{Bookish Review} The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection by Kiera Cass

(The Selection #1) 

Genre: YA Dystopian/Romance

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

In The Selection, America Singer was one of the thirty-five hopeful ladies vying for Prince Maxon's affection to become the next Queen, except there she wasn't there to win.

Being a member of the lower caste meant life was tough for America and her family but joining the Selection could help with the situation. Even America's secret boyfriend, Aspen, urged her to join as well to eliminate any "what if" thoughts. However, they broke up before America left. The first encounter between America and Maxon was... not what you would expect and Maxon was kind enough to let her continue in the Selection. I guess being true to oneself makes one special in their own way. I was rooting for her throughout the book.

I chanced upon this book again during the last library visit and I grabbed it again. This is the second time I read this book and I still enjoyed it. However, this time round I do feel that there are not much insights on the reason behind the attacks on the palace but I do enjoy reading the interaction between America, Maxon and Aspen. I can't recall if I have read the second book but I definitely will want to read it to find out what happens next.

My rating: 4🌟

Source: NLB Singapore

{Bookish Review} Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1)
By: Neal Shusterman
Published on: November 22nd 2016 by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genres: Dystopia (YA)
Source: Library
Rating: 

Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

I'm not a very big fan of dystopian reads but somehow the summary of scythe convinced me to give it a try. A world where there is no hunger, no disease, no war and no misery. Plus the fact that there is no death except for death by scythes' hands to keep the population under control. These are what got me thinking about how the story will turn out.

We first learnt about Citra and Rowan (what unique names they have) and their families and how they first came into contact with the scythe who will eventually take them as apprentices. The world building is realistic and kept me engaged throughout the story and I'm impressed by how the story unfolds--the unexpected twists and turns that had me hanging by the edge of my seat.

I really enjoyed reading Scythe, especially about the character growth of Citra. Once I have finished reading Scythe, I went to hunt for the second book immediately. That's how much I really want to continue reading the story.  I'll recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading this genre.

{Bookish Tours} Body Parts by Jessica Kapp

Body Parts
By: Jessica Kapp
Published on: August 15th 2017 by Diversion Publishing
Genres: Dystopian
Source: Blog Tour
Rating: 

Raised in an elite foster center off the California coast, sixteen-year-old Tabitha’s been sculpted into a world-class athlete. Her trainers have told her she’ll need to be in top physical condition to be matched with a loving family, even though personal health has taken a backseat outside the training facility. While Tabitha swims laps and shaves seconds off her mile time, hoping to find a permanent home, the rest of the community takes pills produced by pharmaceutical giant PharmPerfect to erase their wrinkles, grow hair, and develop superhuman strength.

When Tabitha’s finally paired, instead of being taken to meet her new parents, she wakes up immobile on a hospital bed. Moments before she’s sliced open, a group of renegade teenagers rescues her, and she learns the real reason for her perfect health: PharmPerfect is using her foster program as a replacement factory for their pill-addicted clients’ failing organs. And her friends from the center, the only family she’s ever known, are next in line to be harvested.

Determined to save them, Tabitha joins forces with her rescuers, led by moody and mysterious Gavin Stiles. As they race to infiltrate the hospital and uncover the rest of PharmPerfect’s secrets, though, Tabitha finds herself with more questions than answers. Will trusting the enigmatic group of rebels lead her back to the slaughterhouse?

I must admit that this isn't my usual genre but the mystery and thrill that is hinted from the blurb really captivated me and I just had to read this book and find out more.

Tabitha seems like a special girl from the blurb, being trained to be an athlete so that she could get adopted by a family. Which family would adopt a child based on whether he/she is an athlete? That caught my curiosity. We get to know more about the foster center that Tabitha is in through her eyes and everything got more exciting when she was rescued from the hospital and more characters are added into the story.

Body Parts is an engaging story and it kept me hooked on it till the last page. The pacing of the story is just right and though I could guess the reason for something that Tabitha has experienced, this did not affect me much. I still enjoyed reading it. There is one part that irks me a little, about a decision that Tabitha has made. It seemed a little out of character but in the end it turns out ok. This is my first book from this author. I will be keeping a lookout for future books by her.

This review is part of the Blog Tour by Chapter by Chapter. I received a review copy for the tour and this does not affect my review in any way.

 

Purchase links:

Google Play, BAM, Chapters, Indies, Amazon, B&N, Kobo, TBD, iTunes

About the author

Jessica Kapp enjoys writing Young Adult Contemporary and Speculative Fiction. Story ideas often strike at inopportune times, and she’s been known to text herself reminders from under the covers.

She lives on a small farm in Washington with far too many goats and an occasional cow.

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