Tag Archives: dystopia

The Scorch Trials

By James Dashner, published by Chicken House.

The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, #2)

Following the events of the first book, The Maze Runner, Thomas and the remaining, surviving gladers have been moved out into the real world, which is in catastrophic conditions. Deranged, zombie-like people roam the streets, claiming that they have been infected with ‘The Flare’, and the streets and houses are look dead. It’s an apocalyptic wasteland. Thomas, Minho and the eighteen other gladers think that their trials are over after the deadly maze, but they’re wrong- the maze trials were only just the beginning. They are told that they have been given the flare infection, and their only way to survive is to do the next trial- the scorch trial. Now, they have to trek one hundred miles across the barren, boiling, infected land to reach a cure. As they begin their second epic adventure, they discover secrets about WICKED, and a parallel group of children, who went through the same maze trial as them… except that they’re teenage girls, not teenage boys. Can the girls and WICKED be trusted, when they’re trying to kill Thomas?

**To read the review of the first book in this series, The Maze Runner, click HERE!**

I seriously enjoyed The Maze Runner, and couldn’t wait to read the sequel. The Scorch Trials, despite quite a few bad reviews on Goodreads, is in my opinion even better than the first book! As in the first book, I was plunged straight into the action, and the horror, which was brilliant, and made me not want to stop reading. The plot wasn’t very complex, but it was still very enjoyable, with a great and effective structure. James Dashner has managed to convey the emotions of Thomas, even in a third person narrative!

I really liked the characters of Teresa and Thomas in the first book, and how they came together, and in this sequel it was very shocking to see how Teresa had rebelled, and had been convinced by WICKED that her had to be killed! That was a great plot twist and really put a test to Teresa and Thomas’s bond. Also, a bit of a love triangle was introduced with the arrival of another character, which was fun to read. However, as all three survived for the next book, I really hope the love triangle won’t overpower the action and suspense in the grand finale.

It was great to revisit not only Thomas and Teresa, but Minho, Winston, and the many other gladers from The Maze Runner. They were great supporting characters, and were just as adventurous and outgoing as before.

Overall, The Scorch Trials was a really great read. It was fast paced, and a really terrifying and horrific adventure. Definitely not for younger readers, but definitely recommended for fans of dystopia, horror, and The Maze Runner!

Stray

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By Monica Hesse, published by Hot Key Books.

Stray

Lona Sixteen-Always has spent all of her life in part of a unique virtual reality experiment called The Path, which claims that it will bring up orphans in better ways than foster homes. Lona spends twenty-three hours a day inside a ‘Pod’, re-living the childhood and teenage years of a boy called Julian, who lived fifty years ago and apparently had a perfect childhood. Lona is not allowed to be in love… but during the one-hour-a-day she getts ‘Off Path’, she falls for Fenn. A few months after he leaves for a real life adulthood, Lona is rescued from her virtual life by Fenn and his rebellious, Stray friends.Upon beginning a new, dangerous life as a Stray from The Path, Lona discovers dark truths behind The Path, finds love again, and embarks on a journey to find out what it really means to live. Can Lona and her new group of friends, the Strays, spark a rebellion against The Path?

This book has to be one of the best debuts I’ve read in a while! The plot was thrilling, with great, unexpected twists and shocks. Monica’s writing was brilliant; her story structured expertly. I especially loved how every few chapters, the scene would switch back to who was, at the beginning, a minor character (Talia), and how Lona and Talia came together at the end to try to put a stop the The Path’s ways. The idea was just genius- it’s one I really wish I’d thought of! The author has generated a dark, technologically advanced possibility of a future America that I really loved and want to read more about.

The characters were great; I really loved Lona and Fenn. Although I didn’t know anything about their pasts, or their real names (Lona Sixteen-Always and Fenn Eighteen- are Path-Generated names), I really connected with them and enjoyed reading their adventure. I liked the character of Talia, too, and how she came from being a normal Path Staff-member who I guessed would be a bad guy to playing a totally unpredictable part in the start the rising up against The Path!

Overall, I seriously enjoyed this. It’s got to be one of the best Debuts of the year, and I really really really want a sequel. Keep writing, Monica Hesse!

Matched

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By Ally Condie, published by Razor Bill (Penguin)

Matched (Matched, #1)

“Watched by society; trapped by rules; freed by love?”

Cassia lives in a dark vision of the future where The Society rule everything- they decide who you will marry, how many kids you will bear, when you will die… even how much food you eat. They dictate over everything.

When Cassia is matched to her lifelong best friend, Xander, she is given a special card which she can slot in to a device to see pictures of him. But upon viewing his profile, a different face appears… Ky, another friend. While she tries to get to the bottom of why he was accidentally put as another ‘Match’, she will uncover dark, sinister secrets about The Society, and fall in love with Ky… what will happen after she has fallen in love with the wrong person?

I kept meaning to buy this, as it looked like a really good YA book, and the reviews said so too. I read it in a day, and really loved it! Ally Condie has generated a dark, dystopic world… where everything is perfect to the citizens, but really it’s sinister underneath. It’s imaginative, and futuristic. My only problem is some parts weren’t explained; like the device called ‘the port’- I really had no idea what that was. However, the plot was clever, with the events exciting and at points, terrifying.

I really liked the character of Cassie, but I think she could have been a bit more rebellious. She was a great narrator and adventurous, but not exactly Tris from Divergent. The two love interests were great, too- I loved both of them and there was a lot of visible rivalry, which I liked and it made the love triangle very effective.

Overall, it’s a really great dystopic read, full of futuristic visions and battles for love, great for teenagers. I’ll be picking up the sequel soon.

Warm Bodies

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By Isaac Marion, published by Vintage (Also coming out as a movie in a few days).

Warm Bodies (Warm Bodies #1)

“Who says romance is dead?”

R is a Zombie in a crumbling world, living in an abandoned 747 at a zombie infested airport. He can remember nothing at all about his life before his death, only the beginning letter of his old name, but he can think, and talk… kind of. He craves brains, like every other zombie. They crave them because they can live the memories that they hold.

One day on a hunting trip with his pal M and some other undead, he eats the brains of a boy called Perry, and experiences Perry’s memories of his girlfriend, Julie Grigio. Finding Julie, he takes her as a hostage to his airplane home, planning to feast on her insides later. But Julie has triggered something inside of him, and his emotions are changing. He is in love with her, but it’s not that simple. This love is reigniting life inside R, and he’s getting warmer. As he hides inside the hideout of the remaining humans, he and Julie are about to uncover something big- something that could change the apocalyptic wasteland of a world forever…

Move aside, vampire romance novels. It’s zombie romance time.

This was, by far, one of the most intriguing books I have ever read. It’s not really a romance, despite the reviews saying it is. In fact, they kiss once. At the end. Yes, he is in love with her, but none of this was lovey-dovey, thankfully! I was more interested in the zombies and the apocalyptic story line… which was brilliant. It was perfectly executed, and imaginative. It had its scary points, and its funny points!

R was a brilliant main character. He was funny, and full of personality. I thought that the whole idea of a zombie narrator was strange at first, but I really, really loved it. Julie made a great character too- a broken girl with a haunting past who is the light that begins to cure the zombies. She was outrageous, adventurous, and seriously cool.

Their journey together was so fun to read, and I really recommend it! This was, by far, one of the best zombie reads I’ve ever encountered, and I now really want to read more from Isaac Marion, and watch the film (Although, of course, the films are NEVER as good as the books).

One Crow Alone

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By S. D. Crockett, published by Macmillan.

One Crow Alone (After the Snow, Book #2)

“A winter’s day has become a winter’s nightmare…”

Teenage Magda Krol is living in her quiet, Polish village until strange men arrive. She hides in her cellar, and upon emerging realises that they were not thieves, but people evacuating the village because of the harsh weather! She ventures across the frozen wasteland to the next village, in the hope of getting on the next evacuation truck, when she encounters Ukrainian boy Ivan. Together they smuggle themselves onto a truck bound for London, where they will search for Magda’s only remaining relative; her mother. But London is a whole lot worse than Poland…

*REVIEW MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS :)*

I really loved S. D. Crockett’s first book, After The Snow, and I loved this one just as much. Although I expected the sequel (Well… technically this is a Prequel) to be about the further adventures of Willo and Mary- but it wasn’t. In fact, they only had three short chapters in total. The whole of the book was about a minor character, Magda (Willo’s step-mum), from ATS. It was unexpected, but great to delve into a story of a different character. It’s was really great to see how she accidentally fell into Willo’s future.

The character of Madga was great; she made for a really adventurous, determined protagonist! She was really love-able, and I was rooting for her, hoping that she would find her mother, all the way through the book. I also really liked Ivan, the love interest- although when he decided to run off and leave Magda alone my mind really changed about him. He was portrayed as quite caring, and always stuck by Magda’s side- so it kind of confused me as to why he left for no given reason. The way all of Willo’s family fell into the story at the end was absolutely brilliant, and quite unexpected, too!

As for the plot, it was great, and I really enjoyed the adventure and action. It was dark and scary, and all about hope, survival, and loss. There was even an essence of romance in there too! I was also given a much better insight into S. D. Crockett’s dystopic world, actually giving us the date in which it’s set (late 2030’s and onward!). Overall it’s a really great, thrilling read from an author I love. Highly recommended!