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idratherbereading542's review against another edition
4.0
Great book. So imaginative, exciting, heart-wrenching, and sweet all at once.
narteest's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a long time to read this because there were so many other things going o n bt I honestly loved every mome nt and as soon as I get the chance I'm going to review this properly. In all honesty I actually think this was even BETTER than the first lol
The Plot
DARKSOULS
Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana responsible for the darksouls–and the newsouls who may be born in their place.
SHADOWS
Many are afraid of Ana’s presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes and the unknown. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
LOVE
Ana was told that nosouls can’t love. But newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.
In this second book in the Newsoul trilogy, Ana discovers the truth about reincarnation and will have to find a way to embrace love and make her young life meaningful. Once again, Jodi Meadows explores the extraordinary beauty and shadowed depths of the soul in a story equal parts epic romance and captivating fantasy.
I found the plot absolutely flawless - generally this is my opinion - but there was nothing I could fault it for. Nothing I could get overly aggravated about. I simply, just loved it.
The Characters
You know there are annoying characters with pet peeves and a sobby past that should be a character that I feel sympathy for and yet for some reason I don't. But Ana, Ana is not one of those. Ana is anything but that. Sure, she has some pet peeves about her that had the potential to piss me off, but didn't. Sure she has a sob story, which felt real and allowed me to feel empathetic to her rather than eye rolling. But Ana is different. All her feelings felt honest, not wishy washy or thrown out there to garner sympathy. I really felt close to her. And I liked her for it. Which makes me like Jodi Meadows even more for creating such a character!
Sam is the same. You know, I hate clingy, broody guys, but I don't hate Sam. Nor is Sam the kind of clingy, broody guy that can be found in such books as Twilight and the City of Bones. Sam is passionate - I feel that's a word that suits him well. He's caring and he often over thinks things that annoy Ana, yet when they talk, they do talk about it. Plus for a guy who takes up a lot of space in the book and in Ana's current life, I don't actually feel like he's there for no reason. I gave extra stars for that! Lol.
And others...the supporting characters are all interesting. I was a bit surprised about Cris, not really about Stef, and the birthing of newsouls, I liked how the image of 'mother' changed the perceptions of the new mother to her child. It's interesting.
Setting
Heart, a fictional place in a fantasy setting. You know I could almost swear this was a dystopian, yet I know it's not! Right?!?
Writing
I enjoy Meadows's writing, there's a very honest feel to it, especially more important, since it is written in first person. I think the feelings conveyed are beautifully written and I am submerged once I'm engaged. It's startling, a little frightening that I can be that consumed by the writing and by the plot. Guess, it goes to show that this is a pretty wicked read!
Overall
I was definitely not disappointed by this sequel unlike some other sequel, looking at you Insurgent. I would definitely recommend this to all those who read the first one, and I would also recommend this to all those who want to read the first one and who have to absolutely get onto it straight away so that they can read this one! And then read the third one when that comes out!
The Plot
DARKSOULS
Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana responsible for the darksouls–and the newsouls who may be born in their place.
SHADOWS
Many are afraid of Ana’s presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes and the unknown. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
LOVE
Ana was told that nosouls can’t love. But newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.
In this second book in the Newsoul trilogy, Ana discovers the truth about reincarnation and will have to find a way to embrace love and make her young life meaningful. Once again, Jodi Meadows explores the extraordinary beauty and shadowed depths of the soul in a story equal parts epic romance and captivating fantasy.
I found the plot absolutely flawless - generally this is my opinion - but there was nothing I could fault it for. Nothing I could get overly aggravated about. I simply, just loved it.
The Characters
You know there are annoying characters with pet peeves and a sobby past that should be a character that I feel sympathy for and yet for some reason I don't. But Ana, Ana is not one of those. Ana is anything but that. Sure, she has some pet peeves about her that had the potential to piss me off, but didn't. Sure she has a sob story, which felt real and allowed me to feel empathetic to her rather than eye rolling. But Ana is different. All her feelings felt honest, not wishy washy or thrown out there to garner sympathy. I really felt close to her. And I liked her for it. Which makes me like Jodi Meadows even more for creating such a character!
Sam is the same. You know, I hate clingy, broody guys, but I don't hate Sam. Nor is Sam the kind of clingy, broody guy that can be found in such books as Twilight and the City of Bones. Sam is passionate - I feel that's a word that suits him well. He's caring and he often over thinks things that annoy Ana, yet when they talk, they do talk about it. Plus for a guy who takes up a lot of space in the book and in Ana's current life, I don't actually feel like he's there for no reason. I gave extra stars for that! Lol.
And others...the supporting characters are all interesting. I was a bit surprised about Cris, not really about Stef, and the birthing of newsouls, I liked how the image of 'mother' changed the perceptions of the new mother to her child. It's interesting.
Setting
Heart, a fictional place in a fantasy setting. You know I could almost swear this was a dystopian, yet I know it's not! Right?!?
Writing
I enjoy Meadows's writing, there's a very honest feel to it, especially more important, since it is written in first person. I think the feelings conveyed are beautifully written and I am submerged once I'm engaged. It's startling, a little frightening that I can be that consumed by the writing and by the plot. Guess, it goes to show that this is a pretty wicked read!
Overall
I was definitely not disappointed by this sequel unlike some other sequel, looking at you Insurgent. I would definitely recommend this to all those who read the first one, and I would also recommend this to all those who want to read the first one and who have to absolutely get onto it straight away so that they can read this one! And then read the third one when that comes out!
mer_dont_care's review against another edition
4.0
next ya book off my 2013 list!! this one was pretty good. there’s one more of the trilogy so we will see but good vibes
books4susie's review against another edition
5.0
“My life might have begun as a mistake, but I wouldn’t let it end as one.”
The residents of Heart have spent the spring preparing the Templedark Memorial for the eighty souls lost that night, those would not be reincarnated. That summer, the citizens spent days at the memorial honoring the lives of their friends. As summer concludes, the desolation of the community is smothering Ana. She and Sam go away for a while.
The two stop one night at the Purple Rose Cottage where Ana grew up. Sam surprises her with a picnic on the lawn and presents Ana with a beautiful flute. Trying it out, Ana is shocked to discover that her playing is attracting sylphs. Even more surprising is the fact that they seem to be dancing and imitating the sounds. Panicking, Sam rushes inside to gather traps while Ana attempts to keep them from attacking. When an oldsoul, Cris, stumbles along, he is startled by the scene. Continuing to play, Ana leads them from the cottage and they peacefully leave.
It turns out Cris is the original owner of the cottage and he and Sam do not seem to be on friendly terms. Cris is on his way to Heart to help in reorganizing the genealogies of the darksouls. The topic of Templedark comes up and Ana keeps quiet about her reasons for leaving Heart She is searching for the reasons Menehem chose to stop reincarnation. Was it to allow more newsouls to be born or could it have been his attempt to prove Jana’s existence?
Parting ways the next morning with Cris, Sam and Ana continue on to Menehem’s lab. There, they compare the information Ana brought with her from Heart to the small library of research Menehem left behind at the lab. Bouncing theories about the sylph’s behavior, Ana realizes that Sam cannot follow her line of questioning. It slowly dawns her that Janan purposely keeps secrets from the oldsouls about the true nature of the sylphs. Ana decides she needs to discover what secrets Jana keeps in the temple and how the sylphs are involved. Once she figures out the mystery, Ana realizes that she can use Janan’s secrets against him.
What will Ana discover from Menehem’s research? Can she uncover the secrets of the sylphs? Who is Cris and why are he and Sam acting strangely around each other? What is Jana trying to keep quiet? Will Ana learn she is capable of love? And what happens when more newsouls are born?
Jodi Meadows’ will conclude her trilogy with a third book in 2014.
The residents of Heart have spent the spring preparing the Templedark Memorial for the eighty souls lost that night, those would not be reincarnated. That summer, the citizens spent days at the memorial honoring the lives of their friends. As summer concludes, the desolation of the community is smothering Ana. She and Sam go away for a while.
The two stop one night at the Purple Rose Cottage where Ana grew up. Sam surprises her with a picnic on the lawn and presents Ana with a beautiful flute. Trying it out, Ana is shocked to discover that her playing is attracting sylphs. Even more surprising is the fact that they seem to be dancing and imitating the sounds. Panicking, Sam rushes inside to gather traps while Ana attempts to keep them from attacking. When an oldsoul, Cris, stumbles along, he is startled by the scene. Continuing to play, Ana leads them from the cottage and they peacefully leave.
It turns out Cris is the original owner of the cottage and he and Sam do not seem to be on friendly terms. Cris is on his way to Heart to help in reorganizing the genealogies of the darksouls. The topic of Templedark comes up and Ana keeps quiet about her reasons for leaving Heart She is searching for the reasons Menehem chose to stop reincarnation. Was it to allow more newsouls to be born or could it have been his attempt to prove Jana’s existence?
Parting ways the next morning with Cris, Sam and Ana continue on to Menehem’s lab. There, they compare the information Ana brought with her from Heart to the small library of research Menehem left behind at the lab. Bouncing theories about the sylph’s behavior, Ana realizes that Sam cannot follow her line of questioning. It slowly dawns her that Janan purposely keeps secrets from the oldsouls about the true nature of the sylphs. Ana decides she needs to discover what secrets Jana keeps in the temple and how the sylphs are involved. Once she figures out the mystery, Ana realizes that she can use Janan’s secrets against him.
What will Ana discover from Menehem’s research? Can she uncover the secrets of the sylphs? Who is Cris and why are he and Sam acting strangely around each other? What is Jana trying to keep quiet? Will Ana learn she is capable of love? And what happens when more newsouls are born?
Jodi Meadows’ will conclude her trilogy with a third book in 2014.
sdb27's review against another edition
5.0
Until Templedark, Ana was the only one—a newsoul. In a world where 1 million souls are reincarnated and no newsouls have ever existed before, Ana was also a thing to be feared, as many fear change in such a mortal form. But after the tragic and terrifying events of Templedark—when the dragons and sylphs descended on Heart and destroyed homes and lives—something else happened. Another newsoul was born shortly after. Ana is not alone, and more newsouls are coming, which sparks fear and anger in equal measure throughout Heart as people blame Ana for her role, imagined or not, in the matter. Ana, with the help of her love interest Dossam and their friends, must figure out what is causing the newsouls to appear and why Templedark destroyed so many old souls.
Finally, some answers! Admittedly, part of the appeal of Incarnate was the mystery behind the reincarnation of all the citizens of Heart and the origin of the various creatures of the wild like the fiery sylph, but getting some explanations on all these matters was excellent for the purposes of furthering the plot. Unlike most Big Reveals that happen, the reasons for Templedark and reincarnation were just as horrifying and spectacular as was hinted at in Incarnate. Meadows does an excellent job keeping the plot fresh and unexpected; never at any point did I know exactly what was going to happen next.
Asunder also raises important questions when it comes to civil rights. Even though Heart’s Council promised that Ana, as a newsoul, would be protected, she is not—she is still shunned by many, verbally and physically threatened or abused, and generally not given the welcome she was promised as an aspiring citizen of the city. However, when the newsoul baby is born, Ana strives to change that for the child’s sake. I found this to be one of the strongest and humanizing aspects of the book, and I really sympathized with all Ana was put through in her journey to find equal treatment.
Ana and Sam’s relationship hits some bumps and snags as Ana starts to peel back the layers of Sam’s past—namely his relationships with others—while Sam has difficulty coming to terms with Ana’s role in the future of Heart, regardless of how much danger that places her in. Of all the things that seem to go wrong in Asunder, Sam and Ana are the two people who seem organic and right for one another. I appreciated the sweetness and the devotion running between them, steadfast in a sea of troubles. I also appreciated that Ana was able to cultivate tentative friendships with several citizens of Heart, friendships that were independent of Sam in some respects. This showed that Ana is able to start fashioning her own identity, a crucial component of her personhood as a newsoul.
Asunder is just as breathlessly captivating as its predecessor, Incarnate, and serves as a creative expansion into the world that Jodi Meadows has so deftly painted for the reader in her first book. With a combination of fascinating world-building and character development, this book truly shines in its own right and proves that sometimes the sequel can live up to the much-hyped debut.
____
For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!
Finally, some answers! Admittedly, part of the appeal of Incarnate was the mystery behind the reincarnation of all the citizens of Heart and the origin of the various creatures of the wild like the fiery sylph, but getting some explanations on all these matters was excellent for the purposes of furthering the plot. Unlike most Big Reveals that happen, the reasons for Templedark and reincarnation were just as horrifying and spectacular as was hinted at in Incarnate. Meadows does an excellent job keeping the plot fresh and unexpected; never at any point did I know exactly what was going to happen next.
Asunder also raises important questions when it comes to civil rights. Even though Heart’s Council promised that Ana, as a newsoul, would be protected, she is not—she is still shunned by many, verbally and physically threatened or abused, and generally not given the welcome she was promised as an aspiring citizen of the city. However, when the newsoul baby is born, Ana strives to change that for the child’s sake. I found this to be one of the strongest and humanizing aspects of the book, and I really sympathized with all Ana was put through in her journey to find equal treatment.
Ana and Sam’s relationship hits some bumps and snags as Ana starts to peel back the layers of Sam’s past—namely his relationships with others—while Sam has difficulty coming to terms with Ana’s role in the future of Heart, regardless of how much danger that places her in. Of all the things that seem to go wrong in Asunder, Sam and Ana are the two people who seem organic and right for one another. I appreciated the sweetness and the devotion running between them, steadfast in a sea of troubles. I also appreciated that Ana was able to cultivate tentative friendships with several citizens of Heart, friendships that were independent of Sam in some respects. This showed that Ana is able to start fashioning her own identity, a crucial component of her personhood as a newsoul.
Asunder is just as breathlessly captivating as its predecessor, Incarnate, and serves as a creative expansion into the world that Jodi Meadows has so deftly painted for the reader in her first book. With a combination of fascinating world-building and character development, this book truly shines in its own right and proves that sometimes the sequel can live up to the much-hyped debut.
____
For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!
alanaleigh's review against another edition
5.0
First read: April 26-May 1, 2012
Second read: January 26, 2014
Second read: January 26, 2014
cathyatratedreads's review against another edition
3.0
These books make me think a bit of Stephenie Meyer: she and Jodi Meadows are great storytellers with great imaginations but not top-notch writers (Meyer has said that herself). The writing here is fine but the story is what grabs me. This society is made up of a million people who continue to be reincarnated, and they've been doing so for 5,000 years. No one knows why. But when a "newsoul" is born, her very presence inspires fear and hatred from many of the other "(old)souls." Ana manages to keep going in her quest to figure out why she was born and whether she will be reincarnated, and what she finds out in this book is frightening and dismaying, not just for her but for the whole society. She learns also that their society is facing a potentially calamitous event, but will she be able to do anything about it, especially when so many mistakenly blame her for continuing problems?
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/asunder-newsoul-clean-young-adult-book-review/
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/asunder-newsoul-clean-young-adult-book-review/