Category Archives: Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic

Review: There Once Were Stars by Melanie McFarlane

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

There Once Were Stars CoverThere Once Were Stars
Melanie McFarlane
Month 9 Books

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Peace. Love. Order. Dome.

Those are the rules Natalia must live by under the protective dome. Radiation and violent infected will kill anyone who ventures outside. Then Nat spots the impossible through the curved surface of the dome: survivors on the outside. When soldiers seize one of the men, Nat wrestles with conflicting desires. Should she find him and learn more about the world outside or keep her head down as her grandmother always admonishes her? When the outsider shares an impossible gift with Nat—a picture of her that her parents carried on their last mission outside the dome—she begins to fear that her leaders keep dark secrets.

As soon as I saw the premise of this book, I knew I had to read it. A close friend in junior high school and I used to talk about writing a story about a girl who lived in a bio dome and a boy from the outside. I love that Melanie McFarlane has done it!

The story moves very quickly. Sometimes I liked this, because it felt like things were always happening. Other times it felt rushed, and I wished for more pauses to stop and examine the story world or to better transition from one scene to the next. Sometimes I lost track of the setting because things happened so quickly. I’d think Nat was in the hall, but then suddenly she’d flop onto her bed, and I’d be like, wait, what?

I liked the development of the romance. I liked that Nat finds herself caught between two boys who passionately believe in their politics, and that her own political beliefs emerge independently. I kind of kept rooting for Jak (What is it about the perfect best friend that always makes me want him to emerge as the hero?) even though I liked Evan. There were definitely some twists that kept me turning pages where it came to the romantic elements.

Over all, I thought this book was okay. It didn’t blow me away, but I wasn’t sorry I read it. I think fans of Matched by Allie Condie might really enjoy There Once Were Stars. For more information about the story, check out my interview with author Melanie McFarlane.

Cultural Elements
Everyone appears to be pretty homogenous within the culture of the dome.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Boy/girl kissing. A few times Nat stretches out on a bed with a boy.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Nat’s parents died on an expedition outside the dome. Their bodies had been mutilated. Few details given about the incident. A disease turns people violent and causes their bodies to decompose while they’re still alive. (Sounds like some kind of zombie virus type deal.) Nat witnesses a few people infected with the disease. A man purposely infects himself as part of a murder/suicide plan.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

The Choosing
Rachelle Dekker
Tyndale

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Seventeen year-old Carrington Hale is at the top of her class, a sure pick for some lucky man on her day of Choosing. Only, no one chooses her. Devastated and forced to leave her family behind, Carrington joins the masses of other unworthy, unchosen girls to serve as Lints, laborers whose only value lies in completing the menial tasks assigned to them.

Authorities are troubled by the murder of several Lint workers. The brutal killer must be stopped before he undermines the Authority of the Law and upsets the people. To reassure the people, when widowed leader Isaac makes the unorthodox request to choose a second bride, the ruling leaders ask him to choose a girl from among the Lints. And Carrington realizes this may be the second chance she’s been hoping for.

I liked that this wasn’t strictly a dystopian story. It definitely had all the elements of one, but it’s also the story of the pursuit of a serial killer. I’ve never seen a mash-up of those two genres before, and I think it really worked.

That said, I’m super squeamish to violence, particularly anything sexual or creepy, so this was not an easy read for me. If you have similar sensitivities or abuse history, consider this a trigger warning. You might want to steer clear of this one. The details are limited to a few scenes, but it definitely creeped me out.

I enjoyed Carrington and Remko’s characters a lot, though. She’s a great strong yet sensitive heroine. Remko definitely fits that strong silent type, so he definitely had me won over. I loved the banter between him and his friend Helms.

Since this is a Tyndale book, I expected a strong spiritual element, and there definitely is one. I felt like the story was a bit all humans are good, it’s the system that tries to tell you otherwise. I didn’t think it translated well to Christian doctrine. That said, often Christian fantasy follows the thread of a Creator God and leaves out the Jesus elements of the faith, so maybe I’m being too strict in my interpretation. But that was my opinion. For more on that, see the Spiritual Content section below.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kisses.

Spiritual Content
Carrington’s people believe a sort of perverted version of the Bible, handed down to them by a historical leader. According to the rules, women are unworthy second-class citizens to be helpers and laborers. A spiritual revolutionary named Aaron challenges the ideas of the current leadership, telling his followers, you are blameless, perfect, worthy.

The twisted version of scripture used by leadership to control the populace reminded me a little bit of the book used by leadership in Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I found Aaron’s teaching to be really more Unitarian than strictly Christian, if that makes sense. I felt like the idea that we are blameless and perfect sort of flies in the face of the Christian doctrine that it’s only by Jesus’ sacrifice that we are found blameless.

Violent Content and Trigger Warning
An assassin slashes the throat of a guard before killing himself.

A man at first woes his potential bride with kindness, but soon turns to threats and abuse.

A serial killer has been killing women laborers using bleach internally and externally. Some scenes feature the killer with a bound victim who begs for help.

Drug Content
None.

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Spotlight: Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, News and Fun, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

The Wolf Road
Beth Lewis
Crown Publishers
Available July 5, 2016

Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository

One of the books I’m really anticipating this summer is a debut novel called Wolf Road by Beth Lewis. I love books where the protagonist is forced to reevaluate things he or she took for granted as absolute truth. Something about this book reminds me of All the Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry, which I LOVED. So today, I wanted to share a bit more about this great book as a part of an Irish Banana Blog Tour.

In her debut novel THE WOLF ROAD (July 5, 2016; Crown), author and managing editor at London’s Titan Books Beth Lewis introduces us to a world decimated by an unnamed, apocalyptic event and inhabited by desperate people accustomed to hunting, tracking, and killing to survive. Among them is Elka, the young heroine whose unmistakable voice guides us through the untamed landscape of the area formerly known as British Columbia on her journey to escape the horrors of her own past.

About The Wolf Road

Everything Elka knows of the world she learned from the man she calls Trapper, a solitary hunter who took her under his wing when she was just seven years old. He has taught her how to shoot, track, set snares, and start fires—all the skills necessary to survive in a wild, lawless land where men are at the mercy of the elements and one another. But when wanted posters begin appearing in town, Elka realizes that the man she thinks she knows so well is harboring terrible secrets. The more Elka finds out about him, the less sure she becomes about her own identity—especially as she begins to recover some of the painful memories she’s kept at bay throughout her childhood.

As the horrific facts emerge, Elka makes her escape, armed with nothing but her knife and the survival skills he’s taught her. She sets out in the hope of finding her true parents, who traveled to the frozen north years earlier in pursuit of gold, but Elka can tell by the shadows that follow her that Trapper’s on her trail—and he won’t be letting his little girl go without a fight. As she encounters physical hardships, violence, and loneliness that at times test her sanity, she also strains to distinguish between fact and fiction in her own recollections. Ultimately, she will have to turn and confront not just Trapper but the dark reality of her past.

THE WOLF ROAD is a tautly suspenseful cat-and-mouse tale of justice and revenge, played out against a vast, unforgiving landscape—told by an unforgettable, tough-as-nails young heroine fighting desperately to escape the terrors of her childhood and rejoin humanity.

About Beth Lewis

Beth Lewis was raised in the wilds of Cornwall and split her childhood between books and the beach. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and has had close encounters with black bears, killer whales, and great white sharks. She has been, at turns, a bank cashier, a fire performer, and a juggler, and she is currently a managing editor at Titan Books in London. The Wolf Road is her first novel.

Beth’s Website | Twitter | Facebook

Praise for The Wolf Road

“Arresting…[an] odyssey that highlights the striking wilderness landscape and Elka’s grit.”

—Publishers Weekly on The Wolf Road

“An unrelenting psychological thriller of wilderness survival wrapped in a terrifying hide-and-seek game of trying to escape an unspeakable past. … Fans of suspense with a touch of horror will be pulled into Elka’s intense struggle to find peace and redemption as the whole truth is finally revealed.”

—Booklist on The Wolf Road

Irish Banana Blog Tours The Wolf Road Tour Schedule

Swing by some of the other tour stops for more information, including sneak peeks, author interviews, and book reviews!

7/11: The Story Sanctuary – Spotlight (you are here!)

7/13: Dizneeee’s World of Books – Excerpt

7/15: Storybook Slayers – Spotlight

7/19: Here’s to Happy Endings – Excerpt

7/21: No BS Book Reviews – Q&A

7/25: I Turn the Pages – Mood Board

7/27: Take Me Away to a Great Read – Excerpt

7/29: A Book & A Latte – Q&A

8/2: Novel Ink – Spotlight

8/4: Life According to a Bibliophile – Review

8/8: Bookish Lifestyle – Q&A

8/10: Emily Reads Everything – Review

8/12: Reading is Better with Cupcakes – Review

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Review: Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Paper and Fire
Rachel Caine
New American Library/Random House
Available July 5, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Jess survived induction into the Library, but life as one of their soldiers is far more grueling than he expected. The girl he loves is locked away forever, and his best friend is lost. When rumors bring Jess’s old classmates together again, they face a terrible choice: a rescue mission that would mean living the rest of their lives on the run from the Library, if they manage to escape. Jess promises refuge with his family, but even he isn’t sure he can count on his father to hide them without having something valuable to offer in return.

After devouring the series opener, INK AND BONE, (and then pestering everyone I know to also go read it) I was anxious to start reading PAPER AND FIRE. I love Jess. Something about the combination of his cleverness and vulnerability makes it essential for me to root for him.

I felt like the story in INK AND BONE was a tiny bit more organized, but I still really enjoyed PAPER AND FIRE. In the first book, I was nervous about liking each new character as they were introduced. In PAPER AND FIRE, I was biting my nails down to the quick because again and again, all the characters I love find themselves in mortal peril. I kept having to stop and take a breath.

One of the really difficult things for a series like this where the story world is so unbelievably inventive is that the second book doesn’t have that wow factor with regard to that story world. We already know about the Great Library and the sinister automata. Though they’re still as unique and interesting, I didn’t feel the same awe, because I had kind of already acclimated to the wonder. If that makes sense. I felt the same way about THE HUNGER GAMES. But by the second book, I was like, oh yeah, the Arena. I remember that. Not quite the same.

So yeah. That’s my take. Still a great read, and possibly cleaner than the first book. I’m super excited to see what happens in the next book, ASH AND QUILL.

Content Notes

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some passionate kissing. At one point, it seems like two characters are winding up to have sex, but they argue instead, and that kills the mood.

Two men kiss.

Jess and his friends learn that in the Iron Tower, Obscurists are matched based on ability and forced to have sex in order to produce children. The process isn’t described, but during Morgan’s imprisonment, Jess worries for her and hates the idea of her being forced into anything.

Spiritual Content
Khalila is a practicing Muslim.

Violent Content
Burners use Greek fire to set books and themselves ablaze. They also use it against soldiers and members of the Great Library. Jess serves as a soldier and faces battle. The battle descriptions are more about the strategy than about warfare. Guns are used.

Jess and the others learn that Wolfe and other prisoners were tortured. While there aren’t scenes actively depicting the torture, characters who’ve experienced it react strongly to any triggers, and there are some references to the fact that it happened. At one point, Jess and the team find the room where others have been tortured.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links which don’t cost you anything but help support this blog.

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Review: Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1)
Rachel Caine
New American Library/Penguin/Random House

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

The Great Library controls all knowledge in a world that’s never known the printing press. Jess believes in the rule of the Library, even though his family has built their fortune selling forbidden books on the black market. When he’s sent to join the Library as a spy for his family, his passions only become stronger: to protect knowledge, to serve an agency created to bring that knowledge to the masses. But something dark and twisted has taken root at the core of the institution Jess loves, and as he’s faced with the horrible truth of it, he must decide where his true loyalties lie, and what is worth dying for.

I have to say that from the very beginning, before I even cracked the cover, I was fascinated with this book. For so many readers, the library represents comfort, safety, and one of the best parts of our childhoods. To see a series in which the villainous entity is in fact the most powerful library, our favored institution gone horribly wrong? Oh yes, I was totally hooked.

And then I read the opening pages. And I couldn’t stop. Jess had me immediately. This boy who lived in the shadow of his father, risking his life every day for one precious book at a time. Wow. Just wow. I loved that kid. Then, when he goes to training to join the Library, I worried I’d lose some interest in the story. It wasn’t where I expected the tale to take me, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to like those Library yahoos. And Caine did it again. Each twist and turn totally blew me away. Every time I met a character and thought, ehh, not sure I’m going to like that guy, the story turned, and I was surprised and further intrigued.

I’ve already got a copy of PAPER AND FIRE for review. In fact, the publisher first sent me that one and then offered INK AND BONE, which I hadn’t yet read, so that’s how I ended up reading it. I CANNOT WAIT to start it. Like, I want to be reading it right now. You’ve heard enough about INK AND BONE, right? Just go get a copy if you haven’t already. Seriously.

Okay, maybe check the content notes first, because there is a bit of heavy stuff there.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some intense kissing. At one point, a boy and girl lie next to each other to sleep. Jess discovers that two men are lovers—he doesn’t witness much in the way of romance between them, but they live together and the tenderness between them is clear.

Spiritual Content
Khalila is a practicing Muslim and mentions Allah. Catholicism is mentioned briefly in reference to burial rites.

Violent Content
As a child, Jess sees a giant mechanical lion crush innocent people to death. Later, Jess and his friends find themselves in a warzone where they witness firsthand some of its brutality. Rebels called Burners use Greek fire to light books and themselves ablaze. They also use it as a weapon against their enemies.

Drug Content
After a long ugly battle, the group reforms and shares wine (except Khalila.) Some members get drunk. Jess visits an establishment where tobacco and “other weeds” are smoked.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

What Makes an Amazing Villain?

I love that in this series, the villain is something so unusual, something with such a positive connection to so many of us. What other stories have you read with unexpected villains? What do you think would make an interesting villain that you’ve never seen in a novel before?

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Review: Curio by Evangeline Denmark

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Curio
Evangeline Denmark
Blink YA/Zondervan

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

In a world in which women are of little value, Grey tries to remain beneath the notice of the ruling Chemists. To draw attention to herself risks her very life and the lives of her family and her best friend Whit. When Chemists punish Whit for protecting Grey, she abandons hope of escaping notice and vows to help others like Whit, no matter the cost to herself. When the Chemists realize what she’s done, her family protects her by spiriting her away to a world within her grandfather’s curio cabinet. There, among a strange world of clockwork people, Grey must find a hidden ally and a key that may bring an end to the Chemists’ tyranny.

Though I’ve been long fascinated with steampunk literature, I hadn’t really read much of it. I enjoyed this story very much. I loved the way Denmark creates not only the dystopian world in which Grey lives but also another hidden world within the curio cabinet. I hadn’t realized when I started reading that a great majority of the story would take place within the cabinet. At first I wasn’t sure if I’d like that idea, but actually, though I think the dystopian world is complex and interesting in its own right, I came to prefer the part of the story that happens within the curio.

Blaise is absolutely my favorite character. I liked that he was a bit removed from both worlds. In terms of the way the story unfolds, I liked that he held his own and played his own part in fighting evil and rescuing Grey, but she had her own heroic role to play.

Also, I have to say that the villain in the curio was super creepy. Like, not in a ‘beware!’ kind of way, but in the sense that I definitely felt the danger Grey was in when she was in his custody.

Over all, I loved the pacing of the story and its great characters. Because of the pervasiveness of the attraction the characters feel for one another and the intense situation described below, this may not be a great book for younger or more sensitive readers. See the content notes for more information.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
From almost the very beginning of the story, Grey has some intense feelings of attraction toward her friend Whit and another man she meets. There are a few kisses exchanged, but nothing beyond that, though there are a lot of moments when Grey or other characters dwell on the romantic pull toward one another.

There’s a scene which might be a trigger for abuse or rape survivors. See below for details.

Spoiler — One of the porcies takes a fascination to Grey, and though the porcies aren’t capable of procreation, he intends to “explore” Grey, by force if necessary. He ties her down and tries to take advantage of her, but doesn’t get very far. It’s definitely intense, but she’s able to escape.

Spiritual Content
Within the curio cabinet, the clockwork people believe they were created by a Designer. This idea seems consistent with metaphors for our relationship with a Creator, but it’s not explored.

Within Grey’s village, powerful Chemists who have magical abilities rule the people.

Violence
Chemists mete out harsh punishments for rule violations. Whit bears injuries resulting from being whipped. In the curio, a fall or other mishap seriously damages the fragile porcies (living people made of porcelain with steam-powered inner workings.) A girl loses her hand in a battle. At one point, Grey finds a mass grave of tocks (living people made with clockwork pieces.)

Drug Content
Whit comes across a potion dealer who adds an addictive element to the potions. It seems to affect him the way illicit drugs would (he’s a bit out of things for a while after taking it), and he craves more of the stuff.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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