Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer || END OF THE MASSIVE HIATUS

In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now. 

The best villains are the ones you understand.

Before reading Fairest, Queen Levana was just another villain. Sure, she was fearsome, twisted, and powerful. But she had little to no character development or backstory (even though she's SUPER intriguing). I could never think of her as a vulnerable young girl, lonely and terrified, but in Fairest, that is exactly what she is, and that makes it worse (or better. it depends) because you feel sympathetic towards her. Seeing her change into the person she becomes is a slow and painful process.

This is where I take a moment to applaud Marissa Meyer because A) she took the time to write this amazing book and B) she is incredibly skilled. 

Keep in my mind that this is the person who wrote Cinder and Scarlet and Cress. Cress. Innocent, vulnerable Cress. And now she has written an actual psychopath and it's just-- *flails*

This book felt so raw and powerful! Each sentence packed a punch, and even though I wanted to hate Levana with everything in me, I couldn't, because in the end I really just pitied her-- twisted mind and all.  

However, understanding why she does horrible things (and questioning yourself because really, how can you understand such horrifying actions?) is not the worst (or best-- again, it depends) part. 

The worst part is seeing Levana talk herself out of feeling guilty each time, because she deserves the good she is going to get/has. The worst part is that the entire time, she just wants to be loved, and she has no idea that what she is doing is not loving or caring. It's obsession and cruelty and torture. 

Fairest lasts over a long period of time. It starts when Levana is 15 years old, with a crush on a guard that she's had for 7 years-- ever since the first time she's seen him. She's lonely. She's scared. But she's hopeful that this person who has shown her kindness can care for her. Love her. Pretty soon, she's convinced herself that he does love her. Despite the fact that he's only feeling sympathy for her, and wanting to be her friend because he sees her loneliness. I'm pretty sure this wins biggest misunderstanding of the year. Or decade.

And even though I just talked about how epically this was written, I'm going to say it again. IT WAS GLORIOUS IN PRETTY MUCH THE MOST AWFUL OF WAYS. 

Also, I'm baaack! Finally. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to keep a steady stream of posts coming, but there will be (hopefully) at least one post per week. It's not much, but I'm just aiming for some structure here. 

Reviewing: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state, is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

I first found out about this book through a book trailer, when I'd been going through a ton of them on Youtube. And it stood out. Now, after reading the book, it stands out even more. 

I wasn't expecting to cry. I don't think I was really expecting a ton of emotion-- I'm not a very emotional reader, all that comes after. And this book is definitely not for everyone. It's horrifying and thought-provoking and it makes you come face to face with the real problems that we face today, even though its set in the future. 

How do we determine someone's worth? By how much we love them? By how much they benefit us? This is the re-occurring theme in Unwind, and each time it grows more powerful. It forces you to take a look at yourself, how you would feel. Would you try to make a difference, or fade into the background?

"Unwinds didn't go out with a bang-they didn't even go out with a whimper. they went out with the silence of a candle flame pinched between two fingers." 

I wouldn't say this book is creepy. It's too... honest and blunt, to be creepy, at least in my opinion. You can see the reality in the way the parents turn their backs, in the way no one wanted this but no one tried to stop it either. It's sobering.

While I do think that so many parents would not even consider having their children unwound, there are, as always, the exceptions. I just... I don't think there would be quite so many parents picking which of their children they loved more. What good, legitimate reason could they possibly have to have their children unwound? Also, why would the Pro-Life group ever agree to the Bill of Life? Would you say the person who donated their heart is still alive in that other person? That piece of them is the same, yes, but it doesn't hold the memories, the feelings, or the way they laugh when they hear a joke.

The characters, Lev, Connor, and Risa were all real. While a lot of people have said that Lev was annoying and they disliked him until the end of the book, I'm here to tell you that it was a case of brainwashing. Raising someone to believe that it is a blessing to be sacrificed, to be taken apart piece by piece is wrong. Lev was raised from birth to see it as a gift. Age 1~13 is the exact time to manipulate a child to think a certain way, to control how they see the world. I've seen incredibly sweet people be racist and homophobic, simply because of how they were raised. That's why I found Lev one of the realest of them. I felt more sorry for him than I did angry towards him.

Connor and Risa were also real. I think that's what made Unwind such an incredible read-- the blunt, cold truth being shoved in your face. Here. Make what you will of it.

Connor is seen as a "wild child." He makes plans to run away, to escape the life his parents chose for him. Risa is simply not talented enough, even though she's tried so hard. There's someone to relate to for everyone. You can see pieces of your own personality in theirs, and sometimes that makes it so much harder.

Reviewing: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

It's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives.

But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations. As Anna sets out to find her friend's killer, she discovers harsh revelations about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

Awaiting the judge's decree, it becomes clear to Anna that everyone around her thinks she is not only guilty, but also dangerous. And when the whole story comes out, reality is more shocking than anyone could ever imagine... 



Let me just tell you something before I get into the review. Before I started reading, I had heard all about the shocking twist. About how horrifying the ending was, and how they hadn't seen it coming. So I decided to make a list about who I suspected, why, and, when I crossed some of them out, why I crossed them out.

Spoilers are between these: [   ]. You'll have to highlight to read them. And, because I don't want to spoil anything, all of what I say about each person on the list counts as a spoiler. You have been warned.

1. Melanie 
2. Juan [This guy is just... creepy. I'm still creeped out by him.]
3. Tate  [I changed my mind because I decided that he was too weak to actually kill her. He just seemed so drained and shakey and downright vulnerable that I put him aside soon after I put him on the list.]
4. Dekker [I decided that he was just obsessed with Anna being the killer than WHY Elise had actually been killed]
5. AK
6. Niklas
7. Elise [the reason why Elise was on this list is because when she was talking about how she would kill herself, she mentioned that she would slit her wrists and bleed out all over the carpet. Also, she was reckless. Someone that reckless, someone that just... treated people so harshly and spoke behind their backs like she did... She was so drunk on life. Someone like that doesn't kill themselves.]
8. Anna [the reason is because the entire time everything just felt so wrong. About Anna. About how obsessed she was with Tate. When she became extremely possessive, I heard warning bells go. I didn't think she was the killer until nearing the end of the book. Everything just felt so wrong that I couldn't help but think that maybe the killer was her. She was just so very, very damaged.]

With my ginormous list of suspects, I don't think I would have fared too well with finding out who was the actual killer if I was put in a situation where I needed to. I'm usually not so great at finding out things anyways. I'm usually in a constant state of shock after reading books like these.

The reason I'm not flailing and screeching and typing in all caps is because this book just... just...

It did blow my mind. In fact, my mind is still a jumbled mess. Everyone in this book is messed up. EVERYONE. (except the rare gem. And even then, you can't be sure if they're actually rare gems.)

Pardon my language.

This book has given me trust issues.

So while I'm re-reading the last sentence (which is seriously so disturbing and haunting and CREEPY) while my heart pounds and I'm trying not to freak out too obviously, I'll just say that I have never ever read a book like this.

I like to stay away from horrifying books about murders (I have a very, very wild imagination that sometimes likes to make sure I don't sleep). Because of that, I haven't read any up til now. I'm not sure I'll keep reading them. (I also like to stay away from heart problems, and I'm pretty sure this book has also amped those up quite a bit.)

You start the book thinking Anna is innocent and that this book is a story of her proving that she didn't do it while simultaneously proving who DID. You think, or at least I did, "oh maybe this is one of those books that's creepy while also being sort've lighthearted." Either way, I thought that at least the killer would be brought to justice.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO THINK ANYMORE. (oh, look, there's my usual caps-locks-screeching)

But if I say anything more there's sure to be spoilers.

Also, I get the feeling that this book was aimed for an age group slightly higher than my own. It's got sex and drugs and drinking and ALL THAT. (my use of caps also shows how unprepared I was for "all that")

But, hey. If you think you want to read this book (and you're pretty sure you won't die of shock) then good Lord READ IT. 

Reviewing: The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Mara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told.
There is.

She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.
She should.

She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.
She will now.

Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.

Retribution has arrived.

I wanted to write this review before I forgot everything, because this book was jam-packed with information. Super surprisingly (and super awesomely) that information never got overwhelming to me. Maybe it would with some people, but I just loved the info dump. I felt pretty much like Mara did-- except less homicidal-- because, YES. ANSWERS.

Before I talk about how sad I am about the series ending (very sad) let me talk about how downright fabulous Michelle Hodkin is. Her writing skills are insane. You will question everything. You will wonder if Mara really is insane. If she really is the villain.

Reading from the point of view of such an unstable character kind of left me unsure of who to believe-- Mara, or the people around her. And by kind of, I mean absolutely. 

Mara is such a complex character. I was constantly wondering how she could live with the weight of all she had done and all she was capable of on her shoulders.

Pretty much everyone is beautifully broken in this book. AND I LOVE JAMIE'S SENSE OF HUMOR. I love how he keeps Mara laughing even when she's falling apart. 

“We’re mutants now?”
“Don’t tell Marvel. They’ll sue us.”

I could barely look away while reading. Until I got closer to the ending. I was starting to feel slightly disappointed, like... is this the fabulous ending? I just couldn't accept it. [I couldn't accept it because I felt like it was too easy. After what they'd been through, could anything really be okay ever again?]. But the actual ending, once I got to it, blew my mind. I could not process what had just happened until a while after I was done reading.

My rating is : 

There is so much more I could blab about, but honestly what it comes down to is that this book is awesome, Michelle Hodkin did an amazing job with making everything come together, with the characters, with EVERYTHING. So, basically, go. Read.