The Selection by Kiera Cass

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Publication Date: April 25th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 0062059939
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Lootability: **

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.
But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

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Publication Date: May 1st 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN:  0007442912 
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian
Buy the Book: 
****

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

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Publication Date: February 28th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN:  006197806X
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian/Romance
Lootability: ****

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, pushing aside thoughts of Alex, pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school, push, push, push, like Raven taught me to do.The old life is dead.But the old Lena is dead too.I buried her.I left her beyond a fence,behind a wall of smoke and flame.

What a frightening thing love can be, whirring and swirling around us, throwing off our judgement and hitting us when we least expect it. It's scary to be so vulnerable - terrifying even. Lauren Oliver captures this fear and turns it into a nightmare where love is a highly infections and highly dangerous disease. The moment you turn 18 you receive the treatment.

In Delirium Lena discovered that life was not worth living without freedom and was willing to sacrifice almost anything to get it, in Pandemonium she must accept the only sacrifice she never wanted to make and build a life for herself in the Wilds.

What I Liked: Once again the science of Oliver's world calls for recognition. She has created an arena for mass hysteria while creating an ideal well worth fighting for. In Delirium, I loved the way romances were twisted to turn the sweetness into selfishness, and the way attraction is frowned upon; it's a very puritan, adult society. In Pandemonium further emphasis is put on the Book of shhh! and the DFA feature heavily in Lena's new life, in one of her new lives. The DFA tell us what we need to know about this new world and Lena's new life. It continues the propaganda and takes it to the stage, trumpeting the need and the necessity of receiving the cure. 

I liked best of all the alternating chapters between then and now, between Lena picking up the ragged pieces of her life in the Wilds after the events of Delirium, and the new, polished 'cured' life she lives. 

What I Didn't Like: I feel like the Julian bandwagon missed my stop because I had to run to catch up. It took a long time for me to like him in his role as political icon and in his role as a love interest, and I hadn't liked Alex much so I'm not sure why he couldn't step into that role. A book like this needs a love interest. Then just as I caught up and was getting a leg up, the whole bloody wagon crashed into a brick wall. 

It took a long time for Julian to blossom and I still think it had more to do with Lena's devotion to him, than his character, that bought me around. 

I'm not sure how I felt about the cliff hanger ending. I kind of saw it coming, and the cliche hurts me, but Oliver has been so creative so far that I don't want to doubt her now. Requiem will tell me what I need to know.

Raiding Bookshelves Rating

Cover Conversations: Not great, it doesn't really catch my eye or any particular essence of the story.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

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Publication Date: September 1st, 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 0061985848
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal/Supernatural
Source: My bookshelf
Lootability: ***

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.
Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

Could White have made her main character, Evie, anymore pink and sparkly in her new paranormal novel for YAs, Paranormalcy? For a girl separated from other teens, brought up surrounded by vampires, mermaids and other scary supernatural critters, she is the stereotype of a teenage girl. If she were a comic character her speech bubbles would be pink and glittery.

What I Liked: White produced an interesting view of paranormal creatures and methods for their containment. For example, Vampires are tagged with a leg tracker that will dose them with a lethal amount of holy water if they feast on human blood.
The International Paranormal Containment Agency is the ruthless guiding hand of the world's paranormals, determined to keep them under control by any means necessary.

What I Didn't Like: Evie was Vampire Hunter Barbie. The girl took down a vampire (cool, right?) with a pink rhinestone covered taser. Shouldn't there be some kind of OH&S rule about impairing the quality of your weapon? You know, maintain the dignity and usability of your weapon?
Her taser - cleverly and creatively named Tasie - is the perfect example of her creepy Barbie ways (what with matching her knee high high heeled boots and zebra print dress...)
But mostly the problem with Evie is a a problem that thrives in YA literature. A few morons once said, "OMG, like, OMG, seriously?" a few too many times and have tainted an entire generation. I'm not sure if its an American thing but I've been there, I have friends who live there and no one seemed to be a completely hollow headed moron with a speech impediment.
So here's a call out to all YA authors, please stop portraying all teenagers as mindless chimps in pink pumps.

#RantOver

Reading primarily YA novels, it gets annoying to see every character being based on stereotypes and I've taken that frustration out on my rating of this book. However, Evie does have some redeeming qualities, when she isn't muttering inanities or flashing her rhinestones (seriously though, am I the only one who fines rhinestones completely hideous?), that make her an easily likable protagonist. I would be her friend if she'd let me train the Barbie out of her.

Raiding Bookshelves Rating

Cover Conversations: I want to live in that dress forever and always (see I do like some pink!). The cover model looks poised and elegant, if only every other mention of fashion hadn't been so...