Veronica Roth's ALLEGIANT, an Action-Packed Conclusion to the Most Anticipated Finale of the Year

Everyone I know who reads YA has been anticipating this one. When DIVERGENT first came out, I remember telling students that I liked it better than HUNGER GAMES, and that's saying a lot. If you haven't read DIVERGENT, you need to just go do that right now. The rest of you, keep on reading.

Here's your quickie 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.

Many, many secrets are revealed in this finale. We learn the story behind the creation of the factions, how Tris and her family are involved, as well as what is beyond the walls of the city. The "why" of the factions is the biggest discovery of the book. I think the seed there is enough to begin a whole new book. But anyway, it creates some tension between Tris and Four. They all must continue to make difficult choices, as the uprisings from the second book continue.

Overall, I do believe it's a worthy ending to the series. But, I'm still digesting the ending. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. The writing is wonderful, and the action kept me turning the pages. The best part about reading the finale in a popular series is talking about it with others. So, I'm off to do that now. (And to anticipate the DIVERGENT movie, of course.)

Enjoy this interview with Veronica Roth about the writing of ALLEGIANT, as well as a few tidbits about the movie!

Gripping Action with Beautiful Storytelling in HOSTAGE THREE by Nick Lake

When a book starts with, "There is a gun pointing right at my head" it's certain to grab my attention. But lately, I've been kinda ADD with books. I've started several and put them down after a few chapters, so keeping my interest has been a mighty task.

This one kept my interest. In fact, I read it mostly in one afternoon.

Here's the synopsis:

As Amy sets out to sea with her family on a yacht, she's only thinking about the peaceful waters and the warm sun. But she doesn't get either after a group of pirates seize the boat and its human cargo, and the family becomes a commodity in a highly sophisticated transaction. Hostage One is Amy's father--the most valuable. Hostage Three is Amy, who can't believe the nightmare she's in. But something even stranger happens as she builds a bond with one of her captors, making it brutally clear that the price of life and its value are two very different things.

There is a lot to love about this book. It has suspenseful - edge of your seat action, along with some deep meaningful storytelling. And I'm not spoiling anything here by saying this (see above), Amy forms a bond with one of the captors and learns about his life back in Somalia. The striking difference between her very wealthy life and his starving family is startling to her. You begin to understand, if not sympathize with, the pirates. There are some gruesome moments. There are many more meaningful and enlightening moments. All the way around, I highly recommend this beautiful book. 

I do want to address something unusual about the writing style. The author does not use quotation marks, but uses dashes/hyphens for dialogue. This was confusing at first. Sometimes you aren't sure if the latter part of the section is still dialogue or internal monologue. SEE:

I was so annoyed at first, that I stopped reading it. Then I thought, oh this is an ARC, so maybe it's just something in the manuscript. So I bought a copy and...it was the same. I finally realized that I was being childish, got over it, and read the book. I totally got used to it after a while. I'm glad I did - it was worth it. But I did want to point that, so you aren't surprised when you see it. 

By the way, if the author is familiar, you may remember that his book IN DARKNESS just won the Printz award this year. (And I checked. Yes, he employs the same dialogue method in that book.)

It was released in the UK in January, but isn't releasing here in Hardback until November. You can buy the ebook now, though. Enjoy!

Joe Schreiber. AU REVOIR, CRAZY EUROPEAN CHICK

Okay, I admit it. I picked this one up because of the title. Pretty catchy, right?

Your quickie synopsis: 
Perry's parents insist that he take Gobi, their quiet, Lithuanian exchange student, to senior prom, but after an incident at the dance he learns that Gobi is actually a trained assassin who needs him as a henchman, behind the wheel of his father's precious Jaguar, on a mission in Manhattan.


So the publisher dubs this a cross between FERRIS BUELLER and LA FEMME NIKITA. And that's pretty much correct. It's funny, but also a little crazy and violent. It's a rip-roaring good time! I enjoyed it thoroughly and can visualize this one being adapted to the big screen. In fact, it read like a movie, if that makes any sense.

It left me hanging at the end, so I went looking and found out that, yep, there's a sequel called PERRY'S KILLER PLAYLIST. If you like action sprinkled with witty sarcasm and humor, you'll love this one!

Check out the trailer below.