Review: Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres

 
The Story:

Retra doesn’t want to go to Ixion, the island of ever-night, ever-youth and never-sleep. Retra is a Seal – sealed minds, sealed community. She doesn’t crave parties and pleasure, experience and freedom. But her brother Joel left for Ixion two years ago, and Retra is determined to find him. When she can’t find Joel, Retra finds herself drawn deeper into the intoxicating world of Ixion. 

        Who are the Ripers, the mysterious guardians of Ixion? What are the Night Creatures Retra can see in the shadows? And what happens to those who grow too old for Ixion? Retra will find that Ixion has its pleasures, but its secrets are deadly. Will friendship, and the creation of an eternal bond with a Riper, be enough to save her from the darkness? 

My Thoughts:

Have you ever just looked at the cover of a book and thought 'yep this is going to be awesome?'. This is what happened to me when I picked up Burn Bright. It even came complete with a recommendation from my all time favourite Australian author Isobelle Carmody. Sadly, since finishing the novel yesterday, I am still not sure if I actually enjoyed it. 

      Let's start with the good. The cover, as I have said, is hands down the best cover I have come across in a long time. It epitomises everything the novel is about and I can imagine it would entice many casual readers to pick up the novel. Burn Bright is beautifully written and very well paced. The concept is entirely original and blends together several genres including sci-fi, fantasy and even a tiny bit of steampunk (very tiny bit though). The plot was interesting and was probably the main thing that kept me reading.

      Why then, you ask, am I unsure I enjoyed the book? It's because I didn't feel anything for the characters. Including the heroine. She reminded me very much of Tris at the beginning of Divergent, except that I didn't warm to her eventually. I found Retra to be a very passive heroine and the few times that she does take matters into her own hands, it seemed a bit forced. Yes, her Seal upbringing meant she was innocent and a bit hesitant to participate but even when she was enlightened and chose an Ixion name, she still felt like a bit of a ghost in a shell. I suppose the reason I didn't care for any of the others was because Ixion is a hedonistic Island and hedonists tend to be the selfish, self involved types.

       While the concept was great, there wasn't much in the way of world building or explanation so I was left wondering why Ixion was the way it was and what some of the creatures in Ixion were. Also, I couldn't quite believe that the enticement of a few years of parties would be a strong enough pull for teens to leave their entire world behind, especially since they had no idea what would happen to them once they got too old.
       I want to reiterate that the above opinions are my personal thoughts only and I don't want to put anyone off reading this book because despite my reticence, I can really see it being very popular. I'll still pick up the sequel Angel Arias just to see if Retra grows on me. Plus I DID finish reading it pretty quickly, which is more than I can say for a lot of books.

Rating:

6/10

On a side note, apparently Burn Bright isn't available internationally and there is a petition happening at the official Burn Bright website to get it published overseas. To go to the Burn Bright website click here.

* I read this book as part of my 2011 Aussie Authors Challenge. 

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

The Story:

Set in dystopian Chicago, Divergent tells the story of sixteen-year-old Beatrice or Tris as she later renames herself. Tris' world is divided into five factions, each embodying one particular virtue- Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).  
        Once a year, every sixteen-year-old is tested on their aptitude for each faction and is given a choice as to which faction they wish to join. For Tris the tests only confirm her fears that she is different. Divergent.
        Torn between her Abnegation upbringing which tells her to be selfless and her natural instincts which want her to be brave, Tris risks everything and chooses to become Dauntless. During the following weeks of initiation, everything Tris knows about herself is put to the test and somewhere along she discovers that she is more than just the sum of her faction.

My Thoughts:

Let me dispel all the comparisons floating around the blogosphere right now and just say that for me, Divergent was nothing like The Hunger Games. Aside from the obvious dystopian theme and a strong female heroine, I thought the worlds were completely different. Tris' world seems less bleak to me despite the obvious oppressiveness of some of the faction's rules. The explanation of each faction is extremely vivid and I felt that for a while I was actually living in the darkness of the Dauntless compound training to be a Dauntless initiate. 
         Which brings me to my next point. Try not to be eating whilst reading this book because there is a lot of violence. I thought this aspect was very brave of the author. Normally in YA the fight scenes are semi-romanticized, but in Divergent it's all there page after page. And our heroine has a lot of it directed at her. 
        I'll be honest and say that I didn't know what to make of Tris to begin with. For the first half of the book, I found her to be dull to the point where I was kind of hoping that she was secretly some sort of cyborg. As the book progressed, Tris began to grow on me and I started to think that maybe her grey personality was a throwback from her upbringing in Abnegation. Slowly but surely, her reactions to the situations that she found herself in became surer and by the end of the book I was really rooting for her. I love a strong woman who will stick to her convictions and isn't always 'nice'. 
       I think the turning point in my dislike of Tris mostly happened because of her emerging feelings for her trainer Four. Four is without a doubt one of the most kick ass male characters in any book that I've read. Start running Mr Dimitri Belikov because you've got competition on your heels. It was so refreshing to read  about a romantic interest who has confidence in the heroine and believes in her ability. Four exhibits just the right amount of protectiveness without being overbearing and there is a depth to his character that speaks beyond his outwardly cold persona. The best thing about Tris and Four's budding romance is that there isn't another person getting in the way (read: I am over YA love triangles).
       Overall, I really enjoyed reading Divergent and am curious to see where the author will lead us in the next book.

Rating:

8/10

What the?/Cover your eyes: Spoiler Alert

1. Did anyone else wonder where the trains came and went to?

2. I didn't understand some of the character's reactions sometimes. One minute Tris' dad is giving her a lecture about shooting people and the next he goes all commando....
3. I still have no idea what Divergent is exactly...

My image of Four:

Imagine Wentworth Miller minus 15 years and if you still can't see it, meh, it's Wentworth Miller! Sheesh.

Editing is a MOFO

Had the day off today and fully planned to get stuck in to editing the last few chapters of my YA novel. Here's what I did instead:

Checked out these cool blogs

Belle's Bookshelf

Tried not to read this book too quickly:

Tried to get through some of this book:

And watched these movies:

Lessons learned:
1. Book blogging/stalking is addictive
2. Ben Barnes should just be in everything. Period.
3. Magneto and Mystique rule all!!

As for editing? Maybe my writing workshop tomorrow night will inspire me.