Systematic Student:
dystopia

Matched by Ally Condie was one of those books that I was super excited about. When I first heard about it, I was beyond excited. I love dystopian literature, and was definitely looking forward to spending some time in Cassia's world. I tend to ignore the hype that other people give to a story, so that rarely affects my overall feelings toward to book, but my own expectations certainly come into play.

The beginning of the story was brilliant. I just knew, by about page 10 that this was a book I was going to need to own. It was only the first chapter, but I already felt that edge of your seat excitement, wondering what was going to happen. The book begins with Cassia on her way to the matching banquet, and her nervous excitement definitely rubbed off on me. I was quite impressed by Condie's writing skills. It's not often I'm that hooked on a story that early.

I felt like I knew that my expectations had been on the mark, and this book was going to amaze me. Sadly, although I did enjoy it, the build up and anticipation ended up being both bigger and better than what was actually delivered.

Condie did a wonderfully horrible job of world building. I think that the idea behind the Society is extra scary, because so few people question it, and so few people recognize that there is something wrong with the way they live, at least of the characters that we met. The Society has completely removed choice. The ability to make my own choices is something I've thought a lot about. I don't believe in destiny or fate, and I don't believe that anyone has a right to make my choices for me, whether my choices are good or bad, they are mine, and mine alone. But, the people in Cassia's world have never known choice. The Society removed it by telling the people that their way was best — it removed disease, genetically weak children, old age, crime, etc. All the bad things are gone, leaving only the 'good' behind. But none of that good is something you were able to decide on.

I listened to Cassia tell us about the choices the Society made for her, and justify their actions, and I kept waiting and waiting for her to wake up, and realize how awful an existence that was. But it wasn't until she began to fall in love with Ky, and realize that she would never be able to be with him that she decided the Society was in the wrong.

Now, I understand that the love story between Cassia and Ky is important to the story, that this is where her awakening begins and yada yada yada. But I was a little disappointed, because I felt like that's all the story was. When I read a dystopian novel, I expect the conflict between character and world to be dominant, not the conflict between love interests. I never felt like Cassia really came to the understanding that the Society was inherently bad or flawed. All she knew was that the Society's control over her ability to make choices was keeping her apart from Ky, whom she loved and that Ky would never be able to make his own choices. If the Society had noticed this part of her, and made an exception for her and Ky, I kind of believe that she would have then been content to live the remainder of her life in peace, leaving the Society as it stands and forgetting her teenaged rebellion in favor of the peaceful settled life with Ky.

There was also a lot of information missing from the story. A lot was left undisclosed, most importantly — how the world became the way it is now. It would take some seriously heavy stuff to completely obliterate choices like that, and I would like to know what happened that convinced the people it was okay to give up all rights and choices, and how long it took to happen. I do know that this is a trilogy, so there are two more books for Condie to make her explanations, but I would still have liked a little more information.

I'm briefly mentioning the love triangle with Xander and Ky because I know that is the main basis for the book, but I don't really think there was that much conflict. This wasn't a case of being in love with my best friend, and then having someone else pop up. Although Cassia and Xander are matched, and even though she is excited about kissing the boy she knows she will marry, Cassia is never really in love with Xander. She loves Ky, and you always know the story is headed in that direction. But, I will say that I thought both boys were incredibly well written characters, and both of them care about Cassia very much. I am looking forward to their roles in the future.

Even though there were a few things I disliked, this really was an enjoyable book. I liked reading it, and would definitely consider myself a fan. I will be reading the next book and I can only hope that Cassia will open her eyes to more flaws than just the injustice being done to Ky.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through Around the World Tours.

First, let me thank both Lori at The Next Best Book Blog and author M. Clifford. Lori hosted a contest to win a copy of M. Clifford's new book, The Book. I won.

Prior to reading The Book, every dystopian society I've come across in literature has been the result of a major apocalypse, huge earth changing war or a major catastrophe. It is then relatively easy for this "utopian" government to step in and take over because anarchy reigns and the people are in desperate need of some order. Even a highly controlling government sounds great when faced with the absolute lack of one. This gives most dystopian literature a feeling of separation from reality. We can see the similarities to our culture and society and hopefully avoid that future, but we breathe easier because we know it can't reach that level of atrocity without that apocalyptic moment. And, if we are faced with the apocalypse, we probably have other things on our minds. The major disaster that destroys most of the world keeps us at a disconnect that allows me to sleep comfortably at night knowing my government is solid, even though it isn't perfect. M. Clifford refuses to allow me that small comfort. The government who orchestrated the introduction and infiltration of this insidious electronic reading device is my own United States Government, still bound by the amazingly brilliant United States Constitution. This adds a new element of fear to his book. With all other works of dystopian literature, I am able to take comfort in the knowledge that my government would never be reduced to those extremes, and that I can take comfort in the protections, securities and liberties written into and guaranteed by the Constitution. Clifford takes that away from me, and instead shows me a world where my government is responsible for the systematic destruction of the printed word and ultimately our freedom of speech, the press and expression. I shudder. I cringe. But, it forces me to think.

Aside from uniquely blaming our current government on the horrific situation our hero finds himself in, the best part about this book was the love of literature that simply flowed from the pages. This book is one that truly speaks to lovers of the written (and printed) word. The way Clifford drafts his character's discussion, description and handling of books is reverent, almost sacred. The imagery he uses to describe these character's first experiences with an actual printed book gave me goosebumps. There were numerous allusions, both blatant and indirect to a wide variety of literature. He quoted multiple sources ranging from popular fiction to fairy tales to classics. He used them as inspiration for parts of his story, but managed to do it in a way that doesn't feel as if he is 'borrowing' their ideas in substitute for his own. His written voice is unique enough, even when directly quoting sources, that the words almost felt like entirely new ideas. If you take away nothing else from this book, remember that books are important and have the ability to transform your world and your life. Love them, treasure them, but most importantly, read them.

In this novel, M. Clifford has gifted the reader with both the horrors of a nightmare and the majestic beauty of a dream. His book begins with the words "Don't read the book". But it's more than that. If you read between the lines and apply it to right now, we can instead say, Don't let others think for you. Don't follow blindly. Question everything.

XVI by Julia Karr is a dystopian novel set in an especially horrific world, especially for women. Feminism and equal rights have died out long ago in this society that brands girls when they turn 16 to physically and clearly announce to men that she is now of sexual age. This is viewed as an essentially open invitation for the men to take what they want, often without bothering to make sure the female is willing. After all, girls are taught by media, advertisements, even their own mothers that sex is desirable and it's just the thing to do. After all, all the cool girls do it.

But our heroine, Nina, is not interested in becoming just another mindless sex-teen. She's glad she's only 15, so she has the protection of a bare, tattoo-less wrist to ward off the desires and attentions of the men and boys who can and will take advantage of her once her birthday rolls around. Her mother has always been very vocal about her value as a person, as a woman, and has taught her to respect herself. But then again, her mom is dating an absolute slimeball who regularly beats her. Never mind the fact that he's already married. Nina hated Ed, but he's the father of her younger sister Ginnie, and her mom won't leave him, so she does what she can to stay out of him way.

While the premise to the story was intriguing, dark and horrifyingly dystopic, it almost felt like Karr had a few too many great ideas, and decided to incorporate them all. While a complicated plot can be a good thing, and more than one story arc is almost always positive, she had so many different facets to this story, so many subplots, new ideas, conspiracies etc that it overwhelmed the story and slowed things down, when it should have been speeding things up. Don't get me wrong. Each of the ideas were good, and could have been really solid. I actually liked each and everyone of them. But, no matter how great they are, some of them should have been cut, or the novel needed to be quite a bit longer to house each of them.

Because there were so many different plot arcs and great ideas floating throughout the story, a lot of the exposition lacked any read depth, as did some of the supporting characters. Like Ed. He is supposed to be pretty evil and seriously awful. I mean, if nothing else, he beats their mother. Men who beat up on women suck. Period. But other than that, we don't see Ed being evil. We know that he makes Nina's skin crawl and that she despises him, and she regularly calls him evil, but other than a few lurking, awkward moments, he never really acts terribly evil, just kind of creepy. It wasn't until the very end that I really started to feel that Ed was a seriously evil nasty, but that scene was over almost before it started. The build-up was intense, but the conclusion was a let down. This was pretty consistent throughout the whole novel.

Those two annoyances aside, I did actually really enjoy this debut. Karr holds a lot of promise as a writer, and her world building is delicious. To me, one of the main points of dystopian literature is to target and exaggerate a problem in our own society and demonstrate why it is so awful. XVI does this. I think that our society dangerously glamorizes teen sexuality and sexual activity, when psychologically, most teenagers are not ready to make that choice. They feel like they are, or they cave to pressure from their boyfriends, but it often has long-lasting psychological ripples. The media and propaganda are also hugely significant to this story, just as they are in our society now. It is almost impossible now to avoid advertisements and media spotlights, but it is impossible in Nina's society, because they follow you. In the beginning of the story, there is a short moment of dead air, which causes panic, because the people are so unused to silence.

I also really enjoyed the characterization of our main cast. Nina was a wonderful narrator, wanting to be strong and remain true to herself, but just experiencing the first stirrings of teenage love and infatuation when she meets Sal. I do think that Karr played this one a little heavy handed, but the idea was solid. Nina does not want to become another mindless sex-teen, so she fights against her feelings for Sal, who, although being confused, handles things quite well. And Nina becomes comfortable around him, comfortable enough that they can talk about how she feels she isn't ready to make that step, and Sal is perfectly fine with that.

As I mentioned, there were a few issues with the writing that didn't quite work for me. Parts of the story arc were given a very narrow focus, blocking out all else, while others were far too broad to really become invested in what was happening. But, overall, even with all that, I definitely recommend this novel. It is a fairly strong debut novel with a lot of potential. Hopefully Karr's writing will tighten up a bit in time for her next novel, which I believe is a sequel to XVI. And I, for one, am most definitely looking forward to it.

*Disclaimer: Received through Around the World Tours.

The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher sounded awesome. Set in a dystopic future where there isn't enough water for everyone, and only the truly rich and powerful are even able to obtain pure water, the book sounded like an awesome read. I love dystopian fiction and thought the idea of a world without enough water was plausible enough to truly be scary. However, the reality of the story didn't live up to my expectations.

Don't get me wrong. There was a lot to like about the story. But the most important aspects of the story, the relationships between the characters and how they interact within their world never felt fully realistic, or solid to me.

One day while waiting for the school bus, Vera meets Kai and sees him wasting a few drops of what is obviously fresh water. It's pretty obvious he's from a wealthy family, but he becomes friends with Vera and her brother Will anyway. We are told that they chat at the bus stop nearly every day, and that when possible, they hang out. Then, one day, Kai vanishes and Vera is certain he's been kidnapped. Given that his apartment (which they snuck into) has been ransacked, and the insulin for his diabetes was left behind, they have a pretty solid reason to suspect something sinister. Their narrow escape from the evil guys in suits who enter Kai's apartment was a little too easy, and they make off with the meticulous (although slightly coded) notes of Kai's father, a water driller. Seeing something in the papers, they set out to find Kai.

Although there are some parts of the story that don't really work for me (ahem... Vera and Kai's first kiss. Lamest first kiss ever, which definitely did not fit into the proper flow of the story) but up to this point, I'm willing to believe it. I can definitely understand wanting to find your friend, and could have seen a younger me go off searching. But, once they realize that Kai is not where the only lead they have takes them, Will is ready to go home, but Vera is adamant that they keep searching. And, I didn't buy it. They have very little food or money, their transportation just fell apart, meaning they have no idea how to get home across the scorching desert, let alone keep going, and I really didn't feel like they spent enough time with Kai, even with Vera's kiss, to warrant that extreme of a reaction within Vera.

And then, none of the characters that come later are at all believable. Some are around for such a small amount of time that I seriously wondered why they were included at all. The 'villian' was a rude jerk to whom the author added 'fangs and claws', kind of like little kids who put in those fake vampire teeth and think they are scary. We were supposed to believe he was this hard-core bad nasty, but I just thought he was kind of a jerk. Definitely not someone to inspire too much fear.

I also thought that the pacing of the novel was off. There were no segues, no real transitions. We went from this, to that, to this, to this, and on and on. There was never anything to bridge the distances and I found myself rolling my eyes more times than is good in a novel supposed to instill fear of the future.

Ultimately, I felt no connection to the characters or their predicament. And then, when the ending is revealed, and all is understood I felt a little cheated. It was not explained well enough, and the conflict was resolve far too easily. Without giving away the ending, I'm just going to say that there is no way the main bad guys would have given up so easily.

I really wanted to love this book, but there were just too many things missing. However, I do think this was an enjoyable read. I don't regret it at all, and will probably read any follow ups Stracher releases. (I'm assuming there will be more, because there always are). Stracher has a lot of potential as a writer. The idea here was solid, but the execution needs a little more work.

*Disclaimer: Received through Around the World Tours.