Book #1: The Maze Runner
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| The freaking cover always flips up. Like, you put it down 'cause you're done reading for now and it practically opens on its own. I kept it under like three hardcover, five-hundred-page books for like twelve hours at least, and it didn't even help. How annoying is that? |
So, it's like teen-fiction, sci-fi, thriller, post-apocalyptic stuff. You know, the usual.
And I really wanted to like it. Really, really wanted to.
But the overall reaction was kinda more like, "Meh."
For a book that's supposed to be heart-pumping action and suspense and can't-put-it-down, there was a lot of talking. It was pretty much all talking. And usually I'm totally good with lots of dialogue, because characterization is my favourite thing, but dear god. Every character has to freaking vote about every single course of action they take, and every character has to state their opinion individually. It's amazing they ever make any decisions. And, like, the characters are not diverse enough, personality-wise, for the discussions to be really riveting. And then every five chapters or so, just to keep the appetite going, there's sort of a "he knew he was in danger.... and then nothing happened". And I'm not one of those people who need action and explosions all the time to hold my interest - I just said that I generally enjoy dialogue-heavy books - but it kinda felt like the action was only there for exposition for the scenes in which they're voting on what to do about it.
Also, Maze Runner Drinking Game: Take a shot every time the narrator says something like, "He was scared, but he still... [insert death wish here]" Take two if it's, "He was scared, but he still wanted to be a Maze Runner." You would become very intoxicated pretty quickly.
That being said, I can see how the rest of the series could be good. The end of the book was promising. I suspect that this first installment's main problem was that it was almost entirely devoted to setting up the rest of the series. I hold out hope.
The thing is, it was still relatively enjoyable. It just - and this is going to seem kind of abstract, but I can't really figure out a better way of putting it - it lacked heart. This resulted in me not really finding myself being particularly invested in the characters, and that's one of the most important things to me. So.... yeah. Anyways.... onward!
Book #2: An Abundance of Katherines
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| Fun fact: the original cover was something entirely different. This cover, which is what is currently in stores, was designed by a 17-year-old Nerdfighter, and I think that's super rad. |
So, as per usual, John Green writes teen-fiction, and it's set in the real world and he creates relatable, realistic teenage characters with relatively relatable problems. Also, it does not lack heart.
I'm starting to think that John Green has a thing with people sharing names. Between this book, which features nineteen Katherines and two Colins, he also co-wrote Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which features, get this, multiple Will Graysons.
Andbutso (to steal a John Green-ism) An Abundance of Katherines is really, really enjoyable. I will never stop talking about how John Green knows how to write intelligent teenagers who are comfortable with having identities, and I think that's awesome. Because that's most teenagers I've ever met, and it's such a refreshing bout of truth when you're always spoon-fed the conformist, materialistic, angsty and obnoxious teenagers everywhere else in media.
I just really love that everyone in this book had a really clear identity, and I especially appreciated that they don't necessarily intuitively mesh, since that description is more or less my friend group in a nutshell. Colin, the child prodigy who's obsessed with furthering his knowledge and with upping his status from "prodigy" to "genius", but can barely hold a normal conversation. Hassan, who defines himself by being funny, lazy and by his religion, Islam. Lindsey, who defines herself by being whoever the situation calls for her to be. And they all have amazing character growth. And I just really enjoyed this book.
This story is all about the characters. I like character-heavy things. If you also like character-heavy things, then I recommend it. I really really enjoyed it. Not as much as Will Grayson Will Grayson, which still holds the throne for my favourite John Green book, but it's up there - taking over second place from Looking For Alaska, which slips into third. It's just good. I promise.
And don't let the complicated maths intimidate you as Colin works out his Theorem of Dumpees/Dumpers. The math itself isn't all that important for understanding the story, but it is super cool that it's based on actual sound mathematics, since John Green happens to be good buddies with a well-respected mathematician. (There's an Appendix at the end that explains it, but I can't really be bothered to read it. But the formula it speaks of looks like this:
Andbutso, yeah, it's a good book. Characters are enjoyable, realistic, and developed, and the ideas are cool. Recommend it. Now, onward!
Book #3: The Reluctant Assassin
I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
Okay, so this book was a total gem that I completely found by accident. I was satisfied that I had all the books I wanted, so I was just waiting for my mom to find all the books she wanted, and I was glancing through the teen section to see what was what, and that's when I spotted the name Eoin Colfer.
For those who may not know, Eoin Colfer wrote the Artemis Fowl series, which I absolutely adore. I've posted a couple loving rants about that series on here. And so when I saw that name on a book in the teen section rather than the 8-12 section, (which is where I still get a good deal of my books), I barely had to glance at the back of the book before I resolved that I had to get it. And with a title like The Reluctant Assassin? I was pretty much already hooked.
Like most books by Eoin Colfer, the book is sort of this mixture of sci-fi and fantasy - though it falls harder on the side of sci-fi than Artemis Fowl ever did. Sci-fi/fantasy, of course, is where my heart will always lie, so it's no surprise that my love for this one is so much stronger than the other two.
So, this is the first book in the WARP series, (WARP being an acronym for Witness Anonymous Relocation Program, if I recall correctly?). Basically, the idea is that the FBI invented time travel, and so now they use it for witness protecting, only instead of hiding them in a different place, they hide them in a different time - specifically, Victorian London.
So I love the heroes of this book - between Riley, the fourteen-year-old Victorian urchin who was raised by a twisted sadistic assassin (and who also happens to be the reluctant assassin of the title), and Chevie, a seventeen-year-old female FBI agent - let's just say, they've both got a fair number of tricks up their sleeves, and the dialogue between them is always entertaining and interesting and they're both pretty awesome, though in different ways.
But as much as I love the heroes, what really shone in this book were the villains. The quality of the villains can make or break a story. Let me tell you, it really made The Reluctant Assassin.
The villains were plenty and fascinating. But of course, though a filthy rich power-hungry killer, and a mob-boss are fair challenges in and of themselves, the main villain was the one that struck the most fear, and that was Garrick, the assassin/magician who raised Riley. Garrick gets especially scary when he gets teleported to the the twenty-first century with super-powers and a detailed knowledge of the technology there.
Just - the villains are suitably scary and the heroes are lovable and have rich histories and the plot is thick and rich. It's just as witty as the Artemis Fowl series was, too, but so much more dark. And personally, I love dark.
It's one of those books that I never wanted to end, but that I also couldn't stop reading. I just really, immediately fell in love with it. It's such a good adventure.
It sure was a good thing that mom took a long time buying her books, or I probably never would have found it. So good.
So, yeah, that was the speed round. I'd say it went pretty well. Maybe I should try doing that more often. I dunno, we'll see.
In the meantime... thanks for reading, I guess. *awkward ending is awkward*
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