Review: Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Title: Slammed
Author: Colleen Hoover
Graded: B


I'm not usually a big fan of Young Adult fiction, but I'll read those books that have been highly recommended by friends. Such was the case here.

I found Laiken to be a typical late-teenager, though having just come out of tragic circumstances after the death of her father. The star in this story was Will, the sensitive, responsible guy next door with a penchant for poetry. The drama and conflict of "I want you but I can't have you, come closer, NO, stay away!!" was very well done, though it did remind me a little of the angst in Twilight, which was a bit of a turn-off. The poetry won me over completely.
I did get qwuite frustrated by Laiken, by her tendency to stick her head in the sand and try to hide from her problems or shift the blame. I kept hoping to see more growth in her than I felt the reader got. Nevertheless, as soon as I finished this book, I started it's sequel, Point of Retreat. Surely the mark of a good story, that keeps you going back for more!

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Graded: A-
Book #1 in the Divergent series.

Let me preface this by saying first that I'm not a huge fan of the young-Adult sub-genre overall. Before my Goodreads friend recommended this book, I'd not heard much about it, and I'd found the cover off-putting - the similarity between the symbol of this book, and the symbol on the only other YA dystopian novel I've read and loved, to be too much like jumping on The Hunger Games marketing bandwagon. No offence.
BUT you know what?
I freaking loved this book!

I have lost myself in this story, in this character and to a certain extent, in this world. This was a thoroughly readable, fun, engaging story. I cheered for Tris and her fellow initiates through their challenges. I grinned a goofy grin as Four's character and relationship developed. I gasped at the consequences of butter knives, guns, chasms and simulations. The writing and dialogue are good and the pace was un-put-downable (is so a word!) Yes, you can definitely make some unflattering comparisons between this and THG, but for all the similarities, it was the differences I found engrossing.

My only complaint? That the next one isn't already available already so I can read further.