Reading Update

I've read several books lately that I felt like I needed to share! I'm in a major Young Adult phase right now. Mainly I think it's because I've been working and I just don't have time to get into something that requires a lot of thought. I used to read books like The Count of Monte Cristo and I loved it! But it required me to really think through everything! Now that's not to say that what I have been reading isn't really great, because some of it really is! But it's just not deep-thinking kind of stuff. That being said, here's what I've been reading lately!!

Matched and Crossed by Ally Condie

Both of these are dystopian novels about a society where at 17, you are matched with someone and you spend the rest of your life with them. Everything is planned out for you, including your mate, your job, your home, your leisure activities, etc. It takes place around this one girl whose match gets mixed up and she ends up questioning everything about her society. It's a trilogy and the first two are out now. I read them both. I liked the first better than the second, but I still liked both of them. They definitely weren't the best books I've ever read, but they were worth the read!

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

This book is really strange, but I liked it. I'm not sure if everyone would. It takes place again, in a dystopian society where a generation found the cure for all illnesses, including cancer, HIV, etc. and there was a generation who lived into their hundreds. As a result, though, their children started dying at the age of 20 for girls and 24 for boys. The generation who is living so long has started to create polygamous marriages for their sons where they marry young girls who haven't reached the age to die yet. The purpose of these marriages is for the girls to bear children to be tested and experimented on to try and find a cure for this new virus that is killing the children. It takes place around a girl who is stolen and forced into one of these polygamous marriages. It's really interesting and strange, but in a really good way! The second one comes out in February, so I'll be reading that one too!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I kept seeing this book on my Amazon Recommendations, so I finally decided to read it! I really loved it and couldn't put it down! It's about a group of boys who wake up in this place alone and with no memory. They arrive at the rate of one a month and they are in this huge courtyard surrounded by a huge maze. They have been there for a couple of years and are trying to figure out a way out. The courtyard closes every night and there are thing in the maze that come out and will kill you if you are left out there at night. It takes place around a boy who arrives and then a week later, a girl arrives with a message that she will be the last one. Everything changes and it's really fast-paced and interesting! That being said, though, I tried to read the second one and I just couldn't get into it. It's a trilogy and all three of them are available now. Maybe you'd like them all more than I did!

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

I actually read this one a while ago, but I don't think I ever posted on it on either of my blogs. My friend Sara, who recommended Twilight to me the first time, is the one who told me to read it. It's kind-of like Twilight for adults. It's about Vampires and Witches, but rather than being something that is light and fluffy and just a love story, it is actually really well written and intelligent! The author takes vampires & witches and puts them into historical context among lots of other things that have happened in the past. I really loved the way she put it all together! It is also going to be a trilogy and I'm excited about the next one!!

Fallen and Torment by Lauren Kate

These are the most recent ones I've read. I just finished Torment last night. They are the first two in a series of four. They remind me a lot of My Name is Memory that I read this past summer. It's about two people whose love spans lifetimes and centuries where she is a human who keeps coming back after traumatic deaths, but he's a fallen angel. It ties into a lot of biblical things with the fall and angels and demons and things like that. I really liked it more than I thought I would! I want to read the third one, but it's checked out at my library right now. I have placed a hold on it, so hopefully I'll get to read it soon!

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I have to say, this is my favorite book I've read so far this year! It is right up there with The Hunger Games for me! It's about a dystopian society where at the age of 17, I think, you choose one of 5 factions to belong to. Once you choose your faction, it affects everything about your life. The story of where the factions came from and why there are five and things like that are all really interesting! This is about a girl who has to choose between the faction her family belongs to and making a choice that goes against everything she's ever known. It's AWESOME. I am so excited about the second one, which is coming out in May! It will also be a trilogy. I recommend this one to anybody.

Books on my "to read" list...

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Passion by Lauren Kate

Rapture by Lauren Kate