"I spent my life folded between the pages of books." -Tahereh Mafi

Some of my reviews are normal non-spoilery reviews. But some of reviews contain lots and lots of spoilers to help you (and me!) remember what happened when the next book in the series finally comes out. Both review types are clearly marked.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

The Young World by Chris Weitz

This review is spoiler free!!

My rating: 5/5 stars

How could you not love a book with a line like this?
I hose down Babies R Us with the .50 cal.

This book is told in alternating POV between Donna and Jefferson. It's been about 2 years since all adults and small children died from The Sickness. The remaining teens in NYC are getting by as best they can - most have banded together into small groups. One of the members of Donna and Jefferson's group wants to go in search of information that he believes could lead to a cure. A crazy adventure ensues.

Both Jefferson and Donna are really likable and relatable characters. Jefferson's this calm scholar type and Donna's just an adorable badass.
I inquire after his reasoning, diplomatically."So what the fuck was that, dude?" 
Yes, very diplomatic! lol  They're very different from each other which makes their relationship awesome and also makes their narration styles very distinctive (you'll never be confused as to whose chapter you're reading!).
Jefferson and I have been engaged in friendly trench warfare since we were in kindergarten. He's, like, the Guy Who Talks in Complete Sentences. He gives me shit for swearing too much and saying "like" all the time.

I also really liked the writing style - there were bunches of lines that made me snort-laugh.
He bows, then starts intoning a speech like he's wandered in from Game of Thrones.
I do a people check. We've got:
Brainbox (evil genius)
Donna (slightly unhinged girl-power chick)
Peter (gay Christian adrenaline junky)
And me (nerd philosopher king)
Not exactly the Fellowship of the Ring, but not too shabby either, when you think about it. I can't say the selection committee did such a great job at the Council of Elrond.
Four hobbits? Seriously? Out of nine people? I know it all worked out, but - questionable management.
In real life, there are no evil witches, no wise mentors, no fairy godmothers, no evil empires. Everything is shades of gray.
Ugh, I can't believe such a
 useful phrase got hijacked by those fricking books.

There's also a small section that addresses slut shaming that made me so happy. Donna feels threatened by the presence of a new hot girl and is afraid this will ruin her chances with Jefferson. And she's having all these slut-shaming thoughts and has a whole convo with herself about how completely unfair that is. It's the first time I've actually seen slut-shaming so openly addressed and called out in a YA book.

Lots of crazy stuff happens at the end so the next book better get here ASAP or I'm going to freak out!!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1007895849

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