50 Book Challenge 2012 13/100; 7/30 Dystopian

[morningapproach]

1. The Gunslinger by Stephen King (3.5 out of 5) *#
2. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (5 out of 5) *
3. The Barcode Rebellion by Suzanne Weyn (4 out of 5) *
4. Hunger by Michael Grant (3 out of 5) *
5. Pink Smog by Francesca Lia Block (3.5 out of 5)
6. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (4 out of 5)
7. The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (3.5 out of 5) *!#
8. Lies by Michael Grant (3 out of 5) *
9. The Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (4 out of 5) !
10. Hollowland by Amanda Hocking (4.5 out of 5) *
11. Hollowmen by Amanda Hocking (4.5 out of 5) *
12. The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe (4 out of 5)
13. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (2 out of 5)

* = dystopian novel
! = audio novel/read aloud
# = re-read

I just finished reading Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, and good lord it was awful. Like, one of the worse novels I've read since Twilight. It has the same thematic - one-dimensional female teenager, daughter of a single parent who isn't around much, Mysterious new guy at school, who is both scary and intriguing and makes her loins wet at the same time. He himself is torn between wanting to kill her and wanting to save her. This book did NOTHING to further human creativity other than to convince insipid teenagers that it is okay to fall in love with men who threaten them and want to kill them.

In other news, I am horribly behind on my book goals. To refresh your memories, my goal for 2012 is to read 100 books, 30 of which are to be dystopian novels. I divide dystopian into one of three distinct subgenres:

1. the general setting for the novel is in the middle of a major world event ie zombie apocalypse, nuclear war, oil crisis, etc. It documents how the world is changing, and how it is reshaping itself. It may also document the struggle for survival of one or more people. Examples would be World War Z by Max Brooks, or Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
2. A dystopian novel can also take place in the distant future/alternative reality, when the world we know it today has drastically changed, generally as to be unrecognizable. Sometimes this crosses into science fiction, and the line can be a little blurred there. For instance, is Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card a dystopian science fiction novel, or just a science fiction novel? For myself, I count the first novel in the series, Ender's Game, to be a dystopian novel, but the rest that follow (The Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, etc.) to not be. I make this distinction because a) it takes place on Earth in the distant future, and b) it deals with how humanity has changed and become distinctly dystopian in terms of its population controls. Other novels that have this setting are Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Giver by Lois Lowry, or The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
3. The third category I define is one where it is a self-contained community that is decidedly dystopian and dysfunctional. Think Lord of the Flies by William Golding, or Under the Dome by Stephen King.

I am pulling a lot of my book recommendation from goodreads.com, or from different blogs. This entry by eldritchhobbit is probably the most comprehensive list I've found so far. This link is also an amazing list of YA dystopian novels and books that have been recommended. Unfortunately I have read a lot of them before, as dystopian novels have been one of my favourite genres for the past few years. But if you have any favourites that you want to recommend to me, please do so! I may have read them, but I am not opposed to reading books again if I have someone to discuss them with :D

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