If you've been around my blog for awhile, you can probably see the correlation between light content here and my reading consumption. After my last book reviews for Explosive Eighteen and If You Were Here, I decided I needed to read The Hunger Games again*. The timing worked out well because, while finishing the last few chapters, I got the email notification that another Dystopian book, Matched, was ready for me to download from the library.

Aside: Colleen of Classy Mommy told me about Matched over dinner at the Big Miracle press trip. I believe six of us went out that night. The conversation turned to books and all of us had our phones out, tapping away with each new title mentioned. It was wonderfully nerdy.

Reading the two series back to back was interesting. Both are young adult fiction, set in the future and have a ruling class system but that's about it for similarities. At least for the first books. There are hints of unrest in Matched so maybe the story will heat up. The Hunger Games is such a page turner. It's gripping and hard to put down. I think it's because the action starts off so quickly. The first book sets everything in motion and second two are the aftermath of Katniss' actions.

Matched was smooth and more of a story. I feel like this trilogy is going to be the reverse of The Hunger Games where it starts off slowly and then builds to a final climax. I haven't read any of the reviews or synopses of the other two books (Crossed and Reached) so I can't say for sure. In fact, I had no idea what Matched was about before I read it. I checked it out because it seems Colleen and I love the same books so I trusted her recommendation.

Imagine this society: people are classified by the skills they have and jobs they can do. Food is fuel. Your movements are tracked and recorded. Illness has been eradicated. Marriages are arranged. Days are structured and scheduled. Knowledge is limited and controlled by the government. Negativity is discouraged. Death is predetermined. This is the world Cassia, the heroine, lives in. And she's perfectly happy, until her grandfather shares a secret in the form of forbidden poetry. 

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas

Again, with the way Matched ends (and the book cover images) hints at events to come, I smell a revolution. Or at least an uprising. I've already put Crossed on hold at the library. Review to come, of course.

Are you reading young adult fiction and/or Dystopian fiction? What other titles should I look into (please don't say Twilight)? Other books Colleen suggested are Divergent by Veronica Roth and Delirium by Lauren Oliver.

*I'm glad I read The Hunger Games again. Now the details are really fresh in my mind for the movie! *affiliate links used*

Explosive Eighteen, If You Were Here: Book Reviews

When I go to my local library, right off the bat I do two things: cruise through the used book store and check out the new releases section. Occasionally I get lucky and a book I've been wanting to read is on the New Releases shelf. I love it when I don't have to put a book on hold and wait for it to be available. Last week fate smiled and I was able to grab two titles on my Want To Read list; Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich and If You Were Here by Jenn Lancaster.

I think I said before I'm worried that the Stephanie Plum series is heading for Jump the Sharkville. The last few books felt as though they had lost their spark. Explosive Eighteen brought the spark back (see how I did that?). The plot wasn't vastly different than any of the previous books, (Stephanie, bad guys, Vinnie, Grandma Mazur and viewings and Ranger vs Morelli) though I liked the little twist in the beginning. I didn't see it coming and when it was explained, it definitely left room for more stuff to happen between the characters.

What won me over was the conversation Stephanie and Lula had about social media. Here's where my husband calls me a dork. Yes, having the characters talk about Facebook and Twitter brought me back to liking the series again. I would love to see Lula's Twitter stream. I'm hoping that the 18th book in the series is the start of a turn around and the books will be good again. It's hard to get that far in a series and not feel really invested. There's a bit of a cliffhanger so there is definitely room for things to get juicy.

If you've read any of Jenn Lancaster's memoirs, you know she's hilarious. I had no idea what If You Were Here was about and I didn't even bother to read to read the jacket. If Lancaster was ready to try fiction, I was ready to read it. It did not disappoint. The book started off well and chapter five pushed me over the edge in love with it. Her characters have my kind of sarcasm and humor and I laughed out loud in a few parts.

I don't want to reveal too much because I want everyone else to have the same combination "Yay!" and swoon moment that I did in the first pages of chapter five. But, the book is essentially about first time homebuyers Mia and Mac and their decision to completely remodel rather then buy a move in ready home. Anyone who has remodeled will sympathize with everything they go through.

I will say one thing: If you are in a book club, If You Were Here would make for a great theme-night book discussion. That's all I can say. I know it's cryptic, you'll just have to trust me.

Both of these books are my typical light, fast reads. If you have read either of these titles, what did you think?

*If someone starts Tweeting as Lula, you heard it here first. Affiliate links used.