Book Review: World of Shell and Bone

Happy Friday! Today I'll be reviewing a book with a very pretty cover.

Title: World of Shell and Bone

Author: Adriana Ryan
Series: World of Shell and Bone #1

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Original Publication Date: December 12, 2012

Format Read: kindle

Genre: YA Dystopia, YA Post-Apocalyptic 

Purchase: Amazon

Find on Goodreads

Description from Goodreads:
In a world ravaged by a nuclear holocaust, Vika Cannon knows there are no guarantees: no guarantees of safety, no guarantees that your neighbor is not actually a spy for the government, and no guarantees you'll be allowed to emigrate to a new life in China.

New Amana is dying. Food and water are scarce, and people suffering from radiation-caused mutations--the Nukeheads--are the new class of homeless.

Vika has just one purpose: to produce healthy progeny using a Husband assigned by the Match Clinic. Unhealthy children are carted away to Asylums to be experimented on, just as Vika's little sister Ceres was, eight years ago. Parents incapable of producing healthy progeny are put to death in gas chambers.

When she's assigned a Husband shortly after her twentieth birthday, Vika expects him to be complacent and obedient. But Shale Underwood has a secret. He is a member of the Radicals, the terrorist group intent on overthrowing the government. And Shale has information about Ceres.

As she learns more about the Rads's plan, Vika finds herself drawn to Shale in ways she'd never imagined. When freedom calls in the way of a healthy pregnancy, will she betray her government and risk death for Shale and Ceres?

The description sounds intriguing, doesn't it? That combined with that pretty cover enticed me to read this book (still not sure how the cover relates to the book). 

I really liked the first half of the book. I did find some parts a little far fetched. Basically there was a really big war, a nuclear war. Lots of men went off to fight and most of them died. New Amana is made by "feminist" women rising up to take the lead. I say feminist lightly because what is a feminist?

A feminist is an advocate for social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men.

And that is clearly NOT what is happening in this book. In this book men are inferior to women, partially because it was men and testosterone ways that brought about the war. The women in this book are not any kinder though. 

Also in this book China has become the new super power. Clearly they somehow managed to stay out of the war and all of the nuclear pollution managed to stay away from the air over China. So, China has the cleanest air in the world. This is partially explained by saying they have new technology to help clean up the air and keep it clean.

This technology is suppose to be in use slowly cleaning up the air over New Amana which will take years. In the meantime, people are left to breathe horribly polluted air. And the population is dwindling. I should say healthy population. Because in this new world they institutionalize or murder (via gas chambers) anyone who is not genetically healthy or cannot produce a child within a given time frame. 

If you are a good little citizen and manage to produce children or meet specific fitness guidelines, you have a chance of getting a boat ticket to immigrate to China to live while New Amana is cleaned up. Those left behind will continue having dwindling safe food and water and will most likely die. Oh, and if you turn in fellow citizens that break the law, you get extra special brownie points with the government. These "law breakers" tend to be immediately sentenced to death with no chance to defend themselves.

Not necessarily all believable, but interesting nonetheless. We follow Vika, one of the sheep of New Amana who blindly follows what the government expects of her. As a character she starts out pretty flat but develops okay over the course of the story. She is given a Husband, who is suppose to keep house (think 1950's role reversal), help Vika conceive a child (via boring and clinical sex), and if Vika chooses, stay home and help raise the child. Vika is assigned Shale. Now Shale is an interesting character. I really liked him. Shale is really part of the rebel underground who was given the task (he volunteered) to be Vika's Husband and try to get information from Vika's work that will help the rebels. Vika works for a government agency who sorts coded data related to the movement of people to and from the asylums and gas chambers.

Vika slowly comes to realize that the government is bad and decides she wants to help the rebels free children from the asylums, including her little sister. All while this is happening her relationship with Shale develops. And they are off on their mission. So far so good.  I was really liking it at this point and was even discussing it with my family and friends. And then the story goes down hill (for me anyways).

SPOILER ALERT

Which also happens to be around the time that Shale disappears from the story. When you have such an interesting character, why oh why did the author feel the need to drop him from the story. I kept waiting for him to reappear, but he never does. I REALLY hope if the author gets around to writing the sequel that she puts SHALE back in. 

Anyways, at this point in the book, things just go down hill. Vika is treated horribly by a man that felt she was to blame for him being kicked out of the rebels. I didn't really feel what happened to her was necessary for the story. Then we have wandering and wandering and finally finding a camp of asylum refugees and her sister (SORRY). And then there is waiting, and waiting and more waiting for the sympathetic government officials to show up to transport the children via a special boat to China.

END SPOILER ALERT

Overall I feel the author started out with a 4-5 star book. Definitely would have been 5 if she had thrown in chapters from Shale's POV. I would LOVE to have his POV of the whole situation. Then about halfway through you drop the most interesting character from the book. The second half was a 1.5-2.5 star book. This leaves me with having to give this book a 3 star rating. It definitely has potential, but I think it needs to be reworked. Maybe pick up a professional editor or rework the story a little. 

My Rating: 

Book Review: Encalve

I've had this book on my to-read list for about a year now and have had a copy on my Kindle Fire since August 2012. The Clean Your Shelf Challenge finally encouraged me to read it.

Title: Enclave
Author: Ann Aguirre
Series: Razorland #1
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Original Publication Date: April 12, 2011
Format Read: kindle
Genre: YA Dystopia, YA Post-Apocalyptic, YA Zombies
Purchase: Amazon
Find on Goodreads

Description from the publisher:

New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters--or Freaks--who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight--guided by Fade's long-ago memories--in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs.

Ann Aguirre's thrilling young adult novel is the story of two young people in an apocalyptic world--facing dangers, and feelings, unlike any they've ever known.

Ann Aguirre has managed to put together an intriguing post-apocalyptic world. I like how she was inspired by the Mole People that lived in the underground tunnels of New York. In her world a great disaster has happened and everyone is evacuated from New York (or so the rest of the world thinks). Instead some of the poor have been left behind. Some of the poor retreated into the underground tunnels and formed the Enclave. The Enclave is just one of many "towns" in the underground tunnels. They have their own set of rules that create a "perfect" society. In this society brats are unnamed. If they survive until 15 they are given a naming ceremony where they bleed on a pile of scavenged objects. Where ever their blood first falls is what they are named.

Our heroine is named Deuce. She has chosen and was picked to be a Huntress. It is her responsibility along with other hunters to bring back food to the Enclave. Any, ANY infraction in the community will get you sent on the long walk. You are exiled and left for dead among the tunnels and "zombies."

As the book description leads you to believe Deuce and her hunting partner, Fade, are both exiled. They decide to leave the tunnels where Deuce sees that there still is a world living above ground. As they fight gangs and "zombies" while trying to head North hoping to find the people who original left the city, they learn more about themselves. 

Ann's version of "zombies" is an interesting one. They are like zombies as in they like to eat flesh, they swarm, etc...but they also have very sharp teeth and claws. They also bleed and can be killed just like you and me. I do not believe them to be true zombies, but they are a fun foe nonetheless. 

The story itself is a bit of a slow one, even though the reading is fast. Overall, I liked the book and plan on reading further into the series.

If you liked this book, it's possible you might like Born by Tara Brown (even though the writing could use a little polishing). Other possible books you might like are: 
Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien
Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

My Rating: 

Book Review: The Selection

The Selection by Kiera Cass is the first book in The Selection Trilogy.

In The Selection you follow America. All of the eligible girls between the ages of 16 and 20 are requested to fill out an application for The Selection. America reluctantly fills out hers as she is already in love and wants nothing to do with the competition or a spoiled Prince. She ends up being one of thirty-five girls chosen to compete for a chance at Prince Maxon's hand and therefore the crown. It is a televised event (a la The Bachelor). However, once America meets Maxon, she starts to question all of the previous plans she made for herself.

The Selection takes place sometime in the future after World War IV in Illéa (some distant variation of the US/Canada???). I would classify is as YA Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic Lite Fantasy Chick Lit. I know, that's a lot for a book. In this world, Princesses are married off to other Kings/Princes as part of a political match. Princes, however, marry a "True Daughter of Illéa," i.e. one of the people to keep up morale. In this society, people are in a caste system made up of numbers ranging from One (royalty) all the way down to Eight (the homeless). What you do depends on your number. People usually marry someone of their same number or some lucky girls gets to marry up into a higher number. When you marry you end up being the same number as your husband. And, of course, the higher the number, the wealthier you are. It is also possible (though rarely) to buy yourself up a number or two.

Our Main Character (MC) is currently a Five. Fives are artists and musicians. She is secretly in love with Aspen, a Six. Aspen encourages America to enter as he does not want any what ifs hanging over anyone's heads. They figure her chances of getting picked in the lottery of thousands of girls is pretty slim, but those that do get picked are automatically moved up to being a Three (an example of a Three would be a teacher), and of course, if you win you AND your family are automatically Ones. Also, those in the competition get weekly compensation sent back to their families. This is something that America's family desperately needs as most Fives, Sixes, and lower tend to not have enough money for food. Here is a better breakdown from the author.

So, Needless to say, Mrs. Cass has come up with a quite the world. 

The winning ladies are brought to the castle and given makeovers - pretty dresses, hairstyles, make-up, jewelry, etc...And while there is certainly competition between the girls they are told outright that no violence will be tolerated. If you hit, kick, or abuse a fellow contestant, you are OUT. Surprisingly enough, I actually liked the competition bits and how supportive some of the girls were for one another. I do not watch those types of shows. All while the competition is going on, they also have to worry about rebels, faceless rebels. What do they want? Why to they keep attacking? 

And of course our Prince is not at all what America expected. At first she just wants to be his friend, but does she really want to be more?

This is the type of book where you will either really hate it or really like it. I really liked this book and sped right through to the end, where I promptly wanted to throw the book (I read it on my Kindle, so I didn't) against the wall. Cliffhanger, much? So, while I would highly recommend this book as a little fluff chick lit, I wouldn't recommend reading it until the second book comes out in April 2013, so you can move right onto the next one. And please be aware, the books cuts off right when you are starting to get to the good stuff. I will definitely be checking out the second book, The Elite, when it comes out on April 23, 2013.

I can't think of any other books to recommend based on this book. I have heard, that if you like this book, you will probably like Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, but I can't confirm that yet as I am still reading it.

My Rating: 

Book Review: Prodigy

I LOVE dystopian novels. The Legend Series by Marie Lu is included in that category. I loved Legend and was excited was the 2nd novel of the series to come out. I recently finished reading Prodigy by Marie Lu and was not disappoint. Based on the first book there was a lot to live up to.



In Legend and Prodigy you follow two different viewpoints, June and Day. June is a 15-year old prodigy being groomed for success in the highest ranking military circles of the Republic. June is also from a well-to-do family. Day, also 15, was born in the slums and had grown up to be the country's most wanted criminal, struggling to survive day to day.

In the first book, June and Day cross paths after Day is accused of murdering June's brother Metias. June breaks the rules and goes on her own manhunt for the murder of her brother. Only she finds out things are not what they seem. What follows is a very action packed book that includes some wrong side of the tracks romance. The book ends *SPOILER ALERT* with June and Day escaping town. 

In the second book, June and Day, arrive in Vegas seeking help from the Patriots. Shortly after arriving, the Elector Primo dies. His son Anden immediately replaces him as Elector. Will Anden continue the bad ways of his father? Will he be able to maintain order or will the entire Republic break down? One thing is for sure is that the Republic is resting at a tipping point.

June and Day meet up with the Patriots and in exchange for healing an injured Day, helping Day rescue his brother, and helping June and Day escape to the Colonies, they MUST help the Patriots assassinate the new Elector. But, will June and Day be able to go through with it? Are the Colonies all that the people of the Republic are led to believe?

This book is a very action packed sequel. I loved every minute of it. I love how June and Day's viewpoints are differentiated in the book. I like the blue used for Day's chapters. I found it to be a nice easy color and font to read. The relationship between June and Day has also moved onto the can we really be together stage as they are from different worlds. You also discover more about the Patriots, the Republic, AND whether or not the grass is really greener on the Colonies side of the wall. 

If you liked or loved Legend, you will probably feel the same about the second novel of this series. If you liked/loved other dystopian series, like The Hunger Games, Divergent, or Matched, I recommend you check out the Legend Series.

I can't wait to see what the third book has in store.

My Rating for BOTH Legend and Prodigy: 

Book Review: Through the Ever Night

For the first book review on my blog, I'll be reviewing, Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi. This is the second book in the Under the Never Sky trilogy. If I get time, I'll go back and add a review of the first book. Through the Ever Night was first published on January 8, 2013 through HarperCollins.



Brief Summary: 
*SPOILER ALERT* This summary contains spoilers for Under the Never Sky.
Through the Ever Night picks up with Aria and Perry reuniting months after Aria learned of her mother's death and Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides. Aria is out on her own searching for the Still Blue. Perry is trying to hold things down with the Tides and keep control as Aether storms are increasing in frequency and becoming more violent. Perry wants to help Aria find the Still Blue to save his people, but do his people really want to be saved by a former Dweller? And is the Still Blue really out there?

My Initial Thoughts:
I really LOVED Under the Never Sky it was one of the 5 star books I read in 2012. After completing the first book, I immediately added this one to my to-read list. 

I really like how the cover the this book goes with the cover of the first book. 

Early this year, I got a little sneak peak into the beginning of this book so, when I opened it up I knew a little of what I would expect in the first chapter, but beyond that I was on my own.

My Thoughts While Reading:
This is a very exciting book. While there isn't a lot of fighting action scenes, the book still is intense. I found myself wanting to read more and more to find out what was going to happen next. It took me a little over two days to read this book, with most of the reading done in one sitting late into the night.

I like how this book goes back and forth between Aria and Perry's POVs. I found it very helping in knowing what was going on. Both when Aria and Perry are together and when they are apart.

My Thoughts Once I Had Finished:
To be perfectly honest my first thought was, when is the third and final book going to be published? And I had to go online to look right away. 

While this book ties up some loose ends from the first book as well as some problems that arose in this book, there are still loose ends that you will have to wait for the next book to find out the resolution.

I really feel that both Aria and Perry grow into themselves in this book. They are both becoming confident in who they are. I also have to say that I really like Roar, even though we don't get his POV. I love the brother/sister type of relationship he has with Aria. It's very cute and playful, plus they have pulled each other through some very rough times.

I think Veronica Rossi has managed to write a very good second book in a trilogy. I know sometimes it feels like an author is dragging the story out in order to write three books, so nothing really happens in the second book. That does NOT happen in this book. It is a very good story on its own, but would definitely be better understood, if you start out with the first book in the series.

Who Would I Recommend this Book for?
I would recommend this book to anyone who read Under the Never Sky, lovers of young adult dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels, anyone who loves a good adventure story.

My Rating: 

Happy Reading!