I was lucky to receive an ARC of this back in September and I’m glad that I did. This is a fun book to read. It was fast paced and had a lot of action. It’s a mixture of traditional Superheroes lure and the X-Men. Over 20 years ago, a Anarchist named Ace Anarachy started a rebellion and took down the government of Gatlon City in hopes of making Prodigies, those with powers, would be free to live without fear of being found out. In the wake of no real authority, street gangs made up of prodigies and non-prodigies took over and crime rampaged. To combat it another group of Prodigies, calling themselves the Renegades, took on Ace and his Anarchists and won. Now the Renegades are the new form of government. They are trying to rebuild Gatlon into a better society. Nova has many reasons to hate the Renegades. For one, they were supposed to protect her family but they didn’t. She has been working with the remaining Anarchists to bring down the Renegades. This leaves her to joining the Renegades to spy on their organization and find weaknesses. The more Nova begins to the learn about the Renegades the more she seems to be confused by them. Especially after meeting Adrian, another prodigy and the son of the original Renegades. Adrian is a good person who believes in their mission to make the world a safer place but Adrian has his own secrets too. It’s a cat and mouse game between the two of them. They are both looking for each other without even knowing it. It’s also an interesting question about personal freedoms versus government control and who and what is better for society. Nova believes that the Anarchist were unfairly blamed for the chaos that happened after Ace’s rebellion. It wasn’t them that committed all the crimes. It was a lot of non-prodigies who took advantage of the lawless society. Ace’s failure was not being able to participate how people would react once their was no authority, no governing body, no police force to keep people in check. The Renegades are that now but this has in Nova’s opinion has made people weak because instead of helping themselves, they are just waiting for the Renegades to do it for them. Adrian wonders, why would non-prodigies do anything when their are more powerful prodigies there? Lot’s a questions to ask your book group on this one. Nova and Adrian and both very likable characters. You can see what motivates them and how earnest they both are in their causes. I do hope that we get to know more about the other prodigies in the next book. Marissa Meyer has done a great job with this one and proves she doesn’t need fairy tales to tell a good story. She can do it with superpowers too.
“By relegating the things we fear and don’t understand to religion, and the things we understand and control to science, we rob science of its artistry and religion of its mutability.”
Gods this is such a great series. I’m sorry that it’s only a trilogy but Rick being Rick did leave it open that if he wants to he can always return to Vahalla, Magnus Chase and his friends. I’ve gushed and praised Rick Riordan in so many other reviews and this is another one. His ability to mix mythology, humor and present day is truly a gift. Yes, his these books a little formulaic. His heroes must go on epic journeys, where they must face many dangers and trials before facing a near impossible task but never does it feel tired or old. It maybe because of his cast of characters are all are real and diverse. How many young reader novels has a Muslim and gender fluid characters in the same novel? and more important how many of them are both are shown to be brave, resourceful, loyal, smart, funny and happy. The answer not many. Both Samirah and Alex are all of those and more. Throughout the entirety of the book Sam is practicing Ramadan, which is probably the first time that many of readers have ever read about Ramadan. As I have stated before about Rick’s, he’s not afraid to tackle tough subjects in his books and he does it by showing positive scenes and connecting them with the stories of our past. That no matter what a child is going through, they are not the only ones. Kids of all race, gender identity and faith can see themselves in one of his many books and that’s amazing. So keep up the good work Rick!
Those who do not know their own history are doomed to repeat it. It may sound cliche but it is true. Libba Bray has set The Diviner’s series in the twenties but in our current political climate it could easily be a contemporary novel. All she would have to do is change some of the slang and add some emoji’s. Themes of race, sexual orientation, patriotism, health, sexism and worker’s rights are very prevalent through out Before the Devil Breaks You and The Diviner’s series just as they are today. The Eugenic’s movement that was full swing in the 1920’s where white supremacist used pseudoscience to prove that the white race was superior to all others. It influenced government policy, immigration and mental health and would later inspire those in Nazi Party. The racist policy was dressed up as a way to make America better and stronger. If we can weed out all the undesirable elements of our a population we would be stronger. Their “Make America Great Again” so to say. Our Diviner’s, Evie, Sam, Memphis, Henry, Ling, Isiah, Theta, Jericho and Mabel have now faced two ghosts and are starting to understand the threat they are facing. They powers are growing but are strongest together. They start working with Will and Sister Walker to improve their powers but they all have secrets. Will and Sister Walker both are part of opening the gap between the living in the dead and creating the Diviners. Making them a little less trust worthy. Evie is clinging on to her fame as a radio host but also can’t decide between Sam and Jericho. Theta is afraid the other will find out about her powers and gets an even bigger surprised when her past comes back to haunt her. Mabel, the one without any kind of powers feels out of place because she can’t read objects or disappear or walk in dreams. She want’s to change the world but more then anything she was be noticed. They individual stories are heartbreaking and true and make a for a rich story and speaks to the diverse nature of our country. The King of Crows is throwing everything at them this time because it’s not just one ghost but many and it’s not just ghost they must fight against it’s prejudice and ignorance. It’s the balance between wanted to be safe vs. wanting to feel safe. Those are two different things. When people are scared they will agree to almost anything to feel safe again even if it doesn’t actually make them safer. I would point to the entire last election cycles of examples of that. The Diviner’s came together at the beginning of the book only be torn apart which I can only assume is the perfect set up for the last book. I’ll give Miss Bray credit, she knows how to tell a story and is not at all sentimental. The last 20-30 pages. Bray channels her inner George R.R. Martin and racks up a body count that only he could appreciate. We are living in scary times and anyone who picks this book up hoping to escape will be disappointed because America hasn’t learned from our own history and we are now repeating it.
This was a lot of fun to read and I really want to play Warcross. Marie Lu or someone make that happen! Emika Chen is a hacker and bounty hunter. Her father died when she was eleven and learned how to hack while in foster care. She admires Hideo Tanaka, the creator of Warcross because he created Warcross when he was younger then she was and now at 21 owns his own company and a billionaire. Emika’s life is not going so well. She has less then $13 to her name and is facing eviction due to being 3 months behind in rent. In a moment of desperation she hacked in during the opening ceremony of the Warcross Championships. The next day she is on a plane to Tokyo and is hired by Hideo to track down a hacker named Zero. Emika goes under cover as a player in the games so she can track down Zero and figure out who he is and what he is trying to do. Emika is smart and quickly figures out that one of her own teammates is working with Zero. She tells her findings to Hideo and because this is a YA novel, sparks fly because again YA novel, Hideo is hot! I figured out who Zero was about halfway through the books but the beauty of it, it didn’t spoil the ending. There are secrets in the game of Warcross that no matter how much a character opens up, we still don’t know all the facts. This book was fast paced and full of twists and turns. I do hope that in the next book that we get to know more about Emika’s teammates Asher, Roshan, Hammy and Ren because I feel like we just scratched the surface of who they are. I’m really interested in seeing where Emika goes now that she knows the truth of what happened but is not really sure that it’s truly a bad thing. I don’t want to say too much because it will spoil the ending but it will start some conversations. So yes, go read it.
Is this Sarah’s best book? No but it was fun and enjoyable so I’ll let it slide. Elliot is one of the most obnoxious people you will ever meet but he’s also kind of charming. One day, he is picked to go on a field trip where he is asked if he can see the wall in front of him. He says of course he can, he’s not blind. He’s taken over the wall and into the Borderlands. A magical land that has humans, Elves, Dwarfs, Trolls, Harpies, Dryads and Mermaids. Elliot is in enrolled in the Border camp that trains young soldiers to be in the Border patrol, to keep peace in the Borderlands. On his first day there he meets the golden boy, Luke Sunborn and the Elven hottie, Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle. He is immediately in love with Serene and so he chooses to stay beyond the wall. He thinks that war is stupid and doesn’t understand how this society is made around war and does everything he can to stop fighting. He manages to make friends with Serene and begrudgingly makes friend with Luke. Throughout the years, the three of them go through so many ups and down. They all find themselves and each other. They rely on each other to get through the years of training but navigate around the camp. Elliot comes from a very unhappy home. His mother left when he was a baby and his father is incapable of love. Elliot tries to make up for it by searching for love though he has no idea how to do it. The best thing about this book is the positive portrayal of a bisexuality teen and turning gender roles on their heads. Elliot is in love with Serene and there truly is no question of his feelings or is there any questions of his feelings for Luke either. Love is love and doesn’t really care if that person is a girl or a guy. Of course, his success with people depends on whether or not they want to slap him or not. Like I said he’s very obnoxious. He thinks he smarter then everyone, he has little patience. It’s amazing he lasts as long as he has considering that everyone around him are heavily armed and trained on how to use multiple weapons. It’s kinda unfair that a male character can be so rude but still come off as charming. Then you have Serene who comes from a matriarhily society that sees women as the warriors and the men as the innocent. Basically, in Elves society the genders are reversed and it’s hilarious. I doubt we would have the same reaction for a female character but that’s an argument for another day. It wasn’t the best book I’ve read this year but it was fun and a quick read.
**Spoiler Alert**
I have missed my sassy Cajun, Nick and his friends. Eight books in and boy that boy has been through a lot. This is the last book in the Chronicles of Nick but not really as it’s lead in to a spin-off series, I guess? I’m not really sure how I feel about it. First, the book was fun and zippy. Just like the other books in the series, it’s no-stop from the beginning to end. It’s fast paced that I had to slow myself down or I would have read it all in one sitting. Nick’s son, Cyprian Malachai has come back from the future to make sure that Nick stays on the path to destroy the world. In doing so, he frames Nick for the murders of his former friends that kicked off the whole series. That plot line is actually a nonentity in the book itself as it’s quickly resolved but it does lead to Nick start to understand what is really going and how to stop it. The one thing that has separated Nick from the all the Malachai’s before him is that he was loved by his mother and he has the loyalty of his friends. Cyprian makes it clear that one of the reasons he hates Nick is that he is well liked while Cyprian is not. This seems kinda weak to me but who am I to judge. I’m sure we will get more in the Shadows of Fire series that will feature both Cyprian and Nick. So how does Nick defeat his foe. Obviously major spoilers so if you want to read more, check under the cut.
I think I’m going to have to read the next book in the series before I will fully be able to process how I feel about this one. It’s kind of like the Time Traveler’s Wife, which I know everyone else loved but I was just creeped out by the guy fantasizing about his wife when she is still just a little girl. This wasn’t as bad but I do think A turned out to be more of a stalker. So A wakes up in a new body every day and has been all of their life or as far as they know. (Editor’s Note: Because A is gender neutral, I’m going to use they instead of him or her) We have no idea where A came from, what their real name, or parents or even their gender because A doesn’t know these things. A just knows that tomorrow they will borrow someone else’s life for a day and then move on to someone else. Some days A is a boy and some days A is a girl. A could be an alien for all we know though I don’t think so. One day A, inhabits the life of Justin who has a beautiful but sad girlfriend named Rhiannon who A immediately falls in love with. Soon A is breaking all of their rules to get to know her. They find out that Rhiannon is going to a party so they take the borrowed body of a boy to the party so they can hang out with her. Then A, takes another borrowed body, this time a girl, to her school so they can follow her around for a day. You get the picture. A’s entire life starts to revolve around Rhiannon. Even convinces her for a time that they could be together despite the fact A has no idea who he is going to be from day to day. Ultimately it’s his less call obsession with her that get him in trouble. They only have 24 hours in each body so at the stroke of midnight A is someone else. On the night they go to the party to see Rhiannon, A doesn’t make it home on time so the boy, Nathan, wakes up in his car 40 minutes from home and thinks he was taken over by the devil. That story line is far more interesting because that’s where we are going to get the answers about who A is and how A came to be. That’s what I want to read more about. I’m hoping to get more of that in the next book and less stalking.
2 Women, So Many Books 