In My Mailbox (79)

 In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, inspired by Alea and explores the contents of our mailbox on a weekly basis.

For Review:

• Divergent by Veronica Roth (from ATW)
• Miles From Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams (3, so I'll be doing a giveaway)

Library:

• The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (book + audiobook)

Won!

• Party by Tom Leveen (my review)

Wither - Lauren DeStefano

Young Adult
Pages: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date: March 22, 2011

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.

Wither is dystopia outside the lines. This was a book that made me want to sit and just think about it. The plot is set in the future yes, yet it is a future with almost no technology, where men may have several wives, where women are valued merely for their reproductive function, and where women are sold like merchandise and forced into unwanted marriages. This brought to my mind the issue of Dystopian Vs. Historical Fiction which I posted about a while ago. To me, this book had a very historical feel to it.

I really, really liked the fact that the romance issues were also atypical. Rhine is forced to marry and become one of Logan's three wives. Rhine finds herself more and more fond of her husband throughout the book, which is rare and unexpected. This was what I most enjoyed about it. I'm team Logan, if that makes sense. I utterly enjoyed Logan's character and found myself wanting Rhine to claim her place, be jealous of Cecily and forget about her past and issues. I'm not sure if it was because Gabriel's character was not as richly developed as the rest or if it was part of what the author wants us to feel. But the point is the book was very successful in stirring up emotions in me and gave me a thought-provoking experience. Plus, I really enjoyed the writing.

With that said, I did not feel the book was exactly fast paced. I felt it rather slow and even had to drag myself through some parts. I didn't feel it was a page-turning dystopia at all and that's also one of the reasons I compare it with historical, because in historical you expect that might happen. So I'm NOT saying it was a bad thing at all, but differs from its genre in that sense. One thing I have been noticing though, is that the futuristic part has become a shield in which the author feels that, since it's technically not reality (its just our world gone foul), they can freely portray hard social issues. This book has teen pregnancy, polygamy, and cruel death and I felt the it deals with these hard issues in a very light way. Since it is part of a series, I still need to read more to say for sure though.

Overall, it is a very different and creative approach to the unwanted the future. A beautiful prose that leaves be salivating for the next book.

Goodreads / Amazon

Unique voices in YA

For no apparent reason, I started thinking about which female voice stands out from all the books I've read. Aside from the story, there are some books that just grab at you by having an utterly powerful and compelling voice that make the book that much more awesome.

When I started writing down my top favorite voices though, I found that they were strangely... all contemporary. Now don't get me wrong, I've quite enjoyed voices in other genres, but these are the top ones that stand out in my head, and they happen to share the genre. So it made me wonder if maybe, just maybe, this is why I like so much contemporary reads. See, I know exactly what I like about high fantasy, dystopian and historical fiction. Its something I've already discussed before--how other worlds and realities are so fascinating. But comtemps? It's actually hard to say, right? What do you think, Contemp lovers?

I believe I found my answer. And it lies in the voice.

Here's my list of favorite voices:

• Belly from the Summer series.
• Ruby Oliver. (The Boyfriend List and so on..)
• Andi from Revolution, which yes, is technically historical, but Alex doesn't have such an awesome powerful voice as Andi does, and since Andi is the contemporary one, I think I can count this as contemp too.
• Taylor from Jellicoe Road
• Parker from Cracked Up to Be
• Remy from This Lullaby. Actually most of Dessen's protags have very strong voices. This one just happens to be my favorite because I can identify with her more and she's kind of unique even amongst Dessen's female leads.

What are your favorite voices? I'd really love to know, so comment away.

Waiting on Wednesday (82)

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Don't Stop Now by Julie Halpern

On the first day of Lillian’s summer-before-college, she gets a message on her cell from her sort-of friend, Penny. Not only has Penny faked her own kidnapping, but Lil is the only one who figures it out. She knows that Penny’s home life has been rough, and that her boyfriend may be abusive. Soon, Penny’s family, the local police, and even the FBI are grilling Lil, and she decides to head out to Oregon, where Penny has mentioned an acquaintance. And who better to road-trip across the country with than Lil’s BFF, Josh. But here’s the thing: Lil loves Josh. And Josh doesn’t want to “ruin” their amazing friendship.
Josh has a car and his dad’s credit card. Lil has her cellphone and a hunch about where Penny is hiding. There’s something else she needs to find: Are she and Josh meant to be together?

Release Date: June 7, 2011
Goodreads / Amazon

YA Releases

This is a weekly post to spotlight (some) YA and MG books that will be releasing during this week.

• Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr
• Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton
• A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford

• Deadly by Julie Chibbaro
• Orchards by Holly Thompson
• Haven by Kristi Cook

• Exposed by Kimberly Marcus
• Wonderland by Joanna Nadin
• The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge

• The Visconti House by Elsbeth Edgar
• Ominous (Private) by Kate Brian