Dystopia VS. Dystopia

I'm reading two almost entirely opposite dystopian sci-fi books right now.

Book 1. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and 2. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. Now, you may not know this, but I'm actually not the biggest sci-fi fan. But these are both so good and kind of opposing I had to write about them.

INCARCERON: Incarceron is sort of steam-punk. I do like steam-punk. What I've seen so far is approximately 160 years before the book starts a king decides that things are changing too much, so he stops time. Everyone has to live authentically to the Era, which seems to be set in the late 1700s (Yay! I love that era!). All sorts of futuristic gadgets and such, like medicine and bathrooms (Ew.) are illegal, but the people with more money sometimes work around it. There are limits to even the strictest adherers to the Era Protocol. It doesn't seem dystopian on the Outside. But Incarceron is the prison that has been sealed for 16o years, the building living itself, with other people supposedly living in paradise on the Inside, but it's actually hell. The story follows a boy and his friends trying to escape Incarceron, while it also follows a girl on the Outside, trying to escape a prison of her own.

FAHRENHEIT 451: This world is very modern. Very modern. Everyone always watches TV and books are illegal. The firemen burn the books. People are arrested for being pedestrians and "stopping to smell the roses." (Not literally, but the expression fit there. Or maybe literally... 0.O I haven't actually gotten all that far yet.) A girl is being sent to a psychiatrist for enjoying nature.

Like I said, I haven't actually gotten all that far in 451, while I'm over half way through Incarceron. But I'm enjoying them both! Five stars for each!

High suggestions.

Cheerio, peeps!

My First Book Review!

I'm going to start reviewing books. Or at least I'll try.

My first:

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M. M. Blume

Description: Eleven-year-old Cornelia is the daughter of two world-famous pianists--a legacy that should feel fabulous, but instead feels just plain lonely. Then glamorous Virginia Somerset moves next door with her servant, Patel, and a mischievous French bulldog named Mister Kinyatta, and Cornelia discovers that the world is a much more exciting place than she had originally thought.

(I don't feel that it's a sufficient description, but that's just me.)

Time to read: About one day

Pages: 261+3(Acknowledgments)

Rating: 5

Review: I love Cornelia Street Englehart. She found some of the best word books ever! She's so lonely in the beginning, I felt horrible for her. I love the way the Blume describes all the characters, though. She makes each one seem real, and nearly all of them are very like-able.

Some parts are a little bit confusing, though. It was written in third person, but Virginia is almost always telling stories, so there were a few parts where it would say 'Virginia said,' but it seems like she said it at the time the story was taking place, not just while she told Cornelia the story.

I cried from about 240 to 252.

My absoloutly favorite is page 252, and a little before;

"Virginia," she said softly.

"Yes?"

Cornelia swallowed. "Are you afraid of dying?"

For the first time in their friendship, Virginia's eyes filled with tears.

"A little bit, Cornelia." She took a deep breath. "But you have to remember that I have done a lot of living in my seven and a half decades. And Alexandra, Beatrice, and Gladys have been gone for many years now. I miss them with all of my heart. Maybe I'll be with them again when I leave this world, and we'll have the biggest adventure of all." She was quiet for a moment. "You just never know what's going to happen."

Just at that moment, the record player finished playing and the old phonograph clicked off. Yet they could still hear the soft sound of Mozart playing. After a minute, Cornelia realized that it was Lucy playing the piano in the apartment next door.

For a long time, the two friends sipped tea and quietly listened to the faint music together through the sky-colored wall of Virginia's Indian bedroom.

Lesley M. M. Blume, p. 251-252-Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters

I cried there...

My suggested age group for this book is anywhere from 10 to... 14? I don't know. They use a lot of big words, but they always have the definition.

Anyone above about 10 can read it, really. It would also be a nice read-aloud book for younger siblings.

Enjoy your readings!

Cheerio, peeps!