Audio Book Review: Specials & Extras by Scott Westerfeld

 

Specials (Uglies #4) narrated by Emily Tremaine
Summary: "Special Circumstances": The words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumor -- frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally's never been ordinary.

And now she's been turned into one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid.
384 Pages
My Rating: B

Extras (Uglies #5) narrated by Joy Osmanski  
Summary: A few years after rebel Tally Youngblood takes down the Specials regime, a cultural renaissance sweeps the world. “Tech-heads” flaunt their latest gadgets, “kickers” spread gossip and trends, and “surge monkeys” are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. Popularity rules, and everyone craves fame.

Fifteen-year-old Aya Fuse is no exception. But Aya’s face rank is so low, she’s a total nobody. An extra. Her only chance at stardom is to kick a wild and unexpected story. Then she stumbles upon a big secret. Aya knows she is on the cusp of celebrity. But the information she is about to disclose will change both her fate…and that of the brave new world.
417 Pages
My Rating: B+

by Scott Westerfeld
Dystopia/Sci Fi

The Uglies Series is an interesting one. I wasn't sure I would like it when I picked up the first, as the idea of teens thinking themselves ugly hardly seemed revolutionary. But Westerfeld makes it work. The idea of this hyper-controlled world is interesting, and his way of exploring the different ranks of people in this world works very well. And Extras especially does a better job of exploring other cultures than American ones than most US dystopias manage. 

Definitely an enjoyable series if you enjoy dystopias. I do think it needed a bit more explanation of some things, but nothing that was important to the story Westerfeld was telling. I say that if you enjoy books like Hunger Games or the Maze Runner, you will enjoy this one, too. 

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Audio Book Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Hunger Games Prequel) by Suszanne Collins, narrated by Santino Fontana  

Sci Fi/Dystopia/YA

Summary: It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him.

439 pages

My Rating: A-

Last year was a year of many prequels and sequels, and I, for one, am glad of it. It meant more stories about the characters we know. I've heard a lot of complaints about this one. That it's unnecessary, that Snow is not a sympathetic character to follow, and more. No book is ever necessary unless there's a literal cliffhanger from the previous book. This one? Gives us lots of insight into President Snow, and how he became the unbending man he was. Not sympathetic, no. But it provides a depth to the world that we didn't have before. And I love the insight into how the Games became the high-profile thing it was in Katniss's time. 

The world of the Hunger Games has never been a happy one. But seeing how things came to be so set in stone tells a lot about the way things evolved, which I find fascinating. And the little links between Snow's youth and Katniss's time also shows why he took her especially personally. If he had not, so much could have been avoided. But he'd been trained out of empathy before the end of this prequel, and that explains so much. I would be interested to read this again, and then follow up with the Hunger Games series to notice the other names mentioned in this. There was one in particular who shocked me. I won't name them specifically, but I will say to pay attention to his cousin. I was fascinated by that, because it came out of left field.

In short? A very worthy prequel, but don't expect to feel empathy for what he goes through, or why he ended up where he was. He wasn't a good man, and some of it was definitely his own doing. If you like prequels like that, and characters you might not be able to empathize with or understand, definitely give it a look. It is a very interesting addition to this universe.

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Audio Book Review: Twisted Tales books 3 - 6

 

As Old As Time (Disney Twisted Tales #3) by Liz Braswell, read by James Patrick Cronin

Summary: What if Belle's mother had cursed the Beast?

484 Pages

Rating: B+

Reflection (Disney Twisted Tales #4) by Elizabeth Lim, read by Emily Woo Zeller

Summary: What if Mulan had to travel to the Underworld?

416 Pages

Rating: A-

Part of Your World (Disney Twisted Tales #5) by Liz Braswell, read by Saskia Maarleveld

Summary: What if Ariel had never defeated Ursula?

475 Pages

Rating: C+

Mirror, Mirror (Disney Twisted Tales #6) by Jen Calonita, read by Emily Woo Zeller

Summary: What if the Evil Queen poisoned the prince?

344 Pages

Rating: C+

Fantasy/Romance/Dystopia

Still having fun reading these, although the last two are two of my least favorite so far in the series. But that has more to do with my disagreements about what Disney thinks these books should be vs the original stories these came from. As Old as Time added some wonderful value to the original story, and a great deal more adventure, and Reflection even more. If you love those two Disney movies, I highly recommend them. 

However, if you are a fan of the original stories of the Little Mermaid, and Snow White over the Disney versions, these might be lacking for you. Also, if you have a problem with the plotline of "children saving the universe," these will both grate on your nerves. Part of Your World has some lack of comprehension of things that really annoyed me and dropped the rating a good deal. Mirror Mirror had Snow White blaming herself for the Wicked Queen taking over the kingdom which made no sense when she was literally a CHILD when the woman took over. So... if you think those things might bother you, these are definitely ones to skip.

The positive? These are completely unconnected to each other in any way aside from the Twisted Tales series title. So each can be read in any order, and can be ignored entirely for any reason. For myself, I plan not to read book number seven, which is one of my least favorite Disney films, as well as number eleven, which I also dislike. But it's a great variety of story which don't all even have strong romance elements to them, which makes them especially nice for sharing with the kids, so long as they don't mind a little bit of scary stuff.

Overall? I intend to keep going with this series for as long as they publish, though I will be avoiding certain Disney movies that I dislike. But at least they made that very easy to do.

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Dual Book Review: Winter & Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) 
Summary: Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter claim their happily ever afters by defeating Levana once and for all?

827 Pages

Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles Shorts) narrated by Rebecca Soler  
Summary: The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies? With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.
400 Pages

by Marissa Meyer
Sci Fi/Dystopia/Romance

My Rating: B+

With Stars Above, this is the first series I have completed this year. Winter is a massive book, but it's an excellent end to the series, though you don't get the ultimate ending until the short "Stars Above" in the short stories collection. I read Winter, but I listened to the shorts. I probably should have done it the other way around, but they're both lovely if you are already fans of the series. Definitely worth checking out. I like that all the main couples got their happy endings in one or both books. I also quite like the short story of the Little Android, which I had read before, but it means just a little bit more, even though the ending is a little melancholy.

I'm still debating reading Fairest. I think if I'd tried it before reading Winter, I might have managed, but after Levana's ending in Winter, I'm less inclined to read a story about how she was done wrong. We'll see if time changes that opinion. 

Overall, if you haven't read the Lunar Chronicles, give it a try, because it's an excellent weaving of these well-known fairy tales, but giving them all their own new twists. And if you have read Winter, but never picked up Stars Above, trust me, you want to. The final story in the collection gives the ending that Cinder properly deserves.

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Audio Book Review: Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

 

Glass Sword (Red Queen #2) by Victoria Aveyard, narrated by Amanda Dolan

Sci Fi/Dystopia/Romance/YA

Summary: If there's one thing Mare Barrow knows, it's that she's different. 

Mare Barrow's blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

464 Pages

My Rating: B

While this wasn't my favorite of the year (or even my favorite Alice in Wonderland retelling), I did enjoy it. It's a dark world, and it's not for everyone, definitely, but I love the explorations of the abilities these people have, and I am curious where it will go from where she left it.

I like the characters, even Mare. Though I feel like her prince is a bit milktoast. I'm not sure if that's just from her viewpoint, and he will eventually be allowed to show who he truly is. I want to see Cal come into his own, a man who could become a great leader, instead of the leader his father tried to force him into the box of. I almost feel this is more his story in some ways. Yes, she's the main character, but her change is just learning who she is. He's the one having to make some severe decisions, and that kind of thing would cripple anyone. Hopefully he'll mange to overcome everything that has been thrown at them.

I look forward to seeing where their story will go next. I'm also looking forward to reading the two queens' stories for the prequels, though really, I couldn't care less about Maven and his psychotic mother. Mostly I want to find out more about Cal's mother, and what she went through, despite knowing that her story doesn't end happily.

I say, if you enjoyed the first, this is an excellent follow up. If you didn't, I don't think you'll enjoy this one more than the first. Though this borrows from some of the ideas in Hunger Games, it is not as well-packed as that series, so fans of that one probably won't enjoy this as much.

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