"Unwind" by Neal Shusterman

Unwind the first book in the Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman was amazing to say the least. It wasn't first person or really even third person perspective. It was almost a combination of the both.  I really enjoyed Neal's writing style. The book has a touch of everything: suspense, mystery, love, survival. The story line itself gives me the chills, it's scary to think about what the future of the world could hold.


After a war between pro-life and pro-choice, the country agreed upon the bill of life.
Babies could no longer be aborted, however; they could now "abort" children between the ages of 13 -17.
It wasn't really killing the kids after all; they were just living in a divided state. They called it unwinding.
If parents could no longer handle the kids behavior they sign the papers, and off the kids go. Their bodies get taken apart piece by piece, and they become live organ donors. No piece of them goes to waste, every piece goes somewhere. Then there's storking. You don't want your baby to begin with? Not a problem after you give birth, as long as you don't get caught you can leave it on someone else's door step and make it their problem. It's entirely legal.


There's three main perspectives.

Connor Lassiter: A rebellious teen always getting into fights, so his parents want him gone.

Risa Ward: An orphan, a ward of the state, is being unwound due to cost-cutting.

Lev Calder: A tithe, It's been his parents plan to have him unwound since birth for religious purposes. 

For the better or for the worse their paths intertwine and leave all their lives hanging by a thread.


I LOVED this book so much! I'm already half way through it's sequel, Unwholly.  I had originally thought it was a trilogy, but have just come to the realization that he's writing a fourth book. I'm WAY excited. The excitement doesn't end there, not only is there fourth book, but from what I understand there's also a possible movie in the making. I'm thrilled! Unwind was really unique compared most dystopian novels I've read. It's all fiction obviously, but Neal based a lot of ideas for the book off of real events. I found myself seriously disturbed after looking up the news articles Neal referenced. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

                                                                                                                                                                                         Rating  5 out of 5.

"The Cold Awakening Trilogy" by Robin Wasserman

                                     

                                Frozen          Shattered            Torn

"The Cold Awakening Trilogy" by Robin Wasserman definitely awakens some creative thinking.

It's fast paced, thrilling, and almost scary to think about with technology developing as fast as it is. It' also shows the things that really make us human.

        The download saved me. I keep telling myself to be greatful, hoping eventually I will be. I can handle the fact that no one  likes the new me. What I can't handle though, is when I look in the mirror. I'm nothing like the old me, the human me, I might not even be human at all. Somehow though i'm still Lia.

         I tried fitting in, then I tried running. Someone's out to get us. To get me. Revenge, avenge, justice. Forgiveness or hatred? Should I let go of the things that make me human, or to cling to them for dear life because it's all that I really have, it's the only thing that makes me still me.

       When I took the this path , I didn't expect things to get so out of hand. I didn't truly understand all the secrets there could be covered up, but now I understand. I understand it all and I have to save them.

At first I was very conflicted about this trilogy. It was well written, and creative, plenty of action, but I struggled with it. I'd love it,  then hate it, then love it. I'd hate, then love a character, then hate again. I was just very back and forth. Now having finished all three books I'm disappointed. I'm not disappointed because of the ending, but because it's the end. I want a fourth book. I think the third book was my favorite. We finally get to uncover all the dark secrets, some of which literally made my jaw drop. Robin Wasserman is definitely a great author!

                                                                                                                       

                                                                   My Rating is 4 out of 5.

The only thing negative I can really say now having finished the books, is the "religious" people Robin made it in. I'm a Christian so the fact that the only "religious" people in it were psycho and murderous kind of bothered me, but other then that I enjoyed the books.

"Promised" by Caragh O'Brien

Warning: this is the third & final book in the Birthmarked Trilogy. If you haven't read the first two books you may not want to read this.

Promised by Caragh O'Brien was a great read. It was fast paced, suspenseful, and it had an interesting love story. 


Gaia Stone had survived the Enclave. She had escaped to the waste land and survived that also. She is now ruling Sylum. Sylum is slowly dying and the only way to save it is for Gaia to do the unthinkable. She has to lead her people back to the Enclave. Leaving the Enclave on such bad terms has Gaia feeling frightened, but she has no choice. She knew everything wouldn't go smoothly when they got there, but she also hadn't anticipated all that would be asked of her. All that she would have to sacrifice in order to survive. It's all up to her. 


I loved this trilogy. Some of the things in this last book literally made my jaw drop. I didn't see a lot of it coming. Some of the story was rather heart-breaking, yet in my opinion the good out-weighed the bad, which I liked. Needless to say I recommend this trilogy.

                                                                              Rating 5 out of 5.

"Prized" by Caragh O'brien

Warning: this is the second book in the BirthMarked trilogy. If you haven't read the first book I wouldn't read this.

Prized by Caragh O'brien was even better then the first book, Birthmarked. It was fast paced, suspenseful, and romance came into play. Some of the questions from the first book get answered as well. So far this trilogy seems to be a must read!

Prized picked up where BirthMarked left off. Gaia is scrambling around in the wilderness with her newborn baby sister. She has escaped the Enclave, only to be at death's door step. She's running out of supplies and she doesn't know where to go now. Her sister is starting to die. Gaia and her sister are captured and get taken to Sylum. It's a society inside the dead forest, but every thing is backwards. The woman rule over the men, the men out number the woman, and kissing or any form of affection is a crime unless your married. Gaia's sister is taken from her to see if the Sylum women can save her. There's strict laws in which Gaia needs to learn to follow if she ever wants to see her sister again, assuming she lives. As if that's not enough, once you enter the society you can't leave it for long periods of time or you die. No one has been able to figure out what causes the death. Gaia fears she may not be able to submit to all the rules. If she submits, she'd have to change who she is as a person.

I LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down, and I definitely can't wait to start the next one, Promised. My heart literally broke for Gaia. The love story Caragh Obrien decided to go with was such a tough romance. I'm telling you now, start the trilogy. You won't be disappointed. (Assuming nothing drastically goes wrong with the third book. I'll let you know.)

                                                                              Rating 5 out of 5.

"BirthMarked" by Caragh O'brien

Birthmarked by Caragh O'brien is the first book in an exciting trilogy. This book is a new favorite of mine. It is a suspenseful and an addicting read. Once I started reading it I didn't want to put it down. There's a bit of a mystery in it that slowly gets revealed chapter by chapter.

Sixteen year old Gaia Stone is a mid-wife that lives outside the wall. Gaia and her family have always served the Enclave dutifully. Gaia and her mother deliver all the babies in their sector, making sure to advance the first three babies born each month. Gaia's mother will tattoo the babies ankle then give it to the people inside the walls. Gaia's never really understood why, she has just always followed orders. She followed them until the day her parents were arrested and taken from her for no reason.  An old woman came to her and gave her a ribbon with strange markings and said it was her mothers and to keep it safe. She didn't understand at the time what it was, but she decided to do what the woman asked. A rumor started to float around saying her parents were sentenced to death in a weeks time. She knew then she was going to sneak inside the wall and get them out or die trying. Gaia had thought everything inside the walls would be perfect, however; upon entering there was an execution taking place in the main square. What unnerved Gaia wasn't the execution per say, but the fact that the women was pregnant and could be due any day. When the floor dropped out from the woman's feet and she was hung, Gaia knew then that she was going to find out where the body would be taken. She may not have been able to save the mother, but she was going to try and save the baby, even if it jeopardized everything else. Since there was no oxygen getting to the baby at this point, it became a race against time. Gaia didn't know if she could do it, but she had to try. It was this action that opened a doorway to all sorts of problems and mysteries. Each and everyone Gaia would have to face and overcome. Her life depended on it.

This book was an interesting read, and it was well written. Some of it was rather heart wrenching, and you really felt Gaia's pain. Other parts of it you could jump for joy when Gaia had triumphed over a difficult trial. The book was ever twisting; there was so much I never saw coming, and it turned into such a surprise. I was sad to see it end, but i'm excited as ever to start the second book,Prized.

                                                                               Rating 4.5 out 5.

"Gone" by Lisa McMann

Warning: This is the third book in The Wake Trilogy. If you haven't read the first two books, I wouldn't read this.

Gone by Lisa McMann was rather saddening. Interesting still but sad. There's not really a happy ending like I had hoped. It still has the fast paced reading effect though. 

Janie's life should be almost perfect.  She's graduated high school, and she's spending her summer with the love of her life. She should be living the dream sort of speak, but instead she's living in dreams and it's taking it's toll. She thought she had everything figured out until a stranger shows up in the hospital and her mom claims he's her father. He's in a coma, but he's having nightmares and they're the worst Janie's ever had to deal with. It turns out the curse is genetic, and there's more to it then she knows. Cable has started having nightmares about Janie, about what she'll become. Not wanting to be a burden, Janie has to make a choice. Should she leave Cable or is there another option?

The ending to book made sense I suppose, but I didn't like it. I've pitied Janie throughout the trilogy, and I was really hoping she'd have an over the top happy ending, but it wasn't. It wasn't a terrible ending, but it definitely could have been happier. Once again as I assumed there would be, there's still a lot of unnecessary swearing. Even though this isn't one of my top favorite trilogies, I'd still recommend it as an interesting read.


                                                                          Rating 3 out 5.

"Fade" by Lisa McMann

Before writing about the book, i'd like too apologize for my slacking. I got rather lazy over the holidays, and even though I was still reading books, my reviewing and recommending came to a standstill. Without further a do, I present my thoughts on Fade. Enjoy.

WARNING: This book is the second book in the Wake Trilogy, if you haven't read the first book you may not want to read this review.

Fade by Lisa McMann was just as intriguing as the first book, Wake. What I really loved about both these books is McMann's simplistic writing style. It goes well with the suspenseful chapters, and it makes the book all in all fast paced.


Fade picks up right where Wake leaves off. Janie is still under cover, but this time it's a different crime. This situation is far more dangerous then the last. An accusation has  been thrown out that one of the teachers in their high school is a sexual predator, and they want Janie's help to find out who it is. Even if it means using Janie as bait. Because Cable is completely against the plan, this may just stretch their relationship to the limit. Upon juggling the investigation and her fragile relationship with Cable, Janie also discovers more about what it means to be a dream catcher. Her fate is sealed, and the secrets revealed are darker then Janie could have ever imagined.

Fade was good, it held my attention. I really enjoyed the characters development. I think I liked the story line/ plot more in this book then the first. The only negative thing I could say about the book, is again, there is a lot of unnecessary swearing.

                     
                                                                           Rating 3.5 out of 5.