Top Ten Dystopian Characters

This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and today's question asks us to share our top ten characters in any genre of our choice.  So without any further ado, here we go:

Top Ten Characters in Dystopian:

in no particular order:

1) Jonas from The Giver

2) Tris from Divergent

3) Katniss from The Hunger Games

4) Adelice from Crewel

5) Four from Divergent

6) Peeta from The Hunger Games

7) Risa from Unwind

8) Cassia from Matched

9) Cinder from The Lunar Chronicles

10) Gale from The Hunger Games

Agree or disagree?  Did I miss someone you would include?

Crewel

Crewel (Crewel World Book One)

By Gennifer Albin

Genre: YA sci-fi, dystopian

My rating: 4 1/2 stars

Summary taken from goodreads.com: "Sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has always been special. When her parents discover her gift—the ability to weave the very fabric of reality—they train her to hide it. For good reason, they don’t want her to become a Spinster — one of the elite, beautiful, and deadly women who determine what people eat, where they live, how many children they have, and even when they die.

Thrust into the opulent Western Coventry, Adelice will be tried, tested and tempted as she navigates the deadly politics at play behind its walls.  Now caught in a web of lies and forbidden romance, she must unravel the sinister truth behind her own unspeakable power.  Her world is hanging by a thread, and Adelice, alone, can decide to save it — or destroy it."

Wow.  

Gennifer Albin has woven a story as beautiful, fascinating, and compelling as the cover.  Such a creative concept, I'm jealous I didn't come up with it myself.

The characters were well developed: Adelice is such a witty, kick-butt heroine who says it like it is.  The love interest(s) were interesting as well, though I wasn't the biggest fan of the love triangle aspect.  Reminded me too much of Hunger Games, but will I be Team Erik or Team Jost?  (Personally, I'm in favor of Jost).

I can't give it 5 stars, simply because it took me about 70 pages or so to get into the story.  Not that it started slow or anything, simply that the story seemed so unbelievable it took me a while to get into the storyworld that Gennifer created. 

What I LOVED about the story (other than the awesome concept) was the writing itself.  Gennifer Albin is a master weaver of words.  Beautiful imagery, unique similes and metaphors.  I might reread this book just so I can learn from her how to write such beautiful scenes.

I HIGHLY recommend this book and can't wait to read the next book in this series!

Bonus:

Gennifer has an awesome pinterest board about Crewel.  Check it out!

Also, follow her on Twitter.  She tweets some pretty awesome stuff. @GenniferAlbin
If you follow her, feel free to add me too! @JennSoehnlin

That Pesky To-Read Pile

This week, the Book Blogger Hop, normally hosted by Jen at Crazy-for-Books, is hosted by The Fake Steph.  So without further ado, let's get the BBH going. :)

Question:  Is there a book that has been languishing on your TBR pile even though you spent months anticipating its release?

Uh, yeah.  I have an overwhelming to-read pile, but one anticipated book in particular comes to mind.  I LOVED Divergent, by Veronica Roth so much so that in the review I gave it 5 stars WITH an exclamation point.  Those are rare, peeps.  And I was totally counting down until Insurgent came out.  I even pre-ordered the book.  The day it came out I was so excited to get reading.  But a few chapters in, I just couldn't get into it, and put it down to read other books.  I keep reading reviews about how great it is and keep meaning to get back into it, but other books seem to be clamoring for my attention.

What about you?  And how's your to-read pile looking?   

Let's Talk About Dystopias!

Hi Bloggy Buddies!  Today is my birthday (whoo hoo!) and to celebrate, I wanna talk dystopian books.  YA ones to be exact, 'cuz that's my fav.  So, I'm gonna throw out three discussion questions with my own answers, and I want you to pick one or two or all three of them to answer yourself.  Can't wait to hear your thoughts on one of my fav book talking topics!

1) Which YA dystopian book is your favorite and why?
For me, I'd have to say The Giver.  That was the first dystopian book I read (I was in 8th grade) and I was hooked.  I loved the idea of not being able to make choices about your life, and yet still feeling like life was perfect that way.  It really opened my eyes to a new world.

2) Which YA dystopian society would you LEAST like to be a part of and why?
The Hunger Games.  Although I devoured that book, I would not want to live in a time and place where watching teens get killed was fun entertainment.

3) What are your top five YA dystopian book recommendations?
Tough one, but I'd choose The Giver, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Matched, and Unwind.

Your turn!

Book Blogger Hop

It's been a long time since I participated in the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy for Books, so I figured I'd join in again this time around.  Though this question is tough!

The Question: Who is your favorite book character? I’ll give you a maximum of two choices, but they have to be from different genres!


Hmm, ok.  Lots of female protagonists came to mind at first, but I've figured out my answer.  It's gotta be Jonas from The Giver.  I LOVED that book when I first read it, loved Jonas' desire to really understand things around him, rather than just accept them at face value like every one else in the community.  I like how this began before he was even the Receiver, how he really thought about the words he wanted to say and which words other people use and what it really means (a trait my hubster also shares with Jonas, though in the real life situation it sometimes drives me crazy).  How Jonas thought about his friends, his parents, and how they operated.  I loved how Jonas really thought for himself, and I admire how he uses what he learns to do what is right, despite all the sacrifices it'll cost him at the tender age of 12.

And this could just be me, but I think all the other protagonists in dystopian novels follow a lot of the same patterns.  It is their thirst for understanding their society that makes them stand out, and enables the plot to move forward.

All right, your turn.  Do you think protagonists from dystopian novels are similar?  

And who is your favorite book character(s)?