Ok, Insurgent is definitely going to get top billing here (and maybe even a nice big picture), but there are so many books coming out today that I want to read, I pretty much can't contain my excitement.
Insurgent (Divergent Series #2), by Veronica Roth
Katherine Tegen Books
Divergent sets up a world in post-apolcalyptic Chicago where everyone is forced to choose a faction to live under at the age of 16. The factions are based on virtues (humility, bravery, etc.), and when you live under them, you become a kind of one-dimensional person, giving up everything that doesn't represent your virtue. But not our Tris. She leaves the faction she's been raised in and starts to uncover all the dirty, underhanded things that the factions are doing to each other, and to their citizens.
Insurgent picks up where Divergent left off, and it sounds like the factionless are going to play a huge role in this sequel, which I'm so happy about since they are only really hinted at in the first book. The second books in trilogies always seem to lag a bit in the action department since they have to reestablish the characters and plot lines, and then set-up for the finale, but Roth's writing is so crisp and fast-paced, I will be incredibly surprised if this book is at all boring.
I have huge hopes for this book, but mostly I just really want to see if Tris and Four get to Do It. Priorities: I have them.
Wait, there are other books? Ok, here you go.
Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore
Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin Teen)
The sequel to Graceling, the only reason this didn't get top billing is because I was a big fan of the way Graceling ended because Feminism and Independence and all that, and I was almost hoping that Kristin Cashore wouldn't write a sequel? But then I found out she was writing one and I squealed? So, yeah, this is next up after Insurgent.
In this book, we fast-forward eight years--Bitterblue is queen of Monsea, but the legacy of her crazy Dad with the mind control Grace who made people do horrible things still lingers, and she can't get her kingdom to move past it. What will she do? Fall in love with a super hot guy, of course.
Bonus: We get to catch up with Katsa and Po, who are my almost favorite YA couple. (Katniss and Peeta are disqualified because, well, duh. It's like when Oprah said, "Stop giving me Emmy's." We all know she's really the winner.) If you haven't read Graceling, I highly recommend it. If you come across a companion called Fire, I highly recommend you stay away.
Buy Bitterblue here or here. I'll join you.
Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin Teen)
The sequel to Graceling, the only reason this didn't get top billing is because I was a big fan of the way Graceling ended because Feminism and Independence and all that, and I was almost hoping that Kristin Cashore wouldn't write a sequel? But then I found out she was writing one and I squealed? So, yeah, this is next up after Insurgent.
In this book, we fast-forward eight years--Bitterblue is queen of Monsea, but the legacy of her crazy Dad with the mind control Grace who made people do horrible things still lingers, and she can't get her kingdom to move past it. What will she do? Fall in love with a super hot guy, of course.
Bonus: We get to catch up with Katsa and Po, who are my almost favorite YA couple. (Katniss and Peeta are disqualified because, well, duh. It's like when Oprah said, "Stop giving me Emmy's." We all know she's really the winner.) If you haven't read Graceling, I highly recommend it. If you come across a companion called Fire, I highly recommend you stay away.
Buy Bitterblue here or here. I'll join you.
The Drowned Cities, by Paolo Bacigalupi
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
This is the companion (NOT sequel) to Ship Breaker, a book I absolutely loved. Because it isn't a sequel, though, it doesn't have the compulsive must-read-now attachment, so it will have to wait a week or two.
The Drowned Cities focuses on the wars surrounding the dystopian future that Bacigalupi established in Ship Breaker. Mahlia and Mouse are escaped "war maggots," or assassins recruited and trained by the warring factions. Publisher's Weekly says it's better than the first book, so I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on this.
Wentworth Hall, by Abby Grahame
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Ok, I don't want to get too excited about this, but it definitely looks like Downton Abbey meets Gossip Girl, and I don't know what could be wrong with that, unless Blake Lively tried to do the movie, in which case I really don't want to hear her attempt an English accent. The product description uses the word "secrets" three times (PAMUK!), and even throws in a "facade." And, oh my God, the family's name is Darlington. DARLINGTON! Pip pip cheerio and what-not.
This is the author's first book, so we'll see if the writing holds up (it might sway a little into What American People Think British People Are Like territory), but this could definitely be making a plane ride seem not so long in my near future.
Don't worry, guys, I wrote this post on Monday so that my Insurgent reading wouldn't be interrupted. What are you reading? If it's not Insurgent (or possibly Bitterblue), I don't understand you, but I still like you.
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