Books I Read in February 2013

Originally posted on 2/27/13 here.

With the exception of the first book, the theme of this month was wrapping up two really good YA trilogies.  Looks like I need to get crackin' on my to do item of reading 50 books this year: Goodreads has this widget that looms large every time I log in, telling me what percent of books I've read towards my goal: 5 books at 10% and how many I'm behind: 2 books at 6% behind schedule.  Eek.



The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

SUCH an enjoyable read. I really love books with a fantastical nature, or I suppose what is called 'magical realism' (see also: The Night Circus); this fairy tale of a novel was suspenseful and full of beautiful prose. I only wish that it stuck with the magic of a girl conceived of snow and none of the supposed realities of her life. There were a lot of unanswered questions by the end of the book and I think they could have been forgiven if Faina's character was kept shrouded in mystery throughout, rather than revealing some things but not others about her character.  That said, it's still awesome.





Reached (Matched Trilogy #3) by Ally Condie

Of all the dystopian YA I've read, the first book in this trilogy (Matched) stood out for me and is one of my favorites in the genre. I was really looking forward to seeing this through and unraveling the secrets of the 'Society' and Cassia's family - specifically her grandfather. Alas, all the talk of Society vs the Rising vs the Enemy got convoluted and nothing is revealed that I didn't already assume. So many things are left ambiguous and I felt a bit beaten over the head with the theme of threes.  I have a problem where I pretty much have to read an entire series if I like the first book - with the exception of Game of Thrones, because life is just too short to be reading George R.R. Martin all day, every day.  It's just like the movies: sequels are rarely as good as the original and YA trilogies just seem to fizzle out by the third book (or completely fall apart, as the Maze Runner trilogy did).  One of the few exceptions:




Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

Fantastic! Such a great series and a wonderful conclusion.  Full of plot twists and turns, I was furiously turning the pages to see how Amy and Elder's story would end.  There's lots of action, horror, mystery, and real emotional development for the characters. Bravo to a YA trilogy that I loved from beginning to end and that never lost steam.