Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Hi Guys!

Well I'm back with another review for an awesome novel that I read ...well just about 10 minutes ago. I have a whole lot of mixed feelings at this moment particularly about the book. I'm sure every reader knows that feeling of their life kind of ending after reading a really great and memorable book. That's exactly the situation to define my feelings after having read this book.

                                        

So the novel focuses on a young teenage girl named Beatrice Prior. She lives in a world similar to many other dystopian themed societies; the thing that significantly separates her world from many other ones in dystopian novels are the 5 factions or parties of her society. There is Abnegation meaning Selfless, Dauntless meaning Brave, Amity meaning Peaceful, Erudite meaning Intelligent, and Candor meaning Honest. Beatrice who was born an Abnegation must make a choice of which faction she will choose and stay with for the rest of her life.  During her choosing ceremony, she apparently chooses to be Dauntless after watching her brother switch from his original faction to a different one himself. While Beatrice feels guilty for her action (since switching from your original faction to a different one is considered betrayal), she feels sort of relieved of it since she she does not think she is as selfless as she seems. Before the choosing ceremony, she took an aptitude test to check which faction would be right for her. Her results turned out to be inconclusive and 'dangerous' as the lady monitoring the test had said.

In the Dauntless compound, Beatrice changes her name to 'Tris' and meets many different initiates like herself who have switched from different factions. Dauntless trainees have to go through many different initiations to test their skills and bravery. Although it was very challenging and toilsome for Tris at the beginning, she learns to endure them and becomes strong and undaunted at the end of the initiations. I really enjoyed this book, and I think that I'm also ready to claim it as my favorite book so far since reading 'Matched'. There were a lot of intense parts of the book and even some where I just had to cringe at the thought of it, since there were a large amount of fighting parts. There were also some parts that left me quite teary eyed..but I'd rather not point them out, cuz that'll give away a lot of spoilers!

I'd give this novel about 9 stars for creative characters and parts of the novel that were just able to make my heart bolt. I really like how Veronica creatively wrote this novel with details in the setting and throughout the story that carefully interpreted the plot and conflict without putting anyone to sleep. I found Tris's friends and just the characters of her society in general very interesting and fun. I loved Christina and Will's humor in the novel and I even found Peter and his gang's intimidation towards Tris very engaging, although I wanted to pound their faces as much as Tris wanted to.

The theme of this novel is of course bravery and heroism, but it is also about rebelling to the rules of society as my theory of dystopian themes have always been looking to it as. It is also about romance between Tris and her instructor 'Four', who I find the most awesomest guy and probably my favorite male character ever! I think that this book would be great for readers who love action and adventure, but at the same time growing romance and friendship. It is sort of like the Hunger Games or lets say Uglies in a way, but there is something about this novel that is able to separate itself from the rest of the dystopian genres. I dont know about what you guys think, so maybe you should pick up the book and see for yourself!

My favorite character from this novel, other than Four, would probably be Christina. Although she did shun herself from Tris after scoring a lower rank than her, I thought she was a great friend. She let Tris wear her black dress and also her eye pencil. She was able to make Tris feel good about herself while also expressing herself in a spontaneous and sometimes silly way, which was also able to make me happy. In some parts of the book, I sort of found Tris to be a little annoying. I think it was about some of her decisions that she made in the novel, or maybe how she acted towards people. Sometimes I found her really uninteresting to read about, especially when she was crying (which she did in a lot of parts of the novel). She was strong though and was able to prove that there was a dauntless somewhere in her.

Imaging myself in Tris's world, I was able to imagine a large city sort of like any other city, but also sort of futuristic. I was able to imagine the fast trains that she would leap out off to land on roofs and buildings with many glass windows as she would describe them.


                     
    (This picture is by Colin Geller. This picture is from coolvibe.com. No copyright intended.)

The awesome part about this book, is that they are making it into a movie! That's something to get me relieved! At last I will finally be able to watch the film adaption of a novel that I've read! Hopefully, It will be released in 2014 and I'm thinking that cast auditions are still going on for many roles. Actress Shailene Woodley has already been given the role of Tris, so I'm very excited to see how she will portray her. ^~^

Favorite Quote(s) from the book:

“Politeness is deception in pretty packaging.” 

“Peter would probably throw a party if I stopped breathing.'
'Well,' he says, 'I would only go if there was cake.”

“Sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them.” 

-Lia <3

Review: The Invisible Thread by Yoshiko Uchida

Hey Guys!!!

Today I'm going to do a review on one of the first autobiographies I've ever read - Ever. I didn't quite understand what an autobiography meant and I always thought that a book about someone's life, and even about the author who was writing the book, would always still be categorized as a biography. I now prefer an autobiography rather than a biography because I think that autobiographies have more detail in them and things that would not be stated in a regular biography.

                                  

Yoshiko Uchida, also the antagonist in this novel (duh -_-), writes about being a young Japanese-American girl in California. Although she was pretty different in looks and ethnicity to the others, she still felt like an American. Things changed though after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and America going into war with Japan. Yoshiko's whole life changed when her family and hundreds of Japanese Americans were sent to live in a concentration camp just because they were Japanese.

For the most part, I really liked the book. I liked reading about Yoshiko's daily life in California and about her family consisting of her parents and her older sister Keiko. I thought Yoshiko had a cute personality and was very fun to read about. I also liked her rants and how she stated her opinions on things, although I did not like how she was very insecure about her features and looks, since most people didn't think she was American since she looked Japanese. Then it came to the whole situation with the camps, and things just turned depressing. Yoshiko and her family had to sleep in stables and use open bathrooms. They had to eat food that was not always clean and was cold. I really felt bad for Yoshiko while reading about her time there, and although I wanted to put the book down since it was just too much for me, I still really wanted to know what was going to happen to her and her family.

Yoshiko Uchida's message to us is very significant and meaningful. We must remember that looks and outer appearances are not what matter and are not what we should judge a person by. I've also had times myself, where I was looked down on for looking different from everyone else and covering my hair. This novel really  divulged how I feel at times and how I just want to fit in with the rest of the bunch.

I give this autobiography 6 stars. I thought that it was very happy at the beginning, somewhat depressing in centermost, but very heartwarming and happy again at the end. I think that a lot of people who wants to know more about World War II or about Japanese heritage would love this book. The greatest part about it, is that it's written by someone who actually was Japanese during the war and who actually did endure all the hardships that were experienced by the victims of the camps. Although it was a slow read for the most part, it gave me a good lesson which is the most significant objective for me.

I don't know who my favorite character really was in this novel. Although I liked Yoshiko, I also thought that she was a bit boring at times. I also liked her mother in the story who I thought was a great figure to her daughters and was very considerate and gentle. It would either be Yoshiko or her mother if I were to choose my favorite character in this book.

This novel gave me an imagery of a desert and I was even able to depict a sandstorm or something of that sort that Yoshiko had described happening at her concentration camps. Her camps were located at deserts, so my imagery reflected mostly on them and barns and stables.

                         
                       (This picture is from michael-balter.blogspot.com. No copyright intended)

Favorite Quote from the novel:

"The secret to wisdom is curiosity" - Yoshiko Uchida

-Lia <3

Book Review: Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Greetings Everyone!

Let me first just start this post by saying that I really missed my blog! ):
I thought I'd be able to go through a week without checking it, but I failed miserably the day before (-_-)
Luckily, I was able to go through some books that I read for school a few years ago. Since I hated reading when I was little, I actually really appreciate these books now since they were one of the first main novels that I've ever read, not including chapter books (since thats quite common in children's reading).

Without further to do, let me get started with a new review on one of the most original and innovational novels I've ever read during my primary years!

                                  

Being the lazy and most of the time obstinate girl I was, I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to read 'Catherine, Called Birdy' by Karen Cushman. Most of the times that I'd read about historical fiction, I  always became bored to death from uninteresting language that they'd use like 'thee' or 'thou' (I can't think up any other words right now -_-), and any other settings that just seemed drab to me. I wasn't interested in learning about knights and castles or kings and empires; I was more into modern fiction and even futuristic themed writing. But that didn't stop me, and you'd know that I am inexorable when it comes to learning new things.

So Catherine is not your average everyday girl, and she is actually a very out going and bright girl. Although just by reading how she is like would make you think of how exciting her life must be..well its not. "Corpus Bones! I utterly loathe my life!" Is what you'd normally see her saying. Everyday and every hour, Catherine is forced to do all these aggravating chores that even I'd hurl about, since I utterly loathe chores! The setting takes place in 12th century England, so it's pretty medieval, or a whole lot. Although Catherine's life seems really hectic with all the work she is told to do, it doesn't stop there! Catherine's father, which Catherine writes to be a greedy and wicked old man, wants to have her married to a rich man. Of course, Catherine disagrees. Who wants to be wedded at 14 anyways!? As you read through the story, you will find out about Catherine's brave and exquisite journey and the jaw dropping decisions she makes throughout the book.
The book is actually a diary and the dates are marked on each entry of her diary. Since most of her brothers are away, her mother wanted her to write a diary for them so that they could read about her life, since they do not see her often.

The theme of this novel is also a very significant one that I shall remember. Karen Cushman's message to us is to respect and love our lives that we live, and be the person that we were created to be. Although Catherine was very averse to her father's decision of her being married at 14, the decisions she makes really show you how maturely she has developed in this book. I also really love her tones throughout the story, and sometimes I try to act them out, even though I fail. Catherine's attitude and personality, although can be a little annoying and disrespectful at times, really makes me spontaneous and in a good mood, as if I were reading a screenplay for a stage performance.

I'll give this book 7 stars, since it was really able to make me change my opinion and views of my own life. Catherine's story was so inspiring to me, and I thought that at the same time emotional, I was able to feel for her. I know that alot of people who have read the book actually hated her attitude and how she was very rude and mean at times, but I believe that she was a very unique character comparing to a lot of other characters in stories who are just 'nice', or as i'd like to point out as boring. Catherine was different from all those other characters, and she did show how children do act at times (cause we're not nice all the time!
>.<

My favorite character would be Catherine, because I thought she was really someone who stood out throughout the book, and I normally have a hard time finding main characters as my favorite characters. While reading, I was also able to feel as if I were in her village or the village that she lived closely to. I imagined castles and barns like of that she mentioned about and old cottages and even her rooms that was filled with birds and her spinning wheel.


                         
                          (This picture is from thebigfoto.com. No copyright intended)

Favorite quote(s) from the novel:

“Corpus Bones! I utterly loathe my life.”  -Catherine

“I think sometimes that people are like onions. On the outside smooth and whole and simple but inside ring upon ring, complex and deep.” 

“. . . . I cannot escape my life but can only use my determination and courage to make it the best I can.” 


-LIA <3

Short Hiatus Feb 2-8

Hey Guys!
I know I've only started this blog like a few weeks ago and only made like, 3 book reviews. But I've been thinking of getting offline for awhile and getting some much needed book therapy. I realized that I've been online constantly now and never made any time for myself, so thats why I'm going on a short hiatus for a week...to just take alittle break from the social world.

This will also give me sometime to get my bookshelves filled so that I can get more reviews done, since I plan on visiting the library on most of my time off. 

See you in a week!

-LIA <3