All sixteen year-old America Singer wants is to save her earnings as a musician and begin a new life with her secret love, Aspen. Her family, especially her social-ladder-climbing mother would never approve of America marrying a class beneath them, and when Aspen withdraws from the relationship because of the class difference, America despairs. Though she once considered it a nightmare, being chosen for the Selection, a group of girls spirited away to the palace from which the prince will choose a bride, now seems like America’s only escape from her heartache.
She arrives at the palace determined to stay only long enough for her family to receive enough compensation to ease their poverty. But when an unexpected friendship develops between her and Prince Maxon, America begins to rethink her rush to return home. Just as the warm feelings of friendship begin to blossom into something more, America’s past with Aspen returns to haunt her. For a member of the Selection to have a relationship with anyone besides the prince is treason.
Sort of Cinderella meets The Bachelor, The Selection is filled with high drama and sweet romance. Though her affection for Aspen seemed childish and ill-placed (other than the physical attraction, it was difficult to discern what she saw in him… he just didn’t seem remarkable,) the slow unfolding of her friendship and connection with the prince sparkled with desire, inner conflict, jealousy and romance.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild word choice, mild frequency
Sexual Content America and Aspen cultivate a secret romance, exchanging kisses and promises. No clothes are removed during these interludes, but the scenes are steamy nonetheless. As a member of the Selection, America is instructed to refuse nothing her prince asks of her. She is horrified to learn that this includes if he propositions her. However, Maxon’s sense of honor puts her more at ease.
Spiritual Content None.
Violence Rebel groups infiltrate the castle, causing one of America’s maids to relive a traumatic assault. No graphic details, but it’s clear the memories torture the girl.
Drug Content
When America joins the Selection, her body becomes property of the state, and medications such as birth control and sleeping aids become mandatory.
Fifteen year-old Day’s life as a fugitive becomes complicated when his younger brother is diagnosed with a deadly plague. Instead of petty pranks for cash, he must use his skills as a thief to secure the heavily guarded, highly expensive cure that will save his brother’s life.
When word of her brother’s death reaches fifteen year-old June, she earns a promotion out of school and into action as a soldier and prodigy. The general expects immediate results, and June wants nothing less than to be responsible for the capture and demise of the rebel terrorist and murderer who calls himself Day.
Though at first June believes they have nothing at all in common, she soon learns there’s much more to the Republic of America’s most wanted criminal than the JumboTrons indicate. As June closes in on her target, the situation spirals out of her control, and she learns unexpected information about the Republic darkest and most terrible secrets. If she accept the information as truth, she can’t stand idly while innocent people die.
My Review
Right from the opening scenes, Legend launches readers deep into a world of secrets and danger. Day is exactly the outlaw with a hero’s heart that none can resist, and June proves herself worthy to be called a modern heroine, able to strategize and battle her way through the thickest mayhem.
I really enjoyed both their points of view, and I especially loved them as characters. I really liked the messages about questioning the information you’re told and learning to make judgments for yourself. Learning to take a stand for what you believe in, even if it’s unpopular.
This is a great start to what promises to be an excellent series. I think readers who enjoy dystopian fiction will find a lot to love in this book. I’m excited about reading the rest of the series.
Content Notes
Profanity/Crude Language Content Mild word choice, mild frequency.
Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content None.
Violence June’s brother is killed, and she is asked to examine the crime scene and determine the identity of the attacker. She participates in a street fight against a girl a little older than she is. Soldiers shoot Day’s mother in front of her family. A terrible plague with gruesome side effects spreads among the poorer sectors. These scenes are brief.
When Connor’s parents schedule to have him unwound, meaning all parts of his body would be redistributed to others, he flees. While on the run, he meets Risa, a girl scheduled to undergo the unwinding process and Lev, a young teen whose family raised him to be unwound as a tithe to God. Together the three evade police and government officials only to discover an entire underground network of runaway kids scheduled for unwinding. At first the community seems like a wonderful miracle. Then the stench of rumors, chaos and death threaten to destroy the delicate balance required to protect so many from death and discovery, and Connor, Risa and Lev are forced to take sides in a conflict that could cost their lives.
At first it was difficult to suspend disbelief enough to become immersed in a story-world that devalues its youth so completely as Schusterman’s fictitious society does. However, the detailed backstory about the political move toward the decision to legalize and promote the unwind procedure helped make the premise more believable. The dehumanizing of the youth scheduled for unwinding can easily be a metaphor for a number of other groups who, in real present-day life experience a devaluing of existence. Think of victims of genocide, for example.
Connor and Lev display the highest degrees of character development. At the beginning, Connor is a kid with a short fuse and unfocused, uncontrolled anger. As the story progresses and with Risa’s help, he begins to apply restraint to his emotions and strategy to his decisions. Lev initially believes that he is destined to be a living sacrifice to God, that he has no right to life as a human being. Though he is often led astray by feelings of betrayal and anger toward his family, his choices lead him to become a powerful humanizing force in understanding people often considered evil and inhumane.
Unwind is the first in a series of three novels that make up the Unwind Dystology. Schusterman is also author to the Skinjacker Trilogy.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild word choice, infrequent use.
Sexual Content Someone comments to Connor that he should get Risa pregnant to keep her from getting unwound. He does not take this advice.
Spiritual Content Lev comes from a very religious family and upstanding family. His parents believe firmly in giving, and this extends to giving their son Lev as a tithe to be unwound. Lev grew up believing that this was a holy calling, and the church supports this idea. In the course of the story, Lev’s pastor changes his mind about the morality of unwinding teens and leaves the church.
Violence Connor has a history of getting into fights with other kids. In the story, he fights off a police officer who tries to arrest him. He fights with a boy who has antagonized him and Risa for months. Nothing over-the-top in these scenes. When a boy undergoes the unwind procedure, readers experience it from his point-of-view. Details are not gross or graphic, but it is a powerful scene showing how dehumanized children scheduled to be unwound have become in the eyes of other society members.
Omar, an unappreciated artist in a village of hunters, has a plan to make everyone realize his worth. Surely once they see the wonders of the Safe Lands, they’ll crowd in to thank Omar for bringing them. But when the envoy from Safe Lands arrives and shots are fired, Omar’s brilliant dream twists into a deadly nightmare. Eighteen people are dead, and everyone blames him.
Levi returns from an errand to find his village emptied and many dead. Filled with grief and fury, he vows to enter the Safe Lands to rescue the captives taken from his home. Nothing prepares him for the reality of life in the Safe Lands.
In a city bent on pleasure and fun, Safe Lands citizens mask the effects of a deadly plague with makeup, drugs and free love. Horrified, Levi and many others from the small village of Glenrock cling to the Christian morals and values of their homeland. Their convictions come with heavy prices. As Levi turns his mind to plans of rescue, his brother Mason pursues study of the terrible plague that infects the people of the Safe Lands. Finding a cure is the only way to save those he loves, but time is running out.
The first in a dystopian series, Captives explores the consequences of drug abuse and sexually transmitted disease and contrasts this against a Christian morality and way of life. The few scenes including drug use are brief and the message that experimentation can quickly give rise to addiction is crystal clear in Williamson’s text. Though the values of promiscuity and casual relationships are explained, no graphic sexual content appears in the story. The plot contains rapid-fire twists and unexpected turns, making it a quick read. References to lines from The Princess Bride will make it unforgettable to movie fans.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None
Sexual Content The women from Glenrock village will be forced to become pregnant through an embryo implant. The men are forced to donate sperm regularly. No details are given about how this occurs. Omar spends the night with a beautiful woman in the Safe Lands. Though no details are given, it’s understood that he has had sex with her. Characters visit various clubs and sometimes participate in dancing or watching sultry performers.
Spiritual Content The villagers from Glenrock find their Christian values challenged by the pleasure-seeking ways of Safe Lands. Safe Lands Nationals believe that they are given nine lives on earth before a tenth of eternal bliss.
Violence Enforcers from Safe Lands attack a village, killing several of its people. Few details are given. Omar beats his brother but later feels guilty. A woman is kissed against her will.
Drug Content
Nothing is illegal in the Safe Lands. Various medicines, alcohols and drugs are vaporized and inhaled for ease or pleasure. Omar’s experimentation with these substances quickly rockets out of control and earns him some nasty consequences.
With limited memories of his previous life, Thomas arrives in a frightening world, trapped in a hostile maze with fifty other boys. Before he is fully acclimated to his new home, an unprecedented event occurs: a girl arrives, claiming she will be the last person to join them before collapsing into a coma. Thomas reels,feeling that this girl is familiar to him. He can’t stop thinking about her or feeling an intense desire to become a Runner, a member of the elite group of boys who set out into the maze daily, attempting to create a map to the exit.
When the group’s leader, and the leader of the Runners become trapped in the maze, Thomas rushes in to rescue them without considering the consequences: a night surrounded by fierce monsters called Grievers. As he struggles to survive the night, Thomas begins to understand what the boys must do in order to escape the maze. When the girl confesses that she has triggered the ending of the way of life the boys endure, Thomas realizes they must make their move now.
Though the opening is clouded with the intense confusion of the protagonist, the story and its world eventually becomes more clear, and readers are able to invest in Thomas and his friends. In addition to the unique dystopian setting, Dashner creates language used by the boys in place of profanity. While cleverly conceived, the words are overused to the point of obnoxiousness. The Maze Runner contains some dark elements. For instance, a Griever’s sting causes its victim to have a mental breakdown and to experience horrible memories from the past. Grievers attack the boys, and sometimes each other. However, the relationships between the characters are touching and the story’s tension builds steadily. The twist ending makes it difficult for readers not to immediately begin the second installment of the series.
The movie based on the book The Maze Runner is expected to hit the big screen in September 2014.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
No profanity. Characters use alternate words in place of swearing.
Sexual Content When the girl arrives, a few of the boys make comments claiming her. Before anyone can lay a hand on her, the leader makes it clear that harming her in any way will not be tolerated.
Spiritual Content None.
Violence Half-machine, half-animal creatures called Grievers roam the maze at night, attacking and stinging any boys in their paths. Stings cause a reaction referred to as the Changing, which can cause some mad or violent outbursts.
Drug Content
A serum must be taken to save anyone stung by a Griever.
Three brothers and a young girl fight for survival within the towering walls of the Safe Lands. Despite its name, the city is ravaged with disease and infested with corruption. Each brother follows a mission: to find a cure for the sick; to free the captives; to take down the Safe Lands in a rebellion.
The second in her Safe Lands series, Outcasts is quickly earning a reputation as an intense story set in a captivating world. As a fan of Williamson’s fantasy series, Blood of Kings, I’ve been eager to get lost in another story by this worthy author.
The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson
Release date: 11/9/13
Lonely Gisela spends her days serving her stepmother and grasping at memories of a happier childhood. When a handsome Duke throw a grand ball, Gisela is determined to attend and to have one last glimpse of the beauty of her past.
Dickerson won my heart as a reader with her debut novel The Healer’s Apprentice, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. The beautiful simplicity of the story and the lovely characters she creates are difficult to resist. I am eager to get my eyes on her latest happily ever after story, inspired by the familiar tale of Cinderella in The Captive Maiden.
Cress (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer
Expected release date: 2/4/14
The third novel in the Lunar Chronicles series, Cress follows the story of a girl briefly mentioned in the series’ acclaimed story, Cinder. The story features unforgettable cast members, including Cinder, Captain Thorne, Scarlet, Wolf and the dreadful Queen Levana.
With Meyer’s gift for a perfect meld of sci-fi and fairy tales retold, this series is one not to miss. Cinder was a fabulous story and very clean content-wise. I’m very hopeful to find Cress to be another gem.
Shadow Hand by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Expected release date: 2/25/14
The day of Lady Daylily’s wedding draws near. Unlike the princesses of fairy tales, she will wed not her true love, but his awkward and foolish cousin. Daylily has always been the dutiful daughter. This time, however, she rebels, disappearing into the legendary Wilderlands and the land of Faerie. Though not her true love, her betrothed pursues her into peril, determined to rescue her.
If you’ve followed my blog long, you’ll be familiar with this name. Stengl continually amazes me with her brilliant characters and sharp dialogue. She possesses an elusive ability to seamlessly draw symbolism into her stories without distracting from the tales. Shadow Hand revisits a fascinating character from an earlier novel in the Tales of Goldstone Wood called Veiled Rose. I can hardly wait until this one hits the shelves.
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
Release date: 2/1/11
A young Japanese boy dreams of one day being a Samurai warrior It seems impossible, since he is the son of a fisherman. When he is stranded and then rescued by sailors on an American vessel, Manjiro begins a grand journey that will take him across the globe.
I stumbled upon this inspired-by-history novel on a rack of books for sale at the public library last summer and was immediately intrigued. My mother recently added it to her library, and has raved about the craftsmanship of the story and the power in its telling. I may have to snag this one as soon as she finishes the last page.
Stay Where You Are and Then Leave by John Boyne
Release date: 3/25/14
From the author who penned The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, an unforgettable tale of two boys who become unlikely friends during World War II comes an intriguing story about the son of a World War I soldier. His father promises not to go away, but then he leaves on a secret mission. Four years later, the boy discovers that his father is being treated in a local hospital. He vows to find his father and bring him home. I’m hopeful to find this novel every bit as engrossing and moving as Boyne’s WW II story.
Interrupted by Rachel Coker
Release date: 3/27/12
In the midst of the Great Depression, Allie’s whole life implodes. Her mother succumbs to illness and Allie is sent to a new family far away. Still lost in her grief, Allie isolates herself from the new family faces around her. The last person she hopes to see is the one she blames for her mother’s death, but her former best friend isn’t going to let Allie off so easily. Interrupted landed on my reading list when it was nominated as a finalist for the 2013 Christy Award.
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Release date: 9/17/13
Henkes captured my household with his delightful children’s stories about two charming mice in Chrysanthemum and Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse. The quirky characters and layers of humor meant for adult and child alike made these oft-repeated bed-time tales. I was thrilled to see this book announced and can’t wait to see what glories he brings to middle grade fiction.
The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson
Expected release date: 3/25/14
Piper scrapes out a meager existence by finding and selling scraps on Meteor Fields. When she finds a strange girl amidst the flotsam, she immediately recognizes the mark that changes everything. The girl’s arm bears the Mark of the Dragonfly, an emblem which means her return home will mean a payday to trump paydays for Piper, if she can just get there. Thus begins a grand adventure.
Something about the description of this book reminds me of the magical world created by Marissa Meyer in the Lunar Chronicles. Without having read the book, it’s difficult to say whether this is an accurate hunch. But two girls on a dangerous journey, one returning to the past and the other grasping at the only hope for her future… what’s not to like? I’m intrigued.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Release date: 5/20/09
This book may well turn out to be one of those good ones that somehow slipped past unnoticed. I’ve heard some buzz about it lately, and since it was first recommended to me by a friend, I’m more curious than ever to get into this story set in a world in which parents of a child who reaches the age of thirteen have the ability to choose whether to keep the child or to have them “unwound,” and essentially destroyed.
