July 2013 - Part, the First

I'm going to break up my July recap into a few separate posts, partially because I'm going to be trying a slightly different approach, and partially because I read 14 books in July....so, smaller, more manageable chunks it is!

My brain was definitely in vacation mode this month - it apparently doesn't matter that I've not been a full time student for more than a decade, I still feel the cycles of the academic calendar. I started the month in much the same vein as I finished the last one - consuming YA novels like they're going out of style.

First up, I finished the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen

Rumors (#2), Envy (#3), and Splendor (#4) rounded out the series that follows a cast of characters from the upper crust of New York at the turn of the 20th century. I gave the first installment only 2 stars, but decided that it was worth checking out the rest of the series. I'm reasonably glad that I did. I rated the others all 3 stars (one of these days I'll get around to defining my rating system, maybe).

I wasn't blown away by anything particular in these novels, but I enjoyed them all and found the plot lines and characters intriguing. Think, Gossip Girl, 100 years ago. I wouldn't recommend these books based on the writing alone, but, for me, the stories outweighed any problems I had with the execution. This was a fun glimpse of what it might have been like to be a member of Society. Plus? Those covers? I spent most of the time I was reading imagining all the dresses and swooning.

Godbersen has also written a trilogy (Bright Young Things)  that, if I'm remembering correctly, is set in the 1920s - and who doesn't love flappers and speakeasies?!?

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And, because I was on a roll, I went ahead and finished up the Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver as well. There is something wonderful about being able to read a series straight through, instead of having to wait around for the next book to be released!

 

I've read a number of YA dystopias (I'm trying to recall a dystopia that wasn't a YA novel, but nothing is jumping out at me, at the moment); it's a genre that seems to have really taken off lately. First it was vampires, then it was post-apocalyptic dystopias and zombies, what the next major trend in YA novels will be is anyone's guess. Whatever it is, you can be sure that I'll most likely be reading them alongside all the tweens and teens.

I heard quite promising things about this trilogy - but for whatever reason, it just sort of fell flat for me. It wasn't terrible, but it's not one I'd recommend. I didn't ever really connect to any of the characters and found the whole thing to be too formulaic. I, more than most probably, appreciate books that follow the usual patterns of the genre - so long as they do it well. These? Meh, not so much.

If you're looking for a YA dystopia to read, I'd head over the The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins or Divergent, by Veronica Roth.

to be continued.....