Review: Switch

Switch
Janelle Stalder
New World/Book 1
New Adult/Dystopian
CreateSpace/August 27, 2013

Two thirds of the world's population has been wiped out, devastated by the worst war earth has ever seen. Still standing amongst the ruins is a mind reader who finds herself on the wrong side of the war. Everyone does what they must to survive.

When the rebels bent on bringing down the New World leader start to rise up, it is her job to make sure they stay down where they belong. That is, until one rebel sneaks past her defenses and into her heart. Love will blossom from the ashes, but will it be enough to save them, or will it mean the end of them both?

So glad I took a chance on this one. It's different than the usual dystopian novel. The world is not full of zombies or aliens but people who want power and will do whatever it takes to get it. What sets this story apart is the heroine isn't always heroic. She is willing to do what it takes to survive. Some might say her choices are less than honorable but honor doesn't always keep you alive.

Charlotte finds herself in the midst of the enemy but to her mind, there is no enemy, only the need to survive.  She forms this odd family of sorts with two very powerful men.  Even so, she keeps herself detached, doing her job while trying not to let any emotions color her perspective.  It isn't always easy for Charlotte when those emotions creep up on her. She pushes them down but you can see they still affect her, even if she doesn't think they do.

The evolution of the story shows how Charlotte not only changes her thinking but the causes of those changes. She is not a stagnate character by any means but continues to grow with her experiences and mistakes. The growth is often painful but far from dull. There are also very strong secondary characters who cause Charlotte to question her motivation and her loyalty. The darker side of life, love and loyalty are all explored with fascinating answers from each of the characters.  Switch was certainly an unexpected treasure!

Rating:  A-

New World Series ~

Switch
Masked
Tested

Review: Divided

Divided
Elsie Chapman
Dualed Series/Book 2
Young Adult/Dystopian
Random House/May 27, 2014

West Grayer is done killing. She defeated her Alternate, a twin raised by another family, and proved she’s worthy of a future. She’s ready to move on with her life. The Board has other plans. They want her to kill one last time, and offer her a deal worth killing for. 

But when West recognizes her target as a ghost from her past, she realizes she’s in over her head. The Board is lying, and West will have to uncover the truth of the past to secure her future.

How far will the Board go to keep their secrets safe? And how far will West go to save those she loves? With nonstop action and surprising twists, Elsie Chapman’s intoxicating sequel to Dualed reveals everything.

If you haven't read the first book, Dualed, you might feel a little lost when starting Divided.  There is back story given but you get a greater understanding of the main characters and the world if you have read Dualed, which tells how West and her boyfriend Chord got to the point they are at now.

The world West Grayer lives in is a lot like our world on the surface.  There are families living in what looks like either cities or the suburbs with kids heading off to school and hanging out after school but just beneath the surface is a completely different world.  A world where children learn to kill because if they don't they will be the ones killed.  It is a bleak existence for these kids, knowing someday they will have to kill their someone who looks like them - their alt.  The survivor is the one deemed worthy to defend their world from outside forces.

West Grayer isn't an easy character to like.  There are some reasons to feel sympathy for her, her home life is filled with loss of family and friends because of the system of Alternates (Alts) killing each other.  Some of the decisions she makes are very hard and not always easy to understand.  In Divided, reinforced is the fact that survival is ultimately all that drives West.  She needs to survive not just for herself but for Chord and for those she's lost.  Still, she makes some brutal choices that make her less than easy to like.

The idea behind Kersh and the Alternate program is for the city to be comprised of the best fighters in order to defend themselves from the Surround which is everyone outside Kersh's walls.  There are some glaring problems with this plan.  First off, not everyone has the same opportunities for training.  It reminded me of the Hunger Games with the twelve districts and the huge economic discrepancy between districts.  It is why West decides to become a Striker, so she can afford better training.  This also leads to some Alts or their family members having the money to hire Strikers to take out their Alts so they don't have to fight them.  How does this provide Kersh with the best possible Alt remaining?  It would make more sense if the Alts were to fight it out in a supervised arena. Sick but more fair and no chance for innocent bystanders to be hurt or killed, which does happen.  Or better yet, train the teens to become an army to defend the city.  Why none of this was not questioned by the general population, especially parents of kids who are dead, I don't know.

It does turn out that things are more complex and truths are revealed behind the reasoning of the Alternate system.  While we do learn more of how and why Kersh came to be, I still found the world West lives in depressing.  The one standout of the story is the writing.  I just wish the world of Kersh made more sense.

Rating: C

ARC Review: The Eternity Cure

The Eternity Cure
Julie Kagawa
Young Adult/Paranormal/Dystopian
Blood of Eden/Book 2
Harlequin Teen/ April 30, 2013

Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren.  The call of blood leads her back to the beginning - New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally. 

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she's never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

The second book in Julie Kagawa's dark vampire dystopian series takes up not long after where the first book ended.  Allie is searching for her sire, Kanin, and she's afraid of what she might find.   The reader is given background on the characters and the plot but I didn't feel it was enough to skip the first book.  Instead, I'd suggest reading The Immortal Rules, book one, to give you a better understanding of the characters and the world.  Plus, it's a really good book!

Allie has this deep sense of loyalty that I swear is going to get her killed someday!  You can't help but admire her but I also wonder if her recently lost humanity is at the root of her loyalty.  She doesn't view human as mere food sources and still tries to defend them when necessary.  She's certainly different than most of the vampires in this series.

The plot leads Allie into dangerous situations which is par for the course in the world she inhabits.  She may well be at the top of the food chain but she's still a newbie when it comes to the vampire hierarchy.  There is action but Allie also becomes involved in vampire politics which while somewhat interesting, tended to slow the plot down.

The book ends on a cliffhanger that left me wanting the next book now!  It looks like things will be getting more intense and more desperate for Allie as this series progresses.

Rating: B

Blood of Eden Series ~

Dawn of Eden (novella prequel)
The Immortal Rules
The Eternity Cure
The Forever Song (spring 2014, tentative)

ARC Review: Outpost

Outpost
Ann Aguirre
Young Adult/Dystopian
Razorland Trilogy/Book 2
Feiwel & Friends/September 4, 2012

*Spoilers for Book 1

SALVATION ISN’T AS SAFE AS IT SEEMS.

Deuce’s whole world has changed. Now living topside in a community called Salvation, she has a whole new set of problems. Down below, she was considered an adult, and she contributed to the whole. Now, topside, the people of Salvation think she’s a brat in need of training. She hates school, and she doesn’t fit in with the other girls. They’ve spent their lives learning to cook and sew–suitable woman’s work. Deuce only knows how to fight. To make matters worse, Fade keeps her at a distance, and the band of four has broken into fragments.

Stalker presses for a closer relationship, but Deuce sees him as a training partner, and she’s busy trying to find her place in Salvation. She refuses to accept that she’s wrong for being who she is, but tensions rise as she struggles against the status quo. Her feelings for Fade haven’t changed, but he seems not to want her around anymore. Confused and lonely, she starts looking for a way out.

Once she’s free from school for the year, Deuce pursues a chance to serve in the summer patrols–those responsible for making sure the growers and planters can work the fields without danger of Freak attack. It should have been routine, little fighting, but things have been changing on surface, just as they did below ground. The Freaks are smarter. They’re watching. Waiting. Planning. The monsters don’t intend to let Salvation survive, and it will take a girl like Deuce to turn the tide.

Ann Aguirre's second book in her Razorland trilogy starts out slow but picks up the pace as the increasing danger from the Freaks escalates.  Deuce, Fade, Stalker and Tegan are all adjusting to life in Salvation, some better than others.  For Deuce, it's a world trying to change her identity, and while Deuce tries to fit, in she realizes she can't give up who she really is. 

Salvation is a world unlike anything Deuce has experienced before.  She is out of her element, forced to wear dresses and suppress her hunter instincts.  She tries to do as she told but fitting in doesn't come to her, instead she remain on the periphery of the community, maintaining her outsider status.  It's not long before Deuce finds a way to put her skills to work.  Deuce's struggle is easy to identify with.  We've all felt at one time and outsider.  Out of our element.  Even with Deuce's fierce survival skills, she must learn new skills to survive in Salvation.  I enjoyed Deuce's point of view on what the citizens of Salvation placed importance on and Deuce's lack of understanding how some skills could possibly translate to survival.  It's a stark contrast to the world she comes from where survival is the only thing of importance.

The  group of four who made it out of the ruins and into Salvation have split up, trying to move on with their lives in Salvation.  It's Deuce and Stalker that have the most trouble fitting in, neither wanting to give up their fighting skills but instead want to continue fighting the Freaks.  The people of Salvation believe the wall will keep them safe and their trust in that wall shows how very different their lives have been compared to Deuce and her friends.  Again, Aguirre does well in showing the contrast of beliefs based on the experiences of the characters.  As the Freaks aggression and cunning increases, Deuce's skills become even more valued but she still must deal with prejudices from the community. 

Where Enclave (Book 1), grabbed me from the get-go, Outpost had a much slower start, making it difficult to become consumed by the story from the start.  This is a new setting so even though it is the second book in the series, the world building must start from nearly the ground up.  After the elements have been established the plot begins to take off,  picking up the pace and the intensity, and giving the reader more to look forward to in this dystopian world.   

Rating:  B

Razorland Trilogy

Enclave
Outpost
Horde

ARC Review: Under the Never Sky

Under the Never Sky
Veronica Rossi
Young Adult/Dystopian
1st in Trilogy
HarperCollins/January 3, 2012

EXILED from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland--known as The Death Shop--are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild--a savage--and her only hope of staying alive.

A HUNTER for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile--everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must learn to accept one another to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

Ah, I just can't seem to get enough of these young adult dystopian novels. In Ms. Rossi's world there are really two worlds comprised of the Dwellers and the Savages. The Dwellers live in Pods, sealed in from the Aether storms that ravage the world outside. The Savages live in tribes, surviving as best they can in the harsh environment.

Aria is meant to die and she would have without the help of an Outsider. She knows her best chance of getting to her mother is teaming up with the quiet Savage named Perry. But she doesn't have to like it. Right off, there's a feeling that Aria is different from the typical Dweller even if we see very little of the Dwellers after Aria is exiled. She has preconceived ideas about the Outsiders and their world which she allows to color her judgement of Perry.

Perry is desperate to get into Reverie and he's willing to do whatever it takes even if that means traveling with the Dweller Aria. At first she is a burden to him but he needs her help. He agrees to help her if she will help him once they get inside Reverie. It's an uneasy alliance they form for Perry thinks little of the girl who has had what he perceives as an easy life inside the Pods.

As Aria and Perry make their way across the bleak and dangerous landscape, they begin to learn more about each other and how their suspicions were not all based on fact. I liked seeing each character evolve into more than what they were. Aria learns of strengths she never dreamed she had and Perry learns to value himself.

It's easy to become absorbed in the world with it's menacing overtones, never knowing where the next threat will come from. While I found the journey Aria and Perry take compelling, I didn't get a feeling of completeness to the world itself. It needed more details on how the two separate worlds came to be.

Aria and Perry do have a romance but it stays secondary to their ultimate goals. They do become friends/allies before they take that final step to become romantically involved but I couldn't help but feel the romance was heavily influenced by their constant proximity and life and death situations. Along with them are secondary character who offer support and guidance but the focus stays on Aria and Perry and their relationship.

The story is told in alternating chapter POV between Aria and Perry. This seems to be the most common for young adult fiction. I enjoyed Ms. Rossi writing style - it follows well with a descriptiveness that can at times captivate. The ending is left with some questions answered but the future still remains open in this first book of the trilogy. I know I'll want to read about Aria and Perry and their continuing story.

Rating: B+

Review: Dark Inside

Dark Inside
Jeyn Roberts
Young Adult/Dystopian
Simon & Schuster/November 1, 2011

From Goodreads ~

Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

Another young adult dystopian novel you say? Yes it is. I could say this is different because it is. And I could also say it's creepy as hell because it is. And filled with suspense that will keep you glued to the page because it is. It's all that and more.

The dark inside has come out to play and those left to face it have very little chance of surviving it. Those that do survive the initial outbreak are forced to fight for lives never knowing when or where the next attack will come from. We follow four teenagers in the aftermath of horrendous events which leave them to face the uncertainty of a world gone mad.

I started reading this late at night, planning to only read a little before going to bed. At nearly 3 am I forced myself to stop and get some sleep. It's a very fasted paced story with five different POVs that switch with each chapter. This is really my only complaint. It's like reading different stories that eventually intersect but until they do, you must keep track of each separate story line. This caused some problems with the flow of the story because each time the POV switched, I had to scramble to remember that particular character's story line.

The four main characters not only come from different places but different backgrounds. Marcus was raised by his single mom. They are very close and her loss devastates him. He has no chance to mourn before the world falls apart around him. Aries is separated from her parents and has no chance to search them out before she is running for her life. Michael's parents are divorced and he lives with his dad who is out of town when disaster hits. Clementine's story is heartbreaking - she is forced to run, knowing death is all she's leaving behind. Her only hope is traveling cross country to find her brother. The fifth POV comes from Nothing. It's left up to the reader to decide who or what Nothing is.

Of all the different main characters I found I liked something about each one of them. Marcus for his deep emotions and kindness. Aries for her leadership and determination. Michael - I'm conflicted about. I found his perceived faults fascinating but are they really faults or just genuine human reactions to horrifying situations? Would the other characters have done the same? The one character that surprised me the most was Clementine, the cheerleader from the Midwest who would probably be at the bottom of the list to survive but she has guts and a fierce will to go on.

The monsters are here and they're hungry. This time it's not zombies or aliens or vampires or werewolves. The monsters are humans. Humans who have lost their humanity and become the thing of nightmares. They terrorize and kill, roaming in groups using cunning and deceit to capture their victims. There are no true safe places since these monsters can go anywhere the survivors can. This kept the suspense high, never knowing where the next killer may turn up.

Dark Inside is a clever, highly addictive novel about what could happen if the darkest side of human nature is released.

Rating: A-

ARC Review: Shatter Me

Shatter Me
Tahereh Mafi
Young Adult/Dystopian
Harper Teen/November 15, 2011

From Goodreads ~

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Lots of buzz about this book. The film rights have already been optioned before the book even hits the shelves. Does it live up to all the buzz? Well, it wasn't earth shattering or ground breaking or any of those other clichés we hear. But it did hold my curiosity enough to keep my attention to the end.

Juliette has an ability she considers a curse. It has caused her to be alienated from society. No one wants to be near her. Everyone fears what she might do. Eventually tragedy occurs and sends Juliette away and locked up. She is kept isolated from the outside world which is falling apart fast. Then change happens and nothing is the same for Juliette. The plot starts out interesting but doesn't seem to go anywhere for what felt like a long time. I kept waiting for something to happen because it felt like something was going to happen at any moment. Like in a horror movie when you just know something is waiting right around the corner, the actor turns the corner and there's nothing there? Finally, the pace picked up and it felt like the plot was going somewhere.

While I'm not a fan of info dumping, I would have liked more information about the causes of this dystopian world. What we are told is given out in bits and pieces but left me feeling as if I didn't have the full picture of life in this new world. Since this is told from Juliette's POV, we only know what she knows and what the other characters tell us. But the timeline made it seem the catastrophes occurring across the globe happened very quickly. I found it hard to make sense of the timeline.

Juliette is a girl who had a most unconventional childhood but there was this one boy who caught her interest. Otherwise, she had no friends and kept to herself. At this point in her life she is understandably closed off from people and trusts no one. As Juliette's world begins to change I liked seeing how she wanted so desperately to trust but her self-preservation is still very strong. She struggles with trusting even when everything indicates she should.

As the action picks up, Juliette begins to come out of her shell, letting her feelings known and realizing that she is someone important and she can make a difference. She has been through hell and still has a way to go before she can breath easily, at least for a little while.

The writing style took some getting use to as the author implemented the strike through technique to demonstrate what Juliette is truly thinking or wishes to say but doesn't dare. Juliette might say, "I'm not afraid," followed by I am terrified. Mafi also used repetition to convey Juliette's thoughts. So it might look something like ~ "I'm not afraid," I am terrified I am terrified I am so terrified. The problem I had, especially with the strike through technique, is needing to slow down in reading in order to read through the strike through, causing the flow to stutter and slow. For some readers this might not be a problem but for myself, the affect was lost the more it was used.

There are a couple of surprises but also a number of similarities to the X-Men series. The main problem was the lack of any deeper feelings for the characters. I felt curiosity but not concern for Juliette and the others caught in this horrific world.

Rating: B-

Review: Deadline

Deadline
Mira Grant
Dystopian
Newsflesh Trilogy/Book 2
Orbit/May 31, 2011

*Spoilers for Feed (book 1)

From the back cover ~

Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organization he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn't seem as fun when you've lost as much as he has.

But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news-he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead.

Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun.

This story took me on a long journey complete with bumps, potholes and a long layover. I started reading Deadline at the beginning of July, got about 250 pages into it and had to set it down. The two main problems I was having was the slow moving plot and the narrator's voice. It didn't feel like much had happened in those 250 or so pages. Obviously not enough to hold my attention. After letting it sit for over a month I decided to give it another try. Some might wonder why bother? I hated to to give up, having already read 250 pages. I do like the world Grant has created and I was curious enough to find out what happened next. I just hoped it happened sooner rather than later.

Let's start with the narrator's voice. In book 1, Feed the narrator is Georgia (George) Mason who, while I didn't always agree her views and felt she got too preachy at times, she didn't get on my nerves the way her brother Shaun does, who is the narrator this time around. Shaun is practically wallowing in his grief for George, who died at the end of Feed. It's been over a year since George died and Shaun doesn't seem like he's gotten anywhere close to beginning to heal. He says he wants revenge on the ones responsible but I'm not sure what he's been doing towards that end. Then there's the Coke drinking. George liked Coke, Shaun doesn't, preferring coffee for his caffeine fix. Yet he drinks Coke in George's memory. Lots of Coke. All. The. Time. It got annoying quick. George also talks to Shaun in his head and he talks to her. No one else can hear her and many think Shaun's gone crazy but it's all good since George does give Shaun some decent advice. Was this part of Shaun's coping mechanism? It was more of an example of how Shaun relied on George and still was.

The plot moved slowing, with surprisingly few zombies showing up. There was more discussion of Kellis-Amberlee and it's possible anomalies along with government conspiracies and cover-ups. If you like scientific discussions and conspiracy theories, then this could definitely work for you. For me, I would have liked more suspense and tension in the plot. Based on reading Feed I knew there was a high possibility that not everyone would make it to the end of the book. In fact, I would have been surprised by it. I wasn't surprised. Things do begin to pick up momentum around 3/4 of the way through. Which puts us at around page 430 of a 580 page book. At this point, I had a hard time putting the book down.

There are a number of revelations regarding the truth behind the research of the Kellis-Amberlee virus. The CDC's overwhelming control of information and the power they have to declare an area hazard zone. They have power over who lives and who dies. I found the CDC's abuse of power one of the scariest parts of the story. The zombies are not the major threat to Shaun and the After the End Times staff. It's the CDC that is working to wipe them out.

*Major Spoilers Ahead*

You know when a big shocking revelations occurs in a book and at first you're surprised then the more you think about it and look back, the more you see the signs? That happened a couple of times in Deadline. One of those shockers didn't surprise me for long simply because I found it hard to believe such a strong character was dead. It's George and she's not just in Shaun's head, turns out she's really alive. That's how the book ends but if you read the excerpt for Blackout, book 3, you find out that George has been cloned. Cloning a complete person does happen in Deadline so there is some precedence for it. It didn't surprise me so much that George came back, I just wasn't expecting clone George.

The other revelation was Shaun and George's relationship. They are siblings but they are not blood related. They were adopted by the Masons and raised as brother and sister. Granted, Mr. and Mrs. Mason did not provide what could be called a loving environment, instead using their children as props to get their message out. But the reality is, everyone treated them as siblings. Their relationship was more than that as we find out when Shaun has sex with one of his staff and calls out George's name. Yeah. Adopted and not blood related, it still smacked of incest. I can see how Shaun and George would develop a close relationship given how their parents treated them but I really wish Grant hadn't gone there. It came across as more for the shock than for anything it may add to the story or character development. They could still be as close as best friends and siblings without sex entering into the equation.

So, time for the grade. I did like the final quarter of the book but I don't feel any desire to read the final book. Plus, setting it aside for over a month and considering DNFing it leaves me to think this is not the trilogy for me. I do think if you loved Feed then there's a good chance you'll like Deadline. The science is interesting but can become tedious if that is not your thing. If you're looking for lots of zombies and fighting, then you might want to pass on this.

Rating: C

Books in the Trilogy ~

Countdown (novella prequel, August 2011)
Feed
Deadline
Blackout (May 2012)

Review: Aftertime

Aftertime
Sophie Littlefield
Dystopian
Aftertime/Book 1
Luna/February 22, 2011

From the back cover ~

The World is Gone.

Worse, So Is Her Daughter.

Awakening in a bleak landscape as scarred as her body, Cass Dollar vaguely recalls surviving something terrible. Having no idea how many weeks have passed, she slwoly realizes the horrifying truth: Ruthie has vanished.

And with her, nearly all of civilization. Where once-lush hills carried cars and commerce, the roads today see only cannibalistic Beaters - people turned hungry for human flesh by a government experiment gone wrong.

In a broken, barren California, Cass will undergo a harrowing quest to get Ruthie back. Few people trust an outsider, let alone a woman who became a zombie and somehow turned back, but she finds help from an enigmatic outlaw, Smoke. Smoke is her savior, and her safety.

For the Beaters are out there. And the humans grip at survival with their trigger fingers. Especially when they learn that she and Ruthie have become the most feared, and desired, of weapons in a brave new world...

The blurb is a little misleading. It makes it sound like civilization vanished when Ruthie did but when Cass wakes up alone in a field, it's actually been month since the world went to hell due to wars of bio-terrorism. Cass wakes up far from where she last saw Ruthie, not knowing how she got there and if Ruthie is okay. So begins Cass' journey back to the town where she last saw Ruthie.

Cass Dollar has one messed up life. She's a recovering alcoholic with a history of abuse at the hands of her stepfather. Her mother wasn't much better in that she didn't believe the abuse was happening. Cass' one bright spot in her life is her daughter Ruthie and she will do anything to get Ruthie back. Aside from finding out what happened to Ruthie and how it would all play out, I didn't have much emotional investment in Cass. In fact, no characters really pulled at me or kept my interest. It was the story and the world that kept me reading.

If you want to put the label of hero on a character, I guess Smoke would be it. His character is not very well developed and is kept at more of a secondary character status. Within hours of meeting Cass, Smoke has decided to help her in anyway he can. He was like a puppy, following her around into danger and leaving his "people" behind. I never could figure out why he was so quick to help Cass.

The Beaters - not zombies in the real sense of the word. To zombie purists, and I'm sure there are some out there, zombies are the dead come back to life. The Beaters are humans infected with a disease that makes them want to eat human flesh, preferably fresh. They did not die then come back to life, in fact, they are hard to kill. They infect with their bites so even if you manage to get away after getting bit, you're infected.

As Cass and Smoke search for Cass' daughter, they face many obstacles, most of the deadly variety. The survivors have begun to form groups, one calls themselves the Rebuilders. They use force to get results and take what they want. Smoke has a history with the Rebuilders and it's not a good one. Cass and Smoke do make there way to where they hope to find Ruthie and here's where the plot took a bizarre turn. It turns out religious zealots will always survive and Cass finds out just how crazy they can be. At this point I merely wanted to get to the end, with hopefully Cass and Ruthie reunited.

So, liked the world building for the most part. The characters less so. I didn't feel a connection with Cass and it's told from her POV. She's determined to find her daughter but then she would venture into these thoughts of how dying might just be easier. So which is it? Give up or keep going until she finds Ruthie? I didn't understand how she could even think of giving up when she had no idea if Ruthie was okay. I do hope we see greater character development in future books. Even with the problems and weak characters, Aftertime proved to be a quick read with potential for the rest of the series.

Rating: C

Books in this series ~

Aftertime
Survivors (free ebook)
Rebirth (July 26, 2011)
Horizon (February 2012)

Review: Divergent

Divergent
Veronica Roth
Young Adult/Dystopian
1st in Trilogy
Harper Collins/May 3, 2011

From the inside cover ~

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are — and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

This, like many young adult novels is a hardcover, which in my house means it is a library book. Since I knew I wasn't going to get to it right away, I gave it to the teen to read. When she gave it back I asked what she thought. She said, "I read it in less than a day." Now, she's a fast reader but she's also taking summer school so she does have homework. Plus she has to spend time skyping and texting. So for her to read it that quickly, I took as a good sign. I didn't read it quite as fast but it did prove to be hard to put down. That's not to say I didn't have some issues but it's a story with a plot and characters are so compelling, it's easy to overlook those issues.

The world Beatrice inhabits is regimented with military precision. She, along with her parents and brother, are trained to think, act and be selfless. They are expected to put others needs first. To do with the minimal comforts and not indulge in excess. Beatrice tries so very hard to be a good little Abnegation but she struggles. She questions her place in her parents world and in society as a whole. To be so young, at sixteen, and have to decided your entire future is an overwhelming concept because once the choice is made there is no turning back. They must stick with their choice or become factionless. And being factionless for some is worse than death.

Once Beatrice makes her choice she becomes Tris to signify her new life. If I thought things were tense before the Choosing Ceremony, the reality is that things were about to get even more tense and stressful for Tris. I can see how some will compare Divergent to the Hunger Games trilogy but I think that's going to happen anytime you have children/teens in any type of ruthless competition.

The story is told from Tris' POV and while some may think that is limiting, I found it enthralling to see her experiencing so many different emotions and dealing with those emotions. She is a character that makes profound changes, letting her true self expand and be what she was meant to be. She has physical and psychological obstacles to overcome and she does them while still conflicted in her role in society. In seeing through Tris' eyes, we get to feel her deep emotions, her heartbreak and her loss. I loved how she evolved and you could see this taking place with each obstacle she overcame and each tough decision she made.

There is far more going on that just Tris' initiation. In a world that is so controlled it's not surprising that there will be cracks in that structure. Roth shows how change is inevitable in an environment and in people. I really liked how she developed the characters in showing their reactions to situations. Those reactions were not always what were expected and it made for fascinating reading. Tris is one whose development takes unexpected turns, surprising her but staying true to her beliefs.

I did mention that I had a few issues with the story. The first being that the society as a whole being so segmented with each member of each faction suppressing their emotions to only reflect that factions directive is unrealistic. It's unnatural which is the whole point and why it ultimately didn't work. So it wasn't to difficult to go with that mindset. It just surprised me that there wasn't more ongoing dissent. The other was the initiation and training, which could have gone a bit quicker. Then there was something that Tris did near the end that had me frustrated, irritated and angry. No spoilers but after everything she had been through and all the sacrifices then she does this! I didn't feel like it was in character with her at that point of the story.

There is a boy, of course, that catches Tris' interest. He's mysterious but it becomes pretty obvious who he really is. Tris is drawn to him and while there is a romance brewing, it stays fairly tame and thankfully didn't take over the main plot of the story. The other characters, who the reader gets to know as Tris gets to know them, are varied with their own unique characteristics, showing that not everyone can be categorized in the simplistic method of five factions.

I think the suspense of not knowing what these characters would have to face next and how they would react is what made this book hard to put down. The ending some might say is cliffhanger-ish. There is an ending but everything isn't tied up in a pretty bow. Which really shouldn't be expected in a dystopian novel. It's more of a ride off into the sunset, not knowing what's on the other side of the hill type of ending. There are two more books planned so we should see more of these characters and I look forward to finding out what happens next.

Rating: A-

Review: Enclave

Enclave
Ann Aguirre
Young Adult/Dystopian
Razorland/Book 1
Feiwel & Friends/April 12, 2011

From the inside cover ~

In Deuce’s world, an enclave deep underground, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained to join one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known.

Once again, another well known author of adult fiction has branched out into Young Adult territory. Ann Aguirre has made a name for herself, first with her Sirantha Jax series, then her Corine Solomon series. If that wasn't enough, she also writes under the pen names Ava Grey and Ellen Connor (with Carrie Lofty). Yet, Ms. Aguirre has managed to find time to write her first YA novel and how lucky we are that she has!

Brutal, harsh, creepy, suspenseful, gruesome - all could be used to describe the world of Razorland. It's a place where survival is a daily gamble, never knowing who will fall victim to the Freaks that prowl the tunnels. But it's not just the Freaks that might get you. The laws ruling the enclave of survivors are made to eliminate the weak, going so far as to breed them out. If you don't follow the rules, you are banished from the enclave to take your chances in the tunnels with the Freaks. The story opens with Deuce's birthday, which brings her pride because it is her naming day. She is also aware that it brings her that much closer to her death.

[Deuce] Today was my birthday. Each one added a layer of fear, and this year, it was worse. I lived in an enclave in which our oldest had seen twenty-five years. His face was withered, and his fingers shook when he attempted the smallest tasks. Some whispered it would be a kindness to kill him, but they meant they didn't want to see their futures written in his skin.

The story is told in Deuce's POV and she gives it a unique view as her limited knowledge of the world outside her enclave grows. Deuce is smart, compassionate, a loyal friend, a fierce fighter and most of all a survivor. It was easy to slip inside her head and see this bleak world through her eyes. I liked how Aguirre didn't keep Deuce from absorbing the darker side of this world. As Deuce's knowledge grows, her innocence fades. She realizes that everything and everyone are not as they seem and she must change her perceptions if she is to survive.

Fade becomes Deuces partner when she becomes a Huntress. Not much is known about Fade. He keeps to himself so the little knowledge that Deuce does have is supplied mostly from rumors. She does know that he is the best fighter and there is a lot she can learn from him. Their relationship has to grow quickly because they must rely on each other when hunting. Alone, they would have little chance of defeating a band of Freaks so they must work together.

The story progresses quickly, with Deuce and Fade patrolling and hunting. The fight scenes against the Freaks are ferocious, it's always a fight to the death. As the Freaks' tactics begin to change, becoming more coordinated, Deuce and Fade also face trouble within their enclave. The emotions Aguirre evokes are savage in their honesty. It is a brutal world but it's the only one Deuce knows - it is her home. Which makes her loyalty to her enclave hard to witness as they don't hold that same degree of loyalty for her.

As Deuce and Fade are forced to make desperate choices, they also expose themselves to the truth and must trust in those truths if they are to survive. As the story progresses, Deuce and Fade strike out on their own, now completely dependent on each other. We see how they must adjust to this new world and how it tests their fragile bond. I did expect that bond to be stronger than it was and not become stretched so tight. The ending was more a beginning and will leave the reader wishing for the next chapter in this conflicted world of survival.

Enclave is truly an intense world filled with compelling characters you won't soon forget. I can not wait to read Outpost!

Rating: A-

Books in this series ~

Enclave
Outpost (Tentative ~ Fall 2012)

Review: Life As We Knew It

Life As We Knew It
Susan Beth Pfeffer
Young Adult/Post Apocalyptic
Last Survivors/Book 1
Harcourt/October 2006

From the publisher's website ~

When Miranda first hears the warnings that a meteor is headed on a collision path with the moon, they just sound like an excuse for extra homework assignments. But her disbelief turns to fear in a split second as the entire world witnesses a lunar impact that knocks the moon closer in orbit, catastrophically altering the earth’s climate.

Everything else in Miranda’s life fades away as supermarkets run out of food, gas goes up to more than ten dollars a gallon, and school is closed indefinitely. But what Miranda and her family don’t realize is that the worst is yet to come.

Told in Miranda’s diary entries, this is a heart-pounding account of her struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all–hope–in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar time.

This is one of those trilogies that I kept hearing about but put off reading for one reason or another. I did finally get what I thought was the first book for my teen. It turns out it was the second book, oops! I then got the first and third books for her. She liked all three and yet I still didn't read them. Finally, I was in the right mood or something and got them once again from the library. The odd part is that I can be a bit fanatical when it comes to reading series, trilogies, etc in order. But for some reason the second book in the series, which has a different narrator and takes place in NYC, didn't appeal to me. I wanted to find out what happened to Miranda, the narrator of the first book. So I skipped book two and went on to book three. Which probably wasn't the best thing to do but not the worst and turned out okay.

This is a dystopian/post apocalyptic type of story but there isn't the massive fighting of alien invaders or zombies or creatures of the night. This world comes about from a natural disaster and takes place in suburbia. How plausible is the science of the story? I don't know. I didn't really focus on the plausibility of the moon pushed closer to Earth by a meteor. Do I think it could happen? Sure, except somehow I think aliens would have to be involved. :)

The story is told in Miranda's POV so if you don't like her voice, well, I think it would be hard to like the book. Fortunately I did like her voice. She comes across as a real teen with real teen problems. She doesn't care about the meteor, she's more concerned with getting her drivers license or seeing her dad. Her parents are divorced and her father moved away and remarried. So Miranda doesn't get to see him as much as she would like. Typical kid stuff, nothing she can't handle. Then the meteor hits and her world is turned upside down.

It was fascinating to see how people reacted. There was the standard panic and disbelief. The run on the grocery store, people grabbing what they could. You see those survival instincts come out in force in Miranda's mom. She really kept her cool and had the intelligence to do something other than panic. If it wasn't for Miranda's mom taking the situation as serious as she did, the family wouldn't have survived as long as they did.

I have a very limited amount of experience in disaster type situations. I grew up in Illinois, blizzards and tornadoes were sometimes a problems but my parents took care of us kids. As an adult, I lived in Southern California for 15 years and experienced some earthquakes. I did keep an earthquake kit but the possibility for disaster wasn't in my thoughts every day. Those were minor situations compared to what Miranda and her family had to go through. So it's not easy to relate to her situation. I do think the writing lends itself to pulling the reader in and experiencing what Miranda is going through. You're reading her journal and feeling like you're there with her. Even though you know the tragedy can't touch you, you still can't help but wonder what if...

Life As We Knew It isn't a happy book. There are moments of happiness, of joy. But it's more a book that makes you think. It makes you wonder what would you do in Miranda's situation? Or in her mother's situation with kids to take care of? The story not only shows us how their life style continues to deteriorate but how they continue to grab onto that one little bit of hope. One thing that surprised me was what some of the characters thought were important. Whether it was a case of misinformation or not wanting to acknowledge the new reality, it was a study in human dynamics and left me wondering who could be that naive to think things would get back to normal. Would I be that naive? No. I think I'm too much a pessimist. I wonder how others would react. Maybe not in the way they think they would.

The story follows the days, weeks and months after the meteor hit and takes place in Miranda's small suburban Pennsylvania town. As things progressively worsen, we see how people can crack under the pressure of living day to day, not knowing what might happen next. They receive very little information from the outside world and what they do receive isn't encouraging. They don't know what has happened to many of their family and friends but much of the news is not good. In our world of instant access or near instant access to everything and everyone, suddenly finding yourself cut off from the outside world. It's another shock that Miranda and her family must deal with.

I wasn't sure if I would like Life As We Knew It or if I would find it too much of a downer. Yes, it was depressing but it was also fascinating to see how one decision leads to another and has the potential for a fatal outcome. It was very tense at times and hard to put down. There are many instances when what should be a simple choice could prove to be catastrophic. There is hope, that underlying feeling that things just have to get better. The reader comes to care about this family and wants them to survive the harsh environment they find themselves in.

Rating: A-