Divergent (Veronica Roth)

I've recently noticed that I forgot to post about "Divergent" by Veronica Roth!

Beatrice lives in a world where everyone is divided into one of five "factions," which decide how you live your life.  For example, some people live their lives as selfless individuals, whereas others are seen as honest or brave.  Each child is born into a faction, however when children turn 16, they must decide for themselves which faction they would like to be a part of for the rest of their lives.  This could mean staying with your family and the faction that raised you, or moving to a new faction and hoping that you will fit into a world that you have never previously experienced.

This book follows Beatrice through the decisions she must make when she turns 16, the turmoil and drama that follows her after she makes her decision, and the relationships and friendships that occur in her faction. 

I loved this book.  In typical Young Adult style, I thought the book was the perfect mix of exciting, adventure, suspense, romance, friendship... I could go on. 

It was a fairly easy read and it was one that you won't want to put down.  There is so much going on and you just want to know what happens next.  There are twists and turns throughout the story and you are continuously finding out new things about the characters and the factions.

I rushed through the last 100 pages of this book so that I could go see the movie (which I thought was well done!) and now I'm excited to read the next two books in the trilogy, Allegiant and Insurgent, which are on my summer reading list! 

If you were into books like The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner, then you will likely enjoy these Veronica Roth books as well!

Fifty Shades Freed (E.L. James)

One of my favourite places to enjoy a book
during the summer... On the dock by the lake!

Well, I officially finished the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy by E.L. James yesterday.  I'm still not too sure what to think of the books.  I don't want to give anything away for those who want to read all three, so maybe I'll just make some general comments.

First of all, I am very excited to be done these books.  Now, whenever someone asks me, "Are you reading the Fifty Shades books?" I can just reply, "Not right now..." or "No."  

Of the three books, I would definitely say that I liked the second one the best, "Fifty Shades Darker."  I just found there was a lot more substance in that book than there was in the first one, so I was more interested in it.  I enjoyed the third one, but I still felt like there were a few things I was kind of missing at the end of it.

They're not the typical kind of book that I read, but I found that they kept my interest for the most part.  I didn't breeze through them as quickly as I thought I would (considering all the hype they have been getting lately...)

And let's just add that a duck was
ready to eat my foot
while I was out reading
on Tuesday.

*If you read the first book and enjoyed it, then I would safely say that you will enjoy the rest of the trilogy.

*If you read the first book and weren't sure about it (kind of like me), maybe give the second book a chance.  The "content" and "plot" picks up a bit in the second book. 

*If you read the first book and just couldn't handle it, skip the rest of the trilogy.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (Stieg Larsson)

The day has finally arrived - I've finished "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" by Stieg Larsson.  It took me way too long to read this book and I just need to point out that it wasn't because I didn't enjoy the book.

This was one of my photos for "Photo A Day May"
http://www.fatmumslim.com.au/2012/04/may-photo-day-list.html

"The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" is the third book in the Millenium trilogy (also known as the Dragon Tattoo books!).  It's definitely a book that must be read as the third book of the trilogy - no skipping ahead!

Without giving too much away about the first two books, this third book starts with Lisbeth Salander (the girl with the dragon tattoo) in critical condition.  The book tries to solve the issues and make sense of everything that occurred in the first two "Millenium" books.  (Sorry, that doesn't give you much to go on...)

The book was good, but I wouldn't say that it was as exciting as the first two books.  While the other books had more "action" (that is, people getting shot or being chased and whatnot), this book really dealt more with the "figuring things out" side.  Lots of information into ongoing investigations and about characters who are somehow related to the events of the book.  It was slow at times (clearly, since it took me almost two months to make it through the 563 pages, I was able to put it down) but it really picked up near the end when real connections are being made.

It was a good ending to the trilogy and I felt like everything was resolved.

My verdict on the Millenium trilogy - it was good.  They were exciting books, though at times I felt like they were really long (because they are).  They're definitely good for a dose of mystery.

I've had my mystery fix for a while, now onto something a little different.

The Girl Who Played With Fire (Stieg Larsson)

This post won't be a long one because I cannot wait to start the next (and final) book in the Millenium trilogy. 

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson definitely met my reading needs this month!  While the book is a giant one, with 724 pages, it was so worth it.  Lisbeth Salander, who is the girl with the dragon tattoo, is wanted by the police for the murder of three people.  Her fingerprints were found on the murder weapon.  These three murder victims are all linked together by a book and article that were to be written about sex trafficking.  Mikael Blomkvist, who is the other big star in "The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" books, knows Salander and doesn't believe that she's guilty of these crimes.  He uses the resources and staff available to him to help out Salander, even though she can't be found.  Anywhere. 

I remember when I was a couple hundred pages into the book, saying, "I don't understand why there are so many little stories here.  There is so much going on and I just don't get how it's all linked together.  I feel like they've talked about so much but that it doesn't really mean anything."  I was reassured that it would all come together soon and that the excitement would start.  And did it ever.  (I will admit that at times, I felt that the book was a bit wordy, but I think it just gives you a good description of everything that is going on.)

All of these little stories from journalists, police officers, Salander and Blomkvist come together wonderfully and you just keep saying, "Oh my goodness..." as you start to realize how things are playing out and how different parts of the story are fitting together. 

The ending of the book leaves you wanting more.  Hence the need to start the third book.  Tonight. 

You definitely need to have read the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, in order to fully understand this book.  The relationships built between characters in the first book are really important to some of the events that occur in this one. 

On to book number three!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson)

I don't know why I didn't read this book sooner, when it was at the front of Chapters or when my mom whipped through them.  I still didn't know much about the book when my aunt started talking about the new movie that's now out.  When I told her I hadn't read the book, she just told me, "Oh, you have to.  They were so good."

So, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson was the next book I decided to read.  When I started it, I didn't read the back so I had no idea what I was getting myself in to. 

The novel is giant and it's a thriller/mystery/suspense book (with a bit of a love story at parts, I guess).  Without giving much away because most of this is on the back of the book, Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist, is hired by Henrik Vanger to solve a mystery.  Henrik's niece disappeared forty years ago and Henrik believes that she was murdered.  He's been stuck on this case for forty years and is desperate to find an answer.  Lisbeth Salander enters the story (she's the one with the dragon tattoo!).  She's a "genius hacker with someone twice her age" and tries to help Mikael with this mystery. 

"You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to see that these events were somehow related.  There had to be a skeleton in one of their cupboards, and Salander loved hunting skeletons.  Besides, she had nothing else on at the moment."  (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson, p. 390)

I really liked this book.  It took me a little while to get into for a few reasons.  First, I didn't have a good chunk of time devoted to reading when I started the book, and I think that you really need that to understand what is going on at the start of the book.  The whole novel isn't like the first fifty pages, so if you're having trouble with the beginning (the first hundred or so pages), don't worry - it gets a bit easier to read once the story is set up a bit for you.  Second, it just took some time getting used to the names of people and places (because they're all Swedish).  Once you start reading though, these names become familiar and it's fine.  Don't ask me to pronounce them, but it was easy to understand and recognize the names. 

This really was a "don't want to put it down" book for me.  It was exciting and a little bit crazy.  (That's one messed up family, the Vangers!)  If you haven't read it and are looking for something with a bit of substance, this could be it!  It's big and has a lot of details, but it moves at a steady pace and was very interesting. 

This is the first in the trilogy and I am looking forward to reading the next two!

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire AND Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)

 I read The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins after hearing so many good things about these books.  One recommendation was from my friend Amanda's blog. 

These books were read by me during the summer in record time.  I could attempt to write a blog post about each individual book, but they were read right after one another so quickly that I probably couldn't even get my thoughts right about what happened in which book.  What I do know is how much I loved these books. 

The first novel, The Hunger Games, introduces you to a different world, a place you couldn't even imagine.  Each  year, one boy and one girl from each district is chosen to fight in a battle to the death on live TV. 

Sounds strange, right?  I thought so, too, but there was something about this book that just kept me so captivated.  You fall in love with the characters and their stories, and the descriptions that Collins includes in the book make you feel like you are right there in the action.  There's always something about these books that take place in an exciting and different world that make me feel like I'm a kid again (um, Harry Potter anyone?).  They also make me wonder how someone could come up with these crazy and awesome ideas. 

The story continues in Catching Fire and Mockingjay.  Both books have equally exciting plots (I don't really want to give anything away, if you haven't read the first book...).  If you read and like the first book, I don't think it's possible to go without following up with Catching Fire and Mockingjay! 


This Young Adults trilogy is highly recommended by me.  Although I was a wee bit embarrassed to be buying this book from the "Teen" section (since I can't even count the number of times I'm asked whether I'm still in high school), I'm so glad I did. 

Seriously, go out and find these books now if you haven't already.  Start reading and let your imagination go to The Hunger Games.