Novella Mash-Up Reviews: Glitches, The Little Android, and The Queen's Army by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles 0.5, 0.6, and 1.5)

I recently read Cinder by Marissa Meyer (see my review here).  It was a wonderful read (4.5/5 stars, my review).  I saw on Goodreads that there are a few free e-novellas that are associated with the series and I decided to read them.  These are my reviews for 3 out of 4 of the currently published e-novellas.  I plan to read Scarlet during next weeks read-a-thon.

Book Title: Glitches

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publish Date: December 5, 2011

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Science Fiction

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (0.5)

Plot (from Goodreads):  

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. In Glitches, a short prequel story to Cinder, we see the results of that illness play out, and the emotional toll that takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch...

 

Review

This is a good novella and a great addition to the series. It is good to learn more about Cinder's family.  I loved learning more about Cinder when she was young and about her early relationships with the family.  Although this talks about Cinder's childhood, I think that this book should be read after Cinder is read.

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 13+ for some intense scenes

Overall Rating: 4/5

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Book Title: The Little Android

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publish Date: January 27, 2014

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Science Fiction

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (0.6)

Plot (from Goodreads):  

The Little Android is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles by New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer.

When android Mech6.0, saves the life of a handsome hardware engineer, her body is destroyed and her mechanics discover a glitch in her programing. Androids aren’t not meant to develop unpractical reasoning or near-emotional responses…let alone fall in love.

 

Review

I felt like this novella added the least amount to the series.  It did show the relationship between humans and cyborgs and androids.  It was nice to have more depth to how the humans felt about the androids and the cyborgs, but it did not add to the main storyline that is in Cinder.  This is a cute and very sad story.  I enjoyed reading it, but I wish that these characters were present in the main story.  In my opinion, this novella can be read before or after reading Cinder.

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any age

Overall Rating: 3.5/5


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Book Title: The Queen's Army

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publish Date: November 23, 2012

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Science Fiction

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (1.5)

Plot (from Goodreads):  

It is time. The boy must leave his family to serve in the Queen's army. To be chosen is an honor. To decline is impossible. The boy is modified. He is trained for several years, and learns to fight to the death. He proves to the Queen—and to himself—that he is capable of evil. He is just the kind of soldier the Queen wants: the alpha of his pack.

 

Review

Although this is a very short novella,  I really felt connected with the characters.  I felt like this novella really adds to the series.  I cannot wait to read more about Z and his brother.

My only complaint is that I really do not understand how the cover matches the series covers (Cinder, Scarlet, ect.).

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 13+ for some violence and intense action scenes

Overall Rating: 5/5

Throwback Thursday Book Edition #3: The Lost Books series (1-4) by Ted Dekker

Picture from GoodReads

General Analysis

Series Title: The Lost Books (books 1-4)

Author: Ted Dekker

Publish Dates: 2007-2008

Genre: Young Adult, Christian Fiction, Fantasy

Plot for Chosen (from GoodReads):  Think with your heart and prepare to die . . . for you have been Chosen.

Thomas Hunter, supreme commander of the Forest Guard, has seen a great evil decimate much of his beautiful world. With a dwindling army and an epic threat, Thomas is forced to supplement his fighters with new recruits ages 16 and 17. From thousands, four will be chosen to lead a special mission.

Unknown to Thomas, the chosen four are redirected to a different endgame. They must find the seven lost Books of History before the Dark One. For these seven books have immense power over the past, present, and future, controlling not only the destiny of their world . . . but that of ours as well.

Why and When I Read This Book: I started reading the Circle trilogy, the companion series to the Lost books series, in middle school and I loved them.  I started reading this series in high school, but I only owned the first 4 books.  I now own the last 2 books as well and I hope to read them very soon!

  

In Depth Analysis

This series is a fantasy series that is just amazing.  The world that Ted Dekker created is so detailed and so beautiful.  The concepts behind this book are so unique.  I don't want to give away too much, but this series and the Circle series are closely related in that the main character in this series is also the main character in the Circle trilogy.  The Circle trilogy is set in the "real world"; whereas, the Lost books series is set in an amazing fantasy world.  I cannot explain exactly how this is possible without giving away too much information about the books, this unique concept is one of the reasons that I love this series.

Another reason that I love this series is that one of the main themes is good versus evil.  Unlike a lot of authors, Ted Dekker makes out evil for what it really is: dark and sinful.  He also illustrates the Love that God has for all of his children and contrasts this to the ideals of the evil character and by doing this shows how great God truly is.  I think it is important to show the darkness of evil not only to warn against it, but also to use it to show what true Love is and that God is whom we should seek after always.

This fantasy novel is great for those who love a good adventurous story full of action.  I would also recommend Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy to read along with this series.  The chronological order of the books is Green ("The Beginning and the End" to the Circle Trilogy), Black (Circle Trilogy), the Lost Books series, Red (Circle trilogy), and then White (Circle Trilogy), but either series can be read first and still be easily understood.  Next week's Throwback Thursday will be on the Circle Trilogy.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 10 and up.  There are some violent scenes, but that are not graphic (if I remember correctly).

Overall Rating: 5/5

Throwback Thursdays Book Edition #2: The Hunger Games Trilogy

This weeks "Throwback Thursday:Book Edition" will be for the Hunger Games trilogy.

General Analysis

Series Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Publish Date: May 1st, 2011 (Kindle Edition with all  three books)

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian

In Depth Analysis

I originally read this book in high school.  I read the  first book as part of a group that I was involved in known as the Helen Ruffin reading bowl.  The Hunger Games was nominated for the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers in 2009 and won this award.  I read the first book as part of the Helen Ruffin reading bowl team.  I read the second book soon after and I read the third book shortly after it came out in 2010.  I recently bought all three books for my Kindle and have since reread the whole series.

My Original Thoughts:  I really enjoyed the first book.  I thought that the plot was so unique and I really enjoyed the plot twists.  The love triangle in the book was excellently placed and I was eager to find out who Katniss would choose.  As the series continued, I found that I was disappointed with how the series progressed.  The series became kind of predictable and never ending.

My Thoughts After Rereading The Series:  After I reread the series, I enjoyed the last two books much more than the first time that I had read them.  When I reread the books, I noticed more details than I did the first time and that really amplified how much I enjoyed the books.  Suzanne Collins developed a wonderful story that I will be happy to read once again.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: I would recommend this book to mature teenagers and older as there is a good bit of violence.

Overall Rating: 4/5