COURTNEY REVIEWS: REBOOT (REBOOT #1) by AMY TINTERA

Series: Reboot #1
Genre: YA SciFi/Dystopian
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: 5/7/13
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 365
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 stars


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Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.The perfect soldier is done taking orders

 

Oh. M. Gee. I do apologize for the gushing that you are about to see, but I reaaaalllllllyyyyy am excited about this book! So...you know what that means?

*squee* *happy dance* *why did I wait so long to read this book?*


I have indeed had this a while, and don't make near enough time to read the physical books I have, and that is indeed a wrong I am trying to right...which is why I got down to reading this one finally. I, however, was not expecting to love Reboot so much.

We don't really get a whole lot of history in the beginning of what is going on with this dystopian world, and how we went from the USA to this world where seemingly only Texas has humans in it, and humans die only to "reboot" and come back to life because of a virus however many minutes later.

(Does that make them zombies? Living dead? They look like pretty little vampires, but they seem like zombies to me. You decide, and let me know!)

The blurb does a great job of setting things up, and the pace is seriously balls to the wall, hardcore, and thrilling so you do not miss not having a history. Never fear, you do get miniscule details along the way that fill in the holes thanks to Wren and Callum. (Seriously, non-stop action the WHOLE time!)

Wren, One Seventy Eight, is our narrator, and having taken 178 minutes to reboot, she is pretty emotionless and the least human. Then, she meets Callum, Twenty Two, who is the most human like guy she has ever met. Their unlikely friendship and pairing is just that, unlikely, but it brings into this book a really cool element of almost romance, and hope for this novel. For me, Reboot is the perfect Young Adult title in that there is a paranormal dystopian aspect, a little romance, friendship, coming of age, thrilling action, suspense, and oh-my-goodness are-they-or-aren't-they going to survive. I read it in under a day, and am very excited to shout my praises from the rooftops.

I did find out halfway through that this book does continue in book two, that is already out Thank God, because I am dying to read it...but again, never fear because this installment ends nicely and does not make me feel like throwing things (no cliffhanger). I want to tell you so much more about the other characters you meet, and how much I loved Callum and how much I grew to understand Wren...but I won't. Because, I give this my highest recommendation and would love for you to read it and experience it all for yourself!

Enjoy!

 

The Reboot Series

 

(covers lead to GoodReads page)

About the author: 

Hi! I’m Amy Tintera, and I write novels for young adults. I grew up in Austin, Texas and graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in journalism. After receiving a masters in film at Emerson College I moved to Los Angeles, where I promptly discovered I didn’t enjoy working in the film industry, and went back to my first love, writing.

REBOOT and REBEL are published by HarperCollins/HarperTeen. Film rights have been optioned by Fox, and the books have sold in ten countries. I am represented by Emmanuelle Morgen at Stonesong.


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COURTNEY REVIEWS: PARALLEL by LAUREN MILLER

Genre: YA Sci Fi
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date:
Format: Hardback
Pages: 432
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 stars

Abby Barnes had a plan. The Plan. She'd go to Northwestern, major in journalism, and land a job at a national newspaper, all before she turned twenty-two. But one tiny choice—taking a drama class her senior year of high school—changed all that. Now, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it's as if her past has been rewritten.

With the help of Caitlin, her science-savvy BFF, Abby discovers that this new reality is the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an alternate version of her life. And not only that: Abby's life changes every time her parallel self makes a new choice. Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby's senior year of high school and falling for someone Abby's never even met.

As she struggles to navigate her ever-shifting existence, forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn't choose, Abby must let go of the Plan and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that's finally within reach.

 

When Andrea sent me Parallel I really didn't have any idea what to expect. The blurb sounded super interesting, but still....how was this going to work out? This girl has a parallel self that is changing her every life decision? What? Sooo...when I started it and was confused by the second chapter, my misgivings were creeping in at a quick rate.

Then, I stopped. Read something else. Took a deep breath and said to myself "Self, you need to read this book. Quit being a whiney bitch, and get to it." And so I started again. I went back through the dates at the beginning of the chapters and while I still wasn't getting the time frames being a year apart I just went with it.

Moral of this story: Do Not Quit This Book. After that little bitty bump in the road, the story really picked up. We have Abby in the Here = Present Day for her, and she is an actress and really hating being in California for this movie and missed out on all this stuff. She fell into this life, and can't help wonder what it would be like to be doing something else. Ergo, her dream of college. THEN: the day of her 18th birthday she wakes up across the country in a dorm room she's never seen....cue suspenseful background music.

In the There = A Year Before = Repeating Abby's Senior year. Things aren't going quite the same way they did the first time around...which is in turn affecting Abby's present day life. She ends up in Astronomy class instead of Drama. She ends up injured instead of running....event after event after event goes entirely differently and Here Abby doesn't know each morning which event from There is going to change her life and rip her into somewhere else into the universe.

She has a cast of friends that make up her Here and There (romantic interests in both places, but I wouldn't call this a romance...no smut here, folks...and they say you can't write about college kids without a sex scene...ppssh) and one BFF that is in the know and helps her figure out each day. Events unfold, the suspense gets cray and I was on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. I did have a couple of Aha! moments of guessing (Okay, ONE moment) what might be ahead of me...and I got really excited and started manic tweeting Andrea how good this book is! (Sorry!)

Sorry this is so long, but its kind of a long book. Whew, catch my breath. THEN just when I think I've gotten everything figured out. The effing end. OMG. The end. I have been sitting on this for a few days to decide how I could write a review about it. Parallel is intricate, and developed and really blew my mind. I especially liked that one of the love interests was a geeky guy that wore pleated pants and everything wasn't always the best and the most beautiful with these kids...which has really been lacking in some books (A, I know you tweeted this displeasure recently...not everyone can be beautiful and messed up and virginal, right?). I really enjoyed it, and hope that you might give it a chance if it crosses your radar at some point!!

 

 

 

 

Purchase Parallel

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REVIEW: ONE by LEIGH ANN KOPANS

Series: n/a (?)
Category/Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: 6/11/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 374
Source: Received from author for review

When having two powers makes you a Super and having none makes you a Normal, having only one makes you a sad half-superpowered freak.

It makes you a One.

Sixteen-year-old Merrin Grey would love to be able to fly – too bad all she can do is hover.

If she could just land an internship at the Biotech Hub, she might finally figure out how to fix herself. She busts her butt in AP Chem and salivates over the Hub’s research on the manifestation of superpowers, all in hopes of boosting her chances.

Then she meets Elias VanDyne, another One, and all her carefully crafted plans fly out the window. Literally. When the two of them touch, their Ones combine to make them fly, and when they’re not soaring over the Nebraska cornfields, they’re busy falling for each other.

Merrin's mad chemistry skills land her a spot on the Hub's internship short list, but as she gets closer to the life she always wanted, she discovers that the Hub’s purpose is more sinister than it has always seemed. Now it’s up to her to decide if it's more important to fly solo, or to save everything - and everyone - she loves.

 

I don't read a lot of Fantasy or SciFi these days, but occasionally I like to break out of my norm. I chose to read One because I really liked the idea of a "half-superpowered freak", and I thought the Merrin's story seemed fun and exciting.

Despite it not being my "thing" lately, I liked One. I found the story to be cool and unique. I loved the concept of Supers, and the background into what caused some humans to develop superhuman abilities. For me, the author did an excellent job with the back history, using a catalyst I could completely conceive, nuclear energy. I liked the rifts in society between Normals and Supers. The world-building read very complete and well-thought out to me, without seeming like the author painted herself into corners plot-wise, then having to pull the story out to move forward.

While I don't necessarily consider this a detriment, the science behind the genetics and physiological interactions of Supers and the Ones, and their interactions, was very, very detailed. That's probably a great thing to those who are into genetics and mutations, and other "science-y" details, but I sadly, am not one of those people, and it made parts of the story difficult for me to follow. It's nothing that truly took away from the story for me, but I did find myself skimming over those aspects. I've also noticed other readers referring to nods in the book towards Heroes and  X-Men, among other super hero staples. I honestly know nothing about super heroes, outside of Spiderman, and the fact that Chris Hemsworth is Thor. But for those who are into that, this book may be even more appealing.

Besides the superpower aspects, One is Merrin's story and her struggle to overcome her lack of ability, adjusting to her new school, new friends, and boyfriend, Elias. For those who like their SciFi/Fantasy with a heavy dose of love, the relationship between Merrin and Elias should be nice. Not surprisingly, that is what appealed the most to me. But among this are a lot of surprising and dangerous revelations for the two. The story had an exciting and satisfying conclusion, and good potential for a second book.



Favorite Quote:
 
  And no matter how good it felt to kiss Elias, to be so close to him that I felt his heart beating in my chest and the vibration of his speech against my skin. I don't want to let him carry me until I know I can carry myself.  ~eARC, 31%

 

About the author:
Raised on comic books and classic novels, Leigh Ann developed an early love of science fiction and literature. As an adult, she rediscovered her love for not only reading, but also writing the types of fiction that enchanted her as a teen. Her debut novel, ONE, is about a girl with only half a superpower, the boy who makes her fly, and her struggle to make herself whole.

Leigh Ann, her husband, and four children live in Columbus, Ohio. When she’s not immersed in the world of fiction, you can find her obsessing over the latest superhero movie or using her kids as an excuse to go out for ice cream (again.)


Connect with Leigh Ann at:
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{REVIEW} ADAPTATION (ADAPTATION #1) by Malinda Lo

Series: Adaptation #1
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: Sept 18, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 400
Source: Received from publisher for review.

Reese can’t remember anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She’s different now.

Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.

Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won’t tell them what happened, where they are—or how they’ve been miraculously healed.

Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction—and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.

Why I Chose to Read Adaptation ~ I'm not always a big fan of SciFi, but I keep trying to find books to change my mind about that. Also, I've heard a lot of good things about Lo's writing.

I really enjoyed Adaptation, maybe for the very same reasons a lot of people might not feel as if it's a strong Science Fiction story. The reason is, the story focused more on the characters than the SciFi element. Adaptation is a story of what happens to Reese after she is treated at a secret government facility, the physical and mental changes she undergoes and how they affect her life, rather than being built around a world into which a character is inserted.

What I didn't expect when I read Adaptation was the "sub-plot" involving Reese and a burgeoning relationship with Amber. Maybe I'm getting off point in regards to the intention of the story, but I found myself focused and really invested in this relationship. Reese always considered herself, without direct thought, as heterosexual, and has feelings for her friend David. But when she meets and is attracted to Amber, Reese must acknowledge that her sexuality isn't as concrete as she thought. Through her characters, Lo gives some great insights in regards to sexuality.

Adaptation wasn't heavy with the science fiction element, but I did like where it went once that part started rolling. I can't say I was totally surprised by the revelations as to what happened to David and Reese, but I did enjoy it and the plot made sense.

Adaptation didn't blow me away, but I truly enjoyed it. For much of the story, I simply didn't want to put it down.  I did feel as if the middle portion of the story did drag a bit as I was anxious for the characters to find out what was happening to them and get on with it. As for the ending? I liked it, but come on. The last paragraph felt as if it cut off mid scene. It's not that there was an epic cliffhanger. It felt incomplete. Having said that, I will definitely read book two.

If you enjoy young adult science fiction, light on the science fiction, Adaptation may be the book for you.



Favorite Quote:

"For the first time Reese had noticed, Amber looked self-conscious. She took a deep breath. 'I've never felt the this way about someone before. The way I feel about you. It's like-this is going to sound weird, but it's like we're in a movie, and every time I'm with you, the camera zooms in for a close up and we're the only two people in the frame. Do you know what I mean? You're my close up.'" (pg. 178)


"But she knew this: She was falling for this girl, this beautiful, beautiful girl, and she wanted to fall. She wanted to leap right now, arms spread wide, gravity pulling her down, the wind tearing at her hair. She didn't care if she crashed, as long as Amber crashed with her." (pg 188)


You can purchase Adaptation at:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

REVIEW ~ SULAN, EPISODE 1: THE LEAGUE by CAMILLE PICOT

Sixteen-year-old Sulan Hom can’t remember life before the Default—the day the United States government declared bankruptcy. As a math prodigy, she leads a protected life, kept safe from the hunger and crime plaguing the streets of America. She attends the corporate-sponsored Virtual High School, an academy in Vex (Virtual Experience) for gifted children.

Beyond the security of Sulan’s high-tech world, the Anti-American League wages a guerrilla war against the United States. Their leader, Imugi, is dedicated to undermining the nation’s reconstruction attempts. He attacks anything considered a national resource, including corporations, food storage facilities—and schools. When Sulan witnesses the public execution of a teenage student and the bombing of a college dorm, she panics.

Her mother, a retired mercenary, refuses to teach her how to defend herself. Sulan takes matters into her own hands. With the help of her hacker best friend, Hank, Sulan acquires Touch—an illegal Vex technology that allows her to share the physical experience of her avatar. With Touch, Sulan defies her mother and trains herself to fight. When Imugi unleashes a new attack on the United States, Sulan finds herself caught in his net. Will her Vex training be enough to help her survive and escape?

I have to start by saying, I thoroughly enjoyed Sulan. And I admit, I was a tiny bit hesitant to start, because I am currently in a hardcore Contemporary Realistic Fiction phase. But my hesitation hit the road as soon as I started reading.

My favorite aspect to the story was the phenomenal world-building by author Camille Picot. A lot of similar books that I've read (Legend by Marie Lu) fell short in that area. In Sulan, all the bases are covered. We learn what exactly brought the downfall of the United States. How it has affected the people. What they do to adapt and survive. All of the details, dealt without seeming like a massive info dump, pulled me into the story.

I will be the first to admit, I'm not much of a "tech person". If I hear/see phrases such as "port", "firewall", "capacitor", chances are my brain fogs over. It's just not my thing. But, despite my lack of tech-love, I did really enjoy the virtual world that is incorporated into Sulan. The Vex (Virtual Experience) was imaginative and fun.

So yes, I did enjoy the story. But my favorite aspect, hands down, is the characters. Sulan is a role model. She's brilliant, loyal, determined, and brave. The girl is a mathematical genius, and she uses it to her advantage. She wants to be a warrior, and is willing to fight and do whatever it takes to get there. But her brain is her biggest asset, and she uses it to her advantage. I sort of cheered when Sulan did a mental calculation to determine the best angle to aim her bullets. Gotta love that!

Sulan isn't the only character to love, though it's her story. There's her best friend Hank, funny and equally as awesome. Billy, a classmate who knows how to score all the best weapons. And then there's Taro and Gun, both of whom Sulan learns to partner with and care for. The story never becomes a romance, but the chemistry is there between Sulan and the two. I can't wait to see what, if anything, happens in the future.

I found author Camille Picot's writing to be smart, engaging, and well-paced. I never found myself stumped by awkward phrases or dialogue. Each scene served to help move the story forward. I am looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.


Favorite Quotes:

"I am not going to be the girl with a hole in her head, or the girl with a bomb in her bed.
I am going to be the girl with the gun." (ebook, 10%)

"You can't pack a bunch of geniuses into a small space, piss them off, then not expect them to do anything about it." (ebook, 42%)


Published June 2012 by Pixiu Press

You can purchase Sulan, Episode 1: The League at:
Amazon (FREE UNTIL 8-20!!)  |  Barnes & Noble

I've always felt that minority characters are under-represented in the genre of speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy). I have noticed a growing awareness of this among the hard-core fan base, but change is slow. As a person of mixed race (half Chinese, half Caucasian), some part of me has always struggled to find characters I could identify with racially.

Every book I voluntarily selected as a child was speculative fiction. The closest I ever came to finding a character with whom I could racially relate to was in the form of a half elven, half human warrior. He straddled two cultures and two worlds, never really fitting into either. This character so reflected what I had experienced that I felt an instant connection with him. He was called "half-breed" by some of the other characters. I was thrilled with the term. In my mind, this described me perfectly--I was half-and-half, just like this character. I remember the day I proudly walked into the kitchen and told my mother I was a half-breed. I thought I had discovered something insightful about myself, a label that made sense. My horrified mother had to sit down and explain to me that half-breed was a derogatory term, not something I should use when talking about myself. The sad part is that in all the thousands of pages I devoured as a young reader, there were no characters like me. I never encountered an Asian or part-Asian character. Likewise, the settings and magical creatures I encountered were always based on Western history and Western mythology. In 2008, I decided to do what I could to change the racial and cultural landscape of science fiction and fantasy. I founded Pixiu Press and began to publish my works, all of which star characters of Asian descent and/or mixed race. Asian myth and/or legends, as well as Asian-themed settings, are also often incorporated. I strive to publish books with characters and settings that I was never able to find as a young reader. (from pixiupress.com

Connect with Camille at:
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Source: Received from author in exchange for an honest review.