55. The Future of Us

55. The Future of Us. Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. 2011. 356 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, YA fiction, YA science fiction, coming of age]

First sentence: I can't break up with Graham today, even though I told my friends I'd do it the next time I saw him.

Premise/plot: Emma Nelson and Josh Templeton are about to step into the twilight zone. This YA coming of age novel (set in May 1996) is told with dual narrators--Emma and Josh. It starts with a disc--a cd rom to be more precise. Josh gives Emma the gift of AOL since his family doesn't believe in this newfangled internet. Emma downloads it, connects to it, and discovers Facebook, discovers HERSELF on Facebook, discovers her FRIENDS on Facebook. Suddenly, Emma and Josh have a way to glimpse their future selves through their future Facebook posts. Josh is content enough with what he sees. He doesn't seem to get invested in "fixing" the future. Whatever will be will be. Emma, on the other hand, becomes obsessed with micromanaging her future self. Even if her only glimpses of that future are through FB posts and what pictures she's uploaded and shared in the future. She is not once content with what she sees. The more she obsesses with the future, the more discontent she becomes in the now. Josh warns her NOT to play god, to not become so focused on the future, on fixing the future, on preventing "unhappy" outcomes, that she doesn't live now. She should be true to herself in the NOW. Not let her future or potential future self decide where she should go to college, which career she should choose, where she wants to live (or not live). Will Emma ever learn to let go and relax???? And will Josh learn how to navigate the complexities of friendship???

Josh's future self seems happy enough, content enough, settled down with kids with a woman, Sidney Mills, that is allegedly "out of his league." He is in one class with her now...and since finding out that allegedly they have a happily ever after he's been a little braver. He speaks up for her when her ex puts her down. He makes eye contact and smiles. She asks for his number. She seems to potentially be interested in him. Meanwhile, Josh knows KNOWS that he wants more than friendship with Emma. She is the one he wants to date. Maybe there's something there; maybe there is NOT. But he wants to see. But Emma is SO obsessed with her future husbands that she isn't really thinking of Josh like that. (And she doesn't ever have to think of Josh like that, for the record. Maybe she'll never ever ever return his feelings.)

My thoughts: I first read this one in December 2011. It is an interesting WHAT IF. I love, love, love the 1996 setting. I do. I love the social and technological references. Friends. Seinfeld. Macarena. Dave Matthews. Green Day. I could go on and on and on. I think the authors do a good job of the 90s setting. And since it's been a while since 2011--when the book released, when the future selves of Emma and Josh exist--it's a good reflection of that time as well.

I enjoyed the dual narration. Josh and Emma are SO different in many ways. Josh seems more mature and thoughtful perhaps. But Emma's home life hasn't been the most awesome. She is all the angst and all the drama. Josh is calmer, for the most part. He seems to stabilize the chaos that is Emma.

Josh does seem less self-centered and selfish. He notices in the future that his older brother, David, is gay and in a relationship--according to Facebook. He realizes just how much he doesn't know about his older brother and that makes him sad that his brother is hiding this--though perhaps David didn't realize it in 1996?

There were things I definitely liked about this one. There were definitely some things I didn't like as much. It was mature in some ways. It is not a clean read. It isn't graphic, mind you, but there's much discussion of sex.

I do think it would make a GREAT teen movie OR miniseries. 

Note: I've been reading reviews and I agree with most of what is written on the lower stars. EMMA IS SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER annoying as a heroine. The 90s reference are surface-level for the most part. YET I think if the reader is engaged in the premise and loved 1996 and wants to feel nostalgic, I think that is certainly possible. I do think the dual narrators are a bit disjointed. Yet, that isn't a terribly bad thing in my opinion. TWO different writers. A male perspective. A female perspective. They are DIFFERENT people with different morals/values. They process the world completely differently. So it makes sense that flipping narration is a bit jumpy.


© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

51. Rash

51. Rash. Pete Hautman. 2006. 256 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, YA dystopia, YA fiction, YA futuristic; YA Sports]

First sentence: Gramps, who was born in 1990, once told me that when he was my age the only way to wind up in prison in the USSA (back when it had only one S) was to steal something, kill somebody, or use illegal drugs.

Premise/plot: Rash by Pete Hautman is set roughly in the 2070s. Bo Marsten, our protagonist, is having a hard time of it. His father and brother are incarcerated. (Then again, almost a third of the population is. The work force of the USSA is almost primarily prison labor. Would anyone work if not forced???) He's young; he's rash even. He is madly in love lust with Maddy. But Maddy, well, she doesn't exactly feel exclusive with Bo. In fact, she's often with his "enemy" Karlohs Mink. (Even confiding his secrets to Karlohs! The audacity!) In a time when even insults are illegal and could land you with big legal trouble--especially if it's your third "mistake," Bo's fate seems inevitable. To add insult to injury, Karlohs fakes the whole school into believing that Bo has given him a literal rash. No one believes Bo is innocent--except perhaps his family and his school assignment, Bork; It is an A.I. assignment--to create one that will pass as sentient.

When Bo is sentenced to prison--a McDonald's making pizzas--he finds himself struggling to survive in a world that is unfair.

My thoughts: I read Rash TWICE in 2006. I absolutely loved, loved, loved it. I listened to it on audio in 2010, I believe, according to my blog. I wanted to reread it now that my blog is about to turn TWENTY YEARS OLD at the end of the month (August).

Rash is dark and complex. Though the complexity isn't perhaps super super obvious. On one hand, it can read as a dark comedy. Look what society will come to if safety and niceness are the only priority. When personal freedom is almost nonexistent, especially freedom of expression. When almost every natural human emotion or feeling is discouraged, how can one live...and stay out of trouble. Self is smothered. Common sense is nonexistent. And there are some over-the-top moments--like when BO is being chased by literal polar bears. GRAMPS is the voice of reason AND yet comedic relief too.

On the other hand, it examines the justice or injustice system. If almost everything is illegal and it's almost impossible to avoid prison time in the first place, HOW does one rejoin society afterwards. Is one doomed to keep getting locked back up? Will families be forever broken? Will healing and reconciliation ever happen? Most of the crimes in the book are over-the-top ridiculous.

I will say that it ALSO showcases belief systems. GRAMPS world view was shaped by his upbringing, his experiences. He's witnessed GREAT, great change--none of it for the better. Bo loves his Gramps, but, he's been raised in a completely, totally different society with different values, morals, and laws. Bo has a hard time grasping how life could be any different. HE doesn't see what is glaringly wrong with society like readers can. It was definitely not an accident that the original audience for this YA novel would have been born in the 1990s just like Gramps.

This novel definitely has layers. One could almost pick ANY aspect of it and deep dive.


© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

50. Knife of Never Letting Go

50. The Knife of Never Letting Go. (Chaos Walking #1) Patrick Ness. 2008. 512 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say. About anything.

The Knife of Never Letting Go is a science fiction novel for young adults. (What kind of science fiction? It's the colonizing other planets sort. Also the trying to survive sort. And the encountering alien sort.)

Here are a few things you should know before picking it up.

1) It is science fiction. It is set on another planet, aka "New World." The planet has a handful of small settlements, including Prentisstown, the hometown of our narrator/hero. The planet's biggest settlement is Haven.

2) Todd is our narrator. He is a few weeks away from his thirteenth birthday. He "becomes a Man" on his thirteenth birthday. He is an orphan being raised by two men, Cillian and Ben.

3) There are NO WOMEN in Prentisstown. Todd has been taught all his life that there was a plague or virus that killed all the women of the settlement.

4) A virus (perhaps the same virus that allegedly killed all the women?) has made it so that all the men can hear one another's thoughts all the time. This is called NOISE. It isn't just men, though, they can hear thoughts of animals too. Manchee is Todd's dog. And he's a bit too forthright to say the least!

5) The book is thriller-esque. It's essentially one big action-sequence from cover to cover. Well, perhaps it takes three or four chapters to get him on his way. But once he gets started...he stays going. It's an intense, action-packed book.

6) He doesn't go alone. Manchee, his faithful dog that he once didn't even want, is with him....but more importantly he meets Viola.

7) Viola basically "dropped from the sky" and right into his path. Viola is the sole survivor of the settler's scout ship. Her parents died in the crash. The ships with thousands of more settlers is about seven or so months behind the scout ship. Todd cannot hear Viola's noise. Viola is the first female he can remember seeing--apart from reading the memories of the men in his settlement--which is not the same thing I think you'll agree.

8) Both Viola and Todd are in GREAT DANGER. Why?????? Well, it has to do with SECRETS and SCHEMES and PLOTS. The mayor of Prentisstown is ambitious and manipulative....to pick two of his tamer qualities.

9) Todd has some internal conflict going on inside....he cannot bring himself to kill. So while I might have spent a good deal of time emphasizing the ACTION, ACTION, ACTION aspect of this one, that doesn't mean it is without characterization and complexity.

10) Be warned it doesn't really have an ending.

11) It has profanity. A good deal of profanity. For some people it may be off-putting enough to pass on the book. For others that might be a big non-issue.

12) Poor grammar is part of the world-building. This may or may not bother readers!  

The first time I read it, I was meh. I was bothered by the poor grammar and the profanity. The second time I read it, I definitely liked it much better. The third time I read it, I loved it. I was fully engaged and absorbing the world-making and the depths of the characters. I was paying attention to the relationships, the conversations, all the feels. Things that were both spoken and unspoken. 

I have been listening to a lot of Preacher Boys on YouTube. His podcast deals a lot with abuse in the Independent Fundamental Baptist denomination. Or "denomination" as the case may be since technically each church is independent and there is no infrastructure binding the churches together. As I was reading The Knife Of Never Letting Go, I couldn't help thinking that one or two of the settlements might portray a what if--what if an IFB church decided to colonize space and set up their own theocracy?!

So that was one thing running through my mind this time around, but also I thought of all the changes we've gone through the past few decades--in particular the internet, social media, and media itself. All the bits about NOISE felt like it could be talking about our society--in some ways.

This third read was definitely more thoughtful and philosophical. I found myself making lots of notes.

Quotes:

• The loud is a different kind of loud, because swamp loud is just curiosity, creachers figuring out who you are and if yer a threat. Whereas the town knows all about you already and wants to know more and wants to beat you with what it knows till how can you have any of yerself left at all?
• Men lie, and they lie to theirselves worst of all.
• Noise ain’t truth, Noise is what men want to be true, and there’s a difference twixt those two things so big that it could ruddy well kill you if you don’t watch out.
• The Church is why we’re all here on New World in the first place, of course, and pretty much every Sunday you can hear Aaron preaching about why we left behind the corrupshun and sin of Old World and about how we’d aimed to start a new life of purity and brotherhood in a whole new Eden. That worked out well, huh?
• Praying Noise comes from inside, it’s got a special feel to it, a special purply sick feel like men are bleeding it out, even tho it’s always the same stuff but the purply blood just keeps on coming. Help us, save us, forgive us, help us, save us, forgive us, get us outta here, please, God, please, God, please, God, tho as far as I know no one’s never heard no Noise back from this God fella.
• Noise is like grey fire behind him and you can’t pick out anything in it and he might be up to something, mightn’t he? The sermon might be covering for something and I’m beginning to wonder if I know what that something is.
• Men’s minds are messy places and Noise is like the active, breathing face of that mess. It’s what’s true and what’s believed and what’s imagined and what’s fantasized and it says one thing and a completely opposite thing at the same time and even tho the truth is definitely in there, how can you tell what’s true and what’s not when yer getting everything?
• The Noise is a man unfiltered, and without a filter, a man is just chaos walking.
• But a knife ain’t just a thing, is it? It’s a choice, it’s something you do. A knife says yes or no, cut or not, die or don’t. A knife takes a decision out of your hand and puts it in the world and it never goes back again.
• “History ain’t so important when yer just trying to survive,” I say, spitting it out under my breath. “That’s actually when it’s most important,” Hildy says, standing at the end of the table.
• “Men’s thoughts, Todd,” she says. “Men. And you notice he said he was going to ask the eldermen to come seek out your advice?” I get a horrible thought. “Did the women all die here, too?” “Oh, there’s women,” she says, fiddling with a butter knife. “They clean and they cook and they make babies and they all live in a big dormitory outside of town where they can’t interfere in men’s business.”
• He shakes his head. “What d’you think’s been driving you on? What d’you think’s got you this far?” “Fear,” Viola says. “Desperayshun,” I say. “No,” he says, taking us both in. “No, no, no. You’ve come farther than most people on this planet will do in their lifetimes. You’ve overcome obstacles and dangers and things that should’ve killed you. You’ve outrun an army and a madman and deadly illness and seen things most people will never see. How do you think you could have possibly come this far if you didn’t have hope?”
• “Everything on this planet talks to each other,” he says. “Everything. That’s what New World is. Informayshun, all the time, never stopping, whether you want it or not. The Spackle knew it, evolved to live with it, but we weren’t equipped for it. Not even close.
• And too much informayshun can drive a man mad. Too much informayshun becomes just Noise. And it never, never stops.
• “War is a monster,” he says, almost to himself. “War is the devil. It starts and it consumes and it grows and grows and grows.” He’s looking at me now. “And otherwise normal men become monsters, too.”
• Doing what’s right should be easy. It shouldn’t be just another big mess like everything else.
• She hurts. I know all this. I know it’s true. Cuz I can read her. I can read her Noise even tho she ain’t got none. I know who she is. I know Viola Eade. And I look at her sitting there and she looks across the river and we wait as the dawn fully arrives, each of us knowing. Each of us knowing the other.
• Hope may be the thing that pulls you forward, may be the thing that keeps you going, but that it’s dangerous, too, that it’s painful and risky, that it’s making a dare to the world and when has the world ever let us win a dare?
• “God works thru men,” Aaron says. “So does evil,” Viola says.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

82. Skipshock

  

82. Skipshock. Caroline O'Donoghue. 2025. 400 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, YA dystopia, YA speculative fiction, YA romance]

First sentence: The most common response I get when I tell people what I do for a living is: I couldn't do a job like that. What they mean is they wouldn't do a job like this. Every so often a new gruesome story circulates about salesmen, and what traveling between time speeds does to one's physical health.

Premise/plot: For readers who get a thrill out of speculative fiction with uniquely crafted worlds, Skipshock is a novel I'd highly recommend. It is a premise-driven novel. Moon and Margo are the narrators. Moon is a salesmen, traveling between worlds, racing against time almost. Margo is an Irish girl on her way to boarding school. Both traveling by train--albeit in different worlds. But when Margo finds herself on Moon's train, things will never be the same. Moon knows that Margo's sudden appearance could change his life forever--and not in an instant romance way. To the right people, Margo could mean a quick sell, big money. He could buy his way out of his [doomed] lifestyle and settle down in a world. Margo doesn't trust Moon fully, but, she's in a strange new world surrounded by people who are--through her eyes at least--strange, odd, dangerous. She is far, far, far from home and if she ever wants to get back home she'll have to risk trusting somebody.

So the premise???? Different "worlds" connected via trains have their own times. For example, some worlds have a TWO HOUR day; some worlds have a SIX HOUR day, etc. Obviously the shorter the day, the shorter the lifespan. Time has everything to do with the haves and have nots.


My thoughts: What did I love about this one? I loved the world-building. I loved the characterization. I loved the relationships. I loved the plot. I enjoyed the twists and turns. Did I see one particular twist coming? YES. If I had read this as a young teen would I have seen it coming? Probably not. Knowing what was likely coming did not change my enjoyment of the novel.

Quotes:

• That's what being in love actually is, at the end of the day. It makes the strong parts of you weak, and the weak parts of you strong.
• No anxiety, no artificiality. Just the ease of being with the person you most want to be with, in the very moment you want to be with them.
• For the first time in her life, she had a person. She and Moon had been born in different places and brought up in different ways, but regardless, one thing was very clear to her. They had each spent most of their lives lonely. Her in a cold house; him in a cold world. They were houseplants that people forgot to check on. And now they had each other. There was a feeling of boundlessness, of growing, of feeling like you could do things. Somehow, she didn't need to wonder if he felt this way, too. She knew it.
• She understood love as a wobbling table, as a three-legged dog. You had to take the weight of a limb when it went missing. You had to hold the other person up. It was the only way you could both make it to the end.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

78. Snowglobe 2

78. Snowglobe 2 (Snowglobe Duology #2) Soyoung Park. Translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort. 2021/2025. 438 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, YA Fiction, YA Speculative Fiction, YA Mystery]

First sentence: At once, all the lights go out and the TV goes dead. On the dark screen, ghostly afterimages linger for another moment before they, too, dissipate, plunging us into darkness. 

Premise/plot: Snowglobe 2 is the sequel to Snowglobe. Jeon Chobahm, our main character, has exposed the corruption of which she is aware. But there are more secrets--more impactful and unjust--to uncover and possibly expose. This time she has a team of support. [She is still living with her fellow Haeri clones, even Serin (the cranky one). Then there's her brother, Ongi, her director-friend, Hyang, and Miryu, a former actress.] The novel starts perhaps a bit slowly, but she soon realizes that she's in great danger and that she may be one of the few people who can change the world dramatically even if it means taking a lot of risks. 

My thoughts: Snowglobe 2 has a completely different vibe. The story is definitely unique and different from the first story. I felt the first story definitely focused more on the television aspect--the actors and directors, the entertainment industry, etc. I think the second story definitely focuses more on the corruption of leaders and politicians. Both deal with socioeconomic injustices--the haves and have nots if you will. The cast of characters is LARGE and at times difficult to keep up with. However, I did reread the first novel a few weeks ago. It could have been trickier if I hadn't. I liked the first book a bit more perhaps. But this one was good.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

61. Snowglobe

Snowglobe. (Snowglobe Duology #1) Soyoung Park. Translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort. 2024. 384 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Dystopian; New Adult]

First sentence: In the living room, Grandma is sunk in her chair in front of her favorite TV show, a heavy quilt draped over her lap. I look down at the weather ticker scrolling away along the bottom of the screen.

I read the description of this one and that was enough of a hook to get me. I'm not sure I could do the book justice by trying to summarize it. You should know it is set in a futuristic dystopia. The world building was FANTASTIC. The characters were well-developed, fleshed out. The plot was both simple and complex. 

It stars a sixteen year old, Jeon Chobahm, who wants to be part of their world--Snowglobe. The residents of Snowglobe seemingly have it all. The residents are actors, directors, celebrities if you will. They are the only people on earth to live in a warm climate. The rest of the world is in perpetual winter or ice age. Her dream is to be a director, to be direct one of the shows of Snowglobe. 

Be careful what you wish for. She'll be presented with an opportunity. Does she have the right to say no? Maybe? maybe not? Regardless, she does NOT want to miss this opportunity. She runs straight for it. It is only afterwards when she begins to suspect that the Snowglobe she knows through the screen isn't the real Snowglobe.

I am so glad I borrowed this one from the library. It was such a fascinating/engaging read. Usually dystopian novels require a LOT of suspension of disbelief. You almost read with an eye-roll. It may be very entertaining, but equally obnoxious. Some are so heavy-handed and ridiculous hitting you over the head with a couple of hammers that there's no fun to be had. This one I completely became absorbed in. I didn't feel manipulated or preached at.

 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

52. Scarlet

52. Scarlet. A.C. Gaughen. 2012. 287 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Fiction, YA Historical, YA Romance, 5 stars]

First sentence: No one really know 'bout me. I'm Rob's secret, I'm his informant, I'm his shadow in dark places. No one ever takes me for more than a knockabout lad, a whip of a boy. They never really see. And I don't mind that they don't see. Like, when you walk through a room full of big men drunk off their skulls, it ain't so bad to be ignored.

Premise/plot: Scarlet is a young adult twist on Robin Hood. It is narrated by 'Scar' [aka 'Will Scarlet' or 'Scarlet'). Only Robin's gang know her secret--that she's a young woman in disguise. To the rest of the world she's just a thief, one of Robin's gang. If you're familiar with Robin Hood--and who isn't--you can fill in the blanks. Robin Hood is trying to help the poor and save them from the injustices of the powers that be [local sheriffs and such as well as 'King' John]. Readers get to know Rob, Scarlet, John Little, Much, etc. as they try to stop the thief-hunter Gisbourne from destroying everything. Gisbourne has a strong dislike for Scarlet whom he knew before...under her real name. He is the one who in fact gave her her scar.

My thoughts: It's been over ten years since I visited this series. But I've always intended to reread this series. Scarlet is far from perfect. I know this. But I enjoyed spending time with her and all the others. I think the characters have some depth. The story is somewhat familiar, to be sure, but I have always liked it.

Quotes:

• Rob's head pressed harder against mine. "I know what it's like to look into your past and see nothing but your mistakes," he said. My fingers crushed tight into his skin, clawing him like if I could break the skin we'd be connected by blood, and I could comfort him and he could see into me without me having to speak out loud. "They were your orders, Rob. You were a soldier for the King's Crusade. It can't be a mistake if you didn't have a choice."
• "More people care about you than you know, Scarlet. No matter how you got your scars. Not just those scars. The ones that make you think you're unlovable."

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

50. The Hawthorne Legacy

 

50. The Hawthorne Legacy. Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 2021. 380 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, YA fiction, YA romance, YA mystery]

First sentence: "Tell me again about the first time the two of you played chess in the park."

Premise/plot: Avery Grambs has further mysteries to solve in the second book in the Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. She's inherited the Hawthorne estate--provided she meets the conditions--but she's also inherited the dysfunctional family that comes along with it: namely the Hawthorne brothers--Nash, Jameson, Grayson, and Xander. She is developing like-like, lusty feelings for two of them: Jameson and Grayson. 

Avery's life is still in danger--of course it is. There are family secrets to uncover. Red herrings thrown in about those family secrets as well. There's like two possibly semi-steamy scenes. But mostly a lot of puzzles and clues and attempts on her life.

My thoughts: I liked this one less. I don't know if it was my mood? Possibly it was. This one has Avery traveling with the Hawthorne brothers various locations trying to track down clues, following leads, etc. It has them trying to piece together the past so they can make sense of the clues they do have. It isn't just Hawthorne family secrets...but Avery's own family as well. How does HER mother connect to the Hawthorne family? 

This one definitely had less of an emphasis on love triangle--in a way. The one kiss she shares with Grayson is for shock value on a television interview. And there's a few kisses perhaps with Jameson. But this one was more of a let's focus on all the characters, side characters, and side-side characters. 

I didn't feel as compelled to keep turning pages.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

45. The Inheritance Games

 

45. The Inheritance Games. Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 2020. 386 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Fiction, YA Romance, YA Mystery]

First sentence: When I was a kid, my mom constantly invented games. The Quiet Game. The Who Can Make Their Cookie Last Longer? Game. A perennial favorite, The Marshmallow Game involved eating marshmallows while wearing puffy Goodwill Jackets indoors, to avoid turning on the heat. 

Premise/plot: Avery Grambs comes into....an inheritance in Jennifer Lynn Barnes' The Inheritance Games. She has inherited an extremely large estate seemingly from a total stranger. His family was not entirely neglected, each one receives a nominal amount--at least relatively speaking. But one of the conditions is that she is to live on the estate a full year before collecting on the inheritance so to speak...and she'll be living WITH those she's 'disinherited.' There are four Hawthorne brothers....and each one will have his own way for 'handling' Avery. Some more 'hands on' than others....since two have a flirty situation-ship going on. There's puzzles, games, and riddles, etc. And Avery's life is in danger several times at least.... Who can she trust with her life? Who can she trust with her heart?

My thoughts: I kept turning pages because I--for better or worse--got caught up in the love triangle. Grayson and Jameson are the two brothers involved. It also greatly helped that the chapters are so short. Each one is just three to four pages. The pacing is excellent. It always feels right to read "just one more chapter." 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

34. Dead Happy

 

Dead Happy (HappyHead #2) Josh Silver. 2024. [May] 416 pages. [Source: Library] [YA fiction, YA dystopia, 3 stars]

First sentence: I used to like video games.

Premise/plot: Dead Happy is the sequel to HappyHead. Seb (Sebastian) and Eleanor are a 'couple' heading to the second phase of Happy Head, Elmhallow. Their 'relationship' is mutually convenient. They need to be a couple to succeed in the program, and perhaps even to survive long enough to escape the program. However, pretending 24/7 may prove challenging--especially for Seb. There are five couples--ten individuals--and they all want to win the competition no matter the cost. 

How far will anyone go to 'win' when winning means going against everything you've ever believed to be right?

My thoughts: I'm conflicted. On the one hand, it was a compelling read. It was. I came into the story on the hooked side of things because of the first book. On the other hand, I'm just not sure the second book is *as* good as the first. It doesn't need to be. It doesn't. It felt like ONE book divided into two. There was less world-building and less suspense, in my opinion, than in the first book. The first book had more of a surprise factor, I suppose? That being said, I definitely cared enough to keep reading to find out what happened next....

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

33. Sunrise on the Reaping

 

33. Sunrise on the Reaping. Suzanne Collins. 2025. 382 pages. [Source: Library] [audio book!] [4 stars, YA dystopia, YA thriller, YA fiction, series book]

First sentence: "Happy birthday, Haymitch!" The upside of being born on reaping day is that you can sleep late on your birthday.

My thoughts (preview): Is Sunrise on the Reaping a necessary addition to the Hunger Games series? Maybe. Maybe not. Readers will most likely come to the book knowing both a) how Haymitch's story ends (as revealed in the Hunger Games book series) and b) Haymitch's Hunger Games story (the 50th Hunger Games). At the very, very, very least they will know Haymitch was the victor for Twelve during his year. There remains no way to keep suspense in the story. 

Premise/plot: Readers who have [long] been fans of the Hunger Games will get Haymitch's backstory in greater depth. There are plenty of details to be filled in that haven't been revealed already. 

My thoughts: I am SO CONFLICTED.

On the one hand, this is set roughly twenty-five (twenty-four) years before the first Hunger Games book. Readers catch glimpses of what life was like in Twelve when Haymitch was a teen. They get to know him before he'd touched a drop of alcohol. Readers see how life in the Capital is as well. MAGS. MAGS. MAGS. (You might say I was thrilled to get to see Mags again). Readers also meet a VERY young Effie Trinket. Another familiar character is PLUTARCH and, of course, President Snow.

On the other hand, there is something futile and hopeless about Sunrise on the Reaping. There is no suspense. EVERYTHING we know about Haymitch in the "present" (aka Hunger Games trilogy) leaves no doubt that the book cover-to-cover will be futile, meaningless, hopeless. No possibility for a smidgen of happiness or peace. 

The plot itself is BRUTAL, brutal, more brutal, all bleak all the way. 

There are no surprises. I mentioned twice now how the book lacks suspense. I think this is the nature of the Games. ALL the books that feature Hunger Games are going to follow a set pattern, formula, rigidity. There is nothing new under the sun. What allows for more unique storytelling is before and after. And again, readers know how the story is going to end--Haymitch bitter, angry, disturbed, apathetic, drunk, a waste. But what the book does is strip away the possibility of a happier Haymitch AFTER the third book. Perhaps this is because this is something the movie gives him that the book never intended? Perhaps this is Suzanne Collins way of saying IGNORE THE MOVIES, Haymitch is *mine*.

Several things to note: FIRST it seems that there is nothing new under the sun. I wouldn't be surprised if every year of the Games there's a few kids [at least] who try to rebel against the system and break the games and make a stand and whatnot. Katniss was not the first. Just the last.

Second, the book's greatest strength will be in CHARACTERS and RELATIONSHIPS. Readers know that the game will be brutal, bloody, bleak, ugly, horrific, psychologically damaging, twisted. But it is in how the main character is in relationship with others in the arena that matters. 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

32. HappyHead

 

32. HappyHead. Josh Silver. 2023. 383 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, YA dystopia, YA fiction]

First sentence: "I think it's down there," Mum says.

Premise/plot: Is HappyHead 'like Hunger Games' but better'? Maybe. So essentially this is a [queer] dystopian thriller with a strong emphasis on mental health. That is, to rephrase it, what if the 'mental health treatment center' was at the [horrific] core of the dystopia. What if the people entrusted with caring for society's most vulnerable, most at risk, were evil monsters. Sebastian, the narrator, is a young gay teen who is struggling with balancing pleasing himself [being true to himself] and wanting to please others. This isn't only about sexual orientation or identity. This is about him being a people-pleaser even when it is making him deeply unhappy. I think it is an also universal struggle in that age-old question: do I really want to be the person my parents want me to be?

So Sebastian (Seb) is one of many [a hundred I think????] chosen to take part in a mental health retreat. 'At risk' and 'troubled' teens applied for experimental therapy treatment 'HappyHeads.' They'll be put into teams and face challenges--literal at time: physical challenges, mental and emotional as well. What wasn't quite advertised is that this is a competition. Each participant has a ranking. To what extent 'rankings' matter remains to be seen....for most of the novel. 

Readers meet the other participants....notably Eleanor and Finn. Finn is the 'bad boy' of his dreams. Eleanor is his 'partner' in pretense but also for tactical reasons. She's ranked HIGHLY and she seems to have an instinct for knowing what the powers that be want from the participants. Because Seb wants to please the powers that be, he finds it easier to go along with her. 

Obviously there are secrets and twists and turns....

My thoughts: I found this to be a compelling read. Not at all my normal 'cup of tea' if you will. But unlike Hunger Games, there is no love triangle. AND it is not really focused on being a love story. It is much more in the 'dystopia' and 'coming of age' and 'thriller' camp than being a romance.

Unlike Hunger Games, the characters ARE IN THE DARK. The mysteries are true mysteries. The suspense feels more authentic that way. Hunger Games is very this-is-the-way-things-are. There is something rigid and strict about Hunger Games. The Games may be twisted, however, there's order and structure and HISTORY. This leads to plenty of info-dump possibilities. HappyHead is different in that Seb truly has no idea what is going on and what may be coming. None of the characters do.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

30. All Better Now

30. All Better Now. Neal Shusterman. 2025. 528 pages. [Source: Library] [1 star, YA fiction]

First sentence: It was the wrong time to be living on the streets. 

My thoughts (preview): Is this the worst book I've read this year [2025]? YES. So far at least. Why? Horrible premise. Horrible plot. Terrible characters. 

Premise/plot: COVID-19 might be settling down but Crown Royale, a new virus is spreading all around. You either a) catch it and die (4% of cases?) b) catch it and your brain becomes well, Imagine-fied (think of the noxious John Lennon song, "Imagine." This is 96% of cases?) Those who catch it seem to want EVERYONE to catch it.

This story exists in propaganda-land and every character has a hammer or two. Readers never catch a breath from nonsense being shouted, spouted, thrown around, pounded, stamped, etc. 

There are a handful of characters. Not a single character--well, not really--is likeable...or likeable enough. There are two semi-minor characters that aren't dreadful. But essentially it's a duel of propaganda between those wanting to spread Crown Royale (the happy virus that turns your brain to mush) and those wanting create a counter-virus that turns you into a....well....an emotional psycho. One virus strips you of choice and turns earth into "heaven." The other strips you of choice and turns earth into "hell." 

There was not one scene, one character that made this book enjoyable or thought provoking.

My thoughts: I hated this book. I hated it so much. This is sad mainly because I have such WONDERFUL memories of reading and absolutely loving Neal Shusterman's books. Multiple of his I've rated five stars. I've always found them super-compelling, interesting, good, great even. This one was HORRIBLE. Unless you want to feel trapped in a nightmare surrounded by people you detest and can't escape. 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

24. The Rose Bargain

 

24. The Rose Bargain. Sasha Peyton Smith. 2025. 400 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Fiction, YA Fantasy, YA Horror, YA Romance] [3 stars]

First sentence: King Edward's face was streaked with mud and blood when the woman first appeared at the tree line. His sword hung by his side, limp, in a single moment of pause, and then he fell to his knees.

Premise/plot: The War of the Roses "ends" when a fae queen, Queen Moryen, murders King Edward and assumes the throne of England. The novel properly begins almost four hundred years later--give or two a decade. Ivy Benton, our heroine, knows better than some how risky bargaining with the fae queen can be. Her sister, Lydia, disappeared and returned with many of her memories just gone--including the memory of exactly what her bargain was. There's always a cost--a heavy price to pay--for bargaining with Her Majesty. However, it is almost expected that sooner or later every single subject will. Be careful what you wish for...and all that.

The new season is about to start, and Ivy Benton will be one of the debutantes. The queen announces that this year is the year her (fae) son will marry a bride. She's offering a choice, if you will. Volunteer--pledge by blood--to be in the competition to be his bride. Obviously, if you're the one, you'll be royalty. You will seemingly 'have it all.' If you lose, well, just know that you've pledged away your right to every marry anyone at all. Ivy knows that if she doesn't find a husband this season--and it's perhaps doubtful since her family has fallen on hard times financially--her family will be ruined regardless. So she is the first to pledge...

The competition begins...and the ladies have plenty of opportunities to spend time with both the fae prince (Prince Bram) and the mortal one (Emmett, a stepson). There's training and competitions as well, elimination rounds, etc.

While she is competing to win Bram's heart, it may just be the other brother who wins her heart. 

My thoughts: I am SO conflicted. ALTERNATE HISTORY. It's been a long time since I've read fantasies with faeries or fae. But there was a time when probably half of YA was faeries and the other half were vampires. So though it's been a while, I soon found myself hooked on the story--particularly the premise. STEAMY ROMANCE. Here's where I'm conflicted. Is it too steamy???? Maybe. Maybe not. Every reader is different. But expect things to get GRAPHIC. For some readers that may be a plus. For others not so much. MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEW. Again, every reader is different. I've been reading--skimming--through the GoodReads reviews. Some love, some hate, everyone has opinions. I personally did not care for the multiple points of view at all. I think because they seemed RANDOM and BIZARRE. Okay, I'll try to clarify. This wasn't an every-other-chapter dual narration. You might have half a dozen chapters of Ivy's point of view and then suddenly be thrown into someone else's head for one chapter and one chapter only. I would have preferred to see Ivy's point of view alternating with either Emmett OR one of the other ladies. But trying to get most/all of the competition to have one chapter each was offsetting. THE TWIST ENDING. It's like you spend 98% of the book with it firmly being a SMUTTY, SMUTTY YA romance with fantasy undertones. Like very steady, predictable, formulaic, both feet planted in steamy romance. Then the last two percent is like you are thrown--crashed??? tossed????--into the complete opposite genre. The contrast is so SUDDEN. And the ending is so abrupt. Not even a pause between BIG, BIG REVEAL and boom it's over.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

3. The Oarsmen: Chasing Embers

 3. The Oarsmen: Chasing Embers. Glenn Beck with Mikayla G. Hedrick. 2024. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, mg speculative fiction, mg dystopia, mg fiction]

First sentence:  It was the night the scales tipped decisively in the Administrator's direction. A young couple was sitting in their unit in the half-built utopian city known as "Oasis." The city was flush with the sounds of mechanical construction--crash, whizz, pop, smash. These sounds were normal in Oasis. The Tenants were hardly bothered by it anymore.

Premise/plot: Chasing Embers is a middle grade [or perhaps young young adult] dystopian novel set in a future America. Like all dystopias it features a bleak, dismal, unsettling, disturbing reality. Some are more subtle than others--think Twilight Zone. Others are more obviously harsh.

What should you know? There are two main characters who alternate narration. Sky and Ember. Both have grown up in Oasis--I believe--and both will have to make a tough decision--or two or three--before the close of the novel.

Ember "inherited" a forbidden book, a handwritten book I believe, that capture in bits, pieces, and spurts the past. It's a past that is purposefully forgotten and/or revised by the current powers that be. The current powers that be determine what is true and what isn't true--and mostly they err on the side of everything from the past being lies, lies, and more lies. There are a few "holdouts" who live apart, and some that live within just super cautiously. There are also fabled Oarsmen. 

 Sky has left Oasis and is visiting one such holdout community and is learning things in "the sticking place." All the "lies" are being taught as truth and the community is being nurtured by morals and values--being taught right from wrong, truth from lie, etc. But Sky has his doubts and cannot believe what he is seeing and hearing. Or perhaps he wants to believe but struggles to incorporate his new realizations with everything he's ever known.

Though much of the book is world-building, plenty is left mysterious--for better or worse. There will be costs to pay for "holding out" and not conforming to the powers that be, and many characters will be forced to decide if it's a cost worth paying.

My thoughts: My biggest issue with this book is the lack of understanding of HOW IMPORTANT AND ESSENTIAL character motivations are within a book--any book really, but especially a supposedly action packed dystopia. IF hard work is put into character motivation--knowing WHY characters do what they do, say what they say, choose what they choose, etc--then much can be forgiven such as info-dumping for world-building sake. Also being premise-driven. A book can be premise-driven, plot-driven and be far from character driven....and still be a compelling read IF some amount of attention is given to showing WHY. 

I feel that both Sky and Ember lack ANY development when it comes to character motivation. It's a big guessing game with extremely shaky foundations as to WHY they say or do ANYTHING at any given time. Yes, it keeps readers guessing but for all the wrong reasons. I think *a little* more focus on building the characters inner worlds would help sell this one as a compelling read.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

1. A Queen's Game

1. A Queen's Game. Katharine McGee. 2024 [November]. 368 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Historical, YA Romance, YA Fiction] [3 stars]

First sentence: May of Teck hated weddings.

Premise/plot: A Queen's Game is YA historical fiction. The three main characters--protagonists--were historical figures, in varying degrees of royalty. Many of the "main" characters (and/or their love interests) were grandchildren of Queen Victoria--though not all. The three young women at the center of this one are May (May of Teck, aka future Queen Mary) Hélène d’Orléans (daughter of an exiled King of France), and Alix of Hesse (aka future Empress of Russia). 

The book follows the ups and downs of their love lives--or lack thereof. May of Teck is descended from a first cousin of Queen Victoria, she's always been on the fringe instead of front and center in the royal family. She has ambitions of marrying *into* the family but Queen Victoria may have other plans for her grandsons. A fictional American, Agnes, tries to influence May of Teck to be more bold, daring, ambitious, to fight dirty. WHY? No one quite knows except the book needs to be more Gossip Girl.  Hélène follows her heart and gives into her passions--quite literally, of course. Of the three narrators her chapters almost always lead to some degree of smut. Alix's story has its own obstacles--from within and without--she is falling head over heals in love with he who would be the next Tsar--Nicholas. Everyone opposes the match. She has her own reservations--though real or fictionally imagined who knows--because of medical/genetic concerns.

My thoughts: The book does NOT give a year (which in my opinion is a CRIME for historical fiction based on real people and somewhat real events). My best guess is 1890 to 1891. One of the love interests dies in  January 1892, so definitely before then. Could it be set earlier? Sure. 

The book is driven by gossip, scandal and/or the potential of such. It is frothy for sure. Like in her American Royals series, this has alternating narrators, the male love interests do not get their own point of view although they play huge roles in all the chapters. 

It is on the lighter, frothier, fluffier side of historical fiction. But it might serve as an introduction to a later period of the British royal family. Teens may not be familiar with all that happens next in their stories.

 Wikipedia links
Mary of Teck (referred to throughout the book as May)
Alix of Hesse (Alexandra Feodorovna) 
Hélène d’Orléans
Prince "Eddy" (aka Albert Victor Christian Edward, Duke of Clarence)

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

87. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter #6). J.K. Rowling. 2005. 652 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars]

First sentence: It was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting alone in his office, reading a long memo that was slipping through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind.

Premise/plot: Harry Potter (and company) face their biggest challenges yet. Lord Voldemort's return/resurrection is no longer being ignored by the powers that be. Harry Potter (and company) are no longer being ridiculed for spouting 'nonsense' about Voldemort. The threat is acknowledged. Some precautions are being taken. (But are they ever going to be enough?)

This one does take place mostly at Hogwarts. Harry Potter (and company) are doing their best to prepare for inevitable showdowns. Harry is taking special lessons with Professor Dumbledore. They are 'visiting' Voldemort's past memories. They are preparing for the 'war to come' by learning as much as they possibly can about every moment of his life. Looking for anything and everything they can use against him. 

This one has quite the ending. It is SUPER intense. More intense than any of the other novels. 

My thoughts: Yes, it's taken me ABSOLUTELY forever to start this series. I'm glad I waited this long to be honest. Harry Potter has fallen out of favor, these days, is being canceled--this time by the Left. But that is neither here nor there. (That's not why I'm reading the books now. That's not my motivation). I'm glad I waited so that I could read all the books back-to-back-to-back. No waiting. And since it was impossible to avoid spoilers there in early-to-mid 2000s, I know just enough about the characters.

 My thoughts PART TWO: I am rereading the whole series. My initial thought was to read July through December, but, I am zooming through some of these books. So I think I'll finish the series in November instead. The ending of this one is outstanding. I can only imagine the experience for those who started the series back in 97 or 98 and waited between books. I am liking the series more the second time around. Perhaps because I know the characters better and have a more grounded reaction.

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

80. The Dead and the Gone

The Dead and the Gone. Susan Beth Pfeffer. 2008. 336 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars] [YA dystopian; YA Science fiction; YA Fiction]

First sentence: At the moment when life as he had known it changed forever, Alex Morales was behind the counter at Joey's Pizza, slicing a spinach pesto pie into eight roughly equal pieces.

The dead & the gone is the companion novel to Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It. While Miranda's story--set in Pennsylvania--chronicles her life from May through March of that decisive year, Alex's story--set in New York City--chronicles his life from May through December. Both are family-oriented. Miranda's life being closely tied to her mom and two brothers; Alex's life being closely tied to his two younger sisters, Brianna and Julie. But Alex's story is stronger in many ways. For Alex is the head of the family--for better or worse. Alex is the one making life-and-death decisions. His mom vanished on May 18th--the day the asteroid struck the moon. His dad may or may not have survived the first terrible week. Having been in Puerto Rico for a funeral, he's unable to make contact with his family. And, well, the coasts were hit hard--again and again. So even surviving the first tsunamis might not mean much in the long term. His older brother, Carlos, is in the Marines. He was far from home when it happened, and while he's able to send word--by phone or mail--a few times throughout the book. He's not the one in charge. He's not the one responsible for making the tough decisions on how to best survive. So while Miranda has to grow-up, it is a gradual growing into adulthood. She still has her relaxed moments. There is never one moment for Alex to relax. He carries a heavy weight day and night.

I enjoyed rereading Life As We Knew It and the dead & the gone back to back. There are things I love about both books. Things I appreciate about both books. One thing that makes the dead & the gone a very different story is the focus on faith and community. The dead & the gone is faith-oriented. Alex and his family are Catholics. They all attend Catholic school. They all regularly attend mass. They take their faith, their spirituality, their religion very seriously. The words mean something. The faith means something to them. Something real. Something personal. While each of the siblings has their own reaction--response--to the crisis, none loses their faith, none lose hope completely. I loved seeing this Catholic community in action. I loved seeing the Catholic church reaching out in love and compassion--with great hope and faith--to their community, to their parishioners. There were so many great scenes of this faith-in-action. Where people were responding with their hearts in faith as opposed to acting out of fear and anxiety. It's courageous and wonderful.

The dead & the gone has a broader outlook as well. While the electricity isn't reliable on a day-by-day basis in the dead & the gone, it is certainly more stable than in Life As We Knew It. Alex is connected to the larger world. He hears--for better or worse--more about the world at large. He is more aware of what is going on in other states. While Miranda and her family may go weeks or months without contact to other survivors, Alex is out of the house most days--at least before the flu epidemic comes. He's not as isolated as Miranda. Does not being so isolated help him cope? Maybe. But every day, every week is a struggle. Alex does things he'd NEVER thought he'd be doing.

Is Alex more of a hero than Miranda? I'm not sure that is exactly fair. Miranda has her courageous moments too. (I'm thinking of the woodstove mishap.) But. Alex's story has power no doubt about it.
I would definitely recommend both books.

"Give the scientists some time and they'll figure out what to do."
"This is too big for the scientists," Lorraine said. "Only God can save us now."
"Then He will," Alex said. (13)

God save their souls, Alex prayed. God save ours. It was the only prayer he could think of, no matter how inadequate it might be. It offered him no comfort, but he repeated it unceasingly. As long as he prayed he didn't have to think. He didn't have to remember. He didn't have to decide. He didn't have to acknowledge he was entering a world where no one had laid out the rules for him to follow, a world where there might not be any rules left for any of them to follow. (65)

"She says you've been having bad dreams."
"Aren't you?" Julie asked. "Isn't everyone?"
Alex burst out laughing. "Only sane people," he said. "Okay, maybe not Bri. But everyone else is."
"Are things going to get better?" Julie asked. "Is that why you listen to the news all the time, because someday things are going to get better?"
Alex shook his head. "That's not why I listen," he replied. "That's why I pray but not why I listen."
"Do you think God listens?" she asked.
"Bri thinks so," Alex said. "Father Franco thinks so." (81)

It was hard being alone in the apartment staring at an unringing phone, haunted by the food in the kitchen, which he wouldn't allow himself to touch, haunted even more by the image of his mother drowning in the subway that very first night. He tried reading. He tried praying. He tried push-ups. He tried counting the cans of soup. He listened to the radio, using up the twenty-dollar batteries. The world was coming to an end. Well, that was nothing new. (123)

"And what's so special about you that you deserve compassion?" Father Mulrooney said. "You have shelter. You have food. You have family and friends. I'm supposed to feel pity for you because of a cut cheek?"
"You don't understand at all," Alex said. "I have shelter for as long as no one thinks about it. Once they do, once they realize my father is gone, they can throw us out. I have food only if I get lunch here. We're down to almost nothing at home, and I have to make sure my kid sister eats. She is my family right now, because my parents are both gone and my older brother is in the Marines somewhere and I sent my other sister to live at a convent with strangers. My cheek was cut because I got caught in a food riot, with my kid sister, and we ended up with no food anyway. I'm not asking you to pity me. I pity me enough for the two of us. But when one of your students asks you for food, you shouldn't say no and feel righteous about it. That's not what Christ would have done, and you know it." (133)

"What do you have planned for tomorrow?"
Alex shrugged. "The usual," he said. "Checking on the elderly, studying theology, fighting for survival. Same old, same old." (151)

"I know it's wrong to feel that way about God and I know it's wrong to not feel anything. I hate it. I don't hate God. I hate not loving Him." (184)

 

 

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

68. Life As We Knew It

68. Life As We Knew It. Susan Beth Pfeffer. 2006. 337 pages. [Source: Library] [MG Fiction, YA Fiction] [5 stars]

First sentence: Lisa is pregnant.

Premise/plot: As the world is ending--or seeming to--Miranda, our heroine, keeps readers up to speed with her private journal. It starts several days--perhaps a week?--before an asteroid hits the moon. After the asteroid hits the moon, things change drastically, dramatically, and perhaps permanently. Can the human race survive? Will Miranda and her family? 

My thoughts: This novel is bleakity-bleak. However, it is not as bleak as it could be, or perhaps should be. But if it was more bleak would it have any readers reading and recommending it? It isn't as bleak as it could be because it isn't always realistic. One glaring instance is the magical well water that Miranda and her family rely on for months, long months without any electricity whatsoever. Or generators. Wells depend on electricity. What is sad or perhaps ironic is that one person in her family makes the comment how lucky they are to be on well water since the town's water supply depends on electricity and many are without water. Chances are they depend on electricity in different ways.

Even though some of the scenarios are unrealistic--each reader probably could point out one way that sticks out to him/her--the novel does a great job with its characters. This one is without a doubt a disaster/survival novel. It is premise-driven. But it is also very much about family dynamics. The focus is narrow--very narrow. The immediate family of Miranda. But just because there are few characters doesn't mean it isn't great at developing those characters. And it's rare, when you think about it, for a middle grade novel to focus ON family instead of friends and classmates. 

I have reviewed this one so many times because this is one that I keep rereading. 

My favorite quotes:

“Sometimes when Mom is getting ready to write a book she says she doesn’t know where to start, that the ending is so clear to her that the beginning doesn’t seem important anymore. I feel that way now only I don’t know what the ending is, not even what the ending is tonight” (16).

“For a moment I thought about all the people throughout history who saw Halley’s Comet and didn’t know what it was, just that it was there and frightening and awe inspiring. For the briefest flick of a second, I could have been a 16 year old in the Middle Ages looking up at the sky, marveling at its mysteries, or an Aztec or an Apache. For that tiny instant, I was every 16 year old in history, not knowing what the skies foretold about my future.” (18)

“And then it hit. Even though we knew it was going to, we were still shocked when the asteroid actually made contact with the moon. With our moon. At that second, I think we all realized that it was Our Moon and if it was attacked, then we were attacked.” (18-19)

“What about desserts?” I asked. “If the world comes to an end, I’m going to want cookies.” “We’re all going to want cookies if the world comes to an end,” Mrs. Nesbitt agreed. “And chips and pretzels. If the world is coming to an end, why should I care about my blood pressure?” “Okay, we’ll die fat,” Mom said. “Grab what you can grab and ram it into your wagons. But remember if we actually need this stuff, we’re going to be a lot more grateful for a can of soup than for a box of stale cookies.” “Speak for yourself,” Mrs. Nesbitt said. (34)

 “I guess I always felt even if the world came to an end, McDonald’s would still be open.” (46)

“Lately I’ve been trying not to know what’s going on. At least that’s the excuse I’ve been giving myself for not caring about all the stuff that’s happening outside of my little section of Pennsylvania. Who cares about earthquakes in India or Peru or even Alaska?
Okay that’s not fair. I know who cares. Matt cares and Mom cares and if there were any baseball involved, Jonny would care, too. Knowing Dad, he cares. Mrs. Nesbitt, too.
I’m the one not caring. I’m the one pretending the earth isn’t shattering all around me because I don’t want it to be. I don’t want to know there was an earthquake in Missouri. I don’t want to know the Midwest can die, also, that what’s going on isn’t just tides and tsunamis. I don’t want to have anything more to be afraid of.
I didn’t start this diary for it to be a record of death.” (70-71)

“We have clean sheets to sleep on, a clean house, clean clothes, clean dishes. We spent the evening laughing. It wasn’t 90 degrees in the house when we went to bed. We weren’t hungry. We’re not worried about Dad. I know what it feels like to be kissed by a boy. If I could, I would relive this day over and over. I can’t imagine a more perfect one.” (95-96)

“I can’t decide which is worse, no electricity or unreliable electricity. I wonder if I’ll ever have to decide which is worse, life as we’re living or no life at all.” (119)

“Here’s the funny thing about the world coming to an end. Once it gets going, it doesn’t seem to stop.” (120)

“I told Mom I was doing history (she never would have believed me if I said math) and stayed in bed all morning.” (191)

“I know I’m going to have to be strong for the next couple of weeks. No more whining. No more picking fights. I’ll have to do whatever Mom asks me and not protest and not complain. I know I can do it. But for that one moment I felt so weak, so helpless. I felt nothing but fear and despair and the most awful need to be anyplace else. I told myself it was hunger, but I knew that was a lie.
As long as Mom was all right, I could fool myself into thinking we’d all be all right.” (206)

“It’s funny how sorry I feel for Jon these days. I’m 2 1/2 years older than him and I feel like got those 2 1/2 years to go to school and swim and have friends and he got cheated out of them. And maybe he’ll live 2 1/2 years longer than me, or 20 years or 50, but he’ll still never have those 2 1/2 years of normal life.

Every day when I go to sleep I think what a jerk I was to have felt sorry for myself the day before. My Wednesdays are worse than my Tuesdays, my Tuesdays way worse than my Tuesday of a week before. Which means every tomorrow is going to be worse than every today. Why feel sorry for myself today when tomorrow’s bound to be worse?
It’s a hell of a philosophy, but it’s all I’ve got.” (275)

“But I hope when I get closer to death, however old I might be, that I can face it with courage and good sense the way Mrs. Nesbitt does.” (234)

“A while ago Jonny asked me why I was still keeping a journal, who I was writing it for. I’ve asked myself that a lot, especially in the really bad times.
Sometimes I’ve thought I was keeping it for people 200 years from now, so they can see what our lives were like.
Sometimes I’ve thought I’m keeping it for that day when people no longer exist but butterflies can read.
But today, when I am 17 and warm and well fed, I’m keeping this journal for myself so I can always remember life as we knew it, life as we know it, for a time when I am no longer in the sunroom.” (337)

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

65. Legend

65. Legend. (Legend #1) Marie Lu. 2011. 318 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Dystopia, YA Fiction, YA Romance] [5 Stars]

First sentence: My mother thinks I'm dead. Obviously I'm not dead, but it's safer for her to think so. At least twice a month, I see my Wanted poster flashed on the JumboTrons scattered throughout downtown Los Angeles. It looks out of place up there. Most of the pictures on the screens are of happy things: smiling children standing under a bright blue sky, tourists posting before the Golden Gate Ruins, Republic commercials in neon colors. There's also anti-Colonies propaganda. "The colonies want our land," the ads declare. "They want what they don't have. Don't let them conquer your homes! Support the cause!"

Premise/plot:  Legend is YA dystopia. The novel has two narrators: a guy named Day (Daniel) and a girl named June. Both underwent the "trials" at age 10. June received a perfect, perfect score earning her not only the right to higher education (high school and college) but the right to the best education possible, the kind of education that will prepare her for serving the Republic. Day, well, he didn't pass his trials. And like all other low-scoring 10 year olds, he was sent away to labor camp. Once a 10 year old is sent to labor camp, they're never ever heard from again.

When the novel opens, both teens are about 15. Day is a wanted criminal, an outlaw. He doesn't legally exist in the Republic database, in the Republic records. The authorities don't even know what he looks like--what race or ethnicity he may be. So their wanted posters change quite often allowing for every possibility. (It's the occasional finger print on the crime scene that links Day to particular crimes.) Day is in Los Angeles spying on his family. His older brother, John, is the only one in the neighborhood who still knows he's alive. And it is to John he delivers gifts--food, clothes, medicine, money, etc.  Day becomes worried when his family's home is marked with a red X--a symbol that someone within the home has the plague. This is very bad news indeed.

June, on the other hand, is at the top of her class. Though she's just fifteen, she's almost finished with her training, her education. June is anxious to start working for the Republic, to start serving in the military, to start tracking down criminals like Day. Her wish comes true--but not in the way she expected. She wanted to start working with her older brother, Metias. Instead, she takes his place after he is murdered. And it appears that Day is the one responsible for his stabbing. Metias was trying to stop Day from escaping from the hospital after a break in. (Day was hoping to find plague cures for his family.) June is on a mission, and it is personal. She'll track down Day and bring him to justice no matter what.

 My thoughts: The chapters alternate in narrators, and for once I think this is a great idea. Usually, I'm not a big fan of this in novels, but in this case, it not only works, it works well! I was able to care about Day and June--almost from the start!

Legend is action-packed. It's an intense read. But an enjoyable one! I'd definitely recommend it!!! 

I first read this one in June of 2011. I reread it in August of 2024. 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews