Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CLOCKWORK ANGEL.
If you have yet to read, DO NOT read this review!
This review IS spoiler-free.

“We live and breathe words.”

It seems such a cliché manner in opening this, but I think the quote sufficiently sums up how I feel about this book – this series. I do not simply read this series, but live and breathe the words. In my head, the characters exist perfectly, as though they’ve always been a part of my world. I picture them wholly and imagine them as distant friends of mine, recalled from a memory. I know, I’m being corny. Forgive me; this book has affected me, and I think I’m still under its spell.

Despite the mockery poked at Cassandra Clare, despite the way her books are scorned, this is possibly one of my favorite books I’ve read – and certainly the best book I feel Clare has written. What sets The Infernal Devices apart from The Mortal Instruments is a number of factors, but most notably how the writing seems so different. It’s not something I can quite pinpoint, but simply to note she has an eloquence. Certainly, one can credit the Victorian London era for this, as her writing certainly fits in the era in which she writes. And it’s something I absolutely love. This simple trick immerses me into this world, set so many years before me.

I’m serious. I LOVED this book.

From the get-go, readers are thrown into the plot. In the beginning, we learn the overall push of the story. The end of Clockwork Angel was a storm of disaster, with the death of De Quincey, the escape of Mortmain, and the revelation that the Institute housed Nate the traitorous and lead to the betrayal and the deaths of Agatha and Thomas. Because of this, Charlotte has only two weeks to locate Mortmain and prove to the Clave she can successfully run the Institute – or else Bennedict Arnold Lightwood will take control of it. And it is with this daunting task we meet again with Tessa and her makeshift family.

Two new characters are introduced, as replacements to the late Agatha and Thomas, though we unfortunately learn very little of them. Knowing Clare, I have a feeling we’ll learn more about them in our final book.

Something I feel Clare really did well in this book was the way the everyone had their own subplot, in contribution to the overall arc of the book. Poor Tessa, alone in this world and abandoned by her brother, has forged a family with the members of the London. But she still doesn’t know who – or what – she is. Mortmain wants her for something and she has no idea what that something is. It’s incredibly disconcerting to her and she continues her search to learn what she is.

The ending of Clockwork Angel makes more sense as we follow Will around the book. Far more likable in this book than the last, readers learn of the burden he’s carried on his shoulders for five years, and we even get a glimpse into his past. Anyone who disliked Will or felt apathetic towards him before now will surely thaw as they get to know him better. I’m standing proof! As someone who liked Will enough, I find myself incredibly drawn to him.

Even Sophie has a storyline! A very well deserved one, too, at that.

“Trains are great dirty smoky things," said Will. "You won't like it."
Tessa was unmoved. "I won't know if I like it until I try it, will I?"

One of my favorite parts of the book, though, is where the storyline takes us. Finally, we travel outside of the London Institute. We take a train to Yorkshire, so perfectly described, you really are there. Clare’s craft for descriptions creates the world around you. In desperation, we travel to the slums of London. We visit an elaborate, dangerous masquerade. Readers are taken on a ride, and oh, it’s a beautiful ride at that. Through our travels, readers finally start to learn more about Mortmain. While little plot seems to take place, a lot of the book is discovery and information, which is important in finding Mortmain in the first place.

And in uncovering Mortmain’s motives and past is the most painful discovery for the London Institute: that someone of their group has betrayed them.

Of course, the main storyline of which everyone speaks is the love triangle. Recall that I’m not a fan of triangles, as I find them overused, sloppily-done, and unnecessary. However, Clare seems to have done the nearly impossible in the creation of this love triangle. It is, to say the very least, the perfect triangle. We don’t have two boys fighting over one girl, but a triangle with an important relationship at every point, and it makes me anxious to see how everything will pan out because someone will be hurt. Maybe multiple someones.

From the beginning of Clockwork Angel, we have been entertained by the reckless passion of Tessa and Will, and this certainly continues in the second installment. Tessa, to my immense pleasure, deviates from the typical YA heroine, though, and while readers may be upset in her self-preservation, it is something that only makes me love her more. The more we’re in Will’s head, though, the more we come to understand his actions, and the terrible things he has said and done in the previous book.

Less notable to many, but unmissed by this self-professed Jem fangirl, in Clockwork Angel was his subtly growing affections for Tessa, and of course this continues as well. For all who found Jem boring, they’ll find a rather entertaining side to him that proves nice boys aren’t always droll. In Will’s distance to Tessa, Jem keeps her company and helps alleviate her homesickness by showing her around London.

“Will has always been the brighter burning star, the one to catch attention — but Jem is a steady flame, unwavering and honest. He could make you happy.”

When you think of it that way, I can’t blame Tessa for being torn. Two beautiful boys whom each appeal to you in a different way? How does anyone make a choice?

“Our souls are knit. We are one person, James.”

For me, though, the heart of the relationship is the one centered around Jem and Will. Nevermind the parabatais attraction to the same girl. What I love dearly about this story and this triangle, is the way these two love each other. For so long, the only person Will has ever loved is Jem, and despite his moods, despite his “habits”, Jem loves Will dearly. They are fiercely dedicated to each other, and their worlds don’t just center around the other, but overlap.

It’s a beautiful relationship, but a rather scary one.

As we recall, Jem is dying. He is sustained only by a drug that as well as keeps him alive, kills him. The impending death of Will’s parabatai is further explored, in a heart breaking manner. More than I enjoy Will or Jem’s affections for Tessa, I love the relationship between these boys, and the beautiful relationship they share. I do, in this moment, declare them my brOTP. It is Jem’s practical acceptance of his impending death that really makes me feel for the parabatais relationship, and it makes me fear, for the way Will depends upon him.

“Someday, Will, I will go where none can follow me, and I think it will be sooner rather than later. Have you ever asked yourself why I agreed to be your parabatai?”

Of course, the triangle is the culmination of these points. It is the web of affections and relationships which threaten to drive the three apart. Beautiful is the three together, and how effectively they work together and with what ease the three of them have struck friendship. The banter is playful, if not competitive at times, and often lends to a laugh. Even better is how they look out for each other and how obvious all three care deeply for the others.

"I've never swum naked in the Thames before, but I know I wouldn't like it."
"But think how entertaining for sightseers," said Tessa, and she saw Jem duck his head to hide the quick flash of his grin.”

With this relationship in place, it is easy to love everyone, and it is easy to just want everyone happy – because we all know that in a love triangle, someone will be hurt.

Everything about this book is beautiful and so well done. Clare has perfectly created Victorian London around me, in a most vivid way. The dialogue remains witty and delightful, with most of the funniest lines belonging to Will, whose sense of humor seems to shine even more this time around. So much of this book is composed of great character development. Already, Clare had had a cast of fantastic characters, but with this book, we further explore them and learn more about them. More complex layers are revealed, and for me, by the end of the book, it was nearly impossible not to love the cast. I was converted. I went from preferring Jem to Will to loving them dearly in their own way (even if my bias remains with Jem.)

And oh, the romantic scenes! For me to say anything of them would not only ruin the book, but the moments and the beauty. Seldom have I read romantic scenes that left me so breathless, gurgling on fractured noises of nonsense, and burying my face to hide squeals as my toes curled and my body crushed in upon itself. The propriety of the era and the manner of speech lends everything to a far more romantic feeling, and only made these moments so much sexier. 

Do I even dare warn you of the impending emotional crisis? I'll just warn you - some of you may need tissues. Clare plays with your heart like a puppeteer and her puppets and numerous passages broke my heart in some kind of way. Even Clare herSELF cried and SHE wrote this! 

Clare has absolutely outdone herself with this book. I find it far superior to TMI and encourage anyone who was not entirely sold on Clare’s other series to try the prologue, if only for the fantastic setting and the brilliantly complex characters. Though it seems little plot is really accomplished in this book, it feels like so much has happened (and trust that quite a bit of action ensues) by the end of the book. And with the sheer amount of character development accrued on all parts, it more than exceeds the middle book syndrome. Sequels are rarely better than the first, but I am in love with Clockwork Prince. It is, by far, my favorite of Clare’s work, and deserves its place amongst my favorite books.

All fans of Clare will enjoy this book, and I encourage anyone to try this one. The writing is beautiful, the characters are all so likable and complicated, and despite the romantic tensions, the book fortunately lacks the severe amounts of dramatic angst I’m so wary of from TMI.

Go. Go read this!

★★★★★

P.S: You have NO idea how difficult this was to write. In the beginning, simply collecting my thoughts was an excruciating task, given my nonstop fangirling. (For the record, no, I have not stopped fangirling.) Even once gathering my thoughts, to write this without spoilerizing the whole thing was AWFUL and hard. You should thank me. It was hard work to do for you guys. <3

Notes

[1] I confess, I have few flaws from this. I am still in my glowing I-LOVE-EVERYTHING-ABOUT-THIS-BOOK phase, so it's hard to view things objectively - and also how to confess the few things I disliked without spoiling. So here, I'll try it for you.

• For starters, I kind of really wanted to know more about the new characters. It is very unlike Clare to introduce a character whom doesn't become important in some way, and I feel as if maybe she's dropped some clues I just don't know how to read in to. 
• There's also the matter of... erm. Well. There's a rather melodramatic build up surrounding Will's secret and his doings with Magnus, but in the revelation, I found them rather laughable because of the build up. Trust that they're important to Will, but at the same time, the hype took the serious nature of it from me.
• I HAVE TO WAIT ROUGHLY A YEAR FOR THE NEXT  BOOK. I JUST WANT IT OUT RIGHT NOW. IN MY HANDS. PLEASE. :( 

I do have a Jem bias, I confess. But I truly love EVERYONE in the book, and while the love triangle feels so prominent, I feel there's so much more to this book than the shipping wars. Like, for instance, HOW WILL EVERYTHING PAN OUT WITH THE END OF CLOCKWORK PRINCESS?! And OH GOD IS JEM GOING TO DIE?! And WHAT IS TESS? WHAT. THE. HELL. IS. TESSA?! And finally HOW DO I KEEP THESE BABIES FROM BREAKING AND HURTING?! :( :( :( 

This book left me an emotional wreck.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Confession: I liked The Mortal Instruments trilogy. I know it’s not literary genius, and I was okay with that. I know it’s a laughing stock in the YA community, and that’s okay with me. I know the fandom wank about Cassandra Clare and blah blah blah, but I will admit to you: she has a talent. She wrote a riveting story that sucked me in, despite its overuse of metaphors and similes. Some of the characters entertained me and, as if in a morbid sense of fascination, I wanted to see where the series went and how it could possibly end. Over all, I was pleased with the ending of City of Glass. I would have preferred that Jace stayed dead, but we all knew better than that. The fact Clary asked for him out of everything in the world annoyed me, as I prefer my protags to have a bit more substance, but, I was fine with the ending. I was content to let Clary and Jace go off and be disgustingly in love and let Simon roam the world as a Daywalking vampire and Magnus and Alec could go be in lurve~ and just let the world be.

I was fine. I liked it. It made me happy.

Clare then began her new series, and against my better judgment, I preordered it. You’ll learn this is a terrible habit of mine, and one whose mistakes I never learn from. To my immense surprise, it was GOOD. So good that I had renewed hopes for Clare’s announcement she would add three new books to the TMI trilogy. I thought, “Her writing has improved so much! She chucked some of those similes and metaphors! Maybe City of Fallen Angels will be good!”

Again, I preordered. How could Clare let me down after the beautiful improvement of her Infernal Devices series?

One day, I will learn my lesson.

Maybe had Angie not read the book before me, I wouldn’t be so reluctant to read. I remember sitting around, waiting for the book to arrive from Amazon. I remember Angie talking to me on MSN while she read the book, and I remember how each time she spoke of the book, my hope faded more and more, until it’d nearly completely diminished.

Once the book was in my hands, I was all hesitance. I tried the first chapter – and nothing. The book opens with Simon, which should have been great! I’m a very vocal Simon fangirl. I love him, and I prefer him to Jace. But I just couldn’t get into it, because I knew what waited ahead: drivel.

Nearly eight months later, I decided to reopen the book and suffer through – mostly because Angie kept begging me so she could have someone with whom to bitch, but also because I figured I may as well. There you have my feelings summed up: I may as well.

What. Did. I. Just. Read?

No.

Really.

What was the plot? Because as far as I’m concerned, this book felt like a massive fanfiction written by someone who missed the TMI series. Everything was shipping, and everything hurt!

Loosely, the plot can be summed up as: Shadowhunters whom were previously supporters of Valentine are falling dead and no one knows who’s doing it. But that’s okay! Because I promise you, this plot has next to nothing to do with the book. Really! Don’t worry about it! Simon is coming to grips with being a vampire and trying to find the balance of humanity and monster, but he’s kicked out of his house and trying to fight his instincts, he’s dating two girls, and he is propositioned by a vampire to take over the NYC vampire clan. As for Clary and Jace? Oh, don’t worry – Jace just keeps having dreams in which he kills Clary so, rather than do anything rational or tell her about it, he just freezes her out, refuses to break up with her, and occasionally mouthrapes her before fleeing off into the night to be BFF with Simon.

And honestly? That’s the best part of this book for me. I rather LIKED Jace when he hung out with Simon, and I could totally get behind a Jace/Simon bromance, except I know better than to expect so much. But really. That was the best. They were funny, awfully delightful, and it was a great reprieve from the disgustingly corny drama of Jace and Clary.

Seriously.

I’m probably biased, in my dislike for Clary/Jace. I’m probably TERRIBLY biased in my near disdain for Clary. Another confession: I skimmed so much. Every time I was in Clary or Jace’s head, they just ANGSTED the entire time about the other. “Oh noes why doesn’t Jace look at me, doesn’t he love me, he won’t kiss me, he’s avoiding me, waaah my life is over my life is ending!” “Oh noes, I dream I’m killing Clary, clearly I am my father, by the Angel, I can speak of this to no one lest they find out I’m a monster, what should I do, oh NOES!”

I just… all that clichéd drivel; and it was SO repetitive. Every few pages, it would pick up again, as if MAYBE I’d forgotten JUST HOW DETRIMENTAL THIS WAS.

There was also this other underlying plot involving the attempted recreation of Sebastian and a lot of dead babies infected with demon blood. It was meant to be a bit more horrific, I think, than I found it.

I just… I can’t wrap my head around what I read. What I FORCED myself to read. At times, I felt as if I was literally pushing myself along, encouraging myself to complete this, just to say I could.

And frankly, this book should never have existed.

The ending of the TMI trilogy was great! The books were a fanciful guilty pleasure, a great, fun read, and when they ended, I felt at peace. I was excited for her Infernal Devices series. And then… this: an obvious cashcow piggybacking on her own success of a trilogy swarming with obsessive, rabid fangirls in love with the obviously mental-issue-ridden Jace, crazy about the selfish Clary. And if I’m to be perfectly honest, I feel that’s’ all this book is. A continuation of the Clary/Jace relationship, which probably explains why I didn’t care for it. There was no overall plot; everything was just SHIPPING romance and terribly repetitive dramas.

Even the “villains” in this book didn’t come across as realistic.

Here we have LILITH the UBERDEMON of Demons. The MOTHER of Downworlders. And she felt like a villain from Scooby-Doo! Her speech came across as terribly unrealistic, and she did like all great Scooby-Doo villains do, by telling us exactly what her plan was, assuming it infallible, and most offensively, assuming readers not clever enough to read into subtle clues and figure out what was about to happen. It was one of the worst dialogue-driven info dumps I’d read in ages. I didn’t feel ANXIOUS for anyone, I didn’t expect anything BAD to happen. And once Lilith explained just what she was doing, I couldn’t even be arsed to CARE.

Amongst all this, I’d hoped perhaps Magnus, fabulous Magnus, could entertain me a little, but no such luck. After returning from exploring the world with Alec and meeting up with his old boo, Camille, Alec turned into a jealous fifteen year old. “Waaah, waaaah, my immortal warlock boyfriend is immortal and has loved before me. Waaah waaaah waaaah, who was Will, how dare you know others in your past? Waaah waaaah waaaaah every time you mention someone from your past I will assume they meant something to you. Waaaaaaaaaaaah I clearly mean nothing to you but a fleeting romance until you tire of me and my pretty face.”

OH MY GOD HE NEVER STOPPED THAT PETULANT BRAT ALL HE DID WAS BITCH AND MOAN AND POUT. HE ACTUALLY KICKED A CHAIR. HE. KICKED. A. CHAIR. WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHY?! Ugh.

I TOLD YOU. All this book became was SHIPPING DRAMA out the WAZOOO.

I’d actually FORGOTTEN about the dying Shadowhunters.

Even after reading, I’m left with one last question. (That’s a lie: there’s a LOT of questions, most about the idiocy of the book and the lack of plot.) WHERE THE HELL DOES THE TITLE COME FROM?! IT STILL MAKES NO SENSE TO ME.

And you know what’s even worse? Knowing that, because I’m 4 of 6, I will finish reading the last freaking books of this damn series, just because I can’t bear to own an incomplete series. City of Lost Souls and City of Heavenly Fire will find their way on my shelves and I will only pray they were have some actual plot, as opposed to more shipping drama to ~distract me from the complete lack of story.

Take Michelle’s advice. Don’t buy them brand new. Don’t preorder them. When City of Lost Souls comes out, wait a week or two for the people who LOATHED the book to show up on Amazon begging people to “please, PLEASE take this drivel off their hands for a measly $2 dollars PLEASE I beg of you.” I assure you, you’ll be better off that way. Because, if you’re like me and you’re compelled to finish off this forsaken new trilogy, you may as well save as much money as possible.

★

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent tells the story of Beatrice (later known as Tris), a girl who lives in a world where as soon as teenagers reach the daunting age of sixteen, much choose to which faction they wish to belong for the rest of their lives: Abnegation, Candor, Erudite, Dauntless and Amity. [1] When Beatrice chooses the path of the courageous and admittedly unpredictable Dauntless over the selfless Abnegation life she'd always known, no one is more surprised than Beatrice's family. But what Beatrice didn't know was that just as it was within her right to choose Dauntless, it is within Abnegation's right, too, if she gets to stay. And so, her initiation begins, not only exposing her to the ruthless and violent demands of her new faction, but also threatening to reveal a secret that may cost Beatrice her life.

Perhaps my favourite part of this novel was its heroine. Beatrice was in no way the stereotypical self-conscious and socially impaired main character we all know and are tired of reading about. Tris starts off as a seemingly meek girl from the Selfless Faction of Abnegation but soon her true colors are shown; she is resourceful and sometimes scheming, kind but not to the point where it can be used against her, and appears to know herself enough to know her strengths and weaknesses. As a reader, it was a refreshing experience to see her world through her calculating eyes. [2] 

The same could be said for the rest of her characters, too. Doubtlessly, we don't spend a lot of time with them meeting them as Tris is admittedly not very interested on her new Faction friends, but the times they were part of the narrative, they appeared to be well-rounded and interested, thus leaving me, someone who has the pesky habit to grow attached to side-characters, wanting more of them. Fortunately, there was enough action that not only managed to keep me interested but also helped the book move along at an acceptable speed.

But not everything is the color of roses [3] and as it happens, I had a few issues with the novel.

Warning: Spoilers time! And time for Snarky Writer to honor her name!

First of all, I'd like to say that I really like Roth's dystopian society. [4] It was unique, and interesting, and certainly different from the societies of other books (of the same genre) that I've read in the past. That said, the plot was almost too simplistic and at times, made no sense whatsoever. There was no world building, no explanations about anything; at times I felt like I was just shoved into this world were everything was fuzzy and nothing made sense. Other times, I had to remind myself that this was the first book of a series rather than a sequel; facts were given to me without a single explanation, as if expecting me as a reader to understand the reasoning behind them, and were never ever brought up again.

I know what you're thinking: But you just said yourself that this is the first book! And I did. It's true it is the first book, but it is also true that when you give yourself the task to create a new world for the characters in your novel to live in, it is necessary to at least explain some things. To think that everything can be explained later on and expect the reader to be fine with it is, to put it bluntly, ridiculous.

Unsurprisingly, I had a similar problem with the factions [5] and the idea of anyone deciding that a sixteen year old possesses the ability to make what is arguably the most important decision of their life. Because, did I mention that once you choose a faction, you're stuck there for life? Because that's how it is. Sixteen year olds are known for doing exactly what is wrong for them, and often do things out of spite; in short, they're stupid and tend to make rash decisions to mend the mistake a previous rash decision caused. 

But back to the factions! We're never told how they came to be, or why would anyone ever thing they're a good idea - which, again, brings up to those pesky little things known as No World Building and Lack of Explanations. We are simply told that Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent) were created to ensure that society functions efficiently and to prevent war.[6] Abnegation and all the pushovers behind it are in charge of the government because the power should be given to those who don't want it, or so we are told; the self-entitled, self-centered and arguably self-sufficient Erudite work on developing new technology; Candor is composed of what can easily be called human lie detectors, whilst the job of ensuring security, then, falls on the hands of the always reckless sociopaths of Dauntless. It was unclear to me as to what Amity did, other than they did everything with a big smile adorning their faces.

So, exactly what happens in Divergent? We spend the majority of the novel with Tris, as she participates in the training that will determine whether she'll truly is a Dauntless or if she'll become one of the factionless [7]. Considering that the purpose of the Dauntless is to protect others and keep the order (aka the police) the training those who wish to be part of them have to endure is preposterous as it is mainly composed of senseless violence, death-defying acts of sheer stupidity that are supposed to be considered a signs of bravery,  and what doubtlessly is psychological torture. 

Somewhere along all these training, the times Tris got the living everything beaten out of her (see: senseless violence), and was nearly raped by a pack of bullies that were hardly punished by any given authorities, we're supposed to remember that title of the book is Divergent and that it means something. Fortunately, the author makes sure to explain the meaning behind the name of the book; being a Divergent, it would seem, means that you can easily fit into any of the factions and immediately become a problem to the authorities, should they discover your condition.

Early on in this review I stated that I'd enjoyed Tris as a character. But the problem with Tris is that Roth seems to have used her Divergent condition as an excuse to make her capable of being good at everything she does. Or at least, that's what she'd have us believe; because the truth is that if Tris could have easily fit in any of the other factions - including the Erudites - how was it that more than once I found myself being two or three steps ahead of her? And in spite of being a Divergent, and knowing how dangerous this could be if anyone found out, Tris constantly did things that more or less equated to her jumping up and down and telling the world exactly what she was.The inconsistencies in her character could become irritating, as I expected Tris to both catch up on what was going on and to simply know better than to act like an idiot.

The thing about Divergent is, though, that it still sort of met my expectations; the problem was that in order for it to meet them, it stumbled its way to the climax, tripped with its untied shoelaces and then proceed to fall on its face like a drunk freshman after its first College party. At times, I wasn't amused, but that didn't stop me from finishing what is a 500 pages long book in two and a half days. Because for all its flaws, Divergent is addicting, and serves the purpose that so many other young adult novels fail to do: it entertains the reader without asking them to take its narrative too seriously. 

★★★

NOTES 

1.  Think of Harry Potter and all its houses but without the sorting hat. I found it pretty cool, at first, and immediately sorted myself as an Erudite, which should not be a surprise to anyone who knows me. In fact, because I am nerdy, I went out of my way to sort the factions:

• Gryffindor: Dauntless! And don't tell me that the "sociopaths" part makes them Slytherins because, cunning and ambitious=/=sociopath. And really, you are very naive if you think that Gryffindor is full of saints.
• Hufflepuff: I actually feel like shoving the spineless Abnegation and almost catatonic Amity into Hufflepuff is an offense to the house, but they just really don't fit anywhere else.  
• Ravenclaw & Slytherin: The two houses in which Erudite would be sorted into, of course. /biased

2.  Sounds familiar? It should! Because Tris is basically the low-rent version of our beloved Katniss Everdeen. And I know that sounds harsh, and that I said I liked her, but that doesn't mean it's not true. It's like Veronica Roth read the book and went, "Ohh, I'll make the blonde, short, and well-off version of Katniss and everyone will love her." No, really, I understand why some people didn't like Tris at all; the bitchy, deadpan and "selfish" demeanor works for Katniss (and for us as readers) because at this point in her life, and after all the things she's been through, she's almost entitled to be that way. But Beatrice? No. She's bitchy and sometimes mean, and kind of selfish without any reason other that she claims to never have fit in Abnegation. And it kind of pissed me off a bit that the author felt like excusing these flaws of her, because - why? Why can't the main character be like that for no reason other than she's an ungrateful sixteen year old? Sixteen year olds are often self-centered little shits just because they can. I WOULD KNOW, I WAS ONE. I just don't get it. I mean, honestly, the reason why I like her is because she was like that instead of the meek and annoying typical MC we get in most YA novels.

3.  I'm actually not sure that phrase made much sense. Because I pretty much used the literal translation of this spanish phrase (No todo es color de rosas) that basically means that not everything was/is pretty/good. Anyways, my apologies if it confused you!

4. I did! I mean, as opposed to a lot of Dystopias out there, I did feel like I was reading about a completely different society. Most of the time, anyway, because sometimes she'd mention JEANS and I'd go like, "Are you telling me the super smart Erudite have yet to come up with something more comfortable than JEANS? SHUT UP!" 

5. Who the hell would EVER think that separating people like this is a good idea? Like, I have NO idea how the world in this novel EVER functioned? It makes no sense at all. Because by their very existence, structure, and way of living the factions promote things like segregation, discrimination, inequality, oppression, and competing belief systems. DO THESE SOUND FAMILIAR? They should. Because the leading causes of discord & war among human civilizations throughout history. Are you really gonna tell me the Super Smart Erudites did not see this coming? Oh, what am I talking about, they've always known, the crazy bastards! No wonder by the end of the novel they're trying to go all fuck da police! let's throw down the system!

• 5.1 Did I forget to mention that the Erudites developed this vaccine that basically turned most of the Dauntless (except for Tris and her boyfriend, of course) to throw down the government by annihilating the Abnegation faction because they are the government? So basically genocide! yay! and it was taken super lightly and really, at the end of the book it was the Big Plot but for MOST of the book it was just a ~*threat*~ that Dangerously Loomed in the Background. Ugh. I like this book I like this book I like this book. 
• 5.2 I also forgot to mention that Tris made her instructor her boyfriend. I'm sorry. Except I'm not because the entire romance was stupid and unnecessary, but thankfully was like only 2% of the book, so thank you for sparing me of that, Veronica Roth. 

6. War happened. And, again, you're telling me NO ONE THOUGHT THERE WAS ANYTHING WRONG WITH THIS SYSTEM? I can't. Don't insult my intelligence, Veronica Roth. I beg you.

7. The factionless are the individuals who have dropped out of their factions or have gotten kicked out because they never passed the tests you're supposed to pass when you turn 16 in order for you to be fully part of your faction. Lovely. More segregation. But to be honest, I think that, ultimately, I’d prefer to be factionless because, frankly, all those factions are full of assholes.

► Book Reviews 101

So, you like books. Maybe you read a lot, and you feel really strongly about them. I bet you want to blog about them, don't you? Or maybe you just want to write a nice review on Goodreads, to encourage (or discourage!) people to read the book you just did. C'mon, admit it. Of course I won't laugh! If you don't feel you can write a quality review, I'm here to help! Often, all you really need are some tips and a boost of confidence - lucky you, I can provid some of both!

First things first, this is not a book report for school. Throw away all those preconceived notions. Never open your review with something like "I'm reviewing False Awakening[1] by Ashlie L'Homme." Do not say something like, "It's a fantasy about a girl who exists in two different worlds - one while she's awake and one while she's asleep." Nothing about that is entertaining, let alone engaging. People read to know what a book is about, if it's good, what it's high and low points are - but they also want to be entertained, or they'll go find a new review!

And while we're talking about openings, I'll share a bit of advice with you I learned from my years of journalism. NEVER, EVER BEGIN WITH A QUESTION. Ever. Questions seek people out, and you are not looking for a specific audience, but to reach out to everyone. If you ask "Have you ever felt trapped in your dreams?" you will likely lose a lot of your audience. If they don't remember dreams, or haven't ever felt that way, you've lost their interest. Capture them with your first lines and continue to lure them in. 

TAKE NOTES

My first tip applies to your reading process: ALWAYS TAKE NOTES AS YOU READ. This is probably the best thing you can do, and will help you the most. I confess to not always doing this - especially if I'm caught up in a book (and trust that I regret it when I sit down to write my review, too!) Take note of quotes you love (and dislike), moments you like or hate. When you write, this will be important, because being able to use points enforces ideas.

You can tell people something is badly written, a character is droll, a plot is awful, but to back it up with proof shows readers. Likewise, what good is saying, "I loved Annie!" if you don't say why you do? Tell us traits and actions that readers can see. As long as they aren't spoilers, you can use quotes, too. When used strategically, the quotes can help tell your review, or prove your points! It's a simple concept, and one easily taken care of. 

 ORGANIZATION IS KEY

When you sit down to write, remember the order in which you write is important. Including a brief synopsis or set up of the book towards the beginning is useful. Readers get a quick run down of what the book is about and it sets the scene for you. Less work telling! The keyword is brief, though - remember it is not a book report. You don't need a detailed retelling of the book. Your job is only to engage the reader and ignite (or douse) their desire to read.

Example:

When insomniac Annie stars having a series of recurring dreams, she thinks something is off - especially because each dream seems to pick up as though the world exists without her. Even stranger for her is the familiarity of the world. The strange Dreamworld she visits nightly is inhabited by people familiar to her, who've dotted numerous dreams before and fill the pages of her diary. But the strangest part is that these people don't seem like recollections of dreams, but memories. Which can't possibly be real. Except, the more Annie visits the world, the harder it becomes to tell which world is real and which is imagination. Even worse than that, though, is the possibility that each world is a separate reality - and eventually she may have to choose between the world from which she comes, and the world in which she feels she belongs. 

And then, you go ahead and write about how you enjoyed or disliked the book - how it lived up to your expectations or came up short and had much to be desired.

Try to be orderly in your review, so your readers don't become confused. Bouncing ideas around is simply too disorienting, and I hardly think I need to explain that to you. I mean, sure, you can do some things out of order, but make sure it's clear! Maybe you open your review talking about how that's the worst cliffhanger ever. Readers are intrigued - we loathe and love cliffhanger endings, especially if they're well done and leave us grappling for more! Move on and discuss the book. In the end, come back to the cliffhanger point - and there you've utilized the full circle effect!

If you find yourself really into an aspect of your review - that's really great! But be careful not to be running away on random tangents. It's really easy to do, and some people just happen to be REALLY good at random tangents. But these are great! So are personal anecdotes and elaborate thoughts and opinions. What ISN'T good is when you start to go off on this tangent and lose direction. In the end, you're left with a cluttered review. If you find this applies to you, try using notes[2]. See what I did there? If you scroll to the bottom of this entry, you'll find a notes section, and corresponding notes apply to the number in the brackets. This is where you can go on and on! Readers get to know you, get to read more of your tangent, but you haven't lost them in the reading! Win for all!  

ENGAGE THE READER

Here's something else that bothers me about most reviews. They're so boring. By that, I mean, they don't engage me, the reader, at all. I have honestly read views that seriously go something like this:

"I really liked False Awakening. The idea was interesting. It was romantic and made made me happy to read. I enjoyed reading it. I also enjoyed Annie. She was so interesting and I felt bad for her. I liked her adventure. It was so interesting. I loved it!"

What did that even tell me?! Do you want to read that book?

Using description and supporting facts really aids you. If you can explain why (and what) you love, what makes things "interesting" (what a generic choice when used on its own!), you already have a picture painted. Is the writing beautiful? Tell me how and give me an example! Are the characters realistic? Is the book riveting? Did the book make you fall in toe-curling love? Once again, this goes for dislike. Don't just say a book is trash and it's the worst thing you've ever read. You haven't convinced me. Tell me how the plot is cliched and overly used and nothing about it feels original. Tell me that the word choice feels like someone opened a thesaurus and tried to use the least commonly used synonyms.

SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE & OPINION

Remember. This is your review. I want to hear your thoughts and your ideas. How did you feel during and after the books? Were you completely sucked into the book and immersed in the world? Maybe you just couldn't get into it, no matter how hard you wanted to? In the end were you left reeling and breathless and dizzy, or did you have to force yourself to keep reading through obvious "twists" and insulting writing? Maybe you began it in love, but as it went on, your agitation turned into loathing? Tell me! I want to know! What should I expect? Your experience may not be mine, but if I read it, it gives me a clue.

While we're at it, what did you love? Even if you hated the book, did you enjoy anything? Maybe it was that secondary character who felt more real than the stereotyped main cast? This is doubly important, because readers uncertain about a book are looking for a reason to read. Always use examples when you can! Snippets of witty dialogue, fantastic moments, brilliant characters. Tell me more, tell me more!

This goes for criticism, too. Just because you loved a book doesn't mean you didn't like everything - and that's perfectly okay. Maybe you really hated this side character/something the protagonist did/the final choices and ending/the overly mature dialogue/how long some scenes were/how naive so-and-so is/ the romance plot/ the best friend/ a bad portrayal. It's okay to dislike, I promise. No one is ever perfect and the more you explore that, the more you notice it. Go ahead and tell us what you didn't like or what really help up a book. Readers will appreciate it, I promise.

Note: If you were lucky to receive a book as an ARC, you are in no way obligated to write a glowing review. I see so many blogs that seem to love EVERYTHING they EVER get their hands on, and maybe for some people they really do. But sometimes I wonder if people don't just feel obligated to write glowing reviews because they don't want a publisher to never give them another ARC. But here's the thing. Publishers give those books out because they want to know how people feel about the book. I bet, if enough people read False Awakening and loathe the same, mutual aspect of it, they might rethink said aspect. ARCs let readers know if it's even worth it to preorder this book. Don't cheat them out of their money. Tell them the whole story - not just a glowing, raving review of lurve.

THE BENEFITS OF GOOD STYLE

Some people have an incredible talent for comedy or come equipped with wit. I am not one of those people. If you happen to be one, make good use of it! I know so many people who can just SAY things and it has me laughing. Seriously! Use it! Just because you're writing a review doesn't mean you have to be overly formal about it. Certainly, you want enough formality to be taken seriously, but you should sound like you. You have a clear voice and you should channel that. Chances are, you're writing for a blog or Goodreads, so you don't have to worry about journalism professionalism.

If, like me, you happen to be someone who lacks natural entertainment, but you haven't any faith in your abilities, style can be useful!

One of my favorite blogs to lurk is CuddleBuggery - both for her fantastic wit, her sharp tongue, but also for her style. She uses memes (and images in general) to back up her review. Trust me, it's lulzy. Her images are like the asides in television, when sitcom characters break the fourth wall, and typically, they earn a chuckle out of me.

Those who don't feel they're strong in writing can try the break down aspect, like Peace, Love, and Books does. She breaks books down into Initial Thoughts, Writing, Characters, Plot, Other, and Final Thoughts. This helps you as the writer organize everything and prevents overly cluttery reviews.

Over at Hippies, Beauty, and Books, they break their reviews into the First 50 Pages, Their Review, and Their Final Thoughts. This is, personally, one of my least favorite styles, but maybe this is what helps you warm your way up to writing!

Have a look at these blogs, and around at others if you need ideas! Of course, the best way to do it is to just start writing. Write a draft, ask someone to read it. They can likely tell you what you need to work on. And if you want, I (Reader Girl) would be more than willing to look over your reviews. Feel free to email me and I'll have a look at it. But the only way to improve is to DO it. Just like writing, you never improve without effort.

If you have ANY questions, comments, suggestions, or need assistance, don't hesitate to comment! I'd be more than willing to help you out! That's what I wrote this for! I realize this is probably far from a great guide, but it should provide assistance. And I mean it - I will help you if you need it! So, go ahead and ask. But you should probably just get to writing your review! 

NOTES

[1] Uh, you probably noticed. False Awakening is not a real book. It's one of my works-in-progress. I figured, surely, the most unbiased way to utilize a book is to use a fake one, yeah? So, you know, no books were hurt or offended in the writing of this blog! While we're at disclaimers, I cannot promise you will become a perfect reviewer over night. Remember - PRACTICE. Organize! Use support and examples. And ENTERTAIN your reader!


[2] This is an example of a note. It's a great option to utilize. This way, you keep your review from being so cluttery that people don't know what they're reading. Check out Snarky Writer's review of Fallen for a GREAT example of how she has use her notes! Thanks, Snarky Writer, for the idea!