Across A Star-Swept Sea (2013)

Across A Star-Swept Sea. Diana Peterfreund. 2013. HarperCollins. 464 pages. [Source: Library]

I think I enjoyed this one more than the For The Darkness Shows The Stars. The two are companion books. Across A Star-Swept Sea is a futuristic retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel. (In this reimagining, it is THE WILD POPPY; Galatea = France and Albion = England, of course.) Lady Persis Blake was a delightful heroine. I really enjoyed all of her personas. Readers see her as silly, vain, and gossip-driven. Readers see her brave, resilient, strong, and compassionate. Readers also see her doubts and fears, her vulnerability was touching. The romance, I felt, was well done. I thought the book captured the essence of Percy and Marguerite's troubled attraction. I thought the book also went to great lengths to be thought provoking in terms of gender roles and expectations. For example, in Albion women absolutely cannot inherit. So the Regent, Princess Isla, is just standing in for her brother--a mere toddler. Lady Persis also knows that all of her family's wealth will go to her husband; he will rule and manage it all. The world-building is complex, more complex than you might imagine. I would definitely recommend this one!

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Shift Omnibus (2013)

Shift by Hugh Howey. 2013. CreateSpace. 608 pages. [Source: Book I Bought]

Although Shift is a prequel, Shift should definitely be read after Wool. The novel tells of the creation of the fifty silos, of the politics that led to the end of the world--as they knew it--and to the beginning of a new world--an underground world. This story is told in alternating points of view and alternating time periods.

From before, readers meet Donald an architect who designed the silo and helped make the project happen. He was told that the silos were for just in case. In a way, he was manipulated by others, but, that's another story.

From Silo 1, readers come to know Troy through several of his shifts. In between shifts, Troy is frozen. He and the others in Silo 1 are from before. Those working shifts take pills to help them forget what they want to forget, but, Troy is not like the others. He doesn't want to forget, he wants to remember everything. Even if what he remembers breaks his heart.

Several other silos are visited throughout Shift, usually in connection to failures and rebellions and chaotic times. The last half of Shift, which is perhaps the most haunting narrative portion, tells of a young boy essentially left alone after a failed rebellion. Readers of Wool will recognize him as Solo, but, this is HIS very personal story.

Shift tells a very different story from Wool, but, it is equally compelling. I loved the blending of Shift and Wool towards the end. Reading Shift truly puts a new perspective on Wool. I would definitely recommend both books!

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Frozen: Heart of Dread (2013)

Frozen: Heart of Dread. Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston. 2013. Penguin. 336 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I love Frozen for many reasons. I love it for the world-building. It is a fantasy novel with post-apocalyptic themes. So there are magical/fantastical elements to this dark dystopian society. I like how everything is not explained all at once, there is some mystery as well. It is a hard world to live in, survival doesn't come easy or without sacrifice. I love it for the characterization. All our characters--major and minor--have some issues, have some flaws. This makes things interesting! Nat, our heroine, is looking for a way to escape. It is not safe for her where she is, though she has made some friends in New Vegas, but her escape is just as dangerous, if not more so, than staying would be. She is, when she admits it, in search of the mythical Blue, a mysterious, legendary place unaffected by the new Ice Age. She hires one man, Ryan Wesson, and his crew to take her. From the start this is a difficult journey. I loved getting to know Ryan, and some of the crew as well. I liked some of the quirkiness to these characters. In a way, the characters were predictable, but in other ways, they were complex too. Nat and Ryan's relationship may be obvious, but, it wasn't rushed either. I definitely appreciated that it was just the one romance and there wasn't a hint of a love triangle!!! I liked the strangeness of some of the characters, and the magical elements of the story. I thought the storytelling was good. I liked the journey aspect, the dangers along the way, the chance to see the world--bleak and harsh and strange as it may be. I liked the different glimpses of society and community on land and at sea.

If you like dark fantasy OR dystopias OR post-apocalyptic fiction, then this one may be just right for you.

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Testing (2013)

The Testing. Joelle Charbonneau. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 344 pages.

I definitely enjoyed this YA dystopia. The novel opens with a big celebration, a day the whole community comes together to celebrate their survival and continued hope for the future. Each member of the graduating class will need to contribute their all in order to help the community thrive. The world has been devastated, and things that were once easy are now a struggle, an achievement. The community has to have a pioneering spirit. Cia, our heroine, has always been proud of her parents and her brothers. Has always enjoyed working with them, learning with them, she values their knowledge and hopes to continue on--in one way or another--with making the Five Lakes Colony something great.

When the novel opens, Cia and her classmates are nervous. Will anyone in the community be chosen for further education? Will any be chosen for the testing? Will any get a chance to go to university and be assigned essentially a new life--if their studies are successful. Being chosen may mean settling down in another colony, another city far, far away and never seeing your family again. But it also may mean that you are a part of a greater community, a community that values restoring life and balance to the planet. Does Cia want to be chosen? Perhaps she wants to be considered smart enough to be chosen.

After a disappointing graduation day--no one was chosen--life settles down into a routine, but not for long! A few days later, visitors to the colony reveal that FOUR graduates have been selected. This news is quite a surprise! But Cia's father does NOT seem pleased with the news. And he will dare to tell her the truth--what he knows of it anyway, for he too was once chosen. Will this information be enough to help Cia in her darkest moments?

I found this one compelling from the start. I definitely found all stages of the testing fascinating. 

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews