Mini-Review/Recommendation: The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver (The Giver Quartet #1)
by Lois Lowry

Published January 24th 2006 by Ember (first published 1993)

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

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Genre: Classics, Dystopia

Publication Date: January 24th, 2006

Publisher: Ember

Format: Paperback, 179 pages 

Series: Technically yes, but can be read as a stand-alone

Source: My own copy

My Review:

As most of you know, I have contracted the Dystopian fever last year, and, as of yet, it still remains uncured. So when I heard so many good things about this 'new classic', I thought, 'why not?'. I was a bit apprehensive to choose a 'classic', because they always sound like very boring difficult readings, but not this one. Not at ALL. Well, this IS a children's book... but the issues dealt within are very adult. That's for sure.

The Giver is a short, sweet, creepy and enticing book. There are no more than 179 pages, but the story is so well-written, the characters are so well developed, and the plot is so easy to get lost into, that you can barely believe that so much has fit into such a small number of pages! And, of course, it leaves you wanting more. Much more. I loved it, but I would have been even more content if the book was just a tad bit longer, showing what happened to the village and what really came to happen at the end. I don't like 'open endings' like this one had, but I hear the other books will explain a couple of things, so I'll just have to look for them. :)

So, the big deal here was: I have read a LOT of dystopians, and I have always thought of how creative they were... well, as it turns out, (in my opinion, at least), most of them must have been somehow inspired by Lois Lowry's world, because the similarities with some titles are uncanny. I won't list them here, because, really, who am I to accuse others? What I mean to say is: once you've read this one... you'll know what I mean.

Early Review: Undead by Kirsty McKay

Undead (Undead #1)
by Kirsty McKay

Expected publication: September 1st 2012 by Scholastic Inc.

Out of sight, out of their minds: It's a school-trip splatter fest and completely not cool when the other kids in her class go all braindead on new girl Bobby.

The day of the ski trip, when the bus comes to a stop at a roadside restaurant, everyone gets off and heads in for lunch. Everyone, that is, except Bobby, the new girl, who stays behind with rebel-without-a-clue Smitty.

Then hours pass. Snow piles up. Sun goes down. Bobby and Smitty start to flirt. Start to stress. Till finally they see the other kids stumbling back.

But they've changed. And not in a good way. Straight up, they're zombies. So the wheels on the bus better go round and round freakin' fast, because that's the only thing keeping Bobby and Smitty from becoming their classmates' next meal. It's kill or be killed in these hunger games, heads are gonna roll, and homework is most definitely gonna be late.

Combining the chill of THE SHINING, the thrill ride of SPEED, the humor of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and the angst of THE BREAKFAST CLUB, Kirsty McKay's UNDEAD is a bloody mad mash-up, a school-trip splatter-fest, a funny, gory, frighteningly good debut!

Genre: Young Adult, Zombies

Publication Date: September 1st 2012

Publisher: Scholastic

Format: eARC, 272 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

First line: I would rather die than face them all again.

Last line: "We need to get off this bus - now!"

Favorite quote: "Zombie parkour. Don't think that's been done before. Better film this, Alice, it could go viral."

Bobby is on the School Trip from Hell. She was born in the UK, but thanks to her mother's job they had to move to the US. Now, she's back the UK again. On a skiing trip to Scotland before the start of the new school year. The thing is, everyone is making fun of her 'hybrid' accent. She, herself, needs to police her lingo, always trying to sound as properly british as possible. She's also avoiding every single one of her new school mates, because they are all so annoying to new kids, especially ex-american ones, and he really just wants to kick those losers' butts. I mean, their bums. 

That's why she was the only inside the bus when everyone got off to venture the snow storm and eat something at the café by the road. Well, her, the driver and Rob Smitty, rebel without a pause. And hottie. Their teacher forbade him from leaving the bus after he got caught bying booze and cigs with a fake ID. So they were the only ones who didn't get to taste the nice free samples of Carrot Juice, being given away by a man in a carrot costume. And so they didn't see what happened to those who did, inside the café. Until a bloody hand hit one of the bus' windows and the driver went outside to check it out... and the proverbial sh*t started to hit the fan.

Now it's Bobby, the 'freak hybrid', Smitty, the smartass bad boy, Alice, the annoying b*tch--I mean, popular brainless girl and Pete, the cowardly, brainy weirdo. It's just them. Against a whole lot of Zs.

As they try to stay alive and survive constant zombie attacks (and quite a few dangerous humans, too), they also need to learn to deal with each other while trying to find shelter and a way to contact someone. But things aren't really looking good... and little do they know, they just might get worse. And personal.

I LOVED this book!!! There was never ONE boring moment! I mean it, the whole thing was, well... words fail me right now, so I'll just have to go with AWEEEEEESOME! ;P

Those zombies really went all-out! Kirsty McKay got them doing some pretty interesting stuff. Brand new, too. Same goes for the surviving group of teenage humans. Those guys actually managed to survive while NOT working as group or even really caring about each other much (it was pretty realistic, if you start thinking about it. People are selfish. Especially in difficult situations), with a small romantic exception, of course (which worked great, if you ask me!). So...

Oh, and, man!! That miraculous bus driving through a snow storm on an empty tank? WOW! And the hidden dungeon/booze/dumbwaiter inside that Scotland castle? Mah Lawd!

Hey, did I mention the cellphone actually working when they were almost -literally- fried? Yowtch.

Also, the zombies walking UNDER the iced-over loch? SU-weeeet! O.O

I laughed so hard with this book. Almost during the whole thing. It also made me slightly nauseated at times, which makes sense in a zombie book. ;P Oh, and my heart went all a-flutter during a couple of cute scenes, too, which is always a good thing. And I so, SO wanted Alice and Pete to die... but, oh, well. There's always the next book, huh? :D And let me tell you how glad that makes me! I'm dying and un-dying (no pun intended) to read what happens next! Like, I need it right now! OR I'LL GET YOUR BRAINS, Miss McKay!!

LOL.

(that's the last one, I promise)

Hey, you! Yeah, you. Go and pre-order this baby right away!! Thou shall not regret this, my friend.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: Viral by James Lilliefors

Viral

by James Lilliefors

Expected publication: April 10th 2012 by Random House Digital, Inc.

In remote pockets of the Third World, a deadly virus is quietly sweeping through impoverished farming villages and shanty towns with frightening speed and potency. Meanwhile, in Washington, a three-word message left in a safe-deposit box may be the key to stopping the crisis—if, that is, Charles Mallory, a private intelligence contractor and former CIA operative, can decipher the puzzle before time runs out. 

 What Mallory begins to discover are the traces of a secret war, with a bold objective—to create a new, technologically advanced society. With the help of his brother Jon, an investigative reporter, can he break the story to the world before it is too late—before a planned “humane depopulation” takes place? As the stakes and strategies of this secret war become more evident, the Mallory brothers find themselves in a complex game of wits with an enemy they can’t see: a new sort of superpower led by a brilliant, elusive tactician who believes that ends justify means.

Genre: Adult, Suspense

Publication Date: April 10th 2012

Publisher: Random House

Format: eARC, 336 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

Charles Mallory is a private intelligence contractor, and he's been working on a project, a puzzle, left to him by his father after his death. He's in Africa, to meet with a man who just might give him the information he needs to figure things out (the details of a "high-stakes war")... but Paul Bahdru, an african journalist whose wife was raped and murdered because of his 'treasonous' published work, never makes it to their secret meeting place. But his severed head does, though. Afraid of what might happen to him next, he goes on the run.

Charles's brother, Jon Mallory is worried that he hasn't contacted him like it was planned, so Jon starts to look for people who may be able to help him find Charles. Everything leads to Africa. When he gets there, he meets Dr. Sandra Oku, Paul Bahdru's cousin, who was one of the few survivors of the 'trial' in her village, only because her cousin was able to 'foresee' the attack and give her the means to protect herself. They will have to act as witnesses to the attack, they are the only ones that can prove it happened and that it is planned to happen again, but in even bigger proportions.

They come in big crates. Some say 'Perishable Fruit' on the outside. But on the inside are spray canisters. Viral properties in aerosol form, stored in four hundred gallon tanks. It's all part of a government project, carried out by a "humanitarian group", under the heading 'Malarian eradication'. They call it a vaccine, the 'aerial vaccine'. It can eliminate more than hundreds of thousands of people in one single morning. And they've been testing it in small villages in the most hidden places in Africa, in order to gauge the potency of the virus. Having 'trials' in regions where it won't get attention (and even if it was reported, the government would just deny it.) from western countries. You contract it, fall into a fevered sleep and never again wake up.

For some reason I expected this book to be more graphic and action-filled, a bit more like The Hot Zone. But it wasn't so focused on the virus and its victims itself, but more on the politicians and their plans to control the world. There's a lot of mystery and secrecy, and it was nice to see the tension building, but the first part of the book was very slow. Too slow. I almost gave it up. Thankfully, things got much better as I continued to read.

It was a brilliant idea for a book (if not a bit creepy and possible to picture in real life). A biological weapon to create a new, technologically advanced society by eliminating the empoverished, sick, and less usefull population? Wow. (I mean, let's be honest here, most of us have imagined something of the sort at some point in our lives, but to actually consider it...)  After all, biological weapons have low costs, are easy to access and hard to detect, even after use. You only notice it when the disease has already spread. And then it can be too late.

If you like mystery books with a lot of governmental conspiracies, secret war themes, suspense and spies, this is your book.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*