Book 7--V for Vendetta by Alan Moore & David Lloyd

Read this for class and decided to count it towards my 50 because I had been planning on reading it one day anyway. So there!!

Context:

The story takes place in England; an England changed by war and rendered a fascist dictatorship. One man, V, takes on the likeness of Guy Fawkes to enact violent acts of rebellion to encourage the people towards anarchy. V wants more than revenge for wrongs done to him in what is essentially a concentration camp; he wants the right the wrongs done to society. He saves a woman, Evey, from being raped, and raises her as his protege. Evey eventually takes on the likeness of Guy/V and becomes a revolutionary in his stead.

My Thoughts:

I really thought I was going to like this novel a whole lot more than I did, but keep in mind that my feelings towards this book are slanted by my distaste for and lack of understanding in politics as a whole. 

First of all, a lot of the white male characters in this graphic novel look the same to me. This is probably a personal issue, but I honestly just couldn't remember who was who half the time, which made the whole thing confusing to read.

Secondly, a lot of the political intrigue didn't quite come off to me. Again, I have a hard time understanding politics, so that's probably most of why I didn't quite get it, but I didn't find myself truly interested in the story until we found out what happened to V in the concentration camp.

Which, speaking of, hello dystopian theme of governments using chemicals and serums against people! Poor V. It's pretty easy to sympathize with his character.

Speaking of V, I enjoyed all the different perspectives we got, even though I wasn't always sure whose perspective I was getting. It gave the story a sense of fullness and completion, and you really got to see everything instead of just focusing on V's experiences. The Leader was crazier than a sack full of rabid badgers, just, by the way.

I just really like V as a whole, regardless. How he continues to hoard literature and other cultural things that the government has forbidden, how he continues to educate himself, how he is so talented at martial arts and tactics. He pulls quite a few tricks over on the government. And he blows up their buildings. Which is awesome.

Though there were some points where my confusion muddled the progression of the story. Like one minute V left Evey in the street for no obvious reason and then she was living with some guy that she was in love with and some random guy kills him and slow down what the hell is going on

V's death was really fitting too. I can't even tell you how angry I would have been had Evey removed his mask.

My Rating: 3/5

I enjoyed the action, the violence, the dystopian themes, and the idea of V's story. All of these things were convincing, well-written, and powerful. However, I personally found myself rather confused with some of the characters and the progression of the story. 

Book 6--Allegiant by Veronica Roth

*throws this book out the window*

I am so totally 100% white-girl done with this book right now.

Let's just get right to it.

Context:

After revealing the shocking news that she and her fellow faction people are actually a little a science experiment, Tris joins with a group of people against Evelyn called the Allegiant who want to figure out exactly what lies beyond the fence. In joining them, Tris hopes that she and Tobias can start life anew. Instead, she learns the secret that ties everything together--pure genes (Divergent genes) and damaged genes (er, everyone else). She quickly learns that humans will find a reason to fight no matter where or what over, and ends up joining another revolution--this one with heavy consequences.

My Thoughts:

major huge ridiculous wtf spoilers ahead

Okaaaaaaaay. Deep breath, kids, we'll make it through this.

So.

The Good:

Genes: Sooo the genes thing was actually pretty interesting. I haven't read anything yet (except Brave New World ) that really addressed the idea of toying with genes, but it's interesting to see what understanding your biological makeup does to people. I mean, Tobias takes the whole not-really-Divergent thing kind of hard. But it does open up more interesting questions about how the serums work.

The journal: Hooray for Tris getting to learn more about her parents! This was super interesting to me, especially since Tris's mom was from this outside world that Tris is unfamiliar with. I think it helps her make sense of things, which makes me much happy.

Human Nature: This whole triology has really wrestled with the complexity of human nature. What drives people to do the things they do? How much of who we are is predetermined, and how much is a choice? I think these novels handle those heavy questions really well, even when it made me sad or angry. People are nasty, screwed up creatures, but they are also capable of great love and great sacrifice.

The Dual POVs: A lot of people hated that Tobias and Tris both get viewpoints, but I thought it was necessary. Tobias was hiding some stuff from Tris, things that are essential to his character development that we wouldn't have seen without a POV from him. So, yeah, Tobias does some dumb stuff and it's kind of a red flag in terms of the ending but I felt it was necessary.

The Bad:

That Nita Bitch: Everything about this girl screams sketchy and yet everyone wants to go along with her little plan, which ends up killing way more people than I want to think about and accomplishing basically nothing. It angers me to no end that Tobias trusted her over Tris, especially after everything that happened in Insurgent. Tris has proven herself to be strangely perceptive and reliable at this point. Just because you're having a tantrum that your genes aren't perfect doesn't mean you should be an idiot.

Uriah: Considering everything else that happens in this novel was it really necessary to kill Uriah like WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY VERONICA!? 

More Crazy Government Stuff: Ohhh, the whole wiping people's memories thing just...ahhhhhhhhhh. Just why? Part of me is like, who cares what happens to the factions inside the walls? Seriously, everything is going to hell in a basket of razor blades over there, forget about it. On the other hand, I understand why they want to get Uriah's family and talk to Evelyn and all that. It's just interesting to think about the importance of memory, especially in conjunction with a lot of the books I've been reading lately for an oppressive government text set for my English class (memory is a key factor in many dystopian novels, from The Giver to 1984 to Brave New World and on and on). Memories are more than identity markers and growth checkpoints; they're proof of how things used to be, and inciting forces to change the present and future. Without their memories, the citizens of Chicago would just be molding clay for the government--which is decidedly inhuman and immoral. I think Tris begins to realize that wherever there is potential for power, there is potential for human corruption, and it's basically inescapable. Yay.

The Genes: While I found a lot of the genetic stuff interesting, a simple Google search after reading the book showed me that some of the things she proposed didn't make sense. It kind of ruined the entire plot of the book. I wish she had put more research in, because even though I'm really good at hanging my disbelief on a hook, it still bugs me. While I still enjoyed the book overall, I re-read parts of it after doing some genetics research and found myself frustrated with the way things were happening.

The Ending:

I don't really know what to say.

I've never read a novel where the author killed off the main character. I spent the entire novel thinking Tobias was going to die (I knew someone was going to die and that was just my gut feeling), only to get slapped in the face with this. What the what? I cried. A LOT. Unlike some fans, I understand why Roth wrote this ending. And I understand Tris's reasoning for what she did. I feel like all those what is bravery/what is selflessness questions we wrestled with in this series came full circle for Tris, and that she really got it in those last moments.

My question though, is why couldn't they have BOTH gone? I mean, no, Caleb probably wouldn't have made it through the death serum, but we might could have had a nice little scene where Caleb gets that same lightbulb moment as Tris, and saves her from the bullet for the right reasons.

And even if Roth toyed with that idea and couldn't see it making sense, I still hate Caleb (even more than Peter or Jeanine or Evelyn or Marcus) because he was incapable of love or personal growth. He was incapable of thinking of someone else except in terms of what it meant for him personally. Tris saw right through him. He didn't want to sacrifice himself because he believed in the cause, but because he felt he was obligated to for some abstract reason that he didn't really get.

And poor Tobias, God Almighty. That whole last part of the book was so painful to read. I think I started crying around the time he found out Tris died and didn't stop until about five minutes after I put the book down. The whole last part was really well written and absolutely heart-wrenching.

My Rating: 3/5

The dual perspectives, while necessary, left something to be desired; Tobias didn't seem to have his own personality, at least not the one we thought he had based on his interactions with Tris in the first two novels. The scientific explanation feels shaky at best and leaves a lot to be desired. Some parts dont' feel believable, but despite a relatively weak story, the character development and grand finale really save this book. I mostly liked it more than Insurgent because Tris and Tobias finally have some romantic moments. Yay.

For a more detailed look at the problems with Allegiant (I agree with most of her points, but not quite as vehemently, and I certainly didn't hate the book), check out this review: http://myallegiantreview.blogspot.com/2013/11/breaking-down-ending-to-allegiant.html

I certainly didn't hate the book by any means but I get most of her points.

Book 5--Insurgent by Veronica Roth

The semester is over!! Full steam ahead! Read ALL of the books!!

I read the Divergent triology within the same week, but it's taken me a while to get these reviews up. Hopefully I'll be back on track soon!

Context:

After stopping the simulation driving Dauntless members to kill Abnegation, Tris is on the run. She and her group find refuge at the Amity compound. Tris learns secrets about the factions she never dreamed of (Amity using peace serum, for instance) and before long finds herself in many a terrifying situation: among the factionless, where she discovers Tobias's mother is alive; among the Candor, where she confesses under truth serum to killing Will; and among the Erudite, where she has marched in to try and stop all the madness by sacrificing herself. Tris agonizes throughout on thoughts of bravery and selfishness vs selflessness. The novel concludes with a shocking death and an equally shocking revelation.

My thoughts:

Sooo Insurgent.

I spent a LOT of this book being irritated with Tris and Tobias. Needless, immature bickering! Agh! I guess it's to be expected from a couple of teenagers, but the ridiculousness was painfully transparent.

Things that were cool: 

Ooh the serums. The governmental control plot thickens! Everyone is disillusioned thinking they actually have some choice in how they live their lives, but even the Amity are controlled by serum. Very interesting!

Evelyn being alive--holy plot twist!! Too bad she ends up being just as bad as Jeanine, though less annoying. Being a survivor of an abusive relationship earns you a few sympathy points.

Tris stabbing Eric--YESSS. I hate Eric. 

Tris confessing to killing Will: Always going to cheer for character growth, but it was a really sad moment. Poor Christina! I feel for her, though girl could have probably not been so catty towards Tris. Will was being controlled and Tris didn't know what else to do (though: couldn't she have shot him in the foot?)

I love the development of Uriah, Marlene, and Lynn. I'm worried the movie is going to leave them out totally--Uriah had what amounts to a CAMEO, when he was so much more than that in the first book...where does this leave him and our other favorite Dauntless born initiates come the Insurgent movie? At any rate, I loved watching their character development--they really become more than secondary characters.

Peter and his weird allegiances: I don't like Peter in general, but one thing I DO like about his character is his obvious psychopathy. I think he truly suffers from a mental illness that renders him incapable of relating to other humans. He's interesting, if nothing else. He deals with humans strictly on a business like basis. Who owes who what? Terrifying, but interesting. 

The Edith Prior factor: Hello cliffhanger, was wondering if you'd show up again! Nothing quite like finding out you were nothing more than guinea pigs in a little 'save the world' experiment and the Divergent that you're so scared of are truly your saviors. Hooray!

Things that were not so cool:

Tobias ignoring Tris's advice because he has mommy issues: this becomes a recurrent theme through the last two books and I really just want to punch him in the face. Your woman is the superhero protagonist, LISTEN TO HER. This annoyed me severely throughout the book. As much as I love a super strong female protagonist, I want to see some romance too, dang it. And I just did not get what I wanted. There is a fine balance to strike between angst and romance and so many of their moments fell on the angst side. It was emotionally exhausting. 

Tris having to make the decision that results in the death of Marlene: it was good writing. It was really emotional and hard to read. But I was just really starting to like Marlene when this happened. It was truly terrible and disturbing to realize the kind of things the government could do. It actually made me think of the Imperius Curse a little bit.That kind of power in the wrong hands is just...unstoppable. I understand why Tris saved the kid instead of Marlene and whoever the mystery person was but UGH.

Tris turning herself in to Jeanine: Not cool Tris. NOT COOL. The one thematic thing I really like in this book is the fine line between bravery and stupidity, and the meaning of sacrifice--when is it appropriate, and when is it selfish foolishness? While Tris turning herself in set us up to explore those themes quite thoroughly, it's pretty obvious where Tris's action lies on the Spectrum of Sacrifice, and it's not on the end that her mom and dad were on.

Caleb's betrayal: I actually hate Caleb more than Peter. I don't care about your non-Divergence, she's still your sister, you incredible piece of crap.

Tris lying to Tobias AGAIN: I understand why she wanted to help Marcus, but GOD TRIS HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED TO JUST BE HONEST BY NOW LIKE PLEASE. The whole situation is snarled and crazy, and revenge thirsty Tori ends up killing Jeanine before Tris can get the information she wants anyway.  

My rating: 3/5

I definitely liked this book less than Divergent. Tris's angst was almost insufferable at points, but there was some really creative dystopian government stuff that didn't feel like something I'd seen before. The idea of the factions being an experiment was interesting, and some of the moral issues raised thought provoking questions. Overall, I was just ready to get to the third book by the end, but I still enjoyed it.