Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Title: Allegiant
Author: Veronica Roth
ISBN: 9780062024060
Publisher: HarperCollins
Released: October 22, 2013
Series: Divergent #3
Page #: 544
Source: Own Purchased Copy

Summary:
"The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love."
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First Lines:

"I pace in our cell in Erudite headquarters, her words echoing in my mind: My name will be Edith Prior, and there is much I am happy to forget." 
Page 1
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Review:

**SPOILER WARNING: Obviously there will be spoilers from Divergent and Insurgent. If you haven't read those books yet, please be aware that there will be spoilers. I apologize!!** 
Man, how in the world can I review this book? I have been waiting like crazy for this one and I devoured it as slowly as I could. Drinking in all of the details and being shocked by many revelations. But it was worth it.

Okay. Third book in the Divergent trilogy... Tris and Four have uncovered the biggest secret about their world - that it isn't real. They realize that the only way to figure things out and have a better life is to escape their society. Once outside, they begin to understand the magnitude of the deception. Lots of secrets are revealed and plans hatched to fix things. The only question now is how they are going to live with all of the things they have learned.

I thought it was really clever the way Roth set up the world outside of the walls. It all makes a lot of sense and truly seems likely - that we would effectively quarantine people and start from scratch when things got so bad. It seems pretty logical, actually. But the people have their memories wiped and new ideas planted. It's a crazy concept, but if the world were bad enough, it might seem pretty tempting.

In the act of wrapping up the Divergent story, there were tons of facts thrown at you during the first half of this book. It was a little more instructional and giving you the basics of how the world works. That sort of world-building typically happens in the first of a series. But once your entire perspective changes during this third book, you need that re-learning about the world. That was interesting, for sure, but it took me a while to really get into it. 

I don't think I can complete this review without discussing the ending. I'm going to color block this section because of serious spoilers... so read at your own discretion:
I know that a lot of people have been really upset about the way the book ended. I'd be lying if I said I was totally cool with it, myself. But I kind of get it. I mean, Roth completely tied up any loose ends and made it where there really cannot be another book. But it seems pretty intense to kill off your main character. And I really wonder how that is going to play in a movie - if they end up making second and third ones. It was shocking, for sure. And I really didn't think it would end up that way. The epilogue was really very sweet, but still left me feeling sad. I was hoping for a more hopeful and happy ending for Tris, but we certainly didn't have that. I'm still a little in shock about the whole thing. Well written, but damn! 

While I know there have been mixed reviews about this final book, I still recommend the series to everyone I know. It's well done and so thought out. I'm looking forward to the movie that comes out in a few months. Fingers crossed that it does the books justice! I'm sort of sad that this series is finally over... but I cannot WAIT to see what Veronica Roth does next. Cause I'll definitely be on board.
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Cuddlebuggery Book Blog
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Out This Week (Oct 27- Nov 2)

It's another small week in YA publishing, but the things coming out this week look awesome. Here's the line up:

•  10.29.13 Altered by Gennifer Albin
• 10.29.13 Horde (Enclave #3) by Ann Aguirre

•  10.29.13 The Shadowhunters Codex by Cassandra Clare and Joshua Lewis
• 10.29.13 The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa

• 10.29.13 Jet Black and the Ninja Wind by Leza Lowitz and Shogo Oketani
• 10.29.13 In the Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin

Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson

Title: Confessions of a Murder Suspect
Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
ISBN: 9781619695146
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Released: September 25, 2012 
Series: Teen Detective #1
Duration: 6 hours, 4 minutes
Source: Audiobook from my public library

Summary:
"Tandy Angel isn't a normal girl, and she knows it. For one thing, her family is magnificently wealthy and lives in a massive apartment in the famous Dakota building in New York City. Her parents are the head of a prominent hedge fund and the CEO of a large pharmaceutical company. She has been told from a very young age that her detachment from any kind of emotion is a superb trait. In fact, her parents have tried to cultivate a lack of emotion in all four of their children in order to encourage perfection of the highest level. But now the four siblings are tested in a way they never imagined—their parents have been murdered, and the kids are the number one suspect. Tandy decides that she'll have to solve the crime and clear their names, but digging deeper into her parent's affairs is a dangerous—and revealing—game. Spurred by her findings, Tandy begins to remember flashes of past events that were long ago buried in her memory, and she's suddenly unable to trust anyone, not even her siblings to tell her the truth. She might not even be able to trust herself. Who knows what the Angel children are truly capable of?"
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First Lines:

"I have some really bad secrets to share with someone, and it might as well be you - a stranger, a reader of books, but most of all, a person who can't hurt me. So here goes nothing, or maybe everything. I'm not sure if I can tell the difference anymore." 
Page 1
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Review:

This is the story of a crazy family who lives in New York City - their lives aren't normal by far. But when Tandy's parents are discovered dead in their apartment, it is up to her to figure out what happened. She was trained to be emotionless and clinical from a young age, so this is something she should be able to do. Soon, she starts to uncover some secrets that make her rethink everything she knows about her parents. And her family. She just has to solve the mystery and everything can go back to normal.

I've read plenty of other YA books from Patterson (and his team), and they all sort of have the same feel. The main voice in the story is talking directly to the reader, the plot is laid out very cleanly, and things wrap up pretty effectively by the end of the book. I do think it's a pretty good formula, and this book fits in it perfectly. Tandy and her siblings feel a lot like the kids in the Maximum Ride books... in a good way. It's all very formulaic, but it's a recipe that works.

As a mystery, I think they did a really good job. You are truly kept guessing throughout the whole story. I didn't expect the answer that I got, for sure. Tandy goes through the entire family and their staff to attempt to rule them out one by one. It's not a small thing to accuse your brothers of murdering their parents, but this family is anything but normal. They were taught to be cruel and calculating to become the best adults they could be. So it wasn't far-fetched to think they could do something that horrible.

There were some parts of the story that I would have liked to see fleshed out a little bit more. There's a whole saga about her parent's lives and how they have treated their children. I would have loved to find out more about the life before. I'm sure some of that will come in future books. As you can imagine. I'll definitely be looking out for the second one.  

Also: Shout out to the audiobook version - it was really well done. The reader did an awesome job. I'll definitely be listening to #2.

I have thought that true mysteries for teens have been lacking in the past few years, and this book fits perfectly in the genre. It's definitely growing right now and I think this will be a great addition to those collections. Any fans of Patterson's YA stuff will love this book as well. It's an easy read with a satisfying conclusion. I'm also sure this book will be good for middle grade collections as well - which is a plus. Definitely give this one a try if you're looking for an easy mystery.
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Other Blog Reviews:

Candace's Book Blog
Kidz World
We're All Mad Here Book Blog
Willa's Ramblings
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Out This Week (October 20-26)

Well, there aren't a ton of things coming out this week, but I almost can't see straight because of my excitement over Allegiant. There are definitely some winners here, though... :)

• 10.22.13 Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark
• 10.22.13 Teardrop by Lauren Kate

•  10.22.13 Reality Boy by A.S. King
• 10.22.13 Indigo by Gina Linko

• 10.22.13 The Princess in the Opal Mask by Jenny Lundquist
• 10.22.13 Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth

Loop by Shandy Lawson

Title: Loop
Author: Shandy Lawson
ISBN: 9781423160892
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Page #: 
Released: April 30, 2013
Source: ARC from the publisher:

Summary:

"Ben and Maggie have met, fallen in love, and died together countless times. Over the course of two pivotal day—both the best and worst of their lives—they struggle again and again to resist the pull of fate and the force of time itself. With each failure, they return to the beginning of their end, a wild road trip that brings them to the scene of their own murders and into the hands of the man who is destined to kill them.

As time circles back on itself, events become more deeply ingrained, more inescapable for the two kids trapped inside the loop. The closer they come to breaking out, the tighter fate's clutches seem to grip them. They devise a desperate plan to break free and survive the days ahead, but what if Ben and Maggie's only shot at not dying is surviving apart?"
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First Lines:

"'This is it, Ben.' Maggie's eyes were wide, pupils big and black like puddles of ink. 'This is when it happens.' Her gaze bores into me. 'We can hide, or we can fight.'"
Page 1
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Review:

This book was recommended by one of my colleagues. It's about people who get stuck in time loops and can't figure out how to get out - specifically two teens who start to change things each time they live through these couple of days.

Ben and Maggie are stuck in a loop. They have lived the same few days over and over - enough times that they can't even count them. At first it just felt like de ja vu... now they know it's something very different. The kicker is that they get killed at the end of these days each time. Now they have started changing things. Little things to see if they can change the outcome.

What a creepy idea that you might get stuck in a time loop! And to not realize it for a long time... and to realize that you can't get out! There is something so horrific about that, it gives me chills. And hopeless! Who are we to think we can change fate?! That whole idea is what made this book really hit me. There were things that felt off to me, but in all... it's a gripping story.

One of the things that I found interesting was the perspective switch over halfway through the book. I sort of understand why, but I had to reread through that chapter a couple of times before I realized what had happened. You're now looking through Maggie's eyes... and you're reliving the loop the next time. Which I am glad we didn't rehash every tiny detail. The other issue I had was the ending. So, without spoiling it... there was just something very anticlimactic about it. There is a little burst of excitement and drama, but then nothing. I guess I just wanted more out of it.

There is a chance that I was just analyzing things too carefully. I knew the gist of the story from my colleague, so I was probably analyzing each thing the characters did so carefully - in case I missed something important. But I think this book is written in a way that will have readers really question reality and time. There's something to be said for that. And I think many teens will find this whole concept mind blowing. 

While this book doesn't go in the favorite pile for me, it definitely stands up. It's a short book, so I do feel like some things could have been fleshed out even more. But I think the story packs a punch and will leave you feeling breathless.
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Other Blog Reviews:


Candace's Book Blog
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The Windy Pages