Article 5

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C., have all been abandoned.

The Bill of RIghts has been revoked and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

THere are no more police - instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior - instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested don't usually come back.

Seventeen year old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

In the three years since the war ended, Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what's worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings...the only boy Ember has ever loved.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I loved this book! It was sucn an intoxicating read! Scary too! Not in the "monsters and give you nightmares" way, but in the "this could seriously happen someday" way. There was so much intensity, and raw emotion in this book!

I loved the characters! Ember, who only wants to be with her mom and stay under the radar. Chase who loves Ember so much he risks everything for her. I did get a little frusterated with them at times. It is sooo obvious how much they care for each other and yet, they are both so stubborn and keep pushing each other away. There was a part where they finally reconciled and I was breathing a sigh of relief...only to have it yanked away moments later! AUGH!!

The world that Simmons throws us into is no place I would want to be! It is scary, cut throat and you wonder how anyone could have survived...and to continue to want too! The ending was perfect...just enough to wet your appetite for the next one!

I gave this book 5 apples!

Cinder

Sixteen year old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have it's benefits, though: Cinder's brain interface has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Bejing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly marlet booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it "a matter of national security," but Cinder suspects it's more serious than he's letting on.

Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger step-sister and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that's been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's step-mother volunteers her body for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived.

But it doesn't take long for the scientist todiscover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.

I have never been a "sci-fi" reader and so when all my friends started reading and raving about this book I wasn't sure I would like it or not. Add in the fact that Cinder is a cyborg...for me that was an instant turn off. However...I LOVED this book! I love fairy tales and this rendition of Cinderella was so good! This may sound weird...but I think it made the story of Cinderella even better!

There were so many twists and turns in this book! Just when I thought it was going to slow down...something else would happen! One of the twists I figured out pretty early on...but I think that is how the author intended it.

The ending was so beyond what I could have imagined, and as always left me desperatly wanting more...NOW!

I gave this book 5 apples!!

Under the Never Sky

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland - known as the Death Shop - are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild -a savage - and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.


I know I say this alot but...I LOVED this book! I read it in one sitting! There are lots of dystopian books out there with the same underlying theme and tone...survival. Under the Never SKy took this to the next level. What would you do if all your life you were told that to step outside would mean a death sentence? That your body won't be able to breath, there are savages and wild animals that will kill you if the Aether storms don't first. That's exactly what happens to Aria.

After a series of events that weren't even Aria's fault, she finds herself exiled from Reverie. Add to that she finds herself in the hands of a savage, who looks a little familiar, but is also blaming her for something she didn't do. All Aria wants to do is find out if her mother is safe, and she knows she is going to need help if she is to survive even for a little bit.

I loved Aria! At first she kind of bugged me with her whole attitude towards Perry and always calling him savage. He saved her life on numerous accounts and she was so rude...but I believe it had to start out that way so she could really see who Perry was. I loved that after all she went through she never complained. Watching her go from scared, weak and wondering when she was going to die, to strong and sure of herself was awesome!

Perry is a character that you can't help but like. As a Scire he can "scent" others emotions...I can't even begin to understand how hard that would be for him! A man of little words, his actions speak a lot louder and stronger! I loved watching him change his attitude towards Aria as well.

The supporting characters were amazing as well! Roar...you so can't help but love this man! Talon..a fighter who tries to be brave. Cinder...a boy who doesn't understand the power he holds only that it is deadly. And Liv...even though she was only mentioned...I can't wait to meet her in the next book! She is going to be a force to be reckoned with!

I loved the romance between Perry and Aria and how it started out slow, and then blossomed. It wasn't rushed...it wasn't forced...it was just perfect!

Many people said they felt the ending was predictable...I disagree! I thought there were parts that you could see coming, but there were some that left me totally awed! I can't wait for the next book! The last sentence of Under the Never Sky left me wanting it NOW!!

I borrowed this book from the library, but I will be buying it for my own library!

I gave this book 5 apples!