Allegiant
I finished the Divergent Trilogy and I think that on reflection, my favourite of the three books by Veronica Roth was the first one. However I did enjoy the last book, 'Allegiant'; the concept is much larger than that of 'Divergent' (where the focus is on the initiation at Dauntless, but I think that is why I liked it) and 'Insurgent' (where the focus has extended to the entire city of Chicago).
The conflict just grows and more plot twists are being introduced into the story, and while I was reading 'Allegiant', and was more than halfway through, I was beginning to doubt whether everything could be resolved in the remaining pages. Surely there would have to be another novel-length to be able to find solutions to all this build up? But it turned out that the denouement didn't take up much time at all and that the crescendo was the main point of the story. The ending was sort of predictable but unpredictable at the same time. By this I mean that when reading the third book, you can speculate what could happen to some of the plots, but you would not have guessed any of those things when reading the first book. It's really hard to explain without giving the entire series plot away, and that is why I decided to just write a very brief review about it, because obviously if you are interested in reading this dystopian trilogy, you would rather not have the ending spoilt.
7/10
The book of broken hearts
After finishing 'Allegiant' I thought I'd return back to my usual reading genre of young adult fiction set in the every day world and about every day people, and 'Sarah Ockler's novel 'The book of broken hearts' jumped out at me while scanning the library bookshelves. I was expecting a light read, and in a way it really was, written in the first person of the main character, Jude. The language itself made you feel like you were reading through Jude's thought process, which not many people like, however, I really enjoy that sort of writing style. This style was very similar to how Richelle Mead wrote her 'Vampire Academy' series, which I find makes it easier for the reader to become the protagonist, stepping into their minds. But despite the writing style, the book involves such heavy issues, which made the book an emotional read which involved me to have a few minutes break after some sections before continuing reading (I finished the book in a day because for me it was a quality read). The reason for this was because the story is so realistic, to the point that some of the themes hit really close to home.
Jude is the youngest sister of four, whom each have had their heart's broken by one of the Vargas brothers. When she was twelve, she joined in with her sisters in swearing an oath to never get involved with a Vargas, which has never been a problem for Jude until the summer before she goes off to college. During this break, she and her father plan to fix his old motorbike, which leads them in employing the young mechanic, Emilio, who also happens to be a Vargas. It is this summer that she begins to realise that maybe not all Vargas's are evil heartbreakers, as she instantly falls for Emilio.
The reason why there is a sense of urgency to finish the motorbike is because Jude's father has Alzheimer's, and this is what also made this read heavy and why I became more emotionally involved in the story than I usually do when reading books. I always get absorbed when reading the book and am often transported into the world of the book, however, this time it was more personal. I, among many others have/ had someone in their lives who are diagnosed with this horrible disease, and it is seriously one of the worst things imaginable. Sarah Ockler was able to capture the disease (which Jude referred to as 'El Demonio') so realistic, with Jude's father's episodes, which makes your heart break as it is quite confronting especially if you have actually experienced similar scenarios in real life.
It was such a truthful, yet wonderful read and am hoping to read more of her books. I highly recommend this.
8/10
I finished the Divergent Trilogy and I think that on reflection, my favourite of the three books by Veronica Roth was the first one. However I did enjoy the last book, 'Allegiant'; the concept is much larger than that of 'Divergent' (where the focus is on the initiation at Dauntless, but I think that is why I liked it) and 'Insurgent' (where the focus has extended to the entire city of Chicago).
The conflict just grows and more plot twists are being introduced into the story, and while I was reading 'Allegiant', and was more than halfway through, I was beginning to doubt whether everything could be resolved in the remaining pages. Surely there would have to be another novel-length to be able to find solutions to all this build up? But it turned out that the denouement didn't take up much time at all and that the crescendo was the main point of the story. The ending was sort of predictable but unpredictable at the same time. By this I mean that when reading the third book, you can speculate what could happen to some of the plots, but you would not have guessed any of those things when reading the first book. It's really hard to explain without giving the entire series plot away, and that is why I decided to just write a very brief review about it, because obviously if you are interested in reading this dystopian trilogy, you would rather not have the ending spoilt. 7/10
The book of broken hearts
After finishing 'Allegiant' I thought I'd return back to my usual reading genre of young adult fiction set in the every day world and about every day people, and 'Sarah Ockler's novel 'The book of broken hearts' jumped out at me while scanning the library bookshelves. I was expecting a light read, and in a way it really was, written in the first person of the main character, Jude. The language itself made you feel like you were reading through Jude's thought process, which not many people like, however, I really enjoy that sort of writing style. This style was very similar to how Richelle Mead wrote her 'Vampire Academy' series, which I find makes it easier for the reader to become the protagonist, stepping into their minds. But despite the writing style, the book involves such heavy issues, which made the book an emotional read which involved me to have a few minutes break after some sections before continuing reading (I finished the book in a day because for me it was a quality read). The reason for this was because the story is so realistic, to the point that some of the themes hit really close to home.
Jude is the youngest sister of four, whom each have had their heart's broken by one of the Vargas brothers. When she was twelve, she joined in with her sisters in swearing an oath to never get involved with a Vargas, which has never been a problem for Jude until the summer before she goes off to college. During this break, she and her father plan to fix his old motorbike, which leads them in employing the young mechanic, Emilio, who also happens to be a Vargas. It is this summer that she begins to realise that maybe not all Vargas's are evil heartbreakers, as she instantly falls for Emilio.
The reason why there is a sense of urgency to finish the motorbike is because Jude's father has Alzheimer's, and this is what also made this read heavy and why I became more emotionally involved in the story than I usually do when reading books. I always get absorbed when reading the book and am often transported into the world of the book, however, this time it was more personal. I, among many others have/ had someone in their lives who are diagnosed with this horrible disease, and it is seriously one of the worst things imaginable. Sarah Ockler was able to capture the disease (which Jude referred to as 'El Demonio') so realistic, with Jude's father's episodes, which makes your heart break as it is quite confronting especially if you have actually experienced similar scenarios in real life.It was such a truthful, yet wonderful read and am hoping to read more of her books. I highly recommend this.
8/10
Hey Eva have you read any other John Green books? I'd love to hear your thoughts on those. Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns are being adapted into films soon!
ReplyDeleteThank you for these suggestions- I'll definitely read them! I didn't know they were being made into films too!
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