Divergent 
by Veronica Roth

Reviewed by
Devin O'Donnell

Divergent, by Veronica Roth is the newest successful dystopian fiction, and has been favorably compared to the Hunger Games. Divergent is about a sixteen year old girl named Beatrice "Tris" Prior, who lives in a society that splits into five communities, or factions: Erudite, the intelligent; Amity, the peaceful; Candor, the honest; Dauntless, the brave; and Abnegation, the selfless. In Tris' society, you choose the faction to live in at the age of sixteen based on the quality you value most. As the back of the book states, "one choice can transform you."

Divergent has everything a person could want in a book: action, science, romance, and the well known problem of finding out who you are. Tris faces all of these trials in the book, as she struggles with her beliefs and identity. The reason most people relate to Tris is because she does not have any laser vision, or super power, or any special skill with arrows. Tris is just an individual with a different way of thinking. Her character inspires people to do amazing things with their lives.

For those people with just too little time to read, you can catch the film adaptation in theaters March 2014.

Looking for Alaska  
by John Green

Review by 
Emma Erwin

 I highly recommend the novel Looking for Alaska by John Green. The novel is about a teenage boy named Miles who transfers to a boarding school looking for something more. Miles' hobby is quite unusual; he is obsessed with learning the last words of famous people. The words that fascinate him the most deal with something called "The Great Perhaps" (whatever that is), and these words guide him throughout the book as he goes through the trials of growing up. 

  The friends that Miles, or "Pudge," makes at school provide comic relief, but also a genuine sense of what real friendship is. His relationships, especially with an interesting girl named Alaska, are never perfect, but this is what makes the novel so intriguing. The characters make mistakes and have to deal with the fallout, and so the novel is relatable, even if the specific situations are not. Green writes with passion, and creates one of my favorite characters of all time, Alaska, through dynamic dialogue and description.

   This was definitely a novel that I sped through reading, but did not fully understand while I was reading it, or even immediately after finishing it. Only now, upon further reflection, several months after reading Looking for Alaska do I really understand the themes and the characters. This is a novel that I would read again, and I think that many young adults, male or female, would enjoy the universality of this story and of the characters. I give it an A. 

Editor's note: If you liked Looking for Alaska, check out John Green's latest, The Fault in Our Stars, in the PVI Media Center.

 

The Other Countess

 by Eve Edwards

Reviewed by

Elizabeth Mosolovich

         Lady Eleanor Rodriguez, Countess of San Jaime (or Ellie, to her friends) is the half-orphaned daughter of a penniless alchemist in Elizabethan England. Her father's mad pursuit of turning lead into gold has drained their fortunes and his daughter's belief in him. It has also gained him the enmity of William Lacey, the new earl of Dorset, for squeezing his father out of their fortune, leaving Will, his mother, and his siblings as poor as Ellie and her father.

         The two meet at court, both trying to win royal favor and fortune, and soon sparks begin to fly. But not only does Will hate Ellie's father, and therefore Ellie, he also has a duty to marry someone with money to save his family. Amidst this romantic drama, Catholic persecution also causes Ellie to be under suspicion and makes Will realize just how desperate he is to marry her.

         This was a nice and intriguing read which switched point of views, and I especially enjoyed Ellie's quiet, intelligent and friendly voice. It's a nice bit of historical fiction plus romance, so I definitely recommend it if you like that. There are also two other books in this series, The Lacey Chronicles, which are just as fun, so go check them out.