divergent – Zakiya N. Jamal

12 Book Boyfriends To Spice Up Your Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 12, 2016February 12, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and for those of us who don’t have plans, the best way to spend the holiday is with a good book. And why not a book with the man of your dreams? Here’s who I plan on spending my V-Day with. Who’s your favorite book boyfriend? Let me know in the comments below!

1. Owen Gentry (Confess)

I just finished this book and I’m still not over it. Owen is amazing. He’s cute, funny, and so incredibly sweet. This book was incredible and so is Owen.

2. Will Herondale (The Infernal Devices)

I love Will. Not only does he love books but he quotes them with ease. He’s a man after my own heart.

3. Etienne St. Clair (Anna and the French Kiss)

St. Clair is a Brit who grew up in America who can speak French. Talk about multicultural. Besides that he’s also hot, sweet, and an all around good guy.

4. Josh Wasserstein (Isla and the Happily Ever After)

Oh Josh. He’s got some issues that he needs to work through but despite his struggles he still mentions to be so incredibly loving towards Isla and it’s wonderful.

5. Prince Kai (The Lunar Chronicles)

Almost every guy in The Lunar Chronicles is one of my book boyfriends but Kai has a special place in my heart. The way he falls so hard for Cinder is so endearing and cute.

6. Levi (Fangirl)

Levi is such a cute, tall dork. I love how he just gets Cath and her fangirl ways. Any guy that willingly listens to a girl read her fanfiction is a great guy in my book.

7. Prince Maxon Schreave (The Selection)

Maxon and America are my OTP. The way Maxon falls head over heels for America and loves everything about her is too cute for words. He treats her like she’s already his queen.

8. Tobias “Four” Eaton (Divergent)

Four is the definition of having a hard shell but being such a softy on the inside. He’s so protective of Tris and just loves her so much. It’s unbelievable.

9. Daemon Black (The Lux Series)

Daemon has such a bad boy persona and although I hate to admit it I’m a sucker for a bad boy with a nice center. And Daemon is just that and more.

10. Raffe (Angelfall)

Raffe is literally an angel. With wings! Well, kind of. But Raffe isn’t a sweet angel with a halo. He’s got an edge but protagonist Penryn is able to wear him down.

11. Liam Stewart (The Darkest Minds)

If Liam’s good looks don’t immediately suck you in his Southern charm and drawl definitely will. He’s so genuine and kind, and he’ll instantly tug at your heart strings.

12. Adrian Ivashkov (Bloodlines)

Adrian is the rich, bad boy you know you shouldn’t want but you just can’t resist his charm. Honestly, though, Adrian has a big heart and he treats his ladies right.

POLL: Which Book Character Did Shailene Woodley Play Best?

Posted on August 14, 2015August 20, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Shailene Woodley went from playing pregnant teen Amy on The Secret Life of the American Teenager to becoming a bonafide actress in Hollywood. One interesting thing about Woodley is the majority of the films she stars in were based on books. That’s also mainly because a lot of movies are based on books these days but still it’s interesting that this has become a common occurrence for Woodley.

In total she’s played five different book characters. Which one is your fave?

Result’s of last week’s poll:

Should erotica be considered literature?

With a total of 42.86%, the answer is a resounding yes. Stay tuned next week to see the results of this week’s poll.

Woman Crush Wednesday: Christina

Posted on August 12, 2015August 11, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Christina is fierce, strong, and courageous. In summary, she’s the definition of Dauntless. I love Christina because she goes through so much nonsense in this trilogy and still, by the end of the series, she’s standing tall. She could’ve given up so many times and quit but she doesn’t. Instead she keeps picking herself up and keeps pushing forward.

I think Christina was the best friend Tris could have. Being from Candor, Christina could sometimes be brutally honest but she didn’t sugar coat things with Tris. She was always honest and kept it real. Even when Tris did what she thought was unforgivable Christina forgave her anyway. Additionally, she always becomes the friend that Tobias’ didn’t realize he needed. Now I’m thinking about how underrated Christina is as a character.

Honestly, imagine the trilogy from Christina’s point of view. It’d be so interesting. Veronica Roth please do this. At least a short story. Please!

Pleas aside, I love Christina and hate how much Veronica Roth put her through. I’m glad Christina never self-destructed and I imagine she goes on to live a very happy life. I refuse to believe anything else.

“Who cares about pretty? I’m going for noticeable.” – Divergent

Book Review: Four

Posted on August 11, 2015August 8, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Amazon.com:

Readers first encountered Tobias as “Four” in Divergent. His voice is an integral part of Allegiant. Readers will find more of this charismatic character’s backstory told from his own perspective in Four: A Divergent Collection. When read together, these long narrative pieces illuminate the defining moments in Tobias’s life. The first three pieces in this volume—”The Transfer,” “The Initiate,” and “The Son”—follow Tobias’s transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless, his Dauntless initiation, and the first clues that a foul plan is brewing in the leadership of two factions. The fourth story, “The Traitor,” runs parallel with the events of Divergent, giving readers a glimpse into the decisions of loyalty—and love—that Tobias makes in the weeks after he meets Tris Prior.

I love Four. Honestly he’s the best part of the Divergent trilogy to me and he’s the only reason I found Allegiant bearable. Therefore when I found out there was a collection of short stories told completely from his point of view I had to have it (and thankfully I’m interning at HarperCollins so I was, in fact, able to have it).

This collection was everything I wanted it to be. I got to learn more about Four’s past and his experience with both of his parents. Even better than that I got to see his point of view of meeting Tris and falling for her. It was awesome. I first I was worried about it being boring just reading the same scenes but from a different point of view but there was nothing for me to be worried about.

Four brings a whole new perspective and it’s great getting to see his feelings in those important moments. It made me crave more. I wanted to read the whole first Divergent book in his point of view. I was sad when it ended. Even so, this was a great book and a quick and easy read. Definitely get it if you haven’t already.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!

Favorite Line:

I want [Tris], in a way I haven’t felt before, not just some kind of mindless physical drive but a real, specific desire. Not for someone, just for her.

Stars:

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Woman Crush Wednesday: Beatrice “Tris” Prior

Posted on July 29, 2015July 29, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Oh Tris. My love for Tris was very up and down throughout the trilogy. I liked her in Divergent, hated her in Insurgent, and loved her in Allegiant.

What’s great about Tris is she’s kind, selfless, strong, and independent. She’s willing to leave her faction because she believes it’s what’s best for her. She sacrifices herself time and time again for the people she cares about. And she’s fierce when she needs to be.

I know a lot of people hate the ending of the trilogy but I didn’t. I had my issues with it but Tris’ actions wasn’t one of them. I liked how her story ended and I appreciated Veronica Roth keeping it real. The only reason I didn’t really like it was because of Four.

Moving on, Tris is great. She’s kind of awkward in the beginning because of her Abnegation upbringing but she’s also not afraid to stand up for herself and friends. From there she continues to be brave (although she has her slip ups) and she’s an overall good person. Check her out in the Divergent trilogy (the books not the movies).

Tris taught me all about real sacrifice. That it should be done from love… That it should be done from necessity, not without exhausting all other options. That it should be done for people who need your strength because they don’t have enough of their own. – Allegiant

Man Crush Monday: Tobias “Four” Eaton

Posted on July 27, 2015July 26, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

If you don’t know who Four is that means you’ve never read Divergent and that’s a real shame. I’m currently reading Four, a collection of short stories about Four and I love it. Honestly, he was my favorite part of the Divergent trilogy and learning that Veronica Roth originally planned to do the trilogy from his point of view isn’t surprising.

Four is great because he’s such a sweet, dork who’s also really strong, brave, and kind of intimidating. Raised in the Abnegation factor by a terrible father, Four grew up with no friends and was used to being quiet, respectful, and selfless. Although being selfless is great there’s a big difference between being selfless and being pushed around and thankfully Four realizes this.

Of course, he’s also attractive but this isn’t something he capitalizes on. He’s not the hot flirt with a smirk. He’s kind of shy and doesn’t really know how to even talk to girls, much less put the moves on them. This only makes him more adorable.

The Divergent trilogy definitely has it’s faults but Four isn’t one of them. Check him out in the books (not the movies, although Theo James is very attractive) and prepare to fall in love.

“My name is Four,” I say. “Call me ‘Stiff’ again and you and I will have a problem.” – Four: A Divergent Collection

The Winner Is …

Posted on July 19, 2015July 19, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

After receiving offer a 100 entries into this giveaway a random winner has been chosen and the winner is … Erin Ellis. Congratulations! Please email me your address at toborroworbuy@gmail.com so I can send you all these amazing books and goodies.

Thank you to Kieran Scott, Katie Sise, Susan Ee, Elizabeth Eulberg, and Maria V. Snyder for contributing to this amazing giveaway and thank you to all who participated. This was a great first giveaway and I can’t wait to do it again.

My First Giveaway!!!

Posted on July 12, 2015July 13, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Have you ever wanted to win books? How about signed copies of books? Or signed book marks? Or free tattoos? Well, it’s a good thing you’re here because I have the perfect giveaway for you. The Ultimate YA Giveaway is now live!

I wanted to make a video because I’m super excited about this but unfortunately it’s pretty late and I promised I would post this tonight and I’m a woman of my word. A video may still come later so look at for that. Until then here’s the details of the giveaway.

Here’s what you would win:

A signed copy of Something True by Kieran Scott with a Only Everything bookmark and post card
A copy of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
A copy of Divergent by Veronica Roth
A copy of Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
Three The Lonely Hearts Club buttons
Five signed book marks by Maria V. Snyder (author of the Magic Study trilogy, the Healer series, and so many author amazing books)
A signed bookmark by Katie Sise
A Penryn and the End of Days book mark plus Angelfall and World After tattoos

And that’s it (but isn’t that so much???). The way to enter is down below and the contest will end next Sunday. After that I’ll send the lucky winner their prize. Good luck to you all and may the odds be ever in your favor!

I also want to thank Kieran Scott, Maria V. Snyder, Elizabeth Eulberg, Katie Sise, and Susan Ee for their wonderful contributions to this giveaway. I wouldn’t be able to do this without them so if you haven’t checked out their books yet do yourself a favor and check them out. They’re great authors and also great people.

Click here to win books!

Unfortunately the widget for the giveaway won’t appear here in the blog post so click the link to enter! Working on getting this fixed. Sorry about that.

Book Review: Allegiant

Posted on June 23, 2015June 22, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2015 Reading Challenge*

Synopsis from Amazon:

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?
The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

I went into this novel with very low expectations because almost everyone I know didn’t like this book. That being said I actually didn’t hate it. I understand why people were upset about the ending but I just didn’t hate it. That being said I still wasn’t a big fan.

As many scenes as there were that made me smile the book just seemed so thrown together. I tried to understand Veronica Roth’s plans and intent for the novel but honestly it seemed like she didn’t know how the series was going to end before hand so when the time came to end it she threw something together.

If you haven’t read the first two Divergent books beware because here comes some spoilers.

Insurgent ended with the ultra secret video finally being released, showing one of Tris’ ancestors explaining how it was the Divergent’s job to live Chicago and do their job or something like that. It was pretty vague to be honest. Either way this turns out not to even be the whole truth so it doesn’t really even matter what the video said.

What I really didn’t like about Allegiant was Roth’s explanation for everything. The way she explained why there were factions and the purpose of the Divergent just seemed so ridiculous. I was so mad. All of this violence and people dying just for this? Really? It was nonsense.

Besides that lackluster reveal there were parts of the book I truly did enjoy. Tobias and Tris’ relationship being one of them (and that’s all I’ll say about it – no spoilers!). Despite what a lot of people said I thought the ending was fitting and I appreciated the realness of it and the message Roth was putting forward. Do I think she could’ve gave the same message differently? Sure. Did I hate the ending? No.

All in all, not my favorite book but not too bad.

Borrow or Buy: Borrow. Not a book I’d reread.

Favorite Line:

I fell in love with him. But I don’t just stay with him by default as if there’s no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me.

Stars:

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POLL: Who’s The Best Dystopian Heroine?

Posted on May 29, 2015May 23, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Dystopian’s are widely popular right now. Between The Hunger Games and Divergent, dystopias have left book form and moved to the big screen. Of course, a lot of these dystopians start to run together and some could even argue they’re all the same. Even so, that doesn’t stop people from having their favorite characters. So are you more a Katniss or Tris? Choose you’re favorite dystopian heroine and see if yours comes out on top. (Note: This poll only includes the main heroines of these novels. It’d be too big of a list if I included every heroine from every dystopian novel but that’ll be another poll, don’t worry.)