Over the years, best sellers have sparked major trends in books. Harry Potter inspired many witch and wizarding books, and Twilight spurred legions of werewolf versus vampire novels. The most recent of these trends is dystopian novels, started by Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games sold over 800,000 copies in it’s first two years in stores and is currently published in over 26 languages. It was also developed into a movie, which became a box office hit.
The Hunger Games became the most famous of the many popular dystopian novels published in recent years, but there are many other good dystopian reads that have come from the trend started by The Hunger Games.
Fantasy and science fiction books have experienced these trends for years, from aliens to werewolves. A dystopian novel is one set in a society which has traits opposite those of a utopian society, according to http://dictionary.com. In essence, a dystopia is a society where the government is either extremely ineffective, or entirely totalitarian. The society has often been formed in such a way to accommodate a serious problem, whether environmental, social, or otherwise.
The Hunger Games is set in North America, in a time when the U.S. government has long since disappeared and the people are divided into twelve districts, each with a distinct lifestyle for it’s residents. The story follows Katniss Everdeen as she goes into a fight for her life in place of her sister, and realizes how flawed the society she lives in is.
DIVERGENT by Veronice Roth
Divergent is the most popular book to come from the trend besides The Hunger Games. It is currently in casting for a movie by Summit Entertainment, who also made the Twilight movies.
Divergent is set in a society in which people choose which of the five factions they want to live in, based on the personality trait they believe to be their best. For instance, those in Candor pride themselves on honesty, while those in Amity are praised for their friendliness.
Roth brings forth many questions and makes readers think about their own qualities while observing those of the characters. Roth creates very relatable characters, and every character has depth and an excellent back story.
The main character, Beatrice Prior, was raised in Abnegation, the selfless faction, but never felt as if she belonged completely. Beatrice displays strengths in three of the factions and must choose by herself where she belongs. Beatrice decides to go to Dauntless, the brave faction, where initiates must prove themselves through a series of tests meant to push initiates to their breaking point by using their fears against them.
Divergent is Roth’s debut novel and is exciting and fast paced. Roth creates characters everyone can relate to and poses an interesting question about human nature and finding where we belong.
Divergent’s sequel, Insurgent, was released last May, and the conclusion to the trilogy is set to be released in 2013. Summit Entertainment bought the media rights and they are currently underway with casting the movie. A release date in 2015 has been discussed.
Roth creates an entire world that readers can really see themselves in and relate to. Teenagers especially will relate to the motif of finding one’s place in society. Divergent is well- written with a fast-paced intricate plot, and has something for everyone. Roth demonstrates both emotional depth and an inclination to action. Readers will easily relate to the main character and her experiences. 5/5 stars.
LEGEND by Marie Lu
Legend is set in The Republic, one of the only remaining countries in North America. The government of The Republic is militaristic, oppressive, and intent on destroying the only other remaining inhabitants of North America, known as The Colonies.
The future of each of The Republic’s citizens is determined by The Trial: a test to determine the worth of a person and how much they are entitled to. The brightest go on to attend high school and then a top college, while the lowest scoring are taken from their families under the guise of being assigned to a labor camp.
Many of the non-central characters in Legend lack depth and are very dull and boring, and only slow the story down. Many of these characters add nothing to the plot and only serve as filler for extra pages.
The story is told from the varying viewpoints of June, who received a perfect score on The Trial and is a top cadet in route to have a high ranking position within the military on one side, and Day, who managed to escape the labor camps and now lives to work against the government of The Republic.
When June’s brother is killed, Day is the prime suspect in the investigation. As June sinks deeper into Day’s world, she begins to realize the flaws in her own.
Legend is the first book in a trilogy, but is currently the only installment. The sequel, Prodigy, is set for release in 2013.
Legend, while slow to start, is an exciting story, and the author brings the views of Day and June forward to drive the plot. Overall a solid read, but a little predictable. 4/5 stars.
GIRL IN THE ARENA by Lise Heines
The government in Girl in the Arena most closely resembles the current American government, but Gladiator Culture, the social standards to which Gladiators adhere, is a huge part of life, and Gladiators are celebrated as NFL quarterbacks and movie stars are in our society.
The story follows Lyn, whose mother is a Glad Wife, a woman who attends college to learn how to be the best wife to a gladiator she can, and whose only interest is to find a new gladiator husband after the current one loses, as Gladiator battles are usually fought to the death.
Lyn appears pessimistic and a little off-putting at the beginning of the novel, but as the story continues readers are able to see the reasons for why she behaves the way she does. Other characters seem to serve no purpose at all, other than to create a love triangle in the story or add another minor subplot. The story gets very twisted and at the end contains too many aspects for any reader to follow easily.
Her mother has remarried seven times, the maximum allowed by the Gladiator Wives Association. Lyn gives her dowry ring to her stepfather for luck, and when he is killed while wearing it, she is promised to her stepfather’s murderer.
Instead of accepting a fate she does not want, Lyn decides to enter the arena as a Gladiator and fight for her own hand.
Heines takes a story that could easily become driven by violence and adds a level of emotional depth that readers can relate to. Lyn’s situation is one that readers can empathize with easily, even if it is outside the realm of relatability.
The biggest issue is dialogue. Instead of quotations around the dialogue, Heines uses dashes before a quote, and no end marker, as well as no attribution. This leaves readers wondering which character says what quote and having to dig deeper and figure it out themselves, which detracts from the plot and slows it further. Heines has no apparent reason for breaking the status quo, and the dashes serve no real purpose that quotation marks would not.