Because We Are by Ted Oswald

I really loved this novel. I am sure it had a greater impact on me since it correlated so well with what I have experienced in my own visits to Haiti - and also with what I have read in historical accounts of Haiti, as well as other novels set in Haiti. (A favorite was Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende). The political unrest, the use of Creole vs. French languages, the treatment of women and children, the importance of having the appropriate shoes to be able to attend school, the importance of having "church clothes", even if you have no food to eat, the complexities of the "goodness vs. evil" in each Haitian leader - or want-to-be leader, the impact of the earthquake, hurricanes and sickness (HIV, cholera, etc) on the Haitians. I could go on and on. In the midst of this accurate portrayal of life in Cite Soleil, we have Libete and Jak, two children who are forced to live beyond their years.

Libete is obviously a "spirited child". She pursued "justice" at any cost. She made errors in judgment, but they were usually made because she judged things based only on what she knew at the time. Life is not as black & white as Libete chose to believe at times. People are complex and events are complex. Despite all of that, Libete was relentless in her search for who was responsible for the deaths of Claire and Gaspar. She also had every intention of returning to her hometown of La Gonave. While she was successful on both "missions", she discovers that things are not what she thought they were. I am happy that despite her stubbornness, she did take the time to listen to what people explained to her when push came to shove. I am glad that she actually listened to Limye, Jak and Elize when it was time for them to share their stories. Since these three people were very influential to Libete and some of her life choices, it was nice that she started seeing them as three-dimensional human beings, rather than a two-dimensional judgment of who she thought they were.

I loved the interweaving of the events, jumping back and forth in time. The reader doesn't necessarily know the chronological order of events, so it's hard to know if some events happen before or after other events. You would think that this might be confusing. In this story, it really doesn't matter. I am happy that Libete came to terms with the different people in her life, with their goodness and their faults/mistakes. I am very excited to read Ted Oswald's next novel, which I was able to buy when I was in Haiti last month.

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Fever Code by James Dashner

I think this was my favorite book of the five! I loved getting to know the characters and their relationships with each other before the maze. I have a lot deeper understanding of Thomas & Teresa. Now I know why Teresa & Aris were the final candidates - instead of Thomas. Teresa's life experiences as a young child (as Deedee) were certainly terrifying and obviously affected her deeply. She saw more of the horror of the Flare than the others, which is why she could be so focused on the end justifying the means. I have to assume that Teresa did NOT write the last memo attributed to her. I am sure it was Dr. Paige's spin on things, again. I honestly don't remember Teresa retaining her memory once she entered the maze. It's been too long now since I read The Maze Runner. I thought she was pretty much non-communicado in the maze - until they escape it. Did she actually have her memory, or was that another lie spewed forth by Dr. Paige? Teresa knew enough inside information though that at the end of the trilogy she told Thomas to only trust Dr. Paige - and Dr. Paige did arrange the "Plan B" escape. But I can't believe Dr. Paige intentionally gave the virus to her team because they didn't want to continue "using" children in their abusive ways to try to find a cure for the Flare. For such an apparently kind, loving woman, she was really evil!

Getting to know the characters better also makes me sadder whenever I think about what happened to them once they left the maze. I knew Thomas was close with Chuck in the maze, but now I know that he loved him like a brother. Now I know how much Thomas cared about Newt, which makes his story all the more tragic. Teresa came across more as a "best friend" in this novel, rather than a love interest of Thomas' - which explains why he falls for Brenda. Minho's "hot headedness" really bothered me in Book 3, but I see now that he was always that way.

I love that we meet Brenda and Jorge in this book! A small, but significant part of the story. I was shocked that Thomas had already been in the Scorch! Thomas comes across a lot more sensitive and caring in this book. I always liked him of course, but I didn't realize how much he struggled with what WICKED was doing. Teresa was a lot more focused on the "mission" than he ever was. He became a more sympathetic character for me. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place! Now I am even happier that Thomas made it to the "new world"!

If I had the time, I could have read this book in one sitting. I really loved it. Now I have to wonder if it would have been my favorite if I had read it before The Maze Runner - or would my opinions on each book have changed depending on the order I read them?? It's the Star Wars conundrum all over again. Do you read/view them in the order the author wrote them, or chronologically? For me, I will probably always read/view stories the way they were intended - in the order they are written.

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Kill Order by James Dashner

This prequel of The Maze Runner was a page-turner! It answered some of my questions and I liked it more than The Death Cure. (I think the constant violence in The Death Cure between Thomas and gang vs. the "crazies" - I can't remember the other term they used right now! - wore on me after awhile.) Anyway, since this story involves different characters, only one of which makes it to the future, I kept trying to connect them to the future story and when I finally realized I couldn't, I just enjoyed reading about how this whole thing started. This story really filled in some holes that I had from reading the original trilogy.

One thing I had a hard time believing (which is interesting, considering what this story is about!) is how young Deedee was. She seemed so mature for her age. I kept thinking that she was too young to understand her importance in what was happening around her. Those same thoughts apply to Thomas as well. I know they were both born into this world - and they had watched their parents and friends succumb to the Flare and all that entails, but they both acted so mature beyond their ages. (I might be getting ahead of myself talking about Thomas too, since we learn everything about him in the next book - but I am not giving anything away!)

I can't believe the government came up with the idea of shooting virus-filled darts at people for population control! Really, they couldn't come up with something better than that?? Talk about an idea backfiring! What an awful thing to do to people. Terrorism against your own people. The story of Mark and Trina and how they survived as long as they did was what made this book a page-turner for me. I love how Mark's main concern at the end was to get Deedee through the Flat Trans.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. That phrase pretty much sums up this entire story! Now, to finish the next (and last?) book of this series....

Wendy's Rating: ****