Review: The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle

Synopsis from back cover:

Every year, a new generation of children arrives on a conveyer belt to meet their parents. Every spring, the residents of this idyllic suburb take down the snow they've stuck to their windows and replace it with flowers. And every day passes much the same as any other.

Imagine a perfectly-formed, perfectly-controlled world. And then imagine what will happen when everything comes crashing down...

Review:

I didn't know what to expect from The Sky Inside because the synopsis on the back cover was very vague. The Goodreads synopsis reveals many more of the plot points.

I was pleasantly surprised by the beginning because I found myself very interested in  Martin's (the main character) life in the suburb in which he resides with his parents and younger sister. The residents know that there is a world outside but believe that it's poisonous and that it's much more safe in the suburb.

Martin's father is the packet chief at the factory- which may sound like an unimportant job but is actually quite important. He is the only human that works in the factory to receive 'packets' and to communicate with other suburbs. Martin goes to work with him one day, taking along with him his new birthday present- the Alldog.

The Alldog, who he names Chip, is a bot creature who is very smart. As they go hunting around the factory, Chip unlocks a door which is only for authorised personnel and later they find a guy called Bug, who no one's seen since the year before.  

After this point, because of what happens to Bug, Martin starts to question the suburb more. However, it is not until after his sister is taken away that he really does something about it.

The first hundred pages of The Sky Inside were very good. I was interested in Martin and his world and wanted to learn much more about it than what was offered. It did remind me a bit of The City of Ember, but that was a fleeting impression. In the middle however, the pace slowed down and remained like that to the end.

The ending was very anticlimactic and I was disappointed at the explanation given for what had happened to make the world the way it was now. It felt really unrealistic and improbable and some questions as to what would happen next were left unanswered. However, I can guess what happens and don't think there will be a sequel.

I liked the relationship between Martin and Chip, but did think Chip's cleverness made some situations too easy for Martin to get out of. The secondary characters, such as Martin's parents and friends could have been developed more as it would have made the story much more interesting. I would have liked more description of the scenery to have better visualised the surroundings.

 

Overall, I did like The Sky Inside as it was thought-provoking. The first half of the story held great promise however, the second half didn't live up to my expectations. I would have liked a more thorough explanation at the end. This was a good story and I would recommend it to readers who enjoy the dystopian genre. Though not the best dystopian book out there, it does offer some good reading.

 
Rating: 3.5/5
Concept: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Author: Clare B. Dunkle

This review is part of Dystopian February at Presenting Lenore.

Review: The Legacy (The Declaration #3) by Gemma Malley

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When a Pincent Pharma lorry is ambushed by the Underground, its contents come as a huge surprise - not drugs, but corpses in a horrible state. It appears Longevity isn't working and the drugs promising eternal youth are failing to live up to their promises. A virus is sweeping the country, killing in its wake, and Longevity is powerless to fight it. When Richard Pincent of Pincent Pharma suggest that the Underground has released the virus, something has to be done to put the story straight and once and for all alert everyone to the truth.

Review:

After thoroughly enjoying The Declaration and liking The Resistance, I was excited to read The Legacy, the third and final book. I had doubts as to whether it would have a fitting ending to the trilogy nonetheless, I started reading it. 

Immediately, I was happy to realise that it was an improvement on the second book as this one stayed close to the plot and didn't deviate from the path too much. In this book, the longevity drugs aren't working anymore (though not everyone knows this) and people are dying in hideous ways.

Richard Pincent blames it all on the Underground who he claims have tampered with a shipment of the drugs (though this doesn't explain why hundreds of people all around the world are dying). Everyone believes him and starts to attack the hidden Underground.

Anna and Peter are living idyllic lives in Scotland with Ben (Anna's baby brother) and Molly (their baby daughter). Anna is very happy to be away from all the conflict in London and wants to remain in Scotland whereas Peter is restless and wants to be a part of the Underground.

The other two main characters are Jude (Peter's half-brother) and Sheila who work as part of the Underground, helping the leader, Pip. I did like how active Jude was in helping others but I was annoyed by his constant need to compare himself to Peter and therefore putting himself down in the process. I kept thinking get over it.

Richard Pincent's main concern was tracking down the original formula for making longevity drugs. The logic is that the formula he has now isn't accurate and therefore the drugs have stopped working. This was Richard's only concern in the book and he would go to any lengths to track the formula down-even hurt his own family. It was unbelievable that the whole world would accept Richard's reason for why the drugs weren't working any more. 

I thought his lies would be found out sooner because Pincent Pharma can't possibly be the only place with scientists. Every other country has their own scientists who would realise what's happening to people and who would question him. Furthermore, whole goverments would be in uproar as deaths are very rare in this global society. For the most part, Richard is left alone to get on with his own hunt for the formula. 

The only person who ever questions him is a member of the authorities called Hilary. Like in the other books, Hilary is lied to and is gullible enough to believe it. The chapters alternate between many characters; Anna, Peter, Richard, Jude, Sheila, Derek, Margaret and numerous sufferers.

I enjoyed this because Malley was able to do this without repeating information again and again. Futhermore, it made the story seem to go by more rapidly. Also, this meant that I was able to see the wider effects of the breakdown of the society due to the failure of the longevity drugs.

The fate of Margaret Pincent was especially interesting to me as throughout the trilogy the reader gets to see her downfall from the esteemed position of Matron of Grange Hall. I liked seeing the relationship between her and her father and learning about her regrets. She felt like a very real character.

The ending held some surprises. Some things that I was certain about earlier didn't play out the way I expected. Though I enjoyed some of the plot twists, the main plot twist (which I won't reveal here) felt wild and unbelievable as it could all have been sorted out much more easily beforehand. Furthermore, the ending was rushed and it would have been better if it was slowed down. One or two major questions that I had were left unanswered and I couldn't understand some of the characters' logic.

Overall, I did enjoy The Legacy. It was a vast improvement on The Resistance, but couldn't quite match The Declaration. It was a fast and easy read with a plethora of interesting characters. I would recommend everyone who enjoys the dystopian genre to read this, after The Declaration and The Resistance, of course. 

Rating: 4/5

Concept: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Author: Gemma Malley

This review is part of Dystopian February at Presenting Lenore.

Review: The Resistance (The Declaration #2) by Gemma Malley

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The year is 2140. Having escaped the horrors of Grange Hall, Peter and Anna are living freely on the Outside, trying hard to lead normal lives, but unable to leave the terror of the Declaration — and their experiences as surpluses — completely behind them.

Peter is determined to infiltrate Pharma Corporation, which claims to have a new drug in the works; "Longevity+" will not just stop the ravages of old age, it is rumored to reverse the aging process. But what Peter and Anna discover behind the walls of Pharma is so nightmarish it makes the prison of their childhood seem like a sanctuary: for in order to supply Pharma with the building blocks for Longevity+, scientists will need to harvest it from the young.

Shocking, controversial, and frighteningly topical, this sequel to Gemma Malley’s stellar debut novel, The Declaration, will take the conversation about ethics and science to the next level.

 
Review:
 

I was very excited to read The Resistance as I enjoyed the first book, The Declaration. In The Resistance, Anna and Peter are finally in a position where they can enjoy some freedom as they have become legal through a tragic event at the end of the first book.

Though Anna and Peter are living together and are both legal now, Peter still wants change and is therefore still working for the Underground. For this reason, he works as a spy when he goes to work for his grandfather whom he hates. His grandfather, Richard Pincent, offers him the job at Pincent Pharma and wants to make amends with Peter.

Anna, meanwhile, is busy raising her baby brother in the hostile neighbourbood and finds it hard to make friends or acquaintances. No one seems to like the sight of the young. One day, a woman approaches her and they become friends. Anna believes that she is different.

The Resistance was an enjoyable book to read, but I found it slow and frustrating because of the lack of communication between Anna and Peter. The story is told in alternating viewpoints between Anna, Peter and a new character, Jude.  Their seperate storylines come together very nicely for the finale.

Jude was an interesting new character but I found what he did on a day-to-day basis-hacking into big companies' networks- somewhat unbelievable as he was sixteen years old and self-taught.

Some aspects of the storyline and the characters' questions and dilemmas were repeated throughout the book. I thought a lot of the problems would have been solved if only Anna and Peter communicated with each other more. The honeymoon period was definitely over in this book.

The story picks up pace towards the end and there were some shocking truths revealed which I felt horrified by. Overall, I did enjoy The Resistance. Though it wasn't as strong as its predecessor- The Declaration, it was still a thought-provoking story.

The story definitely gets more interesting towards the end and I looked forward to reading the last book in the trilogy, The Legacy. If you enjoyed The Declaration, I would recommend you continue. Furthermore, if you enjoy the dystopian genre and questions on ethics, you should pick this one up.

(Okay, I read this about three months ago so forgive me if the review's not that good:)

Rating: 3.5/5
Concept: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Author: Gemma Malley
 
This review is part of Dystopian February at Presenting Lenore.

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Review: Witch and Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend.

The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they'd never dreamed of.

Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents--and maybe the world?

Review:

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet was somewhat interesting but overall, failed to grip me. The story follows the main characters Whit and Wisty Allgood as they are arrested for being a witch and wizard according to the New Order- N.O. for short.

Whit and Wisty struggle to understand what's going on; why they have been arrested, who they themselves are, what exactly the New Order is and how to escape from the prison cell which they find themselves in.

While it turns out that Whit and Wisty do have magical abilities, why they have these powers is never explained and the reader is never informed about the extent, limitations and rules of their powers. This means that anything goes and the reader has to accept it.

Witch and Wizard was humorous at times and serious at others. On occasion, the story was both humorous and serious simultaneously. This felt surreal and puzzling. For example, they exchange a lot of funny quips with the 'baddies', the main one being 'The One Who Is The One.' It seemed as though the story didn't know which direction to go in.

Though Whit and Wisty are seventeen and fifteen in the story, I believe Witch and Wizard would appeal more to younger readers mainly due to the fact that it's somewhat comedic and the plot isn't too complex. Furthermore, each chapter was only about two or three pages long which was off-putting for me, though it did feel like the story went by faster.

Additionally, the chapters alternate between Whit and Wisty. It was nice to read about both of them, but I didn't feel particularly attached to either of them or any of the other characters. The multitude of secondary characters were not developed and they all blurred into one for the most part.

Though the 'baddies' were very nasty and mean, they felt very one-dimensional and one-track minded. For example, they kept saying they wanted to kill the Allgood family, however, they kept wasting opportunities for just that.

Much more background information as to how the New Order came into power was needed as the explanation was lacking. I fail to see how Whit and Wisty wouldn't have some clue as to what the New Order was before they took over. I know new governments/dictatorships can spring up very quickly, but really, they should have had some clue. It isn't enough to let them have an excuse of being a teenager and therefore not knowing what's going on in the world.

However, Witch and Wizard did have some good points. It does have quite a lot of action which was enjoyable to read, some seriously disgusting description featuring rats and a trip through various worlds. While these 'worlds' weren't thoroughly described, it does give the authors more to build on in the next books. The ending did leave some questions unanswered and even though there weren't many surprising twists, it was a satisfactory ending.

Overall, Witch and Wizard was an okay book. It doesn't explore the dystopian element as much as I would have liked. I would recommend it to others who are looking for a quick, easy read with a few laughs along the way.

Rating: 3/5

Concept: 3/5
Cover: 2/5
Authors: James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet

This review is part of Dystopian February at Presenting Lenore.

Review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are adventures in the graveyard for a boy - an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, he will be in danger from the man Jack - who has already killed Bod's family.

Master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel about life and death, love and growing up, and finding family in the most unlikely places.

 

Review: (Contains Spoilers)

 

The Graveyard Book was very exciting. I was immediately gripped by its dramatic opening and avidly read about the way in which the protagonist, Nobody Owens or Bod, experiences life amongst the dead. The novel contains plenty of excellent description which vividly illustrates the narrative and brings the story alive.

 

The Graveyard Book is thrilling and action-packed. Bod moves from one adventure to another over his childhood, from escaping ghouls to facing an ancient malevolent creature called the Sleer. There is not a dull moment in Bod’s unconventional life. However, the book makes room for serious contemplation and also explores various relationships such as friendship and family. The characters are 3D and well-developed.

 

There are a range of interesting characters in the book including the strict Miss Lupescu, his adopted parents, Mr and Mrs Owens and his rather mysterious guardian, Silas. Bod’s own development can be seen through the various challenges he faces and show him to be brave, kind and to have a great deal of curiosity which is both a good and a bad thing as he is meant to keep a low profile for his own safety.

Although Gaiman does not explicitly state that Bod’s guardian, Silas, is a vampire, it becomes increasingly evident through the course of the book that he is, especially at the very end of the book when Bod sees that he has a trunk filled with the soil of his homeland.

I think that it was very interesting that Silas said that he had done many terrible things in the past as he must have undergone a drastic transformation in order to become a member of the honour guard. Perhaps we will learn more about his past if there is a sequel.

The reader did not get a detailed enough explanation of how the Jacks of all trades gained supernatural powers by killing people and why they believed that Bod would be the one to destroy their order if he lived to adulthood.

Furthermore, I did not at all like the way in which Scarlett had all her later memories of Bod removed or suppressed in order to save her from acknowledging his supernatural abilities or having to come to terms with the climactic events at the end of the book.

Gaiman definitely leaves the ending of the book open so the reader may get a chance to read about the further adventures of Bod as an adult. I saw some of what the Honour Guard were dedicated to doing, ridding the world of evil beings such as the Jacks and the terrible sacrifices they were faced with but I would certainly like to find out a lot more about them.

Rating: 4/5
Concept: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Author: Neil Gaiman
 
Thank you to my sister for reviewing this book.

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Random Magic Tour: Vive L’Amour Entry

Velvet at vvb32 reads is hosting an amazing Random Magic Tour. What makes it extra amazing is that you can win this:

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ARC Review: Memento Nora by Angie Smibert

Synopsis from back cover:

Forget your cares at TFC.

On an otherwise glossy day, a blast goes off and a body thuds to the ground at Nora's feet. There are terrorist attacks in the city all the time, but Nora can't forget. So Nora goes with her mother to TFC- a Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic. There, she can decsribe her horrible memory and take the pill that will erase it. But at TFC, a chance encounter with a mysterious guy changes Nora's life. She doesn't take the pill. And when Nora learns the memory her mother has chosen to forget, she realizes that someone needs to remember.

With newfound friends Micah and Winter, Nora makes a comic book of their memories called Memento. Memento is an instant hit, but it sets off a dangerous chain of events. Will Nora, Micah, and Winter be forced to take the Big Pill that will erase their memories forever?

Review:

Memento Nora was a gripping, exciting and unique book. This dystopian world came about after numerous terrorist attacks. To keep people safe and to allow them to continue with their lives without constant memories of continuing terrorist attacks, everyone can take a pill and forget. Then, if they witness another terrorist attack or anything bad in general, they can take another pill and the unending process begins again. This leaves people feeling 'glossy'.  

Memento Nora was really inventive. This dystopian world was very believable as I am already seeing the beginnings of it in our current society. It reminded me of date rape pills. The forgetting pill allows anyone and everyone to completely forget terrible memories just by reciting what said bad memory is and then taking the pill. Realistically, this means that a really bad person (and that's putting it lightly) could go and do unspeakable acts on another person and then the victim could just take the pill and forget it. Where's the justice in that?

The realisation of this process left me absolutely horrified and more so because this could be the future. Who wouldn't want to forget all their bad memories and live in a 'glossy' world? All it takes is one pill. It's so convenient. On the surface, the answer might be yes, but delve deeper and in truth, those memories are useful and a part of us. We learn from them. They change us.

Nora was a fantastic main character. She was a strong, believable character throughout the book and I cared about what happened to her. I learnt shocking thruths as she learnt them and hoped she could change things for the better. She became increasingly brave as the story continued. I especially liked how she dealt with the truth of her mother's 'secret' as she proved to be very mature.

Micah, the love interest, was also a great character. Though the romance aspect was there, luckily, it didn't take over the main plot. It was very sweet nonetheless. Micah helps Nora to see the truth and it changes everything for the both of them. Winter was a creative character. Her entries were filled with the artwork she was making and left me with fantastic visual images. Overall, I liked all the characters, even the secondary characters, as they were all useful to the plot and I wanted to know what their role would be in the story. Furthermore, I wanted to know how this dystopian world had affected them and those that they loved.

Memento Nora was very mysterious, but happily, a lot of my questions were answered throughout the course of the book. The plot was intriguing as I was continuously looking for clues and suspecting suspicious characters. The climax was really interesting and I couldn't put the book down by that point. 

Memento Nora ended well but I wished that it had been longer as it felt abrupt. The ending came about very rapidly and though I understood that events were moving very fast, it didn't satisfy me as much as it could have if some of the secondary characters had been more developed and there was a longer explanation at the ending. Furthermore, having a few more characters would have meant that there would have been more people to be suspicious of. As it was, there were only a few suspects.  

From the beginning, the reader knows an inevitable part of the ending because of the chapter subheadings and I wished that this hadn't been the case. This meant that when the inevitable incident occurred, I wasn't as shocked by it as I could have been if I hadn't known.

Overall, Memento Nora was an extremely great dystopian novel and I look forward to a sequel as it is a strong possibility. I believe Memento Nora could have been even better if it had been longer as I wanted to explore Nora's world in greater depth-the good and particularly more of the bad. It would also have been wonderful if there had been illustrations of Memento in the book as it was an important catalyst for the plot. Readers who enjoy the dystopian genre should enjoy this fantastic addition. However, I recommend everyone to read this as you won't be disappointed. 

Thank you to Marshall Cavendish for sending this to me for review.

Rating: 5/5
Concept: 5/5
Cover: 5/5- so glossy! 
Author: Angie Smibert

This review is part of Dystopian February at Presenting Lenore.