Divergent - Veronica Roth

Divergent Review:

The book Divergent, written by Veronica Roth, is another wonderful Young Adult book. Divergent is set in a dystopia society which is split into 5 factions. The 5 factions follow different virtues. The Abnegation strive to be selfless, the Amity - kind and nice, the Candor - honest, the Erudite – knowledge and the Dauntless – bravery. When they turn 16 citizens have a ceremony in which they choose which faction they will choose live in.  
The main character Divergent is Tris (Beatrice) Prior. She is born into Abnegation and has always felt that she can’t be as selfless as the rest of her faction. When she is sixteen, and about to face her ceremony, she has a hard decision to make. Does she stick with her family and the Abnegation or does she choose another?

Personally, I love this book. It’s one of my favourites. The character are so well written that they become real people in your mind. Also the settings are so brilliantly described that it’s very easy to visualise the scenes.

The book is written in first person from Tris’s point of view. I can see that this probably appeals to girls, seeing as Tris is a girl, more than guys. But seriously, a number of my guy friends have read it and liked it so don’t be put off by it being in a girl’s perspective. Also, the writing is amazing! Veronica Roth’s writing just is like…asdfghjkl;. Seriously it’s amazing.

So, you all have my recommendation to go get Divergent and read it! It is really good. And when you finish it you can come and fangirl with me! :D
Also, do you guys prefer the US cover (the one with the green background and Dauntless symbol) or the UK/Aus version (Pink background with 3 crows)? I personally prefer the UK/Aus version but I’m probably biased :p

Anyway, go read the book and enjoy it! :)

~ Kate

Inky #3: Fire in the Sea by Myke Bartlett

Sadie is bored - her unexciting summer life of lying around on the beach is getting to her, and she so desperately wants a change. Change comes stiffly though. It comes in the form of Jake - a young-looking boy who brings a whole world of danger with him. Sadie and her family are thrown into a world of Gods and their envoys - life will never be the same for Sadie.

Inky #2: Every Day - David Levithan

Every Day by David Levithan is narrated by A. A is a nomadic soul, each and every day his soul and conciousness travels to a new body, and he lives their life for that single day. But when A ends up in the body of Justin, he becomes infatuated with his girlfriend Rhiannon, and leads himself on a rocky road to find love and happiness.

Inky #1:The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey

Right on scheduld! 3 days in and I have completed my first Inky novel. I decided to read this one first because it has a lot of pages, just under 500 actually. I want to alternate between genres, so my next novel will probably be a contemporary.

The 5th Wave, basically, is about an alien invasion in which the alien invaders use trickery and mind invasion to annihilate all of humankind. For a full blurb and/or detailed reviews visit Amazon or Goodreads (I am unable to discuss my opinion of the book).

This is my first Inky detail! Smell ya' later!

172 Hours On The Moon - Jonah Harstad

To start, I'm going to be all-out honest, this is a horror book, if even the slightest thing manages to keep you awake and frightened at night, do not consider this book, it scared the pants off me, but it was an excellent book.

Jonah Harstad's novel is amazing. For the most part - the book was happy and no horror was in the genre, then you get to the Moon. I wanted to put it down because this stuff really bugs me, but the book was just so amazing, I found myself unwilling to put it down.

The story revolves around three teens - Mia, Midori, and Antoine. They all come from different parts of the world, and have problems that are different. I found the problems really cheesy as well as the way the author described the characters and their lives prior to the main theme of the novel. It just didn't go well with me, and if not for the moon landing I knew was coming, I'd have returned it to the store.

I didn't regret not returning it, as soon as the moon landing training came up I loved it. Starting with a freaky woman in the locked stall of an airport bathroom, and ending with several murders, on and off the moon, the horror part was excruciatingly exciting. I wanted to put it down because the horror was scaring me to bits (and it was 2am, I read late into the night) but I wanted to know what happened next, so I didn't dare put that book down.

As I mentioned earlier, my main problem with the book was the, I dare say it, cheesiness (insert funny pizza joke here). When introducing Mia and her love of music, I was sure that things wouldn't of been the way they were. Realism in a book is really important to me, and it's the reason I did not love this book, and only like the book.

See you on another day, wizards!

The Alchemyst - Michael Scott

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott is widely mistaken to be affiliated with J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This angers myself and many others. Nicholas Flamel was a real person, and many theories surround his death, whether his death actually happened is debatable. This is what the book is about.

The book follows Sophie and Josh, twin sister and brother working in a coffee shop and book store across the street from each other. When Dr. John Dee arrives at the book store, demanding the Codex, or the Book of Abraham the Mage, they get pulled into something they never expected. They are on a wild chase to protect the world from Dr. John Dee and his mischievous plans to release the Elders - the models on which many gods are based - from hiding, and take over the world.

I loved this book. The originality was soundless and exquisite. Never before have I read a book that puts a fantasy spin on such historical characters, the series later introduces William Shakespeare as a character, and no, he is not a time-traveller. The plot is terrific, and the entire 400 page novel takes place over the span of three or four days, with two major settings.

I have one problem with the book though - some of the believability of the characters was flawed. Some reactions in pressurised situations were too quick or had the character doing something they normally wouldn't. Considering this, I also had a great relationship with the characters, I understood them, and I felt like I knew them in a weird and wacky kind of way.

I'd recommend this book to kids as young as 10, as long as they are an avid reader and like the genre, they should have no problem with it. There are no inappropriate themes or dialogue in the book, or any of its sequels for that matter.

I give this book a solid 3.5 stars, and to be honest, I prefer it's sequel books (well, that's unusual!)

Tomorrow When The War Began - John Marsden

Well I thought I'd go down to a straight-out Australian classic. Although it is world renowned, not many people out of the country know about. It's such a classic that dozens of schools study it as a classic. I thought I'd review this one because it's one of the only Aussie books that I've read and completely loved.

The book starts on our main character, Ellie Linton, who is telling the story from an afterwards perspective, and it is said that she is writing it down. Her and her seven friends - Corrie, Kevin, Homer, Robin, Lee and Fi - wanted to do something really exciting before they go back to their last year of school, and so, they go camping. Upon coming out of the bush, five days later, their houses are abandoned, electricity is down, and phone lines are off. They know something is wrong, so they go in guerilla style.

That's as much as I can say about the story without giving away too much, so let's get into the review. I really enjoyed how John Marsden set the story and the pace. He never strays from the perspective that he set forth for the team, not once is it written by someone else, and this tells us how Ellie feels about everything that is going on and how she struggles as a person.

The book was not written to be a Hollywood thriller, he used language that every Australian teen does (with less swearing) and the theme is proper. Everyone I know that has read the book can completely relate to it and the ideas it puts forth. I am set to study this book for Semester 2 of Year 9 (Freshman Year) and I have a feeling I will have a better idea of what it's about than the first time readers.

There are several books in the series, and I would recommend reading all of them, as they are all great and stay at the same theme, but my curiosity was gone as soon as I reached the Ellie Chronicles, its sequel series. I would not recommend buying that series.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 star rating - the book is spectacular, and although I didn't like small itty bitty things, it is the best Australian book, and probably my favourite series of its genre. Au revoir!