Hallowed

Title:  Hallowed- An Unearthly novel

Author:  Cynthia Hand

Location:  YA Hand

Level:  13 AND UP

Hallowed is the second book in the Unearthly series.  This series does need to be read in order.  As a warning, this review may spoil some aspect of Unearthly if you haven’t read it yet.

 Hallowed starts out much like Unearthly did.  School has started, Clara has changed her hair color again, and she is having a new vision.  From her vision she knows someone she loves will die.  This is quite naturally affecting her and she pushes in areas she may not have if the vision was clearer.  As she starts trying to decipher her vision her mother begins answering some of Clara’s angel questions, although not always to her liking.  The angel club is meeting with Jeffery as an added member.  He seems to be acting a bit odd, but it could just be the teen years.  Then their Mom surprises them when she finally lets them meet the angel community through a big campout.  From that point on everything changes.  Secrets are revealed, some thrilling and others devastating. Christian continues to try to get closer to her at a cost to her relationship with Tucker. Clara feels sorrow like never before and is desperate to protect those she loves from Samjeeza.

Bottom Line:  The continuation of the Unearthly series, Hallowed, doesn’t disappoint.  I was concerned when it began much the same way as Unearthly did, but it soon picked up steam.  Samjeeza returns to make life uncomfortable.   Jeffery plays a bigger role than he did in the first book.   Some major things are revealed which help explain some characters previous actions and will change life for Clara.  I enjoyed Hallowed and would recommend it to anyone who liked Unearthly or angel stories.

Matched

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Reading Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Condie

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

This book reminded me of The Giver, in that the government, or City Officials, controls everything about the "Society". Everything in the Society is controlled, predicted and sorted. The story starts out with the main character, Cassia, going to her Match Banquet, where she will meet the man she will marry when they're 21. Cassia starts to see flaws in the "Society" and realizes that her freedom is what she wants the most, especially with the boy she loves.

Bottomline: This is a good addition to my favorite dystopian stories. The controlled environment always get me thinking. I love the realization of better things, and the love and freedom that is prohibited, and all more desirable. I enjoyed this story and am anxious for the next installment in this planned trilogy!

Mockingjay

Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Reading Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Collins

This review contains no spoilers for Mockingjay but may contain details from the two previous books in the Hunger Games series. If you have not yet read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, skip ahead to The Bottom Line.

Mockingjay picks up about one month after the events of Catching Fire. With her home destroyed, Katniss resides in District 13 with the few refugees that survived the Capitol's bombing of District 12. President Coin and the rest of the leaders of District 13 are managing the rebellion and need Katniss to be their Mockingjay, the symbol and hope of the rebellion. Unfortunately, the physical and emotional damage Katniss suffered in the arena coupled with her guilt over the fate of Peeta has left her emotionally unstable and unwilling to be used as a pawn for yet another cause, however noble. As the rebellion takes hold in more districts and her fellow citizens fight and die brutal deaths in massive numbers, will Katniss give them the strength they need to continue their struggle? Or will she retreat from the spotlight, unwilling to be the cause of more death and destruction?

I find it difficult to discuss this book, not only for fear of giving away any of the major spoilers, but also because reading this book was so emotionally draining. While the first two books set up the country of Panem, its controlling government and the brutality of the games, Mockingjay introduces the reader to the horrors of war and the atrocities both sides, of any war, are willing to commit. Make no mistake, the blood runs freely in Mockingjay. Even the characters that are spared remain forever altered by the experience. The book has a lot of action and many characters die making it impossible to put down but difficult to read at times.

I've heard a few complaints about Katniss in this book but I thought her character was written perfectly. I got frustrated with her at times, but her actions are consistent and understandable in the face of all the ruthless brutality she encounters. The other characters, both from the first two books, and the new ones introduced in this installment, added a lot of interest to the story. I enjoyed seeing how their stories all played out, even if I was upset about some of their fates. I particularly loved getting a different perspective on Finnick and Prim; I just fell in love with both of them in this book.

The Bottom Line: This was a great ending to a unique and amazing series! Even though Mockingjay was extremely bloody and depressingly sad it was a magnificent ending to the series. I think fans will love it! If you have not yet read the Hunger Games trilogy, it is truly one of the best for both teens and adults, so give it a try!

Skinned

Title: Skinned
Author: Robin Wasserman
Reading Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Wasserman

Lia Kahn was perfect: rich, beautiful, popular — until the accident that nearly killed her. Now she has been downloaded into a new body that only looks human. Lia will never feel pain again, she will never age, and she can't ever truly die. But she is also rejected by her friends, betrayed by her boyfriend, and alienated from her old life.
Forced to the fringes of society, Lia joins others like her. But they are looked at as freaks. They are hated...and feared. They are everything but human, and according to most people, this is the ultimate crime — for which they must pay the ultimate price.
This is a book about learning what's important on the inside, not on the outside. Lia has a reality-check when she becomes the epitome of what she and her friends despised- a "skinner" - a mechanical copy of her previous life. Her family, friends, and even her boyfriend have a hard time excepting Lia's new form and Lia herself is having a hard time moving on from being rejected from her previous life. She has to decide what she wants and how she feels - and if she even can feel.

Bottomline: I enjoyed this book. If you like the dystopian stories (Hunger Games, City of Ember, Uglies) then this the book for you. This is a start of the Gripping Trilogy and it should be exciting - I'm intrigued!

City of Glass

Title: City of Glass
Author: Cassandra Clare
Reading Level: YA
Location: YA Clare

This review discusses major plot points from the first two Mortal Instrument books. If you have not yet read City of Bones and City of Ashes, skip ahead to the bottom line.

This third and final installment of the Mortal Instruments trilogy opens with all the Shadowhunters returning to Idris to face an inevitable battle with Valentine. Even though Jace disapproves of Clary going along, she wants to meet up with a warlock who has the power to cure her comatose mother. Upon arriving they realize that Valentine’s attack is indeed imminent and his spies have ears all over Idris. While the Clave argues over himself and the final Mortal Instrument, Valentine prepares a deadly and devastating attack to begin a final war. Everyone who has not yet died in the last two books returns with a few new faces to attempt to thwart Valentine’s selfish plan to acquire the final mortal instrument and desecrate the race of shadowhunters.

Although I enjoyed the previous two books, City of Glass exceeded all my expectations for this trilogy. I enjoyed the change of scenery to Idris and the author does a good job describing this fantastical country and the city of Allicante. Many of the main characters become even more compelling as the author makes them more complicated in this final book. I have always considered Jace to be a deep, multi-layered character, but the author really delves into some of the other character’s feelings and motivations which make the book all the more satisfying. I also loved the deepening relationship between Alec and Magnus. The author succeeds in making their relationship intricate and genuine, instead of using them as the token gay couple. In the end, I love how all the story threads wrapped up in this book, it was truly an enthralling, action-packed conclusion to a very imaginative trilogy.

The Bottom Line: City of Glass was a great ending to the Mortal Instruments trilogy. The author does not shy away from violence, but it is not overdone. Amidst all the action, the characters deepen and the story becomes more intricate resulting in an exciting, satisfying conclusion.