Allegiant, by Veronica Roth (Divergent #3)

Synopsis:

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. 

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

I'm gonna write my general opinion, spoiler-free, and all that now, and then write my real reaction to the book, full of spoilers... I never do that, but I need to this time. I really, really need to. This initial rant is written assuming that all of you have read the first two books, and I'm aware that I may be one of the last people who haven't read Allegiant, but that's just a matter of where we leave, so... 

So I'm just going to say something about the book that you'll know if you just open the page. The book isn't from Tris's perspective like the other two are. I mean, it is, but it's also told from Tobias's perspective, depending on the chapter. I'll leave you to think about that... 

I loved the book. It was great. It's been a while since I read the previous two, so I don't remember them all that well, but it was enough. The plot in this book is really different from the other two, changing escenarios and introducing many new characters in the story. It first looked like Veronica Roth had to end the series someway and didn't know how, so she came up with a new plot for this one, kind of. But now I'm starting to think that this may have been thought in advance, maybe at the beginning of Insurgent, clearly not while writing the first book. 

I want to say that I loved Tobias in this final book. Maybe it is because of being able to see the world from his perspective, but I just grew more and more fond of him, fell in love with him all over again. It looks like he's grown as a character in this book, now that he and Tris really know each other and all that, but maybe it's my point of view because I don't remember the last two books that well, I don't know. 

I don't like the new characters in this book. They aren't well-developped and they aren't that deep. And I love deep characters... I just think they could've been better. 

There was a lot of happiness in this book, but also a lot of sadness. I think it was a great ending chapter to  an awesome trilogy. 

*spoilers start here*

Wow. I don't want to ruin anyone's excitement to read Allegiant if they haven't read it, so don't read this if you don't want to be spoiled, but that book ruined me. I'm permanently marked by it. Just like it happened with Clockwork Princess, I'm not going to recover. Clockwork Princess ripped my heart out leaving a permanent wound, and Allegiant just made it worse, making me feel the pain all over again... Books are ruining me. 

But let's talk about the ending book of the trilogy by Veronica Roth. I just think she went kind of crazy while writing this book and came out with all these GPs and GDs and all these genetical things that came out of nowhere. I don't really know how she invented those, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't her plan when she wrote Divergent. Not only she made the world inside the book worse, but she also decided to torture poor Tobias by making him a false divergent, making him genetically damaged. That's such a horrible word... I didn't like that in the book, the fact that the genes became such an important part of the plot... 

Let's see if I can write about the important thing in the book now. The heartbreaking event that changed me and that I haven't been able to say it out loud or written it yet, and I finished the book a couple of days ago. Tris dies. Omg I wrote it. Haven't said it. Will never be able to... It's such a huge thing that the main character dies!!! How can that even cross a young adult novels writer's mind? I mean, I think it is magnificent. It is so awesome that Veronica dared to do that! I hate her and admire her for that. It made me think of what would have happened if Katniss died in The Hunger Games. Can you imagine that?

Caleb is the character that I hated the most. He's not a good brother. No matter how much Tris loves him in her inside, Caleb is not a good person and I don't think he deserves what Tris did for him. Not only did he fail her in multiple ways, but he only intended to sacrifice because that was what everyone expected from him. I don't hate him completely, but I don't particularly like him. I like Peter better :)

As I said before, I loved Tobias in this book. Watching him find out he was genetically damaged and then reading and getting to know the way he sees Tris, the way he sees his parents and the rest of people... that was perfect. The way he suffers, the way he loves, the way he hates, the way he forgives... I love him for every single detail. And Tris was just as amazing as always, being the epic heroine she is and filling the book with her shining light.  

No matter how devastated am I after reading the book, Allegiant was an epic finale for the awesome trilogy. 

*spoilers end here*

Prodigy, by Marie Lu (Legend #2)

Synopsis:

Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?

After reading Legend, I instantly knew I had to read Prodigy soon, that I needed to read it as soon as possible. So I did. I think I read it in a couple of days, back in the beginning of November, and I couldn’t stop for a second. It was the week after Champion had been released, so I started to freak out thinking on how long it would take it to be translated to Spanish and to get here. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to wait. I think I’ll just try to find it in English. 

Prodigy was as good as Legend in every aspect, or even better. I know that there’s a popular opinion that first books are always the best ones. But it is not true, at least not in this case (and I can imagine many more). The relationship between Day and June, which is what I loved the most in Legend has continued developing in Prodigy and that’s one of the reasons I love it so much. The other one is Anden. I’m just so in love with him… My friend got mad at me because I suggested I could see June with Anden instead of Day, but I’ve been thinking about it lately and saw that both Anden and Day are different parts of June’s life. They represent different parts of her that she may or not like. So don't think I prefer Anden to Day. And then putting also Tess into this love triangle, now a square… I thought that was a bit rushed, and it made me dislike Tess more and more as pages went by. I don’t think I like her at all, but it’s not because it’s a possibility for Day’s love life, because Anden is also there competing with Day and I still love him, maybe even more now. And then there’s Thomas, who I started disliking on the very first page of Legend he appeared in, and now it’s just getting worse. There’s something I don’t like about this series, and it’s that most things are expected. Metias’s killer, who’s giving money to Razor and the Patriots, Tess’s crush… So, because of that, my favourite part in Prodigy, even if it’s also the one that made me sadder (I honestly cried), is the ending, since Day’s discovery about what’s happening to him, because that was just so shocking… I think it may have been too surprising. It looks like it had just occurred to Marie Lu about a page before, so she just wrote it down. But the last three pages were so heartbreaking… 

To sum up, I really liked the book, and I think the storyline is quite good, even though Day’s discovery about himself at the end was rushed, but that was another reason for Champion to exist, so I won’t criticize it. I’m really enjoying this trilogy, and it’s definitely one of my favourite books of 2013. Thank you, Marie Lu.

Legend, by Marie Lu (Legend #1)

Synopsis:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. 

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

I had been recommended that book by a friend so many times, just like I recommended her some of my favourites, but I just didn’t have time and decided to wait for a while. But when I got it, I couldn’t stop. There have been many dystopias going on around here lately, since The Hunger Games and Divergent, and all authors are trying to write something original around this gender, because if it looks too much as a previously written novel, dystopian fans will not be pleased, that’s how we are. 

I read Legend on the last week of October, and then started Prodigy around the time where Champion, the last book in the trilogy, was released. I read Legend so fast and I liked it so much that the day I finished it, I started the next one, Prodigy. Day and June conquered me on the very first moment. June, The Republic’s most treasured person, is such an unconventional main character, an unconventional heroine, and that’s mainly the thing I love about her. And Day… he is just perfect. The most wanted criminal in The Republic, but still the most caring and lovely boy anyone could ask for. I like the way their relationship grows as the story goes on, how they start hating each other, then trusting each other, then hate again… There’s a mutual respect both characters share for each other that is a really important part in their relationship. 

I love this depth that the main characters have. I like how every detail is well taken care of, producing a well-written novel that is definitely one of my favourite discoveries this year. I absolutely loved how everything developed in the book, and couldn’t wait to continue with June and Day in Prodigy. 

My comments: just read it. Flawless.

The 5th Wave, by Rick Yancey

Synopsis:

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

I hadn’t heard anything about The 5th Wave until I had it in my hands, nothing besides the fact that there were different narrators during the book. That single fact I knew about made me think that I wouldn’t like the book, because different people talking about what’s going on is quite nice to know what everyone thinks and feels about each other, but it makes me really nervous, it bothers me a bit when reading. The last books I read like that were all by Simone Elkeles, who gives the opportunity to the readers to know what the girl thinks in a chapter and the boy in the next one, always one for each. But with The 5th Wave… I could read more than 100 pages from Cassie’s head and then suddenly I knew what Ben was thinking, but only for less than 10 pages, and then Evan for 20, Cassie for 5 more… It was a complete mess. But it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and it’s an original way of writing, I have never seen that before.

But the story itself, it was good. Everything that happened was really unexpected. The main character, Cassie, may spend three full pages debating about what to do in a specific situations, and after them, she may act as the completely opposite of what I thought she would do. I liked that, because I dislike books which are too predictable. 

But The 5th Wave was different from all books, not only from Yancey’s writing style, which I really enjoyed reading (besides the narrator thing), but because of the plot, the dystopian topics the book is about, like the apocalypse. It’s not a book that changed my vision of life, but it earned a place in my heart.

Divergent trailer

On August 25th, the VMAs were on on MTV, and I stayed up until 5.20am watching them. I really looked forward to the Video Music Awards because my favorite artist, Taylor Swift, would be there and was nominated to a couple of awards, and also because I love watching award shows, seeing all those people I like (or not), tweeting while watching it, seeing the performances and the dresses... And I specially looked forward to this VMAs because the Divergent trailer was going to be revealed at some point that night. When I watched it, I was so excited about everything I saw that my brain didn't process it that well, so I had to watch it again and again. That's what I do with trailers, anyway. I've seen the Catching Fire, TMI and Vampire Academy trailer thousands of times, just like The Host and other movies's, so this was not going to be an exception. 

I loved the trailer. It showed a lot of meaningful scenes, not as many as in Blood Sisters, but a lot. I'm going to take this opportunity to comment about the cast too, because we can't say we hate someone as our favourite character until we've seen them acting as them. I absolutely love Shailene Woodley as Tris. When I imagined her in the book, I pictured a completely normal girl, not too beautiful, not too confident, not too shy, I pictured her as completely average, because that's what makes us relate to the character. I find very important that the main character is relatable to us, because otherwise everthing would be completely unbelievable. I like Theo James as Four, I do, but I just find him maybe too old for the role next to Shailene. When we see him tell Tris that he's not going to let her be killed, he doesn't look as a potential love interest, at least for me, but maybe when I see the movie I'll think differently. 

I really like the fact that Kate Winslet is in this movie, because having a well-known actress as her gives to the movie a different look from the outside, like it's not just a new teenage dystopian story. 

So, after seeing The Host, which was a good adaptation of the book, I expect this, only from the trailer, to be as good, more or less. The scenes look great; jumping from the train, learning to fight, going up the fair wheel... I expect a lot from this movie, even if that's what has made me be disappointed in some other movies. 

If you haven't watched the trailer yet, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6HHCxLZftQ

Divergent movie news

The cast and other information for the Divergent movie were announced less than two months ago, and not everyone is happy about them, it's not how we imagined the characters while we were reading them. 

- Shailene Woodley plays Tris Prior, the main character of the book. 

- Theo James is Four, the other main character, and the character we girls were most looking forward to know. 

- Kate Winslet will be Jeanine, the evil one in the film. 

- Ansel Elgort is Caleb Prior, Tris's smart brother. 

- Zoe Kravitz is Christina, Tris's new friend in Dauntless, brave and reckless. 

- Maggie Q. will play Tori, another Dauntless member. 

- Ben Lloyd-Huges plays Will, one of Tris's new friends. 

- Ben Lamb will be Edward, another friend. 

- Christian Madsen is Al, another friend. 

- Jai Courtney is Eric, the Dauntless leader Tris doesn't seem to particularly like.

Uriah, Peter and other characters are still being cast, even if there are many rumours that haven't been confirmed yet. 
The movie is currently being filmed in Chicago, USA, but I'm not sure if they started yet...
So what do you think? Are the actors like you imagined the characters?

Catching Fire trailer

Finally!! The Catching Fire trailer finally aired last night, but thanks to timezones, I had to wait until this morning to watch it (it was the first thing I did when I woke up). 

What do you think about it? I loved it, ok? But, I don't know, I expected many different things to be in it. By the way, there are going to be spoilers here, so if you haven't read the book, you'll maybe don't want to read this...

I really expected more scenes in the arena to appear in the trailer or something because, you know, that's what the book is about. But yeah, just like I thought while reading Catching Fire, Katniss doesn't get to the arena since more or less half the book, so... I guess it's okay to show in the trailer why does President Snow want old winners back to the arena. Which I think it's unfair, by the way. You know, if you've fought against 23 people to survive and fight for your life, and you've been lucky enough to win, why do you have to do it again? The good thing about going to The Hunger Games was that you can never be selected anymore...

Finnick didn't appear in the trailer, right? They should have shown him, because he's one of the characters the fandom seems to like most. And the other winners, from the other districts, should have appeared as almost main characters. 

Katniss's kiss with Gale appeared, though, and some other things I didn't want my sister to see because she hasn't read the book. If you already know what's going to happen, it's not fun to read it anymore. 

But now that we have the trailer, November 22nd looks a bit closer to me... I'm really excited to see what the movie will look like!! 

If you haven't watched it yet, you can watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2-FdZ6TY78

Tell me if it doesn't work. 

What else do you think was missing in the trailer? Or what do you think was too much to be shown? Have you read the book?

Divergent, by Veronica Roth (Divergent #1)

Synopsis:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, 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. 

That book left me speechless. I mean, how can someone have thought of that? After The Hunger Games, that's the beginning of the trilogy every teenage in this world will read. That's what happens when books are like this, even people who never open a book try and read it. And then they love it. And they thank me for recommending it. Just like it happened with The Hunger Games. 

The way Veronica Roth explains what Tris is feeling, the way it looks like she has everything planned since the beginning but there's no way we're going to guess the end of it, it's wonderful. It's a good book to read if you need action, love, and things happening at the perfect moment, not having to wait for centuries for the next thing to happen. 

Which faction would you choose? Candor, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity or Abnegation?