Winter by Marissa Meyer [review]

Title: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4)

Author: Marissa Meyer

824 pages

First published: 2015

Genre: sci-fi, dystopia, romance

My rating: 4/5

"I would be honored to die in service of my country." -- Emperor Kaito

After the big 'kidnapping' mission in the end of book three, the final of the saga started with the nice and peaceful life aboard the rampion. Kai and Cinder developed a lovey dovey relationship, despite the war between Earth and Luna. The happy atmosphere was increased by Carswell Thorne's miraculeous comeback of his eyesight. Sadly, it was also the time for Kai to return to Earth to take back his place as the Emperor and take care of his people in the middle of a devastating war.

Thorne piloted Kai back to the Eastern Commonwealth, and (this is one of my favorite part, because you can practically feel the bromance oozing from the pages) had a man-to-man and heart-to-heart conversation. I love this scene so much because I've been dying to se some bromance or friendship between the male characters, and finally! Finally it happened in the last book. Thank you, Ms. Meyer. Yes, I know I'm weird that way. Okay, moving on...

Their plan to stop the war was simple: Kai would try to convince Levana to have the royal wedding on Luna, and he would smuggle Cinder and the crew to Luna. From there, Cinder would try to gain trust from the citizen of Luna and take back the crown with the support of the people of Luna. Simple, ringht? Yeah, right.... (yes, I'm being synical). The plan had many loopholes of course, and everything did not work out as smooth as they planned...but you have to read it yourself to get the feel of the story.

Meanwhile, on Luna, Levana's step daughter (Winter) was rumored to have a natural beauty without glamour: lips as red as rose petals, hair as dark as the night sky and as silk as the silk....remember those? Yes, the famous fairy tale of Snow White. But the most interesting is, winter did not have the skin the colour of snow!!! An epic and beautiful twist, if I may say, bravo, Ms. Meyer. For the first time in history, Snow White was not pictured as white. Anyway, Winter vowed to stop using glamour several years back because she thought it was not right to use it. The problem was, when you stop using something you were born with, you would not be as healthy as you should be. In short, Winter had crazy halucination and sometimes she could not differenciate between reality and halucination. She should take a page out of Peeta Mellark from Hunger Games, I say. Real or not real? Ups...hehe... Well, basically, Winter tried to help Cinder and defy her stepmother despite her lack of grap in reality.

To be honest, after reading such a wonderful third book (Cress), this finale seemed a little 'go around the bush'. The pace of the story is not as fast as I like it to be. The best thing about reading a sequel is the characters; they are usually very well-developed. But I have to say, I do not like Wolf, Winter, and Jacin's character very much. They tend to focus more on themselves and their love life than the bigger picture of the war. I know it is human nature, self-preservation, but still...I don't have to like them, right?

Another thing that disturbed me was the similarity between this book and the classic fairy tale of Snow White was a little forced and a little too much. I know it is a fairy tale retelling, but there is a term of 'too much retelling'. It happened in this book and in the second book.

Despite all that, I really like the hidden meaning behind the saga. All the characters are from different places, different backgrounds, different skin colors, and different races...but they interact with each other without batting an eyelid, like those silly things do not matter, like we all are the same in the future....well, of course you have to forgive the glamour issues of Luna and the cyborg thingy that lead the story to all these drama of manipulation and discrimination, hahahaaa....

Over all, these series are some of the best sci-fi books I read in 2015. Enjoy... ^_^

Cress by Marissa Meyer [review]

Title: Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Genre: Sci-fi, Dystopia, Romance

Published: 2014

550 pages

My rating: 5/5

"You know, when I was a kid, I was tricked into thinking that princesses wore tiaras and hosted tea parties. Now that I've met a real princess, I must say, I'm kind of disappointed" - Carswell Thorne

"You can help me pick out a tiara when we're done saving the world" - Cinder

The scene from the third book of the series started with the interaction in the Rampion spaceship among 4 people (Cinder, Thorne, Scarlet and Wolf) and one android named Iko with a suspected-faulty-personality. Wolf allowed Cinder to practice her Lunar gift on him and taught her in hand-to-hand combat.

When Cinder managed to communicate with the girl with the long hair who gave her information regarding Levana the Evil Queen, the whole crew decided to help rescue the girl from her confinement in a tiny satelite orbiting the Earth. The rescue plan didn't work out as they planned because the head thaumaturge Sybil Mira was waiting for them and set a trap, resulting in Cress and Thorne to fell to Earth in the satelite, Scarlet was kidnapped by Sybil Mira, and Wolf was critically injured. Cinder was forced to accept help from Jacin, the former pilot of Sybil who declared himself as "faithful to his Princess".

Cinder, Jacin and Wolf found themself in Farafrah, a small town in Africa where Lunar and Earthen lived in open harmony, to meet Dr.Erland. Meanwhile, Cress and Thorne (who was blind because of the satelite incident) must cross the terrifying Sahara Desert.

And where s Kai? This handsome Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth found information regarding Cinder and now believed that She was actually doing something good by trying to find the missing Lunar Princess Selene. In the meantime, he believed that the only way to save the people of Earth is by agreeing to a marriage aliance with Luna and marry Levana.

Was Cinder going to stay calm and accept the love of her life marrying her evil aunt slash queen? Of course not! that was why she was going to kidnap Kai on his wedding day!

This is the best book of the series! yes, you read that right. THE BEST! Believe me, I've finished reading the whole series, and this book is still the best! I got this dreamy look and the euforic feeling several hours after reading this book, heheheee....

So, if you are my blog reader, you must knw that I am a big fan of action and fast pace in a novel. And trust me, this novel can offer you both! It is packed with action from the get go, till the end, which is also good in keeping the suspense running! I literally cannot put it down....oh, God...so good!

The characters are better developed in this book than the first two. It is really no surprise because this happens a lot with series book. Book one is a good warming up, book two usually sucks, and the book before the last book is usually the best. But, hey, this is just my own silly observation, by the way. But this series happens to fit the pattern. So, conclusion: THIS BOOK ROCKS!

I actually cannot say anything more because well, the plot: good.
Characters: good.
Pace: fast.
Action: full.
Suspense: totally page-turning.
Language: well-written.
Sarkasm: sarcastic enough for me.
Humor: it cracked me up in several parts.

So what can I say? It is that good! Love it so much!

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer [review]

Title: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2)
Author : Marissa Meyer
Published: 2013
452 pages
Genre: sci-fi, dystopia, romance, fairytale retelling
My rating: 3/5

"Wolf, are you asking me to be... your alpha female?" -Scarlet

That single line quoted from the book above totally sent me into a fit of laughter there. And here goes my review of the second book of the series...

Scarlet Benoit was a red headed girl, who loved wearing a red hoodie anywhere she wanted, and lived with her grandmother in the small town of Rioux, France. Ding Dong! That's right, she was our little red riding hood from the famous fairytale! Except, she was actually not so little anymore. She was eighteen years old, and she was in such a state of panic and rage because her grandmother, Michelle Benoit was kidnapped. Her ID chip was cut of from her wrist, her portscreen was left behind, and the police gave up her case. Of course, as a good grandaughter, she could not leave it like this. So she took the case into her own hands, looking for the poor old grandmother through the forest accompanied by.....Wolf!

Just like the good old fairytale, isn't it?

Wait for it, this is the real twist. Remember Linh Cinder from book 1? And gorgeously handsome Prince (now Emperor) Kaito?
Cinder managed to escape her prison before Evil Queen Levana of Lunar Kingdom executed her, and she brought a friend (a fellow prisoner) along the way. Together, they travelled into the orbit outside Earth and tried to go to Europe. Emperor Kai was confused because Queen Levana gave him an ultimatum to capture Cinder or she would attack Earth. Of course there had to be several close call scenes in this book related to Linh Cinder. Moreover, Cinder knew something new about her past, and she intended to see Michelle Benoit for answers.

We can guess from those plot that our two girls were going to meet each other. Perhaps, in a spectacular way of some sort.

For me, I like the first book better because of several reasons:

1) Book 1 has all perfectly developed characters, I think. but I don't know...I just don't really like Scarlet's character a lot. Throughout the book, she seemed to be always in panic, or anger, or confusion....so, eventhough she was a pilot, and could shoot with a gun, the character seemed off for me. Not perfectly round.

2) The suspense is better in book 1 (and the pace is faster in book 1). Reading book 1 a.k.a. Cinder, felt like things happened so fast. On minute the King died, then the next is the arrival of the Evil Queen, then the ball, then bam bam bam! Fast! It kept me reading through the whole book like flying, which, I didn't find in this second book.Several times I found myself sleepy through some scenes in this book.

3) The romance from this book is a little forced for me, not really natural. But, that's me. Hey, don't judge, I'm not a good romance reader, apparently, heheheee...

4) The plot or should I say the content, is too light. I mean, it is okay. But that's it. Just okay. After the first fantastic book, this book is not so good.

5) And the last is my own personal selfish reason. WHERE IS KAI?! I know he was pictured in several chapters, but I need more! Kai is supposed to be all over the pages!!! *please don't mind me. I'm just having this prince phase that every girl has, apparently*

So, all in all....this book is good. Eventhough the first book was better, but let's keep our fingers crossed, right? I hope the next book is better.

See you!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer [review]

Title: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)
Author: Marissa Meyer
First published: 2012
390 pages
Genre: Sci-fi, dystopia, romance
My rating: 4/5

What's in your mind when you hear the word "Cinderella"? Perhaps the blue dress, the pumpkin carriage, the glass shoes, the midnignt curfew, and the happily ever after? Well, those are not what you'll get by reading this fairytale retelling novel.

"It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth." --chapter 19

Linh Cinder is a famously gifted mechanic who worked and lived in New Beijing, 126 years after the World War IV. Eventhough she was a very skillful mechanic, she was considered a second-class citizen because she is a cyborg (part human, part machine). Almost 40% of her body was machine because of a very traumatic accident in the past that she lost one of her feet and hands...and her memories since before she was turned into a cyborg. She was adopted at the age of 11, and she lived with her guardian slash stepmother Linh Adri and her two stepsisters (Linh Pearl and Linh Peony).

She was brooding on a hot day in her small shop in the market when Prince Kai of Eastern Commonwealth came to get his tutor android repaired. And of course the prince had to be very handsome, and polite and funny and in short, Cinder was interested in the prince and vice versa. But of course things got a little complicated when the market was shut down because of 'the plague'. Letumosis is an extremely deadly sickness that attacts randomly and the patients' life would be numbered in days.

Peony and Cinder loved each other like real siblings eventhough they are stepsisters. Cinder was devastated when Peony was infected by the plague and must be taken to quarantie. Adri blamed Cinder for Peony's sickness and offered her as a 'test subject' to the royal health research for letumosis' antidote. She thought she was going to die as a guinea pig, but she was immune to letumosis, and offered a position as a blood donor (to be researched for the antidote) by the lead doctor. This was where she eventually met Prince Kai for the second time, and the third time...and so on.

Unlike the traditional Cinderella fairytale, the main antagonist in the story was not the stepmother. Queen Levana of the Lunar Kingdom (who was rumored to have murdered her older sister the real Queen, and her niece to take over the throne) had an ambition to take over the Earth by marrying Prince Kai after the death of the Emperor. Cinder tried to help Kai to defy the evil Queen.

Honestly, I was amazed by the story because it is very very creative and unique to turn a very traditional fairytale into an action sci-fi. Linh Cinder was unlike the old-time-Cinderella who accepted her fate, and got help from the fairygodmother and waited for the prince to find her. Linh Cinder was a kick-ass, a rebel, a real heroine because she took action throughout the story (you know I like strong women character, hehehe). The whole retelling is absolutely fantastic and very well-written. And of course the prince had to be soooo kind, sooo handsome, soooo sarcastic, soooo funny.... *melting*. I also like the Asian setting of this novel, because come on, I'm not being racist or anything, but most dystopian that I read has either the U.S or the U.K as the setting. I mean, come on, this world is BIG, BIG, BIG! I need to see other places as settings in novels too.

The only bad thing about the novel is that, I can predict the ending from only reading 30% of it. I mean, come on, it's to early to be able to guess the ending, about the real identity of Cinder and so on, but the clues are there for everyone to see, blindingly clear like chrystal. I don't know if it is intentional or not, but it definitely decreases the suspense for me. I wasn't even surprised when the lead doctor told Cinder that she actually was...*censored*...I'm disappointed.

But you know what, I still read it in only one day because the writing is good and you can just fly through it like I did. And the amazement factor of 'how could you make such a whole different world from traditional fairytale?' did get me till the end of the story and I intend to read the sequel. hahaaa.... So I guess, still 4 stars for this book.

It is recomended for you if you like sci-fi, dystopia, romance, and fairytale in a package. Enjoy :))

The One (Selection Book 3) by Kiera Cass [review]

"I'm going to love you more than any man has ever loved a woman, more than you ever dreamed you could be loved. I promise you that." -Prince Maxon, chapter 27, The One-

Thank God the third book is far better than the second!
Tinggal 4 gadis yang tersisa dari proses seleksi sebagai calon Puteri Illéa dan pendamping Pangeran Maxon yang tampan dan super sweet dan baik hati. Mereka adalah Elise yang perfeksionis yang masih memiliki hubungan keluarga dengan New Asia yang sedang berkonflik dengan Illéa; Celeste sang model dari kasta nomor 2 yang cantik dan tangguh; Kriss yang lemah lembut dan favorit masyarakat; dan tentu saja America Singer sang musisi miskin dari kasta nomor 5.

Raja Clarkson mengancam America untuk "tutup mulut" karena setiap tingkah lakunya dianggap membahayakan sistem Kerajaan Illéa. Namun Pangeran Maxon yang memihak America mencoba mencari cara agar America bisa menjadi favorit masyarakat, menaikkan pamornya sehingga Raja Clarkson mau tak mau harus menerimanya. Namun tentu saja, bukan America namanya kalau tidak membuat ulah, yang justru malah membuat karakternya bersinar di mata banyak orang, yang akhirnya menuntutnya untuk menjadi ratu. Tentu saja ini membuat Raja Clarkson makin geram.

Pergulatan batin Amerika yang membuat pembaca bosan di buku kedua akhirnya berakhir, syukurlah. America akhirnya menyadari dia mencintai Pangeran Maxon. Tetapi bagaimana dengan Aspen yang mengatakan bahwa dia akan menunggu America? Well, singkatnya hal ini selesai tuntas juga di akhir buku ini, yang, lagi2 karena takut spoiler tak akan saya beberkan.

Lumayan banyak juga kejadian2 lucu di buku ini, termasuk usaha aneh America saat merayu sang Pangeran, juga girls bonding time para 4 gadis Elite yang tersisa, yang akhirnya bersahabat satu sama lain meskipun mereka bersaing di ajang Seleksi.

Dari sisi politik, baik America dan Maxon pun melakukan langkah2 drastis dan meminta bantuan dari pihak Italia dengan bantuan Puteri Nicoletta dari Italy, juga bergabung dengan pihak pemberontak Utara untuk menumpas Pemberontak Selatan yang semakin garang. Berhasilkah mereka sebelum pihak Selatan menyerang? Apalagi dengan Pihak pemberontak Selatan yang membabi buta melakukan pembunuhan di kasta2 asal para gadis Elite, dan menyebarkan teror dimana-mana, termasuk di dalam tembok istana.

Buku terakhir ini menurut saya adalah yang paling bagus dari ketiga buku yang sudah ada, karena merupakan paket lengkap; romance, action, politic, angst, dan juga family dan friendship moment tertuang semua di sini. Pokoknya lengkap. Pace nya juga lebih cepat dari buku2 sebelumnya, dan isinya lebih padat.
Oh iya, jangan lupa membaca Epilognya juga yang super duper sweet.

The Elite (Selection Book 2) by Kiera Cass [review]

"And maybe this is silly, but it's my country. I get that it's broken, but that doesn't mean these anarchists can just come and take it. It's still mine. Does that sound crazy?" -Aspen Leger, Chapter 22, the Elite-

Entah kenapa rasanya I can relate banget sama quotation di atas. Rasa kecewa yang amat besar pada negeri sendiri, pada sistem yang ada, pada hukum yang sering berpihak, pada pemimpin-pemimpin bangsa, pada birokrasi juga pada masyarakat luas yang begitu nyata dan tidak bisa disangkal. Kutipan di atas, juga diri saya pribadi, tahu dan yakin bahwa negeri saya tidaklah sempurna, bahkan jauh, jauuuuhhhh dari sempurna. Tapi toh rasa cinta yang saya rasakan untuk negeri ini sangatlah besar, dan saya akan membelanya sampai kapanpun. Rasanya seperti menyayangi keluarga dan saudara sendiri, yang meski kadang menyakiti kita, dan mereka jelas tidak sempurna, tapi rasa cinta yang kita rasakan pasti tidak akan pudar. Kecewa mungkin, benci...never!

Topik itulah yang diangkat di buku kedua ini. Para karakter utamanya, America Singer, Pangeran Maxon, dan juga Aspen Leger terlihat sangat berdedikasi bagi negeri mereka dalam cara mereka masing-masing.

Berkali-kali pemberontak dari utara dan selatan menyerbu istana. Anggota keluarga kerajaan, termasuk Pangeran Maxon dan keenam Elite (6 gadis dari jumah total 35 dari kerajaan Illéa yang lolos seleksi sebagai calon Puteri dan pendamping Pangeran) dipaksa berlarian menuju "safe place" yang ada jauh di dalam istana. "Safe places" ini ada yang khusus untuk royalty dan para elite, juga ada yang khusus diperuntukkan bagi pelayan2 istana dan para penjaga, dengan ukuran lebih mungil namun tersebar di seluruh penjuru istana. Singkat kata, banyak sekali adegan di buku kedua ini terjadi di ruangan2 tersebut, termasuk salah satu adegan "klimaks" di akhir cerita yang tidak akan saya beberkan di sini. Takut spoiler heheeee....

Marlee, salah satu sahabat America di antara para Elite, tertangkap basah melakukan sesuatu yang terlarang. Dia dihukum dan dikeluarkan dari proses "seleksi". America sangat marah pada Maxon karena menurutnya, Maxon tidak melakukan apa-apa untuk menolong sahabatnya. Maxon yang gundah akhirnya menemukan tempat dia bisa "terhibur" oleh Kriss, salah satu gadis Elite yang lemah lembut, sedangkan America yang masih emosi "menghibur diri" di pelukan Aspen. Inilah awal terbentuknya kisah cinta segi empat yang rumit dan menyebalkan di buku ini.

Ya, saya memang bilang MENYEBALKAN. Kenapa?
Jujur saja, saya memang bukan penggemar kisah cinta segitiga. Lha ini malah segi empat. Ewww....
Tambahan lagi, sikap Maxon dan America di buku ini benar2 kelewatan layaknya ABG galau yang sedang bereksperimen sama cinta monyet. Ditambah kegalauan America yang mendominasi hampir 90% isi buku, mengingatkan saya pada karakter Bella Swan di buku New Moon. Maksud saya, kebangetan banget deh kalau sampai tidak bisa menentukan saya ini sebenarnya suka sama si A atau si B. Mungkin memang beberapa orang mengalami hal ini, tapi kan nggak harus juga berhalaman-halaman jadi "aduh aku suka A, eh tapi kok kayaknya aku nggak suka A. Eh ternyata aku suka A, eh tapi kok si A begini ya...bagaimana kalau B? Yasudah, aku sama B saja. Eh bentar, si A lebih keren. Eh eh...tapi B..." and it will go on forever and ever and ever....

Bagi saya pribadi, membaca sebuah novel adalah belajar dari karakter yang menginspirasi. Contohnya, kita bisa belajar tentang keberanian dan persahabatan dari tokoh Harry Potter, lalu sikap "nrimo" atau bersyukur dari tokoh Auggie Pullman dari Wonder, dan juga kreativitas tanpa batas (meski rada2 psycho) dari tokoh Amy dari Gone Girl. Nah, kalau sepanjang buku dua tokoh utamanya hanya menghadirkan rasa galau, saya mau belajar apa? Maaf mbak Kiera Cass, tapi masa ABG saya sudah lewat.

Seperti yang saya singgung di review tentang buku sebelumnya, bahwa unsur politik pasti akan semakin kental. Itu benar terjadi. Ditemukannya buku harian milik George Illéa membuka mata America dan Maxon bahwa negeri mereka memang membutuhkan sebuah "perubahan". Sayangnya konflik polotik ini tenggelam oleh konflik batin America yang mendominasi isi buku, padahal seharusnya bisa lebih dieksplor.

Jujur saja saya kecewa sekali dengan buku kedua ini. Setelah buku pertama yang sangat oke, buku kedua ini hancur berantakan. Namun jika memang penasaran sama keseluruhan isi cerita, ya harus dibaca sih hehe... paling nggak buku ketiganya bagus! Jadi rasa sakit hati saya sedikit terobati. Eh, itu harusnya saya tulis di review selanjutnya ya, hahaaaaa....

The Selection (Book 1) by Kiera Cass

"...love can wear away under the stress of being married. Someone you think you love now, you might start to hate when he couldn't provide for you. And if you couldn't take care of your children, it'd be worse. Love doesn't always survive under those types of circumstances." -Mr. Singer, Chapter 3, The Selection-

Masih ingat dongeng klasik Cinderella? "Pada jaman dahulu, hiduplah seorang gadis cantik bersama ibu tiri dan dua saudara tirinya...bla..bla..bla..".
Tapi pernahkah kau berpikir dari sudut pandang si Pangeran dalam kisah tersebut? Mungkin akan jadi sedikit berbeda misalnya:
"Alkisah ada seorang pangeran dari negeri antah berantah yang sudah cukup umur. Dia dituntut oleh sang raja agar segera mencari istri. Maka diundanglah gadis2 lajang dari seluruh negeri untuk datang ke sebuah perhelatan maha besar, dengan harapan sang pangeran akan menemukan cinta sejatinya"

Nah, kisah itulah yg saya tangkap saat membaca garis besar novel karya Kiera Cass ini.

Jujur saja saya bukan penikmat kisah roman, namun sekali2, saya ternyata membutuhkan old-fashioned-romance sebagai vitamin, hehehee... Jadi inilah yang akhirnya mempertemukan saya pada novel ini. Apa yang membuat saya tertarik membaca? Ada 2 alasan. Pertama krena covernya yang menurut saya cantik banget (bisa dilihat di bawah), dan review singkat novel tersebut. Dalam review singkat tersebut (bisa dicari di goodreads), disebutkan bahwa ada 35 gadis yang akan dipilih dari seluruh penjuru negeri untuk menjadi seorang puteri dan sekaligus istri dari sang pangeran. Wow, cinderella bangeeeeeetttt.....

Ternyata setelah membaca buku tersebut, saya sedikit kaget juga karena ternyata genrenya Dystopia, bukan pure romens, yang justru saya lebih suka. Jadi teruslah saya membaca buku ini seharian (sampai kepala saya rasanya pusing, karena saya baca versi ebook di tab, ugh...).

America Singer adalah seorang gadis dari kasta kelima dan seorang musisi di sebuah kerajaan bernama Illéa. Kerajaan tersebut adalah the United States yang baru, karena negara tersebut hancur setelah perang dunia keempat. Sistem 8 kasta di negeri tersebut memang sangat ketat, karena penduduk diharuskan bekerja sesuai kasta mereka. Itulah kenapa America merahasiakan hubungannya sengan seorang pemuda gagah bernama Aspen Leger karena pemuda tersebut berasal dari kasta keenam. Hubungan tersebut tentu tidak mudah bagi mereka karena Aspen yang berada satu kasta di bawah America merasa tidak pantas dan tidak bisa membiayai kehidupan mereka setelah pernikahan. Itulah sebabnya Aspen memutuskan hubungan mereka secara sepihak.

America yang patah hati akhirnya menyerah pada tuntutan ibunya yang ambisius untuk mendaftar di acara "Seleksi" karena Pangeran Maxon sedang mencari seorang pendamping. 35 gadis dari 35 provinsi pun diumumkan dan diundang ke Istana di Angeles untuk menjalani proses seleksi yang dilakukan secara langsung oleh Pangeran Maxon. America dimanjakan oleh dayang2 pribadi, gaun-gaun indah, makanan-makanan lezat, serta status barunya sebagai kasta ketiga. Apalagi pangeran Maxon yang ternyata sangat baik hati sepertinya memberi perhatian khusus padanya.

Buku pertama ini menurut saya sangat bagus kerena, yah, selain alasan tidak logis saya yang pada saat membaca buku ini memang sedang membutuhkan sebuah old fashioned romance *uhuk*, karakter America yang cenderung stubborn dan kocak, juga pangeran Maxon yang superrrrrrr baik hati sampai bikin meleleh itu juga menjadi nilai plus buku ini. Oh iya, memang di buku pertama ini lebih fokus ke romens antara kedua tokoh utamanya, namun ternyata ada berbagai macam unsur politik yang sudah disebar si penulis di buku ini sebagai clue, yang sepertinya akan dibahas lebih mendalam di buku2 selanjutnya.

Oh iya, ada satu hal sih sebenarnya yang bikin saya agak sebel, yaitu nama tokoh utama di buku ini. Jujur saja saya bukan penggemar nama orang yang diambil dari nama tempat, jadi sempat saya beberapa kali mengurungkan niat membaca buku ini karena nama tokoh utamanya America. Oh plisss.... memangnya tidak ada nama yang lebih cocok? Maksud saya, saya juga pernah lho bertemu dengan cewek bernama Indonesia, yang menurut saya, nggak bangeeett.... setipe dengan nama seperti Sidney, Virginia, London, Paris. Aduh maaaak....lebih kreatif dikit kenapa kalau ngasih nama anak. Saya nggak bisa membayangkan ada anak bernama Jakarta, Semarang, Purwokerto, Solo. Dikira trayek angkot?? Yah, tapi kembali lagi sih, itu masalah selera.

Oke, jd selain masalah nama tokoh yg nggak banget, hati2 kalau baca buku ini, jangan sampai termehek-mehek dan jatuh cinta sama Pangeran Maxon saking sweet-nya *uhuk*

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver (Sang Pemberi), paperback 232 halaman

Penerbit: Gramedia

Cetakan Pertama: Agustus 2014

Penerjemah: Ariyantri Eddy Tarman

Desain dan ilustrasi cover: Staven Andersen

isbn: 978-602-03-0668-1

Pemenang penghargaan Newbery Medal 1994

Jonas hidup di dunia yang penuh dengan keteraturan dan peraturan di sebuah komunitas. Pada usia dua belas tahun, semua anak dalam komunitas menerima pekerjaan apa yang akan mereka lakukan; pekerjaan yang oleh para tetua dirasa paling tepat untuk mereka.

Sejak mereka dilahirkan, semua pilihan telah dirampas dari genggaman mereka; pilihan untuk memilih pekerjaan, pilihan untuk melakukan hal-hal yang disukai, pilihan untuk bersama orang-orang yang dicintai, bahkan pilihan untuk hidup atau untuk mati.

Ketika semua anak Dua Belas telah menerima pekerjaan mereka masing-masing kecuali Jonas, dia merasa ketakutan karena semua pekerjaan dirasa tidak cocok untuknya. Ternyata para Tetua memilihnya untuk menjadi Sang Penerima yang selanjutnya, dibawah bimbingan Sang Pemberi yang misterius. Sang pemberi kemudian mengangkat Jonas sebagai muridnya, mengenalkannya pada berbagai macam pengalaman, kejadian di masa lalu, dan emosi manusia yang lebih dalam termasuk rasa sakit. Saat perlahan-lahan Jonas mengetahui rahasia dibalik segala keteraturan komunitasnya, dia merasa resah. Dia merasa bertanggungjawab untuk menemukan kehidupan yang penuh warna seperti yang dilihatnya dalam kenangan yang diterimanya dari Sang Pemberi. Hal itulah yang mendorongnya untuk melakukan tindakan yang drastis, ditemani Gabriel, bayi laki-laki yang telah dianggap adik oleh Jonas.

Buku ini termasuk salah satu dari genre dystopia yang sekarang ini memang sedang marak beredar dimana-mana. Ide tentang sebuah keteraturan mutlak setelah peperangan dan bencana memang bukan sebuah hal yang mustahil.Gaya bahasanya juga ringan karena ini memang buku yang dikhususkan untuk anak-anak dan remaja.

Sebenarnya ada satu bagian dalam buku ini yang paling membuat saya tidak bisa tidur setelah membacanya, yaitu adegan "pelepasan" salah satu bayi kembar, yang menurut saya digambarkan dengan blak-blakan dan membuat saya bergidik sendiri karena membayangkannya. Tapi saya tidak akan cerita banyak, takut spoiler soalnya, hahahaaa.....

Eniwei, berhubung baru-baru ini buku ini diangkat ke layar lebar, jadi buku ini tetap layak dibaca. Apalagi ada embel-embel pemenang Newbery Medal 1994,  dan segabreng penghargaan lainnya, jadi sebaiknya jangan dilewatkan membaca buku ini lhooo......

Oh iya, postingan ini juga dibuat dalam rangka event Posting bareng bulan November dengan tema buku-buku pemenang Newbery Medal yang diselenggarakan BBI (Blogger Buku Indonesia).

The Hunger Game

I think the story of this book is very original. Perhaps there are many concept of 'last-man-standing' games, but this book gives us the point of view of a teenage girl that has to face a choice of kill or to be killed in a game full of cameras, live for a cruel festival for people of Capitol and Panem. In the middle of her own fear of just being in the game, another contestant from the same District revealed his undenying love to her. What should she do to him when the rules only allows one person to live? What will she choose, love or life?

The story starts with a girl named Katniss Everdeen who lived in District 12 of Panem hunted some animals with her bestfriend Gale in the wood just outside the district. Unfortunately, they had to come back for the day of the Reaping (it is the day when the Capitol choose 2 teenagers from each district to become tributes). Katniss nightmare came when the name appeared for the tribute was her litle sister's, Primrose.  In a haste decision to protect her sister, Katniss volunteered as a tribute, which is the first time happened in district 12 and earned respect from the people. Together with Peeta Mellark, the other tribute, they were sent to Capitol to train with their mentor Haymitch, before they had to battle each other to death among other tributes from other district.

I can't wait to read the next book ^_^