"To find out what a story's really about,' the Librarian said,

'you don't ask the writer. You ask the reader."


- SNOW & ROSE by Emily Winfield Martin


Showing posts with label YA Sci-Fi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA Sci-Fi. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Blog Tour (Review) of SPILL ZONE #2: THE BROKEN VOW Written by Scott Westerfeld and Illustrated by Alex Puvilland (YA)


*A finished-hardcover copies of  SPILL ZONE and THE BROKEN VOW (Spill Zone #2) were sent to me for free by the publisher, Macmillan, for an honest review. All thoughts here are my very own. Any problems, concerns, questions, etc. please contact me via email - thebumblegirl@rocketmail.com - Thank you!

Written by Scott Westerfeld
Illustrated by Alex Puvilland
Release date: July 10th, 2018
Published by First Second (Macmillan) 
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian/Sci-Fi Mystery 
Format: Hardcover, eBook
Format read: Hardcover


SUMMARY

All hell breaks loose in the second volume of New York Times-bestselling author Scott Westerfeld's visionary graphic novel duology.

Three years ago an event destroyed the small city of Poughkeepsie, forever changing reality within its borders. Strange manifestations and lethal dangers now await anyone who enters the Spill Zone. Addison got close enough to the Spill Zone to touch it, literally. She survived the encounter but came back changed.

It turns out she's not alone. North Korea has its own Spill Zone, and a young man named Don Jae is the only one who made it out alive. Alive, but changed. Now Addison, Don Jae, and, curiously, a rag doll named Vespertine, share an unholy bond and uncanny powers.

From Scott Westerfeld, the inspired imagination behind the New York Times bestsellers UGLIES and LEVIATHAN, comes THE BROKEN VOW, the second volume of our highly anticipated new graphic novel series. 


MY REVIEW

*A finished-hardcover copies of  SPILL ZONE and THE BROKEN VOW (Spill Zone #2) were sent to me for free by the publisher, Macmillan, for an honest review. All thoughts here are my very own.


Another page-turner! So much action and the story continues to flow effortlessly!

THE BROKEN VOW picks up right where book one left off... 
Addison has sold off the last of her pictures from the zone and now has enough money to "retire" and take care of her sister, Lexi. But. It seems that Addison may have spent too much time in the zone and she is feeling a bit off... and she not only learns that her Lexi's crazed doll has a huge role in why the Spill happened; there is also another survivor from a different Spill that happened in North Korea who comes looking for Addison for help. Together, they try to understand and figure out why the Spill happened and how to either control the Zone or end it all... 

And guys - the creepy doll, named Vespertine, is still creepy as all heck!
But she's also sassy and kind of grows on you. Trust me - you'll be rooting for her halfway through the storyline! 

Again, the illustrations are so vividly bright and yet still so eerie! The colors make the "monsters" look animated enough to jump off the page. And the style is just right - realistic enough to make the story creepier than it is already, but hard to look away. You really don't want to miss a single detail.

My one and an only TINY little bit of gripe with this book - I want more! 
Although we do get some answers and things seem to end on a well enough note, there is still potential for more and I still have a few questions...

I definitely recommend this series to those who not only enjoy graphic novels and comic books but to someone who really loves to immerse themselves into a new world with an open mind and vivid imagination. There is just so much that these books have to offer!


Check out the first volume in the
SPILL ZONE series now!


Written by Scott Westerfeld
Illustrated by Alex Puvilland
Release date: May 2nd, 2017
Published by First Second (Macmillan) 
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian/Sci-Fi Mystery 
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Format read: Hardcover

Paperback edition

SUMMARY

Nobody's ever really explained the Spill. 
Was it an angelic visitation? A nanotech accident? A porthole opening from another world?
Whatever it was, no one's allowed in the Spill Zone these days except government scientists and hazmat teams. But a few intrepid explorers know how to sneak through the patrols and steer clear of the dangers inside the Zone. 

Addison Merrick is one such explorer, dedicated to finding out what happened that night and to unraveling the events that took her parents and left her little sister mute and disconnected from the world.






ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Scott Westerfeld


Scott Westerfeld is a New York Times bestselling author of YA. He was born in Texas and now lives in Sydney and New York City. In 2001, Westerfeld married fellow author Justine Larbalestier.

He is best known for the Uglies and Leviathan series, and his next book, Afterworlds, comes out September 23, 2014.

His book Evolution's Darling was a New York Times Notable Book and won a Special Citation for the 2000 Philip K. Dick Award. So Yesterday won a Victorian Premier's Award and both Leviathan and Midnighters 1: The Secret Hour won Aurealis Awards. Peeps and Uglies were both named as Best Books for Young Adults 2006 by th
e American Library Association.



ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR - Alex Puvilland



Monday, January 29, 2018

Cover Reveal: TRUE STORM (True Born Trilogy #3) by L. E. Sterling (YA)


What a great way to start off a Monday! 
The cover reveal to the last book in the TRUE BORN TRILOGY is here!!!



FIRST!!! 
A quick recap of the first TWO books of the TRUE BORN TRILOGY...


by L. E. Sterling
Release date: May 3rd, 2016
Published by: Entangled Teen

 
SUMMARY
Welcome to Dominion City.

After the great Plague descended, the world population was decimated…and their genetics damaged beyond repair.

The Lasters wait hopelessly for their genes to self-destruct. The Splicers pay for expensive treatments that might prolong their life. The plague-resistant True Borns are as mysterious as they are feared…

And then there’s Lucy Fox and her identical twin sister, Margot. After endless tests, no one wants to reveal what they are.

When Margot disappears, a desperate Lucy has no choice but to put her faith in the True Borns, led by the charismatic Nolan Storm and the beautiful but deadly Jared Price. As Lucy and the True Borns set out to rescue her sister, they stumble upon a vast conspiracy stretching from Dominion’s street preachers to shady Russian tycoons. But why target the Fox sisters?

As they say in Dominion, it’s in the blood.

* * * * * 

by L. E. Sterling 
Release date: April 4th, 2017
Published by: Entangled Teen


SUMMARY 

It’s not you…it’s your DNA.

Abandoned by her family in Plague-ridden Dominion City, eighteen-year-old Lucy Fox has no choice but to rely upon the kindness of the True Borns, a renegade group of genetically enhanced humans, to save her twin sister, Margot.

But Nolan Storm, their mysterious leader, has his own agenda. When Storm backtracks on his promise to rescue Margot, Lucy takes her fate into her own hands and sets off for Russia with her True Born bodyguard and maybe-something-more, the lethal yet beautiful Jared Price. In Russia, there’s been whispered rumors of Plague Cure.

While Lucy fights her magnetic attraction to Jared, anxious that his loyalty to Storm will hurt her chances of finding her sister, they quickly discover that not all is as it appears…and discovering the secrets contained in the Fox sisters’ blood before they wind up dead is just the beginning.

As they say in Dominion, sometimes it’s not you…it’s your DNA.

* * * * * 

by L. E. Sterling
Expected release date: May 1st, 2018
Published by: Entangled Teen
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, eBook


SUMMARY

If you can't beat them change them... 


PRE-ORDER your copy NOW!!!




ABOUT THE AUTHOR - L. E. Sterling


L.E. Sterling had an early obsession with sci-fi, fantasy and romance to which she remained faithful even through an M.A. in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in English Literature - where she completed a thesis on magical representation. 

She is the author of two previous novels, the cult hit YA novel The Originals (under pen name L.E. Vollick), dubbed “the Catcher in the Rye of a new generation” by one reviewer, and the urban fantasy Pluto’s Gate. 

Originally hailing from Parry Sound, Ontario, L.E. spent most of her summers roaming across Canada in a van with her father, a hippie musician, her brothers and an occasional stray mutt - inspiring her writing career. 

She currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

LINKS



Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Review: SPILL ZONE (The Spill Zone #1) by Scott Westerfeld (YA)


The Spill Zone #1
by Scott Westerfeld
Illustrated by Alex Puvilland
Color by Hilary Sycamore
Release date: May 2nd, 2017
Published by First Second (Macmillan)
Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi/Apocalyptic Graphic Novel
Format: Hardcover, eBook
Format read: Hardcover from the publisher.



SUMMARY

Nobody's ever really explained the Spill.

Was it an angelic visitation? A nanotech accident? A porthole opening from another world?
Whatever it was, no one's allowed in the Spill Zone these days except government scientists and hazmat teams. But a few intrepid explorers know how to sneak through the patrols and steer clear of the dangers inside the Zone. 

Addison Merrick is one such explorer, dedicated to finding out what happened that night, and to unraveling the events that took her parents and left her little sister mute and disconnected from the world. 

Photo courtesy of First Second Books.

MY REVIEW

An unexplained 'spill', creepy zombie-like puppet people, odd creatures and a creepy rag doll who seems to know it all... SPILL ZONE is an epic start to an intriguing and story!

Addison wasn't home when the 'spill' happened and no one knows exactly how or why it happened; and no one goes back to try to figure it out. Going into the zone is illegal and forbidden. And no one goes in. Except for Addison. She has been going back to her hometown whenever she can to take photographs of  what happened and what is there now - eerie talking cats, a form of electricity that glows and can chase after you and zombies that whisper warnings. It's how she makes a living to support herself and her little sister. However, she has quickly made rules for herself in order to get in and out of the spill zone safely - remain anonymous and unseen, never get off her motorbike, to stay on the main roads and never touch anything! Are just a few of her strict rules. But, when a collector of her pictures tracks her down and gives her an offer she can't refuse - an offer that can possibly help her sister who hasn't spoken since the incident. Can she risk her life in the spill zone to get what this "collector" wants?

The illustrations are quite amazing! Every frame supports the fast paced story, the creepiness, the danger and consequences that can happen if things go wrong while poking around. SO much world-building, all so naturally put together - realistic and memorable!

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading suspenseful mysterious with glowing rats, intuitive rag dolls, and post-apocalyptic worlds! Whether your a graphic novel reader or not, there isn't anything that should keep you from picking up this book!

*I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.
All thoughts here are my own.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Scott Westerfeld

Scott Westerfeld is a New York Times bestselling author of YA. He was born in Texas and now lives in Sydney and New York City. 

In 2001, he married fellow author Justine Larbalestier.

He is best known for the Uglies, Leviathan and Zeroes series, and his standaone book, Afterworlds.

His book Evolution's Darling was a New York Times Notable Book, and won a Special Citation for the 2000 Philip K. Dick Award. So Yesterday won a Victorian Premier's Award and both Leviathan and Midnighters 1: The Secret Hour won Aurealis Awards. Peeps and Uglies were both named as Best Books for Young Adults 2006 by the American Library Association.  


Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday #143: The Wanderers, Black Widow and Eternal Sacrifice!!! (YA)


"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

This is where we get to 'spotlight' books that we are anxiously waiting to be released!!! The ones that we are dying to get our hands on and read into the wee hours of the night!!!
And, quite possibly, to make our shelves look pretty too :) 


What I'm currently waiting for... 


*Note: These have all been mentioned before many months ago, and now that their release dates are approaching, I need to exclaim again as to why I need these in my life as soon as possible!!!




WHY I'M WAITING FOR... 
by Kate Ormand


Expected release date: September 1st, 2015
(Published by Sky Pony Press)

BECAUSE... a circus full of SHAPESHIFTERS!!!

_ _ _ 


WHY I'M WAITING FOR... 
by Margaret Stohl 


Expected release date: October 13th, 2015
(Published by Marvel Press)

BECAUSE... it's BLACK WIDOW!!! 
A more indepth look into Black Widow, her past and present and what she's all about!!!


_ _ _ 


WHY I'M WAITING FOR... 
by Stacey O'Neale


Expected release date: October 2015 
(Published by Phoenix Reign Publishing)

BECAUSE... ROWAN!!!
And, it's one of the best fae series I've ever read!!!



SO, what are you all waiting for this week?!?!?

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Cover Reveal: UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN by Renee Collins (YA)


 "UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN by Renee Collins - 
a time-slip romance where love, murder, and mystery make for a swoon-worthy read. It is The Time Traveler’s Wife for teens, and meets 1920s glamour that’s perfect for fans of The Great Gatsby and Bright Young Things."



by Renee Collins
Expected release date: November 3rd, 2015
Published by Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction/Time Travel/Mystery
Format: Hardcover, eBook


SUMMARY

They exist in two different centuries, but their love defies time.

Cassandra is a headstrong teenager craving drama and adventure, so the last thing she wants it to spend her summer marooned with her mother and stepfather in a snooty Massachusetts shore town. But when a dreamy stranger named Lawrence shows up on their private beach claiming it's his own - and that the year is 1925 - she is swept into a mystery a hundred years in the making. 

As she searches for answers in the present, Cassandra discovers a truth that puts their growing love - and Lawrence's life - in jeopardy. 

Desperate to save him, Cassandra must find a way to change history - 
or risk losing Lawrence forever. 



MY THOUGHTS

Oh my, this cover fits the summary so very well!
There's a feeling of mystery and nostalgia; longing and vagueness... 

I am SO intrigued!!!
Time travel! Romance!... Can't wait!!!



ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Renee Collins


Renee Collins grew up on a beach in Hawaii. 
Sadly, she never met anyone from the past on those shores, 
but she did go on to get a degree in History, which is almost the same.



Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Waiting On Wednesday #130: LOIS LANE: FALLOUT by Gwenda Bond (YA)


"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

This is where we get to 'spotlight' books that we are anxiously waiting to be released!!!
The ones that we are dying to get our hands on and read into the wee hours of the night!!!
And, quite possibly, to make our shelves look pretty too :) 


What I'm currently waiting for... 


LOIS LANE: FALLOUT
by Gwenda Bond
Release date: May 1st, 2015
Published by Switch Press (Capstone) 
Genre: Young Adult 
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook


SUMMARY

Lois Lane is starting a new life in Metropolis.
An Army brat, Lois has lived all over - and seen all kinds of things. (Some of them defy explanation, like the near-disaster she witnessed in Kansas in the middle of one night.) But now her family is putting down roots in the big city, and Lois is determined to fit in. Stay quiet. Fly straight.

As soon as she steps into her new high school, though, she can see it won't be that easy.

A group known as the Warheads is making life miserable for another girl at school. They're messing with her mind, somehow, via the high-tech immersive video game they all play. Not cool. 

Armed with her wit and her snazzy job as a reporter, Lois has her sights set on solving this mystery. But sometimes it's all a bit much. Thank goodness for her maybe-more-than-a friend, a guy she knows only by his screenname, SmallvilleGuy.



Why I'm waiting on LOIS LANE: FALLOUT...

Someone has FINALLY written a book about LOIS LANE!!!

Do I need to say more???

AND! Can "SmallvilleGuy" please be Clark Kent/Superman?!?!?
PUH-leeeeze, I beg... I hope he is!!!



What are you waiting for this week?!?!?!



Saturday, December 13, 2014

Review: DARK DAYS by Kate Ormand (YA)


by Kate Ormand
Release date: June 3rd, 2014
Published by: Sky Pony Press
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Sci-Fi
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Format read: An annotated hardcover.


SUMMARY

The future world has been divided into sectors--each the same as the other. Surrounded by thick steel fences, there is no way in and no way out. Yet a cyborg army penetrates each sector, picking off its citizens one by one, until no one is left. Behind the sectors' thick walls, the citizens wait to die. Few will be chosen to survive what's coming; the rest will be left behind to suffer. A new world has been created, and its rulers are incredibly selective on who will become a citizen. They want only those with important roles in society to help create a more perfect future.

Sixteen-year-old Sia lives in one of the sectors as part of a family that is far too ordinary to be picked to live. According to the digital clock that towers high above her sector, she has only fifteen days to live. Sia has seen the reports and knows a horrific death is in store for her, but she is determined to make the most of her final days. Sia refuses to mourn her short life, instead promising herself that she'll stay strong, despite being suffocated by her depressed mother and her frightened best friend. Just when Sia feels more alone than ever, she meets Mace, a mysterious boy. There is something that draws Sia to him, despite his dangerousness, and together, they join a group of rebels and embark on an epic journey to destroy the new world and its machines, and to put an end to the slaughter of innocent people.
 


DARK DAYS' BOOK TRAILER



MY REVIEW

One of the most creepy dystopian/sci-fis I have read! This book kept me on the edge of my seat; made my heart race, palms sweat; and kept me up all night...

Sia has lived her entire life holed up in her sector having never stepped foot past the iron walls that surround it. Their world is gray and bleak. Having never seen flowers, trees or stepped on grass, Sia is trying to keep herself distracted by creating the most mundane bucket list anyone has ever seen. But when you only have 15 days left to live, what else is there to do? There is no sense in panicking, rioting or anything else. It would only cause death to come to your door that much faster.
Sia has shut down her feelings and deals with the most heartbreaking moments by suppressing all of her emotions. At times it was hard for me to understand her detachment to such life changing events. But then again, I am not the one who is facing death in just a few short days. No one can predict how they would react to anything when they're faced with knowing that everyone around them, including themselves, will no longer exist because they were not deemed worthy to bring anything to the "new world".

No one will survive the cyborgs that are coming...

There are a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns, action pact moments. What really kept me captivated was that the chapters were numbered to countdown to the day that Sia's sector was going to be destroyed. It was really stressful to read through the chapters as the numbers went down and it got closer and closer to the inevitable.

I am really hanging on to the hope that there will be a book two! This book was an amazing introduction to an intriguing new world and has given me hope for these memorable and genuine characters. The ending was a really well done cliffhanger; I usually despise cliffhangers. But, the author gave me all I needed to get by for now. But every time I think of this book, or see it, or anything - I crave to know more!!! What is happening right now? How did the world get to be like this? Why is this government so twisted? Why send these killing machines in to destroy innocent lives? Why not just let them starve, or let them die of something else... less morbid? There are a whole lot of other questions that I have too and I'm hoping that ANOTHER BOOK will help answer them!

If you love dystopian books with a sci-fi twist, add this to the top of your TBR. And if you don't, then you really need to go out of your comfort zone... it will blow your mind!


*An annotated hardcover was won in a giveaway from the author.
The annotations or the author herself have not influenced my review.
All thoughts are my own.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Kate Ormand

Kate Ormand is YA author of DARK DAYS and THE WANDERERS

She lives in the UK with her family, her partner, and a cocker spaniel called Freddie. She recently graduated from university with a first class degree in Fine Art Painting. It was during this course that she discovered her love of reading YA books, prompting her to try a new creative angle and experiment with writing. 

Kate is also a member of an online group of published writers and illustrators called Author Allsorts. 

And she writes children’s picture books under the name Kate Louise. 
Kate is represented by Isabel Atherton at Creative Authors Ltd.


Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Waiting On Wednesday #111: MECHANICA by Betsy Cornwell (YA)


"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

This is where we get to 'spotlight' books that we are anxiously waiting to be released!!!
The ones that we are dying to get our hands on and read into the wee hours of the night!!!
And, quite possibly, to make our shelves look pretty too :) 


What I'm currently waiting for... 


by Betsy Cornwell
Expected release date: August 4th, 2015
Published by: Clarion Books
Genre: Young Adult Steampunk Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, eBook

SUMMARY

Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have pushed her into a life of dreary servitude. 

When she discovers a secret workshop in the cellar on her sixteenth birthday 
— and befriends Jules, a tiny magical metal horse — 
Nicolette starts to imagine a new life for herself. 
And the timing may be perfect: There’s a technological exposition and a royal ball on the horizon. 

Determined to invent her own happily-ever-after, Mechanica seeks to wow the prince and eager entrepreneurs alike.








Why I'm waiting for MECHANICA...

It's a STEAMPUNK RETELLING of CINDERELLA!!!

PLUS!!! Look at that GORGEOUS cover!!!

It's STEAMPUNK!!!!!!!!!!

I. Need. This. NOW!!!

I never get tired of retellings :)
The wait for this book is going to be a very long, and slow, torture... ugh!


SO, what are you waiting for this week???

 
Imagination Designs
Images by LabyrinthofDreams