Top Ten Books I'd Give To Readers Who Have Never Read Dystopian

This week's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is a list of our top ten books in the Dystopian genre

Bronte

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This book is one of the best dystopian novels I have read, and also one of the first.


2. The Host by Stephanie Meyer. This book has a slightly different take on a dystopian world and I think its brilliant writing and story making.


3. Matched by Ally Condie. Although I actually haven't finished this series, I like the fact that, to begin with especially in Matched, the story seemed to be well planned out and wasn't very predictable at all.

Eleanor

4. Firstly, I'm going to have to say, 'Partials' by Dan Wells. I know I can't seem to be able to stop going on about this book but I just love it so much!

5. Next, 'Wool' by Hugh Howey. I haven't reviewed this book yet, but it is a very good dystopian. Terrifying, yes, but also very good.

6. And, 'Legend' by Marie Lu. Another one I haven't reviewed (oops) but that is an excellent read that I would really recommend.

Izzy

7. Divergent by Veronica Roth. This is my favourite Dystopian series ever, as I think the action and the love is balanced perfectly. Also I think Roth created interesting, believable characters. There has been a bit of uproar about the final novel but I think this is a trilogy really worth reading. 

So confession time; I actually haven't read any other dystopian novels other than, The Hunger Games, The Host, Divergent and Uglies. I wouldn't really recommend Uglies, unless you were already a massive reader of dystopian as I found it really difficult to get into and didn't enjoy much. I always find dystopians a bit too heavy on action and a bit lax on character development and good writing. However, Eleanor and Bronte are huge fans of the genre so it's all personal taste. Sorry for being such a party pooper!



All

10. 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins. It has to be mentioned. The first book in this series is a must read for anyone trying out the dystopian genre.

(Book descriptions from Goodreads)

The Fairytale Survery Part 1

Hi, Eleanor here!
I found this feature on The Daily Prophecy and thought it looked rather fun so here it is...The Fairy Tale Survey, Part 1. Part 2 will follow.

Classic Princesses:

Pinocchio – The boy whose nose grows when he lies.
Is there a book you lie about reading, because you feel ashamed for liking it?

I'm not really embarrassed by any of the books that I have read. I think that reading is a very personal thing and although there may be books I wouldn't brag about reading (for example some of the samey, trashy vampire romance books that I love so much) if someone asked me outright I would never lie.

Beauty and the beast – The girl who fell in love with personality.
Which book do you love that has a hideous cover?

Hideous is a very strong word, I'm going to go for a book I love that has a slightly-boring-and-not particularly-striking-in-my-opinion cover. 'Partials' by Dan Wells. I love love love this book but just feel that the cover is a little dull. I don't think that having people on the front cover of a book looks very good, maybe it's just me. Saying that, you cannot see the person's face (the ultimate cover sin) plus I do only have this book on kindle so have not seen the cover on a real life book.

Snow white – Hunted down for her beauty.
Do you ever buy a book based on the cover alone and if so, what is the last one?

This is going to have to be a really boring answer when I say that no, I have never chosen to read a book because of it's cover. I, occasionally, pick up a book at random from the library and borrow it but this has nothing to do with cover. I am not an overly artistic person and so the cover doesn't mean too much to me. However, it is always nice when a book has a nice cover i.e. Wonder by R.J Palacio.

Sleeping beauty – Cursed to sleep, awakened by true loves kiss.
What is your favorite book couple?

I am going to say Jace and Clary from the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. But only from the first trilogy, in the second I think it all gets a little silly. (I have not read 'City of Heavenly Fire' yet though, so the series could still redeem itself!)

Little Mermaid – Gave up on her old life for love.

Do you ever branch out to new genres or do you like to stick with the ones you know and love? If you try new things out, what is the latest book?

My absolute favourite genre is dystopian but I do love a paranormal romance too. Although there are plenty of those out there, I do like to branch out and find different things quite a lot because I find the story lines of the books I love to read can sometimes become a little repetitive. Recently I have read 'The Rosie Project' by Graeme Simsion, which was different to what I normally read but still amazing! I have also read and loved 'The Night Circus' by Erin Morgenstern, 'The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared' by Jonas Jonasson and 'Timeriders' by Alex Scarrow.

Cinderella – Who lost her shoe after midnight.
What is the last book that made you stay up all night?

I recently read 'Shadows' by Paula Weston and absolutely loved it. I haven't yet reviewed this book but the two installments of the trilogy that I have read so far are very good and I would definitely recommend them.

Rapunzel – locked up in a tower.
What are some of the worst books you read last month?

Last month I started a book called 'The Key to Erebus' by Emma V. Leech and Roisin O'Connor, a book which I had heard good reviews about but that I just could not get into. The story is very fantastical with vampires, fairies, witches, the usual lot, a genre which I do usually really enjoy but in this particular case I found the main character quite dull and the plot didn't grip me at all. I hate not liking a book as I feel as though I have failed to understand the author/s and so I may go back to this book one day and find I love it, we'll have to see.

What do you think of this survey? Have you read any of these books?

Partials, Dan Wells

Partials by Dan Wells, reviewed by Eleanor

What is this book about?
Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials–engineered organic beings identical to humans–has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out. (blurb)

Who should read this book?
Young adults/adults who like dystopian novels

How long is this book?
468 pages, and average to long sized book

Marks
Story Line: 9/10
Well written: 4/5
Enjoyabililty: 4/5
Overall: 17/20

Star Rating:
4 stars (YES)

Question 1. What character would you most like to have tea with?
Saladin. Being the youngest human alive, at 14 years old, would be pretty cool... and also kind of scary because the human race is clearly dying out.

Question 2. What character would you most like to throw tea at?
Marcus, ahh he annoyed me so much and I can't really explain why as it would slightly spoil the story. But I think you'll understand once you've read it (which will be SOON)

Question 3. What do you think of the cover?
I don't think this cover is particularly special, but there's nothing wrong with it.

Question 4. Can you read the tea leaves from the beginning or are there twist in the plot?
I couldn't predict anything in this book, it was all just surprise after surprise, especially the twist toward the end (although I should have seen it coming!!)

Question 5. Favourite quote!
"Look on the bright side," said Marcus.
Kira waited.
"This is the point at which you would traditionally suggest a bright side."
"I've never been a real traditional guy," said Marcus.

(Fine, although he annoyed me, Marcus did make me laugh.)

Overall: Yes yes yes, I finally found a 4 star book, hooray! I loved this book so much, it's a brilliant story, the idea hasn't been used before so it's a different read from other dystopian books out there. This time humankind have managed to destroy themselves by creating 'partials', engineered human lookalike robots who turned against their creators, leaving only 'tens of thousands' of humans left -definitely not The Hunger Games. The characters are lovable, Kira, the protagonist, in particular because her actions may be impulsive but they're understandable as well. The only problem is that it's slightly slow paced but in general this is just an all round great read so give it a go.

What did you think of this book? What would you like us to review next?