Divergent by Veronica Roth

Goodreads Summary:
In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

My thoughts:
Tris (Beatrice) is kind of a freak in her world. She is not capable of being brain washed. This is of course dangerous to those who wish to control this dystopian world that she lives in. This book follows the same formula as a lot of dystopian books but I am not saying that is a bad thing. Tris comes into her own and that is something everyone must do and therefore can relate to.
The interesting thing about this book is the factions 16 year olds choose to live in and work in. Candor, is for the completely honest. Dauntless, is for the fearless. Agnegation, is for the selfless. Amity is for the peaceful. Erudite, is for the knowledge seekers. I liked the idea of teens choosing to live with like minded people. I did not like however, that it was all or nothing.
Tris is Divergent in that she can't fit into just one of the factions. She is a little of at least three of them. She is selfless, fearless, and a truth seeker. She was raised as an Agnegathion but opts to become a Dauntless when her placement test is inconclusive. Her Mother as it turns out was born Dauntless and chose Agnegathion. The thing I don't like about a lot of these books is the lies that parents tell their kids and how that always comes back to bite them in the ass. My own parents were pretty honest with me and I always valued that. Mind you they were never part of a revolution but still the fact remains they were honest. I wish I could read one of these dystopian books where parents are just straight up with their kids.

I would recommend this book to fans of the dystopian genre and anyone who wants a fast read. I finished this book in under 6 hours.

While writing this review I was listening to the tv show SMASH.

Need by Carrie Jones

Goodreads Summary:
Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear.

My Thoughts:
I was attracted to this book because of the cover. Sadly, what they say about you can't judge a book on its cover is completely accurate on this book. I thought this book would be interesting, it was not. I will say that I liked one aspect of this book. Zara has memorized the technical names for fears and repeats them to herself. I liked learning the names of fears as a way to break up sections and chapters in the book.
This book had a lot of potential but it consistently fell short. The dialog was Twilight the movies level of bad. I often found myself rolling my eyes and sighing heavily from annoyance with the book. I almost gave up on finishing it several times. I think it was just sheer will that kept me coming back. Nick the "werewolf" was a bad knockoff of Jacob. I didn't even like Jacob. I am just really tired of the overly protective male leads who are so driven, but incredibly stupid.

I would not recommend this book to anyone.

While writing this review I was listening to Michael Ray and the Plastic Sheets.