31
Jul 2011

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

By 2 Comments

Lena Haloway can’t wait to turn 18 to undergo a procedure to be cured of a disease called love.

Hey wait, what? Yeah, in Delirium, love has been identified as a disease, which can be deadly for the infected person. When one is ‘cured’, he or she will be married to someone already matched earlier to them and they will supposedly live together peacefully and lead normal lives without the complications of love or heartbreak.

Lena may be impatient for her turn to receive the cure but she can’t help thinking back of her mother who committed suicide when Lena was still a child. Unlike other parents, her mother was as loving and fun as Lena could remember. Her mother even said those forbidden words – I love you – to her.

Still, Lena thinks the cure is the best thing for her. That is until she meets Alex, the guy with hair like autumn leaves. She never expected to fall in love with him but that’s what happened. She has never felt like this before and the days towards her procedure are passing by quickly. Now that Lena’s up in the clouds of love, she’s not so keen in getting the cure after all.

There’s been a lot of hype around this book and I was glad to download it from the very awesome Netgalley. I read the synopsis and thought ‘Wow, a story where love is a disease? Not bad.’ The beginning was interesting. I liked reading about Lena’s life, her family and friends. The government that runs Portland, where she lives, sounds very familiar like the one in the novel 1984 by George Orwell. There is constant monitoring on the daily activities of the people so there is no complete privacy and less opportunity for funny business.

I did not know what were ‘sympathizers’ and ‘resisters’ but I sort of figured them out as I continued reading. Anyway, there was no extra background on how love was called a disease. And did none of them ever traveled to other countries? Or people from other countries traveling and staying in the United States?

Lena’s relationship with Alex was new and unexplored so it should be exciting. But I wasn’t really pulled in to the story during the chapters on the new lovebirds. I was glued back to the story at the last few chapters though, wondering about their impending fate.

As for the ending, it’s a cliffhanger. There will be a sequel, Pandemonium, and its expected publication is on March 6 next year.

Popularity: 9%

Categories: Authors O, Genre - YA Science Fiction, Titles D
16
Dec 2009

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

By 7 Comments

Jenna Fox woke up one fine day remembering nothing from her past. The 17-year-old doesn’t remember who she was, who her family was, who her friends were, where she went to school, nothing. After a year’s long coma caused by an accident, Jenna woke up trying to remember as much as she can but finding it quite difficult.

Mother provided Jenna home videos to watch hoping to trigger some of her lost memories. But all Jenna sees is a girl who looks like her doing things she doesn’t remember doing. Her grandmother, Lily, urges her to skip the rest and watch the final video, the video which was made just before Jenna’s accident. Jenna ignores Lily and continues to watch them in order. Lily is the only one who behaves coldly towards Jenna, unlike her Mother and Father who obviously dote on her.

Then Jenna also meets her neighbour and first friend post-coma, Clayton Bender, a photographer who likes to feed the birds. Her parents initially didn’t allow her to leave the house alone so Mr. Bender’s like her confidante. He may not be a typical teenager’s friend but he’s someone whom Jenna can talk to and also someone who doesn’t seem to be keeping secrets from her. Well, not that he has his own personal secrets.

Why did they move away from Boston, their home? Why stay so far away from Jenna’s doctors? Why don’t any of her old friends contact her? Why don’t her parents let her attend school? So many questions but nobody’s answering them. Lily does give Jenna a hint or two and it’s definitely not to strengthen their relationship.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox is written from Jenna’s point of view so we readers are also trying to figure out the truth about everything that’s happened. Chapters are really short and abundant. There are also poems written by Jenna to reflect her feelings and emotions in the process of discovering her identity.

For me, it was slow to start with but Jenna’s relationship with her Mother and Lily are certainly intriguing. I also like the part where Jenna goes to school for the first time post-coma and was wondering how she’d interact with her new friends, given that she remembers nothing from before. Oh well, she manages well and even does a good impression on some of them. And especially one of them, Ethan.

I wasn’t totally moved by the book, it was just okay to me. It’s a quick read, with lots of short chapters and sentences along with dictionary definitions of some words. I guess Jenna doesn’t remember parts of her vocabulary too.

With numerous awards already in hand, this book is going to be turned into a movie coming from 20th Century Fox! So, who do you think would make a good Jenna Fox?

Lastly, thanks to Em from Em’s Bookshelf for I won this book from her giveaway.

Other reviews: alita.reads.

Popularity: 7%

Categories: Authors P, Genre - YA Science Fiction, Titles A
03
Feb 2008

Maggie Again by John D. Husband

By 11 Comments

When I read the synopsis for Maggie Again, I knew this was going to be a one-of-a-kind kind of book. And I was right! This book was an enjoyable and easy read. Great for reluctant readers.

From the title, it’s obvious that the story revolves around Maggie, an active and vivacious 16-year-old country girl from Cobblers Eddy, Indiana. She enjoys spending time with her three best friends, Tom, Gordie, and Alfie. She and Tom have some romantic thing going on. Alfie is some kind of psychic. Sometimes, he knows what’s going to happen in the future.

Maggie’s world was turned upside down when she found out that her dad was going to move to New York and she and her mom are going too. Initially, she hated the idea of going to live in New York but later she understood how much it would mean to her father to work there. So, they did move to New York.

Maggie also wrote a letter to Tom, asking him to come visit her as soon as possible. After that, Tom, Gordie and Alfie hopped onto a boxcar, which they thought was going to New York. Alfie began to hear some strange music and before they knew it, they arrived in New York. But they arrived in the year 1984. They left Indiana in 1926. This means that they had travelled through time. Interesting, huh?

Meanwhile, in 1926, Maggie found out that the three boys had left Indiana to visit her. But they never came to New York. After weeks of their disappearance, they were declared dead and Maggie moved on with life. She got married and had a son. But she was not happy. She still wished she could see her 3 childhood friends again.

Well, she did meet them in 1984 when she’s already an old lady and the boys are still teenagers. The whole thing seemed completely bizarre for them. Totally unbelievable but it was hard to not to believe since they were all right in front of one another.

So, how do you think it’ll all work out? How will the relationship between Tom and Maggie develop? While reading, I wondered if Maggie will become young again. I wondered if it’s just all a dream for Maggie, Tom, Gordie, and Alfie. That kept me turning the pages.

Maggie Again is John D. Husband’s first novel and not a bad one either. I enjoyed reading it and if there’s a second novel, I’ll surely put it in my list of books to read.

Alfie looked down at her and answered her question in a low and somber voice: “You’re Maggie again.”

***I’d like to thank Lisa Roe for sending me this ARC to review. My very first ARC too! :)

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Mrs S, Lauren

Popularity: 4%

Categories: Authors H, Genre - YA Science Fiction, Titles M