Review: Three Sides of a Heart

Three Sides of a Heart: Stories About Love Triangles
edited by Natalie Parker

Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: December 19, 2017

THREE SIDES OF A HEART, a short story anthology, has a variety of stories with one thing in common- they all incorporate the popular YA trope of the love triangle. It’s difficult to pin this book down because of the very divergent topics, genres and characters used in each story. Sci-fi, historical fiction, fantasy, magical realism; murderers, magicians, knights, zombie-fighting slaves, astronauts-- you name it, this book’s got it. Because of the diversity of types of stories, some I found interesting and others less so. 

One characteristic shared by each story is how unlike each love triangle is from the others. Many of the authors took great creative liberty, keeping the stories from becoming monotonous and producing some really inventive and delightful stories. One of them being Vega by Brenna Yovanoff which depicts the main character in love with a boy and a city. The characters in this short story are vibrant and original, each action they take prompts a reaction from the reader. The writing is beautiful and descriptive, exploring conflicted emotions and heartbreaking decisions with just 26 pages. Another story that I really enjoyed was Work in Progress by E. K. Johnston. It focuses on three people within three different realities, one on a spaceship, one during summer at a lake house, and one in medieval times. The reason this story struck me is that there is no “love” involved. The three characters simply are together, whether hiding in a space ship vent, sleeping in a bunk bed, or battling a dragon. The things they feel for each other are beyond physical affections or even saying the words “I love you”. Johnston does an amazing job of creating these feeling without flat out stating them- something not many authors attempt to do. Overall this short story anthology was fun and original, if you’d like to explore different genres and writing styles, this would be a great book to read. 

Review: Carve the Mark

Carve the Mark
by Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: January 17, 2017

In Veronica Roth’s new book, CARVE THE MARK, Roth combines fantastic space travel and beautiful new planets, with magical powers with a dark twist. Akos is a teenage boy living in a world where a magical light path called the "current" gives everyone incredible gifts. He lives with his mom, one of the planet's oracles, and his family in the harsh cold city of Hessa. Life isn’t that bad until he is kidnapped by a dangerous group of men who belong to the Shoet people, a deadly group of people obsessed with killing and conquering, and is forced to serve them.
Cyra is one of the Shoet. She lives with her brother, the leader of the Shoet, and is forced to use her deadly current gift to cause pain and suffering to those who defy them. But one day she decides to stop.
CARVE THE MARK follows the story of these two people, who are fighting for peace in a world obsessed with death and suffering.

I really enjoyed this book. Veronica Roth’s writing style really makes you fear for the characters and wonder what will happen next. By using oracles, she makes it so she is actually telling how the book will end; but at the same time, she makes us wonder how exactly she will do that. I loved the contrast of the nice and caring civilization fighting against this other brutal and cruel one; Roth is able to show us what each group thinks of each other and the differences and similarities between them. This book is all about defying boundaries and escaping your future. In the novel, she shows us that everything is not what it seems, and even if it seems to be set in stone, you will always be able to change it.
Although there are some violent scenes in the novel, it still is a fun read!  I loved this book and I can’t wait for the second novel!

Review: Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication date: March 5, 2011

DIVERGENT is about Beatrice Prior, a sixteen-year-old girl living in dystopian Chicago, which is divided into factions based on virtues. When Beatrice picks the faction that she wants to belong to, and begins initiation, she discovers that there are dangerous secrets lying beneath the orderly surface of her world. As Beatrice becomes more entwined in her faction, she realizes that people and things are not always what they seem. I really enjoyed DIVERGENT. It was well-written and so compelling that I found it difficult to put down. The romance was not overdone and the ending is a semi-cliffhanger that makes me want to read the sequel. I would definitely recommend this book, especially to fans of other dystopian novels. However, I would encourage readers who did not necessarily enjoy other dystopian novels to try DIVERGENT. I would recommend this book for children ages 14 and up (which is what the book recommends) due to some graphic violence that may be disturbing.