Mini Reviews - Benny Immura series by Jonathan Maberry

I don't review library books as often as my own books. It would take me forever to get any finished! But these are some recent reads that were really good and deserve a little attention so here are my mini reviews.

Rot & Ruin (Benny Immura #1) - Jonathan Maberry

This was a book I picked up from a display at my library. I'm so glad I did! It's the first book in a young adult dystopian/post apocalypse series. Although "zombies" are a large part of the story the main theme is how the characters have learned to make a life since the world changed fifteen years earlier. Towns are few and far between and the lifestyle is self sustained, similar to early settlers. The pace is fast with plenty of action and the story is very interesting. The characters are well established with a firm foundation and room to grow. I hope they get that chance in this new world. I could not put this book down!

Dust & Decay (Benny Immura #2) - Jonathan Maberry

The action continues in another fast ride with more character development. We learn more background from the people introduced in the first book and meet some new characters in this one, none of them are boring. Whether you like them or hate them, be prepared to feel strong emotions.  The zombies aren't the worst enemies out there. The living conditions are harsh and sometimes brutal but there is humanity and hope. I wish this series had been around when my boys were younger!

Flesh & Bone (Benny Immura #3) - Jonathan Maberry

I'm reading this one now and almost finished. Wow! Another amazing story! The chapters are often short and end with cliff hangers that won't let you put the book down. They alternate between characters so you really have to keep reading. The living conditions are still brutal but in some new ways. There is plenty of violence but within the context of the story, not gratuitous or obscene. The emphasis is still about hope, friendship and old fashioned good vs. evil. Another intense and thrilling read.

Fire & Ash (Benny Immura #4) - Jonathan Maberry

The final book in the series. The release date was moved up from 9/13 to 8/13/13! I hate for it to end but I can't wait to see what happens. My library system doesn't have it listed yet but I am reserving this ASAP and looking for more books from this author. Love these creepy covers!

Author site

Review: Outpost by Ann Aguirre

 Salvation isn't as safe 
as  it seems...

Deuce’s whole world has changed. Down below, she was considered an adult. Now, topside in a town called Salvation, she’s a brat in need of training in the eyes of the townsfolk. She doesn’t fit in with the other girls: Deuce only knows how to fight.

To make matters worse, her Hunter partner, Fade, keeps Deuce at a distance. 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.

Deuce signs up to serve in the summer patrols—those who make sure the planters can work the fields without danger. It should be routine, but things have been changing on the surface, just as they did below ground. The Freaks have grown smarter. They’re watching. Waiting. Planning. The monsters don’t intend to let Salvation survive, and it may take a girl like Deuce to turn back the tide.
(Goodreads.com)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Review
This is another exciting book in the Razorland series. Each one has taken place in a totally different world. The first book took place under ground in the tunnels. Most of the people never saw daylight. Now Deuce and her friends are above ground in the town of Salvation. A safe and comfortable place that embraces the old ways of the early pioneers. This is a lifestyle that is totally foreign to her but she is trying hard to fit in and do her share. It's an interesting contradiction that Deuce is considered an adult by the standards of her old life but a child in her new home. She does prove how strong and mature she is but still seeks the comfort and approval of parents, something she's never had. While many people are having a hard time accepting the new people and their differences there are some who are wise enough to realize their value. When it becomes apparent that their town in in danger, Deuce's special skills become very important to their survival.

The details are brutal and graphic but that is what has become of the world. Life is harsh and no one is truly safe. The characters are odd but interesting with definite heroes and villains and some are very unlikable (to say the least).  They are trying to, not only survive, but thrive in their community by developing relationships and rules to live by. I really liked Deuce's strength and resilience as the female lead. Other characters are also developing into stronger individuals. I've been very curious about everyone's backgrounds and the reader slowly get bits and pieces to fill in the gaps. The author writes so well and she has pulled me into the story. She has gradually built this world but there is still so much more to be revealed, so many unanswered questions. Outpost ends with another good cliff hanger and the Freaks are changing. I can't wait to read the final book in this trilogy!

*The Author's Notes at the end of the book offered interesting tidbits about how the idea for the town of Salvation came about.  
Horde (book #3 coming soon!)

Thank you to Macmillan for an arc to review.

Author
Publisher

Release date: 9/4/12
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 336 (hardcover)
Type: YA fiction, post apocalyptic

Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Fourteen kids 

One superstore 

A million things that go wrong.

Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

(Goodreads.com)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Review
This story started off with a bang. The first chapter had plenty of action and it sets the pace for the rest of the book. A bus load of children, ages 5-17, are struggling to understand what has happened to the world after a series of catastrophes. Luckily for them they have crashed into a superstore (think Walmart) so they have plenty of food and supplies but no idea what is really going on in the rest of the world. And no idea what has happened to their families. A very scary premise for sure (although staying in the store would be kind of neat!).

The characters seemed stereotyped at first but grew and developed as the story progressed. Some were very unlikable until more of their back stories were revealed. I found it interesting how the author had them problem solve and work together. Although they were young children and teens, creative ideas were introduced that were mostly believable for their ages and intelligence. They had to battle for their lives but had many unknowns. That actually made for a more exciting read because the characters and the readers didn't exactly know what the real enemies were. Heroes and villains emerged as the characters were thrust into roles they didn't necessarily choose and were also different from the roles they fulfilled in their "real" lives. Dean is our narrator and a junior in high school. He had always been bookish and on the outside fringe of the popular kids but here he became one of the leaders. He also has a genius younger brother Alex to worry about although his own knowledge becomes important to the survival of the group. The youngest children were very likable and provided a nice balance and some comic relief. The older kids became stronger and less selfish protecting them.

The writing moves quickly and feels like the voice of a teenager. It builds to an exciting ending with a major cliffhanger. I definitely want to see what will happen in next book and look forward to following these young people on their journey. I felt this was a successful debut and hope the action continues!

Monument 14: Sky On Fire due summer 2013

Thank you to Macmillan (Fierce Reads) for an arc to review.

Author
Publisher
Fierce Reads

Release date: June 5, 2012

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Pages: 294

Type:  YA dystopian

Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

"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.
(Goodreads.com)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Review 
I've enjoyed this author's writing so I was very curious about this one but I wasn't sure if I would care for the topic. The vampire market seems pretty saturated so I didn't know how this could be any different but I was pleasantly surprised.  The author came up with her own dark world, no sparkly vamps here! Most of the humans endure a harsh and gritty existence, struggling to survive every day. In the vampire city you can choose to belong and give up your blood freely in exchange for their protection or you can try to make it on your own, free but desperate for food and shelter. Allie has chosen to live free in the outskirts of the city among other stragglers. It is survival of the fittest. When she is attacked and must make the ultimate choice all the rules change for her.

I like reading about a tough heroine and Allie is a strong example. She faces one obstacle after another but can defend herself and also protect others. She knows how to adjust and adapt and above all else, she wants to survive. Through all her struggles she is also able to retain her humanity. Her world is a desperate place but it's not without hope.

The author nicely builds the story as new characters are gradually introduced and we get glimpses into their backgrounds.The world she created wasn't traditional and had some original elements.This was a long story but mostly interesting. The middle did feel drawn out and somewhat monotonous but the action later picked up again. There were also details that didn't really make sense to me but I am curious to see if they will be explained better in the next book. Kagawa has introduced an unusual series with this first installment and I look forward to reading where it goes from here.

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) coming 5/13
juliekagawa.com
harlequinteen.com

Thank you to NetGalley for an ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Release date: 4/24/12
Publisher:Harlequin Teen
Pages: 485 (hardcover)
Type: YA dystopian

Review: 101 by Margaret Chatwin

How do you get desperately needed answers when no one is talking? Who do you trust in a place full of criminals, a place where it’s easy to mistake friends for enemies and enemies for friends? And how is it possible for one girl to seemingly vanish into thin air, especially when the place is surrounded by sixteen foot high electric fences?
When Trigg and his sister Ren are sentenced to township 101 for the crime of defending themselves, and Ren suddenly comes up missing, Trigg must ask himself these same questions.
Something else he’d like to know is, how do you survive when the flaws of the NAO’s justice system has turned a simple punishment into a game of life or death?
(Goodreads.com)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Review 
Teenagers Trigg and his younger sister Ren were sent away from their abusive father to a facility that many people don't come back from. Although their crime was committed in self defense, the New Age Order (NAO) justice system believed in swift justice, no mercy and no distinction between crimes. They were placed in township 101 with every type of criminal possible. Unlike a traditional prison system, these inmates had been released into an abandoned village surrounded by armed guards and electric fences. There were few rules from the outside because the NAO didn't really care if they survived or not. There are several rules on the inside though and Trigg and Ren had to quickly learn them in order to survive.

I really enjoyed the characters and developed strong feelings for them throughout the story. Love them or hate them (and there were a few I really hated), their actions stirred up emotions. As each of their backgrounds slowly emerged the reader was able to discover why each of them came to be at 101. I would have liked to find out more about some of the secondary characters but I was still able to get the general idea. It was interesting to see what it took for all of them to find their strength and how far they were willing to go to survive. Trigg wasn't much of a fighter when it came to defending himself but he would fight to the death to protect Ren. And in an exciting final confrontation some did make that sacrifice.

This was my first book by Margaret Chatwin but it won't be my last. Well written and very intense, this was an action-packed, quick read. While it's of the young adult genre it has very adult, and often violent themes so I recommend this to older teens and up. 

Thank you to Goodreads - Shut Up & Read! reading group (Read It and Reap 71) for an ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Release date: 1/24/12
Publisher: Whisk Away Books
Pages: 205 (paperback)
Type: YA dystopia

Giveaway: Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

I have my gently used arc to give away!
My review of Struck


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Review: Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

A girl struck by lightning 

hundreds of times holds the

 fate of the world in her hands.

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.
(Goodreads.com)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Review
I seem drawn to the dystopian genre lately and there are plenty of them out there. I was immediately pulled into this story. A girl who is struck by lightning, multiple times, is not something you read about every day. Mia seems likeable but I wanted to know more about her. We get peeks into the past but not many details, especially regarding her family. She is a tough teen who is trying to survive and protect her younger brother and injured mother at the same time. She was forced to become the leader of her family. Unfortunately she started to become unlikeable rather quickly. I was impressed with her resilience and I can suspend disbelief but she made so many dumb choices. And there was so much skulking around that didn't really lead to anything. The middle of the book felt too long and drawn out with parts that kept repeating with no real results. It seemed like a chunk of that could have been removed and it would have tightened up the story a bit.

 I like the premise and the action was interesting during the actual storms but I didn't care as much for the build up to it. I think that was part of what I mentioned before with the repetition. There are many references to different religious beliefs since some characters view the storms as the end of the world. I didn't have a problem with this and thought that was to be expected from a variety of people with a variety of viewpoints. Two different groups, a religious cult - the Followers, and their opposer - the Seekers, are desperate to have Mia join them and want to use any special powers she may have attained from the lightning strikes. I found it to be an interesting and an important part of Mia's dilemma in trying to figure out her role.

I really do think this debut has potential and I hope the next book can work out the kinks. I know I will read more from this author and will probably try book #2.

Thank you to Macmillan (Fierce Reads campaign) for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

www.macteenbooks.com 
http://us.macmillan.com/struck/JenniferBosworth
http://www.jenniferbosworth.com/

Release date: 5/8/12
Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux
Pages: 373 (hardcover)
Type: YA dystopian, debut, series

Review: Behind The Gates (Tomorrow Girls #1) by Eva Gray

  In a terrifying future world, 

four girls must depend on 

each other if they want to survive.

Louisa is nervous about being sent away to a boarding school -- but she’s excited, too. And she has her best friend, Maddie, to keep her company. The girls have to pretend to be twin sisters, which Louisa thinks just adds to the adventure!
Country Manor School isn’t all excitement, though. Louisa isn’t sure how she feels about her new roommates: athletic but snobby Rosie and everything’s-a-conspiracy Evelyn. Even Maddie seems different away from home, quiet and worried all the time.
Still, Louisa loves CMS -- the survival skills classes, the fresh air. She doesn’t even miss not having a TV, or the internet, or any contact with home. It’s for their own safety, after all.
Or is it?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Review
This was a quick read with a mysterious plot. The dystopian theme is appropriate for younger readers because it focuses more on the suspense surrounding the school rather than gore, or many details about the outside world. At first the rules seem a bit odd but continue to get more strange as time goes by. They don't know the actual location of the school, have no contact with the outside world and are taking classes in archery and survival skills. The idea of a conspiracy theory begins to feel possible.

The characters were interesting and complimented each other well. Their different personalities created tension in the beginning that they had to overcome in order to work together for a common goal. What makes them unique is what makes them such a good team. And with the twist at the end of this first book it appears they are going to really need each other to survive. This is a great start to the series and very age appropriate. I'll be reading more!

The rest of the series: 
Run For Cover (Tomorrow Girls #2) 7/1/11 
With The Enemy (Tomorrow Girls #3) 9/1/11 
Set Me Free (Tomorrow Girls #4)11/1/11

Thank you to Scholastic for an ARC to review.

Publisher: Scholastic
Release date: 5/11
Pages: 224
Price/format: $6.99/paperback original
Type: children (ages 10 and up)

Review: All These Things I've Done (Birthright #1) by Gabrielle Zevin

  

An impossible romance, 

a family living 

outside the law, 

and the ties that 

forever bind us. 

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidentally poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family. 

Review: 
I really enjoyed Zevin's past book Elsewhere so I was looking forward to this one. I wasn't sure if the mafia topic would interest me but I was pleasantly surprised. The author seems to make any topic interesting and has mixed together an unusual and original combination. Her writing style is so good that the story easily flows. While it is a dystopian novel it is more believable than some books. Society has changed but it is still recognizable from our time. 

The characters are flawed but human. No one is all good or all bad and relationships change in a realistic fashion. Although Anya is only sixteen her circumstances have matured her quickly but again it's believable. She has developed into this person and wasn't instantly transformed. She was taught many lessons, especially from her father and grandmother, to prepare her for this life and it's challenges. Now she has many responsibilities, including the care of her brother and sister, and she will do what she must to protect them at the expense of her own life. Although she attempts to enjoy a few normal teen activities they don't always go as planned. As heavy as Anya's burdens already are it feels like there may soon be more to come from her mafia family. I will be reading the next book in this trilogy to find out.

Thank you to Macmillan for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review. 

macteenbooks.com
author site
book site 

Publisher: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux
Release date: 9/27/11
Pages: 368
Price/format: $16.99/hardcover
Type: young adult

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading and asks you to :

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3 . Share 2 "teaser" sentences also citing the title of the book and the author and in that way people can have great recommendations if they like the "teaser".
4. Please avoid spoilers!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The water is an enormous mirror, tipped with pink and gold from the sky. In that single, blazing moment as I come around the bend, the sun - curved over the dip of the horizon like a solid gold archway - lets out its final winking rays of life, shattering the darkness of the water, turning everything white for a fraction of a second, and then falls away, sinking, dragging the pink and the red and the purple out of the sky with it, all the color bleeding away instantly and leaving only dark.

~page 84
Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

In the not-too-distant future,
because of genetic engineering,
every human being is
a genetic time bomb.

What if you knew exactly when you would die? Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out. When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home. But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was attracted to the cover of this book immediately and then was drawn in from the first page. I seem to read a lot of dystopian stories lately and this one was chilling yet interesting. The future world is a disturbing scene with early death sentences, kidnapping and polygamy being the norm. While some issues were especially unsettling (why would people be accepting of kidnapping and polygamy?) it was easy to assign blame to the "bad guys". Housemaster Vaughn was definitely a bad guy. As an extremely wealthy doctor with a twenty-one year-old son he will do whatever it takes to find a cure for the virus. Rhine and her sister brides were forced to marry Linden and expected to accept their fate. But each has a past and little nuggets of their former lives are doled out throughout the chapters. They aren't quite who they appear to be but which life is worse? Spending their final years in opulence or desperate but free?

I enjoyed the writing and the story flowed with little effort. As it progressed I realized how much symbolism was on the cover. The caged bird, wilting flowers and beautiful young lady are key elements. The author created a world combining historical elements of the past with possibilities of the future. Mystery and suspense build slowly and conflicts for the characters are revealed. While the theme of early death and scientific experiments was frightening, Rhine's determination brings hope. She has learned to be fierce and will fight for her life, her freedom and her twin wherever that may take her.

I look forward to the next book in this trilogy.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Author
Publisher

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release date: 3/22/11
Pages: 356
Price/format: $17.99/hardcover
Type: Teen fiction (ages 14 and up)

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading and asks you to :

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3 . Share 2 "teaser" sentences also citing the title of the book and the author and in that way people can have great recommendations if they like the "teaser".
4. Please avoid spoilers!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I try to imagine a world of natural humans, when twenty was youthful, when it was years from a death sentence.

Natural humans used to live for a least eighty years, my mother told me. Sometimes a hundred. I hadn't believed her.

~page 25
Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading and asks you to :

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3 . Share 2 "teaser" sentences also citing the title of the book and the author and in that way people can have great recommendations if they like the "teaser".
4. Please avoid spoilers!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Don't Die," he whispered. "I'll save you." It was a foolhardy promise and one there was no way to keep, but it hardened him, swelled in him, beat like his heart in his chest, and he knew he would try.

~page 17
Salt by Maurice Gee