Divergent, The Hunger Games and the dystopian YA trend

by Spencer Blohm

You’re likely familiar, if only in passing, with the Divergent series of books by Veronica Roth, or perhaps you’ve even heard about them on this blog. It’s also likely, thanks to the massive advertising and marketing push by Summit Entertainment, you know that the first book in the series, Divergent, has begun to hit theaters worldwide. It’s the latest in a string of YA dystopian books to be adapted into films, and by the looks of it, it certainly isn’t going to be the last.

In 2012 the massively successful The Hunger Games hit theaters and broke box office records, pulling in $691 million worldwide. It is, of course, based off The Hunger Games book series by Suzanne Collins. While Divergent and The Hunger Games have been compared endlessly in the weeks leading up to the film’s release, the similarities are merely on the surface. They do both feature strong female lead characters fighting an oppressive government set in a dystopian future... but the general themes are very different.

While Divergent hasn’t had as big of an opening weekend as The Hunger Games in the U.S., it still pulled in an impressive $54 million it’s opening weekend and reviews of the movie seem to be generally mixed. Examples of this include Detroit News’ Tom Long saying, “Fans of the book will likely be pleased. More importantly people who don’t know a thing about the books may get swept up, as well.” On the other hand, Scene-Stealer’s Eric Melin blasted the “humorless, dumb script” and film critic Eric D. Snider called the film “nothing more than facile, easily digested teenage wish-fulfillment based on a shaky futurist premise.” The general consensus appears to be that if you liked the books, you’ll likely enjoy the movie.

Many readers may only think of the two aforementioned series, Hunger Games and Divergent, when you think of dystopian YA series, but they were actually late to the game compared to older works like Ender’s Game. The Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card was a popular book series in the 80’s which followed the conflicts between Earth and an alien race set in the future. The first book of the series was adapted into a film in 2013 (which you can catch through services like Amazon Prime and DirecTV). However, it failed to make an impact on moviegoers, perhaps because the film came out almost 30 years after the book.

Not all hope is lost for YA dystopian fans though if you didn’t enjoy Divergent, though, because The Giver will be in theaters the end of this summer. After taking nearly 20 years to get from the page to the screen, it’s finally made it, with a knockout cast attached too. Jeff Bridges will be playing the titular character opposite Meryl Streep as Chief Elder and newcomer Brenton Thwaites as Jonas. In addition to that, Katie Holmes and Alexander Skarsgard will be playing Jonas parents, and Taylor Swift will be taking the role of Rosemary. Based off the newly released trailer, I think this one is going to give all of us something else to talk about in a few months.

After The Ending (The Ending Series #1) by Lindsey Pogue and Lindsey Fairleigh

After The Ending (The Ending Series #1)
Lindsey Pogue and Lindsey Fairleigh
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance
Cover Artist: Lindsey Pogue/Lindsey Fairleigh

Synopsis:

The Virus spread. Billions died. The Ending began. We may have survived the apocalypse, but the Virus changed us. 

When people started getting sick, “they” thought it was just the flu. My roommate, my boyfriend, my family…they’re all gone now. I got sick too. I should have died with them—with the rest of the world—but I didn’t. I thought witnessing the human population almost disappear off the face of the earth was the craziest thing I’d ever experience. I was so wrong. My name is Dani O’Connor, I’m twenty-six-years-old, and I survived The Ending. 

The Virus changed everything. The world I knew is gone, and life is backwards. We’ve all had to start over. I’ve been stripped of my home, my dreams…all that is me. I’m someone else now—broken and changed. Other survivors’ memories and emotions haunt me. They invade my mind until I can no longer separate them from my own. I won’t let them consume me. I can’t. My name is Zoe Cartwright, I’m twenty-six-years-old, and I survived The Ending. 

We’ve been inseparable for most of our lives, and now our friendship is all we have left. The aftermath of the Virus has stranded us on opposite sides of the United States. Trusting strangers, making sacrifices, killing—we’ll do anything to reach one another. Fear and pain may be unavoidable, but we’re strong…we’re survivors. But to continue surviving in this unfamil-iar world plagued by Crazies and strange new abilities, we have to adapt. We have to evolve. 

And more than anything, we have to find each other.

After the Ending may seem like all those dystopian books we are so used now to read about, but the scenery changes a little bit. This is about two female friends finding each other, surviving and doing what's necessary to do after an apocalyptic event to find the other. No matter the cost.
The two main characters are very different from each other, but are those kind of characters that are hard to forget and very easy to like and relate to.
Zoe, to me, is more sweet, although due to the circumstances, apocalypses and all that, no one could be sweet enough to be categorized as a sweet person. She's also a bad-ass girl, joining mility strangers and doing whatever she has to do to meet with her best friend. Is something you get to admire from both the main characters, their determination and their friendship that would last even in a cruel dystopian world. I really liked that. Dani really reminds me of myself when I'm angry. She yells whatever is going throw her mind when she's angry and I usually tend to do that, too. So I'm very fond with this character in particular.
But trying to get to your best friend doesn't mean you cannot meet gorgeous and mysterious men in the process. Dani has to travel with the very person who occupied her mind and her fantasies when she was a teen, Jason. And Zoe meets a mysterious and dark man who seems to not like her, but that ends up saving her. So, she is determined to get to know him.
This book has a lot of potential, with an unbreakable friendship, romance, some scary scenes and the adventurous part of traveling in a world with monsters lurking in the shadows. If it weren't for Netgalley I would have probably haven't found it and thanks to Bewitching Book Tours I had the chance to participate in the blitz, too. I highly recommend this book, Book Addicts. Give it a try, 'cause I'm sure is going to surprise you and you are going to love it!

AFTER THE ENDING

by Lindsey Pogue & Lindsey Fairleigh

ZOE

Looking around apprehensively, I made my way toward the convenience store in hopes of finding a bathroom. The vacant world around me was eerily silent. All I could hear was the creaking of a giant wooden billboard being assaulted by the wind.

How long has it been since anyone was here? Through the dark windows I saw a bathroom sign that looked promising, but I couldn’t bring myself to enter. I wonder if it’s safe…

As I stood outside of the store, I noticed a newspaper box still filled with papers. I leaned closer. The headline read, BILLIONS DEAD, and the paper was dated December 9, right before everything had started to shut down. I inserted a quarter and snatched out a paper. Scanning its contents, my mouth grew dry and my body stiffened.

…the H1N1/12 pandemic…

…looting and riotous outbreaks everywhere…

…end of civilization as we know it…

…survivors losing their minds…

…governments can’t control…

…the Apocalypse…

The newspaper slipped from between my fingers. Frozen in place, I was suffocated by the reality of our situation.

This isn’t going away.

The world ended.

Thinking of the strange feelings I’d been experiencing, I once again questioned my own sanity. My thoughts were too loud to silence. My heart thudded, and I couldn’t swallow the lump in my throat. Looking out into the abandoned world around me, I realized how alone we really were.

I bent down to reclaim the paper and turned on my heels to head back toward the truck, completely awestruck as the words I’d read replayed in my mind. Each was a reminder that the only world I’d ever known had ended.

Lindsey Fairleigh

She lives her life with one foot in a book—as long as that book transports her to a magical world or bends the rules of science. Her novels, from post-apocalyptic to time travel and historical fantasy, always offer up a hearty dose of unreality, along with plenty of adventure and romance. When she’s not working on her next novel, Lindsey spends her time reading and trying out new recipes in the kitchen. She lives in the Napa Valley with her loving husband and confused cats. You can visit Lindsey’s blog at www.lindseyfairleigh.blogspot.com

Lindsey Pogue 

She has always been a little creative. As a child she established a bug hospital on her elementary school soccer field, compiled books of collages as a teenager, and as an adult, expresses herself through writing. Her novels are inspired by her observations of the world around her—whether she’s traveling, people watching, or hiking. When not plotting her next storyline or dreaming up new, brooding characters, Lindsey’s wrapped in blankets watching her favorite action flicks or going on road trips with her own leading man. You can visit Lindsey’s website at www.lindseypogue.com

The Ending Series