A Post About Books

Last year, I embarked on an incredible journey. It involved a book series called The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. I am sure you may recall me gushing a time or two about this fantastic story of young shadowhunters protecting our world from demons and other threatening paranormal beings. This series makes me think of the fateful month that I first began life as a novelist. Well, it had seemed that the journey was over. Fortunately, it is not so. The fourth book in the series, City of Fallen Angels, came out yesterday and I cannot wait to read it...

...but...I have undergone a shift in my preferred reading. It used to be y. a. vampires, now it is y.a dystopian societies. Wow have I matured! There is just something about a book that is written in a world so different from our own but a world that once used to be ours. 

This is a fortunate time for such a shift, as it seems everyone is writing this type of book -- and they are writing them in series!  I am crossing my fingers for one of those vivid dreams that will give me insight into a dystopian world of my own, and then I can write the next big hit. 

Recommended dystopian thrillers: The Hunger Games, Matched, Delirium, Forest of Hands and Teeth  

I just read the book Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. I had no idea what to expect from a book with such a peculiar title. After buying it from a Borders store-closing sale, I started reading it with very low expectations. I was incredibly pleased. It is the story of a young girl named Mary who lives in an unknown time in the future. After a viral infection spreads through humanity, her village remains enclosed by a fence to block out what are called the Unconsecrated, humans who have died and come back infected (essentially contagious zombies). They wander around moaning and searching for others to infect.

Mary's life is controlled. Free will and choice is restricted to help ensure the survival of the society.  But Mary has dreams. She doesn't want to stay stuck in her village forever, marrying the brother of the boy she loves, and isolated from the rest of the world. She has hope that there is more beyond the fence. A world that used to exist untouched by the death of the infection. She wants to discover the ocean. After some tragic events, Mary finds herself on the path away from her village and to the unknown world beyond.

As can be imagined in a story where death surrounds people, the story isn't altogether uplifting. But it is captivating and gripping. It is heartbreaking at times and filled with hope at others. The writing is simple, yet beautiful. I couldn't put it down, which is a difficult task when reading on the el. I would recommend reading in a private location, because you are bound to get a few stares as the story draws to a close and the tears seep down your cheeks.

Now I am reading the companion book, Dead-tossed Waves. It takes place years after Mary's story, in another town surrounded by the Unconsecrated. I have only just begun, and I am already hooked and weeping.

Once the series is over, I think I will feel a little empty. However, there is a terrific book to look forward to.

A few months ago, I wrote a post talking about this book called Divergent, written by Veronica Roth. And as the countdown is quickly dwindling away, the buzz about this book has sky rocketed. I am very excited to read it. Not only because it has such incredible reviews, is a dystopian book set in Chicago, and has a fascinating plot line, but because I can't wait to experience Veronica Roth's writing.  If you are as intrigued as I am, you can win a copy by going to the following link -- Divergent Book Giveaway - http://www.rebeccabehrens.com/2011/04/divergent-giveaway.html.
But...if I know you and you win, you better let me read the copy afterwards!!

For those of us not fortunate enough to win a free-early copy look for the book on sale May 3.

(stay tuned -- later this week my review on the Dawson-Boyd production of Hairspray)