A Little Rant on Dystopian Books

So me and pretty much everyone who reads a lot of YA novels have to read Dystopian YA novels, as they are the most popular. You're probably thinking "oh, like the Hunger Games." If you aren't, kudos to you, but if you are, then you are like most librarians, teachers, and kids that I know. These days, every dystopian book is either classified as "like the Hunger Games" or "the next Hunger Games" or it's compared to the Hunger Games in some way, shape or form. Whenever I pick up a Dystopian novel these days, I always seem to see some comparison to The Hunger Games in the "Praise For..." section. At school, the genre we are doing for a project is Dystopian Books. most people I know are coming up to me and asking "oh but I've already read the Hunger Games, what now?" I'm like asdfghigvwilkj.szk!!! Seriously, it's not like I didn't like the Hunger Games, in fact it is one of my favorite series, but the thing is there were dystopian books before the Hunger Games! People keep forgetting that there are amazing Dystopian novels out there that are NOT the Hunger Games. And every Dystopian book cannot be compared to The Hunger Games. In the copy od Inside Out I was reading (review below), in the Praise For section it said that it was a great novel just like The Hunger Games. The Hell? It was nothing like the Hunger Games. They were completely different novels, with completely different themes. Anyway, just something to think about.

~ Marium

Inside Out by: Maria V. Snyder

So I read Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. It sounded much better in the summaries. It was about a girl named Trella who lives in a Dystopian world called Inside. In Inside, (that sounds weird), there are two classes of people. Trella is part of the lower class, the scrubs. She meets Riley, part of the upper class, and together they lead a rebellion. This sounded pretty cool to me, but it started out a bit rough. Maria never really explained the Dystopian world that well, and i was very confused the first few chapters. I only really understood everything after starting the sequel, Outside In. The plot went a little too fast and again, some parts I thought "when the hell did that happen" and stuff but other than that, it was a pretty good story and an ok novel. I would give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

~Marium (who feels like no ones gonna read this except the other admins)

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Three words: BEST BOOK EVER.
I would probably rate this book 5 out 5 stars; it is my new favorite book. I truly loved the characters, plot, AND the writing of this book! Another must-read dystopia novel. There was never a point where I lost interest. The idea of factions with different self-values and initiations was creative; it caused great character development. My favorite character would probably be Four, just for the way he could hide his fear and be calm throughout the entire book. Also, I loved Tris' character development. At the beginning, she knew she didn't truly belong in Abnegation, but eventually she became more and more confident in what she could do and her purpose in her faction. I must say, Veronica did an amazing job with writing this book, and I cannot wait until the sequel, Insurgent comes out! Definitely read this one if you haven't; I'm sure you will love it.

~Nanako

Across the Universe by: Beth Revis

Just finished reading the book Across the Universe by Beth Revis. I would probably rate it about 2 1/2 out of 5 stars. Yes, it was that bad. The idea was interesting, although I lost interest about half way through. Also, the characters weren't the best. Honestly, it could've been much, much better. There were a lot more abstract concepts that were discussed in the book including leadership, individual thought, and diversity. The regular cliche concepts discussed in most sci-fi novels. The book was VERY PG 13 rated, and there was a lot of, well, sex. Yes, I said it, sex. Way too much of it in my opinion but I guess Beth was feeling a little lonely while writing and could only write about it. Jk. Anyway, I would say not to read this one. Read more about the book at my blog http://confessionsofatrueasian.blogspot.com

- Marium