Book Review: Verify by Joelle Charbonneau @jcharbonneau

Compelling and a bit scary, Verify is a book that needs to be read by many teens.

Meri's world, a future Chicago, is as close to a utopia as any city has ever been.  Everyone and everything is safe. There is no poverty and very little crime. The environment has been preserved, partly by getting rid of paper. All communications are done electronically. Miri believes everything she hears on the three TV channels that have been provided by the government. What else is needed? Citizens are paid for turning in any books or paper they find and must pay a tax to use paper for anything. It is much better for the environment--or at least that's what they want you to think.

Since Meri's mother died in a freak accident, Meri's father has pretty much checked out. Meri meets some people who don't necessarily think the world is a better place at all. In fact, they are convinced the government is controlling everything you see and hear. But is that such a bad thing? Look how happy everyone is. But is everyone really happy? Meri wants to find out why her mother died and why she had become so distant in the last weeks before her death, so she begins to question everything she has believed.

Think about a world without paper. No books. Everything online. If someone were controlling what is released online, what is to stop them from eliminating words (such as "Verify") from the dictionary? Or entire chapters from textbooks. Or entire books.

If you are interested in relationships, it seems there might be a romance developing, but in no way does this relationship take away from the story. We'll have to see about this in future installments. (Something to look forward to.) The characters are interesting and the situations eye-opening. Verify has been compared to Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 and would be a great addition to any curriculum studying those texts.

Things are not all they seem in Meri's world, and she is in for a rude awakening. The tension mounts nicely as we reach the conclusion. I got through this one very quickly. And, sure to be a series, Verify leaves the reader wanting more! Charbonneau certainly has another winner in Verify.

Published by HarperTeen, September 24, 2019
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
320 pages

Rating: 5/5

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Book Review: Furyborn, by Claire Legrand @clairelegrand

Furyborn is set in a vivid fantasy world, where two formidable women pursue different paths in different time periods. The reader wonders why these two stories are 1000 years apart, but they must be related in some way -- and that mystery is part of the reason this tale is so compelling.

Reille is in love with the crown prince, who is betrothed to Reille's best friend. When Reille reveals powerful abilities to save the prince, it is suspected that she is the Sun Queen, who legend says can save the world.  She must withstand seven deadly tests, one for each of the elements, in order to prove her identity.

A thousand years later, Eliana is a bounty hunter.  Her family survives only because of her murderous acts. But when her mother disappears, along with many other women from the city, everything changes.  As she rebels against the empire, she hooks up with an untrustworthy revolutionary captain who promises to help her find her mother.  But his intentions prove otherwise. He wants to show Eliana the secrets of this evil world and show her how her abilities may be the key to creating change.

The leaps in both time and point-of-view are unsettling at first, but events urge the reader forward as these powerful women meet each obstacle and begin to discover the secrets that bind them together.

Given what we learn at the end, I wonder how these stories can be 1000 years apart, but I guess more will be revealed in future installments of The Empirium Trilogy.

The suspense builds at the end of each chapter, and then you are in the other women's world!  It's frustrating but effective. Incorporating powerful magical feats, Furyborn will leave you wanting more. Teens who enjoy epic fantasy will be enthralled.  Can't wait to recommend Furyborn.

Published by Sourcebooks Fire, May 22, 2018
ARC obtained from School Library Connection Magazine and NetGalley
491 pages

Rating: 5/5

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Book Review: King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard

King's Cage does a great job continuing the story of the Red Queen and is very exciting and tense.

Mare is in big trouble.  She's a prisoner of King Maven and can't use her power. She sees no way out.  But during her awful imprisonment, things are progressing among the rebels and eventually they assist in Mare's escape.

Cal, of course, is working with the rebellion, and I liked how his relationship with Mare progressed once they were reunited.

There is a lot of fighting and a lot of planning to fight.  During her imprisonment, Mare is very introspective and kind of whiny.  I get she's miserable, but that went on perhaps a bit too long. The final battle is epic, but the turn things take at the very end is heartbreaking.

I really love the world that Aveyard has created.  I enjoyed looking at the map in the book -- normally, those don't do much for me, but the idea that this is a future United States is intriguing.  I like the hints we get about the distant past and how the world came to be this way.  I hope we get more of that in future books.

What will the future hold for Mare and Cal and the entire kingdom?  Once again, we will have to wait.  The Red Queen is a very popular series among my teens and they are loving this installment.

Published by HarperTeen, February 7, 2017
Copy obtained from the library
528 pages

Rating: 4/5

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