Cress by Marissa Meyer- Review

Cress by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (2014)

Length: 550 pgs

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3

Format: Hardcover, purchased from Target

Goodreads Synopsis: In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who’s only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

My Review:

Cress is the most action-packed installment of the Lunar Chronicles so far. Now following the stories of three fairy-tale inspired heroines and their love interests, Marissa Meyer does an excellent job weaving together all three stories to form a cohesive, refreshing third person narrative that explores new Earthen regions, delves further into the mysterious Luna, tackles tragedy, and provides great character development for the whole cast.

Meyer has done a fantastic job in the series creating distinct identities for each fairy tale heroine, crafting their well-known literary back stories with her own interpretation of their personalities. Cress is an idealistic dreamer/genius computer hacker that’s suffered social isolation for close to a decade, yet she tries to see the good in people. Cress’ innocence and quirky personality balance out the sassy and outspoken Scarlet and the contemplative and hardworking Cinder. Cress also serves as a catalyst for the character development of Captain Thorne, and it was really fun to see him grow as a character.

Divergent: Text to Film Thoughts

Like many avid YA readers, I always approach the making of a film based on a book series with a weary sort of sigh, because there are so many ways that it can go horribly, horribly wrong (i.e. Twilight, Beautiful Creatures, and I haven’t even bothered seeing The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones). I’m also usually highly skeptical of the casting, and Divergent was no exception. Yet I wanted to see the movie to get my Tris-and-Four fill as I’ve yet to read the last book in the series because it’s received such mixed reviews (though I have read a plot summary, and I have to agree that it sounds rather absurd). So this past Friday I trudged along to my local movie theater to catch a matinee showing, and was surprised to find that except for a few elderly couples, the theater was pretty much vacant.

Despite the lack of a crowd on opening day, I found myself pleasantly surprised in what was an engaging movie that didn’t deviate too drastically from the book. The cast was enjoyable (especially Kate Winslet- loved her performance!) and the visuals were pretty spot on for what I had imagined while reading the series. My friend whom I was with had not read the books, yet did not have any trouble keeping up. I appreciate that the film kept it’s textual integrity while still being viewer-friendly to those who had not read the books (a feat that sometimes is not accomplished however well intentioned- I’m looking at you, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix).

Here’s a quick breakdown of why you should see Divergent:

• Theo James as Four. He may not be the exact Four I had in my head but I was not complaining about his performance, and he manages to have decent chemistry with Shailene Woodley (and he’s nice to look at…).
• The scenes are very visually stimulating, especially the choosing ceremony and the fear landscapes.
• It’s viewer friendly if you want/have to drag along someone who hasn’t read the book, and it’s an interesting story regardless
• This may be a mild spoiler, but there’s a scene in Tris’ fear landscape that she must overcome which involves her resisting a potential sexual assault. The fact that this movie identifies that assault is a very real issue that girls face everyday and has Tris verbally and physically fight back is empowering and makes me want to jump up and down in happiness that they choose to address it.
• It’s a longer movie at 2 hours and 20 minutes but it flies by, and it never stalls at any point.
• Tris is a strong, independent, relatively vocal female protagonist and she’s still identifiable to the audience.
• It’s better than the Hunger Games! (Well, in my opinion…I find this series more my style as far as dystopian novels go, and I definitely prefer Tris over Katniss).

My only complaint about the film was that all of the transfer guys in Dauntless in Tris’ class looked alike. I’m not even kidding. I couldn’t keep Peter/Will/Al straight because the actors all looked like they could be related. Yet overall Divergent didn’t disappoint and I am more than excited to see the next film! Though the film has been all over the news for not making as much as Hunger Games did its opening weekend, Divergent is its own story that deserves its own fan base and its own appreciation rather than being constantly pitted against other dystopian society text-to-film adaptations. So go see it! If YA fantasy/action/dystopian is your thing, you won’t be disappointed!

If you have seen it, what were your thoughts? Do you like the series better than Hunger Games?

World After by Susan Ee- Review

World After by Susan Ee

My rating: 4/5 Stars

Publisher: Skyescape (November 2013)

Length: 438 pgs

Series: Penryn and the End of Days #2

Format: Paperback, purchased from Amazon

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what’s left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn’s sister Paige, thinking she’s a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels’ secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can’t rejoin the angels, can’t take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

My Review:

I just finished this book nearly and hour ago, and I already don’t know what I’m going to do with myself while I wait for the next book in the series to be released (in over a year)! For those who loved the post-apocalyptic world of Angelfall, the biblical-based angel mythology, and the honesty and agency of Penryn’s character, you will not be disappointed. Susan Ee has officially written my favorite post-apocalyptic, dystopian, YA fantasy series, with a cast of characters who all hold their own and a host of angel antagonists whose motives are wonderfully complex.

If you read and loved Angelfall, and are shipping Penryn and Raffe so hard (like me), then you might find the first 80% of this book to drag. It suffers from what I like to call “New Moon” syndrome, as it’s the second book of a series during which the male lead is largely absent. Yet Penryn is such a practical and resilient character that she doesn’t spend a colossal amount of time dwelling on this fact, and the plot carries a quick pace, unwinding many of the mysteries presented in the first book, as Penryn continues to fight her way through and keep her family safe from the angel and demon ravaged Bay Area (which I mentioned in my review of Angelfall made me delightedly happy, since it’s an area of California that usually doesn’t get used for settings much in novels). In fact, as much as I love the idea of Penryn and Raffe together, she’s such a bold and resourceful character that I find myself cheering for her whether she’s alone or with him, and if it came down to a battle-of-book-characters I think she could fight Katniss Everdeen and give her a series run for her money.

World After also presents engaging new plot points that set up nicely for a longer series, such as the fate of the mutated children like Paige, the idea of a “generated” apocalypse, the divisions of the loyalties of the angels, as well as pulling interesting concepts from the Bible, such as the idea of Judgement Day, the specific plagues to the earth during the apocalypse, and the interpretation of Nephilim. As a Religious Studies major, I majorly nerded out over Ee’s seamless integration of biblical themes in her world building, and she manages to make her angel-ridden world make sense, rather than taking the basic concept of seraphim and completely rewriting their biblical history.

As I mentioned earlier, Ee writes a stunning cast of multi-dimensional characters, and each one poses deeper questions for the reader. Paige’s mother’s schizophrenia is worse in this book, but despite her paranoia she usually has the best survival instincts and the most loyalty to her daughters, questioning how easily society disregards the contribution or mental/emotional capacity of those with mental illness. Paige is a mutilated, morphed shadow of her old self (as is Clara) who is loyal to her family, yet her family has trouble accepting her after undergoing such physical changes. Penryn herself is by no means perfect, and she is often placed in situations where she must do a cost-benefit analysis of what course of action to take: to save her family or save dozens of victims. She’s not inherently selfless nor apathetic, and while her decisions can go either way, her mental struggle is very real, and the situations she’s placed in have the reader questioning what they would do if they were standing right alongside her. Other topics are introduced for the reader’s consideration as well, such as Stockholm Syndrome, politics, military force, class status (as it mostly disappears in the face of the end of the world), the desperation of the human condition, and the testing of family bonds and acceptance in the face of change.

I have to allow myself a moment to completely fan-girl over Penryn and Raffe though (forgive me). Despite his archangel status and her human status, they manage to hold their own with each other, and it never feels like one is pathetically “pining” after the other or subordinate to the other. Yes, they both have moments of emotion, but their vulnerability is real rather than self-depreciating, and their dynamic is balanced, as they have both saved each other’s lives multiple times (who knew angels couldn’t swim?). Raffe is witty and sarcastic, but also has a deep sense of duty and a clear well of emotion due to the trauma he’s endured since the start of the series, and his soul-crushing experiences serve to humanize him, rather than make him some unattainable goal for Penryn. The bond they share through Raffe’s sword is especially intriguing, as it turns out it is a rather sentient being, receptive to the emotions of its owner, and can function much like a pensive. I’m rooting for Penryn and Raffe not because they’re a star-crossed YA couple, but because they defy so many of the YA couple stereotypes and their character development builds off of one another.

If you can handle dystopian fiction with a hint of horror and a touch of gore, I highly highly recommend this series. If you want well-rounded main AND peripheral characters, a breathtaking world of a ravaged Bay Area, a female protagonist with determination and agency, and a love story that develops slowly, deliciously, and realistically (rather than hitting you over the head with it), pick up this series now- you won’t be disappointed.