Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (CBR-V #51)

Cannonball Read V: Book #51/52
Published: 2009
Pages: 391

Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian

This is going to be a short review because this series has been reviewed to death already and this is a re-read for me. I wanted to read it again before I saw the movie since I already forgot half of what happened since I last read it several years ago. I'm not going to re-hash the plot, because if you don't already know it you've probably been living under a rock for the past two years. 

I was actually a little surprised at how much I forgot about this book. The middle books in trilogies tend to get forgotten the quickest, I think. Everyone remembers the beginning and end, but forgets the details on how they got from Point A to Point B. Although for a middle book, this one is actually quite strong. I know it got some flack for being a re-hash of the first book with a second Hunger Games, but I think it works for two reasons. One, they don't actually get to the arena and start the games until halfway through the book, and two, they make enough differences in the games to keep it fresh. For instance, the new Head Gamemaster (is that what he's called?) brings a new spin on things and I actually think the other Hunger Games tributes are stronger and more memorable characters in this book than the first.

This book lived up to a second read, although it does lose some of the thrill of reading it for the first time and not knowing what's going to happen. 

Dust by Jacqueline Druga (CBR-V #40)

Cannonball Read V: Book #40/52
Published: 2002
Pages: 288
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic

Dust follows a group of people in the aftermath of a nuclear war. Jo has been preparing for this most of her life by stockpiling supplies into her basement and encouraging her friends to do the same. Still, she never actually expected it to happen. When the bombs hit, she takes her teenage son and her young nephew she is babysitting into the basement cellar. Her daughter, Matty, is at the school a few miles away. While waiting out the initial few weeks until she can safely go upstairs, Jo makes a list of her close friends and family and it becomes her goal to try and find them.

This book was unique in that it wasn't a YA book. I can't remember the last time I read a post-apocalyptic book that wasn't teenage based. I like YA, but this was refreshing. I also thought it was unique that it followed a woman who had prepared for this scenario. Most of the book took place in her basement or within a few blocks of her home -- no traveling across the countryside or anything. The characters were great. I liked that there was a pretty wide variety of people's reactions to the bombs. Some went psychotic, some stopped talking, some pretended nothing happened, and some simply used sarcasm to make it through the day.

One of the things I didn't like was the ambiguity of some of the characters ages. Initially, I thought Jo was in her 20s. Then she has a teenage son so she must be closer to 40, although she acts more like a 20 year old (such as leaving her children to go off with a new love interest later in the book). I'm also not sure how old her daughter Matty was. She supposedly goes to a school that has lockers (so she must be 13+ or so) but she acts more like she's 7-8 years old most of the book. I'm still confused as to why she kept drawing pictures of one guy as satan throughout the book. I kept waiting for the explanation that he did something awful to her (he found her and brought her home), but they never said anything about that.


Overall, I think it's a pretty solid book, especially if you're tired of exclusively reading YA dystopian fiction. Beware: there is a sort of cheesy love story thrown in towards the end, but it's not too bad. 

The Shift Omnibus by Hugh Howey (CBR-V #30)

Cannonball Read V: Book #30/52
Published: 2013
Pages: 608
Genre: Dystopian

Wool is one of my favorite books that I've read so far this year. Shift is a prequel of sorts to Wool that explains why people were living in underground silos with almost no knowledge about the world outside. It's hard to explain too much about it without giving too much away, but the book starts before the silos were even built. A politician with an architect background is commissioned to work on a top secret project and from there the story switches back and forth between his life before the silos and his life afterwards. Because of deep freezing technology, we can follow the same people over hundreds of years. Simply put them in deep freeze and wake them up a century later! I have to say, that is a pretty interesting way to move the story forward to the far future without having to introduce totally new characters. 

The book is actually a compilation of three novellas. They all featured Donald (the pre-silo politician), but we were also introduced to the characters of Mission and Jimmy. Mission is a messenger (he runs packages and messages from floor to floor in the silo) who was born illegally in his silo. Because he was conceived without his parents winning the birthing lottery, his mother was killed in his place once he was born. Jimmy is the guy we knew as Solo from Wool. He was a teen when his silo had an uprising and we see how he survived and why he was the only one left when Juliet found him.

My only complaint about this book was that the explanation for what happened outside and why everyone was in the silos was a little anti-climactic. It wasn't BAD, but I guess I was just hoping for something a little more unconventional from such a great writer. 


Overall, the book was great. I'm looking forward to Hugh Howey's third book in this series, Pact, that is supposed to be out later this year.

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (CBR-V #14)

Cannonball Read V: Book #14/52
Published: 2009
Pages: 431
Genre: Dystopian


4 stars: Very good. Would recommend.

The Year of the Flood is a sort-of sequel to Oryx and Crake, which I read last year. It's more of a companion novel than an actual sequel. It takes place in the same future dystopian society and has a few crossover characters that weave in and out, but it can definitely be read on its own as well. 

This book switches back and forth between two main characters (with their lives interacting at some points through flashbacks). Ren used to work at a futuristic strip club called Scales and Tails before an incident broke out and she got locked inside alone. Toby has been holed up in a spa she used to work at since the incident happend. Before any of that, Ren and Toby were both part of a group called "God's Gardeners" who warned of a "waterless flood" that was coming (the incident). Most of the book is told in flashbacks that explain how each woman joined God's Gardeners and how they ended up where they are now. 

I really love Margaret Atwood. Her writing style is great and I love how she slowly reveals things through the flashbacks and eventually everything connects towards the end. The characters from Oryx and Crake were seamlessly woven into the story, giving them a richer background if you've read the other book, but still making them stand alone characters in this one. The ending is a great connection to Oryx and Crake as well.

I can't wait to read the third book in this trilogy (I think it's going to be released later this year) and I'll definitely be reading some more Atwood books before then.

Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey (CBR-V #13)

Cannonball Read V: Book #13/52
Published: 2012
Pages: 550
Genre: Scifi/Dystopian


5 stars: A favorite! Would read again.

Why did I wait so long to read this book?? It was fantastic. It was originally released as a short story (Part 1) and then the next five parts were released as novellas. The entire thing was eventually released as one volume called Wool Onmibus. 

Part one is a stand alone story, but sort of acts as a prequel to the rest of the novellas. I was sucked in after that first story. The stories take place in a large underground silo that houses thousands of people because something happend outside making it a hostile environment for humans. They have outside cameras so the people in the silo can see that there is nothing out there but dust and grey clouds. It is absolutely forbidden to express any interest in going outside. If someone does, they are sent out for "cleaning", where they are sent outside to clean the camera lenses and then die in the poisoned atmosphere. But what happened out there? Who build the silo? Why do the banished cleaners actually clean the lenses? 

Parts 2-6 of the book mainly follow a girl named Juliette. She works way down deep in the silo in the mechanical section. She had helped law enforcement with a murder case a few years ago, so when a new sheriff is needed, she ends up on the list. She ends up taking the job and gets curious about what happened to the previous sheriff (his story is in Part 1). 

I loved the suspense of this book. Questions were answered, but there was so much tension that I just wanted to keep reading more and more. Don't mistake this for another tired dystopian series. I can't wait to read the next part of the series (another collection of novellas called the Shift Onmibus). 

Gone by Michael Grant (CBR-IV #42)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #42/52
Published: 2009
Pages: 583
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian

I did not care for this book. There's a fine line between interesting plot twists and "WTF did I just read??". The storyline seems simple at first: In a small Californian town, suddenly everyone over the age of fifteen disappears. Sounds cool, right? Then it starts to seem like a YA version of Stephen King's Under the Dome (which I really liked) when the kids figure out that there is a weird barrier around the town. Okay...still not too bad.

THEN...the kids start developing weird powers. I can also deal with that, although I was expecting more of a straight-forward dystopian novel. 

But then the wolves start talking. We have snakes that fly. Some weird entity called "the Darkness" that lives in an old mineshaft. WHAT. THE. EFF? It just got too freaking weird for me. Not to mention the most anti-climactic ending ever. Most of the book was leading up to this big confrontation between the "good" kid and the "bad" kid (who were twins that were separated at birth by the way). Then they BARELY fight and just kind of walk away from each other. 

I also didn't care for the characters. I thought they were too cliche (and I wanted to murder the stupid sidekick surfer friend who attached the word "brah" to the end of every sentence). The good guy (Sam) was TOO good and the bad kid (Caine) was too maniacal to even believe (remember, he's FOURTEEN). Everyone was very one-note. The super smart girl, the autistic kid, etc. -- that is basically their entire personality. 

I will NOT be reading the rest of this series unless I feel that I deserve some sort of punishment.

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (CBR-IV #38)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #38/52
Published: 2003
Pages: 617
Genre: Horror/Dystopian

I first read this book back in college. I know now it's getting a little more press due to the Hunger Games comparisons. I actually first picked up Hunger Games the week it was released back in 2008 because I read that it was similar to Battle Royale. They do share a lot of similarities, but enough differences to make them totally different novels. 

For instance, both novels take groups of teens and pit them against each other to the death. However, The Hunger Games picks a boy and a girl from each district. Battle Royale randomly picks a ninth grade class who has no idea they were chosen until they're already there. They pretend they're taking them on a school trip then gas them on the bus. I think it's a little more chilling that ALL of these students actually know each other and grew up together vs. HG's involving mostly strangers. 

Both novels also provide weapons to the players, but they are distributed a little differently. Instead of HG free-for-all weapons and food in the cornucopia, BR hands out bags to each student as they leave. Each bag contains some sort of random weapon. However, it could be anything from a fork to a machine gun. 

My favorite difference with Battle Royale is the collars. The students are fitted with thin, metal collars that are used as tracking devices. They also contain explosives that will detonate if the wearer tries to remove it or if they are found inside of a forbidden zone. Every few hours, a new zone on the island is "forbidden" and anyone in that section will be killed. If 24 hours goes by without a kill, everyone's collars will detonate and no one wins. 

The novel mainly follows local "rockstar" Shuya (even though rock music is outlawed in their country). Shuya was raised in an orphange along with is best friend who is also on the island. Shuya joins up with Noriko early on and feels he must protect her since his best friend had a crush on her (remember, they're 15-year-olds). Noriko is also injured after being shot in the leg. Shuya and Noriko meet up with the mysterious loner Shogo and they all band together to try and overthrow the game.

I love this novel. I can't say weather I like more or less than HG because I really can't compare the two. BR is much more brutal and bloody. It does have some great characters and even love interests, but that's definitely an afterthought to the violence (which is probably more realistic in a situation like this). 

With 42 characters it can be a little hard to keep track of everyone, especially with all of the unfamiliar Japanese names. I do like "students remaining" tally at the beginning of each chapter though. I also like that there is a "main" group of students we follow and get to know well, but chapters with other students are interspersed throughout the novel as well. 

I don't think Battle Royale is for everyone who might have enjoyed The Hunger Games. However, if you wished HG was a little more brutal and a little less YA, go ahead and try it. 

The Kill Order by James Dashner (CBR-IV #36)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #36/52
Published: 2012
Pages: 336
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian

Previous review of this series:
The Maze Runner
The Scorch Trials
The Death Cure

The Kill Order is a prequel to the popular YA "The Maze Runner" series. If you've read my other reviews, you know how much of a love/hate relationship I have with these books. This one was no exception, although I had slightly different reasons for hating this one.

My absolute favorite part of this book? No stupid Glader slang! I was hoping without that fake cursing distraction that I could get more into this book. Unfortunately, a complete lack of character development kept me from doing so. These characters were so cookie cutter and boring. Mark is our main character. Other than that, he barely has a personality. He teamed up with an older military couple after the solar flares destroyed most of earth. He has a girlfriend (I think? It's not totally clear what their exact relationship is) named Trina.

After surviving the initial solar flares, the group of four find their way to a nice little village of survivors and live happily. At least until an aircraft lands in town and guys come out and shoot the village people with plague-ridden darts. The four main characters fight back and take over the ship. In the quest to figure out what the heck is going on, the two women get taken by a crazy religious cult.

Basically, this book is fight scene, escape scene, fight scene, escape scene, blah blah blah. It gets really repetitive and boring, especially considering it takes half the book to get the blah characters straightened out. I was really hoping for a prequel that explained more how WICKED was formed and followed Thomas before he was put into the maze. There is a preface in the book that tells a tiny bit about Thomas, but other that it's all new characters. 

Hollowmen by Amanda Hocking (CBR-IV #32)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #32/52
Published: 2011
Pages: 194
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian/Zombie



***May contain spoilers to previous books in the series**


In the sequel to Hollowland, we fast forward six months from where the previous novel ended. Remy has spent the last six months being prodded and tested by doctors due to her immunity to the zombie virus. She gets a chance to escape when the building is breached by a zombie hoard and heads out in search of her brother, yet again.


I liked this book as well, although I think it had a few more flaws than the previous one. For one, I don't understand why Remy was experimented on so viciously. I know they were trying to find a cure for the virus, but I have a hard time believing that such a well equipped military quarantine didn't have any anesthesia or anything to use on her during surgeries. They did explain that they were saving their stock of painkillers since it was all they had, but I still don't understand why they couldn't have used some on the poor girl. 


Also, the characters weren't as well written. I liked Lazlo and Blue and Harlow in Hollowland. I can tell you a little about their characters. In Hollowmen, I barely remember any of the supporting characters besides one of the evil doctors who escapes with them (and don't get me started on Remy's feeling sorry and apologizing TO HIM eventually). The few military men and women who she traveled with all sort of blurred together. When Remy started forming a relationship with one of them, I was surprised because I thought he was a middle aged guy for some reason. 


I did like the realism that was present again. Remy doesn't magically meet up with everyone she lost. She doesn't find her long lost love. She starts a new relationship because that's what anyone would do in such a hopeless situation. There is no happy ending. 

Hollowland by Amanda Hocking (CBR-IV #31)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #31/52
Published: 2010
Pages: 291
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian/Zombie



Several years ago, a zombie virus swept across America. Some survivors managed to live in isolated military quarantines for a while. Now, the zombies are getting smarter and broke into the quarantine where 19-year-old Remy King has been living. Before they were taken over, her younger brother was evacuated to another quarantine somewhere up north. Remy manages to escape and goes after her brother.


I actually really liked this book. There was a lot of action and good pacing. Some characters were a little cliche at times (tough as nails main female character for one), but still likable. I liked that there was a tiny bit of romance, but it didn't take center stage over the story. I think that made the story a little more realistic compared to a lot of YA dystopian novels. Of course there would be romantic relationships during in a post-apocalyptic world -- especially when you have a small group of young people in such intense situations. However, the relationships in this book weren't overly sappy and actually felt like they were almost due to a lack of options and being in a high stress environment (which is completely feasible in this type of situation). 


One thing that sort of bugged me was the zombies. They weren't really what most people consider "zombies". They weren't reanimated dead. They were just really sick with the virus. They were also much faster and sometimes smarter than typical zombies. It didn't really effect the story, but it just sort of bugged me. 


Overall, I enjoyed reading Hollowland. It had just what I look for in my dystopian fiction: lots of action, interesting characters, and low on the romance.

Blindness by Jose Saramago (CBR-IV #27)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #27/52
Published: 1995
Pages: 286
Genre: Dystopian

Blindness is an interesting novel. It starts out with a man who is suddenly struck blind while at a traffic light. A man helps him home (and steals his car), but he also is struck blind later. The original blind man goes to an eye doctor who can't make sense if it either. Then the eye doctor is struck blind. Everyone who is in contact with someone who is already blind is also struck by this odd "white blindess" where all they can see is bright white. 

The quick spread of the blindess causes the government to panic and try to quarantine everyone who is already blind. The "original" group of blind people are among the ones thrown in an old hospital (I think...maybe an asylum?) and sort of left to fend for themselves except for some sporadic and meager food deliveries. The military is outside the gates and shoots anyone who gets too close.

The book is a little hard to read if you have trouble with "train of thought" type writing. There aren't a lot of paragraphs and you have to just kind of figure out yourself when someone starts and stops speaking. There are also no formal names. People are known as "the girl with the dark glasses" and "the doctor's wife". It sort of gives you a sense of disorientation like the blind people, so in a way it works with this novel. 

Overall, I thought it was a good book. I liked the plot and it ended up being different than I thought it would be. There was no "hero". This was as gritty and as dirty as you can get in a dystopian novel. I found it to be fairly realistic as to how society would probably deal with this sort of crisis. No magical cure, no evil government secrets, etc. (can you tell I've read to many YA dystopian books?), just...grim reality. 

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (CBR-IV #11)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #11/52
Published: 2009
Pages: 603
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian


**This is the third novel in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. There are spoilers regarding the first two books in the series, The Knife of Never Letting Go, and The Ask and the Answer.

This final book in Patrick Ness's trilogy ties up the journey of Todd and Viola in New World. In the end of the last book, we were left with another cliffhanger as New World's natives, the Spackle, join the war against the already divided humans. This book jumps right into the action as a huge battle breaks out.

The first book was just from Todd's perspective, the second switched between Viola and Todd's thoughts, while this final book adds a new narrator, one of the Spackle. This Spackle is significant because he was the only one left of the Spackle slaves after they were massacred in the war between the humans. He has a tumultuous history with Todd as well. I liked seeing the different perspectives and it was a clever way to keep the reader in the middle of each side of the war. 

Overall, I really loved this trilogy. My only complaint is that this final book was maybe a little too long at 600+ pages. However, there were quite a few surprises and lots of action, so the slower parts weren't very frequent. This was one of the best YA series I have read. It actually relies on plot and suspense over romance. So, if you've been looking for a good dystopian YA that is light on romance and heavy on action, try this series. 

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (CBR-IV #10)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #10/52
Published: 2009
Pages: 519
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian


**This is the second novel in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. There are spoilers regarding the first book in the series, The Knife of Never Letting Go.


Todd and Viola are separated as Mayor Prentiss (now President Prentiss) overtakes Haven (now known as "New Prentisstown"). Todd is taken prisoner by Mayor/President Prentiss, while Viola is sent off to a healing house due to her gunshot wound from the end of the last novel. The healing house women (and Viola) eventually run off and form The Answer, who are opposed to President Prentiss and his tyranny.


Todd and Viola spend the entire book apart and this time half the book is written from Viola's perspective (the first novel was written just by Todd's). I liked that separating the two allowed us to see both opposing sides of the coming war. They are also each heavily swayed by both sides and the reader is never sure which side they may choose. Like the first book, I was never sure what was going to happen next. 


This book was also more brutal than the first. I thought the first was dark and violent, but this ones takes the cake. First treating the Spackle (the planet natives) like cattle, then the women -- not to mention the torture that was going on to try and get information from the other side of the battle. It was horrifying.


And the ending! Wow...I can definitely say that I never saw that coming. Patrick Ness is an amazing author. He knows how to build up tension and keep you guessing with his characters.  I can't wait to read the next book to figure out what happens next.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (CBR-IV #9)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #9/52
Published: 2008
Pages: 496 
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian


The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first book in Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy. It's gotten rave reviews, so I decided to check it out. I'm so glad I gave it a chance because I loved it! 


Todd Hewitt lives in a town called Prentisstown in New World. In New World, only men are left after a disease killed all the women and caused everyone to be able to read everyone else's thoughts (or "noise"). Or so Todd is taught. He's the youngest male left in Prentisstown and his mother left him a book with the truth in it. A month before Todd becomes a man (his 13th birthday), his two caretakers send him out of town with a map and his mother's book to learn the truth. 


The plot description really doesn't do this book justice. I've had it on my to-read list for a while, but the blurbs about it just didn't excite me enough to pick it up, despite the good reviews. It's a very intricately woven story that reveals itself better if you don't know much about it. I went in pretty much blind and was really surprised at a lot of what happened. 


Even though the main characters were 12/13 years old, this book is definitely for older teens/adults. There is no romance (it's about time we had a decent YA book without a romance), but there is plenty of violence. 


One suggestion though: Have the second book on hand. This one ends on a HUGE cliffhanger. 

Divergent by Veronica Roth (CBR-IV #7)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #7/52
Published: 2008
Pages: 388 
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian


Divergent is yet another dystopian YA novel. In this one, society is divided up into five factions which correspond with that factions core values: Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (peace), and Erudite (intelligence). Beatrice was born into the Abnegation sector, but on their 16th birthday, everyone gets to choose either to stay in their present faction or join a different one. It's rare to switch factions, but Beatrice decides to leave Abnegation and join Dauntless. She also finds out during her placement test (which tells them what faction they'd be best suited to, although can choose whichever they want) that she is actually Divergent. Divergent is a rare person who exhibits strong traits from more than one faction. It's also dangerous, so Beatrice is told to keep quiet about it.

I'm a little mixed on this novel though. I think it was well written and had strong characters. It also might be one of the few YA novels I've read lately that doesn't involve a love triangle. There is a romance subplot, but it's well done and doesn't replace an actual plot. It also wasn't very predictable, which is hard to come by in YA too. I was definitely caught off guard thinking that certain things were going to happen and was totally wrong. 

The reason I'm mixed though is that I didn't really get into this book as much as I wanted to. I can't think of anything glaringly horrible to write about, but after I finished I just had zero interest in reading the next book in the series. I think it suffered from mediocrity. It had good characters - but not great. It had an interesting dystopian society - but it was never explained enough to quite make it plausible. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough to make me want more either.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (CBR-IV #6)

Cannonball Read IV: Book #6/52
Published: 2008
Pages: 388 
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian


I first read this book back when it was first released and loved it. I was already a fan of the Japanese novel Battle Royale (which I need to read again) and this was a similar plot, although a little watered down for the teens. I decided to reread it before I see the movie in March.

Katniss (ohhh how I loathe her name) lives in District Twelve in the dystopian society known as Panem. Each year, every district has to draw the names of a boy and a girl teenager to participate in The Hunger Games. In the Games, they all will fight and kill each other until only one person is left alive. Supposedly this is a way to keep the districts in order, but I still don't really get how that works. I figure they'd just be MORE likely to form an uprising if you keep killing their kids. Oh well, we can overlook that since there'd be no story otherwise.

This year Katniss's little sister is drawn to go into the games, so Katniss volunteers to go in her place. The boy whose name is drawn is Peeta, the town baker's son. There's a slightly annoying teen love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Katniss's childhood friend Gale. Fortunately, Collins succeeded in creating possibly the least nauseating love triangle in YA history. Gale and Peeta are actually fully formed, likable characters and Katniss is a strong female who doesn't rely on the men in her life to get her though problems. In fact, Katniss ends up saving Peeta half the time. 

Overall, I love this series. The book is just as good when reading it again. I think just about everyone on earth has read these books by now. I've seen everyone from kids to senior citizens reading the series. It really is one of the few YA book that fully succeeds in crossing the barrier between teen and adult books. Maybe the first series that's done that since Harry Potter.