Anomaly, Luminary, and Revolutionary

Today I finished the Anomaly series by Krista McGee. This series absolutely took my breath away. I was immediately drawn in after the first couple of pages of the first book in the dystopian trilogy, Anomaly (I reviewed that last week) and couldn't put the other two down.

As I said in my previous post, the Anomaly trilogy follows are young woman named Thalli and her struggle, escape, and desire to overthrow and defeat the State, an underground post-nuclear war society located under the Rocky Mountains. As I read I got to experience with Thalli as she discovered her emotions weren't bad and met The Designer, the one who ultimately designed everything and has a place for her in heaven. 

These books are Christian fiction so, if you don't like "religion being shoved in your face and down your throat" when you read, I would advise you not pick up this series. Faith is an important part of the novels and is part of what makes Thalli and her friends, Berk, John, Rhen, Dallas, and Alex who they are. Without those aspects, the novels wouldn't be what they are.

On the other hand, these are excellent books and the best dystopian series I have ever read, hands down. If you don't mind the Christian aspects of the books, I strongly suggest you add this series to your summer reading list (what's left of it) and get started right away. They are amazing and each book will have you aching for the words of the next one!

What's your favorite dystopian series?

Anomaly

I have just finished reading the dystopian novel Anomaly by Krista McGee. Let me start off with saying that I have read a lot of dystopian novels and this one was by far the best! The book was recommended to me by my friend Emma and I knew that if she recommended it, I was going to like it. I just didn't expect to like it this much! 

The novel was amazing! I was hooked after the prologue, and was totally connecting to the main character Thalli (she was a musician after all, so I could easily see where she was coming from). Thalli lives in a post nuclear war Earth in an underground area called "The State". Everyone in the state has been genetically designed by The Ten to have no emotions, feelings, or be ill. Anyone who differs from this pattern is malformed and considered an anomaly and harmful to the state. All anomalies must be annihilated. The novel took me on an emotional roller coaster filled with plot twists and characters I just wasn't expecting.

I am so excited that this is the first of series, the other two books were released this July and when I get back from Blacksburg, I plan to have them on my bookshelf! Amazing!

What has been your favorite dystopian novel?

"Dance First. Think Later."

This summer has just been filled with relaxation time and, as many know, if I'm not moving, I'm reading. I have read a lot of really good books this summer and have plenty more on my list. School starts in a month so I have a lot of reading to get through before I am thrown into the whirlwind that is college. 

One of the most memorable books I have read this summer (so far) is "Dance First. Think Later." by Kathryn and Ross Petras. What I liked about this book was that it was unlike anything I have ever read before. Most of the books I read are novels or non-fiction and all of them have a set plot. When I first picked up this book, I had been eyeing it on my aunt's coffee table for a week and was thinking it was going to be a non-fiction guide book of some sort. Boy was I in for a surprise. "Dance First. Think Later." is a collection of quotes or, as Kathryn and Ross call them, rules. 618 of them to be exact. It isn't something that I would normally pick up off the shelf  in the store but has easily become one that I am going to add to my personal bookshelf. The 618 Rules that lie within the pages of this book are funny, thought-provoking, and downright inspiring. 

Here are 10 of my favorites: 53 58

Rule No. 7: "If you're alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up.

                    who's going to know?"

                                                     -Julia Child

                                                          Chef

Rule No. 40: "Dance first. Think later. It's the natural order."

                                                     -Samuel Beckett

                                                          Writer

Rule No. 70: "Don't carry a grudge. While you're carrying the grudge, the other guy's out dancing"

                                                     -Buddy Hacket

                                                          Comedian/Actor

Rule No. 326: "Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't,

                        then you are wasting your time on Earth."

                                                     -Roberto Clemente

                                                          Baseball Player

Rule No. 462: "Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die

                        knowing something. You are not here long."

                                                     -Walker Evans

                                                          Photographer

Rule No. 474: "Chase after the truth like all hell and you'll free yourself, even though you never touch

                        its coat tails."

                                                     -Clarence Darrow

                                                          Lawyer

Rule No. 496: "I once complained to my father that I didn't seem to be able to do things the same way

                        other people did. Dad's advice? 'Margo, don't be a sheep. People hate sheep. They eat 

                        sheep.' "

                                                     -Margo Kaufman

                                                          Writer

Rule No. 513: "There are two kinds if people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. 

                        Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there."

                                                     -Indira Gandhi

                                                          Stateswomen

Rule No. 558: "In whatever you are doing, failure is an option. But fear is not."

                                                     -James Cameron

                                                          Film Director

Rule No. 595: "Be willing to make decisions . . . Don't fall victim to what I call the 'ready-aim-aim-

                        aim-aim' syndrome."

                                                     -T. Boone Pickens

                                                          Businessman

I absolutely adore all of the wisdom this book has to offer. I mean, these rules are only 10 out of the 618 AMAZING rules in this book! I definitely know that I will be referencing this book a lot in the future, there is just so much to learn from it!

What are some of your favorite "Words of Wisdom"?

Bookshelf: The Fault in Our Stars

So I am a bit late on this one and I know it. Almost everyone I know has read this book and, of course, I wait until the day the trailer for the movie is released. Don't worry, it has been on my "to-read" list for a really long time, I honestly have just gotten around to reading it and, can I say . . . I loved it!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green was an excellent book filled with intelligence, tragedy, and romance. I really enjoyed Green's style of writing and the emotional roller-coaster the novel took you on. I, unfortunately, already knew the ending to the book before I started it, but didn't let that ruin how I looked at the book. I might have known how it ended but I had never read the prose before and I enjoyed it immensely. I want to say more but I don't want to give anything away for those who have been living under a rock, like I had, and haven't read it yet. Okay.

"My thoughts are stars I can't fathom into constellations," John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

Bookshelf: The Light in the Piazza

For the dreamer and romantic inside of everyone. Elizabeth Spencer tells the tragic tale of a girl, not quite like the others falling in love. What sets The Light in the Piazza apart from most romances is that it isn't told from the girl's point of view, but from her mother's. Throughout the novella you see just how painful it is for a mother to let go of her daughter.

I went into The Light in the Piazza with a very open heart. I had a good idea of the plot line before picking up the novella and was already in love with it! The book made me fall even more in love with the plot and with the characters. Each character is unique and has a story all of their own and Spencer makes that very clear throughout the novel.

This book is the perfect book for the hopeless romantic, the tough analyzer, the dreamer, every person who has ever traveled or wanted to travel to Italy (me!), and the literature enthusiast! The Light in the Piazza will make you laugh, cry, rejoice, and want to throw the book against the wall and is one of my personal favorites!

Bookshelf: The Yellow Birds

So I read this book last year for a school extra credit project. I almost didn't read it but the day it was due I thought, well maybe I'll give it a try. I ended up LOVING this book! I read it in one night and was able to do the extra credit assignment without missing any content.

The Yellow Birds is an excellent representation of a solider readjusting to life in the states after getting back from the middle east. Whether you have been to war (which I have not) or not you can sympathize with with the characters in the book. It is absolutely amazing and you fall in love with every character from the first page. 

This is an amazing book and I would read it over and over again! The story is so captivating and wonderful that people from all different backgrounds will love it!