Autonomous ~ Andy Marino (earc) review [@DisneyHyperion]

Autonomous

Disney Hyperion
April 03, 2018

398 pages

add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

William Mackler is about to go on a road trip of a lifetime. After winning a contest—and nearly dying in the process—he becomes the proud owner of Autonomous, a driverless car that knows where you want to go before you do. #Worthit! To sweeten the deal he gets to pick three friends to go with him on a cross-country trip to see their favorite band. For William, a reckless adrenaline junkie, this is the perfect last hurrah before he and his friends go their separate ways after graduation. But Autonomous is more than just a car without a steering wheel. It's capable of downloading all of the passengers’ digital history—from the good, to the bad, to the humiliating. The information is customized into an itinerary that will expose a few well-kept secrets, but it will also force William to face some inner demons of his own. Think you know Autonomous? The real question is, how much does Autonomous know about you?

Autonomous is a bit like KITT, the car from Knight Rider meets 2001: A Space Odyssey's HAL with just a bit of the TARDIS thrown in (namely some spatial bits). Really, it's everything that seems cool about self driving cars, only turned so that they will now really creep you out.

Readers know from the very beginning of Autonomous that there is something a bit (or more than just a bit) sinister about the car. That it is not only this amazing technological wonder. How much that is true is what you get to find out as you read.

For me the characters' ages (just graduated high school), their personalities their actions, and the book's tone did not quite match up with each other. It felt like their ages were older so that they could be facing certain challenges or have certain issues, but then, somehow, the book also felt younger. (Though, it's hard for me to identify how or why as there was language, actions, thoughts, etc that were definitely not younger.)

Discovering what a 'thinking' car was capable of and what that could mean when you put four teenagers, with their secrets, lies, expectations, and desires inside it and gave it full access to their social media (and any other digital information) was interesting. It could be fun and unsettling. It could also be predictable (you kind of knew what two characters were up to long before the others.)

Mainly, there was a disconnect for me between the gravity of the characters' actions/issues/challenges/decisions/actions and any consequences or repercussions. I liked what the author was saying about people and relationships through Autonomous and the group's road trip, but for all of the, often, very serious things the characters were dealing with, things were just too okay at the end.

Still,t his can be a fun read for older readers not looking for anything too heavy, for those who aren't sure they like the idea of driverless cars who can 'think' and 'talk' to each other.


(maybe 3.25 stars)





digital review copy received from publisher, via NetGalley

This Mortal Coil ~ Emily Suvada review [@emilysuvada @simonteen]

This Mortal Coil (#1)
Simon Pulse
November 07, 2017
412 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

Catarina Agatta is a hacker. She can cripple mainframes and crash through firewalls, but that’s not what makes her special. In Cat’s world, people are implanted with technology to recode their DNA, allowing them to change their bodies in any way they want. And Cat happens to be a gene-hacking genius.

That’s no surprise, since Cat’s father is Dr. Lachlan Agatta, a legendary geneticist who may be the last hope for defeating a plague that has brought humanity to the brink of extinction. But during the outbreak, Lachlan was kidnapped by a shadowy organization called Cartaxus, leaving Cat to survive the last two years on her own.

When a Cartaxus soldier, Cole, arrives with news that her father has been killed, Cat’s instincts tell her it’s just another Cartaxus lie. But Cole also brings a message: before Lachlan died, he managed to create a vaccine, and Cole needs Cat’s help to release it and save the human race.

Now Cat must decide who she can trust: The soldier with secrets of his own? The father who made her promise to hide from Cartaxus at all costs? In a world where nature itself can be rewritten, how much can she even trust herself?

It has been a long, long time since i was so wonderfully, pleasantly surprised by a book as I was with This Mortal Coil. When I first saw the book cover online it immediately drew me to it (and I like it even more now, knowing what it represents). For whatever reason, I wasn't sure I wanted to read it, though . . . I have absolutely no idea why now.

Emily Suvada's debut novel gives readers one of the creepiest, most unsettling portraits of a near future dystopia.  Maybe one of the easiest to imagine actually happening, too.

The way that people can use apps to modify their bodies, to heal injuries, to treat and defeat illnesses is definitely very science fiction, but it's also presented in such a way that you can believe it - and understand both the how and the why. I thoroughly enjoyed the mix of coding and science in This Mortal Coil, it elevated what could have been this inconceivable, implausible future and made it something real.

I loved Catarina's character, from what she had to do, alone in the cabin for so long, to survive the outbreak to why she was limited in the apps she could run and what it meant for her, her to coding abilities and her relationships. Through her we learn a lot about Hydra, about how people can modify themselves with code and apps, about Cartaxus and who now is in charge of society. We also get some fantastic questions and things to try to unravel.

Just when things seemed to be concluding, something huge and significant would be revealed that was both startling and surprising and something you couldn't believe you didn't see coming. It was all brilliant

As Amie Kaufman, co-author of Illuminae  and the Starbound Series said, "This Mortal Coil redefines 'unputdownable.' A thrilling, exhilarating read that's crackling with intelligence. Compelling characters and and incredible twists come together perfectly—I loved this book. This is brilliant science fiction.."

This is what I want from a scifi, dystopian, near future read. This. This Mortal Coil was a fantastic debut and I am very, very much looking forward to Book 2!

All Rights Reserved ~ Gregory Scott Katsoulis review [@HarlequinTeen ]

All Rights Reserved (Word$ #1)
Harlequin Teen
August 29, 2017
400 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

In a world where every word and gesture is copyrighted, patented or trademarked, one girl elects to remain silent rather than pay to speak, and her defiant and unexpected silence threatens to unravel the very fabric of society.

Speth Jime is anxious to deliver her Last Day speech and celebrate her transition into adulthood. The moment she turns fifteen, Speth must pay for every word she speaks ("Sorry" is a flat ten dollars and a legal admission of guilt), for every nod ($0.99/sec), for every scream ($0.99/sec) and even every gesture of affection. She's been raised to know the consequences of falling into debt, and can't begin to imagine the pain of having her eyes shocked for speaking words that she's unable to afford.

But when Speth's friend Beecher commits suicide rather than work off his family's crippling debt, she can't express her shock and dismay without breaking her Last Day contract and sending her family into Collection. Backed into a corner, Speth finds a loophole: rather than read her speech - rather than say anything at all - she closes her mouth and vows never to speak again. Speth's unexpected defiance of tradition sparks a media frenzy, inspiring others to follow in her footsteps, and threatens to destroy her, her family and the entire city around them.

All Rights Reserved is a book that will make you think, if not about what you say, then about your ability to say it. Or the different movements and gestures you make throughout the say.

In Speth Jime's world it is absolutely astounding how many things, how many little aspects of daily life have been monetized. Nearly everything - every word or gesture is trademarked, ads are everywhere and everything from buzzing someone's apartment to medical procedures requires agreeing to Terms of Service.- is a transaction. It's not a fair economy either.

People like Speth and her family have to pay for every word they say, trying to live a life while avoiding Collection.

Ordinarily, I want background on dystopian worlds, to know how things devolved from what we know now - or can foresee - and what the characters are experiencing. It was one hundred percent for the better, though, that we don't get that in All Rights Reserved. The story is told by Speth, which is necessary given that she doesn't speak, and to her the world is what it is. Those in Speth's world don't have a US history class that teaches them about freedom of speech, so they can't wonder, let alone know how things got so bad.

Having the characters not aware of how different their world is from ours, really allows readers to experience their world and lives. We don't get that objective view point saying, "Well this is wrong," or, "Here's how this came to be," Instead you get things from Speth's view point. And it's that much more rewarding and exciting as her knowledge and view evolve and grow.

I am really eager to see what the sequel Access Restricted holds for Speth and the others and if we get more of that background information.

Artemis ~ Andy Weir (earc) review [@andyweirauthor @CrownPublishing]

Artemis
Crown Publishing Group
November 14, 2017
384 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.

If humans ever had to colonize the moon - or simply really wanted to - I think Andy Weir might be able to tell us what to do.  His imagining of Artemis, the first city on the moon actually makes sense and, at least seems like, it could work.

This book gives me answers to questions I didn't even know to ask. (But I am sure someone reading it would have.) So, while I couldn't have known to questions those elments of how living on the moon works, knowing how makes it that much

There were definitely bits I did not understand - though Jazz or other characters explained them, somewhat - but it didn't really matter. It all makes sense once it's done and as a part of the bigger picture.

I love that Jazz is a (sort of) criminal who grew up on the moon, who needs money, and who is incredibly smart and resourceful.If The Martian's Mark Watney was a, "nerdy MacGvyer in space," then Jazz is a slightly less nerdy, but probably just as smart one with fancier tolls. And welding abilities. (Though duct tape does still come into play. ) 

It is especially rewarding the way Jazz's history, her friendships or alliances, those she's had failings out with and people who have given her trouble all play a role in what happens to Jazz. And what she needs to do. The mix of personal relationships, past mistakes, Jazz's desire for more money and a more comfortable life, the politics of Artemis and the lovely, lovely science make for sch a great, captivating and exciting read. Jazz runs into problems, thanks to her unique location, that I never anticipated and it made me both anxious and curious as to how she would solve them.

Jazz is smart, she's funny, she holds grudges, she isn't fantastic with friendships, and (as she admits) she makes bad life decisions  but it all makes her a fantastic character. Even as she's doing some things you might not want her to do, you're amazed at how she thinks to accomplish them . . . and you want it to work. Despite yourself, you want her to succeed.

I love Andy Weir, his funny, maybe even sardonic, characters, the problems they run into and the inventive, brilliant solutions they devise. His science fiction can feel more like science fact and I want more, more, more.

review copy received thanks to publisher, via NetGalley

Doctor Who: Myths & Legends ~ Richard Dinnick (earc) review [@richarddinnick @bbcdoctorwho]

Adrian Salmon, illustrator
Doctor Who: Myths and Legends
BBC Books/Penguin Group UK
September 12, 2017 (International)/June 29, 2017 (UK)
288 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

For thousands of years, epic stories have been passed down from Time Lord to student, generation to generation. The truth of these tales was lost millennia ago, but the myths and legends themselves are timeless.

These are the most enduring of those tales. From the princess Manussa and her giant snake Mara, to the Vardon Horse of Xeriphin, these stories shed light on the universe around us and the beings from other worlds that we meet. Myths hold up a mirror to our past, present and future, explaining our culture, our history, our hopes and fears.

A collection of epic adventures from the Time Lords’ mist-covered past, Myths and Legends is an unforgettable gallery of heroes and villains, gods and monsters.

Earlier this year when a hurricane knocked the power out for several days and I realized how many more stars you could see*. Looking at all of those stars, it was hard not to wonder what could be on or around them.  Doctor Who: Myths and Legends presents some possibility.

Some of the myths and legends re-imagined to involve Time Lords were ones I was familiar with:  including Medusa, King Midas; and those I was not: stories with the Argonauts, the Cumaean Sibyl. Interestingly, I think I more enjoyed those stories where they myth was already known to me. I liked seeing how the author changed things up, where Doctor Who characters and/or ideas were inserted into these well known tales.

The more you know of Doctor Who, the different Doctors and all of the different alien planets and species they've encountered, the more you will recognize in Myths and Legends. These are not all sttories where the Doctor comes in, obvious in who they are and saves the day. Some give us more insight into Gallifrey, its past and attempts to extend its reach.l while others show us how certain beings go to be where they were when viewers encountered them (like, say, a Soviet sub in 1983).

Some of the stories did fall a bit short for me, seeming to not really resolve themselves or have satisfactory endings. (Though it could have been that I was unfamiliar with what Doctor Who episode/character/story they were involved in .) Others though, were fun, imaginative and did a great job both re-imagining the myths and legends we already know and including Whovian characters, lore, facts and ideas.

This collection is likely more enjoyable for Doctor Who fans  (and more so the more of it you've retrained) but fans of re-imaginings and science fiction may also find it a fun read, as well.




*This needs to be a thing everywhere






review copy received from publisher, via NetGalley

The Edge of the Abyss ~ Emily Skrutskie (earc) review [@skrutskie @Fluxbooks]

The Edge of the Abyss (The Abyss Surrounds Us #2)
Flux
April 18, 2017
281 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

Three weeks have passed since Cassandra Leung pledged her allegiance to the ruthless pirate-queen Santa Elena and set free Bao, the sea monster Reckoner she’d been forced to train. The days as a pirate trainee are long and grueling, but it’s not the physical pain that Cas dreads most. It’s being forced to work with Swift, the pirate girl who broke her heart.

But Cas has even bigger problems when she discovers that Bao is not the only monster swimming free. Other Reckoners illegally sold to pirates have escaped their captors and are taking the NeoPacific by storm, attacking ships at random and ruining the ocean ecosystem. As a Reckoner trainer, Cas might be the only one who can stop them. But how can she take up arms against creatures she used to care for and protect?

Will Cas embrace the murky morals that life as a pirate brings or perish in the dark waters of the NeoPacific?

The Edge of the Abyss is the sequel to 2016's The Abyss Surrounds Us (see my review here). The division of the two books was very smartly done. As only weeks have passed since the events of The Abyss Surrounds Us's ending not much time has passed, the big change is with (and in) Cas. Especially when comparing the beginning of the first book and the beginning of the second there's a marked difference in Cas's mindset: how she sees the pirates, how she sees the SRC and Reckoner training and, most importantly, her role with either/both.

This novel does a great job building on the world and relationships introduced in the first book. We now know about Reckoners, why they need training and what they can do. We know about Cas, her past and the decision she made to stay on the Minnow - and why. Now we get to see some of the repercussions of decisions made and things discovered in the first book. It's time for Cas to figure things out, to piece things together, and hopefully right some wrongs. Maybe even without dying in the process.

Things between Cas and Swift are not easy this second go round and the complications in their relationship help show us more of the pirate world, of how things operate and just how tricky things can be. I liked learning more about both of them and seeing how what they find out affected them.

Events of The Edge of the Abyss were not what I would have guessed would happen but were definitely the natural progression of things introduced in The Abyss Surrounds Us. It was a fun, exciting, sometimes frustrating, at times frustrating but always rewarding read. The development of the characters' relationships was wonderful. The ending was different than I thought it would be - even right up until it happened (and I love that!).

This was a great read and I look forward to more from author Emily Skrutskie.







digital copy received for review from publisher, via NetGalley

Alone ~ Scott Sigler (earc) review [@DelReyBooks @scottsigler]

Alone (The Generations Trilogy, #3)
Del Rey
March 07, 2017
560 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

Reviews of Alive (The Generations Trilogy #1) and Alight (The Generations Trilogy #2)

In the final installment of an exhilarating sci-fi adventure trilogy in the vein of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Red Rising, Scott Sigler’s unforgettable heroine, Em Savage, must come to grips once and for all with the perilous mysteries of her own existence.

“We thought this place was our destiny—not our doom.”

Pawns in a millennia-old struggle, the young people known only as the Birthday Children were genetically engineered to survive on the planet Omeyocan—but they were never meant to live there. They were made to be “overwritten,” their minds wiped and replaced by the consciousness of the monsters who created them.

Em changed all of that.

She unified her people and led a revolt against their creators. Em and her friends escaped an ancient ghost ship and fled to Omeyocan. They thought they would find an uninhabited paradise. Instead, they found the ruins of a massive city long since swallowed by the jungle. And they weren’t alone. The Birthday Children fought for survival against the elements, jungle wildlife, the “Grownups” who created them . . . and, as evil corrupted their numbers, even against themselves.

With these opponents finally defeated, Em and her people realized that more threats were coming, traveling from across the universe to lay claim to their planet. The Birthday Children have prepared as best they can against this alien armada. Now, as the first ships reach orbit around Omeyocan, the final battle for the planet begins.

I have never been one to start a book by reading the last page but never before have I been so happy that I do not do that. The ending of Alone, if read at any point except for after everything that came before it (in Alive then Alight and the rest of Alone) would be confusing and disappointing. After all of that, though? It's kind of perfect. Not something I would have ever expected, but so much better.

But you're going to want to read those other pages, too. In the first two books, we met the Birthday Children, found out who and what they are, learned why they woke up in those 'coffins' and found Omeyocan and the Springers. Just when it seemed like Em, Bishop, Spingate and the others might finally be able to survive on this planet they were created specifically for, other threats loomed on the horizon.

In Alone it's time to find out what those approaching ships might want and how Em and the others pan to deal with it. Some of the answers we seem to get early on in the book lead to some even bigger questions that had me questioning things from the first two books; things I didn't realize needed to be questioned.

With the stakes somehow even higher, readers get to see more of who the characters really are what they're capable of, both good and bad. For characters who have only been alive since the beginning of this trilogy, I thought they had been through a lot, but that was nothing compared to all that happens in Alone. The journey the author takes these characters on, from the beginning of Alive through the very end of Alone is really something.

This book, the last of the Generations Trilogy, had me questioning known facts, rethinking relationships, wondering what the characters were capable of, if actions, behaviors, or thoughts were really them, hoping they didn't did, then, maybe, accepting that they would, then hoping maybe, maybe they wouldn't and, finally, very satisfied with how it all ended. Alone feels bigger and grander than what I remember of the first two books, but more personal and human, as well; it's a great conclusion to the series.






digital review copy received from publisher, via NetGalley

The Square Root of Summer ~ Harriet Reuter Hapgood (earc) review [@MacKidsBooks @hapgoodness]

The Square Root of Summer
Roaring Brook Press
May 03, 2016
304 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

This is what it means to love someone. This is what it means to grieve someone. It's a little bit like a black hole. It's a little bit like infinity.

Gottie H. Oppenheimer is losing time. Literally. When the fabric of the universe around her seaside town begins to fray, she's hurtled through wormholes to her past:

To last summer, when her grandfather Grey died. To the afternoon she fell in love with Jason, who wouldn't even hold her hand at the funeral. To the day her best friend Thomas moved away and left her behind with a scar on her hand and a black hole in her memory.

Although Grey is still gone, Jason and Thomas are back, and Gottie's past, present, and future are about to collide—and someone's heart is about to be broken.

"It's hard, being the straight one in a house with Dumbledore,and Peter Pan and Axl Rose, being friends with bangle-wearing glittered artists." (pg 29)

Gottie Oppenheimer loves physics. The theories, equations and numbers all make sense to her. In a family where her grandfather Grey endorsed walking barefoot, kept Buddha statues around and was known to throw laundry into the apple tree to dry; her brother is like an eighties rocker with his band, his eyeliner, leopard print and spandex; and her father's there but not there, facts and rules don't always fit.

When wormholes start appearing, taking Gottie to moments from her past she isn't sure she can figure it out, even with physics.

I loved that The Square Root of Summer gave Gottie the equations, the how, what and why of the wormholes to figure out, but her emotions and relationships to figure out. The first summer since her grandfather died and the return of both Thomas and Jason would be enough for her to figure out, without experiencing her past again.  The author does a great job,though, making it apparent that if it were just one or the other (the wormholes or life), Gottie wouldn't figure it out.

It is the combination of the emotions - grief, pain, anger, confusion, love, loss - that she does not understand or know how to deal with and the physics equations that she loves so much that make it work. For her character and the story.

I don't think I fully understand the what or how or why of Gottie's wormholes - and not just the literal math and science of it, but how it worked for the book - but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. The colorful cast of characters, Gotie's intelligence but inability to cope with her grief, with losing Grey, her theories and explanations on the time travel (cannoli included) combine for an insightful, humorous touching and enjoyable read.




Oh, also? I know there's the mention of Dumbledore in relation to Grey, but I definitely read him much more like Jeff Bridges:

received for review, from publisher, via NetGalley

Alight ~ Scott Sigler (earc) review [@scottsigler @DelReySpectra @randomhousekids]

Alight (The Generations Trilogy #2)
Del Rey
April 05, 2016
448 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

**contains spoilers for Alive, The Generations Trilogy Book 1 - my review**

In Alive, Scott Sigler introduced readers to an unforgettable young heroine and a mysterious new world reminiscent of those of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Red Rising. Now he expands his singular vision in the next thrilling novel of this powerful sci-fi adventure series.

“If it’s war they want, they messed with the wrong girl.”

M. Savage—or Em, as she is called—has made a bewildering and ominous discovery. She and the other young people she was chosen to lead awoke in strange coffins with no memory of their names or their pasts. They faced an empty, unknown place of twisting tunnels and human bones. With only one another to depend on, they searched for answers and found the truth about their terrifying fate. Confronted by a monstrous enemy, they vowed never to surrender—and, by any means, to survive.

The planet Omeyocan may be the sanctuary Em and her comrades seek. But the planet for which they were created turns out not to be a pristine, virgin world. Vestiges of a lost civilization testify to a horrifying past that may yet repeat itself. And when a new enemy creeps from the jungle shadows, Em and her young refugees learn there’s nowhere left to run. They face a simple choice: fight or die.

In the midst of this desperate struggle, their unity is compromised from within—and a dangerous zealot devoted to a bloodthirsty god moves to usurp Em’s command, threatening to lead them all down a path to violent doom.

Praise for Scott Sigler’s Alive

“Suspenseful . . . [Alive] lives up to its hype, packing plenty of thrills. . . . A page-turner that whets the appetite for volume 2.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Fascinating and intriguing . . . a cross between Lord of the Flies and The Maze Runner and yet . . . so much more.” —Fresh Fiction

“A ripping, claustrophobic thunderbolt of a novel.”—Pierce Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Red Rising

“Unstoppable and real, M. Savage is one hell of a heroine. Get ready to be left breathless.”—Kristin Cast, New York Times bestselling author of the House of Night series

“Sigler has created a wonderful and engrossing character in M. Savage. Strong and smart, but with the naïveté and misgivings of any teenage girl, she’s someone you’ll definitely want on your side when s**t hits the fan, which it most certainly does.”—Veronica Belmont, host of Sword & Laser

“The puzzle unfolds masterfully, right down to the last page.”—Phil Plait, PhD, author of Bad Astronomy

I loved Alive, the first book in the Generations Trilogy. It was full of twists and turns and definitely some surprises. In Alight we know who Em and the others are, why they woke up in the 'coffins,' who was responsible for them being there and what was planned for them. We also know just how well they accepted that plan.

After fighting back, and leaving the ship, they have made their way to the planet where the Grownups were supposed to, eventually, live. Now, as they continue to learn about themselves and how to navigate life they have a whole new world with which to contend.

With this book on a condensed timeline, much like the first, an taking place just a few days after the characters 'woke up' we continued to learn about them through, actions and how they dealt with the (quite extreme and trying) circumstances. That continues in Alight. Things are far from settled, even if they should be 'safe,' and even if Em has been elected as their leader.

There is a lot of parallel between the two books - each place the characters in an uncertain, undefined setting where they have to work to learn the truth, while figuring out the truth not only about where they are but about themselves.

Alight takes a teenager's struggle with identity you've likely read before (is it possible to be different from your parents/who they raised you to be/what they expect) and takes it to a wonderful, sci-fi-y extreme. The characters in Alight were made to become these other people, now it's a question of if that's inevitable.

The book is action packed and exciting but poses some great questions - for readers and characters -about power, personal choice, morality, and what's right and wrong. The way the characters don't yet, fully, know each other, the doubt, the power struggles, it all made Alight a great read.

When I first read the ending, I did think it might be the ending of the series, but knowing that it's a trilogy has me very excited. The ending to Alive was pretty spectacular but I think Alight's ending may have it beat. Thankfully, we only have to wait until October for that ending ending in Book 3, Alone.








review copy received, thanks to publisher, via NetGalley

Into the Dim ~ Janet B Taylor (earc) review [@Janet_B_Taylor @HMHKids]

Into the Dim (Into the Dim #1)
HMH Books for Young Readers
March 01, 2016
432 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing. Addictive, romantic, and rich with historical detail, Into the Dim is an Outlander for teens.

The whole 'secret society of time travelers' bit alone was enough to sell me on Into the Dim (okay, let's be honest 'time travelers' was enough) but then it was even better than I had hoped.

I liked that, though it's mentioned right there in the description, the book itself took some time to get to the society of time travelers and then it was a bit longer before Hope was actually in the twelfth century. Getting to know Hope, to see how her upbringing was different from most people's, how she's different from most people, really was a great way to start the book.

Then, when we get into the time travelling bit and the need to rescue her mother, we understand more of what's at stake for Hope. It also means that you (or at least I) feel proud of her when she accomplishes certain things or overcomes her phobias. She is a character that you really want to see everything work out for.

The time traveling in Into the Dim may be some of my favorite. There are rules and regulation, things they can and cannot do - and should and should not - there have been mistakes (some rather epic) and there is clear thought by the author into the 'how' of it all. (Plus the Doctor Who bit doesn't hurt.)

I liked that there was an element to one of the characters and/or their past that was hinted at to readers and not (really) the character. As it wasn't part of a mystery they were trying to uncover, I liked being that step ahead of them. It let me see certain developments and events in a new light.

The characters in Into the Dim are pretty awesome. From Hope to Penelope to Collum, Bran and some twelfth century ones, I think I love all of them. I loved that they had their own personalities, their own quirks and their own pasts and goals that played into what they did - and how they did it. Now that both readers and the other characters seem to know more about all of the main players, I am really looking forward to what develops in Book 2.








review copy received, via NetGalley, from publisher

Bluescreen ~ Dan Wells (earc) Tour Review [@The_FFBC @EpicReads @thedanwells @BalzerBray]

Bluescreen (Mirador #1)

Balzer & Bray

February 16, 2016

352 pages

add to Goodreads/purchase links are below review

Los Angeles in 2050 is a city of open doors, as long as you have the right connections. That connection is a djinni—a smart device implanted right in a person’s head. In a world where virtually everyone is online twenty-four hours a day, this connection is like oxygen—and a world like that presents plenty of opportunities for someone who knows how to manipulate it.

Marisa Carneseca is one of those people. She might spend her days in Mirador, the small, vibrant LA neighborhood where her family owns a restaurant, but she lives on the net—going to school, playing games, hanging out, or doing things of more questionable legality with her friends Sahara and Anja. And it’s Anja who first gets her hands on Bluescreen—a virtual drug that plugs right into a person’s djinni and delivers a massive, non-chemical, completely safe high. But in this city, when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is, and Mari and her friends soon find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy that is much bigger than they ever suspected.

Dan Wells, author of the New York Times bestselling Partials Sequence, returns with a stunning new vision of the near future—a breathless cyber-thriller where privacy is the world’s most rare resource and nothing, not even the thoughts in our heads, is safe.

I enjoyed Bluescreen on so many different levels. It was the virtual reality/gaming aspect that first appealed to me. That was only part of what I ended up liking, though.

I really liked that there was racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, language, family structure diversity throughout the book and that it was used to further display what society in 2050, in Los Angeles and beyond, was like. It wasn't a thing but part of the story. There were the rich kids, the 'street kids' as one character refers to them, there were all types of families (two parents, lots of siblings, one parent, step-parents, no parents, etc) and different characters had different roles in their families.

Everyone's (or almost everyone's) focus on and reliance on technology did a great job setting the scene for Bluescreen. You understand some of why it would appeal to certain people living then, but as an outsider it's also easier to see the potential dangers. Dan Wells did a great job having characters view the technology and even Bluescreen differently but having it fit their characters and having it believable that they were friends.

When you add in the street gangs, the drugs, the police corruption, and the mob-ish family, it was another layer to the story I hadn't expected. (But definitely enjoyed.)

It's really nice how the different pieces of technology (gaming, virtual reality, the bots, the computers, etc) are so integrated into people's lives that they almost don't think twice about them. And to see where that could be dangerous.

Bluescreen is a thrilling, creative virtual reality filled near future science fiction read. The character, the wold and that ending have me looking forward to Mirador Book 2.

Dan Wells is a thriller and science fiction writer. Born in Utah, he spent his early years reading and writing. He is he author of the Partials series (Partials, Isolation, Fragments, and Ruins), the John Cleaver series (I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want To Kill You), and a few others (The Hollow City, A Night of Blacker Darkness, etc). He was a Campbell nomine for best new writer, and has won a Hugo award for his work on the podcast Writing Excuses; the podcast is also a multiple winner of the Parsec Award.

Follow the Bluescreen by Dan Wells Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

GIVEAWAY:

Prize: Win (1) of (2) copies of BLUESCREEN by Dan Wells (US Only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rule of Mirrors ~ Caragh M O'Brien (earc) review [@MacKidsBooks @CaraghMOBrien]

The Rule of Mirrors (The Vault of Dreamers #2)
Roaring Brook Press
February 16, 2016
432 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

The fast-paced, psychologically thrilling sequel to The Vault of Dreamers follows Rosie after her consciousness has been split in two.

The entire country was watching when Rosie Sinclair was expelled from Forge, the prestigious arts school that doubles as a reality TV show. But few know how Dean Berg was mining students' dreams in laboratories deep below the school. And no one, least of all the Dean himself, knows that when Rosie's dreams were seeded into the mind of another patient, Rosie's consciousness woke up in that body--a girl far from Forge, a girl with a completely different life from Rosie, a girl who is pregnant.

Told from alternating points of view between Rosie as she makes sense of her new identity and the shattered subconscious that still exists in her old body, this sequel to The Vault of Dreamers will keep readers on the edge of their seats and leave them hungry for more.

The Rule of Mirrors is the sequel to 2014's The Vault of Dreamers and, I think, you really do need to read that book first. There is not much recap, at all, with The Rule of Mirrors so if you don't know about the Forge school, the reality TV show, and, especially, the secret mining and seeding of students' dreams, you may not get some of this second book. I had definitely forgotten some of the first book, but bits of it came back as I was reading.

I loved the concept of Rosie, the girl we met in the first book, who went snooping and ran into trouble with Dean Berg, has now split into two consciousnesses. She is still Rosie, in Rosie's body, but she's also Rosie - the one who left at the end of The Vault of Dreamers - in another girls' body, too. There are now two, quite different Rosie's: Rosie and, Althea, the her in a new body.

Having two different characters who have the same past, who were the same person presents some intriguing possibilities. Whomever was narrating the current chapter always felt the most like 'Rosie' to me. The author does a really nice job making them each feel like the character we know, but different from both that girl and each other.

It also means we get a sort of love pentagon . . . or bisected triangle . . . or triangle meets Venn diagram. Whatever it is when one character is linked to another except now that character is two separate individuals and each has a new character they're possibly linked to. It's confusing to describe but works in the book. Romance is hardly the focus of The Rule of Mirrors but shows some important distinctions in Rosie and Althea and some of each's confusion over who they now are.

The more each girl figures out who they are and the closer we get to what they plan to do as that girl, the faster the story reads and the more exciting it becomes. I loved how the different characters worked (or tried) to work together, despite their uncertainties, the lack of trust in each other, the worry over who was watching and when. I loved how this split in Rosie's consciousness was handled, the developments and discoveries of the characters.

I am really looking forward to the next book(s) and how the characters who were Rosie continue to grow and evolve.







review copy received from publisher, via NetGalley

The Abyss Surrounds Us ~ Emily Skrutskie (earc) review [@skrutskie @fluxbooks]

The Abyss Surrounds Us
Flux
February 8, 2016
288 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She’s been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas’s first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas’s dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water.

There’s no time to mourn. Waiting for her on the pirate ship is an unhatched Reckoner pup. Santa Elena wants to take back the seas with a monster of her own, and she needs a proper trainer to do it. She orders Cas to raise the pup, make sure he imprints on her ship, and, when the time comes, teach him to fight for the pirates. If Cas fails, her blood will be the next to paint the sea.

But Cas has fought pirates her entire life. And she's not about to stop.

So it's actually because of a one star review that I read The Abyss Surrounds Us. Or rather, the author's response to it in this tweet (and the six following). I read the book's description on NetGalley and was back and forth about whether I wanted to request it. But then . . .

In some ways I wish I hadn't seen those tweets. I don't know if having an idea of what was coming affected how I saw their initial interactions. It did seem that Cas was questioning more than made sense for the time and/or being more forgiving.. I also didn't always comprehend or really grasp Cas' justifications for those early, key decisions.

As a result, I had trouble connecting with her character in the beginning.

Once things got going, however, things worked out. I may not have understood why Cas made certain calls, but once she was following through with those decisions, I understood her and her choices more. The characters and their interactions also got better for me. Though, I will always think of this when someone calls someone else's hair stupid:

 There was enough of a foundation there, especially once we really got into the story, that I could understand their uncertainty about each other, themselves and the situation they found themselves in. It really works that there are starts and stops, good and bay, and ups and downs.

One of the things I appreciated most in The Abyss Surrounds Us is that there was acknowledgement of the hierarchy/position of power or authority present between the characters. Though what that all meant for some developments was frustrating at times, I do think the story, the characters and any relationships are ultimately better for it.

There are sea monsters - a bit like if you had a kraken do what personal security dogs do - and pirates - girl pirates at that*, danger, a lot of gray areas and questions over what's right or wrong, or more right or more wrong, and complicated relationships. It seems like things are clear: Cas, the Reckoners and the world she comes from are the good guys, the pirates are the bad guys. Things are never quite that simple, though.

I loved that the story and characters were messy. (In the best way.) Just when you think you have them and their motives all figured out, you're in for a surprise. Not always a good one, either. It made for an emotional read and the ending has me anxious to read Book 2.






received for review from publisher, via NetGalley