Insurgent - Veronica Roth (Divergent #2)

This review will contain spoilers for those of you who have not read Divergent, blah, blah, blah. 

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature. [GoodReads]

After finishing Divergent, I was extremely excited to begin reading Insurgent, so I started it the day it came out (May 4) and sadly, I finished it about a month later. Now, I could blame this on my school crap - and yes, that was partially to blame - but there was just something different about Insurgent. It was a lot slower than I thought it would be. There were some bits of action here and there, but other than that, there wasn't much of anything. Most of the book was just political mumbo-jumbo and that's just not interesting to me. I have never, nor will I ever be, a politician.Something about Insurgent's plot was slow, and I couldn't dive right into it as I had done with Divergent. The major plot twist at the end had me reeling - in true Veronica Roth fashion. Overall, I'd give this book 3/5 stars. Hopefully all of the political nonsense is leading up to one fantastic BA ending. Although, I'm not sure that I want this series to end just yet...

Go Ask Alice - Anonymous

January 24th After you've had it, there isn't even life without drugs.... It started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within months, she was hooked, trapped in a downward spiral that took her from her comfortable home and loving family to the mean streets of an unforgiving city. It was a journey that would rob her of her innocence, her youth -- and ultimately her life. Read her diary. Enter her world.
You will never forget her. For thirty-five years, the acclaimed, bestselling first-person account of a teenage girl's harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. As powerful -- and as timely -- today as ever, Go Ask Alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction.

My older sister recommended this book to me, she said that she had read it in school and that it was one of her favorites. I wasn't sure how I would feel about reading someone's personal thoughts, and their personal memories, but there was just something about this one that kept me coming back.This diary was phenominally raw and real, not much was edited from what I can tell. There there is too much to say about it, only, I can't put my thoughts into coherent words. Every teenager, or adult, should read this book. If you haven't read it yet, then please, do.

*There is heavy drug use in this diary, and multiple f-bombs were dropped, also, some graphic scenes. I would recommend that anyone 15+ read this book.*

Vampire Academy: The Graphic Novel (1)

After two years on the run, best friends Rose and Lissa are caught and returned to St. Vladimir’s Academy, a private high school for vampires and half-bloods. It’s filled with intrigue, danger—and even romance.

Enter their dark, fascinating world through a new series of 144-page full-color graphic novels. The entire first Vampire Academy novel has been adapted for book one by Leigh Dragoon and overseen by Richelle Mead, while the beautiful art of acclaimed British illustrator Emma Vieceli brings the story to life.

When I picked this up from my local library, I was expecting something that was as fantastic as the original VA books. I was a little disappointed in reading this book, I guess I was just expecting more detail plot wise. I mean, the basic plot was there, it was just kind of in bits and pieces and I kept having to remind myself what happened in the first VA book to make certain things in this graphic novel make sense. I don't know if this novel would make much sense to someone who hasn't read the VA books, because I don't think a person who hasn't read VA would completely understand the characters and the world that VA is set in. Either way, the graphic novel was good. I loved the drawing and this was a good way for me to recap what happened in the first Vampire Academy book. Plus, Dimitri was pretty awesome. I can't wait to see what they do with Adrian and he rest of the gang. This book definitely needs to be on my shelf.

3.5/5 stars