Genre: Survival

Uncharted by Tracey Garvis Graves (Mini Book Review)

Posted August 28, 2013 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 3 Comments

Uncharted by Tracey Garvis Graves
Series: On the Island #1.5
Also in this series: On the Island
Published by Penguin on July 2, 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Survival
Pages: 160
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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When twenty-three-year-old dot-com millionaire Owen Sparks walked away from his charmed life, he had one goal in mind: get as far away as possible from the people who resented his success, or had their hand out for a piece of it. A remote uncharted island halfway around the world seemed like a perfectly logical place to get away from it all.

Calia Reed wasn't part of Owen's plans. The beautiful British girl - on holiday in the Maldives with her brother, James - made Owen wonder if getting away from it all might be a lot more enjoyable with a carefree girl who didn't know anything about the life he left behind.

But Owen had no idea how much his carefully detailed plans would go awry. Nor did he realize that a decision he made would have such a catastrophic effect on two passengers who boarded a plane in Chicago.

And when Owen shows up at Anna and T.J.'s door with an incredible story to tell, everyone involved will learn just how much their lives are intertwined.

I loved being reunited with T.J. and Anna! It was a lot of fun to hear about what they’ve been up to since On the Island, even though they were not the focus of this novella. We are introduced to Owen, who chose to maroon himself on an uncharted island to get away from his crazy life. I really, really liked Owen. Even though he was wealthy, he wasn’t happy because his life was full of money and not relationships and simple pleasures. I love that he recognized this, because so many people these days believe that money buys happiness. His time on the island proved to be therapeutic, and he ended up learning a lot about himself in the process.

From time to time, Owen would head to the mainland for supplies and a shower before going back. One time he met Calia, a cute British girl, and her brother, James. The three went back to the island together, and I really liked reading about the bond they formed. James really cared for his sister in a, “you mess with her, you die.” kind of way, and I’ve always loved it when siblings have that kind of relationship. Romance also blossomed, and I really loved seeing what it did to Owen. It totally changed him–the sign of a great relationship. I also really liked Calia, although you don’t get to learn a ton about her. Adventure happens, as is Tracey’s mantra. It’s amazing the things that happen on this little island.

Most of this story is a flashback and Owen tells Anna and T.J. about his experience being stuck on an island. It was easier for him in that he had a pilot flying in to check on him and a satellite phone, but it was also very hard. And, of course, we get to discover how his story relates to theirs. It was all very exciting.

This book is quite a page-turner! With all the adventure and mystery, I tore through it. Tracey’s writing is still amazing. She is so good at describing the island, that I’m sure she’s been there. I can’t wait for more books from her!

Sky on Fire (Monument 14 #2) by Emmy Laybourne (Book Review)

Posted June 17, 2013 by Jana in Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 13 Comments

Sky on Fire by Emmy Laybourne
Series: Monument 14 #2
Also in this series: Monument 14
Published by Feiwel and Friends on May 28, 2013
Genres: Dystopia, Post-Apocalyptic, Survival
Pages: 212
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (Mail)
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Trapped in a superstore by a series of escalating disasters, including a monster hailstorm and terrifying chemical weapons spill, brothers Dean and Alex learned how to survive and worked together with twelve other kids to build a refuge from the chaos. But then strangers appeared, destroying their fragile peace, and bringing both fresh disaster and a glimmer of hope.

Knowing that the chemical weapons saturating the air outside will turn him into a bloodthirsty rage monster, Dean decides to stay in the safety of the store with Astrid and some of the younger kids. But their sanctuary has already been breached once. . . .

Meanwhile, Alex, determined to find their parents, heads out into the darkness and devastation with Niko and some others in a recently repaired school bus. If they can get to Denver International Airport, they might be evacuated to safety. But the outside world is even worse than they expected. . . .

If you read my review of Monument 14 last summer, you know I got quite attached to the children in this series. I’m not sure if it’s because I work with children all the time, or what, but I just had to know what happened to all of them–especially the ones who drove off in search of help at the end of the last book. What a cliffhanger to end on! Luckily, Sky on Fire picks up right where we left off and it does not take too much time to refresh your memory before being thrown right back into the action. As always, my main points are bolded.

1. I feel like there was a lot more action in this installment. Half the kids are driving a torn up bus through the ravaged towns and cities in search of a way to a safer world. Their goal is to make it to the Denver airport. All the while, they are trying to keep exposure to the atmosphere at a minimum, due to the dangerous effects of the chemicals in the air. This part of the story was the most exciting, and had me flying through the pages. The kids get attacked, their bus gets stolen, they find a little humanity left in the world, and they really get pushed to the limits. I was SO scared for them as I read.

2. And then we have the kids who stayed back at the store. Most of them become aggressive, murderous monsters when exposed to the chemicals, so they end up waiting things out in the hopes that their friends bring back rescuers. They are faced with their challenges as well including walls being torn down and letting the chemicals in, losing their electricity, and dealing with intruders.

3. I really like how the story flips back and forth between the two brothers, Alex and Dean. Alex, the younger brother, decided to go off in the bus with Niko and the others, while Dean stayed back with a pregnant Astrid and the little ones. We get to read Dean’s story as it happens, and Alex’s in the form of a journal he kept as a letter to Dean in case they didn’t make it.

4. Because such a huge part of the story takes place outside of the store, we finally get to see what’s really going on in the world during this time. The chemicals have absolutely decimated the place. These chemicals are so powerful, that they dissolve rubber after a few hours. The few remaining survivors are pretty much insane, heartless, or not even human anymore. The world has been plunged into complete darkness. Scary! I really liked seeing what’s been going on outside the store.

5. Alex really shown in this novel, whereas I hardly remember him as being anything more than annoying in the first one. He has had to grown up, mature, and learn to remain level-headed. I liked reading his thoughts much more than Dean’s this time around.

6. Dean’s chapters were rather monotonous. There’s only so much that can happen in a store, and though some more intruders arrive and a romance blooms (one I’m not so sure I like, for that matter), I really looked forward to getting back to Alex.

7. Our supporting characters do not play the same dynamic roles this time around, and I really did not get to hear much about them. I missed little doomsday priest Batiste, although he is there piping in every once in a while. I think a little character development had to fall to the wayside since Alex was writing about his impressions, not giving us a play-by-play of what everyone is up to. Honestly, I didn’t mind much. I was so interested in what was going on, and how things would turn out, that I didn’t crave the dialogue between characters as much as I would have if they had all stayed in the store.

8. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. SO much happened! I had to keep reminding myself that these kids had only been living like this for a couple of weeks, because it’s insane how much happens to them and how long it takes to get places.

9. I was super satisfied with the ending (holy crap, it was tense and insane) until the last paragraph or so. I was thinking we were done, but BOOM. Cliffhanger! We are not done with kids of Monument yet, and I’m kind of excited to see where things go next.

All in all, Sky on Fire is a great read. It’s fast, action-packed, and I love those kids! I just want to squeeze them and save them from their world. They still have the strong determination to survive that they did in Monument 14, and I just LOVE watching children being portrayed in books as strong. I still love how much they care for each other. They are tenacious and smart, and they work with what they have. I just loved reading about them. Definitely read this book if enjoyed Monument 14, because I’m pretty sure I like this one better!

Unremembered by Jessica Brody (Book Review, Author Guest Post, & Giveaway)

Posted March 5, 2013 by Jana in Blog Tour, Book Review, Giveaway, Guest Post, Young Adult Fiction / 22 Comments

Unremembered by Jessica Brody
Series: Unremembered #1
Published by Farrar Straus & Giroux on March 5, 2013
Genres: Science Fiction, Survival, Suspense
Pages: 307
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (Mail)
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When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

Welcome to my stop along the official Unremembered blog tour, hosted by Macmillan Kids! We’ve got a jam-packed post today with my review, The Who is Seraphina? clue #9, a special guest post about the things Jessica Brody hopes she never “unremembers”, and a chance to win a hardback copy of Unremembered!

First of all, happy book birthday to Jessica Brody! Unremembered hits shelves today, and I am SO excited for you all to read and experience this wonderfully exciting book! I love mysteries and I love survival stories. Unremembered is both, plus a little science fiction. You really can’t go wrong with this one! I’m keeping my review short because we’ve got Jessica’s post right after!

1. I love the mystery and frustration that comes with memory loss stories. I mean, OH MY. I was getting so terribly frustrated that Sera/Violet could not remember anything! But at the same time, I was tearing through those pages in the hopes that she would remember. And the intrigue and danger that came with not remembering was really exciting.

2. This story flows really fast, but not so fast that you can’t keep up. I loved that.

3. I really liked Sera. I thought it was really cool that, since Sera did not remember anything, we got to learn about her past right along with her. Sometimes an author throws you into a story and has to teach you what a character already knows about his or herself. That can sometimes end up being tedious and frustrating. With Unremembered, though, we get to experience everything with Sera.

4. I really liked the very little I got to learn about Zen in this story. I’m hoping he plays a more dynamic role as the trilogy unfolds, because I really like what I know about him so far. I hope we get more of his own back story, rather than his past with Sera. I want to know him. And I was hoping for more romance. We get glimmers of it throughout the story, so I know the potential… and I want more! I can see book #2 being amazingly good.

5. The sci-fi aspect is really cool and unique. I won’t give too much away, because I loved not knowing about it when I started the book. Let’s just say there are some evil people, associated with an evil plan, who go to great lengths to get back what they claim is theirs. It was so exciting!

Overall, I loved Unremembered. It’s definitely a step or two away from the books I usually read, and I loved this change. I’d recommend this to people who enjoy a little bit of everything in their stories: romance, sci-fi, mystery, survival. It’s the beginning of a promising trilogy, and even though I know we are all really beginning to tire of trilogies, but this one is worth investing the next 2-3 years in.

And now for today’s clue!

Jessica Brody: Five Things I Hope I Never Unremember

My memory is a pretty fickle thing. It likes to play tricks on me. It likes to make up stuff and convince me they’re real. It has a tendency to completely misplace things and then blame me for it. Basically, my memory is a really annoying younger sibling.

When Jana and I first got in touch to talk about post ideas for this blog tour she suggested two topics: The first was “5 Things You Hope You Never Forget” and the second…well, I don’t think I even read the second because I was too excited about the first and my mind was already churning with ideas!

This topic is so charmingly appropriate. In UNREMEMBERED, my character, Seraphina, thinks she has amnesia after she’s been rescued from the site of a plane crash and has no memories about who she is or where she came from. But she soon learns there’s much more to her past than simple memory loss. Someone has actually been erasing memories from her mind. No bueno. I can certainly think of a boatload of things I hope are never stolen from my own mind but since the topic of this blog post is “5 Things You Hope You Never Forget” and not “A Boatload of Things You Hope You Never Forget,” I suppose I will have to narrow it down.   So…here are the top 5 things I will cling to like a Krispy Kreme in a donut drought, should anyone ever try to erase my memories.

5. The way my dogs look at me after they sneak into the backseat of the car and hope I won’t notice and make them get out.

4. This perm at age 13. Because if I forget it, I may end up repeating it. *Shudders at the thought*

3. The girl who bullied me in the 6th grade. As painful as it was, as horrible as she made me feel pretty much every single day, I know her actions shaped who I am today. Remembering her means remembering that I survived it.

2. The day I signed my first book contract. I had been trying to get published for over 5 years and had a mountain of rejection letters (I still have them all!) Getting that first contract in the mail (all official in a Fedex envelope) was pretty much one of the best feelings in the world. I would never want to lose that.

1. And last but most important, I hope I never forget why I do this job. It’s not for money or acclaim or to see my name on the front of a book. It’s to tell stories. To bring make-believe worlds to life. To entertain people like you. Fortunately, I’m reminded of this with every fan letter I receive and every reader who takes the time to tweet me or leave a comment on my Facebook page. So thank you for making sure I never unremember.

Comments from me: Yay! Jessica, thank you SO much for stopping by the blog today! I loved your answers. Your dogs are adorable, your perm was out of this world (I secretly wish I had a crazy hair style when I was younger, because then I could tease myself…), and you look so happy signing your contract! It was so much fun getting to know you better today. :)

Try your luck at winning your own copy of Unremembered, which Mac Kids is so graciously providing! I hope you win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And don’t forget to stop by the other tour stops! Here’s the schedule:

Monday 2/25 Bewitched Bookworms
Tuesday 2/26 IB Book Blogging
Wednesday 2/27 Good Choice Reading
Thursday 2/28 Books with Bite
Friday 3/1 Book Sake<
Saturday 3/2 YA Book Nerd
Sunday 3/3 My Five Monkeys
Monday 3/4 The Irish Banana
Tuesday 3/5 You are here! (That Artsy Reader Girl)
Wednesday 3/6 Carina’s Books
Thursday 3/7 A Patchwork of Books
Friday 3/8 MacTeenBooks Blog

And in case I have not provided enough links for you, here are some other really important ones:

Unremembered Book Trailer
Read and download the first five chapters of Unremembered for free!
Become a fan of the Unremembered Trilogy on Facebook
Follow Jessica Brody on Twitter
Become a fan of Jessica Brody on Facebook
See Jessica Brody on tour!
Check out her website!

The Raft by S.A. Bodeen (Book Review)

Posted August 20, 2012 by Jana in Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 4 Comments

The Raft by S.A. Bodeen
Published by Feiwel and Friends on August 21, 2012
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Survival
Pages: 231
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (ALA)
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Robie is an experienced traveler. She’s taken the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a group of Pacific islands where her parents live, many times. When she has to get to Midway in a hurry after a visit with her aunt in Hawaii, she gets on the next cargo flight at the last minute. She knows the pilot, but on this flight, there’s a new co-pilot named Max. All systems are go until a storm hits during the flight. The only passenger, Robie doesn’t panic until the engine suddenly cuts out and Max shouts at her to put on a life jacket. They are over miles of Pacific Ocean. She sees Max struggle with a raft.

And then . . . she’s in the water. Fighting for her life. Max pulls her onto the raft, and that’s when the real terror begins. They have no water. Their only food is a bag of Skittles. There are sharks. There is an island. But there’s no sign of help on the way.

Ever since I read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen in elementary school, I’ve been captivated by survival stories on TV, in movies, and in books. And there are so many of them! Lost, Survivor, Terra Nova, Castaway, On the Island, etc. I could go on and on. It’s fascinating what we humans will do in order to survive. When I saw The Raft on a table at ALA, I knew it had to come home with me. I was excited to be able to devour another exciting story of survival. Sadly, this book was very lackluster for me. I just didn’t enjoy it. I did not find it as believable as I have other versions of a similar story. As always, my main points are bolded. :)

1. The bulk of the book takes place on a raft in the middle of the ocean. Obviously, not a lot can happen on a raft. That’s exactly what we were given: not a lot. Of course, this is incredibly realistic. I mean… I know that real life is not like Lost, where supernatural things are happening all the time. At the same time, though, I would have enjoyed a little more action to break the monotony of the happenings in the raft. I got bored.

2. The setting = a raft. Let me just say that the author did not paint any images in my mind that looked like anything more exciting than a yellow raft in the middle of a bunch of water. But really, how could she? Sometimes it rained. Sometimes it was sunny. It got dark, and then it got light again. There’s just not a lot you can do with that.

3. Because the book is so short and takes place in such a small amount of time, we don’t get to learn a lot about Robie or Max. And those are really the only two characters that are mentioned across more than 2-3 pages. There’s no character development, no relationship, no nothing.

4. There was a little suspense every now and then, but it could have been so much more. I felt like the writing style took away from the possibilities that could have been there in the more tense moments. The writing was very staccato, with short, blunt sentences and very few long, flowing sentences. Perhaps this was the author’s goal: to create a feeling of tenseness with sequences of multiple short sentences. I just didn’t feel it, though.

5. The emotion did not seem real to me. This book is full of hard and/or sad moments, and Robie was completely flat and emotionless. I mean, if I were there I would have been crying and panicking and really freaking out. She seemed totally removed from the situation, even though she was in the very center of it.

6. A small twist happens that kind of makes you go, “Oh… ok. That kind of makes a little more sense.” But really, I was just ready to be done at that point. I didn’t even like the twist, but at least it made sense. Meh.

Overall, I think the story is what I had a problem with. Not the author. I have a feeling I would enjoy other works of hers. It takes a lot for a survival story to grab me and really pull me in. When I read a book, I’m looking for more than just a picture of reality. I loved the idea, but I was hoping more would be done with the execution to make it exciting, while still being somewhat realistic.

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne (Book Review)

Posted June 14, 2012 by Jana in Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 19 Comments

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
Series: Monument 14 #1
Also in this series: Sky on Fire
Published by Feiwel and Friends on June 5, 2012
Genres: Post-Apocalyptic, Survival
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
Add to Goodreads
Buy on Amazon

Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.

Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.

But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

Wow. This book was SO different than anything I’ve read before, but I actually really loved it. I was in the process of reading Monument 14 when I got to meet Emmy at the Fierce Reads author tour stop near me a few days ago. I loved hearing her talk about her book, because it made me understand and enjoy the story even more. She said that this book is pretty dark, and that a lot of sad things happen to wonderful characters. Originally, so wondered what was wrong with her. Why would she do that? She answered that question for us. She said she did it so that her characters would be able to show heir humanity towards one another. That even during the darkest, most bleak times of our lives, we humans will do what we can to let our light shine through from within. I loved that thought, and I immediately went home from the tour and devoured the rest of the book. I’m SO glad I read it, and I am eagerly awaiting the next one. As always, my main points are bolded. :)

1. What a unique idea for a story! Think of any survival story you’ve read or seen in movies/TV: Castaway, Survivor, Lost, Hatchet, Lord of the Flies, etc. Then put those survivors in a huge superstore (like Target or Walmart) and you’ve got Monument 14. The world outside the riot gates that they were trapped behind was completely falling apart: natural disasters, chemical spills that affected people depending on their blood type (some people blistered up and died, some became vicious and attacked others, some became incredibly paranoid, and some lost all their reproductive function.), scary people trying to get in, injuries and sickness, depression. These kids went through all of it.

2. I loved the characters. These kids were amazing, and made the entire story. And when I say kids, these kids are KIDS. There were a few older teenagers, and then a bunch of little littles, like 5 years old. The little ones were adorable, and just like the kids I’ve taught at school. They warmed my heart, and were so sweet. Batiste was a bit of a mini doomsday priest, but lightened up when he got to assist Dean (the MC and chef) in cooking really detailed meals for the rest of them. Niko, a boy scout, is appointed as leader and has to keep everyone safe. Josie becomes the level-headed mommy of the group. Alex (Dean’s brother) takes care of the logistics and electronics. Everyone has a job, and everyone does it. Some of them start of resistant and very immature (and downright jerky), but grow into adults very quickly. They all became so mature and responsible. I loved seeing these young people grow. They really did shine through the darkness to take care of each other and provide.

3. They were so smart! I loved what they did with the store. The renovated the dressing room to serve as bedrooms, they blocked off a “dump” for trash and bodily functions, they sealed off the vents from the outside so the chemicals would not come in, they took baths with bottled water, they knew how to use the pharmacy, etc. The older kids knew what to say to the little ones to make them feel better. I loved reading about all of this. So often, kids are labeled as being naive and unable to do anything for themselves. As a teacher, I know that this is not true. Some of my students have taught me more than the adults in my life. I really appreciate Emmy for allowing these kids to reach their fullest potential. Kids deserve more credit than they get.

4. The fight for survival was amazing to read. I love reading about people who gain courage and determination when they are faced with the decision to sit and take it, or to get up and fight for their lives. We got to see a different part of these characters as the need to survive grew bigger, and time was running out.

5. This story was SO fast-paced! There was no down time or time to recover. One thing after another after another happened. I was tearing through the book to see what happened. Emmy told us at the signing that her brother compared the book’s plot to, “being handcuffed and thrown down a flight of stairs. It just goes bam, bam, bam, bam!” I totally agree! Haha. And then when it’s all over, you’re just laying there going, “Whoa…”

6. Emmy’s writing is wonderful. She’s an amazing storyteller. The details and word choice she used made the story an experience, rather than a book.

I’m going to quit while I’m ahead, because I want to give you the chance to experience this for yourself. Haha. I know the bulk of my review focused mostly on the characters, but that’s because they were what brought me back to the book when I had spare time. If Emmy had thrown a different bunch of people together, I’m not sure it would have been such a powerful and moving read. Maybe it’s just because I’ve worked with so many little kids, but the message behind the book was inspiring. I really can’t wait to see what happens next!