(For reviews I wrote in 2025, CLICK HERE)
Roth, Veronica, Allegiant, (dystopian novel #3 in the Divergent Series) –rating 5/5
I hate dystopian novels. Unless they make you think and give you clues on how to start building a healthier society. Veronica Roth’s Divergent Series does provide those clues. The series follows the two main actors, Tris and Tobias, through their budding romance, risk taking and sacrifice, personal growth and maturity, friendships and betrayal, pain and forgiveness, prejudice and understanding, truth vs. willful ignorance of history, and power struggles. They must navigate violence, death, and redemption. And too many people we get to love in the stories die—unlike happily ever after novels.
Rishi, Farah, The Flightless Birds of New Hope (novel) rating: read it! 10/10
A dysfunctional couple drives their car off the road and gets killed. They leave behind them a cockatoo, who was the love of their lives—who was back in a hotel room when the crash occurred. They also leave behind them three children whom they psychologically neglected and abused: Thirty-something Aden, twenty-something Aliza, and 13-year old Sammy. Aden left home as soon as he was old enough. Aliza stayed in order to not leave Sammy alone with their parents.
As the novel begins, Aliza has an understandably deep anger toward her prodigal older brother. Even the reader doesn’t like Aden once we make our acquaintance with him.
After the funeral dinner, all three siblings—and the cockatoo (named Coco) are at the house alone, and difficult decisions have to be made. That’s when Aden gets drunk and lets Coco out of her cage—to the horror of the two younger siblings.
Coco is wearing a tracking device, and so it is possible to try and find her. The two younger siblings guilt Aden into driving them their parents’ run down car and chasing Coco down. Let’s just say that Coco didn’t hang around town. And it turns out to be a longer journey than anyone expected, a journey that will change everyone.
One of those novels you couldn’t wait till it ended—because you wanted them to find Coco—and then you couldn’t bear to say goodbye to everyone when it did end.
Repertoire 