Re-reading: The Giver

THIS ONE IS REALLY MESSING WITH MY HEAD YOU GUYS.

The Giver was one of those books that was assigned to me in class, but that I really ended up liking. Loving, actually. It was my introduction to dystopia, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

I first read this book in eighth grade, and I clearly remember not only having to write a paper on it, but also having to choose from a list of projects that would help us analyze the book. I chose to make a mix tape--on my boom box, natch--and I know for sure that Fiona Apple’s “The Child is Gone” was on there, but I can’t remember what else. (Shout out to Mrs. Van Doren who was doing multi-modal before multi-modal was A Thing!)  Basically this paragraph is just here to show you how cool of a kid I was (Eighth grade? Fiona Apple? Come on.) even though no one in middle school seemed to catch on. I was way ahead of my time.

So now that we’ve established that Eighth Grade Mallory was awesome, let’s talk about how Eighth Grade Mallory had her mind blown. Upon finishing the book, I thought “Oh, what a happy ending. He found a sled. He’s going to Christmas dinner. This is nice.” Then I went to class and the aforementioned Mrs. Van Doren got all critical think-y on us and was like, “Do you really think that he found a sled? Don’t you think that’s just a little too perfect?” And then I realized: Oh God, he died. He died and the baby died and this is not happy this is horrible and I need Fiona Apple now.

So this is what I’ve thought since eighth grade. And when I re-read the book, I thought it again. Yes, the ending is too perfect. There’s no way a sled is just waiting at the top of a hill. Some kid wants to go sledding, brings a sled to the top of a hill and then his mom calls him for dinner and he’s like “Ok, guess I’ll leave the sled here instead of going for one last ride,” and then trudges back down the hill? NOPE.

But then I started doing some research on Amazon, and I found this in the description of the sequel to The Giver: “Under the gentle guidance of Leader, who arrived in Village on a red sled as a young boy and who has the power of Seeing Beyond…” Wait, what? So he did live. And now he’s helping disabled children? I feel like my entire life has been a lie! Well, not really, but I do think this is a good example of when not to do a trilogy, which The Giver eventually turned into.

There were a few other things that surprised me about the book. I hadn’t realized it was so short. I wanted to know more about everything, and I especially wanted the relationship between the Giver and Jonas to be fleshed out a bit more, but with YA books that skew younger--The Giver may even be classified as middle grade now--those are the kinds of things that we, as adults, miss.

I still think it’s a wonderful book, and a great introduction to the genre of dystopian literature, but I also wish that there was no trilogy, because even if the ending was not entirely clear, open-ended is better than cheesy, and an actual sled waiting at the top of an actual mountain to take Jonas and Gabriel to an actual Christmas dinner—well, that’s just a little too easy for me. 

Grade I would have given this book as a kid: Tidal

Re-reading Grade: Extraordinary Machine

Status: Sometimes I choose to ignore things that ruin my perception of art (see: unnecessary sequels and When the Pawn…)

THE GREATEST NEW RELEASES TUESDAY EVER

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.

Buy it here or here. SERIOUSLY. DO IT.

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.

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. 

Buy it here or here, and pick up Ship Breaker if you haven't yet here or here. 

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.

Buy it here or here. 

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.