The 100 by Kass Morgan Review

Book: The 100

Author: Kass Morgan

Genre: YA Dystopia/Sci-Fi

Rating: ★★★.5

Goodreads Blurb (for some reason the description is in a language that is foreign to me but I put the link anyways in case any of you understands it.)

“The rain was only water, and there was no such thing as a clean start. That was the thing with secrets – you had to carry them with you forever, no matter what the cost.”

I decided to read this book because I’d started watching the TV series of it and completely loved it. This is what I stumbled upon:

No one has been to Earth for a couple hundred years after the nuclear war. Everyone lives in space in a huge ship called the Colony that divides into three, Walden, Arcadia and Phoenix. That is, until they start running out of air, and the Colony decides to send a group of 100 confined teenagers to Earth in order for them to explore and see if it was once again habitable, as well as save air.

This book follows the life of 4 teenager’s, three of which were confined. There’s Clarke, who was a medical student, one of the best, until trusting her boyfriend (at that moment) with a little too much information ended in her confinement. Then there’s Wells, son of the chancellor, Clarke’s ex, who got himself confined on purpose with the resolve to find Clark and ultimately get back with her. We also have Bellamy, the Waldenite whose sister got taken away simply for being born, as only one child is allowed per family. Bellamy, who plans to infiltrate the 100 that are going to Earth, for his sister is there and he wants only to take care of her. And finally, we have Glass, who was confined for committing an “unforgivable crime,” who found no other choice than to break up with Luke, her Waldenite boyfriend, her “forbidden love,” in order to save his life. Glass who plans to escape the 100 and finally explain to Luke the reason why she’d been confined, the reason why she’d broken his heart without explanation, as she thought being sent to Earth meant death, and she was gonna be executed when she turned 18, anyways.

•••

CHARACTERS:

Clarke, from the book is pretty much the same as Clarke from the series. Very serious, driven, always caring for the well-being of others. She has that same still-coping-with-the-loss-off-my-parents thing going on as she does in the series, except that the reason for death of her parents in the book was very different, and that both her parents had died in the book, instead of just her dad. *shrugs* There’s not much depth to her character, maybe a little, but not much. I really don’t have much to say about her apart from the fact that I like her character.

Now, we got to see a little more of Wells in the book that we do in the series. He has that same betraying-Clarke-without-meaning-to thing going on, just like in the series, but we get an inside look at the situation from his point of view and learn about his actual intentions and why he did what he did. We also learn that his mother had passed away, and that he has grey eyes? You see, this may seem incredibly irrelevant, but it just messed up my whole vision of what Wells looks like. In the series he’s black and doesn’t have grey eyes, and he’s not exactly the most handsome guy out there, but then in the book the ONLY thing they mention regarding his physique is that he has grey eyes and that he’s incredibly handsome. So I didn’t know if I should imagine him black with grey eyes, and much more handsome, or as someone completely different than from the series, you feel? Do you understand what I mean when I say that it threw me off balance?

Then, Bellamy. Sweet, wonderful, Bellamy. You know, I’ve always had a soft spot for Bellamy, even in the series when he was being a complete ass, but reading from his point of view and seeing just how much he cares about his sister, and learning how his mind works, and being able to see things as he sees them, it just made me love him even more. He’s a beautiful soul inside one hot piece of a body. I think I would’ve loved this book a gazillion times more if it were told only from his point of view. *sigh*

Lastly there’s Glass, a completely new character to me, one which I didn’t expect to like so much. I mean, I wasn’t extremely all over her character, but I did really enjoy her chapters and learning about her. I guess it also may have had to do with the fact that her character was foreign to me and I was learning of her for the first time, whereas with the rest, I already knew of them because of the series.

RELATIONSHIPS IN THE BOOK:

Okay so, if you watch the series, you know how the love triangle was more between Clarke, Finn and Wells more than anyone else? Well the love triangle in this book is between Clarke, Bellamy and Wells, since Finn’s character isn’t part of the books. I was never much of a fan of Wells to begin with, and although I completely adore Bellamy and enjoyed his relationship with Clarke, I couldn’t help but feeling like this was a case of “insta-love.” I mean, they didn’t know each other before going to Earth, and it’s not like they spent a lot of time getting to know each other on earth. They were stranded on a possibly toxic planet, for God’s sake. Who has time for love when surviving is the #1 goal? It was kind of like… Flirting a couple times and then POOF! There you have it folks, insta-love. Enjoyable, but unnecessary and completely unbelievable.

Now, Glass and Luke’s relationship I really, really liked. There was nothing extraordinary about it, but you could tell they did love and care for each other, and they had spent quite a long time together, so it felt more genuine and real.

WRITING AND PACE OF THE BOOK:

The way this book was written wasn’t particularly special or mind-blowing. *shrugs* It wasn’t as fast paced as I would’ve liked it to be but it wasn’t slow either. And even though the writing wasn’t spectacular, it was nice, and there were some quotes that I really loved, so I’ll give it that.

BOOK VS TV SERIES:

Although I did really like and enjoy this book, I think I agree with almost everyone else. The series is definitely a lot better than the book. It’s not that the book was bad, it was great, it just pales a little bit when compared to the series. But then again, who knows? Maybe if I’d read the book before watching the series I would’ve preferred it over the series. Maybe…

OVERALL FEELS:

This book was good, but it wasn’t something from another world. I enjoyed it but it didn’t blow me away. I gave it 3 and a half stars because even though it wasn’t amazing, I did really enjoy my time reading it. I don’t know, if you’re a picky reader then I don’t think this is the book for you, but I’m a fairly easy to please reader, so I guess it just depends on the reader’s preference. If you’re curious about it, give it a try! It’s not bad in the least, just not breathtaking.

Now, if you could just please sign and support my petition for this book to be re-written from Bellamy’s point of view that’d be great, thanks, bye!

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Review

Book: An Ember in the Ashes

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Genre: Dystopian/Fantasy

Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Blurb

“Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after. Such moments are tests of courage, of strength.”

From the very beginning I had huge expectations for this book. I didn’t really know what it was about but everyone was so hyped up about it and I kept seeing all these 5 star reviews around; needless to say, I was ecstatic to start.

And. It. Did. Not. Disappoint.

To give you a little heads up, the book is about these two individuals called Laia and Elias who are bound by destiny to lead on extraordinary lives. But before any of this can happen, we meet a meek Laia, member of the lowest caste of the Empire; the Scholars. Elias is a soldier of the Empire therefore and enemy of the Scholars. The book is in dual perspective so we get to see each individual journey and how, at one point, they collide and face choices and obstacles that could change life as they know it.

The flow of the story is superb, Sabaa is a true artist when it comes to plot development. With a plot this thick, you’d expect to be confused or at least lost once in awhile but this book had me on board all the freaking time. I was on the edge, having to read the next chapter immediately because I just HAD to know what was going to happen.

 The writing is also very beautiful, sure there was a lot of action but Sabaa’s narrative is fluid and, in some places, very poetic.

This is the type of dystopia I like to see, I can’t stand vague plot points, so while there was a lot to take in from this book, it is greatly appreciated in my eyes.  It adds dimensions to the story and also strength for future installments. Needless to say, I’m anxiously awaiting the sequel!

The characters are also amazingly done. I did have a problem with Laia (the main girl) in the beginning but she grows so much as a character and heroine that by the time I read the last scenes, I was beyond proud of her. Elias was also great, lots of mental torment going on in his head but it made for a fierce and very human hero.  Another aspect I must point out about this book is the supporting characters. I loved them so freaking much. They had a story of their own, a personal strength that made you love and are for them as much as the main characters.  Helene will grow on you, I for one felt very identified with her struggle and her mentality.

The romance wasn’t very strong here though it did make it’s mark.  In these scenes is where the poetry really packs a punch. And frankly, I’m very glad for that. This book has it’s priorities straight.

If you’re into epic stories with diverse characters, thrilling action and suspense that’ll make you crawl out of your skin; look no further!

(no gifs on this review because there was an overload of awe)

(okay I lied)