Broken

Broken Things was a book I probably would have given five stars to if there had been two different narrators instead of one.  I had a hard time knowing who was telling their story.  Of course, maybe that is because I didn't find the story as compelling as some stories.  So I am not sure.  Not to say I won't recommend this book, because I will.  I think that Lauren Oliver is great.  It was she who really started my foray back into YA lit with Before I Fall, which I loved. 

Do You Have a Book About a Shrunken Head?

Before there were ways to track calls so easily, I admit I did my share of (hopefully) harmless prank calling.  Not too many and just people I knew and most of the time I would reveal myself before hanging up, or at least the next day.  One time my brother and I pranked the local library- where I worked.  For some reason my brother did the talked and sing-songily asked, "Do you have a book (two beats) about a shrunken head?"  I wonder if he remembers that.  I wonder why I do!
In any case, when I saw that The Shrunken Head was a book by Lauren Oliver, whose books I have enjoyed a great deal, was available for a listen, I borrowed it!  Visiting her website just now, I see I am quite behind with her new offerings!  That is the price I pay for usually only listening now.  This is the first in a series called The Curiosity House,  I had creepy feelings about reading it.  The whole exploitation of "freaks" idea was nagging at me throughout most of it.  And I read this, regarding AHS: Freak Show, which I very much enjoyed.  Which led me to this.   Which led me to this.
So this was a tricky book.  However, there was nothing offensive in that the characters all were described in respectful ways.   It just didn't quite grab me.

Don't Panic! Don't Panic!

She panicked!  If you haven't seen 9 to 5, you must.

This has nothing to do with the book, Panic, the latest book from Lauren Oliver, but it is just something that you should do anyway.  Also, if you were a fan of Before I Fall, you will want to read Panic.  Even if you weren't a fan of Before I Fall, read it anyway.  It is good, good, good.   There was some discussion among folks on goodreads who had just read the description and were wondering if the book was dystopian, like Oliver's Delirium series.  It isn't.  This is realistic fiction for sure.  But it the discussion got me thinking...this real-life story of Heather, in her small, dying town is something that you might WISH was dystopian, but no.  A lot of people live in dying towns like Heather's.  A lot of folks don't feel a sense of hope about the future.  A lot of folk don't have parents can parent, or even want to.  So really, this book was even more grim than a lot of the dystopian fiction I've read lately.
I don't know if games like Panic really exist, but I bet that they do.  A very thought provoking book.  Makes you wonder, would you rather live in the world created in Delirium or in the real-life world of Heather?

Raven

So I didn't really remember Raven from Pandemonium, but I read Requiem before this enovella about her, so she was fresh in my mind. She wasn't one of my favorite characters in Requiem, but now that I know her backstory I am more sympathetic to her. As I have said many times I love this series and am sad to see it go. It would have been cool to have a whole book from Raven's POV, now that I know more about her. This little book was worth the read and left me wanting more, which sadly I won't get!!

Requiem for a Woman's Soul

was a book I read in high school about the torture of a woman in a police station in Argentina in the 1970s. It is horrific and awful but it made an impact on me, was part of my decision to give support to Amnesty International, out of my meager high school salary. It helped fuel my interest in human rights. It got negative reviews from the pompous Kirkus Review and the LA Times, but a good review from the New York Times. Whatever others say, it made a difference in my life.
Well that has nothing to do with Lauren Oliver's Requiem, the third book in the Delirium series. Though this book, too, gives one a ton think about.
The whole basis of this dystopian series is that love is considered a disease, a sickness and the government has developed a medical procedure that will cure it- leaving people just uncaring, but not unhappy, blah people.
The story is told from two POVs- Lena and Hana. One cured, one an Invalid, as they who live in The Wilds and as enemies of the state.
I loved this series and I loved this final book. I thought that it was a fair portrayal of both sides. Freedom comes with pain: love comes with hurt. When people are free to make their own choices, they can choose badly and cause a lot of pain. What is better? Is ignorance bliss? Or is there no way to be happy if you have never been sad.
Honestly I don't know what I would prefer. Isn't that terrible, I guess? Well I am being honest. What you don't know can't hurt you in some cases.
In any event, a fantastic ending to a remarkable series!

Something to Hold You Over

If you are hooked on the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver then you are really anxious for Requiem to come out. Sadly it isn't until later this year. But we've had some things to help us while we wait. There was Hana. And this one, Annabel. Soon Raven will be available and then finally Requiem!!
Annabel is Lena's mom. Lena was told she was dead but she was actually in prison, because she was part of the resistance movement. This little story has both "then" and "now" chapters. Telling of her decision to not get cured and then telling of her escape. Good stuff but makes me want the third book even more!!

In Between

So I had no idea that the e-mini book Hana even existed until after I read Pandemonium. I wish I had because it would have helped to hold me over until Pan came out! Regardless, I bought this one, too and read this afternoon and it was very good. Hana, if you remember is Lena's best friend from childhood and the book is a little look into what was going on in her life when Lena was meeting up with Alex, back in Del.

Hana, if you remember, is even more of a rebel spirit than Lena, at first anyway, she is the one who takes Lena to her first underground party. Hana is the one who has a secret and forbidden map of the world before, which includes places like France and China. She likes to think about going there and she talks about them, which freaks Lena out because, well the Regulators REALLY wouldn't like that!

I enjoyed this little book so much, that I'd love find out what happens to Hana, so maybe there will be a 2.5 before we get to the last in the Delirium trilogy! At least I can hope!

Read the First One First!

I had to buy Pandemonium on the Kindle. I just couldn't wait. It had been so long!!

Pandemonium is very different from Delirium. It reminded me more of the Hunger Games because of the higher level of action. Maybe I don't remember Delirium as well as I thought.

It doesn't really matter though, because I thought Pan was just as awesome as Del.

The book is set up as a back and forth "then" and "now." "Then" was back right after Alex and Lena crossed into the Wilds and how Lena was found by a group of Invalids and nursed back to health and then brought into their community. "Now" is set in NYC where a powerful political group is pushing vaccination for the love disease at a younger age. There's a lot of unrest, as many disagree with the idea of curing folks at a younger age, as it can result in death and things worse than death. Lena and her gang are part of the Resistance and trying to do what they can to fight for freedom for all.

Again, this is definitely an action-driven book. If you like action novels, you will love this. If you don't, but you loved Del, you will still love it because you already care about the characters.

This book left me counting the days until the conclusion of the trilogy.

Crazy

In Lena's world, love is a disease.  Love is THE disease actually.  It is so feared that at age 18 men and women are "cured" through a surgical procedure which renders them unable to feel love, or much of anything else.  Cured citizens lead safe, healthy lives, without worry about the Delirium of the disease of love.  Romeo and Juliet is required reading for high school students because it is a cautionary tale.  Love = Death.  Lena lives in Portland, Maine, a city safe from the disease of love.  When the story opens, she is roughly 90 days away from being "cured" and will be matched with a young man who has been cured as well.
When I first started reading Delirium, I made the connection that everyone else has made.  This book is similar to Matched.  It is, there's nothing new under the sun, right?  But it is very different and I don't see one as being better than the other, they are both really thought-provoking and enjoyable to read in their own.
I like Lena a lot.  I think she is different from a lot of strong, female, YA characters that we've seen lately because she grows in to the roll of being strong.  She isn't strong at first at all.  She's pretty broken, actually.  But then, as her "cured" date comes closer and as she starts to see that the "safe" world around her isn't what the authorities claim it is, she becomes stronger and stronger.  I really liked seeing her character develop that way and it sets her apart from Katniss, Katsa, Gaia, and Rachel (however, Rachel's Away is kinda similar to Lena's Wilds).
The book is more than 400 pages and you know how I am about long books...but I did rip through this baby pretty quickly and am really looking forward to the sequel.  The ending is pretty darn cool.

I think I'm detecting a theme here!

After reading The Girls and Zombie Blondes, reading Before I Fall seemed to go right along with it. Also it reminded me of Gimme a Call, too but make no mistake, Before is totally original and totally worth the read- big time. The girls in Before are vicious and horrible, or well, human, like th girls in The Girls and Zombie. The book starts with Sam dying in a car accident that she is in with her best friends Aly, Elody and Lindz. The four girls are the "IT" girsl in school- the Zombies if you will. They can do anything they want and get away with it all.
After Sam dies, she wakes up the next day and discovers that she has to relive the day over and over again. This is where the similarity to Gimme comes in. After reading Gimme I stood by my all-time feeling that no, you should not want to change anything in your past. But after reading this, I'm not so sure. This is a great book for discussion. It is kind of depressing, though, in places. It is a big book. 470 pages, but I blew through it very quickly for me. I just couldn't keep away from it. As an aside, I especially loved the description of Sam's feelings about her first kiss that meant something to her. It was so right on the money. Excellent book. I was sad to see it end.