Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order--all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine” (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as a thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New World likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites. (Goodreads)
Many find dystopian novels to be either silly or too depressing. However, I find them incredibly interesting and consider the sub-genre to be one of my favorites to read. Regardless, I found myself not entirely looking forward to picking up Brave New World. I spend most of my reading time with modern YA and the transition to classic adult novels can be a bit brutal due to the expanded vocabulary and just overall increased denseness. This usually means I take twice as long to read classic books. Brave New World was different though. I quickly breezed through it and found it difficult to put it down so I could get some sleep. I even had a dream where I was talking about the book to someone...which has never happened before.
As I often find myself doing when I read these types of books, I could not help but find similarities between our world now and the world created by Aldous Huxley. This gave the book a terrifying twist as there are definitely people who exist in our world today that have beliefs that could lead us to a fake utopia that is similar to the one presented in Brave New World. Ultimately, this book left me pondering on the things that make us human and what purpose we serve on this planet. I definitely recommend it to everyone, even if you do not like the genre.
Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5
Book & Author Information: Goodreads
Published: 1932
Aldous Huxley: Goodreads
On a floating junkyard beneath a radiation sky, a deadly secret lies buried in the scrap.
Eve isn’t looking for secrets—she’s too busy looking over her shoulder. The robot gladiator she’s just spent six months building has been reduced to a smoking wreck, and the only thing keeping her Grandpa from the grave was the fistful of credits she just lost to the bookies. To top it off, she’s discovered she can destroy electronics with the power of her mind, and the puritanical Brotherhood are building a coffin her size. If she’s ever had a worse day, Eve can’t remember it.But when Eve discovers the ruins of an android boy named Ezekiel in the scrap pile she calls home, her entire world comes crashing down. With her best friend Lemon Fresh and her robotic conscience, Cricket, in tow, she and Ezekiel will trek across deserts of irradiated glass, infiltrate towering megacities and scour the graveyard of humanity’s greatest folly to save the ones Eve loves, and learn the dark secrets of her past. Even if those secrets were better off staying buried. (Goodreads)
*A big thank you goes to Netgalley & Knopf Books for Young Readers for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book.*
Jay Kristoff has the amazing ability to always create incredibly relatable and human characters. I think this is probably the main reason I am always left impressed and in awe after finishing one of his books. Everyone is interesting, has realistic flaws, and perhaps most enjoyable, lingers on that fine line between good and evil. It is easy to understand pretty much everyone's motivations for what they are doing (or have done). His characters are so real, that it is difficult to not fall for them, to not cheer them on.
There is one thing I have learned though, no one is EVER safe and things are never what they seem in a Jay Kristoff book. Knowing this did not prevent me from (stupidly) falling for the majority of the characters in Lifel1k3 though. Several moments in this book left me screaming internally "NOOOOO DON'T YOU DARE!!!" and "OMG HOLY CRAP...WTF!?!" which to me is a definite sign of an amazing story. While it ultimately is not my favorite book Kristoff has released, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and still think it deserves a five-star rating. It did give me a new character to add to my favorites list in Lemon Fresh and I absolutely adored Cricket and Kaiser.
Rating: ★★★★★5/5
Rating: ★★★★★5/5
Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that’s made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead of moving with her family to Mars. In her eyes, living inside a dome isn’t much better than a prison cell.
Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she’s headed. Instead, Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers.
Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth’s dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she’s assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight. (Goodreads)
So the first thing I want to mention is how the slogan on the front of the book did not make any sense to me. Zara is not the only one who resists technically...so I just found that a bit confusing. The book starts slow but speeds up as you progress through it. For me, this was the perfect pacing, but I think some may be annoyed with it. My main complaint with Honor Among Thieves was the strange way the connection between Nadim and Zara came off to me. It felt like some sort of weird, forced romance and I just was not feeling it.
Other than that though, I loved it. Caine and Aguirre did a wonderful job of portraying the Leviathan in a very non-alien way. This may seem weird, but it made them very "human" which made it easier to understand some of their actions and how they interacted with each other. I also really enjoyed how important music is in the story and while I really liked Zara from the start, the moment she mentioned her love of Billie Holiday...I fell in love. Finally, I really loved how they ended the book. Yes, it is a bit cliffhangery, but it is done in a way that does not leave you angry, building up excitement for the next book instead.
Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5
Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5
Book & Author Information: Goodreads
Published: February 13th, 2018
Rachel Caine: Goodreads, Official Site
Ann Aguirre: Goodreads, Official Site
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