Review: One big book filled with so much goodness
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 27, 2014
This is soooo awesome a collection of the great dystopian novels and not just that but we also get a little insight into haw each author feels about the genre, I really liked that little extra it was neat to hear their thoughts on the genre that has stolen my heart. I will leave a review for each book individually but as a whole this is an amazing box set!!!!<b>Open Minds...4/5</b>*Complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review**may contain spoilers*The setting for this story is a future world where being a mind reader is the expected path for everyone, and when 16 year old Kira still has not gone through the change she believes she is a zero, one of the rare people unable to hear thoughts or be read, but everything changes the day her best friend Raf tries to kiss her and she knocks him unconscious and Simon ( a boy at school) tells her the truth.....she is a mingjacker, sounds good right? well you would be right. I read the summary for this and to be honest I was not sure what I expected, and as I started reading I was thinking a lot about the Darkest Minds and yes it reminded me of it but there were also a lot of differences and this book held it's own and I enjoyed it all the same.The fact that this book is about mind reading/control means a lot of telepathic conversations and some interesting descriptions and ideas about being in someones mind and I liked the way the author went about it, cause in my opinion it can sometimes be weird and not really make sense, but this was not like that. If you liked The Darkest Minds or if you enjoy dystopians then I suggest you read this book I think you will be happy you did.I must admit Kira bothered me on a couple of occasions, one was her unwillingness to be honest with Raf and her family both parties seemed exceptionally understanding of her being a zero, and after I learned her families secret I was more disappointed I think things could have turned out a lot different if she had told them from the start. Second was her quick idea to attack the FBI instead of work for them I know that it had its place and it worked out in a good way but I think she should have tried to use them and work for them, overall I was not exceptionally thrilled with Kira, I liked her and by the end I thought that she made some very tough choices and did the right thing, she also grew but I just never totally connected. Simon was a big question mark for me and even more so after the escape I'm not really sure even at this point how I feel about him, guess Kira and I are on the same page about that one, and now that Raf knows the truth I hope they can find some happiness.At first when Kira went to the reporter I was a little uncertain if that was a good idea or not and I kinda thought she was just being reckless because of Simon and Laney, the young girl who she became instantly attached too, but as events unfolded I realized it was more and I was slightly impressed at the sacrifice she made, and it also solidified my love for Kira's family they supported her and were proud of her, and her dad most all surprised me, in the best way. Now that the secret is out I am very interested to see what will happen next and how Kira and her loved ones will handle the backlash of her actions, good intentions or not they are going to have some consequences to deal with.<b>The Moon Dwellers...5/5</b>I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review and I am so happy I got to read this book it was just simply great and I want to thank David Estes for letting me read this great story and I cannot wait for more.I loved this book it was exciting and fresh. I loved the world that was created for these characters it was full of surprises and adventure and I can not wait to see what happens next. I liked that it was told from the two points of view giving you insight to how much these two really are alike, even after growing up in very different worlds Adele a poor moon dweller sentenced to the pen and Tristen son of the president sentenced to a life he hates. they flee only to find each other and suffer many heartaches and victories.I enjoyed these characters and I was heartbroken for them when they suffered so much in a short amount of time and I hope that the next adventures hold as much excitement but also a bit more triumph.Tristen and Adele's first meeting was a perfect fit for this book and I had a laugh out loud moment thinking he kinda had it coming sneaking up on her like that hahaha.I finished this book rather quickly as I just had to find out what happened next I loved the fast pace and I just could not get enough. Thank you again to the author for the opportunity to read this awesome books and I would recommend it to any one who wants to read a fun adventure.<b>Prison Nation...4.5/5</b>* Read to review for a box set ( What Tomorrow May Bring)*First of all I have to say I was very intrigued by this book, the idea that almost entire cities are turned to prisons and hold not only terrible criminals but their unfortunate children as well is scary and it is also a very possible future (for me anyway lol). So many dystopians contain the after effects war, pollution, and natural disaster causing the world to change drastically and adjust, but this one was different it was the greed and corruption of governments and the rich that slowly overtook and poisoned the country into it's fear bubble, complete with giant wall around the entire country. To live in fear constantly and to never truly be free is a scary thought, we take our freedom for granted so thank you Merritt for opening my eyes for I shall enjoy the freedom I have for now, but I will also now be keeping my eye on "Big Brother" don't want them getting to big for their britches. on a side note I wrote down as I was reading the book: Look out world Prison Nation is upon us. So yes I was impacted by this book.While Millie is still in prison with her parents I can tell that she does not truly believe all that she is told by the Nation, but she hides it deep just waiting for her release, and along comes creepy ass Carl, a guard hell bent on making Millie "his" for whatever reason and I felt like that's when she really showed who she was and who she wanted to be, when she made her way to the outside world, I was pleased and proud to see her want to make it on her own and make her own decisions, not held back by what her parents did and who they became, and I liked that when the nice people in prison knew her time for discharge was coming they would say something like "I hope I never see you again" or "Don't come back" at least there were a few people who wanted to see her succeed on the outside scary as it may seem.When Millie meets Reed and Eddie at the orchard it was fun to watch her discover life outside the prison walls, and it was cute when she noticed the boys watching her and smiling as she made new discoveries, but things turn sad when she slowly realizes that life outside may not be that different from the life she left behind, the constant fear still exists and instead of terrible guards there are corrupt sheriffs and worst of all the most terrible people live outside the prison sending the innocent behind bars, okay maybe they are not all innocent but with how screwed up everything is how could anyone know what to believe or rather who to believe, and poor Millie got thrown through the ringer most of all, she finally finds the truth about her parents and I was not expecting any of it.The book mover very quickly always holding my attention and especially at the end and I am very anxious to see what happens now. I will say the reason I did not give this book 5 out of 5 is because although they were needed for the story I felt there were too many coincidences in the people Millie knew and their connections, but otherwise this is a thrilling and fantastic read.<b>Daynight...5/5</b>*I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review*First I must say that I was very impressed with this book. I was so fired up at the end and I am still thinking about it wondering what will happen to this group of characters I became so invested in I just can not wait for book 2.Right off the bat I was sucked in with the mystery of the SCI (second chance institute), an explosion and two very different but equally handsome men (Blake and Ethan) for Kira the complex and awesome female main character. The book is told from the three points of view of Kira, Blake and Ethan and I loved having an insight to all three it kept me guessing while I was learning more about each one.The whole idea of Thera and it being a polar Earth was super cool, well I thought so anyway lol, I don't know if you would call it Dystopian but I think I would and even if it's not I loved it either way. The idea of a "second chance" that is supposed to be blissful and perfect really being a terrible, controlling thing at it's core was dystopian to me so I'm sticking with it. :)The love web as I have called it since it was so much more than a triangle was so well done I could never guess who would pick who and with the added pressure of "cleaving" was made so much more complex and interesting and when I reached the end I must say I did not predict many of the pairs that resulted.I really enjoyed Kira she was strong and she learned how to manage herself in the many unpleasant situations she was put in, keeping herself and loved ones relatively safe, but like most people having a moment of defeat was understandable, but when things went south she did try to see the good and be as happy as could be.Ethan and Blake were very hard to choose between I could understand why Kira was torn. Ethan was an all around gentleman trying to make Kira happy while still fulfilling his duties to his family and the council of Thera, and I liked how his childhood that was described in his point of view gave more insight to him AND to the goings on of Thera. Blake on the other hand is a rebel exiler of Thera and his point of view gives a whole other look at Thera. He cares for Kira and even trusts her enough to tell her the truth. Both boys seemed great but I think that their "missions" will pull everyone apart or bring them together...I guess only time will tell.The last few chapters BLEW my mind and I was caught so off guard, it was just simply fantastic and I can't wait to get more. So overall I loved this book it was exciting and very full of adventure. I would recommend this book for sure it is sooooo worth it.<b>Stitch...3/5</b>*Complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review**Some spoilers*Well I am still slightly confused by this book and I'm not sure it is entirely a bad thing, once the book was over I had a feeling of "Hmmmm", I don't know how else to explain it, it just kinda felt a little average. Now I don't in any way want to take away from those who loved it or steer anyone away from reading this book because it for sure had it's moments that made me think, which is important to me, cause a book should have some pondering moments, but I think the summary and my expectation of the dystopian genre threw me for a loop I just never really recovered from.I got this book in a boxed set of dystopian novels and I quickly read the summary before I started reading and I think the combination of the two gave me a certain expectation that I wish I hadn't had, I did not like all the time spent on "ghost" Isac, it made me question the genre and I felt it dragged on a bit, the book itself also had a bit of a drag to it with a lot of over description inner-dialog and rambling that I feel I could have done without, I put the book down a couple of times because there was a lot of monotonous stuff that I really didn't want, I'm kind of a get to the point kind of girl and this did not deliver that for me. Okay now for the good part, once Aleesa's memories were restored and things started taking shape I found my enjoyment level rise and I actually really liked the whole idea behind the change in the world, the rich profit from tragedy and use their money and resources drugging the population and living in considerable wealth while everyone else suffers. I do think the end grabbed my attention and I am ready to read the next book and find out some more about the world now that the "ghost" thing has been dealt with.Overall it was okay the end really picked up and I think anyones best bet is to go in blind and see what they think.<b>The Annihilation Of Foreverland...3/5</b>*Complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review*I am on the fence about this book, I thought the concept of an island and a computer program that gives you "foreverland" but I really don't think it was dystopian and I am a little disappointed in that the story itself was okay but some kids being transported to an island and experimented on is sci-fi not dystopian, I also think I may not be the best judge since computers are not my thing and a few things went over my head but also you should know that it is written well enough that most will understand it.I wish I had more to say about this book but I don't I never really connected to it and I never really cared what happened I kinda just wanted it to be over. I noticed many others enjoyed this one a lot and I am glad for that but I was not one of them and I don't know what else to say about it.