Delirium

By Kristen



Have you ever been in a situation where you were forbidden to love?

What if your government chose who you loved?

What would you do?


Deliria.

Lena has always been the goody-goody of her hometown of Portland. She obeys the laws that state that love is a disease and hates it when others don't. It's only when Alex shows up as a cured, Lena's whole life changes.


And...my mouth is shut.  I'm done telling the whole story.

So let me warn you: All of the books is this trilogy will make you want to throw the books across the room. I can tell you this from experience. Nora and I sure did.

***

Before I read this, it was on my To-Read list. And when I finally got to borrow this book (thanks to Nora), I wanted to have a party right then and there. But unfortunately, I was at school and that would be one thing I would regret and be embarrassed about for the rest of my life. But to be honest, I did have a party when I got home. I think my sister thought that I was going crazy.  I'm pretty sure that my family thought I was going crazy (which might be true).  I ignored the fact that I had a ton of homework, sat on the floor in the middle of my room and cracked open the book.  I was instantly hooked (and if you know me, you would know that I absolutely love dystopian books).  I almost cried when I had to go to bed because it's such a good book. Moving on...Alex is so sweet (and I may or may not be mentally married to him like Four and Noah). 

That pretty much sums it up.  Oh yeah, just warning you: the ending is very depressing.

If some of you didn't know, Delirium is being turned into a TV show!  Here's some of the casting news!

http://www.deadline.com/2013/02/corey-reynolds-cast-in-fox-pilot-delirium/

http://www.deadline.com/tag/emma-roberts/

http://www.deadline.com/2013/02/gregg-sulkin-nestor-serrano-raza-jaffrey-book-broadcast-pilots/

http://m.justjaredjr.com/pl/2013/03/03/jeanine-mason-cast-as-hana-on-delirium/

I really suggest you read this trilogy! The third book in the trilogy, Requiem comes out the week of  March 8th!!

Oh yeah, and a shout out for Nora:

HAPPY 14TH BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Her birthday was actually yesterday, but it doesn't hurt to say it again) :)

 -Kristen

Authors On My Auto-Buy List

by Nora

Where's Kristen's opinion on this? Well, from now on we'll be switching off doing Top Ten Tuesday. This week's prompt is Top Ten Authors That I'd Put on My Auto-Buy List.

1. Veronica Roth. Veronica Roth has been an inspiration to me since I read Divergent. Honestly, I don't think I'd be reading as much as I do now, and this blog probably wouldn't even exist. She is also my writing inspiration. If I ever met her, I don't even know what I'd say. I think I'd be so starstruck that I'd freeze up right there. I will read anything that she writes.
2. Tahereh Mafi. Oh, Tahereh Mafi. She's funny hilarious (if you've read Shatter Me, you'd get what I did there) and I don't think I will ever forget her books. She writes captivating characters. Sometimes they're almost too captivating. In a good way. :D
3. Michelle Hodkin. Being the author that ripped my heart out in The Evolution of Mara Dyer, Michelle Hodkin is one of the authors that I love the most. She had so much power over me that I moped around the house for a day, too sad to do anything. Yeah. She's that powerful.
4. Leigh Bardugo. Shadow and Bone was perfect. I usually don't tend to like fantasy books (like, witches and wizards--Grishas, in this case), but this one was different. I'm not sure why, maybe it was the characters or the setting. Anyway, it was really good.
5. Lauren Oliver. Lauren Oliver has written quite a few books, some of which are Delirium and Before I Fall. I still need to read Liesel and Po and The Spindlers, even though they're more fantasy than the kinds of books that I enjoy. 
6. Ally Condie. 
7. Laini Taylor.
8. Suzanne Collins. I read The Hunger Games in fifth grade. That was four years ago. Wow. It only seems like last year. Honestly, I didn't love Mockingjay, but I'd still read more.
9. Sarah Rees Brennan. 



Veronica Roth



Sarah Rees Brennan



Leigh Bardugo

10. Steven Moffat. If he ever writes any books. He sure does a brilliant job writing Doctor Who and Sherlock.

Vacation

We're sorry for the lack of posts this week. We are taking a break to read books and meet lovely authors. We'll be back soon!

-Kristen and Nora

Happy Valentine's Day!

by Kristen

    What did you plan this lovely Valentine's Day?  Did you buy some flowers and a box of chocolates for that special someone?  If you didn't, don't feel bad! 
     Anyway...If you are lonely this Valentine's Day, why not spend it with these fictional characters?

Four: Divergent
Daniel: Fallen
Alex: Delirium
Noah: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Gabriel: Wither
Mal: Shadow and Bone
Nick:  Need
Adam and Warner: Shatter Me
Peeta, Finnick and Gale:  The Hunger Games Trilogy
Percy Jackson: The Percy Jackson Series
Jace:  The Mortal Instruments Series
Brody: UnEnchanted
John: Abandon
Jeremy: Struck
Xander and Ky: Matched

     What else can you do?  There's a whole variety!  Curl up on the couch and snuggle up with a blanket and read your favorite book.  Or grab your favorite romance movie and watch it as you eat frosting or ice cream.  The possibilities are endless!
     (Just thought I'd say that this was Nora's idea, but I take the credit for writing it!  And I know it's short, but it's Valentine's Day; don't want to take up the time you would rather spend with that special someone!)

                                                                            -Kristen

Favorite Book Couples

Our Top Ten Favorite Book Couples
Kristen says...

Lena and Alex (fan art by Ice-Ridden)

1. Lena and Alex:  Delirium.  Love is forbidden and Lena and Alex must find a way to be    together without being caught by their so-called Utopian society.  Lena sees Alex during her test to evaluate who she would fall in love with her.  And he is like the sweetest thing ever (other than Noah and Adam, if you look below).  He tries to help Lena to experience the world at a different view, from the Wilds and then soon, they form a connection, but at the end of the first book, I cried and cried and cried and the same goes for the second.  I wish I could tell you what happened in Requiem but it comes out next month and I don't want to spoil it!  Review to come :D
2.  Mara and Noah: The Mara Dyer Series.  Opposites collide, isn't that wonderful?  At first Mara absolutely hates Noah (whom I absolutely love), but then she begins to fall.  Hard.  It's after a discovery they make about each other. I LOVE this couple so much...I am mentally attached to the second book (which I finally was able to borrow from Nora), The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and I do not  want to return it to Nora. I wanted to throw the book across the room. But as all good things have to come to an end...I have to give it back :(  October is too far away.
3.  Juliette and Adam: The Shatter Me Series.  Juliette believes that she a monster, a mistake, but Adam helps her to realize that she's more than that.  And when they meet, Juliette tells him not to touch her, but he does, while she is sleeping and realizes her can touch her. And he tells her and she freaks out, but then they fall in love (of course!)  I'm reading the second now, Unravel Me and Nora mentioned in the last post that she met Tahereh Mafi.  I. Am. So. Jealous.
4.  Luce and Daniel: Fallen.  At first he never notices her at the reform school.  At first she thought he was arrogant.  Daniel has to protect her and keep her safe.  They both think that each other seems familiar.  Because they are.  They figure this out on their own and soon, you can guess what happens. But still, these two may have their differences and secrets, but they are meant for each other.
5. Tris and Four: The Divergent Trilogy.  Didn't I say before that this is one to be repeated many many times?  I believe so.  Here it is in short: Tris chooses her faction.  She meets Four.  Four trains Tris to live in Dauntless.  He rescues her.  They fall in love.  How romantic.
6. Zara and Nick: Need.  
7. Rhine and Gabriel: Wither.  Rhine is taken against her will to someone's mansion where she becomes acquainted (whoa big word there).  Gabriel is a servant at the mansion.  Linden is the mansion's owner who expects to be married to Rhine.  She doesn't want to.  And later on, Gabriel and Rhine become friends and by the end, they attempt to escape (with success) together.  I am still waiting to go to the library to check out a few of the 1,500 books on my list, including the second book, Fever. 
8. Katniss and Peeta: The Hunger Games.  I do realize this book is "so last year," but Katniss and Peeta are one of the best book couple sever existed.  They're put in the Games together and Peeta already is in love with Katniss and I was all like, "What about Gale?" But that's not the point.  They stay together and at the end of the Games when it is just the two of them standing, they realize they could not go on without each other and I was all like "Awww," so...if you have not read or seen the movie, I honestly don't know what to tell you, because that's well, almost impossible to never have read that.....
9. Mia and Jeremy: Struck  I read this twice, I think.  Jeremy has visions, of a storm that is coming soon. They meet at a high school, after a terrible earthquake and...this is so obvious of what I'm about to say: they fall in love.  I've said that like three times!
10. Jem and Spider:  Num8ers  This isn't my favorite couple, but it's still a good book couple.  I read this last year, I really don't remember any of it. So...I'll do my best: They live in the worst part of town, in London (I'm pretty sure it was London) and have to run away together because of a crime they were accused of.  They fall in love and later come back home.

Nora says...

Tris and Four (fan art by Ice-Ridden)

1. Tris and Four: The Divergent Series. Tris and Four are just...perfect. It's really hard to explain (I'm betting all of these couples will be hard to explain), they just are. I love the awkwardness when Tris' brother, Caleb, comes to visit. It's funny. It's running-up-to-a-random-person-and-slapping-them-with-a-loaf-of-bread funny.
2. Mara and Noah: The Mara Dyer Series. Mara and Noah are your typical "Oh no! I'm extremely deadly! Help me boy!" kind of couple (just like Juliette and Adam and Juliette and Warner, below). Whenever Mara seems to be in any kind of trouble--whether it's at the one of many mental institutions she's placed in or at the zoo where she "accidentally" kills a bunch of bugs--he always seems to swoop in and save the day with his tons of money and good, British looks. 
3. Lena and Alex: The Delirium Series. Lena and Alex is a forbidden romance that will capture your hearts. Until the government-born, extremely annoying Julian (my friends and I like to call him 'Julian the Lemur' or 'King Julian') comes into Lena's life and...well, I'm not here to talk about Lena and Julian. I'm here to talk about Lena and Alex. Anyway, I just love their stories and the two fit together like puzzle pieces.
4. Juliette and Adam: The Shatter Me Series. Juliette and Adam are a couple like Mara and Noah. Juliette can't touch anybody...or so she thought. Juliette can touch two people. Adam and Warner. Juliette and Adam fall in love quickly and are really great together.
5. Juliette and Warner: The Shatter Me Series. Kristen is going to kill me for this. In Shatter Me, Warner was the stereotypical antagonist. He was a brutal, murderous, and unforgiving tyrant. I hated him with all my heart. However, all my thoughts changed in Unravel Me when he fed a dog. Yes, he fed a dog and that made me feel better about him (that's not the only reason, but I don't want to give too much away). So, yes. I like the idea of Juliette and Warner. I'm still Team Adam, though!
6. Kami and Jared: The Lynburn Legacy. Kami and Jared have been talking each other for years. They've told each other all their deepest secrets, all the juicy gossip--everything. However, they didn't realize that they were talking to a real person. Kami and Jared are telepathic. I love them so much and I would like to see more of them as them. Sarah Rees Brennan, hear my call!
7. Christina and Will: The Divergent Series.
8. Cassia and Xander: The Matched Series.  I feel like Cassia and Xander don't get enough attention. Cassia kind of ran off with Ky and left Xander to feel sorry for himself. They had been friends for years. Why would Cassia just dissappear? 
9. Rose and The Doctor: Doctor Who. Does this count? I sure hope this counts. Rose and The Doctor (10, not 9. 9 would be creepy) are, well, I guess you could call them forbidden. One is an alien, one is a human, one is 900 (ish) and one is in their twenties. Now that I'm thinking about it...maybe not. Naah, they'd still be awesome. The whole Bad Wolf Beach thing, though? That was cruel, man. Very cruel.
10. Thomas and Teresa: The Maze Runner.

Dark Days Tour: Winter 2013

On Thursday, February 7, I got a chance to meet one of my top five authors of all time. Which author? The one, the only, Tahereh Mafi!

Unravel Me (the second book in the Shatter Me series) had came out on the 5th (review to come, probably on Thursday) and I finished it the next day. On Twitter, Tahereh Mafi posted that she was on tour. Oh. My. God. I frantically searched online to see if she would be coming to my area, and I finally found it on the Harper Collins website. She (along with Veronica Rossi, Brodi Ashton, and Cynthia Hand) was going to be about an hour from me the next day. WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO! Excitement was overwhelming me (and, of course, I had to brag to Kristen and my other friend that I was going to meet her ^^). The only concern about the event was that a blizzard was coming the next day.

FYI: We got about 3 feet of snow here, and I survived!

Anyway, while we were eating dinner, I was all hyper and frantic to get to the event to get good seats.

Mom: There won't be that many people there. You'll get great seats.
Me: Mom! It's Tahereh Mafi!

When we finally got to the event, we found that I was right. From my seat, I could only see the right side of Veronica Rossi's head. Perfect view, right? Before the event started, I was literally shaking with excitement. I'm not kidding!

Also, stupid Nora was stupid and only bought the latest books from each of the authors. I've only read Tahereh Mafi's series. *sigh* Now I need to get the other ones UNSIGNED. I'm kicking myself so hard.

The event started with the authors describing themselves and their latest books. Brodi Ashton talked about Everbound, Cynthia Hand talked about Boundless, Tahereh Mafi talked about Unravel Me, and Veronica Rossi talked about Through the Ever Night. I'm very excited to read each of them.

• Tahereh Mafi explained how some people think that she is male. Why?? I get that her name is different, but it still sounds like a female name.

Veronica Rossi, Tahereh Mafi

Starting to Write:

• Veronica Rossi used to be an oil painter. I can see how painting could help her visualize her stories.
• Tahereh Mafi studied humanities in college and was 22 when she got her book deal. She was one of those kids who read A LOT (What? Kristen and I aren't like that! What are you talking about? .........). She was too busy in college to read, then picked up a book again. In less than a year, she fell in love with reading again. That's how she started writing. Such a nice story.

Cynthia Hand and Brodi Ashton got...interesting. Brodi explained Cynthia's story while Cynthia acted her story out (then they swapped roles). It was quite amusing.

• Cynthia started writing fanfic, which almost never had an ending, went to law school, which didn't work out, and was clueless when she got her MFA. Great story, Cynthia! xD
• Brodi Ashton hated writing as a child (I used to as well). When she grew up, she was scared of her baby, still lived with her dad, and still had a curfew at age 26. 

"I put the baby in the corner."

-Brodi Ashton

Wow. Authors have...interesting lives.

Social Media and Writing

I was very excited when this topic came up and was immediately forced upon Tahereh. As a loyal Twitter follower of hers, I know that she constantly Tweets during revision time. She is (she said this, not me!) obsessed with the internet. My gut hurt from laughing. Veronica Rossi also enjoys the internet. Cynthia Hand, on the other...hand (no pun intended), wrote in a notebook to get away from her laptop--a strategy I should consider.

"Guard your writing time."

-Cynthia Hand

Also, I'm not sure how this came up on this topic, but Brodi Ashton was straightening her hair when her iron exploded and burned her hair. 

Cynthia: What's that smell?

Brodi said it was her "Little Women Moment." 

Favorite Scene to Write

Oh, Chapter 62, Chapter 62. I thought this would be Tahereh's answer, seeing as it was ALL SHE TWEETED ABOUT for a while. Actually, she enjoyed writing the "shower scenes" and the scene when Juliette saw Adam's tattoo for the first time. Adam's tattoo is a bird, as some of you may know, and her brother "just so happens" to have one, as well. This brother is the only brother who has actually read Shatter Me, so it was an "awkward Thanksgiving."

Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and some random guy in the background

Tahereh Mafi also mentioned that she likes reading picture books. So do I. Picture books just have "brillianter" morals (blame Brodi Ashton for making up the word "brillianter") For example, in the book, I Want my Hat Back, the innocent moral is "KILL THE RABBIT." 

In the signing line, I got a chance to talk to each of the authors. They are all so sweet and funny and I even got a chance to discuss The Hunger Games  (mainly Mockingjay) with Veronica Rossi and Tahereh Mafi. 

Tahereh's Thoughts: Noo! Peeta!

Veronica's Thoughts: Noo! Finnick!

My Thoughts: ...

I had a lot of fun, laughed my butt off, and actually got a chance to meet one of my favorite authors ever. I'd say the event was a success. Wouldn't you?

-Nora

Fallen

To be honset, I read this book, Fallen, in two days.  I know it's in third person and I'm not usually into reading books in third person, but this book had me hooked on the first page.  It's the perfect combination of love, reform school and, well, you can read it yourself.  I seriously fan-girled over this book along with one of my friends (and unfortunately, Nora did not read this book yet).  While I was reading this, I stayed holed up in my room and my mom almost took the book away from me and I almost cried because of that.  You see, Luce, the main character, was sent to reform school for being accused of somehow killing someone in a fire.  Did I ever mention, I'm terrible at writing reviews?  But oh well, I'm doing my best.  This books wasn't like one you would throw across the room like for example, The Delirium Trilogy (Lauren Oliver) and Insurgent (Veronica Roth).  But it is one of my favorites.  I really freaked out reading this, especially with the distractions from my brother and sister.  I literally yelled, "SHUT UP, I"M READING!" at them.

So, I think my mom might have yelled at me after that.  She walked into my room at some point and I threw the book onto the floor, I don't even know why I did that...I have my moments...  I was upset when I finished and I wanted to read book two, Torment right away.  Read Fallen this summer and I'm STILL waiting to get a chance to go to the library and actually get the second book, but my library closes really early.  I'm dying to find out what happens next!

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!! READ IT!!  :D

~Kristen

The Evolution of Mara Dyer

Gah. I'm writing this post on Saturday (and, yes, I realize Kristen reviewed the first one on Thursday), even though it will go up on Sunday because I can't control my emotions! Aah! I finished The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Michelle Hodkin) today and...I don't know! I don't even know how I feel. I'm not sure if I feel sad or angry or relieved or what! Well, this morning, while reading in bed and only had about 20 more pages to go, my family comes in and pesters me to get out of bed and get dressed so we could go to the gym (I was at a very dramatic part, mind you). I moaned and groaned and wanted no more than 5 minutes of quiet so I could finish the book, but nooooo. My mom ended up taking the book away. GAAAAHHHH. I lay in my bed for some time, whining like a three year old, until I decided to get dressed and sneak into my parents' room to steal the book back.

I sat on the rocking chair in our living room so I could finish the book, and I regretted my decision. lasdjfoiadhfkjahsdkfhaskdflas It was too much! I slammed the book shut, threw it on a stool, curled up into a ball, and forced myself not to cry. I'm not kidding. This book has that effect. Meanwhile, my sister was watching me have this psychotic reaction. All she said was, "Good book?" Good book? Good book? I wanted to rip my hair out! Of course it was a good book! It was an amazing book! I started it Friday morning and finished it Saturday morning. Only books that are my absolute favorites take me two days (sometimes, even one if I stay up until midnight, which is never).  At the gym, I felt strong. Perhaps it was because of my sudden explosion of emotions. I should read awesome books and go to the gym straight after more. 

The third book, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, comes out in October. IT'S TOO FAR AWAY!!! 

Michelle Hodkin told her blog viewers that there would be no ARCs of Retribution. *sigh* That means no contests or giveaways or going Simon & Schuster and begging for one like small puppy dogs. Aw, man.

So, there you have it. Do I suggest the Mara Dyer series? YES. I recommend it to EVERYBODY!!!

-Nora