The first novella in Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series, Destroy Me takes place after Shatter Me and is told from Warner’s perspective. It follows Warner as he recovers from his bullet-wound and searches for Juliette, all while the Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, his father, is visiting.
The story starts in Redmont Fief where Will and his wardmates prepare for choosing day, the day where their future is determined. They can be evaluated and chosen by masters to become apprentices or work in the local farms. Hearing stories of how courageous his deceased father was, Will wants to follow in his footsteps and plans to become an apprentice in the fiefs battle school. After being rejected, Baron Arald gives him the option to become apprenticed to the mysterious ranger, Halt.
Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi, is the first book in a YA dystopian series of the same name. In this novel, Juliette, a girl with the ability to kill someone with her touch, lives in a wasteland society. After being kidnapped by the son of a powerful man, Juliette, and her love interest Adam, must try to escape and reach safety.
Disney fairytales meet Gotham City in this crime fantasy drama! The story follows Mary Elizabeth, an intern at the Monarch City police department. Mary Elizabeth is a Legacy, those who once had magic before it disappeared in the Great Death. When the daughter of one of the most powerful businessmen in the Scar— the neighborhood where Mary Elizabeth lives with her Legacy boyfriend and best friend— goes missing, Mary Elizabeth is assigned her very first case! As Mary Elizabeth investigates, she discovers that this girl’s disappearance is part of a deeper, darker mystery.
For the first time in the game’s history, Caraval will be held twice in one year, within weeks of each other. Only this time, Tella will be playing. Unlike the others, however, Tella will not be playing for fun. She needs to repay a debt to a mysterious man that she bargained with and who only wants one thing: Legend’s real name. To get it, Tella must win Caraval.
The School for Good and Evil is the first book in a series of the same name by Soman Chainani. This is a middle-grade fantasy novel that follows two girls in their early teens as they are taken from their hometown and thrust into a school to learn to become either good or evil. Although this is a middle-grade book, it has some more mature themes and insinuating moments in the dialogue.
“Whatever you've heard about Caraval, it doesn't compare to the reality. It's more than just a game or performance. It's the closest you'll ever find yourself magic in this world.”
Four is a collection of short stories, including the first four novellas of the Divergent series, by Veronica Roth. The first part of the book is made up of “The Transfer,” “The Initiate,” and “The Son” and focuses on expanding on Tobias’ past and events prior to Tris’ initiation. These three stories were pretty good, but the first, “The Transfer,” was the best of the group.
Following The Son, the fourth novella in Veronica Roth's Divergent series, The Traitor, is probably the best of the series’ first four novellas. This story is set during Tris' initiation, so a lot is unfolding, and we get to see Four's perceptions of and reactions to Tris.
Another novella in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, The Son, expands on Four’s relationship with Evelyn and his rise in the Dauntless hierarchy. This story takes place after The Initiate and is not the most exciting or essential novella of the series.
