Looking for Recommendations:

So I've fallen into the dark, wonderful reading that is Dystopia. I didn't think I liked dystopian books, but oh how wrong I was.  In the last few weeks I've read:

Legend by Marie Lu 

Crossed by Ally Condie 

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins 

Divergent by Veronica Roth (my favorite so far)

Delirium by Lauren Olivier 

Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines (not really dystopian, I think)

I've also got Enclave by Anne Aguirre and Moira Roger's new dystopian series, Children of the Undying, to read.

But I need more!!!  Do you have any dystopian recommendations?  My only requirement is that there's some sort of love interest - doesn't have to be sexual, but at least a hint or possibility of romance...

Review: Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaughn

From Goodreads:
When Evie Walker goes home to spend time with her dying father, she discovers that his creaky old house in Hope’s Fort, Colorado, is not the only legacy she stands to inherit. Hidden behind the old basement door is a secret and magical storeroom, a place where wondrous treasures from myth and legend are kept safe until they are needed again. The magic of the storeroom prevents access to any who are not intended to use the items. But just because it has never been done does not mean it cannot be done. And there are certainly those who will give anything to find a way in.

Evie must guard the storeroom against ancient and malicious forces, protecting the past and the future even as the present unravels around them. Old heroes and notorious villains alike will rise to fight on her side or to undermine her most desperate gambits. At stake is the fate of the world, and the prevention of nothing less than the apocalypse.

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First, I must give a shout-out to Dana from Reading Amidst the Chaos for sending me this book (her review here); she knew how much I was looking forward to reading it and kindly offered me her copy. Thank you Dana!!!

I am a huge fan of Ms. Vaughn's Kitty Norville series. I knew, however, that Discord's Apple was going to be nothing like her Kitty series, and that's important to know before diving in. Knowing that didn't stop me from being confused at the beginning though...I eventually did find my groove and enjoyed the book. I had no idea it involved Greek mythology or that it was dystopian; I'm not sure why but I wrongly thought it was going to be a ghost story.

There are actually 4 stories taking place:

Evie, the main protagonist, who has come home to care for her ailing father. She's a comic book writer; she writes a military-themed comic called Eagle Eye Commandos that has a female heroine, Tracker, who embodies what Evie wants to be. As her father is dying, the pull of the basement becomes stronger in Evie. When a woman comes to her and asks Evie if she has something in the basement for her, Evie knows the answer is no. She does not know it is the goddess Hera, who has been searching for the apple of discord, and Hera does not intend to let it go.

Tracker's story runs through the book as well. There has been some sort of political upheaval in the world (Evie's mother was killed during this time) and Evie's comic is related to current events. Things like checkpoints and town militias are in full effect but as the reader we don't know exactly what happened. As political machinations happen in her world, Evie must change the comic to reflect what's going on in the world and, more subtly, changes in Evie's life.

Alex/Sinon is an immortal mortal (he can't die but he is human, not magic). He's come to the storeroom to see if he can find something to kill himself with. He ends up staying to watch over Evie and protect her from Hera, who has come to claim Discord's Apple. His story of Troy and the events to follow was interesting.

The fourth storyline is the story of the basement itself. Starting with present day, we get brief glimpses of her ancestors who watched over the storeroom until finally we are gifted with the identity of the original guardian.

At first I was a bit confused by the different storylines and the mythology, but as I continued to read I became more and more curious to find out what happened next. Evie ends up with some impressive allies in her fight to keep the apple away from Hera. I enjoyed Evie's story, Alex/Sinon's story, and the basement's story. I kind of felt like Tracker's story was filler. Also, Evie's illustrator, Bruce, appeared a few times and he felt out of place - especially when he abrubtly exited the story; he also felt like superfluous filling.

All in all I liked Discord's Apple. It was short and I didn't get answers to all the questions I was hoping to have answered, but the ending was satisfying and left me with a smile.

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition
Release Date: July 6, 2010
ISBN-10: 0765325543
ISBN-13: 978-0765325549

My Rating:

Review: Matched by Ally Condie

From Goodreads:
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

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I have been looking forward to Matched for several months - I'd seen some fabulous reviews and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I bought and started reading it the day it was released:

As the story opens, Cassia is on her way to her Matching ceremony. She's nervous but excited and her childhood friend Xander is also being Matched tonight, so together they've been going over what they think will happen for the last few weeks. As the ceremony progresses and other teens are seeing their Matches, Cassia's turn finally comes - and they announce her Match is from within their city - Xander! They're both excited, as they've been friends for so long and like each other very much. When Cassia gets home, out of curiosity she views the chip they were given at the ceremony and Xander's face comes up, then disappears, to be replaced by another face - someone else from their town that she also knows - Ky Markham.

No one else knows what Cassia saw, and she's not going to tell anyone, especially not Xander. An official meets with her and tells her it's a glitch, she's not meant for Ky as he's an aberration - he'll never be matched. She knew Ky was adopted, which is almost unheard of, but not that he'd be an aberration - a classification put upon him to atone for the actions of his father. The official allows Cassia to talk to her grandfather about it, as he is turning 80 the next day and will therefore die tomorrow. Her grandfather has secrets too, one of which he reveals to Cassia, and she doesn't know what to do about it.

As the days go by, Cassia and Ky are thrown together more and more during their hiking activities, she grows more intrigued and impassioned about Ky. She shares her grandfather's secret, and he shares forbidden secrets with her. She's falling for Ky, but she can't disappoint her family and Xander, can she?

As a general rule I'm not a fan of dystopian stories, but the love story aspect of this book appealed to me. MATCHED is a well-written and engaging book; the world building was interesting and I want to know more - how did society come to this? Who are the people in charge? What goes on in the other areas that are not urban? But I also liked the romance aspect of the story; reading Cassia fall for Ky when she knows it's forbidden, Ky sharing his forbidden history and knowledge, and Cassia's gradual understanding that perhaps she's not living in a Utopia as she originally thought.

The cliffhanger ending definitely left me wanting more - I've already added the next book, Crossed (November 1, 2011), to my wishlist.

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 369 pages
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release date: November 30, 2010
ISBN-10: 0525423648
ISBN-13: 978-0525423645

My Rating: