How on earth is it December already? With Thanksgiving falling so late this year, and Christmas only mere weeks away, I feel like we are flying through the remaining days of 2013. And between getting settled at the new house, holiday shopping, project revisions, and eating lots of turkey with friends and family, my reading has totally suffered. Only three books this month! :(
Here’s what I read in November:
ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth
I saw spoilers before I read Allegiant, but I actually think this helped prepare me —for the beginning, middle, and (controversial) end. That said, the conclusion didn’t bother me much. If anything, I thought it was a brave choice on Roth’s part, and I found the final pages the most moving (to read) and effortless (in writing style). The epilogue, while gut-wrenching, spoke to me on what it means to be human—to love and lose, to hurt and heal. While the world outside the fence is extremely complex (read: a lot for this reader to take in in one book), I’d also been anxious for these answers since Divergent. It was satisfying to finally understand how Tris’s society came to be. Roth has always had powerful themes at the core of her books, and the same is certainly true in this final installment. I’m interested to see how these themes (and the faction virtues) come to life on the screen in March.
CHAMPION by Marie Lu
For me, Legend is one of those rare series where each book is better than the last. The world grows bigger and more complex. The characters feel increasingly more realized. The stakes are exponentially higher. By the time I picked up Champion, I was completely on edge. No one felt safe. Even up until the final pages, I was trying to predict how things would unfold. Marie’s storytelling has always been imaginative and action-packed, and while Day’s and June’s story is not resolved without costs, it is still an immensely satisfying read. What a powerful, bittersweet, moving end to a wonderful trilogy. If you’re not reading these books, you should be. (A suggestion: have tissues handy.)
BROOKE by Veronica Rossi
I tore through this novella while waiting for my car to get an oil change. I know Brooke isn’t everyone’s favorite, but I always felt for her. She’s Perry’s ex. She has to watch him fall for some girl she can’t understand or relate to, and gosh, haven’t most of us been there? Why her? Why didn’t he feel that with me? Rossi writes emotions with such powerful simplicity, and this novella is a wonderful look at Brooke’s heartache and recovery from losing Perry to Aria. Plus it gives us a glimpse of the events that transpire between books two and three. The wait for Into the Still Blue just might destroy me.
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Now tell me, what did you read and love in November?
