Matched

I recently finished Matched, by Ally Condie. I was referred to this book even before it came out by a friend of mine who is an elementary school teacher and so is more into the teenage scene. And anyway, she introduced it to me as a "Hunger Games type book" and told me to put a hold on it even before it was released because it would be a popular one.

And anyway, I'm glad I did, because I got it just a few weeks after it was released, and now there are over 250 holds on this book at my library.

The point is, it is definitely a blockbuster book, and also a very juvenile book, but I thought it was also pretty good. It is very Hunger Games-like (futuristic, corrupt/secretive government, etc.). It was a very quick read. It is the first book of a series, and the author definitely spent more time on the love story development in this book than they did in the first Humger Games book, but I'm a girl, and I don't mind that too much. Although I am excited for the next books to see if we get a little more action going on in them.

I don't have a whole lot more to say about this book, other than it is a fun, easy and quick read, and that if you haven't already heard a ton about it, I think you definitely will be hearing about it in the coming months, so just get on the band wagon now because you probably will eventually. :)

The Uglies Series

I recently read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld.

This is what wikipedia has to say about it:
Uglies is a 2005 science fiction novel by Scott Westerfeld. It is set in a future post-scarcity dystopian world in which everyone is turned "Pretty" by extreme cosmetic surgery upon reaching age 16. It tells the story of teenager Tally Youngblood who rebels against society's enforced conformity, after her new found friends Shay and David show her the downsides to becoming a "pretty". Written for young adults, Uglies deals with adolescent themes of change, both emotional and physical, and dealing with the revelation that "some of what you’re taught isn’t true, your parents are flawed human beings and the world isn’t constructed for your benefit.” The book is the first installment in what was originally a trilogy, The Uglies series which includes Pretties and Specials and Extras.

This is what I have to say about it:
I liked this series okay. Obviously I liked it enough to finish the original 3 books of the series. I did not read Extras because I heard it didn't really have a lot to do with the storyline of the other books, and I was just done with reading these books for a while. Anyway the point is I liked the books. I would probably give them a 3 out of 5 stars rating. The thing I didn't really like about the book was all of the slang and made up words they had (i.e. "pretty-making" "bubbly" (which I realize is a real word, but Mr. Westerfeld invented a new definition for it) and others that I currently can't remember). Anyway, it bugged me to read those and to listen to them (I listened to the last 2 books of the series on cd, which also could have contributed to my hate of the slang and made up words because the reader was ANNOYING to the max) to the point where I have made it one of my new year's goals to start cutting slang and annoying words out of my own daily vocabulary out of fear of me causing this pain on the people that surround me. 

So yeah, overall 3 out of 5 stars. They kind of reminded me of The Hunger Games series, but were written a little too juvenile for me (which says a lot :) )