Legend

This is a book that I found first on Goodreads, and then in print at a Barnes and Noble. For this book, it wasn't the cover that drew me in first, but the survey on Goodreads describing its plot. The really cool thing about it was that the site asked which plot intrigued me most from a given list, but didn't tell me the name of the book I had chosen--it just gave me a link to another page where I had to track it down from a list on my own.

Maybe it was that challenge that made me want to read it so much, or maybe it was just the dystopian theme that I've been seeing so much in YA lately. Regardless, once I started reading this book, it was very hard to put it down. I work 8-hour shifts in a warehouse, and I was sitting in the break room reading this book instead of eating my lunch.

The book opens with Day, a criminal wanted by the Republic of America, mainly for the reason that they can't seem to identify or track him down. As the story progresses, his fate crosses with that of June Iparis, a cadet at an illustrious military school, when Day breaks into a hospital in an attempt to steal medicine for his sick brother, and in turn is blamed for the murder of June's older brother, Metias. June is then inducted into her brother's squad to track down his killer, and goes deep undercover in search of the boy mastermind.

This story is so deep, believable, and heartwrenching that it was extremely hard to tear myself away to get back to work on time. I finished it in less than a day, which is pretty impressive even for me, considering I was working for 8 of those hours. This is a story that will pull you in and not let go. I felt so deeply for the characters that at the end of the book, it felt as if I was saying so long to a friend.

Of course, it isn't entirely so long, as the sequel is scheduled to be released later this year. (It seems like every book these days is part of a trilogy or series, doesn't it?) But I came to care so much for the world and the characters--even the more minor characters like Metias, who I was so sad to see die even though I knew it was coming from the beginning--that in this case, I am happy to wait and wonder.

Legend by Marie Lu receives a 5/5 stars from me. Gripping and engaging in a way that so many YA novels cannot match, I eagerly anticipate more from this talented author.

Existence

I'm not going to lie, I consider myself a pretty poor girl, so when I find a book that looks interesting at a good price, I jump on it. That's pretty much how I got sucked into this one--I saw the cover in an ad from Amazon, liked it so I clicked the description, liked it so I read the sample, liked it so it bought the book. It was under $5, so I figured why not, right? (This is a Kindle price, by the way--I have no idea what it costs in print.)

Let me just start out by saying the idea of this book really intrigued me. A girl who falls in love with Death is actually the subject of a short story I wrote in high school, so I was very curious how another author might interpret it. As soon as I started reading, I was hooked; the protagonist was interesting and not completely static like so many YA novels these days. I even found I liked her overly perky best friend. But then the grammar hit me.

As an English major, grammar is a pet peeve of mine. I strongly believe that, by the time a book is being read by people outside the author's publishing company and close circle of family/friends, it should be as error-free as possible. This book failed miserably in that regard. From common mistakes like using the wrong form of words to lines actually being printed twice, the editor of this book left a lot to be desired.

Yet, that being said, it was still a pretty compelling read. It takes a good plot to keep me reading if I find the grammar unsatisfactory, and this book accomplished that. Both of the love interests are likeable in their own way, and the characters' reactions are generally pretty authentic to what would be expected from high schoolers. There are a few scenes where it becomes obvious the book is written by a woman and not a girl just because of the way the characters speak, but that can be forgiven, what with the lack of a competent editor and everything.

Until I reached the very end of this book, I honestly assumed it was a stand-alone novel, and so the ending was very jarring to me. The story seemed to stop rather abruptly, more like the cliffhanger at the end of a chapter than one at the end of a book. However, the fact that it is continued means that its author gets a pass on some of the issues I was having with the plot. A lot of things were left unexplained at the end, such as why Pagan can see wandering souls in the first place and why in the world Dank felt the need to parade around with Kendra. However, since I predict that these will be focal points of the sequel, I reserve my complaints on those points... for now.

All in all, I would say Existence by Abbi Glines gets a 3/5 stars. It's well worth the low price tag, if you can muddle through the grammatical shortcomings. On the other hand, if you're overly OCD about English grammar, don't waste your money because the small mistakes become painful after a while.