Allegiant

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what happened.  Veronica Roth did in Allegiant what I never expected any YA author to do.  Ever.  (I know there are some people who are hating on the book and author because of the ending.  Whether someone likes or dislikes any book is subjective and everyone has a right to their opinion, I just feel like there is a lot of negativity.)  I think the character growth over the course of Allegiant and the entire Divergent series has been great.  What Veronica Roth says in her [very spoilery] interview with MTV seems true to me.  By the end of Allegient, Tris has grown up.  By the end of Allegient, I was practically in tears.

*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*

* I wanted to make the spoilers obvious because a couple days ago, in the midst of me reading Allegiant, BAM!  I accidentally glimpsed a spoiler about the end.  Then I raced through the book, not just because it was a great read, but because I had to find out if what I saw was true or if I mis-read those words.  I hoped it wasn't true, but I knew it would be.  I was in such denial.

Even though I was going through a whole lot of - I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING, I didn't really start to get emotional until Tris's mother appears. I almost lost it.  It was only because my hubby was in the room, and I didn't want him to think I was crazy, that I kept some kind of control.  It was even more difficult to hold it together when Tobias lost it after learning the truth.

I'm proud of Veronica Roth, in a weird way, as I don't actually know her.  She knew what kind of reaction she would receive, but she chose to stay true to her vision for the series.  Do I wish Tris had lived, that Tris and Tobias could live happily ever after, be rewarded for all the difficulties they went through? Yes. After reading Roth's post on her blog and the interview that went up on MTV today, I understand why that didn't happen. I think Roth made a brave choice and that's a big part of what Allegiant was about, bravery.

While Tris is the star of the series, she and Tobias weren't the only things I enjoyed about Allegiant.  I think I loved (and loved to hate) the cast of characters in general. Uriah was always smiling and making jokes; did he have a secret drinking problem? Christina goes through so many changes herself from the beginning of the series to the end and her friendship with Tobias.  By the end, Cara had also become one of my favourite characters. Matthew was a great addition to their crew.  I love to hate Peter and Caleb and David.  David! So the love triangle was never going to be Tris's, but her mother's!  David was wonderfully awful.

There was a lot going on in Allegiant.  Maybe too much?  Was Nita and Reggie necessary?  I don't know. Though it did provide another shake-up in Tobias and Tris's relationship (was that necessary?) and they gave the reader a view of the real world outside of Chicago.  I enjoyed Johanna's growth.  I'm not sure how I feel about Evelyn. I'm glad Marcus finally disappeared.  The plot seemed maybe overly complex, more complex than the previous books, but I still enjoyed it.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what happened.  This was not a simple novel with a simple ending. There was a crazy plot, multi-faceted characters and abundant emotion.  I'm keep feeling like my feelings may change the more time passes by, but I don't want to wait to post.  I've always enjoyed posting my first reaction to a book.  I think Divergent is a great series.  I think I might re-read it one day.  I'm thinking of re-reading the ending now...

You Know What Drives Me Crazy?

When I accidentally hit "Publish" instead of "Save" on a post that's not ready.  I really only have myself to blame.  Ugh.

Life Update

I have a new job and I haven't finished the old one yet! Yay! (I hope.)  I'm still a little sceptical because of my recent track record. The Hubby says not to be ridiculous; I haven't started the new job yet.  I can't help it though.  I have had a string of disappointments on the employment front. Whose fault is it?  No one's, I don't think. It's just life.  Financial situations.  Whatever. 

I'm trying to be hopeful.  What I know for certain is that I'm lucky.  The job is close to home.  The people seem nice.  The offices have a nice combination of a modern and homey feel, very warm and comfortable, neat and clean.  I hope that is a reflection on what the working environment will be like.  I start in a week and a half.  I will hopefully be smiling.

I Just Discovered The Book Blogs Search Engine!

I think it's interesting.

https://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=017997935591651423304:5fpbgt6-tou&hl=en

Carrie

Carrie was everything I wanted and more than I expected. I think most people know a bit about Carrie, even if they haven't read the novel. Before I read it I knew it was about a girl who was some kind of telekinetic, who gets blood dumped on her at the prom and then causes destruction. What I didn't know was everything that led up to that event and what happened after. There is so much more to Carrie. One thing I didn't expect was how much I would sympathize with Carrie, even though I knew what she was going to do. 

If I wasn't already a Stephen King fan, I would definitely be now. King writes Carrie not just though the regular narrative, but through reports and articles and telegrams. It was interesting and I think kept the pace of the novel moving. I was hooked from the first page. I have owned this book for a little while, but just kept not reading it. I figured I knew what happened anyway. That was not a good reason. I should have read this book ages ago. A new Carrie movie is coming out. I want to see it and I want to see the old one too. Not only do I want to see how they portray Carrie, but her mother, Sue, Tommy and Chris.

I feel like I'm just saying things people already know.  Carrie was awesome.  I don't know if I could recommend it more.  It was a perfect October read.

Some Stuff That's Been Happening

I'm skating toward unemployment again.  It's my own fault, really.  I took a job last summer (2012) that was a maternity leave contract, which meant only a guaranteed one year of employment.  I listened to the promises. We're so busy, we'll need to keep you on.  We'd like you to stay doing all this stuff. We're 99.9% sure we are going to keep you, etc, etc...  Well, that .01% chance happened.  It is just not financially feasible to keep both of us.  Well, fine.  I was not surprised but, still disappointed.

It's really affected my mood.  I couldn't concentrate on the book I was reading, so I stopped and switched books, something I rarely do.  That helped some.  I didn't feel like blogging.  This blog is sitting with 8 unfinished posts.  My other blog has three, I post less often there, so three is a lot.  I'm hoping to pull myself out. I want to finish my blog posts. I want to read more. I want to figure out a way to have fun without feeling guilty. Thanksgiving I coming up. Maybe I'll blog about my meal? Maybe not.