Divergent Series

The Divergent series is my first post about a "teen series."  If you are inclined to enjoy books like George Orwell's 1984, James Dashner's Maze Runner, Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games, or any other alternate government storyline, then Veronica Roth has inserted herself seamlessly into the category and created an interesting read.

Once again, like Hunger Games, we have a female heroine.  Beatrice Prior is coming of age in a controlled government who believes in dividing its citizens into factions based on personality traits.  Depending on your natural reaction to certain situations you could either be placed in Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless or Erudite.  If you look these words up in the dictionary they give a perfect description of the personality types that would fit best into each faction.  If you are an anomaly and do not distinctly fit into one of those 5 factions, you would be considered to be Divergent, hence the name of the book, and the officials of the government would consider you to be dangerous.  You mean a government might fear someone they can't put in a box or doesn't fit their definition of "normal?"  How uncanny!!!

In this series you will find strength, betrayal, competition, irrationality, over-rationality and the need for full disclosure in any relationship, whether it be personal or governmental.  As with many of the young adult series that are out in the world recently, and frankly with any book out there at all, there is a love story woven into the undercurrent of this series, but it adds to the struggle and the tension of the story.

It is a quick read, but one that should keep you interested the entire time.  Roth doesn't get bogged down in the mundane over-description of some other authors.  She gets to the point and keeps the adrenaline running throughout keeping you interested and the pages turning.

The Heretic Queen

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran is a wonderful example of historical fiction done right.  While the bones of the novel are based upon Egypt's 19th Dynasty and the rule of Ramesses II, with all of the possible political games that could've accompianied it, the story within is what makes you want to keep reading. 

Nefertari is the niece of the famed Heretic Queen, Nefertiti.  This family connection does not help her, but instead sullies her reputation among the people of Egypt.  When her royal father dies, her mother is forced into marriage while pregnant with Nefertari and is eventually killed.  Upon her mother's death, the Pharoah Seti takes care of Nefertari and allows her to continue living the life of a princess of Egypt under his protection, but she is never fully accepted by the court.

When the time comes for her friend, Ramesses II, to choose a wife, she is passed over because of a powerful priestess, Ramesses' aunt, Henuttawy, and has to claw her way to where she believes she belongs.

The Heretic Queen is about Nefertari's quest for the love of her life and the games that might have been played in that ancient Egyptian court to keep her from achieving her goal.  This novel is full of love, passion, betrayal, intrigue, war and power.  A must read for anyone who enjoys history with a little bit of fiction thrown in!

The All Souls Trilogy

Seriously one of my favorite writers right now: Deborah Harkness!

I really love these books because she seamlessly inserts the supernatural into the modern world and history without shoving it down our throats.  (Please remember that while there are elements of history here, this is still a work of fiction!)

Yes, these characters are supernatural, and yes, that is what the story is about, but don't start freaking out because you think it is "Twilight with Witches."  It isn't.

In Discovery of Witches, the first book in the All Souls Trilogy, Harkness introduces us to a witch who would rather forget her family history, so she stifles her witchy-ness and dives into her work.  Diana Bishop is a scholar who, during the course of research, pulls a manuscript from the belly of Oxford's Bodleian Library and starts a chain reaction she isn't ready for.  At the same time, she draws the eye of every other creature in her vicinity, (and by creature I mean: witches, daemons, and vampires), most especially a 1500 year old vampire named Matthew Clairmont.  These two creatures become locked in a complicated pas de deux while they try to figure out how to save the past and the future with the entire creature world watching, and trying to stop them.

I feel like telling you about Shadow of Night might ruin some of the intrigue of Discovery of Witches, so I will leave you with the notion that the interwoven lives of Diana and Matthew are further complicated and stressed by the events in this book.  Shadow opens a whole new world to the reader, as well as Diana, and sits us comfortably within that world while we watch our new favorite power couple battle those who go against the idea of knowledge and understanding, and how that knowledge might save them.

If you want to know more, you can go to:  http://deborahharkness.com/discovery-of-witches/

Christening the Blog

Welcome to the inaugural post of my new adventure!  My name is Katie, and I am a junior high teacher.  My husband would say I am an obsessive reader, or more accurately a reading addict.  Unfortunately for him there is no 12-step program for that, and even if there was, I would not go! 

I have often been told that I need to start a blog so that I can share and recount all of the books I have read.  I hope to keep this an honest representation of my opinions and the opinions of others.  My hope for this blog is for people to log in, comment and suggest!  I am always looking for new book suggestions, and some of my favorites have come from the people who share my passion.

I will caution you, this blog is not for those seeking highfalutin discussions and academic reads.  While I tend to read a lot, I will say that my book choices are not always adult and they are not always what is current.  This blog is meant for the leisurely reader and those with a fun spirit and sense of humor!  I am a junior high reading teacher, so keep that in mind when judging some of the books I've read!  If you're still reading and looking for more, here we go!

So, without further ado....let's pop the bubbly and get reading!