Divergent

"Divergent" by Veronica Roth
Hardcover: 487 pages
Published: Katherine Tegen Books (May 3, 2011)

Description:
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series--dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

This book reminded me a little of "The Hunger Games" in the way it's written.  It takes place in some future dystopion existence in Chicago, so at least it's not a made up land like other books.  The four factions or groups of people in this book were a little hard to swallow.  I'm not sure that it would necessarily happen that way in real life, but it made for a good story.  I'm sure I'll read the next books in the series.  There's not too many books that could replace "The Hunger Games Trilogy" though.  Those are my favorite dystopian books.

In My Stack

Entwined

"Entwined" by Heather Dixon
Hardcover: 480 pages
Published: Greenwillow Books (March 29, 2011)

Description:

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.
The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.
Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.
But there is a cost.
The Keeper likes to keep things.
Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late. 

I did not finish this book.  I tried to get into it, but it was just too cheesy.  I mean, calling your father King and dancing at the drop a hat...hmm.  The wording was just ...cheesy.  I know I said that already, but it's the truth.  I loved the cover of the book.  Very pretty.  If you want to read a great book based on the Twelve Dancing Princesses, then read "Wildwood Dancing" by Juliet Marillier.  Now, that's a good book!

Since I didn't finish the book, I will not give it a star rating.

Passion

"Passion" (Fallen #3)
by Lauren Kate
Hardcover: 420 pages
Published: Random House Children's Books (June 14, 2011)

Description:
Luce would die for Daniel.

And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.

I was so excited to read this book!  I thought it was a very good book (if you've read the series) and I couldn't put it down.  I was glad to finally know the mysteries of their relationship and find out the secrets, etc.  Until I got to the last chapter and realized that this isn't the last book in the series.  There's going to be one more in June 2012 called "Rapture".  Bummer.

The Eleventh Plague

"The Eleventh Plague" by Jeff Hirsch
Hardcover: 288 pages
Published: Scholastic Books (September 1, 2011)

Book Description:

The wars that followed The Collapse nearly destroyed civilization. Now, twenty years later, the world is faced with a choice—rebuild what was or make something new.

Stephen Quinn, a quiet and dutiful fifteen-year-old scavenger, travels Post-Collapse America with his Dad and stern ex-Marine Grandfather. They travel light. They keep to themselves. Nothing ever cha...moreThe wars that followed The Collapse nearly destroyed civilization. Now, twenty years later, the world is faced with a choice—rebuild what was or make something new.

Stephen Quinn, a quiet and dutiful fifteen-year-old scavenger, travels Post-Collapse America with his Dad and stern ex-Marine Grandfather. They travel light. They keep to themselves. Nothing ever changes. But when his Grandfather passes suddenly and Stephen and his Dad decide to risk it all to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down. With his father terribly injured, Stephen is left alone to make his own choices for the first time.

Stephen’s choices lead him to Settler's Landing, a lost slice of the Pre-Collapse world where he encounters a seemingly benign world of barbecues, baseball games and days spent in a one-room schoolhouse. Distrustful of such tranquility, Stephen quickly falls in with Jenny Tan, the beautiful town outcast. As his relationship with Jenny grows it brings him into violent conflict with the leaders of Settler's Landing who are determined to remake the world they grew up in, no matter what the cost.

 

Well, what can I say that you don't already know from the description?  Not much.  This book was OK.  It was a fast read, and reminded me of the movie "The Road".  Same kind of idea.  Kind of depressing tho.

 

 

Torment

"Torment" (Fallen #2)
by Lauren Kate
Hardcover: 452 pages
Published: Random House Children's Books (September 28, 2010)


Book Description:
Hell on earth.

That’s what it’s like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.
It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts—immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn’t told her everything. He’s hiding something—something dangerous.
What if Daniel’s version of the past isn’t actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies.

This is a pretty good series so far.  I'm hooked, and can't wait to read the third book in the series called Passion.  I'm currently waiting for it at my library. 

This book is set in a new location (new school) and has some new interesting characters.  There's more angels and demons and part-angels in this book.  We are closer to discovering more about Luce and her background.  She is less afraid, and has discovered a new talent.  A really good book.

Vanish

"Vanish" by Sophie Jordan
Hardcover: 294 pages
Published: HarperTeen (September 6, 2011)

Book description:
To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

This book is the second in the "Firelight" series.  It's about a girl that is part human, and part dragon...a draki.  She is part of a larger tribe and she is sought because of her special talents.  I found this book to be just as good as the first one was.  The way this one ends leads up to a very interesting and exciting final book.  I'm looking forward to it.