love_booksforlife's Reviews (511)

While it is very slow at parts, the story of Charlie gaining intelligence is very heart-wrenching and a powerful read. The ending is heartbreaking. I am going to be teaching this to my students this year and I'm excited to see what they think of it. Also, James Franco needs to make this into a movie (I know there was one already but it won't hurt to make another one) because I would love to see him and what he does with the character of Charlie.

This was a great read. The first person narrative really pulls you into "Alice's" story, a story that is heart-breaking and disturbing. The plot is scary but not because of ghosts or other supernatural figures. It is scary because it is a situation that happens in real life. "Alice" is kidnapped when she is only ten years old and has to endure so many horrors, violent and sexual, from her captor. While the content is harsh at times, the story of survival makes the book a good read.

There are spoilers in here so don't read if you don't want the end spoiled!!!
There are so many reasons that I don't like this book that I know I'm going to forget some while I write this. First, lets start with the POVs. I've gotten used to Tris over the first two books. She is annoying and unlikable. She wasn't kidding when she told Four that she wasn't a nice person and that neither was he. (Side note: I think this is why I like the movie better because she is actually likable in the movie). But, she also reads as very young. I'm okay with that because she is a young 16 year old. Four, or Tobias, also sounds very young when you get into his POV. This is a problem for me because he is supposed to be older. I was assuming around 19 (I can't honestly remember if they tell you or not in the first book). But if he is younger than that, then how is he running the initiations??? He does not read as 19, more like 16 or younger, similar to Tris. He is also super matter-of-fact. Yes, he is that character but that makes for a boring narrator.
Second, there was no climactic ending. All good trilogies end with a big fight or at least some kind of big event. This book has NOTHING! I get it, she is relying on Tris's death as the climatic ending but even that for me was problematic. She died by a gunshot??? She survived the death serum and died because she was shot??? Wow, what a let down for the character. All so that she could reset the memories of the government? I wanted a way more heroic death for Tris. Not a fan of this at all. And what was up with Evelyn just quickly deciding that everything she worked for wasn't worth it? It was way too easy.
Third, the whole book was BORING! I mean, nothing happened!!! And in the whole scheme of things, they didn't really accomplish anything. Introducing a whole new storyline (GD's) in the third book was just annoying and confusing. Half the time it didn't make sense. I felt as though Ms. Roth didn't have the whole story line mapped out for all three books. She literally changed things that happened in the first two books, or tried to explain why they were wrong in the other books. Just bad for continuity purposes.
Overall, I was not a fan of the whole series because of the unlikable characters and plot holes that were so large they gave me a head ache.

Great quick read. I love Mindy on TV and this book was like having a conversation with her. It was at times inspiring and laugh-out-loud funny. I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you know who Mindy is or not. After this book, she will feel like a best friend.

Good book! I like that the characters are so much like the ones from the show. They really have them down and can translate that into a narrative form, which is great! Although, I'm not a fan of "new" Logan. I know he had to grow up but he was so much fun when he was a jackass.
They mystery was good. I was interesting how they revealed who did it halfway through and spent the rest of the time trying to prove he did do it. A different way to approach a mystery. I would recommend this to anyone who is a mystery or Veronica Mars fan!

I love this series so far. I read the first couple of books way back when they came out and liked it then too. I'm excited to read the rest. I like the fact that, while it is YA, it doesn't shy away from sex or cursing, but still keeps itself toned down. I'm also excited to watch the web series based on the books.
Claire is a good protagonist. She is likable, although very naive at first. I also like the people she surrounds herself with and the mythos of the town.

Good second book in the series. At times I felt as though the plot line was a little all over the place but I like these characters enough that any silliness in the plot or scenes that move too quickly can be easily looked over.

Good installment. I think what I like best about this series is that they all run together. While some storylines are resolved at the end of the books, they still keep ongoing storylines for future books, more like a TV series than a book series. Good read!

While I am still a fan and want to read more, this book was a little slow for me and then ended with a big bang. I knew something had to happen at the end because everything was leading up to it. I do like the development of Michael as he comes to terms with what he is. At this point I would welcome a book from one of the other character's perspectives. I still like Claire, more than most female heroines in YA, but I feel like we are missing out on the rest of the character's stories. Eve was present but in and out of this book and I wanted more.

The book was good. My one big issue with it was the non-stopness of it. The other installments have some slow moments but this one just runs at fast pace the whole time but at the same time nothing much happens. It was a weird pace/events thing that I wasn't a big fan of.