Cornerfolds Dystopian Reading Challenge 2016 - Book 8: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1)

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Publication Date: November 15th, 2011

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 338

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. - Book Details Courtesy of Goodreads, INC. 2016.

Like woah people.  What a grab you and pull you in kind of book.

Readers meet Juliette, a 17-year old girl in jail for something she had no control over doing.  They claimed she murdered someone and has been in basically solitary confinement for hundreds of days.  Then one day her cell opens and she gets a roommate...not just any roommate, but a man.  This man is a test, a test Juliette thinks is cruel...like they are trying to get rid of her.

But Juliette has a power, a very dangerous power.  So dangerous in fact that no one can touch her, or at least she thinks so.  She is pulled from her cell and cleaned up to meet Warner, a military madman who is set on using her powers to create fear among the public.  The plans go wrong when she escapes with the man that was sent to test her, her roommate.

Can she escape the crazed plans and be free? Maybe.

I love the character of Juliette, she is so misunderstood.  They see her power as terror and no one wants to even make her feel human until Adam.  He befriends her and I guess you could say saves her sanity.  Warner, he is the typical villan of the book.  There is some connection between Adam and Warner I have yet to figure out.  The cause of the stain between their relationship.  I cannot wait to see where the story and the plot goes with this series.

Cannot wait to dive into book #2!

Cornerfolds Dystopian Reading Challenge 2016 - Book 7: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Title: Article 5 (Article 5, #1)

Author: Kristen Simmons

Publication Date: January 31st, 2012

Publisher: Tor Teen

Pages: 362

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved. -Book Details Courtesy of Goodreads, INC. 2016

This was a good book.  There was never a chapter that I was not interested.  Some books it takes a bit to get you involved, but others like this one get you from the beginning.

We meet Ember Miller, a girl living in a post-world society.  Basic rights have been removed and in their place a set of "Articles" on how life is supposed to be lived.  You can be fined and arrested for simple infractions...but what is worse you can be jailed and executed if the new ruling regime thinks you violated an article.

Ember's mom is arrested and Ember is sent to a reform school as an "Article 5" violater, which basically meant her mom had her without being married.  The shocking part for her is that the guy that is helping arrest her is a boy she once loved, Chase.  Why is he here? What is he doing?  Ember then decides that she is going to escape and find her mother.

Will she find her mother? What will happen with Chase?  Well, read the book, because if I say to much I will give the book away.  Solid read all around.

Cornerfolds Dystopian Reading Challenge 2016 - Book 6: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Title: Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, #1)

Author: Veronica Rossi

Publication Date: February 7th, 2012

Publisher: Atom

Pages: 374

WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.

DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers. - Book Details Courtesy of Goodreads, INC. 2016

What  book! Not even sure where to start this review.

You meet Aria, a "typical" teenager living in a world where she knows nothing outside of the pods she was raised in...and by pods, I mean virtual realms.  Somethings are real, but mostly lives are lived in the realms.    She is trying to find information on her mother Lumina who is working off at another pod after she has not heard from her.  She tries to get on the good side of the counsul's son by going into a restricted space and this is where her world changes.

After they boys go crazy, she awakes to the news that only her and the counsul's son survived the fire.  And of course, who is going to take her word against his?  She is made to believe she is being transported to her mother when she is shoved out the door and into what is called the Death Trap during an ether storm.  She sees a figure running towards her and realizes it's a savage.  What does the savage want, are the stories true?  Little did she know they had met before.  In the end they are both searching for someone.  Will either of them find who they are looking for? Guess you need to read and find out.

I loved this book and the character development of Aria and Perry.  They are both headstrong individuals and both afraid of letting people see who they really are.  I'm pretty excited to read the second book.  Definitely leaves you slightly hanging at the end to see who she was running towards, though it's not hard to figure out.

Cornerfolds Dystopian Reading Challenge 2016 - Book 5: Champion by Marie Lu

  

Title: Champion (Legend #3)

Author: Marie Lu

Publication Date: November 5th, 2013

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Pages: 369

He is a Legend.

She is a Prodigy.

Who will be Champion? 

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position. 

But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything. 

With heart-pounding action and suspense, Marie Lu’s bestselling trilogy draws to a stunning conclusion.

- Book Details Courtesy of Goodreads, INC 2016.

What an absolute crazy ride this whole series has been.  Kind of sad that I've finished this series.

Readers meet up with Day and June and the Republic as they continue to fight against the colonies.  Day is growing weaker from his condition and it is finally revealed to June of how serious his condition also is.  The colonies are now wanting a cure to a plague they claim the Republic gave to them.  That if they do not produce it they will revolt against them.  Little do they know the colonies are not exactly being honest with how the "plague" truly got its form.

The colonies are now invading and it's up to June, Day and Anden to find a cure, which could be linked to Day's brother Eden. Could he actually hold the cure?  

The book's ending, to me is just heartbreaking.  If you want to read the book, then I suggest you not read this any further because it is a spoiler. I actually cried at the end when Day is dying and then again when he wakes up months later and cannot remember anything about June.  I wanted to scream "Why let them have all of that and then not remember her!!!"  Though I also feel like there was an opening left at the end.

Such a great series.

Cornerfolds Dystopian Reading Challenge 2016 - Book 3: Prodigy by Marie Lu

Title: Prodigy by Marie Lu (Legend #2)

Author: Marie Lu

Publication Date: January 29th, 2013

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Pages: 371

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? - Book details courtesy of Goodreads, Inc. 2016

What a thrilling ride!  I was so excited to get started on this book after reading Legend (book 1 of the Legend trilogy).  I loved how at the end of Legend it left it open for the character development between June and Day.  And lets all admit we were interested to see where Marie Lu would take their characters as the trilogy progressed.

I always deem a book good when it brings out my emotions, whether it makes me mad, frustrates me, gets me excited, etc.  This book did exactly that.  As you see a lot of people say these days, it had all the feels.

Again, the story is told from dual viewpoints, Day and June taking turns.You join up with June and Day as they continue to flee the republic after June saves Day from his execution.  They finally make it to Las Vegas where they are trying to locate the patriots so Day can find his brother and rescue him. Will they find the patriots? Will the patriots finally convince Day to join their cause against the Republic? 

The book really picks up in intensity about halfway to three-quarters through.  The twist in the plot she throws will leave you grasping your seat.

Cornerfolds Dystopian Challenge 2016 - Book 2: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Title: The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1)

Author: Rick Yancey

Publication Date: May 7th, 2013

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Pages: 457

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. - Book Details courtesy of Goodreads Inc. 2016

What an crazy read...crazy in a good way.  This book was a page turner from the start.  I planned on reading this book already, but really moved the book up on my list after seeing a movie preview for it recently.

The Earth has been invaded by aliens and you do not know who is human and who is an "other."  You get a little bit of a pre-story before really diving into the main part of the book.  Cassie is seen as the books heroine, fighting against the others after her brother is taken to a camp.  Readers are also introduced to a few other main characters, two of them being Zombie (Ben) and Evan Walker.  Throughout the whole book you jump back and forth between Cassie and Zombie mainly, with other characters joining the story.

The story gets intense in the second half of the book when Cassie starts to figure out who is not really who they are pretending to be.  Zombie will come to a huge realization that will forever change how he thinks the order of the world is setting up to be.

Will they survive the 5th Wave, well read it and find out.  Such a great read.  Also, don't forget, the movie version of the book is set for release on January 22nd, 2016.