REVIEW: One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus - Erin

One of Us Is Lying

by Karen M. McManus

Hardcover, 358 pages

Published May 30th 2017 by Delacorte Press

ISBN13: 9781524714680

Library Book

About:

The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide. 

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.

Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. 

Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. 

Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.

Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.

And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who's still on the loose? 

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them." (Goodreads)

Rating: 

This book had me guessing who the killer was until the end. I had my suspicions, but the actual end game wasn’t my first thought. I loved that! It made the book go by really fast and kept me hooked. This book felt like a mix of Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girls episodes in some ways… complete with interruptions by an unidentified person/murderer taunting the police and public with blog posts. Even Simon’s tumbler posts sounded very Gossip Girl/Pretty Little Liars with the whole use of people’s initials instead of names. That mixed with alternating viewpoints made this a different format for a mystery book… at least different from what I usually read. Because we were seeing into so many different characters/suspects lives and minds, it was really hard to pick out the killer. The main characters were all fairly likable. They’re human so they each had their flaws, which was nice to see, but also caused me to dislike them in someways (I’m not a fan of cheaters). Each character had their own problems and secrets to deal with, which made them relatable and made the story more interesting. Older teens who are looking for a great mystery should pick this one up! Younger teens might be intimidated by the drinking, drugs, and sex that are all mentioned in the book. This book is currently on the new Abe Lincoln Award List and the Read For A Lifetime List (both are Illinois High School book programs). 

*To see more of Erin's reviews please click her signature to go to her blog

Author Spotlight: Dive Smack by Demetra Brodsky + Interview

Demetra Brodsky is an award-winning graphic designer & art director turned writer. She has a B.F.A from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and lives in Southern California with her family of four and two lovable rescue dogs. Dive Smack, her debut novel, is dedicated to Pumpkin, the monarch butterfly she once saved from the brink of death. Once you read the book, you’ll understand why. She is a first generation Greek-American and a member of International Thriller Writers. Dive Smack is a 2018 Junior Library Guild Selection.

Title: Dive Smack

Genre: Young Adult Mystery/Thriller

Author: Demetra Brodsky

Publisher: TorTeen

Publication: June 19th 2018

Cover Rating: 5/5

Reading format: Provided ARC

Goodreads | Amazon

I want to start off by saying that I don't know squat-diddly-squattypotty about swimming. I can't even swim; I just kind of flounder and then drown. So when I requested Dive Smack by Demetra Brodsky, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I knew it was a mystery/thriller but I had no idea how I was going to handle the whole swimming aspect. Lucky, the author explains everything in a way that makes it very easy to follow even if you are like me, and know NOTHING about swimming.

Theo is our main character. He is an amazing diver for his high school. He also happens to be an orphan. Theo’s parents both died in pretty tragic ways. His mother died in a fire, one that Theo feels responsible for. Then his father died of a heart attack while driving. Theo also feels sort of responsible for this because he thinks the heart attack was from the stress of losing his mother. But what happens when Theo’s fears might not just be fears. What happens when there is more to his parent's deaths than he thought?

I really love how the author made this book to be so much more than a thriller. She made Theo have this massive love for diving, even made his mother a diver, and she definitely did her research for the topic. The author didn’t just throw us into a world where we just had to figure out some big mystery. No, she made her character have a personality and likes/dislikes and that made the book seem more real because Theo felt real. Normally, we are just thrown into the middle of a characters life and we get to deal with what is currently happening, then we are done with that character. We get to know that character for a brief moment of their life so we get to know their personality for that moment and it might not be exactly who they are as a whole. I feel like, with Dive Smack, we got to know Theo as a whole, not just a momentary blip in time. 

With getting to know Theo so well, that helped to make this story so much more believable, so much more realistic and those aspects made the thriller portion of the book all the more creepy and goosebump-inducing. I have read so many creepy/thriller/horror books in my life that when something can actually creep me out or give me goosebumps, it’s a gem of a story. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what Dive Smack is; a GEM of a story.

In the end, this was a fantastic debut novel. It was beautifully written and the story kept me engulfed. The characters were well fleshed out and the story was told in a way that made this thriller stand out a bit more than others. If you are looking to read some Young Adult Thrillers then I highly suggest adding this one to your list! I will also be listening to the audiobook once the book comes out so I can see if I would recommend it and will be updating this review after that.

Overall, I gave the book 5/5 stars.

1) How does it feel to finally be an amazing, published author? (shush, you are amazing and you know it!)

Ha! You know authors too well if you put that shush in there. Honestly, it’s a lot like riding a rollercoaster. I’m so proud that I stuck close to my dream and worked hard even when I felt like quitting.

I hold myself to a very high standard and know that I still have a lot to learn, but I’m ready to push the boundaries of what I know about structure and storytelling to dig deeper into the stories I want to tell. I have good days and bad days. Imposter syndrome, the sophomore slump: those things can make you question your artistic worth. But this first book is huge for me. As the daughter of two Greek immigrants, with a mom who can’t read higher than a third grade reading level, I did something I never thought I’d accomplish. So, I guess it feels amazing. You’re right. Thanks for the reminder.

2) What was the hardest part about writing Drive Smack? Easiest part?The springboard diving was the hardest part about writing Dive Smack. There is some much technical skill that goes into diving because it’s based on physics and shares many characteristics with gymnastics. Thankfully, I have a friend who was a U.S.A. springboard diver in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, who was kind enough to proofread all the diving in my book. When she blurbed my debut novel and called it “…a perfect 10” I was ecstatic. When an Olympic springboard diver says you nailed it, you kind of have a moment of stomach swooping pride.

The easiest part for me was the voice or voices of Theo and Chip. Voice isn’t something I struggle with, usually. Now that I said that, watch, I’ll probably have a hard time with my next project. But in all honesty, I injected so much of my own personality into both of those characters—Iris too—that the dialogue between them flowed the most effortlessly for me.

3) Who are some of your favorite authors?I’ll read anything by Gillian Flynn, Megan Abbot, Jeffrey Eugenides, or Jennifer McMahon or Janet Fitch.

My favorite YA authors are Courtney Summers, Jandy Nelson, Stephanie Keuhn, A.S. King, Nova Ren Suma, and E. Lockhart. When they used E. Lockhart as a comparative on the back of the Dive Smack ARC, I had to sit down for a minute and take that in. And also S.E. Hinton and Lois Duncan because. S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders is the book that made me think about writing as young teen. And I received editorial notes on Dive Smack from Lois before she passed away on 6/15/16. My book comes out two years to the week where she fell ill. And on the day I got the news that Lois had passed, a Monarch Butterfly that I was nursing back to health was ready to fly again and be released. It was a deeply sad and magical moment, and that’s why my book is dedicated For Pumpkin. To the Monarch Butterfly I brought back from the brink of death, but it’s also a secret dedication to Lois.

4) What Hogwarts house are you in? 

Gryffindor. I’m also a Leo, so this makes sense. I’m a brave but sensitive lion-hearted gal, and deeply loyal to anyone who I consider a friend. But when crossed, I can be all gnashing teeth and claws. Both in my own defense and the defense of people I love. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and because of that I don’t know a single person who has ever had to question where they stand with me, which is a blessing and curse. 

5) Are you currently working on anything new?

At the moment, my projects are slightly under wraps, but I can say I have a YA thriller about alien abduction out on submission at the moment, and I’m also working with my editor at Tor Teen on another thriller proposal about siblings, and maybe the end of the world as we know it. I’d tell you more, but . . . I’m a thriller writer and you know how that saying goes. But please, stay tuned for things to come

REVIEW: The Reclaiming of Shilo Snow by Mary Weber - Paige

Rating:

Genre: YA Dystopian/Science Fiction

Recommended Age: 16+ (some sexual references, blood, violence)

Pages: 352

Author: Mary Weber

Amazon

*Disclaimer I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review. I was also asked to help promote this book. Thanks NetGalley and Mary Weber! Also, this was an arc of the book and I’ve heard some things in this book may change before the final version is released.

Synopsis:

Trapped on the ice-planet of Delon, gamer girl Sofi and Ambassador Miguel have discovered that nothing is what it seems, including their friends. On a quest to rescue her brother, Shilo, a boy everyone believes is dead, they must now escape and warn Earth of Delon’s designs on humanity. Except the more they unearth of the planet and Sofi’s past, the more they feel themselves unraveling, as each new revelation has Sofi questioning the very existence of reality.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Sofi’s mom, Inola, is battling a different kind of unraveling: a political one that could cost lives, positions, and a barely-rebuilt society, should they discover the deal made with the Delonese.

But there’s a secret deeper than all that. One locked away inside Sofi and ticking away with the beginnings, endings, and answers to everything. Including how to save humanity.

Quickly after I finished Sofi Snow I started this book, which is the sequel. Once again I fell in love with all of the world building and the characters in this book. I also felt that the story definitely picked up from that last book and the pacing and plot worked fairly well together throughout this book.

The only thing I felt that was off about this book was that there were some glaring plot holes and there were some things that I felt were really confusing in how they were explained. Because this is an arc I have hope that the holes and confusion will be cleared up by the release date of March 6th, but even with these faults the book was fantastic and exciting. It had a beautiful ending and I felt satisfied with the series overall.

Verdict: Satisfying and exciting read, just some small holes and issues. Hopefully they’ll be cleared up by the release.

REVIEW: The Evaporation of Sofi Snow by Mary Weber - Paige

Rating: 

Genre: YA dystopian/sci-fi

Recommended Age: 16+ (some sexual references)

Pages: 352 Pages

Author: Mary Weber

Amazon

Synopsis:

 Ever since the Delonese ice-planet arrived eleven years ago, Sofi's dreams have been vivid. Alien. In a system where Earth's corporations rule in place of governments and the humanoid race orbiting the moon are allies, her only constant has been her younger brother, Shilo. As an online gamer, Sofi battles behind the scenes of Earth's Fantasy Fighting arena where Shilo is forced to compete in a mix of real and virtual blood sport. But when a bomb takes out a quarter of the arena, Sofi's the only one who believes Shilo survived. She has dreams of him. And she's convinced he's been taken to the ice-planet.

Except no one but ambassadors are allowed there.

For Miguel, Earth's charming young playboy, the games are of a different sort. As Ambassador to the Delonese, his career has been built on trading secrets and seduction. Until the Fantasy Fight's bomb goes off. Now the tables have turned and he's a target for blackmail. The game is simple: Help the blackmailers, or lose more than anyone can fathom, or Earth can afford.

So I could NOT get enough of Warcross and Ready Player One, so fortunately I found this book to help tide me over until the next installment of Warcross and the Ready Player One movie comes out. While this book does not specifically focus on its game Fantasy Fighting (which is bloody and also reminds me of another dystopian book called The Hunger Games), it does have that gritty gamer vibe that I loved from Warcross and Ready Player One. I also loved how developed all of the characters were and how much world building there was in this book.

However, I did have problems getting into this book. I felt that the pacing was a little slow in this book and I felt that some of the parts in this book were a little overcomplicated. I’m also confused as to the game portion of this book. Like Hunger Games, Warcross, and Ready Player One had an explanation to these games while in this book it’s just like “well we’re bored… let’s have kids kill each other!” And why are children sellable in this future and why is the world split into corporations? That wasn’t very well explained in this book either.

Verdict: I loved the feel of this book, but I was left with more questions than answers. The characters, the diversity of the characters, and the world building definitely pull the majority of this book though.

REVIEW: More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer - Erin

More Than We Can Tell

by Brigid Kemmerer

Hardcover, 416 pages

Expected publication: March 6th 2018 by Bloomsbury Children's

ISBN: 9781681190143

NetGalley/ARC

About:

*While this book exists in the same universe as Letters to the Lost, it is a standalone title.*

Rev Fletcher is battling the demons of his past. But with loving adoptive parents by his side, he’s managed to keep them at bay...until he gets a letter from his abusive father and the trauma of his childhood comes hurtling back.

Emma Blue spends her time perfecting the computer game she built from scratch, rather than facing her parents’ crumbling marriage. She can solve any problem with the right code, but when an online troll’s harassment escalates, she’s truly afraid.

When Rev and Emma meet, they both long to lift the burden of their secrets and bond instantly over their shared turmoil. But when their situations turn dangerous, their trust in each other will be tested in ways they never expected. This must-read story will once again have readers falling for Brigid Kemmerer’s emotional storytelling.

(Goodreads)

Rating: 

I hate to say it but I think I love this  book more than the first book Letters To The Lost…. And I loved that book! This book does take place in the same universe as Letters To The Lost and Declan and Juliet do show up from time to time, but this book really focuses on Declan’s best friend Rev and a new character named Emma. Rev and Emma’s stories deal with a lot of different issues. In this story we have abuse, internet trolling, women in the workplace dealing with harassment, redemption/facing daemons of the past, family drama, bullies, divorce, internet stalking/meet ups that go bad and more. It seems like a lot for one book to cover but Brigid does a wonderful job covering all of it. The story is well written, easy to follow (you do not have to read the other book to read this one by the way), and fast paced. I love the characters and I just want to hug them all and tell them it will be ok. I really hope that there will be another book in this universe. Maybe one about Mathew?? Just throwing that out there ☺ . I would definitely recommend this book and Brigid’s other book to readers. It is mostly a clean read, though it does deal with tough serious topics. 

*To see more of Erin's reviews please click her signature to go to her blog

Author Spotlight: The Disappearance of Sloane Sullivan by Gia Cribbs

Gia Cribbs is an author and lawyer who lives in Maryland with her husband and daughters. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, eating too much chocolate, or fantasizing about her next vacation.

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SLOANE SULLIVAN, her first novel, will be published by Harlequin TEEN on May 29, 2018.

She is represented by Steven Salpeter at Curtis Brown, Ltd.

Title: The Disappearance of Sloane Sullivan 

Genre: Young Adult Mystery/Thriller

Author: Gia Cribbs

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication: May 29th 2018

Cover Rating: 4/5

Reading format: Provided ARC

Goodreads | Amazon

The Disappearance of Sloane Sullivan by Gia Cribbs is the mystery/thriller story of Sloane Sullivan and her escapades during her time in the Witness Protection Program. This book is a great thriller novel and will keep you turning pages until you wonder how you finished it so quickly.

Our story starts out with Sloane Sullivan, or Alice or Beth or whatever her name happens to be this month. Sloane is in the Witness Protection Program or WITSEC, as she liked to refer to it. When she was twelve, something bad happened and she was a witness to this something and that put her in a bad place. So, thusly landing her in the WITSEC program. She has been on the move for six years and is just ready to settle back into a real life where she doesn't have to keep running. But then, right before she is about to finally be free of the WITSEC program, she makes a very stupid decision that lands her right back into danger.

On her first day at her new school, Sloane runs into someone from her past. The past that she has been running/hiding from for 6 years. And when I say 'runs into' I mean it in the literal form. Jason, a boy who loved her when she was 12, runs straight into her while tossing a football in the hallway with a friend. Being in the WITSEC program, if Sloane even recognizes anyone from her past, she is supposed to report it and she would then be instantly moved to another location. She decided against reporting it, she just wanted to get through the next nine weeks, graduate, start college and finally be free of the WITSEC program. This was a very horrible mistake on her part.

Aside from Sloane and Jason we also get two other prominent characters, Sawyer and Livie. I liked both of them enough. Sawyer seemed like your average jock while Livie was... something else. Sawyer is Jasons best friend while Livie is Jason's girlfriend. Together, these four make up a little club, the people with two first names/people with first names for last names. It's a weird thing to bond over but hey, whatever floats their boats. And then we have Mark, he is an agent for the WITSEC program and Sloane's acting guardian. The love he felt for Sloane was so very real, I could feel it radiating off the page. 

I really enjoyed the thriller aspect of this book. It was VERY well crafted and kept me fully engulfed in the story. I sometimes feel like once you read one mystery/thriller book you've read them all. Regardless, I still enjoy those books but it is so amazing when I run into a book that surprises me. THIS BOOK surprised me. The story was told with flashbacks to fill in the past and I always like when the past is told like that. We got to see a lot of Sloane's life with Jason, which was very informative.

In the end, I loved the story. The build-up was phenomenal, the plot and flashbacks were beautifully done, and the writing was not that of a debut author, it was that of a well-versed author. If you are looking for your next thriller novel then I highly suggest picking this book up! You will not be disappointed.

Overall, I have the book 4.5/5 stars.

REVIEW: The Heir by Kiera Cass - Valeria

Rate:

Goodreads Description:

Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon—and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she'd put off marriage for as long as possible.

But a princess's life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can't escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.

Eadlyn doesn't expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn's heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought.

This review will have a million gifs to express my feelings

OH MY GOD EADLYN !

Eadlyn is so freaking bratty and annoying in my opinion.

This  whole review might seem like I hated the book but dont be fooled... I only hated Eadlyn, loved everything else.

Half of the time I thought "how did Maxon and America manage to have such a shit child"

Eadlyn spends a great deal of her time complaining about how no one gets her and she didn't ask for it and how it sucks and the selection is so freaking ineffective... IT SEEMS LIKE IT WORKED FOR EVERYONE BEFORE YOU!

Then the guys get there....

When she makes the first elimination, she was such a bejhgfisfe I usually someone root for characters to be meanish... But damn, Eadlyn was just being a brat!

When they start telling her and calling her out on her shit she is so surprised and like 

Im just sitting and reading the book trying not to punch it

I have seriously never hated a character so much

"Why did you give it a 4 then?!"

Everything else made it worth it , when she starts having out with Kile or Henri it makes it all worth it.

You start to get the feeling that Eadlyn is starting to realize she is a shit child. I have hope for her, hope that she will stop being a shit child.

I also have my favorite but I have a feeling that it might be too obvious and that it won't be it. Also... That ending destroyed me!

Okay so onto actual thought about this book.

It was still good, I finished it in 2 days, I hated Eadlyn every step of the way, but it was still good

Recommend it?

Yes but you could live without it, don't expect it to be fluffy like America's story

REVIEW: Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner - Jenny

Title: Unearthed

Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi

Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication: January 9th 2018

Cover Rating: 5/5

Reading format: Owned Hardback

Goodreads | Amazon

Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner is a Young Adult Science Fiction survival book about two characters, Amelia and Jules, and their story as the study and scavenge a planet called Gaia. A planet that people down on Earth hopes will hold the answer to all their problems; mainly, the fact that Earth is dying.

Amelia, AKA Mia, is a scavenger. She goes around the world to find scavenged goods to sell to buyers so that she can afford to buy her younger sisters freedom. Amelia is from a time when having more than one child is prohibited and Evie, the younger sister, was sold into a really demented form of slavery. She must work as a server until she is old enough to be a sex worker/stripper. Amelia must find a way to free her sister faster so she takes a job to go to Gaia, the planet that Earth intercepted a transmission from many years ago that was translated and was pretty much an invitation to come search their planet for treasure(it actually warned the humans away from the planet but humans are very fickle creatures and never listen).

Jules is the son of the man who translated the intercepted transmission. His father is a very influential person. Too bad he lands himself in jail by trying to tell people NOT to explore the planet because there was a second underlying message to the transmission. The message warns the humans from going to the planet and searching for technology that might save Earth. In order to prove his father right and get him out of jail, Jules goes in search of a way to get to the planet so he can study and find what his father said was there all along.

Both Amelia and Jules are on this planet for very different reasons but somehow their paths cross and the end up on this journey together. There is a lot of distrust, emotions, blood loss and hopelessness throughout their journey but both of them still persevere. Both of our main characters are very headstrong individuals that will fight for what they want. But soon, what they want turns out to be each other. And together, they are an unstoppable team. Together, they might save Earth.

I did not read the synopsis of this book before diving in. The first thing I noticed was how much this book was like a sci-fi Tomb Raider or Indiana Jones. After reading the book, I was reading through some reviews and noticed Indiana Jones was used when describing the book. This book was a really fun action/adventure story with a lot of things that needed to be solved and a lot of lives at risk. I found the story to be very engulfing and full of never-ending action. The alien race was a very interesting and complex story and the level of deception that the authors wove into this book was amazing.

In the end, I am very glad I decided to ignore the negative reviews I have seen and heard about this book. Apparently, a lot of people were disappointed in the book. Now, I have not read the authors previous works to compare this to any of them but I feel like this was a very solid book with a good story. The only iffy parts were the insta-love and that dang abrupt ending. 

Overall, I gave the book 4.5/5 stars.

REVIEW: Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong - Jenny

Title: Aftermath

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary/Thriller

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Crown Books

Publication: May 22nd 2018

Cover Rating: 5/5

Reading format: Netgalley eARC

Goodreads | Amazon

Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong is the story of a high school shooting. The main characters brothers both died in the shooting. One was a “victim” and the other was a “shooter”. Most stories focus on the shooting itself or the effects after. This books main focus is revenge which makes this story different than any other school shooting book I have ever read.

Skye is the sister of a school shooter. Her brother, Luka, and 2 of his friends shot up his high school. Luka was killed by police when he was exiting a bathroom. The shooting left Skye and her family very harassed so Skye went to live with her grandmother. The harassment followed her where ever she went. Then her grandmother had a stroke and she had to move back to her hometown to live with her aunt. That means going to school with the kids her brother's shooting had an impact on. That means living in the same town as Jesse, her old best friend whose brother just happens to have been a victim of the shooting.

Jesse was a good kid. A smart kid. After the shooting, he kind of veered off the path and because someone he didn’t want to be. He became his brother. The same brother that was killed in the shooting. The same brother who wasn’t as great as everyone seems to think he was. Jesse didn’t just lose his brother in that shooting. He lost his best friend, Skye, too. In the span of a day, his entire life changed. So, of course, he would grow up to be a different person, right? But when Skye suddenly reappears in his life, he has some choices to make.

Now that Skye is back, she is being harassed more than ever. People are telling her she needs to leave the school and that she deserves to die. But someone takes this harassment to a whole new level. They start stalking Skye. Locking her in rooms, setting things on fire and leaving things in her locker. Someone really wants Skye dead. But who? In a school full of people who hate her, finding out the answer might be harder than anything she’s ever dealt with. Luckily, her ex-best friend is there to help her. Or maybe he is a suspect, too.

This book was utterly fantastic. I loved the thriller element placed inside an already tragic event. The mystery plot is very well thought out. I was highly confused at the end when the bad guy turned out to be a different person but still along the same lines. And the reasoning behind wanting Skye dead? MIND BLOWN.

In the end, I am so glad Kelley Armstrong wrote this book. She has such an amazing talent for writing thrillers. I have read every book she has ever written, including her adult novels, and her writing always keeps me drawn in. The book she published right before this one, Missing, was the first EVER thriller book to completely freak me out to the point where I kept hearing noises outside my window while reading it. If you have not read Kelley Armstrong I highly suggest you rectify that situation. 

Overall, I gave the book 5/5 stars.

REVIEW: Gunslinger Girl by Lindsay Ely - Paige

Rating:

Genre: YA Dystopian/Western/A bit of feminism

Recommended Age: 16+ (sexual references, drug and alcohol use, suicide trigger warning, gore, violence)

Pages: 422

Author Website

Amazon Link

Disclaimer: None, I got this copy on my own accord.

Synopsis: 

Seventeen-year-old Serendipity “Pity” Jones inherited two things from her mother: a pair of six shooters and perfect aim. She’s been offered a life of fame and fortune in Cessation, a glittering city where lawlessness is a way of life. But the price she pays for her freedom may be too great….

In this extraordinary debut from Lyndsay Ely, the West is once again wild after a Second Civil War fractures the U.S. into a broken, dangerous land. Pity’s struggle against the dark and twisted underbelly of a corrupt city will haunt you long after the final bullet is shot.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a Western before this book. And while this book is set in an alternate world where there was a Second Civil War and there is all sorts of technology I’ve never heard of, I’m still going to count this as a Western. Because it’s my review.  I can call it Zamboni and it would be fine. Anyways, we follow Pity in this book who lives in a fragmented America. She’s a part of a commune that basically owns women and their wombs and she is being sold by her father to a man she’s never met to push out babies for him. Ew. Anyways, she runs away and goes on an adventure where she discovers herself. I really liked this book for a lot of reasons, but the thing that stands out the most to me is that Pity is not a typical YA heroine. She doesn’t come equipped with all of these lifesaving powers. While she knows how to shoot guns and is amazing at it, she fails in this book… a lot…. Like a regular person would. She also suffers from self-doubt and PTSD, which make for an interesting and human-like main character. The other characters are also widely diverse and the main love interest isn’t some big protector but a sensitive artist, which reminds me a lot of Peeta from The Hunger Games. The writing was extremely well done and the plot and pacing were as well.

However, there were just some things that were downers for me. The science in this book and the world building weren’t that great. They were middle ground, but I wanted to know more and I felt that I wasn’t given a lot of info about these items. There was a huge cast of characters and I easily became confused about them. I couldn’t quite remember who each one was and that became frustrating to me throughout the book. There were also a lot of characters that were introduced but weren’t given a lot of screen time at all. The story also didn’t have a well-defined plot. There were a lot of different little stories that Pity goes through, but from where the book began and where it ended the plot completely shifted. While I’m pleased with the outcome of this book, I’m not sure if others would be.

Verdict: Yippiekiyay cowboys!!