Review: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Published: April 26, 1993
Pages: 180
Source: Bought
Rating: 5 Stars

Jonas' world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

In short: The Giver by Lois Lowry is clearly a very special book with a profound thoughtfulness to it that I don't usually see in the dystopians of today.

I have certainly read my fair share of dystopians and at this point they have all started to blend together as I inevitably end up seeing the same trends and tropes over and over again. So to read The Giver, a classic in the dystopian genre, after all this time and after reading tons of newer dystopians that follow the same basic outline, is a strange experience. Here, in The Giver is the origination of many of the themes and motifs that populate the dystopians of today and yet I didn't first come by these common dystopian trends with the originator, but with the followers.

But thankfully, The Giver didn't read to me as "been there, done that" as many dystopians do these days. Even with the same basic format that I've seen again and again in this genre, The Giver brought to the table a profound thoughtfulness that I don't usually see in the dystopians of today. The Giver keeps things simple when it comes to world building, which would normally be a problem for me in any other book in the same genre, but here it works because it puts the focus on the important messages of the novel, rather than in the details of the world.

I am SO late to this party, but I'm glad I have finally read this classic novel! The Giver is clearly a special book and it doesn't surprise me that it is often a staple in classrooms for study. I do regret that I never read it in school growing up because it would have been a great and powerful introduction not only to the dystopian genre, but to many profound life lessons. I am pretty doubtful that the movie adaptation will do this book justice. Thoughts?

Question to those who have read the entire series: is it a must for me to read the final three books? I am a bit conflicted about the end of The Giver because part of me feels it is incomplete, but another part of me thought the book on the whole to be a solid read and I don't want my experience of it to be ruined.

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Review: Blind Spot by Laura Ellen

Publisher: Thomas Allen and Son
Published: October 23, 2012
Pages: 336
Source: For Review from Thomas Allen and Son
Rating: 2 Stars

There’s none so blind as they that won’t see.

Seventeen-year-old Tricia Farni’s body floated to the surface of Alaska’s Birch River six months after the night she disappeared. The night Roz Hart had a fight with her. The night Roz can’t remember. Roz, who struggles with macular degeneration, is used to assembling fragments to make sense of the world around her. But this time it’s her memory that needs piecing together—to clear her name . . . to find a murderer.

In short: Blind Spot by Laura Ellen was not the riveting murder mystery I had hoped and instead had too much of a focus on high school drama than I am a fan of.

Blind Spot was not the book I had been expecting from the synopsis - it sounded like an intense psychological murder mystery thriller. What I got instead was a whole bunch of high school drama, the mystery taking a back seat for most of the novel. Because I tend not to be a fan of teen drama, Blind Spot was a bit of a disappointment to me. It's a shame because I think the basis of a good murder mystery was there, it was just underdeveloped in favour of some seriously cliched and immature teen feuding.

Roz has macular degeneration, a condition that causes her to have a "blind spot" in her vision. For me, how Roz deals with living with this condition was the best and most interesting aspect of Blind Spot. From what I understand, Laura Ellen herself has experience with living with this eye disease, and it showed - the difficulties that arose for Roz seemed very astute and accurate for what you might expect situations to be like. It made me sympathize with Roz and the bullying she had to endure, and it also made me realize how much I take for granted having - relatively - good eyesight.

Now for what I didn't like: I did not like ANY of the characters in Blind Spot, I'm sorry to say. What an utterly immature, selfish, and pitiful lot! Perhaps some of these characters were meant to be unlikeable, but I highly doubt Laura Ellen meant for all of them to be. Some characters are pathetic, some are clearly exploiters (though Roz is oblivious to this), and one in particular is INFURIATING (and not in a "it's fun to hate them" kind of way). And my sympathy for Roz with her condition extends only so far.

Blind Spot contains a series of nauseatingly repetitive "he-said, she-said" moments that had the characters forming alliances with one another in one moment and then fighting with each other only a few pages later! The romance between Roz and her love interest was especially frustrating. Sure, they were sweet for the little bits they were together, but they went back and forth so many times over the course of Blind Spot that I found myself wondering why I should even care or want to see them get together in the end.

So yes, I was misled by the synopsis and Blind Spot wasn't for me. I would recommend it more to readers who enjoy a healthy dose of teen drama. Just don't go into it looking for a riveting murder mystery as the mystery part takes up only about a third of the novel... and has a bit of a disappointing ending to boot. I also feel that Laura Ellen has a lot of room for growth as a debut author, and I sincerely hope she continues to improve in all her subsequent books.

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Review: Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFevers

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: April 3, 2012

Pages: 549

Source: For Review from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Netgalley

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf? 
Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. 
Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

In short: With an intriguing premise and a strong heroine, Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers is sure to enchant readers.

You know that when a book features nun assassins, it has got to be a good one. Seriously, how cool is the premise for Grave Mercy? Girl, trained to be an assassin by a group of nuns and to serve Death Himself - it's creative, it's intriguing, and it's incredibly strange, but also obviously awesome. To add to that, Grave Mercy is one of those books whose first few pages are made up of a map and an index of characters to keep track of things. Automatic win. All these factors indicated that Grave Mercy would have a complex and attractive plot, and as it turns out, it most definitely did.

Ismae was the strength of Grave Mercy for me. Even coming from such a dismal upbringing, abused first by her father and then by her husband, she maintains a remarkable and admirable strength of character. Once she is taken in by the convent of Mortain, she is trained in the art of combat, poison making, and seduction, all in the aim of making her an effective killing machine. She serves as a loyal handmaiden of Death, sometimes blindly following the orders of the convent, taking people's lives without question.

It is only when she meets Duval, a Breton noble who is a lot like Ismae in his practicality and strength, that she begins to doubt what the convent has taught her. Maybe her purpose as Death's handmaiden isn't to be a killing machine after all, but instead as something much more important and meaningful. I loved seeing Ismae come to this realization and develop as a character throughout Grave Mercy. And I adored Ismae and Duval's slow-burn relationship as it developed, starting out in a place of distrust and then slowly moving to a place of mutual respect and gradual affection.

At 549 pages, Grave Mercy really flew by, except perhaps in a few sections in which discussion of the politics behind who the Duchess of Brittany should marry dragged a bit. Other than that, Grave Mercy maintains a fast pace filled with action and intrigue that will captivate the reader. Grave Mercy is my first Robin LaFevers book and I don't plan on it being my last. I'm a bit disappointed that the next two books in the His Fair Assassin series, Dark Triumph and Dark Hope, will not feature a return to Ismae and Duval's story but instead will showcase the lives of two other girls from the convent, but I am hopeful that they will make an appearance at some point.

Other Reviews:
Cozy Up With A Good Read
For What It's Worth
Musings of a YA Reader
Radiant Shadows

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