The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe
by Lauren James

Read: March 28, 2019
Publication Date: July 3, 2018
Genre: Science Fiction

Can you fall in love with someone you’ve never met, never even spoken to  — someone who is light years away?

Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship traveling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity amongst the stars. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth  — with a single passenger on board. A boy called J.

Their only communication with each other is via email  — and due to the distance between them, their messages take months to transmit across space. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love.

But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean?

Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone… 

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Why did you read this book?

It was the title that initially drew me into this book. I found it while used book shopping and the description really intrigued me. As a sucker for a good science fiction story, I naturally bought it. And it was only $1, so I had to.

What did you like about this book?

There were a lot of things that I liked about this book. The setting and mood of the book were done very well. We spend the majority of the book with Romy and she really is the loneliest girl in the universe. She’s likeable enough as a protagonist. The two parts about this book that really kept me investing was the relationship between Romy and J and the mystery of what happened to Romy’s parents. The slow build and anticipation to for the conclusion of both of these story lines were done so well. There were also a few plot twists that really caught me off guard  — not sure if that’s because I was too involved in the story and not trying to figure out exactly what was going to happen or if they were actually really well written plot twists. I’d like to think it’s at least a little bit of a mixture of the two.

What didn’t you like about this book?

I know it’s science fiction, and therefore, not real, but I could not get over how unrealistic some aspects of this story were. I’ll give Romy a little slack, considering she was born and raised in space and hadn’t known anyone other than her parents, but her struggles with being alone in space seemed very superficial. She seemed like a cookie cutter version of any lonely, female, YA protagonist. Besides the circumstances of her situation, Romy was a very flat character. The biggest issue I had was with J. His initial story, that he was a 22-year-old astronaut that just happened to be chosen to man a very important ship for a very important mission without any formal education past unfinished medical school and that he was sent by himself, was absolutely ridiculous. Then when we discover his actual story, it’s just as ridiculous and so painfully young adult (although I was very caught up in the story as Romy discovered that J was not who he said he was). There were several parts of the story that felt like it was much more fiction than science.

Bottom-Line: 

It was an entertaining, quick read which, despite its faults, was actually enjoyable to read. It was a solidly average book that could have done so much more, but I’m content with the result. It managed to surprise me even through its mediocrity.

 

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Read: January 31-March 6, 2018
Published: September 26, 2006
Genre: Science Fiction





A father and his son walk through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.







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Why did you read this book?
I thought this book was on one of my 'to-read' lists, but after searching all of them (so I could check it off) it apparently wasn't. Also, my roommate and I have decided to start our own book club and this was the first book on our list, per the recommendation of our neighbor.

What did you like about this book?
The first thing I'll mention is the style of the writing. It's unlike most books, with short paragraphs, short sentences, and very little dialogue. It was very choppy and I think it was written like that for a reason. The writing style seemed to reflect the state of living for the man and the boy. Nothing was easy or smooth and words, like food and water, were used sparingly. The writing and the world was harsh and unforgiving. McCarthy built a world that was easy for the reader to step into. First, he didn't give the two characters names, just referred to them as the man and the boy, and played one of humankind's biggest fears: to lose everything they have built and become powerless and irrelevant. This book almost made me cry, which as you know, I love those books.

What didn't you like about this book?
The book itself, though well-written, was actually really repetitive and kind of boring. I didn't actually enjoy this book at all. It was depressing as hell. There was no payoff to reading the book. After I finished it, I felt so empty. Not that good empty feeling when you finish a really good book, but the bad empty feeling where you feel like there is no hope for the world. After I finished it, I just had one thought: what was the point? Both for the story and for the book itself...what was the point of the story of the man and the boy's survival if it was all for nothing in the end? It was a well-written story about the inevitability of death and a world with no hope.

Bottom-Line:
I really didn't like this book at all. I liked the writing style, but that was about it. I read books to escape from my own depressing mind, but this book must made it worse. I do not recommend.


"People were always getting ready for tomorrow. I didn't believe in that. Tomorrow wasn't getting ready for them. It didn't even know they were there." -The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Passenger
by Alexandra Bracken

Read: May 3-20, 2017
Published: December 6, 2016
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction

         In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles, but years from home. And she's inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she's never heard of. Until now.
          Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he's known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can't escape and the family that won't let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas's passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.
          Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods' grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas, but from her path home...forever.
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Why did you read this book?
          I was very intrigued by the cover of this book. There was a ship and a bottle on the front, so I assumed it had something to do with the sea and hopefully pirates. I have a fascination with pirates, so naturally I want to read about them. Also, after reading the back, I had a good feeling that Nicholas was a pirate, so...yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!

What did you like about this book?
          I definitely love the feeling of adventure in this book. The combination of time travel and geographical travel, racing against time and a tyrannical family, a little bit of piracy, and some forbidden romance is just killer. This book makes me want to go on an adventure (which isn't that difficult, if we're being honest). So the tone is great, but let's talk about the protagonists, shall we. Etta is a freaking role model. She is the strong, independent female character that I like to see in books. She is strong and fierce, but not unfeminine. She is courageous, but not fearless. I feel like when most of the 'strong, independent' female protagonists in young adult literature are thrust into a life or death situation, they fight it. It is constantly brought up that they don't want to be in the situation they're in. Which is fine, I wouldn't want to be in that situation either, but I really admire how Etta accepts that she can't change what's happened to her and embraces it, blazing forward to do what she can despite the circumstances. Now that I've gushed about Etta, I need to gush about Nicholas. I adore him and I absolutely love how Alexandra Bracken wrote his character. He is clearly strong and capable and someone you would want on your side, but she also shows how vulnerable he is. She shows how panic can grip him in a moment and he can be paralyzed with fear. She shows how his past haunts him every day and how he can't escape it. As someone who has had a panic attack, it is so refreshing to see something similar in a book and not have the book be a 'mental illness' book. It's just a part of the story because that's just how life is and I so appreciated that. Hands down, my favorite part about this characters is that Nicholas is vulnerable while still being a very masculine character and Etta is feminine, but she's definitely not weak. I also have to bring up the fact that there was a small opportunity for a love triangle right at the start of the book and Bracken didn't take it. *Applause*

What didn't you like about this book?
          Okay, as much as I do really like this book, it took me a long time to read it. The first third of the book really didn't catch my interest. Neither Etta nor Nicholas had really shown their true colors yet and they were kind of bland. I also am not a fan of Sophia, who features mostly in the beginning of the book. It just didn't hook me in (pirate joke?) like I wanted it to. If I were anyone else, I might have stopped reading, but I can't just not finish a book, especially one with as much promise as this one. I also didn't really understand the time traveling. There were passages for the travelers, I get that, but I didn't understand how they worked (which is really just me being nitpicky). Were they powered by magic? Is this a world where magic exists, and if it does can it only be used for time travelling? Or was this a creation of science? That's where I struggled with figuring out the genre of this book. Is it fantasy or science fiction? Generally, time travel is science fiction, but the way it's used here feels more like fantasy—however, there are no other elements of fantasy (other uses of magic, magical creatures, etc.) The other thing that bothered me was Nicholas's choice to keep Etta in the dark. It is obvious that he cares about her and clear that he recognizes her value and capability to handle herself, but he doesn't consider the possibility that they could work together to achieve both of their goals. I understand that this creates conflict in the story, which is its purpose, but it's a cheap conflict that would be rendered unnecessary simply by communicating with each other, which is just the worst kind of cheap conflict.

Bottom-Line:
          I really did adore this book. I'm definitely going to buy it because I can't resist reliving an adventure like this one (I mean...rereading an adventure...) I would definitely recommend it to any of my friends. I just hope the second one is as good!




"Free the fire fluttering inside her rib cage. Work her muscles, the bow, the violin, until she played herself to ash and embers and left the rest of the world behind to smolder." -Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder
by Marissa Meyer

Read: May 11-12, 2016
Published: January 8, 2013
Genre: Science Fiction, Fairy Tale

Human and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl...

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future. (Amazon)




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Why did you read this book?
I've been meaning to read it for awhile based on recommendations from friends and family. Plus, I'm still feeling the fractured fairy tale books.

What do you like about this book?
I really liked the idea of this book. I'm a big fan of sci-fi and fairy tales, so stick them together and I am a happy camper. I liked that it had the bones of a Cinderella story, but it was fleshed out completely different. What really got me through the book was my interest in the Lunars. I was dying to find out more about them (and the evil Queen Levana, of course), but there wasn't much information in this first book. And yes, I actually liked that. With 4-5 books, I think Marissa Meyer started with just enough information to get the reader through the first book, but enough left as a mystery to entice them to read more.

What don't you like about this book?
As much as I was intrigued by the Lunars, I had a really hard time getting through the book. I finally finished, on my third try, on the assurances that the second one was much better. It wasn't that this was a bad book, it was just kind of boring. The pacing felt very off to me. The first two-thirds of the book dragged and not much really happened, but then the end of the book happened and everything hit the fan. There was too much condensed into the last few chapters. I understand that Marissa Meyer was going for an exciting finish (and she succeeded), but I would have liked the book much more if the rest of the book was written as well as the end. Also, I know I'm supposed to ship Cinder and Kai together, and I could tell that they liked each other because the pages said so, but I didn't feel it. Cinder's response to Kai I could relate to, but it was Kai that I didn't understand. He doesn't have much of a personality, so I'm hoping Meyer will build on his character in future books. I really want to like him, but he's just kind of...blah.

Notes on the ending:
Holy freaking cliffhanger. Cliff. Hanger. Hanger to the cliff. As much as I was bored throughout the book, that ending had me dying to read Scarlet (book 2). I had to know what happened, but I had to wait two whole days to get to the library. TWO DAYS. So, if you do read this book, make sure you've got the second one on hand for when you finish.

Bottom-Line:
This book, as a whole, was okay. Read it if you want to, but it's not something that I will always be telling everyone to read (like The Book Thief or The Night Circus). It was solid, but not amazing. If it wasn't for that fantastic ending, I might not even recommend it at all.  I'll let you know how the next one goes.




"But if there was one thing she knew from years as a mechanic, it was that some stains never come out." -Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

*Possible Spoilers*

The 5th Wave 
by Rick Yancey

Read: August 2-3, 2015
Published: May 7, 2013
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Two currently published

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. (Amazon)




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Why did you read this book?
My sister got this book almost a year ago for her birthday and it's been sitting on our shelf ever since. She wanted me to read it first, to make sure it was appropriate and all that jazz. You never know with young adult books. They can get pretty risque for a thirteen year old girl. Anyway, so I told her I would read it...and about nine months later...I did!

What didn't you like about this book?
The book switches between points of view at several places in the book and it's not always obvious whose point of view it is until the end of it (although, I think that's the point). It got kind of confusing for me. Also, be prepared for lots of inner thoughts and not much dialogue. Sometimes I'd find myself skimming through pages, waiting for something to happen. Don't get me wrong, things do happen, but I think this book is less about what is happening and more about how the characters react to what is happening (which, is actually a good thing...so I'll move on to that section now).

What did you like about this book?
Oh, there were so many things I enjoyed. Each of the characters are different and interesting in their own way, which I enjoy, of course. I especially enjoyed reading about Evan Walker. He's a bit of a conundrum in the story and that makes it interesting. The story moves along at a decent pace and Rick Yancey does an excellent job making it suspenseful. You try to predict what's going to happen, but then you're second guessing yourself and end up surprised even if you were right. I really liked the concept of this book, the whole 'aliens are taking over and there is little hope for humanity, until...' There's just something intriguing about a book where humans as a race take on overwhelming odds and (hopefully) win. Oh, and let's talk about that cover art. Isn't it great? That's half the reason I finally picked the book up...such a pretty cover!

This book reminded me of...
...The Host by Stephanie Meyer. It's the closest book to it that I've read before. They share the aliens coming to Earth and taking out humans/taking over their bodies, however The 5th Wave is much less about the romance. There's a bit there, but that's not what it is about. This one is actually about the survival of humans, and I appreciated that.

Bottom-Line:
This book gave me a lot of feelings and now I've got that empty feeling, you know, when you finish a book and you don't know what to do with your life? It was very good and I liked it enough that there's a good chance I'll buy it eventually (it all kind of depends on how the third book is...) If you enjoy science fiction and aliens, read it! If you enjoy overwhelming odds, I'd definitely recommend it. If you are one of my friends, you already know, I will recommend this book to you and be irrationally excited if you read it so we can talk about it and stuff.

Quick Note:
The second book, The Infinite Sea, was just as good as the first. I won't be doing a review on it because my likes and dislikes are still kind of the same at this point. I just need to know what happens!! The third book is coming out May 2016.



"...I thought the only way to hold on was to find something to live for. It isn't. To hold on, you have to find something you're willing to die for." -The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey