XVI

XVI by Julia Karr was fantastic! It has renewed my faith in teen dystopia novels.

It's the year 2150 and the world is completely different, at least in the way that women are treated. On a girls 16th birthday she is required to get a tattoo on her wrist, a XVI, to let people around her know that she is "legal". Originally, this law was passed to protect girls but now the tattoo is a free pass for men to do what they want to these girls, no matter what the girl wants.

Nina, a 15 year old girl, is dead nervous about turning sixteen, or as the other teens call it, sexteen. But, with her birthday looming, it's not the only thing she has to worry about. Tragedy strikes her family and as she slowly begins to discover family secrets she realizes her life is in danger.

What I absolutely love about this book is how SMART Nina is. Unlike other female protagonists in dytopia novels, Nina isn't convinced she needs to deal with all of her troubles on her own. She seeks the help of her friends and family, making sure they know what's going on. Also, even though she does have a love interest in this book, Nina doesn't drop her entire life to be with this guy, she doesn't even drop her less than sensible best friend. This is the strong heroine that's been missing from the last few books I've read.

Great book. Great characters. Ending leaves a little to be desired. But, of course, there is a sequel.

Shapeshifting for the Win

My opinion of Shapeshifting for the Win by Ellie Greene and Jacquline Carrera is divided. Some aspects I loved and sometimes I felt like the book couldn't end soon enough.

The story is about a girl named Brianna who accidentally gets infected with werewolf blood and subsequently begins to transform into a werewolf. She might be able to manage it but she finds out that Conner's (her boyfriend's) mother and father are werewolf hunters!

When Conner realizes that Brianna is turning into a werewolf he enlists the help of his brother, Evan, to help her get through what's happening to her. Then all hell breaks loose.

Written from the point of view of three different characters; Brianna, Conner and Evan, the story is action packed and very detailed. That being said, I found myself getting frustrated with the constant switch in story line.

Overall, this book isn't great or terrible.. but the ending gives the impression of a possible sequel so as the story develops it might get better.

3/5 stars? yeah.

Delirium

Delirium by Lauren Oliver was alright. I'm not going to say it was the best book evarrr but it wasn't the worst either.

The story takes place in an undisclosed future where the US government has found a cure for LOVE! They call the love "disease" Delirum and while there isn't much of an explanation of what the cure is exactly, it seems to be some sort of incision.

Since love was banned there hasn't been any war or hate because you can't hate something unless you love something else. The government dictates your life mate, the number of children you have, where you will live and where you will work because after the cure you don't seem to care about that stuff anymore.

Lena, almost 18 and closing in on cure day, meets a 19 year old boy named Alex who she originally thought was cured but then finds out he isn't! He introduces her to the world beyond the walls she was caged into her whole life.. blah blah blah.

This same situation has been repeated so many times it's getting a bit annoying. For once I would like the heroine of one of these stories to not vow to give up her entire life to be with this one guy she meets? It's a terrible message for young girls reading these stories. Where are the Lyra Belacquas and Katniss Everdeens in these stories?

Anyway, while I do have issues with this book, the concept is pretty interesting and the story ends on a major cliff hanger that makes me want to pick up the next book in the series Pandemonium which is set to be released on March 6th.

Should you read it? Yea, give it a go.