Hello bookaholics!
I was going through my read books on goodreads (click HERE to add me) and I noticed that I read a lot of dystopian series.
Okay maybe not that a lot, but most of the books I read are series. So I thought I would talk to you about my favorite five dystopian ones.
(Dystopia is a form of literature that explores social and political structures. It is a creation of a nightmare world - unlike its opposite, Utopia, which is an ideal world. Dystopia is often characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government. It often features different kinds of repressive social control systems, a lack or total absence of individual freedoms and expressions, and a state of constant warfare or violence. Many novels combine both Dystopia and Utopia, often as a metaphor for the different directions humanity can take in its choices, ending up with one of the two possible futures)
Enjoy.
1- Divergent By Veronica Roth.
If you haven't read Divergent yet, where the hell have you been? Go read it! Now!!
The story takes place somewhere in the future in the city of Chicago. Chicago is devided to five factions: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).
Every year, all sixteen year olds go through a test that helps them figure out where they belong. The next day -choosing day- they announce what they chose and where will they belong for the rest of their lives.
Once you choose a faction, there's no turning back. You won't be able to live with your family anymore "faction before blood". And if you can't fit in the faction you chose, you will become factionless.
You cannot survive without factions. The society will fall apart and war will ignite.
Beatrice is a sixteen year old abnegation who doesn't fit in the faction she belonged to her whole life. On choosing day, she has to make the decision whether to stay by her parents side or to follow her heart and think of herself.
This book changed my perspective of bravery and selfessness. I wrote these few lines after I finished the series (somewhere between the sobs and the ugly crying).
I believe that being brave doesn't mean being fearless for it is our fears that make us humans.
Bravery is so much bigger than that.
For as long as I can remember, I thought being brave only means jumping of rooftops and climbing moving trains and flirting with death. It didn't occur to me once, until I read the Divergent series, that bravery also lies in ordinary acts of our lives like standing up for those who are weaker than us, like telling the truth or spread peace or being kind or being selfless.. like facing your fear instead of running from it. I thought that being brave is the power we possess, but in fact, it's the power we give.
I think that is what Veronica Roth wanted to open the eyes of the reader on when she wrote these masterpieces.
I just love the serie so much it hurts. It's a must-read. (the first movie came out in March but I hated it. Make sure to read the books first)
2- The hunger games by Suzanne Collins.
I actually read the hunger games last summer and all I remember is a lot of sobbing. If you haven't read it yet, come on! Who didn't! The fist movie came out two years ago! Where has you been living!!!!
If you guys think: No need to read the book, the movie is amazing and Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss and she's amazing ect ect... You have no idea what you're missing.
I have to confess that the fist movie was a lot like the book, but catching fire (the book) was way better than the movie.
Mockingjay is my favorite in the series and I don't think the movie will be as amazing as the book is because most of it happens inside Katniss's head and she keeps talking about what she feels and what she thinks.. and that is what I love the most about it. Suzanne translated what Katniss was feeling into words PERFECTLY and I don't believe the movie can do that. I really think you should read the books as soon as possible. I promise you'll love them.
3- Shatter me By Tahereh Mafi.
Reading this series was a whole new experience to me.
It's basically about this teenager called Juliette who has a lethal touch. You touch her, you die. Simple as that.
Juliette was locked in a cell by the government for 264 day during which she hasn't seen or spoken to anyone.
What I absolutely love about these books is the writing style. It is so beautiful and it's what kept me reading (because the story is kind of slow at first but it gets better, I promise).
The development of the characters is amazing and everything is perfect. Even the covers are awesome (but kind of spoilery). I love the way Tahereh writes. Her words are art.
“I’m not sure. But there’s something about the darkness, the stillness of this hour, I think, that creates a language of its own. There’s a strange kind of freedom in the dark; a terrifying vulnerability we allow ourselves at exactly the wrong moment, tricked by the darkness into thinking it will keep our secrets. We forget that the blackness is not a blanket; we forget that the sun will soon rise. But in the moment, at least, we feel brave enough to say things we’d never say in the light.”
“On the darkest days you have to search for a spot of brightness, on the coldest days you have to seek out a spot of warmth; on the bleakest days you have to keep your eyes onward and upward and on the saddest days you have to leave them open to let them cry. To then let them dry. To give them a chance to wash out the pain in order to see fresh and clear once again.”
Just read it. It's amazing.
4- Unwind By Neal Shusterman
This series literally prevented me from sleeping for about a month after I read it. It's actually a dystology. The last book "Undivided" is comming up in October and I can't wait!!
Unwind takes place in the future. There was a war in the USA and the schools were closed. With no education, the teenagers couldn't find jobs so they went to the streets asking for their right of working, making a big mess and destruction on their way. Before all of that started, a scientist won a noble price for discovering a way to make every transplant possible. The government used the technology the scientist founded to end what the teenagers did whenever they protested. They unwinded every teenager that caused disturbance. Unwinding is literally dividing the person, conserving the parts for later use. That way, you don't technically kill these teenagers, they just stop living.
After the unwinding of the raged teenagers huge success, the bill of life was signed. The bill of life is a new law consisting in allowing the parents to send their "incorrigible" teenages -between the age of 13 and 18- to harvest camps where they will be unwound.
The book is about the survival of three teenagers: Connor, Levi and Risa who are on the run on the hope of trying to escape unwinding.
The story is captivating, isn't it? Now let me ask you this:
If the person is unwound, is he really dead? (knowing that the heart and the brain are conserved and are in perfect shape)
If the person is unwound, where does his soul go? He's not dead, nor he is alive.
If an unwounded person is rewound, will his soul return to his body?
If we create the person using unwound parts (which in the book, we practicly can given that every transplant is possible) will he have a soul?
Please let me know what you think in the comments, I'm going insane.
By the way, I found out about the unwind series through youtube. A fan of the series made this amazing video that made me read the three books.
5- And finally The Maze Runner By James Dashner
I found out about the series when I watched the maze runner trailer (starring Dylan O'Brien and will be in theaters in september) and it looked interesting so I read it.
To be completely honest, I loved the fist book, but I hated the ending and I didn't like the second and the third book as much as I liked the first.
The first book is about this boy, Thomas, who wakes up to find himself in a box (sort of an elevator) and when it opens, he is in this huge field called "the glade". The glade is surrounded by huge stone walls with gates that lock at sunset and unlock at sunrise. Outside the gates, there is a giant maze.
The Glade is inhabited by teenage boys between the age of 12 or 13 and 18. Among them, there are runners who explore the maze during the day. No one ever survived a night in the maze.
I literally couldn't catch my breath while reading it. I finished it in two days and I was worried I that I would have a heart attack because my heart was beating so fast.
The end wasn't quite satisfying to me. I imagined something bigger and different. But it wasn't that bad. It is a good serie, the first book is the best, I believe.
And that is it. I hope that wasn't too long. Let me know which series should I read in the comments bellow and don't forget to add me on goodreads.
I was going through my read books on goodreads (click HERE to add me) and I noticed that I read a lot of dystopian series.
Okay maybe not that a lot, but most of the books I read are series. So I thought I would talk to you about my favorite five dystopian ones.
(Dystopia is a form of literature that explores social and political structures. It is a creation of a nightmare world - unlike its opposite, Utopia, which is an ideal world. Dystopia is often characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government. It often features different kinds of repressive social control systems, a lack or total absence of individual freedoms and expressions, and a state of constant warfare or violence. Many novels combine both Dystopia and Utopia, often as a metaphor for the different directions humanity can take in its choices, ending up with one of the two possible futures)
Enjoy.
1- Divergent By Veronica Roth.
If you haven't read Divergent yet, where the hell have you been? Go read it! Now!!
The story takes place somewhere in the future in the city of Chicago. Chicago is devided to five factions: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).
Every year, all sixteen year olds go through a test that helps them figure out where they belong. The next day -choosing day- they announce what they chose and where will they belong for the rest of their lives.
Once you choose a faction, there's no turning back. You won't be able to live with your family anymore "faction before blood". And if you can't fit in the faction you chose, you will become factionless.
You cannot survive without factions. The society will fall apart and war will ignite.
Beatrice is a sixteen year old abnegation who doesn't fit in the faction she belonged to her whole life. On choosing day, she has to make the decision whether to stay by her parents side or to follow her heart and think of herself.
This book changed my perspective of bravery and selfessness. I wrote these few lines after I finished the series (somewhere between the sobs and the ugly crying).
I believe that being brave doesn't mean being fearless for it is our fears that make us humans.
Bravery is so much bigger than that.
For as long as I can remember, I thought being brave only means jumping of rooftops and climbing moving trains and flirting with death. It didn't occur to me once, until I read the Divergent series, that bravery also lies in ordinary acts of our lives like standing up for those who are weaker than us, like telling the truth or spread peace or being kind or being selfless.. like facing your fear instead of running from it. I thought that being brave is the power we possess, but in fact, it's the power we give.
I think that is what Veronica Roth wanted to open the eyes of the reader on when she wrote these masterpieces.
I just love the serie so much it hurts. It's a must-read. (the first movie came out in March but I hated it. Make sure to read the books first)
2- The hunger games by Suzanne Collins.
I actually read the hunger games last summer and all I remember is a lot of sobbing. If you haven't read it yet, come on! Who didn't! The fist movie came out two years ago! Where has you been living!!!!
If you guys think: No need to read the book, the movie is amazing and Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss and she's amazing ect ect... You have no idea what you're missing.
I have to confess that the fist movie was a lot like the book, but catching fire (the book) was way better than the movie.
Mockingjay is my favorite in the series and I don't think the movie will be as amazing as the book is because most of it happens inside Katniss's head and she keeps talking about what she feels and what she thinks.. and that is what I love the most about it. Suzanne translated what Katniss was feeling into words PERFECTLY and I don't believe the movie can do that. I really think you should read the books as soon as possible. I promise you'll love them.
3- Shatter me By Tahereh Mafi.
Reading this series was a whole new experience to me.
It's basically about this teenager called Juliette who has a lethal touch. You touch her, you die. Simple as that.
Juliette was locked in a cell by the government for 264 day during which she hasn't seen or spoken to anyone.
What I absolutely love about these books is the writing style. It is so beautiful and it's what kept me reading (because the story is kind of slow at first but it gets better, I promise).
The development of the characters is amazing and everything is perfect. Even the covers are awesome (but kind of spoilery). I love the way Tahereh writes. Her words are art.
“I’m not sure. But there’s something about the darkness, the stillness of this hour, I think, that creates a language of its own. There’s a strange kind of freedom in the dark; a terrifying vulnerability we allow ourselves at exactly the wrong moment, tricked by the darkness into thinking it will keep our secrets. We forget that the blackness is not a blanket; we forget that the sun will soon rise. But in the moment, at least, we feel brave enough to say things we’d never say in the light.”
“On the darkest days you have to search for a spot of brightness, on the coldest days you have to seek out a spot of warmth; on the bleakest days you have to keep your eyes onward and upward and on the saddest days you have to leave them open to let them cry. To then let them dry. To give them a chance to wash out the pain in order to see fresh and clear once again.”
Just read it. It's amazing.
4- Unwind By Neal Shusterman
This series literally prevented me from sleeping for about a month after I read it. It's actually a dystology. The last book "Undivided" is comming up in October and I can't wait!!
Unwind takes place in the future. There was a war in the USA and the schools were closed. With no education, the teenagers couldn't find jobs so they went to the streets asking for their right of working, making a big mess and destruction on their way. Before all of that started, a scientist won a noble price for discovering a way to make every transplant possible. The government used the technology the scientist founded to end what the teenagers did whenever they protested. They unwinded every teenager that caused disturbance. Unwinding is literally dividing the person, conserving the parts for later use. That way, you don't technically kill these teenagers, they just stop living.
After the unwinding of the raged teenagers huge success, the bill of life was signed. The bill of life is a new law consisting in allowing the parents to send their "incorrigible" teenages -between the age of 13 and 18- to harvest camps where they will be unwound.
The book is about the survival of three teenagers: Connor, Levi and Risa who are on the run on the hope of trying to escape unwinding.
The story is captivating, isn't it? Now let me ask you this:
If the person is unwound, is he really dead? (knowing that the heart and the brain are conserved and are in perfect shape)
If the person is unwound, where does his soul go? He's not dead, nor he is alive.
If an unwounded person is rewound, will his soul return to his body?
If we create the person using unwound parts (which in the book, we practicly can given that every transplant is possible) will he have a soul?
Please let me know what you think in the comments, I'm going insane.
By the way, I found out about the unwind series through youtube. A fan of the series made this amazing video that made me read the three books.
I found out about the series when I watched the maze runner trailer (starring Dylan O'Brien and will be in theaters in september) and it looked interesting so I read it.
To be completely honest, I loved the fist book, but I hated the ending and I didn't like the second and the third book as much as I liked the first.
The first book is about this boy, Thomas, who wakes up to find himself in a box (sort of an elevator) and when it opens, he is in this huge field called "the glade". The glade is surrounded by huge stone walls with gates that lock at sunset and unlock at sunrise. Outside the gates, there is a giant maze.
The Glade is inhabited by teenage boys between the age of 12 or 13 and 18. Among them, there are runners who explore the maze during the day. No one ever survived a night in the maze.
I literally couldn't catch my breath while reading it. I finished it in two days and I was worried I that I would have a heart attack because my heart was beating so fast.
The end wasn't quite satisfying to me. I imagined something bigger and different. But it wasn't that bad. It is a good serie, the first book is the best, I believe.
And that is it. I hope that wasn't too long. Let me know which series should I read in the comments bellow and don't forget to add me on goodreads.
x
No comments:
Post a Comment