september books

Wow, I haven't blogged since last month's book update. I apologize. I'll do better in October. But for now, I hope this update will be enough to make up for my four-week absence.

1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - ☆☆☆☆
2. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - ☆☆½
3. Matched by Ally Condie - ☆☆☆☆
4. Crossed by Ally Condie - ☆☆☆
5. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - ☆☆☆☆☆
6. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - ☆☆☆½
7. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides - ☆☆☆☆☆
8. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares - ☆☆☆☆½
9. The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian - ☆☆☆☆
10. Vote for Larry by Janet Tashjian - ☆☆☆½
11. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver - ☆☆☆☆☆
12. 29 Gifts by Cami Walker
13. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - ☆☆☆☆
14. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness - ☆☆☆½
15. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness - ☆☆☆☆½
16. Flight by Sherman Alexie - ☆☆☆☆
17. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau - ☆☆½
18. Delirium by Lauren Oliver - ☆☆☆☆☆
19. Hana by Lauren Oliver - ☆☆☆☆½

I'm almost at 20! This is already the best year of my last three and it's not even October. And since my not-in-school months average 3 books read, with a little effort, I can reach last year's goal of 30 books.

So, Flight. My friend Laura recommended this book, saying that her boyfriend gave the book to a classroom of at-risk youth and they absolutely ate it up. If this book had the ability to grab the attention of kids who couldn't care less about school/reading, I knew I had to read it. And it was stunning. There are scenes that won't escape my mind, and I find myself re-living them in daydreams from time to time. 

Quicker-than-Sparknotes summary: An adolescent boy is about to commit an act of violence. He is first transported through time, living as an Indian, then a police officer, then a pilot, and on and on, witnessing countless acts of violence through many pairs of eyes. 

The scenes are vivid and haunting, made all the more so because they're told from a teenage boy's perspective.

The City of Ember is another of my beloved Young Adult dystopian fiction novels. However, this one is young Young Adult. It was clearly written for circa 11-year-olds. This is not to say it's bad writing, but it lacked some of the depth that "older" fiction has. And I don't necessarily mean plot depth. It was actually more so character depth that was lacking. The beginning chapters were promising in this respect, but as the action began, it was as though character development was forgotten for the sake of plot. I suppose this makes sense for children's literature, but it left me wanting.

One-sentence synopsis: A community which relies on a generator to provide light is suddenly faced with frequent power outages, and their fate rests on two 12-year-old kids who may have found instructions to safety.

Which brings me, finally, to Lauren Oliver. Lauren freaking Oliver.

I don't even know what to say. I read her first novel, Before I Fall, earlier this year and adored it (check out that review and you'll see more incoherent, adoring babbling). Delirium, the first novel in her dystopian trilogy, was equally as good. Her prose alone made me cry nearly every ten pages, not to mention the actual (heart-wrenching) plot.

Synopsis: Lena lives in a world in which love is believed to be a disease. At age 18, a mandatory procedure (or "cure") is performed which removes one's ability to love (as well as feel pain, joy, distress, etc.). This is considered order. It is what is right, peaceful, safe. Lena is about to turn 18 and have her procedure, but not before meeting a boy who might just disrupt her idea of what is right and what is wrong.

AH.

I can't make words.

Lauren Oliver has been bumped up to my second favorite author (right beneath JK Rowling herself... and yes, Oliver stole Austen's place). Her characters breathe, her prose is poetry, her pacing is gorgeous, her worlds are alive, her passion for writing is evident on every page. I feel like a fish opening and closing its mouth dumbly when I try to express my love for Lauren Oliver.

Hana is a short novella that falls between the first and second books of the trilogy. It explores the life of a somewhat significant character in Delirium who doesn't get much spotlight. The prose is equally as gorgeous, but I took half a star away because Hana's narrative voice was too similar to Lena's in Delirium. This was my only gripe.

I'm now reading Pandemonium, the second in the trilogy. Then I will have to wait until March for the third. I would say "oh woe is me" but I actually love waiting for books to come out. Because it ensures I will have more to read by an author I love, that I have not completed their works, and life is not over.

Which brings me to the second book on my To Read list: The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling. I'm terrified and excited to read it, because JK Rowling = Harry Potter, and this book might shift my entire world concept. It's for adults and I've heard it's mature and I may be equal parts horrified and utterly delighted (I will blog all my feelings, I'm sure).

Okay, enough with the dramatics. Time to go. Thanks for reading and I apologize again for the lack of blogs.