Collection!

For this assignment, we were allowed to pick any focus for books, but I've kept mine consistent with the theme of the book I selected for this course.  This book, as well as the two preceding it, are included in this collection, as it centers around the main type of book I read-- dystopian societies. While I realize that we have the opportunity to "own"any book for these collections, I thought I would showcase so,etching unique about myself-- the fact that I actually own all of these books, in print, no less.  This is something I take great pride in. 

Cass, Kiera. The Selection. New York: HarperTeen, 2012. Print.

Cass, Kiera. The Elite. New York, NY: HarperTeen, 2013. Print.

Cass, Kiera. The One. New York, NY: HarperTeen, 2014. Print.

These three novels are an excellent dystopian society trilogy in which people are separated into eight castes, based on financial status and occupational tendencies. The main character, America, is in a lower caste, but she is selected to compete to win the affections of Prince Maximus, to join the family of the only One caste. In the second, she has made it past the eliminations and is one of the final 6 who are vying for his affections. I'm actually about to read The One, the final book, in the next few days. 

Collins, Suzanne, and Phil Falco. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.

Collins, Suzanne, and Elizabeth B. Parisi. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic, 2009. Print.

Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print.

These novels are most likely familiar to any parties who are reading this, as the film franchise is exceedingly popular, but, on the off chance that anyone hasn't heard of this excellent series, they center around a society divided into 12 districts. Katniss, the heroine, lives in District 12, the poorest of the districts. In the first, she is selected to participate in the Hunger Games, an annual event in which two teenagers, one male and one female, from each district must go into an arena and fight to the death. Upon being the victor in the first book, the second chronicles her journey through the tour she completes after winning and then her arrival back in the arena when the 75th Hunger Games has special circumstances causing victors to return. The third follows her attempts to stop the Capitol from continuing the "games".

Condie, Ally, and Jesse Goossens. Matched. Rotterdam: Lemniscaat, 2010. Print.

Condie, Allyson Braithwaite., and Irene Vandervoort. Crossed. New York: Dutton, 2011. Print.

Condie, Allyson Braithwaite, and Irene Vandervoort. Reached. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2012. Print.

This is another trilogy that I actually have yet to complete. In Matched, the main character, Keira, is extremely excited when she goes to find out that the man she has been paired with to marry is none other than her best friend, Xander. However, as most people don't know their matches, when she goes to the next event where more information about matches are provided, the screen flashes another boy's face before Xander's appears. As she meets this boy and begins to fall in love with him instead, Keira begins to questions everything around the system she grew up in. 

Lu, Marie. Legend. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2011. Print.

Lu, Marie. Prodigy: A Legend Novel. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2012. Print.

Lu, Marie. Champion: A Legend Novel. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2013. Print.

And here we have this blog's main focus. Day and June are both teenagers in the a Republic. However, Day is a criminal, and June is the Prodigy. She score so well on exams that she is in college at 15 and working on entering the military, the most prestigious of positions in her society. Her brother is also an important officer in the military. However, when he is killed and Day is blamed, June sets out to catch Day, something no one has been able to accomplish so far. Eventually, June learns that Day is innocent, which makes the culprit become an unnerving mystery, as only military personnel had Ben around at the time of her brother's murder. Things only get more complicated as Day and Jayne begin to develop feelings for one another. 

Oliver, Lauren. Delirium. New York: Harper, 2011. Print.

Oliver, Lauren. Pandemonium. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2012. Print.

Oliver, Lauren. Requiem. New York, NY: Harper, 2013. Print.

In this society, love is considered a disease. Until they are given the Cure once they come of age, boys and girls are not even allowed to interact. The heroine of this series is all for the cure, having known uncured people and what happens to them. But then she falls in love. Things get more complicated when people find out, and she has to go on the run, leaving civilization to fight for love and freedom. 

Quinn, Susan Kaye. Open Minds. United States: CreateSpace Independent Platform, 2011. Print

Quinn, Susan Kaye. Closed Hearts. United States: CreateSpace Independent Platform, 2012. Print.

Quinn, Susan Kaye. Free Souls. United States: CreateSpace Independent Platform, 2012. Print.

This trilogy documents an advanced society where most people are Readers. They are telepathic and that has become the main method of communication. The heroine, ,however, is a Zero. She still hasn't developed her abilities, and, at this point, never will. Until a cute older boy named Simon takes an interest in her and reveals her true abilities to her. She's much more than a Reader. She's a Jacker. Instead of simply reading thoughts, she can link directly into people's to influence them. However, while the general public knows nothing of Jackers, the government is aware of these people and forces them to go to jail-like facilities. So, she joins forces with the other Jackers to free these innocents and to help Jackers become accepted in society. 

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. New York: Simon Pulse, 2005. Print.

Westerfeld, Scott. Pretties. New York: Simon Pulse, 2005. Print.

Westerfeld, Scott. Specials. New York: Simon Pulse, 2006. Print.

Westerfeld, Scott. Extras. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007. Print.

This is actually the first dystopian series I ever read. Tally lives in a society where everyone is considered to be ugly until they turn 16 and are given a surgery to make them beautiful. Her best friend is a few months older than her, and has already had his surgery, so she is anxious to come of age and join him in Prettytown. However, when her friend Shay, who has the same birthday as her runs away the night before their surgeries, Tally is told she cannot have hers until she brings Shay back. Once she locates her, she finds a community of Uglies who are perfectly content being just that, and suddenly she doesn't know what she wants anymore. Furthermore, she them learns that the Pretty people at given lesions in their brains to make them unintelligent and obedient. Tally becomes part of a group determined to return society to a less controlling state.