Angelfall by Susan Ee

Feb2

Seventeen-year-old Penryn used to live in what was known as California. Six weeks ago she was concerned with makeup and teenage angst. Now it’s fight for survival. Food is scarce, safe shelter unheard of and above all else; watch the skies. The skies are the keepers of the danger that rip off limbs: Angels.

All Penryn tried to do was keep her seven-year-old paralysed sister Paige safe. Together with their schizophrenic mother they fled their home for a new hiding place. It wasn’t supposed to be easy, but they didn’t think a group of angels would fall to the ground, trying to execute an archangel. One false sound and Paige is abducted. Gone. Taken away in the sky.

Penryn will do anything to find her sister, even if it means saving a dying angel. It’ll take going into the lion’s den and seeking help from the angelic demon himself to bring her family together.

This isn’t your traditional Angelic story. The tales of angels being godly and kind are transformed into the opposite. Instead they are evil beings that are unsure of why they are on Earth, this story only gets more interesting as each page is turned. This is a totally surprising read and as one progresses through the chapters the better it gets. Penryn reads a bit younger than seventeen, where the rest of book follows along general fiction.

For a Young Adult read it’s also startlingly grown up. Violence is present and shockingly adult. For being post-apocalyptic, Ee has hit the nail on the head with how humanity loses all aspects of right and wrong. Yet, there is also hope in this novel, on a scale that even Penryn is surprised to see. I really enjoyed this book, but I’d recommend this to older readers. I loved changing the Angel theme from good to evil, it’s not something I expected and there is lots of room for the story to grow. I patiently await the second book!

Matched by Ally Condie

Jan29

Cassia Reyes has been waiting seventeen years to attend her Matching ceremony. A right of passage event when eligible teenagers receive their chosen matched partner. The officials have worked everything out. Each citizen is prepared to have the maximized proficiency for their life: Food is fuel, not taste, activities are for body performance, not enjoyment and life moves on with peace.

Cassia receives her match and her life is scheduled to be everything she had hoped. Until the day when there’s a flicker of doubt on her tablet screen. Suddenly someone else replaces, if only for a brief second, her match’s face. This doubtful seed gives birth to a love Cassia is not supposed to feel. A strict follower of the rules Cassia begins to see them for what they are. In a world full of control can there be room for freedom?

I’ve been so excited to get my hands on Matched. I loved the premise of the story and I can’t wait to continue Cassia’s story. I see it as a Young Adult version of Orwell’s 1984. I was struck by the sadness of the loss of physical writing. It’s such a simple little detail, but it’s a relevant one that goes unnoticed today. The passing of Cassia’s grandfather is also more emotional than most YA’s go.

The emotion that is engrossed in the pages gives the book a broader audience, meaning that younger readers will enjoy the love and romance, whilst older ones will see the deeper meanings. Condie has got more than just a romance on her hands and I thrilled that the final instalment in the series, Reached was published last month. If you’re not a fan of romance there is other interesting aspects to this book so please don’t be thrown. Matched is not a traditional romance Young Adult!

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Jan22

R is a zombie. It’s hard to tell how long he’s been dead or how long the zombies have been around. What R does know is that there is a hunger inside him that must be fed or he’ll die. What starts as a routine feeding session with his best friend M changes the moment he sets his cold grey dead eyes on Julia.

In that moment something alters. Something inside him stops. He protects Julia but does savour her boyfriend’s brain. R stumbles upon a beautiful love story through ingesting one’s memories.

R doesn’t understand why Julia is so special; there is just a feeling deep in inside that has been still until now. It’s as if Julia somehow has breathed new life into R’s decaying corpse and he’ll do anything to keep her safe from his kind.

What a TREAT this book is! I was turned on to this story by seeing the movie trailer, and by luck my friend had been given this book for Christmas! (I read it in two days to make sure I got my share) I was also ecstatic to learn that Marion is from Washington State himself! It’s rare to read about a male focused romance YA, but this book is done cleverly with humour and insight out of the ‘normal’ zombie genre.

I found this book to be a delightful read. It’s also short, and I loved how the chapters are separated by old school drawings of body parts. In a time where the zombie genre has arisen to its height, this book has the goods to keep it around for a long time. I hope the movie lives up to the book, and I also hope that the series continues in this strange ‘love conquers’ all track. It’s a simple story of hope and that message makes it essentially timeless.

Many thanks to my dear friend Rachael for letting me read her book and to her friend Michael for being awesome and winning it for her.

Sneak by Evan Angler

Jan19

Logan has done the impossible: He’s refused his Mark procedure and escaped the facility with a rumour of where his missing sister might be held. Now on the run, Logan attempts to make his way to Acheron, a place that goes bump in the dark. It’s told to be a place that holds everyone that didn’t come back from his or her Mark procedure. No one knows where Acheron is, or if it even exists, but Logan will do anything if it means finding Lily.

Meanwhile, The Dust is on the move, travelling through an underground system for the Markless, they risk discovery and capture to continue their fight against the Government. However, there’s more to the Mark than any of them realise. There’s a secret the Government is keeping that is so big it has the possibility to destroy all that it has created. The holder of this secret is at Acheron

Sneak is at a faster pace than the debut novel, Swipe. I found it much more engaging and as the Government’s practices and how they run the world is further explained, I fell deeper into this world with renewed interested. The book follows along the same lines with it’s characters, making it perfect follow up for it’s reader base.

I was surprised to learn that this series is actually Christian Fiction. I didn’t find any evidence of this in the first book but it’s been made clearly in the second. It’s not overpowering and it certainly doesn’t take away anything from the book. It’s a low undertone that if anything, has made me really curious to check out the third book once it gets published. If you’re eager to get back to Angler’s world, he doesn’t disappoint.

I’ve received this book for free from Netgalley for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and the lovely publisher Thomas Nelson for providing me with this book!

Swipe by Evan Angler

Jan15

Logan Langly is twelve years old living in the small town of Spokie, a part of New Chicago. Soon he will receive his Mark allowing him to get a job, ride public transport and buy things. It’s a right of passage, the right of pledging to become a full citizen of American Union. Everyone is excited to get his or her Mark this year, everyone that is except for Logan.

Five years before, Logan’s sister Lily went for her Mark but never returned. Ever since that tragic day Logan has been convinced he’s being watched, hunted with no idea why. When he goes for his Mark, he’s sure to come back isn’t he? The bumps in the night sing a different tune and Logan will have to make up his mind what to believe in before his 13^th birthday and time is running out.

I was surprised and unaware that this book was written for the middle school range. It took me a while to remember my books of my youth such as Animorphs and Goosebumps to get my head around this kind of story. It’s a bit younger than what I like but once I was able to get into the right age frame I grew to enjoy the book and was impressed with the effective story telling.

Swipe is more than just a story of a missing sister, there is so much more to this new North American world. The aspect of politics is slowly introduced and the struggles of family life because of survival make this a darker read than I expected. The characters are full of life and each has a clear and consistent voice. Most of the characters are male as well and although ‘romance’ is slightly present it doesn’t distract from the real heart of the story: reuniting a family. An excellent book for boys who don’t like to read, I’d suggest Angler’s series to anyone who has a tween-aged reader.

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Jan8

Simply smashing cover!

The Earth is nearly deprived of oxygen. Pockets of Pods grace the world. Run by the company Breathe, only the wealthiest can afford air to practice sports. These are known as Premiums. Tattooed with a circle behind the ear Quinn has never known a live where one struggles to breathe. Opposite of his best friend Bea, an auxiliary who can barely afford air for her family, they plan a trip out of the pod. It’s just two friends going away for the weekend but that all changes when Quinn sees Alina.

With eyes so green they could be trees themselves, she’s the poster child for the rebellion against Breathe. There’s more to this organisation that neither Quinn nor Bea have any understanding of. On the run, Alina escapes the Pod with Quinn’s help, but it’s his attraction to this mysterious girl that opens up the barren world. There’s just one problem: their limited air supply. For Quinn and Bea, what seems like a wild goose chase will change their lives forever.

I was really excited to read Breathe, I have waited ages for it to be published, and I am so very lucky my local library has a newly published section for Young Adult books. The chapters are each told by one of the characters, Quinn, Bea or Alina. The differences in voices are spectacular, mainly because I disliked Quinn right from the beginning. Alina and Bea are strong, sure footed female voices, whereas Quinn is a typical male idiot for the most part. However, Quinn shows growth throughout the book and this was one of the reasons why I kept reading.

In a world that could easily be our future, I found myself being short of breath as I was reading. Who would want to live in a world where air is limited? How could one company be so rest assured that there would always be enough oxygen? As the book continues there are deeper, more adult questions that pop up. This isn’t just a romance, there is some real scientific concern hidden within the creative genre. I want to know how the rest of the world is faring with hardly any air and I can’t wait for the second book to get published. If you’re looking for some excitement and science fiction pondering, look no further for Breathe with have you gasping for breath once you reach the last page!