Audiobook Review - Eve by Anna Carey

Okay. I think it’s official. I’m obsessed with dystopians. As much as I get tired of these run down, hard knock universes, I find myself drawn to them more and more. I feel like lately it’s all I read! They are all the rage lately, so that’s part of it. Never are stakes higher than when you’re saving world or yourself, right? They tend to have great action, exciting romance, and a lot of them have interesting twists. They’re thrilling without being a thriller. I love the ride.

So it’ll come as no big surprise then that I really enjoyed Anna Carey’s “Eve.” I’ve been listening to it over the past month or so. (I listen to audiobooks slowly. I love ‘em, but I only listen in the car or at the gym. Obviously, I need to go to the gym more.) Before I dive into the story, let me give a shout to the narrator, Tavia Gilbert, who handled the material fantastically. Since I’m a voice actor myself, you know I’m obsessed with the vocal qualities of the narrator. Tavia did an awesome job. She transitions between characters smoothly, while still having them all be distinct. I especially loved the voices she used for the older couple you encounter later on in the book. Top notch! It’s so wonderful to encounter such a talented narrator on a young adult novel. Way to go, Tavia!

Back to the book, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I’m going to steal the Goodreads.com description because every time I attempt to talk about this book, I end up spoiling something. Gah!

The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

The settings are fantastic. I really felt like I was traveling with Eve throughout the book. I loved the memories to her life back at school. It really helped me connect with Eve and get to know her better. I could ramble on and on, but as I said, I liked it. It’s a solid dystopian and I’m interested to see if some of the questions I have about the world & Eve’s future are answered in book 2.

I purchased the “Eve” audiobook via Audible.com. The audiobook was produced by Harper Audio. You can hear an interview with Anna Carey (along with Amy Garvey, Kiersten White, and Claudia Gray) over at Authors are ROCKSTARS!. She’ll be returning to the podcast in May, so stay tuned for that! :)

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Ahhh... finally, I got to read this book. I’ve had the ARC for awhile, but I was waiting until January 1st to start reading it so it would qualify for the 2012 Debut Author Challenge. I knew I was going to love it and boy, was I right.

“Under the Never Sky” is a dystopian with a very sci fi feel or is it a sci fi with dystopian scenery? Heck if I know, but whatever it is - it rocks. In this world, the Earth is falling apart and the land is being ravaged by these “aether storms” that tear apart the landscape and make it difficult to survive. Apparently, generations ago, a part of the population decided to leave the struggle and live in a giant dome structure that would protect them from the storms. To keep from going stir crazy in a confined, bland space, they use a virtual reality technology that keeps them hooked up together and able to go and do anything they want. Aria, our leading lady, finds out the hard way that this way of life can have complications though. When her mom goes missing, she knows she has to do whatever it takes to find her. Unfortunately, she messes with the wrong people and finds herself fighting for her survival in a world she’s only heard horror stories about and with a man, a wild man, who isn’t at all like she expected.

I really enjoyed this one... I don’t dish out 5 stars lightly on Goodreads.com, but I was tempted. This book meshes a lot of my favorite things - sci-fi, action, romance (and good ol’ slow building romance, not INSTA-LOVE), self-discovery, strong female character (who wasn’t INSTASTRONG either), dystopian setting (I love it when the stakes are ridiculously high!), etc. It’s sci fi though for people who wouldn’t necessarily love sci fi. I am trying desperately not to spoil you here, but there are different environments at play and not all of them are virtual, okay?

I know some other reviewers didn’t enjoy the romance aspect because it didn’t make them tingle, but I liked that. Not that I don’t like a good tingly romance, but sometimes, romance grounded in reality is a lot more enjoyable. Romance isn’t all anguish or passion with tingly, fiery intensity. (I am so into the word tingly today.) For a sci fi dystopian who’sawhat’sit, this book is so grounded in reality. I love that. Way to go, Ms. Rossi for making this book feel so real. It is so nice to feel instantly connected to characters and really feel for them when they’re going through this “out of this world” experience. To me, that’s a sign of an amazing writer.

Congratulations Ms. Rossi on your awesome debut. I cannot wait to see what you have for us in book 2!

I received a digital ARC from the publisher for review. This book was the first of many debuts I'll be reading this year as part of the Debut Author Challenge hosted by "The Story Siren". This book is published by HarperCollins and hit shelves this month. Pick up your copy today!

Scored by Lauren McLaughlin

I know I know, I’m back to a dystopian this week. Not exactly in the holiday spirit, but I couldn’t help myself. This book was too engaging to put down! We are also interviewing Ms. McLaughlin soon for Authors are ROCKSTARS! so it was extra exciting to read. I love knowing I get to ask the authors questions after I’m done reading!

In “Scored”, society has gone through some rough times. The richer have become richer, the poorer poorer. You know..kinda where we’re headed now. Frighteningly familiar stuff. To help even out the playing field and allow people to rise above their initial place in society, a software company has created something called the “Score”. Every moment of the day the children of society are watched by cameras, called eyeballs that evaluate their every move and will decide what their final “score” is at the end of their high school education. In the meantime, your score can fluctuate and where you are determines your friends, your future options (from a free ride to college to being demoted to janitorial work), everything. The story follows Imani, a scored student who is drastically demoted after her friend falls in love with someone the system doesn’t deem worthy. This fall and the assignment of an essay where she has to oppose the score open up a new line of thought for Imani. What if the score isn’t fair after all? How did the score come to being and is it worth not living life for?

Ms. McLaughlin’s commentary on societal issues like standardized testing, privacy rights, etc are entertaining to read. She creates a very plausible world with a naive character who finally removes her rose colored glasses. The reader discovers the truth of their society along with Imani. It’s an interesting tale of self discovery in a world that could very well be where we are headed. I love how the Score isn’t ever truly demonized because, really, when is anything in life ever truly black & white when it comes to what is good for society. We all have different priorities, different morals... so it’s all gray, at least that’s how I see it.

ANYWAYS, I digress. It’s an interesting book full of politicial and social commentary that even those who aren’t usually dystopian fans will find entertaining. It does have some sweet romantic moments, but that is not the focus of the book. It’s a tale of discovery and learning that right & wrong are never as cut and dry as they appear.

I was provided with a copy of Scored by the publisher. It is published by Random House Books for Young Readers and was released in October of this year. You can find it on shelves everywhere. Be sure to tune in to Authors are ROCKSTARS! in 2012 to hear Ms. McLaughlin talk about “Scored”. If you have any questions for her, please feel free to leave a comment here. :) Happy holidays everyone!

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Okay, apparently I wasn’t kidding. It really is dystopian time on my blog. Three reviews in a row makes it official. Today, I review for you “Shatter Me” by Tahereh Mafi.

This book is fabulous. It is like a breath of fresh air on a cool summer’s day, except in Ms. Mafi’s dystopian world, the air isn’t so cool and I bet it smells pretty bad. Her dystopian universe is a very frightening realistic one. It’s a world in which we’ve drained the planet of its resources and it’s slowly falling apart. A regime of powerful people, called The Reestablishment”, are in charge and are hoarding the limited resources for themselves. One of these “resources” is our heroine, Juliette. She’s being held in solitary confinement when we first meet her and is on the verge of insanity. Juilette’s different. Her touch...kills. Locked up, she’s not a danger to anyone, but when offered a chance at freedom, she has to decide if she’s willing to be a weapon or if she’ll follow her heart and stand up for what is right.

I cannot express how much I loved this story. It’s this really cool mix of dystopian, romance (oh what juicy romance!), with this mysterious other element going on that’s a little science fiction and a little paranormal. I don’t know how to describe it other than FABULOUS. The way Ms. Mafi writes too.. gosh. It’s this cool stream of consciousness with run on sentences, strike outs, and sometimes jumbled thoughts. As Juliette becomes more grounded, so does the writing. Geeze, it’s just terribly hard to write about how great it is. It’s just SO COOL, can you just take my word for it? I need to warn you though - this book is INTENSE (in a good way!). You are instantly pulled into the emotional journey of this nearly insane person. I had a very hard time not reading the whole thing cover to cover immediately.

Ms. Mafi will be on Authors are ROCKSTARS! in January, so be sure to subscribe over there. You aren’t going to want to miss this interview.

I purchased my copy of “Shatter Me” at Ms. Mafi’s launch party. It was released in November of this year by HarperTeen. Get your copy today!

Legend by Marie Lu

Okay apparently it is dystopian week on my blog! First the awesome “Birthmarked” series on Friday, now “Legend” by Marie Lu! Whoo! Yay Dystopians!!

Well, as I mentioned on Friday, I love a good dystopian. Mm mm. Nothing like reading about other people’s troubles to make you realize how awesome your life is right? (I think the song Schaudenfreude from “Avenue Q” has been running through my head too much!) In all seriousness though, it’s a form of fantasy that is (most of the time) grounded a bit more in reality. I love it. Marie Lu’s contribution “Legend” is a FUN one.

Ms. Lu uses two different narrators to tell this story - Day, who is living a young man living on the streets, and June, a wealthy young woman and star pupil of the regime in power. It’s set in Los Angeles, now part of the Republic. One day, these two unknowingly become intimated connected when Day, a “Robin Hood” type, becomes the prime suspect in the murder of June’s beloved brother. June strikes out to avenge her brother, all the while Day is still struggling to save a family who has been infected with a dangerous disease. Both individually are brilliant, but when they learn what the Republic will do in order to stay in power, they become a force to be reckoned with.

As I said, this book is a lot of fun. I can totally see why it got picked up almost instantaneously to become a movie. It’s going to be fantastic on the big screen. It also is pretty darn tootin’ good in book form, even the audiobook is fabulous! I actually think I enjoyed the audiobook more. It was so interesting to have such two distinct voices for the narrators. Despite being a voice actor, sometimes my head got a little fuzzy bouncing back and forth. I think Day sometimes came off a little feminine... not sure how to describe it. It just was fuzzy at times in my head. Hearing it though? Super clear! I’ve never listened to an audiobook after reading. It was interesting. Now I can’t wait to see the movie in a year or two to make the cycle complete! ;)

I received an ARC from the publisher for review. "Legend" is being released TOMORROW - November 29th. Marie will actually be on our podcast next month over at Authors are ROCKSTARS! and we’ll be giving away a signed ARC. :D

Birthmarked and Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien

I devoured “Birthmarked” and “Prized” by Caragh M. O’Brien almost as fast as I did my Thanksgiving meal yesterday. Yum! I love a good dystopian and Ms. O’Brien’s story does not disappoint. It’s a very simple dystopian, but it works. The story is set in the future of Earth, hundreds of years after Lake Michigan dried up and resources around the world have become extremely limited. Society now lives in small little civilizations that are incredibly far apart and do not communicate with one another. In book one, “Birthmarked”, we meet Gaia. Gaia’s mother is a midwife and Gaia has been in training to be one too. We first meet her on her first solor birthing. Her family has faithfully served the Enclave, or so she thought. After Gaia is forced to separate the baby she just delivered from its mother and deliver it to the Enclave as is the law, she returns home to find out her parents have been arrested. Gaia doesn’t know who to trust anymore and how she’ll be able to save her family from the powerful Enclave.

That’s the basics of the story, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about a girl who has been treated by her society as damaged goods her whole life due to a scar across her face. She has to learn how to survive on her own and save her family. During all this, she’s confronted with so many obstacles including meeting a young man who drives her insane - in both a good and bad way. She has to make the decision between striking out on her own or trying to ignore what she’s learned and live a simple life in veiled ignorance. What do you think you would choose? Hrmmm....

The story evolves in book two and honestly, you could probably read book two without reading book one. The story is definitely ongoing, but once you settle in to the world, you’d figure out what’s going on. That’s all I can really say without spoiling it, but I really liked it. Gaia has to wrestle without a lot of emotional issues. There’s a bit of a love triangle going on. It’s interesting. I love how simple and clean the writing is. It’s an easy read, but not in a dumbed down kinda way. The words just flow. It’s easy to relate to the characters and understand the world they live in. It’s very cinematic. I could see it making an excellent movie. It’s solid and I say that as a huge compliment. I cannot complain about one thing.

Oh wait.. yes, I can. Book 3 doesn’t come out for awhile yet. I want to know what happens to Gaia. GAAAAAAAAH! ;o)

The “Birthmarked” series by Caragh M. O’Brien is published by Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan). I purchased “Birthmarked”, but I received an ARC of “Prized” from the publisher. (I know, I’m a very lucky lady.) Both books are available now - so go! Get a copy today.

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

This has been a very hard review for me to write. I am having some difficulty coming to terms with how I feel about this book. I also do not want to be a negative Nancy, but I want to be honest with you guys. Let me just start by saying this was a tough read. No no, it’s not such an intellectual novel that it requires MENSA level intelligence to understand. It’s actually quite the opposite. The characters are like futuristic valley girls, living in a world that is focused on sex and pregnancy. I didn't hate it (I finished it which says something), but I didn't like it either.

“Bumped” sounds so great in theory. It’s a dystopian novel where twenty five years in the future, a virus has made us go infertile by the time we’re adults so teenagers are responsible for the survival of our race. What a big job to put on our world’s teens right? The story revolves around a set of twins who were separated at birth. One twin went to a religious community that evolved from the Amish community and the other is raised by wall street upstarts who groom their adopted daughter to be perfect in order for her egg & womb to bring them a big ol’ chunk of change. The story rotates between the two girls’ perspectives on the events transpiring around them (Harmony & Melody).

It’s obvious that Ms. McCafferty had planned out this version of our world quite thoroughly, even down to the slang being used. It’s immediately thrown out at you in over abundance. Examples include “bumped” (because you want to end up with a BUMP afterwards) instead of f*ed or sex, breedy, pregg (you don’t call it your baby to keep your distance), ectopic (come on, what teenager has ANY idea where that term comes from), etc. The slang all revolves around sex, pregnancy and childbirth since that is the main focus. It’s the job of the teenagers on our planet. You can either be a pro (selling off your egg and womb to the highest bidder like Melody’s parents did for her) or you can be an amateur (where you have sex with a boyfriend or other random guy and then sell off your “pregg” afterwards). To keep girls from getting attached, they feed them “anti-tocin” which fights the chemical attachment a mom feels for her unborn child. Teens also take drugs to stay horny, young men are given sex dolls at a young age to practice, yeah... I could go on and on. It’s a world out of control. The slang is overwhelming and if you can suffer through the first third of the book, it does lighten up and terms do get explained somewhat. Seriously though, what teenage girl who hasn’t had a baby is going to understand half of this stuff? If I hadn’t been through a pregnancy already, I know *I* wouldn’t have a clue and I’m a grown woman.

The slang may be overwhelming and frustrating, but it is the characters that are true downfall of this book. They lack true depth. They each represent the stereotypical teenage girl that has been raised in their societies. There is no.. real personality to either twin. I didn’t care what happened to them at all. The only character I even remotely cared about is Zen, Melody’s best friend. He was the only character in the whole book. (Granted, this could all be on purpose and develop as the series moves on.) He’s the only one who wasn’t all wrapped up in this sex pot lifestyle (or in Harmony’s care - the religious lifestyle) since he wasn’t tall enough to be considered a viable sperm donor. He was able to see the problems and oppression that society has created by developing this system.

I could ramble on and on, but you get the point. I didn’t like it. I really don’t want to be so negative, but honesty is the best policy. I could definitely see this appealing to other readers, but for me, it’s a no go. It got on my nerves. I’m really unsure of how this fits in the young adult market. I do not see it appealing to either of my younger sisters and I worry that the valley girl style characters will turn away adult readers like it did for me. As I’ve mentioned above, this book is SEXSEXSEX... sex as a business for Melody, sex as a way to self-discovery for Harmony. To my readers who are librarians and booksellers, I’d definitely recommend reading this yourself before putting it on your shelf. It is definitely an acquired taste and I’m not sure who will acquire it!

I received a digital ARC of “Bumped” from Balzer + Bray (Harper Collins) via Netgalley.com for review. “Bumped” is scheduled to be released in April of this year.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Hrm.

Yeah, I’m kind of stumped on how to word this review. I’m usually a woman of many words, but I’m left with few. It’s a good book. Not amazing, but good. I really enjoyed Ms. Oliver’s writing style and found her prose pleasant to read. Hrmm…

Let’s start with the story. It’s a dystopian romance. DONE! No, really. That’s ALL there is to it. Ms. Oliver’s dystopian world revolves around romance, or rather, love. Love is a disease and the United States has found a cure and eradicated the epidemic. Once you’re eighteen, you’ll receive the cure and voila! You will now lead a life chosen for you by your government and will be happy doing so. Ms. Oliver poses this question - “Is a life without love really worth living?”

I think this series has a lot of potential and I will definitely be reading the second book. I just felt like this first book had a lot of explanation (especially at the beginning) and it dragged down the pacing quite a bit. I’ve been devouring books lately and this one took me days to finish because until the action really kicked up a notch in the last third of the book, I just wasn’t emotionally invested.

Let’s talk specifics.

• Our heroine, Lena, is mind-washed to the point of being obnoxious throughout a large portion of the novel. Eventually I just wanted to smack her over the head with a rolled up newspaper. However, I think that it was necessary to have Lena be this way. Ms. Oliver needed to make sure we all knew that people accepted this world. Since Lena accepted it, it made it easier for the reader to swallow at the beginning. I think Lena has potential to become a character I love. I just didn’t love her in this book. She is just starting to grow into the strong female heroine that I prefer just as the book ends.
• The premise is a bit hard to stomach. I want to know more about the United States and what drove it to this horrible, loveless abyss. I want to know the history of the cure and I want to know about the leaders that came into power and created this country full of lifeless drones. However, I do not want to discover this all from a long narration at the top of a book. Luckily, I love dystopian novels, but I have to admit, had I lacked patience, I may not have made it through the start of this story.
• Ms. Oliver’s writing is solid. Lena’s voice is clear and Ms. Oliver does a great job at writing the relationships between the characters. I adored the relationship between Lena and her best friend. It was honest and warm. The love between Hana and Lena is more real than the actual romance of the novel.
• The romance was enjoyable, but a little stilted. Heck, it’s hard to fall in love when you believe it’s a disease. I’d like to have gotten to know Alex a little more directly instead of hearing about his life secondhand through Lena’s memories of the stories he told her. Still a lovely romance though, especially considering the world they live in and how completely stubborn Lena is in her belief of the lies she’s been fed.

So all in all, not a bad book! If you like dystopian romance, pick it up. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment. I have a feeling deep down that Ms. Oliver is going to win me over in the sequel.

Wow and I said I wasn't going to talk a lot. So much for that!

Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC. "Delirium" is scheduled to be published on February 1, 2011.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Okay. I’ve been reading a lot of book reviews lately (since you know, I like other people reading mine so I feel like I should share the love) and it seems to me that people just love to write good reviews. I see so many glowing reviews of books I didn’t like at all and I wonder if maybe I read a different book? I don’t know. I just don’t want to become that type of reviewer where everything is “OMG INCREDIBLE” or done in my best “Comic Book Guy” voice... “Best…Book…EVER.” I want to be honest and tell you what I really think. I hope that you, the reader, will appreciate that.

That being said, let’s get on with the review of today’s book. “Across the Universe” by Beth Revis is a dystopian science fiction novel about two teens who have had their world turned completely turned topsy-turvy. Amy was cryogenically frozen and was mysteriously unplugged decades early. Elder finds out that the world he thought he knew was just an illusion. Together, they discover the truth about the world around them and each other.

The author calls it “a sci fi for teens who don't like sci fi” on her Twitter account profile. What do I call it? Pretty darn awesome, that’s what. However, I have a confession to make. I am a science fiction nerd. I know I know. Not a big surprise considering I am pretty geeky in general, but yeah. I love science fiction. I went as Deanna Troi for Halloween in 5th grade. I’ve always wanted to live on a space ship someday like the Enterprise. So when I read the description for Ms. Revis’ book, I knew I just had to read it. I was lucky enough to pick up an ARC copy at ALA. Thank you Penguin!

Well, now it’s time to talk about the good and the bad. Go go action bullet points!

• “Across the Universe” is an example that top-notch writing can come from a debut author! The prose flows smoothly back and forth between the two characters perspectives. Amy and Elder both have their own identifiable voice, but the transition is never too jarring for the reader. For science fiction, she keeps it light enough that even a non-science fiction reader can enjoy it. It never gets overly technical or bogged down with explanations.
• Showing instead of telling - this was something I was harping on last review. Ms. Revis does an amazing job at this. She has some great resources on her website for aspiring writers, including a WHOLE section on this subject matter. It really makes the book come alive and allows the reader to fully connect to the characters since you are experiencing things along with them.
• The Characters:
• Amy is definitely a teenage girl who has teenage wants and dreams, but she also is able to face this incredibly awful situation she’s been put in without losing herself. She is strong, but yet still vulnerable. She’s just so real and that’s not easy to do when you put someone into cryogenic sleep then wake her up on a spaceship full of problems.
• Elder is such an intriguing character. He is naïve, yet strong. Born to be a leader of the people of Godspeed, he knows that when push comes to shove, he’s got to step up to the plate. He’s the character that grows the most throughout this novel. He starts as this innocent boy and becomes a true leader by the end.
• The Secondary Characters – Harley, Doc, you name it. They were all great and I felt like we got to know each of them a little bit without losing focus on our two leads.
• The Ending – I didn’t even know this was the first in a trilogy until I went to Ms. Revis’ website! She left me wanting more, but still left me with a satisfied feeling at the end. THANK YOU.

Honestly, I don’t really have too much to say that is negative. I think Ms. Revis did a great job writing a great young adult novel that will appeal to the teenagers and adult readers alike. The sci-fi is simple enough for those that don’t usually care for it and engaging enough for those that love it. It’s not the most creative or ingenious book I’ve ever read, but it is solid, well written, and has characters you really care about. I would gladly read this book again, even after unlocking all the secrets with Elder and Amy.

I will definitely be adding Ms. Revis to my favorite author list and watching for her next novels to be released!

Thanks to Penguin Group/Razorbill Books at the ALA Midwinter Meeting for the ARC of “Across the Universe”. It’s already available at bookstores and online. Get your copy today!