Anthem by Ayn Rand is a dystopian book, that takes place in a world where everyone is equal. There is no 'I', only the universal 'we'. In this society we meet Equality 7-2521, someone who does not fit into the social constraints of his society. At a young age, he is intelligent and curious, rebelling against his society but still trying to fit in. He commits some of the greatest sins of his community, namely being alone and doing things for himself. One day Equality discovers something that causes him to risk everything he knows, but will it be for the better?
This was a really great book, I enjoyed how I could compare it to modern day dystopian novels. I liked the characters, even though the names were a mouthful. For some people, the fact that the narrator refers to himself in first person plural (we/our instead of I/my) is confusing but I think it really added to the world of the book. This book was really different from other books I've read in school, and I highly recommend it to fans of dystopian in particular. Oh, and I'm doing star ratings now, I gave this book 5 stars, and it will probably be one of my favorites from 2014.
Allegiant by Veronica Roth is the third and final book in the Divergent trilogy. There isn't much I can say without spoiling the book, but I'll try. It follows Tris and Four as they leave the city, heading out into the unknown. What they find is a world much like their own, riddled with conspiracy, rebellions, and corruption. It's a good book, I give it 3 to 3.5 stars. I'm not sure if I recommend it or not, because it's a great series but I just didn't like the end. This book was not as fast-paced as the first two books in the trilogy, but a lot did happen. You learn more about Tris and her family, and meet a few new characters along the way.
Now for the spoiler-y section so if you haven't read the books I suggest you leave.
SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK! SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK! SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK! SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK! SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK! SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK! SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK! SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK! SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK! SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK! SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK! SPOILERS! CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU READ THE BOOK!
First, I want to talk about the end of Allegiant. I did not like that Tris died, I understand that she cares too much for Caleb to let him sacrifice himself but I'm not okay with that. As soon as I read that part of the book, I felt a shift in my brain, the point of no return, the moment Tris died. I was devastated; I loved Tris. Honestly, I didn't see her death coming. I thought something would happen with the memory serum, like Four didn't protect himself aganst it and he forgot Tris. I would have been more okay with that, but not Tris's death. I was really hoping that someone had come and saved her, but once Four found out that she died I lost all hope.
Other than that, I thought this book was okay. It was really slow-paced, it took me about six days to read while Divergent and Insurgent each only took me about one or two. I don't know if this was because I was really busy or if I just had no desire to pick up the book. There were some points I liked, most of the fluffy moments between Tris and Four. There were also some moments I didn't like. For example, when Four refused to listen to Tris throughout the entire beginning of the book! Four, GET A GRIP ON YOURSELF!
I didn't like that but I understand why it was necessary, with the ending. Another thing, Uriah's death, for me, was completely unnecessary. Why?!?!
Moving on to Anthem now. Did I mention that I loved this book? Well, I loved it. I thought it was interesting and thought-provoking. This book and Divergent are actually similar, what with the conformity in the factions and the conformity in the society of Anthem. That really intrigued me, how you could see Anthem in other dystopian novels. And maybe those novels weren't based on or inspired by Anthem (they probably weren't) but you can see the evolution of dystopias, which I thought was really cool. I really thought the forbidden word was going to be 'I', but it wasn't. It was 'ego'.
ego /ˈēgō/ n: A person's sense of self-esteem or self- importance.This definitely made sense as the forbidden word, because this society is all about conformity, forgetting yourself, and working for the good of the whole. There is no self-esteem or self-importance, none of them even know what they look like.
Another parallel in Anthem and the Divergent series is the changing of names. In Anthem the main character goes from being Equality 7-2521 to the Unconquerable to Prometheus, and his love interest goes from Liberty 5-3000 to the Golden One to Gaea. In Divergent Beatrice becomes Tris at the Dauntless compound and Four even calls her Six once or twice. Four's real name is Tobias, but it changed to Four so he could forget his past. The concept of changing names is really interesting, especially since there is a meaning behind each of these names, and the changes are significant.
Overall these were really great books, and I recommend them (mostly Anthem). I look forward to the Divergent movie in March, even though the only thing I'll be able to think about is Tris's death. I feel like a different person now that Tris has died, and I'll never be the same. Okay, I finally posted another book review! Now I will go forth and conquer more books! Lol no. Happy Reading!
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