Review: Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

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Fiquei muito surpresa com o tanto que gostei deste livro. Esse não é o tipo de coisa que prefiro ler, com temas futurísticos, de naves e tudo o mais, mas realmente foi cativante e envolvente. Depois que terminei, tive que sair na rua gritando para todo mundo comprar e ler, de tão bom e impressionante que achei! (Ok, eu forcei meus amigos a me escutarem falando sobre o livro por meia hora, e meio que os ameacei a lê-lo, mas não foi na rua e tals.) Adorei os temas feministas e bem atuais na nossa sociedade. Eu simplesmente amo distopia, e foi por isso que este livro foi direto para a minha estante de favoritos. 

Atualização: Já consegui fazer/forçar duas amigas e a minha mãe lerem Glow/Brilho, e elas amaram. Mais gente precisa ler. ;) É muito mais do que a sinopse descreve.

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16-year-old Kieran was the first child to be born abord the Empyrean (closely followed by Waverly, his probable wife-to-be), and was highly celebrated by a crew that went through so many hardships trying to find a way to cure the fertility problems they started to suffer in their journey to a new planet. That is why everyone assumes he'll be the next Captain. But his chance to prove himself worthy comes way sooner, and in a much more difficult package than he could ever have predicted.

The spaceship New Horizon should have been years ahead of the Empyrean, but for weeks now they have been getting closer and closer. The crew is alight with curiosity, but the Captain seems quite nervous. And with no lack of reason. The New Horizon is preparing to invade his ship and kidnap all the girls. And kill everyone that gets in their way (some of them more than deserved it -especially the MEN-, but it wasn't really the way to settle things, I guess). When it finally happens, all that are left are the boys, along with a handful of seriously injured adults. 

The kidnapping ship is filled with religious fanatics under the control of Reverend Mather, a woman with understandable reasons, but certainly not deserving of pity. Anne Mather is totally cuckoo. She wants the girls in order to harvest their eggs to impregnate the brainwashed women in her ship. Aaaand she wants to keep the 'egg factories' close by. For now, that is. (evil laugh). Until Waverly finds a way to take off with all the girls in search of their own ship. 

When the girls get there they are surprised (and THAT's putting it mildly) to discover that there were no adults in charge, and that the older boys (Kieran and -hottie-though-slightly-crazy- Seth) had fought a LOT for the power, with Kieran 'winning' in the end. Kieran struggled to find a way to keep the morale of many hopeless newly-made orphans in what was starting to look like a sinking (watch out for the pun!) ship, until he finally found a way to bring them together and restore their hope. With, ta-da! RELIGION. O.o

Waverly's head almost blows up (I could totally picture it) when she sees her beloved almost fiancee and last hope on Earth (uh, ship?) slowly becoming her worst nightmare: another Anne Mather. And Kieran is heart-broken when Waverly doesn't automatically 'digs' his newly found power of 'being the vessel of god and carrier of his will' and all that.

The book ends in a way that was sure to give me a few white hairs and now I can't write much more because I REALLY need to get my hands on a couple of Sparks, like pronto.

P.S.: I noticed tons of people did not like this book, but I particularly found it BRILLIANT. The author was just amazing and found a great way of introducing serious matters (rape, excess of male empowerment and female DISempowerment in a enclosed society -inside a freaking ship lost in the middle of space-, along with excessive religious views, power struggle, and sabotage) to young and mature audiences alike. Sure, maybe this wouldn't be perfect for 13 year-olds, but from 14 up it's one hell of a great book. 

Teens need to know there is evil in the world, and it's usually closer than you think. Power figures, people that should protect and take care of you CAN, in fact, turn out to be the enemy. DUH! Watch out, girls. Men aren't always trustworthy and you should learn it as soon as you can. Oh, and old ladies that look all nice and comfy? Well, they can turn out to be crazy religious bitches who will 'surgically' rape to steal your eggs and shoot you if you try to run from them, but she still totally loves you and wants you safe. In her crutches, but safe. O.o Okay, maybe not the second part (you never know, tho), but the first is a fair warning. 

Remember Red Riding Hood? Now imagine the wolf is a member of your family or your neighbor. Keep your eyes open, don't show weaknesses. They might be a predator. Aaaand enough with this, jeez. This was supposed to be a book review, not a speech on rape awareness. But I do ADMIRE Amy a hell of a lot for putting the word out there in a more constructive way than usual.

This book is amazing, don't let the low ratings fool you. Give it a try and let me know. ;)

Review: The Heart of Hannen by Fawn Bonning

I'm reposting this review because the book now has a new cover!!! (Much improved!). The plot is really good, so give this baby a try. :) (Remember what they say... don't judge it by its cover.)

The Heart of Hannen
by Fawn Bonning

Paperback, 484 pages

Published March 22nd 2011 by Old Line Publishing, LLC

Christine, a troubled teen with a dark past, is miserable in her small town. Shadowed in shame, she feels destined to live her lonely life as an outcast. She has no idea that her true destiny lies in a different town, in a different world; a most brutal world called Atriia. There she learns the true meaning of misery, the true meaning of loneliness, the true meaning of shame. But she also learns that her bravery is boundless as she battles against a formidable foe, a dark shadow that tries to smother the land. And in the arms of a most unlikely candidate, she also learns the true meaning of love. He is Hannen Fallier, the one they call the foul fraigen dropper, revered by men for his fearless feats, but looked upon by women with open disdain. With a face horribly mauled, he hides behind a mask of shame, deeming himself unworthy of love. That he would seek acceptance from Christine is irony in its purest form. That he would seek her love . . . the ultimate betrayal.

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My Review:

I really enjoyed this book! I won it from my first Goodreads giveaway! *-*

I must admit I first judged it by its cover. I thought it might not be so well-written, but I was very mistaken. It was fantastic. I loved the story and the characters.

I really enjoyed seeing how the main character, Christine, grew up! She suddenly finds herself alone in this strange, unknown place called Atriia, where everything is different from Earth. She deals with rude, aggresive, male-chauvinists and strange social costumes, not to mention the weird food and language, but manages to adapt quickly, and very well. I'm not sure I would've been as strong as she was.

Hannen found his way into my heart from the very start. (and when you read it, you'll see exactly what I mean with 'from the very start'). Such a complicated, strong, sweet character. Very well thought of and developed.

I was a bit confused at first with the new 'language' the author introduces to us, but eventually I got the hang of it. (It was only afterwards that I noticed there was a glossary at the end of the book. Silly, slow little me. >.<)

It was a dark, dramatic and sad book, but also very touching. Needless to say, I cried. Hard.

Of course, I wish I could have changed the ending and maybe have seen a bit more of a couple of characters, but it was still great. The book is a bit long, but it's not tiring at all! This one is a keeper. :)

I'm SO glad I had the chance to review it, otherwise I might have never heard of it. Thank you, Fawn Bonning!!!

Now, you! Go ahead and get it, you'll love it too. It's an excellent pick for romance and fantasy lovers.

Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1)
by Beth Revis

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia

Publication Date: Jan 11th 2011

Publisher: Razorbill

Format: Hardcover, 398 pages 

Series: yes

Source: my own copy

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My Review

I feel to need to start this review by stating that I am NOT a very big fan of Sci-Fi, and so it took me a while to pick this particular book up. And I only did so because of the slight dystopian flavor to it. 

Sure, most of the Sci-Fi aspects of it (the descriptions of the ship and its engines, the technicalities and the physics of the thing) were, well... skimmed over quite quickly, I'll admit it. LOL. I also skimmed over the parts in which Amy was asleep and kept dreaming of the past. All those things were not of my interest at all. I only cared for what happened IN the ship. And THAT was pure awesomeness.

The mysteries, the weirdness, the beliefs of the people aborad the ship Godspeed were fascinating to me. I I read the whole thing in one afternoon. And the hardcover edition is anything but light. XD

The romance was there, sure, but it wasn't the center of attention. And that was just fine. The most important thing in Across the Universe is not Amy and Elder getting together, but what they DISCOVER and decide to CHANGE together. That is what it's all about. 

I could not believe some of the things Eldest dared to do, and hid from everyone. Most of them, sure, I saw coming from a mile away (the 'Season' and 'Phydus'), but others (the false stars, the uranium)... wow. I could not have predicted those. And I so love being surprised. *-*

All in all, I am so glad to have given this baby a shot. Oh, and make sure to check my review of Glow, to be posted next week. I started it the minute I closed Across the Universe, and though they may be somewhat similar, they are, in fact, VERY DIFFERENT. And Glow was just as awesome, I assure you! But in a creepier way. ;P

Review: Womb of the New World by Mira Noire

Womb of the New World 

by Mira Noire

Synopsis: In a post-nuclear future, the lush pleasure cyborgs of Earth have become powerful, fearsome mutants known as Wroks who rule the wild, desolate Fallout landscape. The Wroks and their leader, Yoevin, desperately hunt for a female capable of mothering a cyborg's child. As the years pass, they struggle while fighting to hold on to the intelligence and humanity granted by their makers centuries ago.

Hidden deep in caverns below, Imogenne and her people survive by cultivating the earth, making rare forays above ground for supplies and fresh resources. But Imogenne is not like the rest of her people. She is wild, sensual, and strangely independent -- like her mother, who disappeared years ago in a Wrok attack. On the verge of being betrothed to a man she does not love and facing the rest of her life underground without adventure or freedom, she is haunted by darkly erotic visions that promise something more beyond the world -- and biology -- she knows. 

When she is captured in a night Wrok raid, Imogenne hopes to escape her new masters and survive by her wits. But she then discovers a horrifying truth: Her body has a will of its own, one that may very well leave her no choice but to become a mother of the New World.

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Words: ~19,000. This title contains graphic sexual scenes: m/f, captive sexual submission, voyeurism, mutant cyborg and human intercourse. Do not read this work if you find such themes offensive.

Review

       So... just by looking at the cover you can tell this is not going to be your ordinary book. And, well, it suits different tastes. I, myself, have been known to enjoy all kinds of sick perverted weird unusual genres/characters/plots/body parts. Which is why I decided to give 'Womb of the New World' (love the title!) a try. :) At first I thought they were demons or something, but they're actually cyborgs.

       I won't get very deep into the story of the Wroks, and the post-nuclear world setting much, because it's well enpugh hinted at in the synopsis. What I can say is: this is the kind of crazy science fiction I find most interesting: when machines and humans get too close. How can something inorganic want to be, and feel, human?

      I really, really enjoyed this quick, hot read! Imogenne was a different kind of heroine (not just physiologically. LOL). She was strong, clever and confident in her sexuality.That alone is a refreshing view, when compared to the thousands of virgins in romance these days... *rolls eyes*. The scenes of her with Rolley, the guy she "had some fun with" first, were pretty hot. But the things that happened after, with Yoevin... oh, boy.

      My only problem with it was that it was too short, and the explanations were kind of vague, but I liked how it ended, even if it was a bit predictable.

      The writing was very good, very fluid, with two different POV's. I would definitely read more from this author. Hopefully it'll become a series? :)

Warning: if you're not very open-minded, you should know there are some seriously hot scenes involving forked tongues and extra appendages... (fun! LOL)

*I received a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review*

My Thoughts on: Origin by Jessica Khoury

Origin
by Jessica Khoury

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home--and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin--a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost.

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Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Publication Date: Sep 4th 2012 by  2012

Publisher: Razorbill

Format: ebook, 368 pages 

Series: no

Source: My Kindle

If you're looking for an actual review, let me tell you right away: this is not it. This is more like... my impressions on the book, what kept pestering me after I was finished with it. And this is it:

First of all, I'm from Brazil and I really don't think FUNAI (National Indian Foundation (Brazil)) would agree with Americans installing labs in the middle of the Amazon and sacrificing the indians in a search for immortality. But then again, maybe it's just me. And that IS how Fiction usually goes, right?

Apart from that, have you guys SEEN Brazilian indians??? Let me tell you something, from what I gather, USA's Native Americans have such beautiful faces, with strong jaws and well-built bodies. They have long, wonderful black hair and are just, well, so much hotter than Brazilian indians. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. What I DO know is that OUR indians are butt-ugly. There, I've said it. I'm Brazilian and I should know. Of course, maybe there are exceptions... none that I've seen, but let's not generalize. Thing is, most of them look like these...

I get it that Eio is supposed to be a half-breed and super hot because of it, but that was kinda hard to swallow. (and since we're on the subject, those half-breeds don't usually come out looking much better, but I suppose there is such a thing as Genetic miracles). Anyway, I tried to picture him looking like something closer to this:

(see some more hot models here)

Oh, and for someone who was supposed to be SO much more intelligent than ordinary humans, Pia sure was stupid. 

There were MANY characters in this book, and I thought it'd be hard to keep up with all of them, but, surprisingly, it wasn't so. I love it that I was wrong. There were some very complex people there!

The romance was very... tepid. Almost non-existent. However, that wasn't the purpose of the book, and I didn't really miss it much. I like a little romance in books as much as the next girl, but in this one, it didn't make much of a difference. I also liked learning the names of some Amazon fruits even I had never heard of before. LOL

The book was interesting, nonetheless. And the writing was quite captivating. A page-turner, in fact, when I ignored all the things that bothered me first. Oh, and I seriously LOVED the man-eating ants. Just... perfection! XD

Give Origin a try and let me know what you think.

Review: Partials (Partials #1) by Dan Wells

Partials (Partials #1)

by Dan Wells

Published: February 28th 2012 by Balzer + Bray

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic in training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws threaten to launch what’s left of humanity into civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will discover that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

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My Review

It is the year of 2076. Sixteen-year-old Kira Walker works gathering data from dead human babies in order to help researchers find a cure for the deadly virus RM that killed most of the human race during the Break.

The Senate controls everything and everyone and has approved the Hope Act, which makes it obligatory for every fertile female to start breeding from the age of eighteen. They hope that the more babies are born, the bigger the chances one of them will survive longer than three days, becoming somehow immune to the RM.

When there is talk about the Senate wanting to drop the pregnancy age to sixteen, the Voice of People (a group of terrorists that disagree with the breach of human rights that is the Hope Act and all the intense control the Senate inflicts on people) start to attack the perimeter of the city, burning things and killing innocents

But even an even worse threat than the Voice are the Partials. Machines with human DNA built to be stronger and faster, made to protect the humans and fight for them during war times... until they turned against their makers and released the RM virus on all mankind.

Kira is tired of seeing babies die and mothers suffer from their yearly losses. So she decides to look for a cure herself. There are great amounts of data on how the virus works in the infants it infects, but not much in how the survivors became immune to it. After a lot of researching, she comes to the conclusion that the ones who created the virus should have the cure in their blood. Kira gathers all her most trustworthy friends and asks them for help with capturing a Partial for study. After a lot of debate and hesitation, they have it all planned out, but the Partials are so much more powerful than they could have imagined, and only with much luck do they get one as a prisoner... just so the soldiers of the Senate can have him killed. But the Partial is saved by the bell. The senators decide they want to 'interview'

Kira intervenes and is allowed to study him for five days, on the agreement that afterwards the specimen is to be exterminated. The Partial, Samm, turns out to be brighter, more complex and more human than she was led to believe. He may also carry the secret to cure the virus. A virus he insists his kind did not create. Samm starts to make Kira doubt everything she's ever been taught. He also needs her help. Their only hope, for either of them, is to work together.

Sometimes your enemies aren't as bad as you were led to believe... and your heroes aren't nearly as good as they claim to be.

Partials was just pure action, packed with a whole lot of tension, drama and polemic issues. Teenagers being forced to breed like cattle for the survival of the species, a government controlling every single breath you take, hiding and distorting every piece of information to keep you under their thumbs, machines that are also part human...

You won't regret it. I bet my firstborn on it. Well....maybe. LOL. Seriously, you'll love it. When I first saw that cover, I just knew I had to read it. The synopsis almost blew my head off, it sounded so good. I'm glad it delivered everything it promised and more!! I devoured the whole thing in one afternoon, in one sitting. I just wish I had the next volume in my hands already. Oh, the waiting!!! Dan Wells, will you hurry up, pretty please? *-* (BTW, a love triangle with Samm really wouldn't hurt, now, would it? ;))

If you like creative, fast-paced Young Adult books with science fiction,post Apocalyptic and dystopian themes, GO FOR IT. If you don't, just read it, anyway! Or you'll be missing out on a really awesome new series. ;P

Early Review: Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin

 

Yesterday
by C.K. Kelly Martin

Expected publication: September 25th 2012 by Random House, Inc

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas's life. Until that world starts to crumble.

NOW: It's 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new high school, but Freya feels nothing but removed. Her mother blames it on the grief over her father's death, but how does that explain the headaches and why do her memories feel so foggy?

When Freya lays eyes on Garren Lowe, she can't get him out of her head. She's sure that she knows him, despite his insistence that they've never met. As Freya follows her instincts and pushes towards hidden truths, the two of them unveil a strange and dangerous world where their days may be numbered.

Unsure who to trust, Freya and Garren go on the run from powerful forces determined to tear them apart and keep them from discovering the truth about their shared pasts (and futures), her visions, and the time and place they really came from.

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian

Publication Date: September 25th 2012

Publisher: Random House

Format: eARC, 368 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

It's the year of 1985 and Freya Kallas has returned to Canada after her diplomat father died in an accident. Freya has been having very strange headaches all day and even stranger dreams at night. Her dreams feel more real to her than her real life does. Almost everything she experiences feel like it's happening for the first time, and that her other memories are quite... not memorable. It's almost as if they are fake memories. Her sister doesn't feel like her sister. She can see and feel things before they happen. Her life doesn't feel like her own. But how? Why?

When she sees a very familiar guy walking on the street she decides to follow him and try to discover why she feels so deeply like she knows him. Garren Lowe doesn't recognize her and thinks she's completely insane, but when they start to find many strange things in common between them, they agree that something must up. Something very big.

And when they start asking too many questions, the men in black with weapons come for them. Suddenly Freya and Garren are on the run, and they can't trust anyone but themselves. A visit to a hypnotist uncovers much more than they could ever have imagined. They came from the future. A future where technology controls everything and everyone and  ecoterrorism is a great threat to citizens. But why were they sent to the past? And why are people trying so hard to erase that knowledge form their minds?

Weeeell....That has got to be one of the most boring books I have ever read. I was bored out of my mind. It was a struggle not to just put it down. The heroine is absolutely soulless and uninteresting. Things go veeeeery slow, nothing is ever said or explained about the situation, and not much happens at all until the very middle of the book. >.> Everything is do dull. I was expecting a nice, crazy future in a dystopian society, but we see nothing of it until we're over halfway through the book. And even then, we don't see this world. We're just told about them. 

Gah, it really pisses me off when authors do that. I can't even begin to express how much. DON'T TELL, SHOW! This book could have been so much better. Better planned and executed. But the way it is now... it's just a waste of pages. Really, I couldn't bring myself to care about Freya at all. Not even for one moment. I wanted to know what happened, why things changed so much after that very strange prologue and confusing first chapters... but you have to survive over 200 pages until things start to get even remotely interesting. It's exasperating. 

I have to say, that dark, creepy cover and intense blurb really fooled me. I felt like I found the wrong book inside of that cool cover.

If you like slow books that build-up, not very active characters and don't mind being told about what happens instead of seeing it, then you should give Yesterday a chance. The futuristic dystopian world was quite interesting.

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

Early Review: Shift by Kim Curran

Shift
by Kim Curran


Expected publication: September 4th 2012 by Strange Chemistry

When your average, 16-year old loser, Scott Tyler, meets the beautiful and mysterious Aubrey Jones, he learns he's not so average after all. He's a 'Shifter'. And that means he has the power to undo any decision he's ever made. At first, he thinks the power to shift is pretty cool. But as his world starts to unravel around him he realises that each time he uses his power, it has consequences; terrible unforeseen consequences. Shifting is going to get him killed. In a world where everything can change with a thought, Scott has to decide where he stands.

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Publication Date: September 4th 2012

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Format: eARC, 416 pages 

Series: ?

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

First line: Take a second and think about all the decisions you've made in your life.

Last line: I leaned in to kiss her knowing this was one decision I was never going to change.

Favorite quote: "'Hello?' I heard a tired Katie from the other end.
"Katie, what are you doing up?"
"Well, there was this annoying ringing noise."'

What if you could undo every decision you've ever made? Unmake every mistake. Would you? Sixteen year-old Scott Tyler just found out he can. And that so do many other kids. But just because you can,, doesn't mean you should. There are people out there keeping track of every Shifter. After all, the government isn't very fond of people having many choices... or freedom.

Scott has found out about his powers completely by accident, and luckily Aubrey Jones was there to help him understand, otherwise the Regulators would have quickly caught him and judged him as a rogue. He's too old to be believed ignorant of his powers. Which is why Aubrey has given him the choice to ignore it, to pretend he never found out about his abilities. To let this all go and live his normal life, with his normal family. But that's the last thing he wants right now.

His parents are always fighting, blaming each other for their failures and general unhappiness in life. Scott was 'The Mistake' baby, and his little sister, Katie, was the 'Band-Aid baby', born to try to fix things. Well, she didn't fix much. In fact, she just makes Scott look more and more like a mistake. Everything she does, she does it better than he does. Games, sports, social life...

Shifting isn't all fun and games, though, as Scott quickly discovers. Sure, he can change stupid past mistakes and remake silly choices, but everything has a consequence. Ripples in reality. Things can go really wrong once they're changed. 

Scott is about to find out that sometimes the good guys aren't really all that good... and the bad ones, well, they can surprise you. And even your family, who aparently could not care less about you, actually really does. 

I wasn't sure if I should write this review because, let me tell you... I wasn't very impressed by Shift. I was really looking forward to reading a guy's POV (which are so rare!), but... I'm not sure why, I just couldn't get into it. Nor could I care about the characters... as a matter of fact, I felt like slapping idiotic Scott every couple of pages. Seriously, even if he was a teenager, that guy was a complete and utter moron. I couldn't bring myself to be sympathetic towards him. And, boy, did I try. 

The story was interesting, but it wasn't able to suck me in, for some reason. Even the crazy scientific explanations and evil government theories, which usually excite me by themselves, didn't work this time. The writing felt... flat and bland. I STILL can't understand exactly how Shifting works, by the way. Or why Scott was so special. Or why this even got published.

Trying to get to the end of it was a bit like torture... but I did it. And I'd like to tell you that it was worth it, that the whole book finally made sense and finished in the greatest possible way... but  I'm afraid it was still very bland. And so, so painfully predictable!!! There are dozens of mentions of government, power, control, control, control from the very beginning of the book... so when I got to the ending, I was like:

Really, a guy who has lived a boring, normal life for sixteen years as nothing special, suddenly turns ou to be super mega powerful? Pardon me if I can't swallow it. 

But then again, that's just me. Most early reviewers (something like 70%, so far) seem to have loved this book, so there you have it. You might love it too. Give it a try and let me know if you agree or if you think I was smoking pot or something while writing. :P I can take it. Totally. I think.

If you like male POV, YA paranormal fantasy/science fiction and would love to read more about changing the past and present (also altering the future), go get your copy of Shift.

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

Early Review: Skylark by Meagan Spooner

Skylark (Skylark #1)
by Meagan Spooner

Expected publication: August 1st 2012 by Carolrhoda Lab

Sixteen year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the sky.

Her world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.

Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret – but can she stay alive long enough to find them?

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia

Publication Date: August 1st 2012

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab

Format: eARC, 344 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

First line: The din of the clockwork dawn was loudest in the old sewers, a great whirring and clanking of gears as the artificial sun warmed up.

Last line: We left the field of metallic corpses behind and walked on across the vally, beneath the vast and terrible beauty of the dawn.

Favorite quote: "I'm not certain." (You'll know why when you read it. ;p )

Sixteen-year-old Lark Ainsley is an Unharvested. She has been living inside the Wall all her life, with Institute rationing everything she eats, wears, how much water she uses, where she goes, what she does... but Lark wants nothing more than being Harvested. Which is why she broke into her school to see the Harvest list before Harvest Day. Unfortunately, her name wasn't on it. But the pixies, small mecanized spies were. Afraid the pixies would call her in as an intruder and send her for Adjustment, Lark releases her inner energy. Her magic. She uses the Resource and destroys the Pixie... something she was not aware was possible.

On Harvest Day, she decides to skip school knowing very well her name would not be called... that is, until her -very mean- older brother comes to get her, congratulatinh her on finally being harvested and mentioning she was the only one this time. But Lark knew very well why she was the only one summoned for this Harvest day. They somehow found out about her illegal use of the Resource and want to send her to Adjustment... but soon Lark finds out that there is so much more to the Harvest cerimony than she could have ever imagined... and why nobody seems to remember anything about it, except for the feast afterwards. 

Lark wanted to be Harvested, and Harvested she was... multiple times. Why? Because that was the only way the Institute could be sure she was a rechargeable. And rechargeables become human batteries that fuel the Resource of the city for the rest of their very short, very painful life, as Lark soon finds out from the tied-up/tubed-up woman who keeps talking to her in her mind, saying 'We are the same' and 'Run. Find the others like us, in Iron Wood.'

But Iron Wood is outside the Wall, and nobody has ever come back. Now Lark needs to make some very serious decisions in her life... and face a whole new world. Outside the Wall.

Skylark was nothing like what I expected. It had a good, if a bit confusing, start. It was also quite fast-paced and things became slightly clearer with every page read. (please notice I said slightly). That change, though, when our heroine finally goes through the Wall. That's when the book starts to drag. Terribly. And all we read about is how Lark is afraid, confused, startled by silly things, eating this and that, drinking from here and there, sleeping, waking up, walking, eating, drinking... argh! It takes quite a while for the plot to get back on course, to something really important/interesting to happen. To (finally!) see another human. And then things get intense again. Then they slow down. And get interesting again. And then... well, I guess you get my point.

I had trouble staying focused on the story. I guess it just wasn't for me. Sometimes it felt more like reading a very slow-paced steampunk set in the future than an actual dystopian story. And I'm not exactly a fan of steampunk, you see. But I did like the intelligent, animated piece of metal/pixie, Nix. She was very amusing, if not a bit disconcerting. She made for some very funny and mysterious moments. 


Oren was a complete treat. A real delight. I was already half in love with the guy only two pages after he first appeared. And I may be a bit suspicious to say so, what with me being a lover of savages/barbarians with soft hearts and all, but I dare say I won't be the only one with a crush on him when you guys get to the end of the book. Kris might become a competitor, too.


Now Lark... well, to me that girl was simply a total waste of good magic, water and food sometimes. She was very careless, very mean and always very trusting/distrusting in the wrong times. Ok, so she was sixteen, lost, alone and confused. But that's not an excuse for some really idiotic moves. What a douche. However, she did have her good moments. So I can forgive her. Sort of. >.>


Skylark is a very interesting take on the futuristic/post-war situation. With the added bonus of magic. So it's more like fantasy and, as I said before, a steampunk set in the future than dystopia. It has a lot of stalling and loose ends that will probably be explained in the next books, but it's still quite enjoyable. :)


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