Girl in the Arena

Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This is going to be one of my harsher reviews. I don't like it, but it has to be like this :(

In Girl in the Arena, the Roman gladiators from the past that now seem slightly like fantasy have become the reality of the future. When Lyn's 7th father is killed fighting an American title match, his opponent is allowed to take anything that belonged to the loser. Of all things, he picks up Lyn's dowry bracelet. Which means she has to marry him.

I found myself having a hard time getting into this book right from the start. The strange dialogue using dashes instead of quotes, the flat characters, and the slow pace turned me away.

Ex. -Are you all right? she asks, her voice raspy and urgent and I know she's been crying and chain smoking all night. -- There's even another dash in that same paragraph that doesn't lead to dialogue and I just can't follow it.

As for the flat characters, I didn't even care that her father was killed. He just seemed like a thing. Not a person. A disposable thing. I didn't know anything about him that made him who he was, and when he was gone, I didn't feel a thing. Normally I cry when my new-found friends are killed off...Nothing. *spoiler* Even the suicide of her mother who was Lyn's support didn't faze me. It wasn't even clear that she was dead at first. So I was just confused. *end spoiler*

The slow pace never improved. The attempts at "twists" in the plot were just unnecessary and also left me wondering why I was still reading the book. (The answer is that I hate leaving something without knowing what happens. No matter how terrible it is.) The unique premise made me think that there would be a lot of fast-paced action, but it all led up to one scene that just died out in the end.

So my suggestion--don't spend your time reading this book. If you feel compelled to know what happens, just read about it online.

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Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had high expectations for this book. Which made it all the more disappointing when I finally got around to reading it and turned out to be nothing special.

The main character, Eona (16 yrs old), must pretend to be a boy (12 yrs old) in order to be a candidate to be chosen by 1 of 12 dragons to be a Dragoneye. She uses the excuse of being a Moon Shadow, a boy who does not mature, as an excuse for looking feminine. She is also crippled, which helps her hide her womanly curves. This is because women are not allowed the special position of Dragoneye, but her special ability to see the dragons is enough for her new master to train her. Obviously, this secret will become a problem.

Throughout the entire book, I kept waiting for something spectacular and unexpected to happen. That moment never came. (It could be that I've just been amazing at predicting things these days so nothing surprises me.) The story was dragged out to a point where I had to go back and reread things because I kept skipping pages. Way too much time was spent on unnecessary description that did not contribute to your imaginative picture or the moving of the plotline. It was so slow going that I had to force myself to keep reading. The plot had so much potential. Hopefully it's carried out in a better way in the sequel, Eona. Yes, I will be reading it.

Most of the characters were forgettable, except for a select few such as Prince Kygo and Lady Dela. They had some nice outstanding features, but other than that, I got all the people confused.

Overall, I was glad I read the book for the sake of the creative plot and the battle action that takes place in the end. It was lacking in the romance that I always like, but not every book can have that so the action scene at the end was a nice replacement for me. I would actually give the book 2.5 stars, but decided it was closer to 3 than 2 since I can't give halves.

I'll probably pick up Eona soon because I need a definite conclusion to the books I read.

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Bumped

Bumped by Megan McCafferty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Going into this book I expected it to be all about one thing. Sex. To my delight, it went much deeper than that.

The two main characters, Melody and Harmony, are twins who were separated and birth and finally reunited. At first the two names were interchangable to me. But as the book got going, there was a distinct difference between the personalities of the girls that made them easy to tell apart. The thing was, they were learning new things about themselves along with you. This made for a great read.

Melody lives in a world where teenage girls are bred to bump. Because of the Virus that has been quickly spreading, only girls teenagers are able to become pregnant and keep the world population stable instead of rapidly decreasing. Melody has an agent, has all of the right looks and talents, has a family to bump for, and is just waiting for the right guy to bump. A professional. Not an everythingbut.

Harmony was raised in a completely different way. Being a slightly sickly child at birth, she was sent to be raised by the church. They tought her what to think, and she was never allowed to question the teachings. She was due to be married at 13, but things didn't follow through. Now she has a new finace, Ram. Will things work out better the second time around?

When Harmony shows up on Melody's doorstep, everything changes. The girls discover things about themselves that they hadn't known before, and both of their worlds change.

The only thing the book was lacking was the need for a bit more detail. Not necessarily for the "business" scenes, but for the more friendly and playful ones. I would have liked to know more about Melody's friends and peers. And I definitely would have liked more interaction with Zen. He was such a great guy. One that everyone wants to have on their side.

I definitely recommend this book, but mostly for girls ages 13 and up.

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Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hands down, the best book I've read since the Hunger Games. All of the advertisements were right on the money.

Divergent is a book unlike any other that I've read. It leaves you questioning who you are as a person and what's really important to you. It also shows why having a variety of traits and values shape the person you are.

Right away, the reader is taken into a new world in the Abnegation faction. It might as well be a crime to look at yourself in a mirror in the selfless place. But soon you are also introduced to the 4 other factions, each of which has one outstanding characteristic. And it is our main character's job, Beatrice, later known as Tris, to choose which one to spend the rest of her life in. But is it really a choice when the 5 options are predetermined?

For most teens, this decision is an easy one. Each person is given a test that will leave you will one result. Most pick this result as their faction. The test doesn't do it's job for Beatrice though. She could belong in one of three different factions. She is Divergent. And being Divergent could mean death.

Through triumph and loss, Tris has to realize who true self, and she has some help along the way. (This book definitely isn't lacking in the romance department either. Which is good because I need my hot imaginary men.) All of the characters were brilliantly written. I knew what each of them would say if I had a conversation with them.

I can't wait for the sequel that I'm expecting to be as breathtaking as the first. Veronica Roth, thank you for the gift of this book.



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