Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz

Release Date: 8 September 2015 | Publisher: Candlewick| Format: Hardcover

Review:

Set in a near-future world, Lizard Radio opens with our main character, Kivali (or Lizard), being dropped off at CropCamp by her usually non-conforming guardian, Sheila. CropCamp is where teenagers go essentially to become good little conforming citizens, learn a trade, and find a like-minded, heterosexual partner. Kivali, however, doesn't fit the norms (she's a "bender" in this world's lingo--someone who doesn't conform to a gender) and has a hard time fitting in at CropCamp (well, she's always had trouble fitting in anywhere really). It's not ALL bad for her at camp because she does love being outdoors and she makes some real friends. However, she falls in love/lust with another girl and that's really just another thing that sets her apart. Lizard Radio is the kind of book that I wanted to love. It has good writing, a unique storyline, and it truly does deftly explore gender queerness in a sensitive way. I think what brought this one down some for me was that I found myself wanting and needing more world-building along the way. I didn't get a clear picture of what was really going on in this world and why it was the way it was. So while this book has some REALLY good things going for it, I simply couldn't fall in love with it. It was a quick read and its exploration of gender and sexuality definitely secure it a place on my library shelves.

.

City of Savages by Lee Kelly

Release Date: 3 February 2015 | Publisher: Saga Press | Format: Audio

Review:

Sky, Phee, and their mom have been living and surviving on Manhattan ever since the Third World War turned the island into a POW camp. The island is ruled by the iron fist of Rolladin, the island "native" appointed by the conquering Red Allies to maintain control. The world, however, is not quite what the inhabitants of the island have been led to believe. Newcomers threaten to expose long-kept secrets and drive Sky and Phee to look for answers--and what they find along the way is not at all what they expected. City of Savages offer an action-filled, compelling read that I think will be appealing to fans of YA dystopian novels, but it wasn't without its flaws. While the story is told from both sisters' perspectives, I found their voices to be incredibly similar and at times difficult to differentiate (even with the added benefit of two different audio narrators). I found myself wishing for two more distinct personalities to come through. My other criticism of this book is less about the book itself (which, like I said, I really enjoyed) and more about the marketing. For me, this read solidly like a YA novel--full of action and the requisite suspension of disbelief (because of lacking details)--but it was published (and is shelved at my local public library) as an adult novel. I think readers who largely enjoy the more nuanced, detailed adult fiction might be disappointed by this book. That being said, this has a lot of potential to be a hit with teens and adults who read YA, especially since it is a standalone novel (YAY STANDALONE NOVELS!)

.

YA Book Review: Proxy by Alex London

Release Date: 18 June 2013
Publisher: Philomel
Format: Hardcover
Source: Own

Goodreads description:

Knox was born into one of the City’s wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death.

Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.

Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

My Thoughts...

Review: The Culling by Steven dos Santos

Release Date: 8 March 2013
Publisher: Flux
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon

Goodreads description:

Recruitment Day is here...if you fail, a loved one will die...

For Lucian “Lucky” Spark, Recruitment Day means the Establishment, a totalitarian government, will force him to become one of five Recruits competing to join the ruthless Imposer task force. Each Recruit participates in increasingly difficult and violent military training for a chance to advance to the next level. Those who fail must choose an “Incentive”—a family member—to be brutally killed. If Lucky fails, he’ll have to choose death for his only living relative: Cole, his four-year-old brother.

Lucky will do everything he can to keep his brother alive, even if it means sacrificing the lives of other Recruits’ loved ones. What Lucky isn’t prepared for is his undeniable attraction to the handsome, rebellious Digory Tycho. While Lucky and Digory train together, their relationship grows. But daring to care for another Recruit in a world where love is used as the ultimate weapon is extremely dangerous. As Lucky soon learns, the consequences can be deadly...

My Thoughts...

Review + Giveaway: Naturals by Tiffany Truitt

Release Date: 2 April 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Format: eARC 
Source: Publisher


Grab the first book, Chosen Ones, or Naturals for only $4.99 for your Kindle!

Ripped away from those she loves most, Tess is heartbroken as her small band of travelers reaches the Isolationist camp in the mysterious and barren Middlelands. Desperate to be reunited with James, the forbidden chosen one who stole her heart, she wants nothing to do with the rough Isolationists, who are without allegiance in the war between the Westerners and Easterners. But having their protection, especially for someone as powerful as Tess, may come at a cost.

When James returns, Tess’s world once again feels complete—until she discovers her sister, Louisa, has taken up her old post at Templeton, the dangerous chosen ones training center and the site of Tess’s loss of innocence. Tess will do anything to protect her loved ones—but will the price be more than she can give?

This second book in Tiffany Truitt’s dystopian series is a thought-provoking, thrilling story that asks who the true enemy really is—the chosen ones who are different, or the naturals…who are just like us.

My Thoughts...

Dualed by Elsie Chapman

Release Date: 26 February 2013

Publisher: Random House BFYR
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon

Goodreads description:

You or your Alt? Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Release Date: 16 October 2012

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux BYR
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description:

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.

My Thoughts...

Cover Reveal: Abandon by Elana Johnson

After I finished Possession, there hadn't yet been news of a sequel and I was left devastated--crying and rocking back and forth in the corner.  THANKFULLY, there was a sequel and Surrender proved to me that I was truly in love with this series. But, when I finished Surrender, there was still no news about a continuation and I was devastated.  Sure, there's a lot to be said for ambiguous endings, but I WANTED MORE.  I NEEDED ANSWERS.  Thankfully, THANKFULLY, the third and final volume is indeed going to be published.  This was me when I saw that news:

So OF COURSE I wanted to participate in revealing her new cover courtesy of A Tale of Many Reviews affliate - AToMR Book Blog Tours!  Have I made you wait long enough yet? Maybe you want to see this beautiful gem now?  OKAY!

YA Book Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: 24 April 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description:

In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity. Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for.

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Once by Anna Carey

Release Date: 3 July 2012

Publisher:  Harper Collins
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss

Get a copy! Amazon| B&N

Goodreads description:

When you're being hunted, who can you trust?

For the first time since she escaped from her school many months ago, Eve can sleep soundly. She's living in Califia, a haven for women, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America.

But her safety came at a price: She was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at the city gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand, the capital of The New America.

Trapped inside the City walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past--and is forced to confront the harsh reality of her future. When she discovers Caleb is alive, Eve attempts to flee her prison so they can be together--but the consequences could be deadly. She must make a desperate choice to save the ones she loves . . . or risk losing Caleb forever.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: The Forgetting Curve by Angie Smibert

Release Date: 15 May 2012

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

Aiden Nomura likes to open doors—especially using his skills as a hacker—to see what’s hidden inside. He keeps pulling until one cracks open. Aiden exposes the flaw, and the universe—or someone else—will fix it. It’s like a game.

Until it isn’t.

When a TFC opens in Bern, Switzerland, where Aiden is attending boarding school, he knows things are changing. Shortly after, bombs go off within quiet, safe Bern. Then Aiden learns that his cousin Winter, back in the States, has had a mental breakdown. He returns to the US immediately. But back home in Hamilton, Winter’s mental state isn’t the only thing that’s different. The city is becoming even stricter, and an underground movement is growing. Aiden slowly cracks open doors in this new world. But behind those doors are things Aiden doesn’t want to see—things about his society, his city, even his own family. And this time Aiden may be the only one who can fix things... before someone else gets hurt.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Surrender by Elana Johnson

**If you haven't read POSSESSION, might I suggest checking out that review instead? I've tried to keep this one as spoiler free as possible but it's difficult with sequels!** 

Release Date: 5 June 2012

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N
(I pre-ordered my copy & you should too!)

Goodreads description:

Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…

Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque....

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Chosen Ones by Tiffany Truitt

Release Date: 12 June 2012

Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher

Get a copy! Amazon | Chosen Ones

Goodreads description:

What if you were mankind’s last chance at survival?

Sixteen-year-old Tess lives in a compound in what was once the Western United States, now decimated after a devastating fourth World War. But long before that, life as we knew it had been irrevocably changed, as women mysteriously lost the ability to bring forth life. Faced with the extinction of the human race, the government began the Council of Creators, meant to search out alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial human beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

Life is bleak, but uncomplicated for Tess as she follows the rigid rules of her dystopian society, until the day she begins work at Templeton, the training facility for newly created Chosen Ones. There, she meets James, a Chosen One whose odd love of music and reading rivals only her own. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.

But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew, and as the veil is lifted from her eyes, she uncovers a dark underground movement bent not on taking down the Chosen Ones, but the Council itself. Will Tess be able to stand up to those who would oppress her, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Release Date: 24 April 2012

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Format: eARC

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all. But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Partials by Dan Wells

Release Date: 28 February 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen

Format: eARC

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic in training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws threaten to launch what’s left of humanity into civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will discover that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

My Thoughts...

While Partials started out a bit on the slow side (for me), I became addicted to the world and the characters and flew through the second two-thirds of the book.  Dan Wells has crafted a wonderfully descriptive novel that throws the reader into a futuristic society that will both scare and awe.

Each life has a different purpose, and some peopel can find their purpose more easily than others. The key, ...the most important thing you can eve know, is that whatever your purpose is, that's not your only choice. ... No matter why you're here, you're never tied down to fate. You're never locked in. You make your own choices, Kira, and you can't let anyone ever take that away from you.

-p66, eARC

I have to start with our main character, Kira, because I developed a pretty deep bond with her throughout the novel.  She's the type of heroine that I love to see.  She's willing to stick her neck out for the things that she believes in and she's not willing to cave to outside pressures.  She's very much her own person.  And yet she has a deep connection with the people around her that I totally appreciated.  She's willing to stick her neck out for them when she needs to, but she's not willing to let the stop her from reaching for her ultimate goals/dreams. Her hope and perseverance made her somewhat of an enigma in her society and really made her stand out.

Happiness is the most natural thing in the world when you have it, and the slowest, strangest, most impossible thing when you don't. ... It's like learning a foreign language: You can think about the words all you want, but you'll never be able to speak it until you suck up your courage and say them out loud.

-p66, eARC

The storyline itself, as I said, starts a bit slow, but when it really starts to get going, you won't be able to put the book down.  Wells has written a book that explodes with tension and action.  There are some moments where potentially I felt there was a tad too much "discussing what we're going to do and then here is how we did it" (does that makes sense?), but overall, I found that once the world was established at the beginning, the process of discovery smoothed out and the story started flowing. I appreciated as well that Wells seems to give his audience's intelligence some credit in his use of military and medical jargon.  He doesn't shy away from complicated terminology and descriptions.

War, see, is when two sides fight, maybe not evenly, but at least they both get a few swings in.  What we call the Partial War was manking gettin' mugged in an alley.

-p47, eARC

Overall, Partials is a true dystopia for the science fiction fan who loves detailed description and strong scientific investigations. Wells' world will really suck you in and if you're anything like me, you'll be begging for the sequel as soon as you turn the last page.  There's a little romance in the story, but it always takes a back seat to the stories bigger struggles and issues.

(ARC) YA Book Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Release Date: 21 February 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Source: Around the World ARC Tours


Pre-Order Yours!

Goodreads description:

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

My Thoughts...

In the rivieting sequel to her 2011 debut, Wither, Lauren DeStefano once again had me mesmerized by her beautiful writing and storytelling. From the beginning of the book, I was absolutely hooked to the continuing story of Rhine and Gabriel and the world outside of Housemaster Vaughn's experiments.

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped from the glamorous yet dangerous world of Housemaster Vaughn and the others living in the mansion. However, they are immediately thrust into a situation that may prove even more dangerous than being under Vaughn's thumb. How will they survive the trials of the real world? And will they ever truly escape Vaughn's clutches? Rhine is the same determined young woman that we knew in Wither. Having escaped the mansion, she is more determined than ever to return to NYC and be reunited with her twin brother. One thing that I love about Rhine is her undying devotion and fierce determination. This is countered by the realistic and heart-wrenching portrayal of her relationship with Gabriel and her lingering memories of Linden. She's torn between the two in what is, in my opinion, a REALISTIC love triangle. Gabriel is her freedom, her CHOICE, embodied in a person--a sweet, caring person. Linden represents her imprisonment, but the truth is that he absolutely loved and trusted her and had no idea what his father was doing and how Rhine came to be with him. I've always been just a little bit "Team Linden" so I understand her struggle to forget the sweet memories that she had shared with him.

Fever introduces us to quite a number of new characters, each of which I thought were really interesting. "Madame" drove me crazy and Lilac made me fall in love with her. Maddie and Silas intrigued me. I don't want to tell you too much because I think you need to discover these characters all on your own, but suffice it to say that the characters were definitely a factor in my love for DeStefano's second novel. And I can't forget Gabriel! Gabriel is obviously along for the wide ride of an adventure with Rhine.  There are many points when he is really the one suffering the most. Despite the page time that Gabriel got, I still felt like I didn't know him as well as I should/wanted to.

This book also gives a few more glimpses into the world that Rhine lives in, which I really appreciated. We get a glimpse of the President and his wives and we get a better sense of the society's struggle between pro-science and pro-naturalism and just how fervently each side believe in their battle.  I felt like I understood a bit better why things are the way they are, if that makes sense.  Some of my reservations from Wither didn't seem to bother me in Fever as I was allowed deeper glimpses into the society.

In some ways, Fever does feel a little bit like a bridge between Wither and book 3, but in the end, this book left me BEGGING for book three (one of the reasons that sometimes it's so hard to read advance copies)! DeStefano definitely knows how to pull her readers in and leave them hanging. If you thought Wither ended on a cliffhanger, Fever's ending will blow your mind. The beautiful writing pulls you into the world and makes you fall in love (and hate) with the characters, makes you cheer and cry and yell, and when it's over your heart is still racing and you NEED more. It's going to be a long wait for book #3, so be sure to have the first two books on hand to read a couple of times before then!

YA Book Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Release Date: 3 January 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon|B&N

Goodreads description:

Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.

As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.

They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY

My Thoughts...

Wow.  This book is truly fabulous. The world of young adult literature has been inundated in the last few years with an overabundance of dystopian novels that attempt to re-imagine the world that we live in somewhere and sometime in the future.  Some are more successful in their endeavors, that success hinging (for me) on world-building, characters, and unique ideas.  In my opinion, Under the Never Sky was a home-run.  Ms. Rossi's beautiful, descriptive writing dropped me right into the world and pulled me along for a fantastic adventure alongside her characters.

Aria, aptly named for her beautiful singing voice, goes on what seems like a harmless adventure with some friends in an attempt to get information about her mother.  When things go awry, Aria is saved by a stranger who doesn't belong and then kicked out of Reverie to hide the involvement of the Counsel's son.  Abandoned in the "Death Shop," Aria is sure that she is going to die on the outside...until an Outsider comes and saves her...again.

Aria was a fierce character who I loved seeing essentially grow up throughout this novel.  She's trust into a world that's strange and terrifying yet enticing.  She experiences so many firsts on the Outside, from seeing the Aether for real for the first time to becoming a woman.  She comes across as a naive but I think that supports her sheltered upbringing, where her mother's research was hidden from her and she basically lived in virtual Realms without real feelings and experiences.

In contrast, Perry is a character hardened by real-world loss and struggle.  His parents are dead, his nephew is dying, and his tribe is starving. Saving Aria's life costs him a lot when his nephew is kidnapped by the Dwellers and Perry is estranged from the tribe as a result.  His hardened exterior hides a good heart though, as evidenced from the very beginning when he saves Aria from the fires in Ag 6.  He tends to run hot and cold with Aria--a result of the ongoing battle between his head and his heart.

In terms of their relationship, I liked it a lot.  I enjoyed the progression from survival allies to friends to more.  I thought that it was well done and didn't develop unusually fast.  It's also not surprising seeing as how they had to struggle to survive together and battled through so much.  That kind of togetherness is bound to create a deep connection, despite (or possibly because of) the odds stacked against them. I felt like their trust in each other had a long way to develop from their first meeting and there wasn't a *BAM* we're in love moment--it was a gradual realization of feelings that just sort of developed.

I know it's early in the year and there are a lot of January releases vying for your attention and love, but I highly recommend that you put Under the Never Sky into your reading queue as soon as possible.  Fans of dystopias will fall in love with Rossi's world-building and devour this book.  The contrast that she creates between life in the domes and life on the Outside is phenomenal and I still can't get over the imagery that is evoked through the writing in this one. Truly stunning debut novel.

(ARC) YA Book Review: Prized by Caragh O'Brien

Release Date: 8 November 2011
Publisher: Roaring Books Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description:

Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone survives only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime. In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole?

My Thoughts...

I ADORED Birthmarked, as you can tell from my review of it way back in March.  My children's lit professor recommended it to me and I loved it as much as she did.  I have been waiting on pins and needles for this second book ever since then and as a result, I believe my standards were simply set too high.  This book, while quite the enjoyable read, didn't quite live up to my expectations.

Prized begins with Gaia alone in the wilderness, running away from the Enclave with her baby sister.  Her sister is clearly suffering and Gaia herself is weak.  The pair has long since run out of most supplies and is barely getting by when they are kidnapped/rescued by a mysterious man on horseback.  He takes them to Sylum, a whole new world that is different that anything that Gaia has every imagined.  The women run everything, despite a population of mostly men, and relationships are strictly controlled.

O'Brien's world-building really shines in this second book as she creates a whole new dystopian society.  A part of me felt like this was a bit unnecessary since we already had an established society in book one, but I guess I understood that she had to create something new since Gaia was entering unknown territory and leaving behind the Enclave (and these new people had no real knowledge of the Enclave).

While the world-building was superb, the characters--specifically, Gaia--suffered a bit in this book.  Gaia goes from the incredibly smart, strong girl who saved a dead woman's baby and escaped the Enclave prison to a weak, timid, and easily manipulated young woman.  I couldn't believe the ease with which she seemed to fall into the woman's role in Sylum and leave behind her strong beliefs.  I understand that she faces some really difficult things when she first gets there, but she seems (to me) to concede far too easily to the demands of the Matrarc. When she first submits, I hope that it's a show and in private we'll still see the strong, courageous Gaia of Birthmarked, but it was not so.  Towards the end when things finally get crazy, Gaia seems to rediscover her passionate, courageous nature and finally stand up for something.  She finally makes the tough decisions that she knows in her gut are right.  She redeems herself quite a bit in the final chapters.

Overall, I really did end up enjoying this novel, simply not as much as the first book.  Since this is set to be a trilogy, my hope is that book three will continue with Gaia as the strong woman that we know she is and possibly (hopefully) return our characters to the original setting--the Enclave.  As Sylum has a lot of problems, I see this as highly likely and look forward to the confrontation that would seem to loom on the horizon.  My hope is that this book simply suffers a little from "middle book syndrome" and Ms. O'Brien will once again completely "wow" readers in book three.  Despite some of my problems with this book, I am definitely still looking forward to a fabulous conclusion to this trilogy!

YA Book Review: Eve by Anna Carey

Release Date: 4 October 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description:

The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

My Thoughts...

I've become wary of starting new dystopian series because I always wonder "Will this book live up to the last one? Will it stand out?"  Thankfully Eve completely drew me in and delivered on its promise to be a unique and thrilling adventure.

Eve is quite the intelligent young woman.  When the novel opens, her graduation day is right around the corner and she's got the honor of graduating at the very top of her class. On almost a whim (and to prove a disparaging classmate wrong), Eve sneaks out of the dorm at night and swims across the lake to look at the "wonderful" place that she will be moving to after graduation--the magical place where she will finally be able to take up her trade.  What she discovers there is absolutely beyond  belief--a room full of young women, pregnant and strapped down.  When she returns, clearly shaken by the experience and her discovery, a sympathetic adult helps her to escape through the wall, leaving behind her friends and the only life that she's ever known.

Eve is a character that I think readers will bond with right away.  Her attachment to the memory of her mother as well as her two close friends make her likeable and realistic.  Her naivete is completely reasonable because you know from the start that she's never known anything else.  Seeing the world through Eve's eyes really drew me into the story and I could sympathize with her apprehensions as she struggled to make sense of new truths and survive in the harsh world outside of the school.

When Even is rescued by Caleb, we're introduced to a whole new cast of characters.  Caleb is awesome.  He was patient when it came to Eve's misconceptions about men and the world, but he wasn't afraid to tell her what was reality and what was a lie fed to her by the school.  It's really no surprise that Eve bonds with him so well and I enjoyed watching their sweet romance blossom over time.  While I loved watching Even and Caleb together, it was her interactions with the very young boys--teaching them to read and write--that really made my heart melt. It's so obvious that these little boys are looking for a loving maternal figure in their lives and Eve is truly the perfect fit.

So many things happen that I want to tell you about, but I refuse to ruin this one for you!  This book is a fabulous combination of action and sweet romance with an ending that will leave you speechless (and if you're like me, in tears). I can't wait to read more in this series!

2012 (P)Review: Pure by Julianna Baggott

Release Date: 8 February 2012
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: Around the World ARC Tours

Pre-Order It! Amazon

Goodreads description:

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.

When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.

My thoughts...


The startling world that Julianna Baggott presents in her gripping post-apocalyptic novel pulled me in and refused to let go.  It's the kind of world that truly makes you think about what today's world is capable of because the stark and startling reality is that we are capable of bringing about this type of alternate reality with the push of a button.

This potential for fiction to become reality is really what makes Ms. Baggott's world so mesmerizing--like a wreck that you can't look away from. For me, the best post-apocalyptic novels bring to light the potential for disaster that already exists in our world and this novel did just that.  The potential for us to virtually destroy ourselves is an ever-present reality that we may forget on a daily basis.  Pure reminds us that it could happen and this world could be the disastrous result.  Ms. Baggott's world-building is truly excellent. It will pull you in and allow you to walk around in this fantasy world of Pures and wretches--to see the destruction of nuclear explosions and the world created in their wake.

Baggott's dual narrative threw me for a loop at first. I had trouble finding a rhythm with the switching POVs, but eventually I was so pulled into their stories that I couldn't put the book down. Watching their stories intersect and overlap made the initial disjoint completely worth it because I knew the characters as individuals before their lives intersected. I had a better understanding of the very different lives that each one led and that definitely contributed to my overall sympathy with the characters.

Now you may be wondering, who are these characters? First off we have Pressia--a "wretch" with a doll's head fused to one of her hands who lives outside the Dome with her grandfather.  The best way to describe her is this: SURVIVOR.  This girl is tough as nails. The connection that I felt with her character was instantaneous. I'm not sure why, but she truly pulled me into the story. Something in her character was simply irresistible. I found myself inside her head  and fighting her battles. Partridge was a different story and it took me awhile to truly connect with him--to really figure out what his part was in the bigger scheme of things.  His role became quickly apparent and as he developed I found him to be much more sympathetic that at first glance. He definitely revealed himself as a multi-faceted character later on in the novel.

I'm not sure what else to say about Pure at this point. It is a fabulously written YA/adult crossover novel that will appeal to a wide audience. Those accustomed to reading YA post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels should easily fall into Ms. Baggott's world and characters. This book left me breathless and waiting on pins and needles to follow my characters on their continuing journey. I know I will be first in line to buy this book and its sequel when they are released on the world.