Allegiant

Spoilers! (This is a book discussion more than a book review.) Veronica changes her writing style in Allegiant. It's now told from the point of view of Tris and Tobias. If I hadn't read spoilers, I might have found this annoying, but it's necessary and I liked hearing from Tobias' point of view. He's even more attractive when you can see what he's thinking and feeling. 

They have to pretend they've broken up because his mom doesn't like his girl. Evelyn wants control. No factions. Control by force. There is a group calling themselves the Allegiant, who want to continue with the original purpose of the city. Factions and sending the divergent out. Tobias takes tris on a "date" and it's so sweet. Tris and Tobias save Caleb, the brother who betrayed her family. And they all escape. Outside the fence. They are found by a group of people, including two thought to be dead, and trust them because they have a picture of Tris' mom in their world. The leader gives Tris a tablet with her moms journal where we learn some interesting things about her. The fringe turns out to be an informative place for how the government lies to everyone. Genetic damage is the big issue in this book. Divergent are genetically pure. Tobias is not really divergent. Genetically damaged want to be treated equally. Totally understandable. I love how equality is a factor in this book. Too many people judge. I'm sick of it. 

The first attempt goes wrong. Tobias was not given all of the information, and as a result helps with an attack that puts Uriah in a coma he will not wake up from. Later they formulate a better plan that ultimately works. Tris miraculously survives the death serum, only to get shot and killed. It ends with heartache as well as healing. Tobias' mom chooses him over power. The government is given a memory serum so genetics are not a dividing factor anymore. And everyone grieves over the losses of loved ones. I cried. I felt slightly betrayed. I loved it and hated it. Veronica, you ruined my life. ;)

Insurgent

Spoilers! (This is a book discussion more than a book review.) I really liked insurgent. I love trilogies, I love seeing the characters grow. 

Tris is struggling with the fact that she killed Will, and who can blame her? She shot one of her best friends! I would struggle with that guilt for the rest of my life. I know a lot of people say she just needs to get over it, I disagree. That would make her less realistic. Life hurts sometimes. 

I want some bread from Amity. That's all I have to say about that. :)

I feel for Tobias. His parental situation is hard. I can understand. When your parent leaves you it hurts. You want to forgive them, you want to love them, you want to tell yourself it will all be ok. But they left you. And it's not easily forgiven. You don't want to be hurt again. It's hard to trust. I didn't trust her. 

I felt relieved when Tris told Christina and Tobias that she shot Will. It's so much easier to deal with emotions when close ones are there for you. 

Marlene! Uriah! :.....(

Jeanine. Oh boy oh boy. I hate her even more in this book and ... I can't hold back any longer... Caleb! What the heck, Caleb?! I trusted you!

Peter, thank you for saving Tris. I did not see that coming, ok kind of, but not really. I figured somehow she'd be saved but I didn't expect it to be by Peter.

The fight against herself was intriguing to me. We all fight ourselves on a daily basis. I love how that played into the book. Which part of ourself do we choose to win? 

Evelyn is the enemy at the end of insurgent. It makes me sad that Tobias can't count on his parents. 

I love that it ended with the video clip. I admit that as soon as I finished  insurgent, I picked up Allegiant. I really wanted to know more, to see what they found out and how they handled it all. And I'm glad I did. 

Lift by Kelly Corrigan

This book is a blessing. It's a quick read. It's emotional. I cried a lot, I was happy, sad, happy. This book is a letter from a mother to her children. I've also been recording memories for my little guys, and it's nice to see a "completed" one. I use "" because there is more to come, but this is where she chose to end the letter. 

I'm very grateful for having read this special book and I recommend it to every mother or child. So basically everyone. Happy reading. 

March Book Club - Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth. 

This is the first book I've read of this years book club selections. Honestly, I forgot it was a book club book. Someone recommended it to me last year, but it sounded lame. I got another recommendation; and my SIL asked if I'd read it because she was getting recommendations for it, but also thought it sounded lame. Well I was out picking up my wedding ring (I needed it sized a bit bigger for post baby fingers) and Aiden had to go to the bathroom. So I pulled into Barnes and noble. They had one set left on a display and I grabbed it before anyone else could. I get like that sometimes. I read the first eight chapters in one sitting from an online excerpt, and the rest two days ago. I loved it. I loved getting lost in it. The action and budding romance. I love Four, I just do. If I detailed how much I like his character it would take way more time than I have at the moment. ;) I like Tris but felt like she was slow to catch onto things. (Like her mothers past, it was pretty darn obvious). I appreciated that it was easy reading. It's a little harder to get into more complex books at this point in my life. Having a 2 1/2 year old boy and a six month old boy takes up a lot of energy. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore my children. I love them. I love to play with them. But sometimes I want my own time to do what I love. And I love to read. Lucky (kind of) for me, I got a cold. So two days ago Aiden was fine playing by himself in the living room with pbs kids on for when he wanted an occasional break; and Carter was fine being held and playing independently in his jumper or on the floor when not napping. So I spent most of the day on the couch. Resting my body and reading Divergent. It's true that both being home and working have their challenges. At work I always missed Aiden. So much. I wanted to be the one to teach him everything and watch him grow. I love that I have that opportunity now. The hard part about being home is usually not getting a break. I've had to interrupt writing this a few times to tend to the boys. So now that this has turned into a mom post...shall we get back on track? I felt conflicting emotions about Al's death. It seemed like he was a really good guy who was just acting on hurt emotions. Although definitely in the wrong way. Then another emotions based act, and he's gone. Pardon my language but Peter can just go...you know. I really want to use bad language here because he's such a...you know. Oh and Will! Poor Will! 

I recommend Divergent for a quick read and am looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.