Fire Country (Country Saga #1) by David Estes

Fire Country (Country Saga #1) by David Estes

ebook, 398 pages
Published January 29th 2013
ISBN:139781301505821

Goodreads Summary

In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of sandstorms, and summer's even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like country, the Heaters manage to survive, barely. 

Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low the only way the tribe can survive is by forcing women to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter. It is their duty as Bearers.

Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband with whom to bear children with. 

As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun.

My Review

Fire Country is the first book of the Country series, which is the sister series to David’s Dwellers series. Now I have to admit that I have yet to finish David’s Dweller series and Evolution series, but I previously did a cover reveal for this book and it was the monthly read in an online book group I’m in, so I had to move this book up in my to-read list. As with Moon Dwellers, David did not disappoint me with this novel. Actually, I can say with all honestly that it’s the best book I've read by him so far. I have become a great fan of his. 

The main difference between this book and other books that I have read so far by David is the dialect of this society. Not to go off a topic, but I have a friend who once told me that he couldn't read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone because of all the made-up language. I personally feel the made-up terms helped make the world of Harry Potter what it is, but I can understand how daunting it can be to read something with words that you can’t find in a dictionary (or that can be but have a totally different meaning). Even though most of the time the new terms are defined or at the very least explained, you have to get your mind used to them and their usage. Once you get into Harry Potter, for example, words like muggle become second nature to you and you learn to love the new terms. That’s what happened when I first started reading the dialect of Fire Country. Getting used to their dialect wasn't all that difficult for me and I actually really liked it (not like Blood Red Road, where I found the language cool at first and then quickly got annoyed with it or Bumped where I hated it off the bat). It kind of reminds me of the dialect of the southern states and considering that this region is plagued by extreme heat and desert, makes me wonder if Fire Country is located within that region.  And trading words like “burnin’”, “searin’”, and “blaze” for common swear words is a good way to sneak such words into a teen book. 

David gave a lot of character development in Siena. She goes from a skinny, weak, “youngling” to a still skinny, but strong warrior. Even though the time and circumstances are different from what we know today, a lot of what she goes through mentally (growing pains, trouble fitting in, rebellion, grief) ring true for many teenagers today. In the beginning of the book, she’s so shy and unsure of herself because she’s small and scrawny and isn't popular, but as the novel goes on, she gains great strength. Despite her insecurities and small stature, however, you can see the rebellion in her from the beginning, just from her constant use of “words that’d draw my father’s hand across my face like lightening.” Every time she rebelled against her father, I mentally routed for her and then cringed when she was punished for it. As terrible as it was, it was a good thing because it made her that much stronger. 

I love Circ. He was such a good friend to Siena. It was obvious that he would do anything for her. I don’t know about everyone else, but I could kind of see that he was interested in her as more than a friend from the beginning. I think it was something about the lengths he seemed to be willing to go for her and their interactions with each other that screamed more than just close friendship. Maybe as “todders” or “midders” these things would be strictly friendship, but not as “youngling” and “pre-bearer”. 

Siena’s father is such a cruel and selfish man and is way too hard on Siena and her mother. Siena says that he wasn't always that way; that there was a time when he taught her things and played with her and was happy. 

"This man is but a shadow of the father I once knew; the father who sat me on his knees and bumped them up and down while I squealed with laughter; the father who smiled bigger'n the desert when I came home from Learning holding the Smooth Stone, awarded to the best Midder student; the father who held my hand and confronted Midder Vena when she struck me in the arm. No, the man standing 'fore me ain't the man who did any of those things"

Somehow I have a very hard time picturing the man described here. The man portrayed in this book is power-hungry, egotistical, and self-centered. Some the secrets that he and the other Greynotes (the oldest members of Fire Country) have been harvesting did not seem all that big at first, but the more that is revealed, the meaner and selfish Siena father becomes. 

Even though this is not the first novel I have read with a society that dictates when a young girl should marry and have children and/or allows men to have multiple wives or child bearers, I still am angry and appalled with every such novel I read. In Fire Country, the Law states that girls become "bearers" at age sixteen (which is middle age considering that, on average, the life expectancy for men is 30 and for women is 32) and they have a ceremony called "the Call" where a mate is selected from a list of eligible boys (18 years or older, which Siena finds unfair). Then they are to immediately conceive a child and continue to have one child every three years thereafter. A "full family" is one that consists of one man, three "Calls" and nine children. Men are allowed more than one Call, but women are to remain with their Call, unless they die in which case a new call is selected. The main purpose for this is to keep their people from dying out. Considering how short the life expectancy of the people due to their environment, it is reasonable to try to ensure that their population remains stable. However, women get the short end of this deal, which Siena's "learning-mate" Lara points out. 

"They pick a guy, they pick a girl, stick you together, and nine full moons later out pops a kid. Sounds like breeding to me." 

Breeding, a word that Siena feels implies that they're animals or hunks of meat. She's definitely not a piece of meat. But even if they are not meat, the women are still being used. They are not allowed any say into who their call is, even though they will be forced to be intimate and share a life with that person for the rest of their short life. They are forced to bear children at 16, whether they want to or are ready to or not. The amount of children and how often they have them is dictated. Men are allowed more than one "Call", but women are not even allowed male friends after their Call, which means Siena and Circ can no longer be friends. It's amazing how people who are so essential to their population have the least amount of rights. 

I greatly recommend this novel to dystopian/apocalyptic fans. I look forward to the next installment to the series Ice Country next month. 

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

   

Paperback, First Edition: 340 pages
Published: October 2nd 2012 by Harper Collins (first published November 15th 2011)
ISBN: 0062085506 
ISBN13: 9780062085504

Goodreads Summary

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

 

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war– and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

 

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

My Review

I read this book over a year ago and decided that since I had recently read the novella Destroy Me, which follows the villain Warner, that it would make more sense to post a review of Shatter Me first. You need to know the plot of Shatter Me in order to understand the significance of Destroy Me.
 

I picked up Shatter Me because it was the monthly read for a book group on Goodreads. When I first started reading it, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. There are a lot of crossed out lines within the text and Juliette seems to have obsessive thoughts and is rattled with anxiety. As I began to learn Juliette’s circumstances—her ability, her parents sending her away, her incarceration—it all began to make sense.  And the once the action and romance came into play, I was definitely hooked. This book is most definitely a page turner.

I liked Juliette as a main character. I really felt for her. She has been treated like a monster because of her ability, something which she is unable to control. Even her own parents wanted nothing to do with her, which is always sad. The reality of it is that Juliette is far from a monster. She doesn't want to hurt anyone. The fact that she makes a point never to touch anyone proves that. What I find the most amazing is that despite her history of being shunned and feared, she never took Warner’s promise of revenge. She knows that using her abilities to elicit fear and to gain power will not make her feel better. I also think Juliette may have more control over her powers than she truly realizes and I think that she will learn and develop it more as the story progresses in the rest of the trilogy.

Warner is the villain in this book. He is a head solider of the Reestablishment, the rulers of their world after people started dying from the effects climate change and global warming (e.g., heat, animals dying, famine). Warner is egotistical, arrogant, selfish, and out for only himself. He wishes to use Juliette and her powers as a weapon. He tries to convince Juliette that he holds the key to her getting revenge on all who have wronged her. As good of a villain as Warner is, however, I think there is a lot more to his story than meets the eye, which would explain why he is the way he is. I actually like that we don't know much about his story right now because I believe that if we did, we may have difficulty disliking him.

“You are the only good thing left in this world.”

This leads us to Adam Kent. Adam is a solider in Warner’s army and is assigned to watch over Juliette while she’s held captive by Warner. He knew her as a child in school and it turns out he is the only one who did not view her as a monster. 

I love the relationship between Adam and Juliette. I love the passion that lies between them. Adam is able to see Juliette for what she truly is (which isn't a monster) and he seems to want to protect her. He also provides the love and friendship that she's been missing and yearning for her entire life. In turn, Juliette is the confidant he has always needed. He has always been the one that serves and protects others, never having anyone to admit his fears to. With Juliette, he is finally able to admit his fears when he is at a loss without fear of being viewed as weak. 

“I don’t know what to do,” he says, and it’s like a confession that costs him much more than I can understand. Control is slipping through his fingers and he’s desperate to hold on. 

Up until this point, he has been the one with the plans and solutions. This type of confession is very difficult for him to make and Juliette is probably the only person in the world to which he can let his guard down. 

“There will be a bird today…It will fly.”

There is a bit of symbolism in the novel…the white bird. In this era, it has been a long time since anyone has seen an actual bird fly by because of deterioration of the ozone layer. However, in Juliette’s dreams, she sees a white bird. 

“I've dreamt about the same bird flying through the same sky for exactly 10 years. White streaks of gold like a crown atop its head.”

She soon learns that the bird in her dreams isn't just a dream when she sees a tattoo on Adams chest of the same bird. Although we don’t really know just yet what the bird tattoo means, I think there are some things that can be taken from it symbolically.  Juliette speaks of the bird flying away, which is truly what she wishes to do, so obviously the bird flying represents freedom. It also represents a better time in their society, before the world climate became completley unstable, before the Reestablishment took over. For Juliette, a bird flying in the sky represents a brighter future for their society. Finally, the tattoo of the bird on Adam’s chest is a part of their special connection. If that particular bird means freedom for Juliette, it being on Adam is sign that he will be her savior, her ticket to freedom. 

One issue I have is that I have a hard time really visualize this world because they don't go into very much detail about it. We know that the Ozone layer disintegrated, that climate is unpredictable, and many of the creatures that we know of are unable to survive within it. The rest is a bit up in the air. Unlike many other dystopian/apocalyptic novels, this book doesn't really seem to be centered on that. I hope that we learn more in the later books, because I would like to have a better grasp of the situation. 

I highly recommend this book. It is well written, the language is almost poetic, there is some good character development, symbolism, and it has a lot of action and romance. The route the book takes at the end wasn't entirely surprising to me, but it was kind of cool because I've never read a book that went that route. The book doesn't end in a clear cut cliffhanger, but there are a lot of questions that need to be answered which make me excited to read the rest of the series. 

The Hunger Games...the future of reality tv?

My husband gave me an e-reader for Christmas and ever since I have been reading pretty much non stop. Practically every day in a moment of boredom I have been searching between Sony e-bookstore, Google, and Borders for new things to read. This is how I came across The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I have always been a fan of satirical novels. Some of my favorite classics are The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald , 1984  and Animal Farm by George Orwell , and Brave New World  by Aldous Huxley . What actually caused me to purchase the book was after reading an excerpt of the first chapter on Google and being reminded of 1984. And as with 1984, many aspects of The Hunger Games  can be seen in society today, even though it is set during some unknown time in the future.

Book info

Hardcover, 374 pages
Published: October 31st 2008 by Scholastic Press
ISBN: 0439023483 
ISBN13: 9780439023481
url: http://www.scholastic.com/thehungergames/
Literary awards: Georgia Peach Book Award (2009), Buxtehuder Bulle (2009), School Library Journal Best Book of the Year (2008), Cybils Award for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2008), Amelia Bloomer List (2009)
An ALA Notable Children's Book for Older Readers (2009), West Australian Young Readers' Book Award (WAYRBA) for Older Readers (2010), Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee (2011), Red House Children's Book Award for Older Readers & Overall (2010), New York Times Notable Children's Book (2008), Publishers Weekly's Best Books of The Year, South Carolina Book Award for Junior and Young Adult Book Awards (2011), Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award (2010), Teen Buckeye Book Award (2009), Rhode Island Teen Book Award (2010), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (2010), ALA Teens' Top Ten (2009), Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2010), Sakura Medal for Middle School Book (2010), Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award (2009), Florida Teens Read (2009), Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (2010), Iowa High School Book Award (2011), Horn Book Fanfare (2008), ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults (2009), Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award (2010), The Inky Awards for Silver Inky (2009), Abraham Lincoln Award (2011) 

Summary

Here's the background of the story. At some point in the future, much of the land we call North America was destroyed by a series of events (i.e. floods, storms, fire). What remains is a country called Panem which consists of the Capitol surrounded by 13 districts. At first things are fine until there is an uprising in the districts against the Capitol, which is then after called "the Dark Days". In the end, 12 of the districts are defeated and District 13 is obliterated. A Treaty of Treason is formed by the Capitol providing laws for the remaining 12 districts in order to "keep the peace" (leaving most districts in poverty, starving, and with no rights or freedom) and as a yearly reminder of "the Dark Days" (not to mention the hold the Capitol has over the districts), they have the Hunger Games. The basic rules of the Hunger Games are such: every year two kids between the ages of 12 and 18, one boy and one girl, are chosen from each district in a public drawing (called "the Reaping") to participate in "the Games" with a total number of 24 "tributes". Participation in the Games and attendance at the Reaping are mandatory punishable by death and the only way a "tribute" can get out of participating in "the Games" after his or her name is drawn is if someone else in the district volunteers to take their place (which rarely happens). After all of the tributes are selected, they are then taken to an outdoor arena in a undisclosed location in the Capitol where they are to fight each other to the death. The last tribute standing is the winner and is rewarded with wealth, a new home in the wealthier area of their district, their district is given a supply of food once a month, and they never have to compete in "the Games" again.  "The Games" are a national event that is televised throughout the country and the people have no choice but to watch them (the citizens of the Capitol are the only ones who actually enjoy them). There are a few other aspects to it, but this is the basic premise. 

At the time in which The Hunger Games takes place, our narrator, Katniss Everdeen, is 16 years old citizen of Samen in District 12 and is about to attend her fourth "Reaping". When her 12 year old sister, Primrose (bka Prim), is selected for "the Games", Katniss volunteers to take her place. The male tribute is Peeta Mellark, a 16 year old son of a baker who goes to school with Katniss and to whom Katniss owes an unspoken debt. I will stop here with the overview because I don't wish to give too much away. 

My Review

I really liked this book. It had me hooked within the first few pages. Suzanne lets you know from the beginning that Katniss isn't you're average teenager, that Panem is far from the world as we know it, and this is not going to be a light and airy story. The world in which Katniss resides is a harsh one. Where most girls her age are worrying about social engagements, clothes, and boys, Katniss' thoughts are way beyond that.  From the time her father is killed in a mine explosion, Katniss is left to take care of her mother and her sister. She had to learn to hunt for food and trade in the black market. This alone puts life into perspective. Imagine if you lived in a world where you have no guarantee that you will get a meal each day. Where hunger is a daily occurrence. It makes some of our everyday worries seem superficial in comparison. 

In contrast, you have the citizens of the capitol that are heavily made up and surgically perfected and don't know the meaning of the word hunger. Their lives consists of beautifying themselves and the Hunger Games each year. And you may think that Katiniss and other citizen's of the outer districts would look up to and envy these people. But it's the opposite--they look down on them. Their appearance seem to be almost alien-like and the way they speak is something to be mocked. At one point, Katniss refers to the members of her prep team as her "pets". These people haven't a care in the world and are oblivious to the harsh realities of life that Katniss and the other tributes have to face daily. There is a possibility that Suzanne may have created this contrast as a means to shine a light on the superficiality of the rich, Hollywood, and possibly America as a culture. 

In looking at "the Games" in itself, I couldn't help but think about reality TV, because that's honestly what "the Games" are; reality TV in it's most inhumane and brutal form. The tributes are brought to the Capitol to be "cleaned" and dressed up in costumes to be paraded around for the Capitol to cheer and gawk at. Meanwhile they all know that it is most likely the last time 23 of them will be seen alive for they will be throw into a arena to kill each other while they watch on. Could this possibly become the future of reality TV? Could our need for entertainment come to mean more than human dignity and human life?  I think it's a possibility that we could be heading in that direction. For example, Fear Factor. The contestants are asked to perform dangerous stunts, eat disgusting things, and put in dangerous situations in the hopes of winning a prize at the end while we viewers are entertained by it. Sure they're in a controlled situation and compete by choice, but they are put in danger and at times humiliated for entertainment value much like "the Games". Another example are shows like the Bachelor. These women are brought to compete for the love of these men and the more drama, fighting and humiliation the better. Much like playing the right angle in "the Games" can get the tributes food or supplies. And it's basically degrading. The women are usually young and beautiful and could probably get any man they want. Yet they choose to compete for these men. Its the same with "the Games" except that it's not by choice. These children are young, with families, and have more life ahead of them (albeit not a bright and prosperous one) and they're taken away from their families most likely never to be seen alive again to fight to the death. So thus far we seem to draw the line at killing one another because it constitutes murder and murder is wrong (plus there is fear of legal repercussions). Humiliation, drama, danger, and injury for the sake of entertainment is fine, just as long as no one dies. But I think that if we found some amusement or entertainment value in killing one another (which theoretically we have, but only in the made up stunt reality of movies, dramas, and documentaries), a reality TV show similar to "the Games" could easily become a reality.