Q2 Benchmark (Black City)
The book I’m currently reading is Black City by Elizabeth Richards. The book was just released recently. It hit the shelves on November 15, 2012. The paperback copy will be available sometime in 2013. The book has been rated a 3.78 (which can be rounded to 4) out of 5 on goodreads.com. The author, Elizabeth Richards, is an award winning journalist. She spent her early years reviewing video games. She’s been to many parts of the world and back. She even has her own website up for teenage girls. The book Black City is her first ever novel. She also has another installment for Black City called Phoenix, the release date of this installment is still unconfirmed. Elizabeth is currently residing at Buckinghamshire, England.
The story, to me, is a mix between Twilight and The Hunger Games. My reason behind this is because the story involves “vampires” and fighting. There are two races in the book. You have the Darklings and the Humans. Darklings are basically human like beings who suck blood from humans for their survival, without the blood they’d die. The story is told in a way I haven’t heard of, till now of course. Instead of having your regular stories where, if it was first person, the story is only told from one person’s point of view. In this book, each chapter is told through different people’s points of view. For example, one chapter may be told in Ash’s (who is one of the main characters) point of view and in the next chapter it may be told in Natalie’s (also a main character) point of view.
The story is basically about a high schooler named Ash falling in love with a girl named Natalie. One of the problems with this is that Ash is a half-blood, which is a mix between Darklings and Humans. The other problem is Natalie’s mother is in the government that prosecutes anyone that has any ties with the Darklings or half-bloods. If you were a human and you had a relationship with a Darkling or half-blood, you and the person would most likely be publicly executed. The government says this is to protect the people (humans) from the Darklings because they are horrible creatures. The government has also put a huge wall to separate the two races. Ash is able to live in human society since he is a half-blood and not a full Darkling. There are many other conflicts that occur throughout the story that I do not want to spoil for the future readers. What I will tell you is that the conflicts in the book are three types. The types of conflicts in the book are person vs. person, person vs. society, and person vs. self.
My favorite character in the story would be Ash. My reason behind this is that Ash is one of those “bad guys”. He doesn’t care about whatever he’s doing whether it’s illegal or not, but he also has a strong sense of family. He takes the little friends and family he has and cherishes them. He is very protective of those he admires. Ash is like me in some ways. The things he does in certain situations is the same thing I would’ve probably done. The way Ash and I think are similar in many ways.
Something I think readers should take away from this book is don’t let anything interfere with your love. You shouldn’t let anyone tell you who to love. It’s your life and your decision, don’t let something as small as race, color, or even looks change your mind. You’ve got be like Ash and Natalie in the book. Ash didn’t care if he was a half-blood and Natalie was a human. He still loved her, regardless of the consequences he would have to face if he was caught.
I can’t really relate to the characters in the story because the story is very different compared to the lives we live today. This book is set in a future-like environment and there are vampire-like beings. I haven’t had anything that restricted me to love a certain person as of yet. My family is pretty open, so they would be fine with me going out with any race. It’s very different compared to Ash and Natalie’s situation, where they are separated by beings.
In my opinion, I think this book is great! I tremendously enjoyed the book. I’ve never read anything of it’s kind. It is certainly a unique book, from its formatting to the actual plot, everything was amazing! Some strengths of the book is its deep plot. After every chapter, I had to keep reading. The book had me wrapped up so much that at one point I started reading the book at 5:00pm and didn’t finish till 11:00pm. A weakness of the book is the author’s ability to explain. What I mean by this is in the beginning of the book, the author began talking about the setting/environment and how the city worked. I didn’t quite understand it until I reread the chapter a few times. It’s a unique plot so I suppose it may be a little confusing at first since I’ve never encountered a book like this before. Something that I would change, if I could, would be the ending. The reason I would change the ending is because the author left me with a huge cliffhanger. A cliffhanger is basically a scene or event at the end of a book or show that keeps you wanting to know more, so you’d want to see the next book or show.
I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone who has a sense of adventure and wants to read something like never before. This book is absolutely stunning! I’d give this book a 5/5. There’s no way I’m not getting the next installment! This book gives you a new way to look at life. You can relate to some of the characters in the book since it shows the good and the bad. The book is a lot like reality in some ways. It’s not all a happy tale about love. You have many complications throughout the book which keep the readers wanting for more. If you ever get a chance, pick this book up.
Creative Component: Ash’s I.D. Bracelet
In Black City, anyone who’s a Darkling or Half-Blood is required, by law, to wear an I.D. bracelet. This bracelet contains the name of the person, an ID number, the person they belong to, and where he/she lives. If you didn’t wear this bracelet the punishment would be death. Ash didn’t like the idea of wearing this and showing that he’d go with the governments idea and be their property, but for the sake of not causing his father anymore trouble, he wore it.
The story, to me, is a mix between Twilight and The Hunger Games. My reason behind this is because the story involves “vampires” and fighting. There are two races in the book. You have the Darklings and the Humans. Darklings are basically human like beings who suck blood from humans for their survival, without the blood they’d die. The story is told in a way I haven’t heard of, till now of course. Instead of having your regular stories where, if it was first person, the story is only told from one person’s point of view. In this book, each chapter is told through different people’s points of view. For example, one chapter may be told in Ash’s (who is one of the main characters) point of view and in the next chapter it may be told in Natalie’s (also a main character) point of view.
The story is basically about a high schooler named Ash falling in love with a girl named Natalie. One of the problems with this is that Ash is a half-blood, which is a mix between Darklings and Humans. The other problem is Natalie’s mother is in the government that prosecutes anyone that has any ties with the Darklings or half-bloods. If you were a human and you had a relationship with a Darkling or half-blood, you and the person would most likely be publicly executed. The government says this is to protect the people (humans) from the Darklings because they are horrible creatures. The government has also put a huge wall to separate the two races. Ash is able to live in human society since he is a half-blood and not a full Darkling. There are many other conflicts that occur throughout the story that I do not want to spoil for the future readers. What I will tell you is that the conflicts in the book are three types. The types of conflicts in the book are person vs. person, person vs. society, and person vs. self.
My favorite character in the story would be Ash. My reason behind this is that Ash is one of those “bad guys”. He doesn’t care about whatever he’s doing whether it’s illegal or not, but he also has a strong sense of family. He takes the little friends and family he has and cherishes them. He is very protective of those he admires. Ash is like me in some ways. The things he does in certain situations is the same thing I would’ve probably done. The way Ash and I think are similar in many ways.
Something I think readers should take away from this book is don’t let anything interfere with your love. You shouldn’t let anyone tell you who to love. It’s your life and your decision, don’t let something as small as race, color, or even looks change your mind. You’ve got be like Ash and Natalie in the book. Ash didn’t care if he was a half-blood and Natalie was a human. He still loved her, regardless of the consequences he would have to face if he was caught.
I can’t really relate to the characters in the story because the story is very different compared to the lives we live today. This book is set in a future-like environment and there are vampire-like beings. I haven’t had anything that restricted me to love a certain person as of yet. My family is pretty open, so they would be fine with me going out with any race. It’s very different compared to Ash and Natalie’s situation, where they are separated by beings.
In my opinion, I think this book is great! I tremendously enjoyed the book. I’ve never read anything of it’s kind. It is certainly a unique book, from its formatting to the actual plot, everything was amazing! Some strengths of the book is its deep plot. After every chapter, I had to keep reading. The book had me wrapped up so much that at one point I started reading the book at 5:00pm and didn’t finish till 11:00pm. A weakness of the book is the author’s ability to explain. What I mean by this is in the beginning of the book, the author began talking about the setting/environment and how the city worked. I didn’t quite understand it until I reread the chapter a few times. It’s a unique plot so I suppose it may be a little confusing at first since I’ve never encountered a book like this before. Something that I would change, if I could, would be the ending. The reason I would change the ending is because the author left me with a huge cliffhanger. A cliffhanger is basically a scene or event at the end of a book or show that keeps you wanting to know more, so you’d want to see the next book or show.
I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone who has a sense of adventure and wants to read something like never before. This book is absolutely stunning! I’d give this book a 5/5. There’s no way I’m not getting the next installment! This book gives you a new way to look at life. You can relate to some of the characters in the book since it shows the good and the bad. The book is a lot like reality in some ways. It’s not all a happy tale about love. You have many complications throughout the book which keep the readers wanting for more. If you ever get a chance, pick this book up.
Creative Component: Ash’s I.D. Bracelet
In Black City, anyone who’s a Darkling or Half-Blood is required, by law, to wear an I.D. bracelet. This bracelet contains the name of the person, an ID number, the person they belong to, and where he/she lives. If you didn’t wear this bracelet the punishment would be death. Ash didn’t like the idea of wearing this and showing that he’d go with the governments idea and be their property, but for the sake of not causing his father anymore trouble, he wore it.
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