Review #7: Divergent, by Verionica Roth

I feel like everyone on the planet has read this book, so I'm not sure what else I can add to the discussion. We all know the story by now: a dystopian Chicago, teenagers who have to choose their faction - and their future as well, the brave young girl who goes against the grain, the realization that we may not all fit in to one neat little box, the older mentor she sort of falls in love with, the sacrifices of the parents.

I recognize that I'm not the target audience because I'm well over the age that YA authors are writing for, but it is nice to see a book that's not about vampires, a book that doesn't have a stupid girl in it, and a book that shows strong characters, both male and female, So often, I feel like the "strong girl books" paint the boys as weak, and that's as damaging as when we write weak females. I get so tired of the notion that either the girl or the boy have to be strong, that theyt can't be both, and that strong characters can't show weakness. Real people are weak and strong at the same time, and we need to teach our kids that it's okay to be both.

A friend (a high school English teacher, actually) recommended Divergent to me, telling me it was loads better than Hunger Games. I'm not sure I agree, and I don't really think the two can compare. They both have a strong female lead, but I felt like they were very different books. I enjoyed Divergent, but I also wasn't 100% compelled to rush right out and read the other two books in the series. I'll eventually get around to it, I'm sure, but I didn't need to immediately find out what happens.

Review #6: The Chase, by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg

Oh, Janet. I love you. I love your slightly control freak women who don't exactly have a handle on their lives, your devilishly handsome men who like to live in the grey area of morality, and most especially, the wacky hijinks you cook up.

The Chase picks up where The Heist left off, with FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare and master criminal Nick Fox (get it with the names?) secretly teaming up to recover a Chinese artifact that has gone missing. See, the Chinese loaned the US a bronze rooster awhile ago, and a rich Chinese guy wanted it back. Sure, no problem, except the rooster's a fake; the real one was stolen years ago. Nick hatches a plan, but you know what they say about best laid plans. Shenanigans ensue, and some of the old B characters come back for a cameo. My favorites are Kate's dad, a former Army Ranger (or something like that) who lives in his other daughter's garage, but can still, at 60+, save the day in a helicopter with a knife strapped to his thigh, and Wilma, a blowsy broad who can drive, pilot, fly, or steer just about anything.

This isn't a particularly challenging book, the mystery isn't a deep psychological thriller, but sometimes I don't want that. Sometimes, I want to read to escape, and Janet lets me do that when she takes me in to her weird, wacky worlds. Plus, also, Nick is kind of hot, so that helps. (Not Ranger hot - because nobody is - but I wouldn't kick him out of bed, and sometimes a girl needs to have a pretend white collar criminal boyfriend.)