, and your own prison.

For a complete book description click image.

(5/5)



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