REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver

by TPS reader hunth19

Requiem, the third book in the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver, is a great end to the trilogy.  Lena has held her own in the wilds and is becoming much more used to it.  However, it is not the perfect world she had imagined it to be. People are free to love, but still not free from the regulators.  After more rebellions from the resistance, the regulators decide to put an end to the madness.  And so, once again, her homestead is forced to relocate.  Also, she wrestles with her conflicted feelings between Julian and Alex, who has escaped from the crypts and into the wilds and has dramatically changed.

While this chaos is going on, Lena’s former best friend, Hana Tate, who is very gorgeous, has been cured, leaving her in a loveless and supposedly perfect and safe world.  Despite this, Hana has doubts about whether the cure really worked on her because she has strange dreams and recollections of her past.  Hana is engaged to Fred Hargrove, the soon to be mayor.  His actions are misleading, leaving Hana threatened, confused, and struggling.  Also, she discovers Lena’s timid cousin, Grace, and attempts to aid her and her family, who have become outcasts on account of Lena’s decision to escape to the wilds, leading to more doubts about whether or not she has truly been cured.

        The plot leaps and turns as you race through with the story.  I was swept up in the characters’ lives, and Lauren Oliver made me feel like they were real people.  Some parts of the book were really frustrating and left me wondering how things could possibly turn back around.  In the end, everything worked out.  A couple things weren’t quite solved, leaving the reader to wonder what would happen, but that’s the way of life.  Requiem is a really captivating book, and I would recommend reading the entire series.  

THE 5TH WAVE by Rick Yancey

By TPS reader willimasm19

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey is a great science fiction novel. This novel is constantly keeping you on your toes and wondering what will happen next. I enjoyed how the book had a realistic feel to it. Telling the story through the eyes of a high school student, was a brilliant idea, and it made me feel connected in the book. At times I felt like I was Cassie, the main character, and was going on this journey through the alien attacks. She ends up forming an alliance with Evan Walker who is a strange young man, but he just might be Cassie’s last hope at finding her little brother and surviving the attacks. It was crazy to me how real the Alien attacks felt. Rick Yancey’s description of an alien attack happening to a modern society feel so real. In the novel the effects of the alien attacks cause earthquakes, tsunamis, and disease. All odds are against Cassie and Evan. The chance of survival is little. Overall, I enjoyed reading the novel and could could hardly put it down to stop reading at night. I can’t wait to start reading another one of Rick Yancey’s books.   

 

THE PROGRAM by Suzanne Young

by TPS reader woolworthv19

Sloane Barstow lives in a world where expressing your feelings are forbidden. An epidemic of teen suicide starts sweeping the world causing parents, the government, and psychologists to go into a frenzy. With the loss of her brother, Sloane finds herself having to be more cautious than ever, even the slightest hint of sadness or depression can send her to the only proven treatment, The Program. Nearly everyday Sloane sees someone new from her school getting taken by workers from the government, called handlers, to The Program. Once sent to The Program all of your “infected memories” are erased causing you to become a completely different person than you were before. You lose all memories of your friends and have very few left about your family; they tailor your life to the way they want it to be. As more and more of her friends are taken into The Program or committing suicide, Sloane finds herself leaning on her boyfriend James, the only one left she can cry in front of. Together they plan to stay together forever but as the depression begins to hit harder and the amount of handlers begin to increase can they stick together, or will they end up forgetting about each other?

The Program is the first of four books in The Program series. Though this book seemed slightly depressing and sad, the plot twists had me unable to put the book down. Even if you are not a fan of dystopian novels, I highly recommend reading this novel. Suzanne Young does an excellent job of giving you backstory, and throughout the book she adds flashbacks keeping you aware of Sloane’s life before and after the epidemic and how greatly it has impacted her. Though it was a bit obvious that Sloane was eventually going to be taken to The Program, Young did an amazing job of adding in characters like Michael Realm and Kevin that made her time in The Program and when she first got out so much more interesting. Also, the addition of Miller and Lacey helped give the book more detail as the reader was able to see how much The Program can change people and how some were willing to die for love and their memories rather than go into The Program and forget their memories. Overall, I would highly rate the book, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver

by TPS reader hunth19

Delirium, by Lauren Oliver, was different than any book I’ve ever read.  The plot was unique, exciting, and fast paced.  In Delirium, the main character, named Lena, lives in a world where love is considered a disease.  Girls and boys were always separated, and even speaking about “love” would gain the suspicion of people.  At age eighteen, every person has to have “the cure” to free them of this disease.  Directly before, they have an examination that will determine who they can marry.  For a while, Lena believes them and holds on to the hope that her life will be better after the cure.  However, everything changes when she accidentally meets a boy named Alex.  Because of the fact that love was considered a disease, Lena had never really talked to a guy.  After meeting Alex, she had an epiphany and realized that everything the government had told them was twisted.  Love was not a disease, it was a blessing.  The story goes on as Lena, her best friend Hana, and Alex try to evade the regulators, who were strict enforcers of the law.  Eventually, Hana learns the truth about Alex and it almost destroys their relationship.  However, after many events, they plotted to make a very dangerous escape to the “wilds”, which is the outcasts of society where love is not banned and the people can live freely.  The ending was unexpected and exciting, leading you to read the next book called Pandemonium.  I can’t wait to read it!  

THE NIGHT WE SAID YES by Lauren Gibaldi

TPS Reader gordone19

The Night We Said Yes, by Lauren Gibaldi, is a heartwarming book about two exes who go through many hardships in order to figure out their true feelings for each other. One reason why I enjoyed this book so much was that it was told in a dual perspective, so it was hard to put down the book. One story line told the adventure of a group of unlikely friends who decided to say yes to everything. The other side of the story discussed the life of Ella and her friends a couple months after the eventful night. On the night that they said yes, Matt and Ella met for the first time. They instantly became great friends, which evolved into something more. They eventually started having a relationship, but one day Matt mysteriously disappears. The side of the story in the present tense is describing the hardships and issues that Ella has to go through when Matt secretly returns. I also had the amazing opportunity to meet the author, Lauren Gibaldi, at my school before I had even read the novel. She was very kindhearted and entertaining, which definitely translated into her book. Once I finally was able to start the book I was a little apprehensive. Being a fan of fantasy and fictional stories, I did not know if I would enjoy the book. I was pleasantly surprised, when I started reading, that her characters were comical and had uniqueness to them that most realistic fictions writers cannot achieve. The main two characters, Matt and Ella, had a very realistic and interesting relationship that grew throughout the story. Unlike most realistic fiction, they had unique and amusing adventures that never let me put the book down. The only thing that I disliked about this book was that near the end of the novel, it started to get slow and have some unnecessary scenes that made the ending less interesting and climatic. I thought it was refreshing to have read the first entertaining, heartwarming, and clever realistic fiction novel in a long time. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes realistic fiction and an adorable story about the love and the unexpected.   
I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars rating.

GATED by Amy Christine Parker

TPS Reader – smithc17

Gated by Amy Christine Parker is a thrilling story about a girl named Lyla who lives in a gated community, in which the people there don’t socialize with anyone who doesn’t live in the community. Lyla was told growing up that they were the “chosen” people, not realizing that this community is actually a cult. Her leader, Pioneer, says that these god-like figures called Brethren tell him that the world is going to end soon and that he needs to keep his “chosen” people safe. She knows that she is not supposed to go against Pioneer or anything that he says. When Lyla meets an “unchosen” boy and starts to doubt Pioneer and his intentions, she has to decide whether she should continue to do what Pioneer tells her to do, or whether she should rebel and get out while she still can. I thought that this book was fabulous. It had me constantly wanting to read more of it and has a definite element of suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I loved how the author had this tension in the story and think that it definitely added to the plot. The plot itself was amazing in that the author could have you believing one thing one moment, and then totally surprise you the next. The plot twists and surprising moments are the most thrilling elements in the story. Overall, I thought that this book was great, and I can’t wait to read the second book.

ASTRAY by Amy Christine Parker

by TPS Reader – smithc17

Astray by Amy Christine Parker, is the amazing sequel to Gated, following Lyla’s story. In this book, Lyla is just trying to figure out who she wants to be. She doesn’t particularly want to be part of the community again, but she still feels attached to them. Pioneer is in jail; however, she still feels like he is always watching her and that she will never be able to totally get away from him. The community and Pioneer want her back, but she is just not sure whether she wants to go back to them. She and the other community kids start high school, which a much harder and much more complicated than she thought it would be. Most of the town, including the kids she goes to school with, think that they are all brainwashed and that they are dangerous to the town. Many think that they are plotting something bad against the town. This amazing sequel is about Lyla trying to find her way, and in the end to break free of Pioneer and the community. I thought that this book was fantastic. It was the perfect sequel to Gated, and I felt sucked in the whole time I read it. There are so many amazing plot twists and surprising moments that shock you and keep you on the edge of your seat.

 

The author did an amazing job of conveying Lyla’s feelings toward both the community and the outsiders, in which she was not totally sure about either one. The author was also able to convey Lyla’s struggles with twists of truth and trust, toward anyone, whether they were from the community or whether they were an outsider. Overall I absolutely loved this book and the first book as well, and I am so glad that I decided to read both of them.

THE INFINITE SEA by Rick Yancey

TPS Reader – myersc16

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey tells the incredible story of Cassie Sullivan and her gang of survivors who struggle to maintain their sanity and courage throughout the novel. At the beginning of the story, Cassie, Evan, Ringer, Teacup, Ben, Poundcake, and Dumbo are hiding in an abandoned hotel. Evan Walker, one of The Others, decided to betray his own kind and join the band of survivors. The story continues as Ringer and Teacup get captured by The Others and the evil Vosch, while an Other named Grace tracks down the remaining survivors. The story changes perspective as the reader now sees Ringer being held captive by Vosch and the Others, while falling in love with the mysterious Razor. When Grace finds Cassie and her friends, Evan convinces them to leave since he is the only one that Grace wants. Inevitably, a fight ensues. In the chaos, Poundcake is shot and left behind with an explosive to kill Grace. The reader now switches over to Ringer’s view. Vosch enters the room and explains to Ringer the true experiment and reason for the waves of destruction on the Earth, but will Ringer believe him and be able to reunite with her friends? The sequel to Yancey’s The 5th Wave is a book that I would recommend to all dystopian readers.

The sequel to Yancey’s The 5th Wave is a book that I would recommend to all dystopian novel lovers. It picks up right where the first book leaves off and we enter the world of Cassie Sullivan and her friends from two very different perspectives. Allowing the reader to view the events in the story through different pairs of eyes, Yancey creates a beautifully written novel that is a great read for anyone who loves an exciting adventure.

THIRTEEN REASONS WHY – Jay Asher

TPS Reader feenstram19

Clay Jensen, an average looking student who was nice to everyone. Hannah Baker, teased by her classmates. had a terrible reputation after her old relationship with Justin. Clay had started forming a crush on Hannah after an incident you’ll just have to read about. Two weeks after she committed suicide, Clay received a box with his name on it, and when he opened it, there were thirteen tapes, where Hannah explained, in order, all of the events that had caused her to commit suicide. How it works is the first person on the tape passes it to the person on the tape after them, until the last tape. Throughout all of these tapes, you hear the stories and events that had slowly built up into her suicide, starting from the day that she moved into the city/state that she had lived in. One mistake had caused so many bad stories and so many bad things to happen to her, but now you’ll just have to find out about the last few years of Hannah’s life, and why her life took such a wrong turn.

I loved this book because it portrays an idea about bullying and suicide, which no one seems to focus on lately considering bullying and suicide is still happening and no one is stopping it. Hannah shows her opinion on some of the big problems in the world, and her opinion on how bullying can cause someone to go into a bad state and make them want to somehow hurt themselves. I recommend this to people who like to think deeply about things.