Book Review: Variant

Title: Variant by Robison Wells

Release Date: Oct. 4, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 336 pages
Genre: Thriller, Science Fiction
Source: Publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads Summary: Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life. He was wrong.

Now he’s trapped in a school that’s surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive. Where breaking the rules equals death.

But when Benson stumbles upon the school’s real secret, he realizes that playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape—his only real hope for survival—may be impossible.

I’ve been reading a few really good ‘boy books’ (written by male authors featuring male main characters) lately and Variant is definitely one of them.

Variant has a certain Lord of the Flies feel to it only as far as both books involve a group of young people who are stuck in an isolated situation where their efforts to form a society produce interesting results. Make no mistake, Maxfield Academy is no deserted island, it’s a really nice boarding school that offers its students many luxuries except the most important of all, freedom. Additionally, the school dictates all their activities and has strict rules that are enforced through a horrendous punishment and reward system. In short, the place is a nightmare, a pretty prison where the threat of death looms constantly the students.

Variant is an original addition to the YA thrillers out there and I really enjoyed it. I could not wait to find out who or what was behind the school’s existence and what its ultimate purpose was. I love that Variant has two sets of villains: the school itself and the kids who run it. While I can’t describe Benson Fisher as a typical nice guy, I liked him. He is a foster kid that is rough around the edges but ultimately, very strong willed and exactly what the other kids need in order to see just how wrong things at the school are.

While I classified Variant as a ‘boy book,’ it’s a book that will appeal to everyone who loves a great thriller with a nice dose of science fiction. YA books tend to be a bit predictable but there are some awesome plot twists in Variant that I did not see coming. Fast paced, action paced, suspenseful and so exciting, Variant ends in a heck of a cliffhanger. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Content: Kissing, mild swearing, heavy violence.

My Rating: Really Good!

Dark Eden Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway!

Welcome to the official Dark Eden blog tour! Halloween is just around the corner and to celebrate the publication of Dark Eden, available everywhere November 1st, this month author Patrick Carman will be visiting blogs to share spooky guest posts and sneak peeks from his brand new book and app. I reviewed this book and loved it, you can check out my review here.

Welcome, Patrick! You are undoubtedly the innovator in multi-media/interactive novels and I love the DARK EDEN app! Why does DARK EDEN work so well with multi-media?
Thank you! The truth is, I never know how the multimedia aspect of a project is going to work until I get pretty deep into the woods (publisher cringes). I wrote DARK EDEN twice –once as a straight up book, again as an immersive multimedia app – and then re-wrote the app as we moved through development. Many things come into play: what the app will look like and how it will operate, hiring actors, editing scenes, recording audio diaries – there’s just so much that goes into these things. Along the way my team helps me make the right choices, many of which are made only days before sections of the app go live. We’re dialing this thing in right down to the last second!

What led you to start developing stories in this non-traditional way?
School visits top the list of reasons why some of my projects include multimedia. I’ve visited over 1,300 schools in the past decade, and every year students get more and more distracted. It’s a highly entertaining world they live in, and for a lot of readers, they need a lifeline back to books. Projects like DARK EDEN are designed to blend in with the technological world many teens have become immersed in. My hope is that DARK EDEN is an opportunity for some of our most jaded readers to build some confidence about reading, then move on to a more traditional book.

I read that there will be an enhanced e-book version of DARK EDEN for Nook and Kindle. Will the e-book experience differ from reading the printed book in conjunction with using the DARK EDEN app?
Actually, the DARK EDEN book is a total stand-alone and does not interact with the app version. DARK EDEN (both the printed novel and the ebook) is designed for a traditional reader, words only (and some amazing illustrations). The app is the same story told in a multimedia format (words, videos, maps, audio diaries). The Nook will have the full app version of DARKEDEN. The enhanced ebook will include around seven of the 100+ multimedia elements, and some other exclusive content at the end.

What other projects are you working on at this time?
DARK EDEN 2: Eve of Destruction! Also, a teen trilogy I’m not at liberty to talk about yet, and the second FLOORS book, my current middle-grade series for Scholastic. And if you want something really different, check out www.315stories.com, the short story re-imagined for modern teens.

I am so happy to hear that there will be a sequel to DARK EDEN! In honor of Halloween, tell us your best/scariest Halloween memory.
We used to play this old record on a turntable with all kinds of scary Halloween sounds, then hand out candy and terrify all the kids who came by. We were moderately famous for it in our old 1970’s neighborhood. That was some fun!

Thank you, Patrick. Sounds like you guys definitely had the cool Halloween house on the block!

About the book:

When Will Besting approaches Fort Eden for the first time, he knows something isn't right. With more terrifying secrets at every turn he discovers a hidden fear deep inside himself, a dark mystery a thousand years in the making, and the unexpected girl of his dreams. But can he save everyone from the dangers of Fort Eden before it's too late?

Do you dare to face your fears? Take the Dark Eden Fear Test. Follow Patrick Carman on Twitter. Visit the Official Dark Eden Website.

Be sure to check out all the stops on the Dark Eden blog tour

October 3rd: The Bookish Brunette

October 4th: The Reader Bee

October 5th: Novel Novice

October 6th: The Bookworms

October 7th: Girls in the Stacks

October 10th: Between the Pages

October 11th: Dark Readers

October 12th: Letters Inside Out

October 13th: The Book Faery

October 14th: Books Complete Me

October 17th: Two Chicks on Books

October 18th: Starry Sky Books

October 19th: Great Imaginations

October 20th: Once Upon a Twilight

October 21st: Me, My Shelf and I

October 24th: Fiktshun

October 25th: PageTurners

October 26th: Icey Books

October 27th: Truly Bookish

October 28th: Stuck in Books

Ready to win a copy of this awesome book and fabulous swag? As a part of my Halloween Queens Book Giveaway week, one grand prize winner will receive: an ARC of Dark Eden, one “Fear is the Cure” t-shirt, a lanyard, one copy of The Fear Test CD ROM and a bookmark. Nine additional winners will receive one copy of The Fear Test CD Rom! That’s 10 winners you guys! To enter, just follow the Rafflecopter instructions and good luck.

Book Review: Dark Eden

As a part of the Halloween Queens Book Giveaway week, I am doing a review of the awesome YA thriller, Dark Eden by Patrick Carman. Stop by tomorrow for the next stop on the Dark Eden blog tour. I will be interviewing Patrick and you can enter to win an ARC of of the book!

Title: Dark Eden by Patrick Carman

Release Date: Nov. 1, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
Pages: 336 pages
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction
Source: Publisher

Goodreads Summary: Fifteen-year-old Will Besting is sent by his doctor to Fort Eden, an institution meant to help patients suffering from crippling phobias. Once there, Will and six other teenagers take turns in mysterious fear chambers and confront their worst nightmares—with the help of the group facilitator, Rainsford, an enigmatic guide. When the patients emerge from the chamber, they feel emboldened by the previous night's experiences. But each person soon discovers strange, unexplained aches and pains. . . . What is really happening to the seven teens trapped in this dark Eden?

Everyone has fears, right? Imagine having phobias so debilitating, they prevent you from living a normal life, doing things that most people take for granted. For the seven teens who are sent to Fort Eden (a sort of rehab for people with severe phobias), therapy to has failed them and this is their last chance to be cured.

The entire story is told from Will Besting’s perspective and he is a great main character. Even though Will is quirky, Patrick Carman writes these little details that make the character so endearing and well rounded. I love the way Will depends on his recorder and listens to everything, preferring audio over video, choosing sounds over words. While we don’t spend a lot of time with the other characters, we get to know them through Will.

Carman does an excellent job of building suspense throughout the book. I was on the edge of my seat to know what all the character’s fears were and exactly how Rainsford was curing them. I’m happy to say that I was a good girl and restrained myself from peeking at the end of the book while still in the middle of it and I was rewarded with the cool way the story unfolded. I don’t want to give too much away because experiencing Dark Eden’s mystery as it unfolds is a huge part of enjoying the novel.

Dark Eden is original, thrilling, suspenseful and an all around enjoyable read. While I recommend it for anyone who likes a really good YA thriller, I especially recommend it for reluctant readers. Another thing I love about this book, no cliffhanger! This book could totally stand alone even though I would love another book in the series.

Content: Kissing, some scary imagery. 

My Rating: Really Good!

Check out the Dark Eden book trailer:

Review of Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish

Release Date: April 1, 2011
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Pages: 272 pages
Author Website: http://www.cliffmcnish.com/
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Suspense
Rating: 3 stars
Source: ARC from the Publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads Summary: 15 year old Savannah Grey has never felt she's belonged. She keeps her distance, so she's surprised by her attraction to the new boy Reece. Then strange things begin to happen: nature, it seems, is exerting an overpowering force on the world. Birds behave strangely; gusts of wind blow leaves so fiercely they seem to lure people away. And Savannah learns she has supernatural powers. Nature has a purpose for Savannah and her friends. For they are on course to meet the vile and evil Ocrassa, who wants to destroy the world by corrupting nature. And it wants Savannah Grey to help realize its savage intent.

Review: Savannah Grey is one of the most unique stories I have ever read. The main character, Savannah, has paranormal abilities unlike anything I have come across in other YA novels and I found it refreshing.

This is a very quick read and Savannah is only briefly introduced before the action starts. She is a foster child who never feels comfortable being in one place too long so she changes families frequently but she is well behaved, smart and gets good grades. She knows there is something different about her but not what it is. Savannah is a strong, likable character who is faithful to her foster family and friends. When she is fully realizes what nature has been preparing her for, she handles the situation with a lot of courage, but not with the most well thought out plans.

Reece is Savannah’s love interest and the first boy that Savannah has ever been interested in. Her feelings for him develop quickly, but everything happens very fast in this story. In addition to her emotions, her abilities develop rapidly and instinctively, she always knows exactly what is going on with her body and the situations around her. I would have liked for a bit more story development there and for the action to be shown more than told. On the bright side, there is a great plot twist in the story that I did not see coming.

I also thought he villains, the Ocrassa and its minions, were very interesting and the portions of the book told from their perspective to be quite fascinating.

The book ends rather abruptly and while there is a resolution, I would have liked another chapter or an epilogue to really be satisfied.

Content: Some violence

Review of Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann

Release Date: Feb. 8, 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 233 pages
Author Website: http://lisamcmann.com
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Rating: 2.5 stars
Source: Library

Goodreads Summary: The community of Cryer’s Cross, Montana (population 212) is distraught when high school freshman Tiffany disappears without a trace. Already off-balance due to her OCD, 16-year-old Kendall is freaked out seeing Tiffany’s empty desk in the one-room school house, but somehow life goes on... until Kendall's boyfriend Nico also disappears, and also without a trace.

Now the town is in a panic. Alone in her depression and with her OCD at an all-time high, Kendall notices something that connects Nico and Tiffany: they both sat at the same desk. She knows it's crazy, but Kendall finds herself drawn to the desk, dreaming of Nico and wondering if maybe she, too, will disappear...and whether that would be so bad.

Then she begins receiving graffiti messages on the desk from someone who can only be Nico. Can he possibly be alive somewhere? Where is he? And how can Kendall help him? The only person who believes her is Jacian, the new guy she finds irritating...and attractive. As Kendall and Jacian grow closer, Kendall digs deeper into Nico's mysterious disappearance only to stumble upon some ugly—and deadly—local history. Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.

Review: When I was a teenager, I loved reading horror. As I got older, those same books that I used to enjoy began really scaring me. This is the first horror novel I have read in a really long time and I am happy to say I was not overly creeped out. Cryer’s Cross is a mildly scary read, however, the mystery behind the disappearances overshadows the creepiness and adds to the suspense.

Kendall’s character was interesting. I don’t think I ever read a book where the main character has OCD. Jacian is the silent, brooding type which I usually like, but he is just too brooding and comes across as an angry jerk for a good portion of the book. Without giving away any spoilers, there is sort of a love triangle and I don’t like how it was handled. It bothered me for the majority of the book. I also think the resolution to the romance/love triangle is a cop-out.

Cryer’s Cross is a quick read and if you like suspense but really don’t care one way or the other about the romance, you may like this book. It also appears to be a standalone novel which is a great thing for you if you don’t want to wait year after year to find out what happens.

Content:  Language (including multiple uses of the F-bomb), some violence