SPOILERS AHEAD: This is the bridge between the 3rd and 4th book in The Lunar Chronicles. However, I read the 4th book before reading this one, so this review will contain spoilers for the entire series.
TW: Dubious Pretty much no consent whatsoever with the “romantic interest” throughout, and burn scars/fire trauma.
I love a good villain origin story as much as the next person, but this just… fell flat. It had so much potential, but ended up being a time-skipping, slightly incoherent mess of vagueness, which is super disappointing to me.
Summary: In a world where an oppressive regime rules, 17-year-old Juliette Ferrars is the main character, gifted with a lethal touch. She wants freedom, safety, and a chance to love, but her power and past stand in the way. In Unravel Me, Juliette joins a rebel group, attempting to take down the government and harness her abilities for good. While facing unexpected obstacles, she discovers the strength within herself, but her ultimate success remains uncertain.
Taking place in a dystopian society, protagonist Kathy takes the role of a carer who helps donors. Purposely vague, author Kazuo Ishiguro unmasks the history, the memories, and the truth about Hailsham - the school Kathy and her friends are raised in. During her time there, we learn a lot about Kathy’s personality and mentality, getting detailed descriptions of her favorite events and amusing stories about her friends.
Summary: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick is a dystopian science fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic future where Earth is devastated by nuclear war, and most of the population has emigrated to other planets. The story follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter tasked with "retiring" rogue androids that have escaped to Earth. The novel explores themes of empathy, identity, and the blurred line between humans and artificial beings.
Mockingjay is the final book in the trilogy called The Hunger Games. It shows Katniss’s capability when it came to looking out for an entire nation rather than just herself. She becomes the symbol of the rebellion, providing a way for the districts to fight back. Katniss sacrifices her life for the future of the districts. She allows a chance for victims of the capitol to speak up. This revolutionary period happens over the course of this book.
Divergent by Veronica Roth takes place in a futuristic Chicago where people are divided into factions by their personalities. The ones who seek knowledge are in Erudite, the ones who wish to live a simple life are in Abnegation, the ones who wish to live a fearless life are in Dauntless, the ones who with to live in peace and harmony are in Amity, and the ones who wish to live a life of truth belong in Candor.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is a science fiction novel that follows the story of a young prodigy named Ender Wiggin. In a future Earth threatened by an alien race known as the Formics, talented children are recruited into a military training program to become commanders in the ongoing war. Ender, identified as a strategic genius, is sent to Battle School, where he undergoes rigorous training in simulated war games.
Obsidio by Amie Kaufman is the thrilling conclusion to the Illuminae Files trilogy, co-authored with Jay Kristoff. The story unfolds in a gripping format of mixed media, including transcripts, chat logs, and surveillance reports. Set on the planet Kerenza, the narrative follows a group of characters caught in the midst of a brutal interstellar war. As the conflict escalates, the survivors from the previous two books, Kady Grant and Ezra Mason, join forces with new protagonists Asha Grant and Rhys Lindstrom.
The Giver by Lois Lowry is a futuristic dystopian book about a boy named Jonah who lives in a utopian community where everyone is completely equal and life is seemingly perfect. On his 12th birthday, when everyone in his age group receives their job assignments, Jonah receives the assignment of the Giver. The job of the Giver is to hold the memories of life before the world became perfect, and it is through this job that Jonah uncovers the dark truth about his reality.
As the prequel to the well-known Hunger Games trilogy, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes allows the reader to explore the motives behind the villain of the original series. We get to dive deeper into Coriolanus Snows’ teenage years and see his thoughts to get a richer understanding of him. The book is set 64 years before the original series, during the 10th annual Hunger Games. Coriolanus Snow is an academy student in the Capitol. The students are all assigned tributes to mentor.
