The Twelve

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If I seemed a little out-of-touch over the past two weeks, it's because I was thoroughly entrenched in Justin Cronin's The Twelve, the sequel to his incredibly popular thriller, The Passage.  Summer pre-ordered the follow-up as a birthday present back in August (it was released in October) and I'm just getting to it (the stack of books on my bedside table has been insane). 
To begin my opinion, I'd like to say that I was initially a bit underwhelmed by this sequel.  Perhaps my standards were set too high after The Passage, and I certainly don't want to sound like a reader who can't be satisfied, but something about this story left me a bit wanting. 
The Twelve begins much in the same way that the first novel did: roughly 10 years in the future, in the days when the virals were first being found in the mainstream.  A young, pregnant doctor, Lila, is being questioned by the police and it is obvious that she has been incredibly traumatized by what she saw in the hospital on the day in question.  Horace Guilder is a high-ranking military official with ties to Lila and the viral who picks her up, Lawrence Grey.  We'll read about these three throughout the novel.
Flash forward to 97 A.V. (after virus) and we're following a couple of story lines involving a strict work camp in Iowa, as well as a couple of characters from the first novel (Peter Jaxon, Lish, Sarah, Hollis, etc.) as they seek a way to restore humanity and hope to mankind. 
My mind was all over the place while reading this book, mostly because it jumps back and forth between story lines, characters, and even time periods.  This isn't to say that I didn't enjoy it; I did the whole "I'm into it, so I'm reading quickly...oh no, it's going by too fast, slow down..." dance.  Whereas Passage focuses on human survival and their inherent goodness, Twelve is written more from the point-of-view of certain virals, and has some semblance of government and society rules within.  Stronger themes of parental attachment and lineage, the reasons for survival, and motivations of a governing party abound in this novel, giving more meat to the already bulky Twelve.  After dwelling on the ideas and characters, I can't help but feel like this novel is actually even more epic than its predecessor. 
Pardon me while I geek out, but I'll compare it to the 5th Harry Potter novel, in which sheer character development and escapades don't create the emotional heft of the story; that's left to the battle between what's right, what's accepted, and how to enact change.  The Twelve addresses revolution and change, both individually and as a society, in a way that The Passage doesn't need to.  I'm so psyched for the last installment in this trilogy; 2014, get here quickly!

Before I Go to Sleep

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I generally don't go for thrillers when I pick up books from the library, but this one got fantastic reviews.  With excellent reason: Watson has crafted a taut suspense that kept me up at night.
Christine suffered an injury several years ago that left her without her memory.  She begins each day thinking she's a single 25-year old woman, only to be jolted back to reality when she looks in the mirror and sees a married woman in her 40s.  She has no recollection of the past two decades, her marriage to Ben, her head injury.  Her therapist encourages her to keep a journal of what happens to her every day, including her interactions with her husband, Ben, and what she remembers of her past life.  Her therapist, though, tells her that the journal must be kept secret, as Ben is prone to fits of jealousy.  When she starts reading through her older entries, Christine realizes that something in her life is amiss, especially when she comes across an entry that simply says, "Don't trust Ben."
Suddenly, Christine's tenuous grasp on her identity slips.  What has Ben done?  Why are there so few photos of their two decades together?  Why does she have to hide her journal away?
I could not tear myself away from this debut novel!  I read it in just a few days, staying up late and eating cereal for dinner to make more time for each chapter.  You've got to pick up this book, if only to remind yourself of just how riveting the written word can be.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

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Okay, I'm going to be honest with my opinion on this book, which was the most recent pick for my book club:
I really did not care for it.
There.  Wow, I feel great getting that out into the open.
This best-selling novel by Steig Larssen has been a topic of discussion since it was released in 2005, and has two sequels.  There are two plots: the first is centered around the strange disappearance of Harriet Vanger, an heir to the well-known Vanger company; the second plot revolves around the male protagonist's desire to prove that a powerful Swedish businessman is, in fact, a crook.  Henrick Vanger's beloved niece mysteriously disappeared from his life nearly 40 years ago, and his poor health and old age have encouraged him to enlist the help of investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist.  Mikael is reeling from a guilty charge for publishing a libelous article about Wennerstrom, a Swedish billionaire and businessman.  Vanger promises to tell Blomkvist some dirt on Wennerstrom in exchange for his help in solving the case of the missing Harriet.  Along the way, Blomkvist picks up Lisbeth Salanader, a young punk computer prodigy who helps bring together the missing links in both cases.
Now, if you haven't already read the book, I do think that it's worth the time to pick up the first and develop your own opinion on the characters and themes.  I hate to spoil too much of the plot, but my biggest problems with the book dealt more with the characters.  I found Lisbeth to be unsympathetic, and every woman Mikael comes in contact with falls deeply in love with him, a trait that gets boring.  Not much is given on Lisbeth's backstory, although I'm told that she has more development in the following novels.  The plots themselves did not seem to match up, and I found it odd that Larssen included both within the same pages.  And, in case you've heard that the book is violent and has some disturbing passages, that's absolutely true.  During some readings at breakfast, I had to stop eating cereal because I felt a bit gross with myself. On the other hand, any book that elicits such a strong reaction can't be wholly bad, and I'm glad to have given the trilogy a shot.
I will not, however, be checking out the rest of his works.
P.S. Happy 100th post!