Interview + Giveaway with Andrew Fukuda, Author of The Hunt

I’m thrilled to welcome Andrew Fukuda, author of The Hunt, to the blog! I reviewed The Hunt yesterday, it is so good and you can read my review here. Welcome to the blog, Andrew!

Born in Manhattan and raised in Hong Kong, Andrew Fukuda is half-Chinese, half-Japanese. After earning a bachelor's degree in history from Cornell University, Fukuda worked in Manhattan's Chinatown with the immigrant teen community. That experience led to the writing of Crossing, his debut novel that was selected by ALA Booklist as an Editor's Choice, Top Ten First Novel, and Top Ten Crime Novel in 2010. Before becoming a full time writer, Fukuda was a criminal prosecutor for seven years. He currently resides on Long Island, New York, with his family.

Me: In the spirit of Twitter, tell us about The Hunt in 140 characters or less.

AF: Don’t get eaten. #RunForYourLife

Me: The combination of humans being hunted to extinction and the nature of the hunters in The Hunt is unique and exciting! How did you come up with the idea for the story?

AF: The Hunt likely began while watching Adam Lambert’s performance of Tears for Fears’ Mad World on American Idol. The following lyrics made an impression, and stayed with me for days afterwards.

Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me.

From those lyrics, a single image popped into my head: of a boy sitting in a classroom, desperately lonely despite the many students around him, wanting to be ignored. This boy had a secret, I came to see, one so awful that if it were ever made known his otherwise civil classmates would--in a split second--kill him. I pondered what that secret might be. When it came to me, I literally jumped out of my seat: the boy was the only surviving human in a world filled with vampire-like creatures. No existence could be lonelier or scarier than that.

Me: Now that is a cool way to come up with an idea for a story!

Me: I read in your bio that your debut novel, Crossing, was inspired by your work in Manhattan's Chinatown with the immigrant teen community. What were your inspirations while you were writing The Hunt?

AF: There were many inspirations while writing The Hunt, but I feel particularly indebted to Edward Hopper, a painter who once stated that he had a “propensity for solitude.” His work Morning Sun was a painting I returned to time and again, especially during dry spells in my writing. Something about the stark loneliness of the woman on the bed despite (or because of) the sunlight captured the solitude and isolation with which I wanted to fill the pages of this book. I feel indebted to this painting for the way it spoke of loneliness in a manner that was both nuanced and powerful. Hopefully, this layered kind of loneliness came through in the protagonist Gene of The Hunt.

Me: What do you have in store for the series and how many books will there be?

AF: I can’t get into specifics but there are some mind-blowing revelations to come. The Hunt is a trilogy, so two more books to come.

Me: Why do you write novels for young adults and how did you get started?

AF: I’m not sure I ever planned to be a YA author. I’ve always written simply for myself. In fact, while writing The Hunt, I wasn’t aware I was penning a YA book. I simply wrote in a way which came natural to me. My wife likes to tease that deep down, I’m a perpetual (wait: did she say petulant?) teenager; I prefer to think there’s an eternal fountain of youth in me.

Me: What is your favorite thing about writing?

AF: I love the creation and exploration of completely new worlds of my own imagining. Somebody once said that the art of creation is a sacred act, and there are times – when I’ve written the perfect sentence/paragraph/chapter – that I’d tend to agree.

Me: What are you currently reading?

AF: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Her writing is some kind of wonderful. It curls my toes and makes me want to hug myself.

Me: Thank you, Andrew!


About The Hunt

Title: The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre: Dystopia, Horror
Buy: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

And now for the giveaway. As a part of the 2012 Muti-Cultural Book Challenge, St. Martin’s Griffin was wonderful enough to offer a finished copy of The Hunt for giveaway. If you take part in the challenge, you will have more entries in the giveaway. You can sign up for the challenge here. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

Book Review: The Hunt

Title: The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 293 pages
Genre: Dystopia, Horror
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary: Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

While I know that unputdownable is not a real word, it pretty much describes The Hunt. This book is compulsively readable from the very first page and never slows down. There are so many things to love about The Hunt, I will mention a few of them here:

World building: In this dystopian future, vampires rule the world and consider themselves people. Humans, or hepers, are a vampire delicacy and are thought to be extinct except for a few that the government keeps in a facility to study. While some of the vampires mannerisms and lifestyle are familiar (sleeping during the day and awake at night, super fast and strong), Fukuda introduces some charcteristics that are completely different from what readers are familiar with and takes the time to really highlight their behavior (drooling and salivating excessively, scratching their wrists instead of laughing, making out by rubbing their elbows into each other’s armpits). These strange behaviors are one of the reasons that this book is so unique.

Well developed characters: Gene is smart and strong but in his need to stay under the radar and blend in with the vamps, he under achieves in school. His real genius is living among the predators without being detected and it is really interesting to see the lengths he goes through to stay safe. While I liked Gene a lot, the most intriguing character is Ashley June, the gorgeous and popular vampire girl at Gene’s school that he has always been attracted to but smart enough to know to stay away from.

The vampires: These vampires are the most vicious I have ever seen, working themselves into a slobbering frenzy at the mere mention of human flesh and blood. Yes guys, they eat flesh too and they attack like crazed animals in the wild. These are the scariest vamps I have ever read about.

The suspense!: I cannot emphasize how much of a nail biting, edge of your seat read this is. I’m a squeamish reader and honestly, I was creeped out, grossed out and yet I could not put The Hunt down because I HAD to know what happened next. Despite my squeamishness, I raced through the book and am so ready for more!

If you like horror, adventure, suspense, tons of action or just highly original and entertaining books, The Hunt is for you. There are some fantastic plot twists and a killer of a cliffhanger ending. I highly recommend it and cannot wait to read the sequel. Tomorrow, I will feature an interview with Andrew Fukuda and host a giveaway of The Hunt!

Content: Kissing and violence.

My Rating: Really Good!

Book Review: The Immortal Rules

Title: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 480 pages
Genre: Paranormal
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary: In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

I’m a huge fan of Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series so when I heard she was writing a dystopian book about vampires, I was excited about the dystopia but a bit skeptical about the vampires. Turns out that I had nothing to be unsure about because The Immortal Rules is a solid start to a new series!

Kagawa’s world building is really good. The world was ravaged by a plague that led to both vampires and humans working together to find a cure but instead creating devastating consequences. The vampires now rule and keep humans holed up in walled cities where they use their blood for food. Allison refuses to willingly give the vamps her blood in exchange for food, clothing and shelter so she lives on the fringes where she scavenges to get by. When she ventures outside the walls looking for food, she is attacked and infected by rabids: monsters that are neither human nor vampire (more like flesh eating zombies). She is saved by a vamp named Kanin who gives her a choice: she can either die or become a vampire, the thing she hates the most. Allie chooses to live as a vamp and this is really where the story picks up.

I like Allie. She struggles to hold on to her humanity even when letting the powerful monster inside her loose would be easier on her. She is strong, brave and I love that she uses a katana as her weapon of choice. I also liked her relationship with Zeke – it was well developed and sweet. By far, however, my favorite character in the book was Kanin who, thankfully, is more of a father figure and not a love interest for Allie. I am looking forward to seeing more of him in the upcoming books.

I had a few minor issues with the book, the main one being with the leader of the band of humans that Allie joins with. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to think about him. Jeb is a religious zealot who by his own admission believes that God has abandoned every human on Earth. He is physically and emotionally abusive and leads by intimidation, fear and violence but even Allie admits that sometimes his decisions are correct. He is at times portrayed as being wise, strong and living according to the Bible but this clashes with his cruel nature and underlying craziness. The other issue is the cover. The picture of Allie crying blood tears is very appropriate but it would have been great if the model looked more Asian, the way Allie is described in the book. These are just minor issues with the story which overall is very good.

The Immortal Rules is fast paced, features strong characters and is extremely entertaining. I am eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series.

Content: Kissing, mild profanity and violence. 

My Rating: Really Good!

Q&A + Giveaway With Aimée Carter

I’m thrilled to welcome Aimée Carter, author of the Goddess Test series to the blog! I am a huge fan of mythology and Aimée’s series is awesome. I reviewed Goddess Interrupted last month, you can read my review here. Welcome to the blog, Aimée! 

Q: How familiar were you with Greek myths and folklore before writing the Goddess Test series? Was a lot of research required?

A: I first fell in love with Greek mythology when I was a kid learning how to read, and my infatuation only grew from there. I’ve studied various kinds of mythology for years, sometimes for class and always for fun, but even then I put a great deal of research into the Goddess Test series. Mostly as a refresher to make sure I was getting my facts right, but I also researched the various myths looking for ways to tie the plots and characters together in unexpected ways.


Q: Was Goddess Interrupted any easier or harder to write than the first book in the series, The Goddess Test?

A: It was both easier and harder, in a strange way. I rewrote The Goddess Test multiple times, and I’ve never edited a book more heavily in my life. Goddess Interrupted did require some editing, of course, but it was much easier.


However, the pressure to deliver a sequel worthy of the series made the writing process for Goddess Interrupted more difficult than I’d anticipated. There’s something called the “sophomore slump”, where sequels or second books generally don’t quite match up to the second, and I wanted to avoid that at all cost. So that added a lot of stress, but in the end, I was very happy with the results.


Q: You give the gods and goddesses in the series “ordinary names” – Zeus is named Walter, Aphrodite goes by Ava, Hermes is named James. Why did you do that and do the more contemporary names have any significance?

A: This was something I went back and forth on multiple times. Initially the characters Kate encounters weren’t council members at all – I changed that very, very quickly though. By the second draft, I had a place for each of the Olympians, and I did some heavy rewriting to replace my first draft characters with the gods. I wanted to find a way to keep their names the same, but since they’re supposed to live among us in secret in the modern world, it didn’t really make sense. How many men named Zeus do you know, or women called Aphrodite? On top of that, keeping the council’s identities secret was incredibly important to the plot. So eventually I decided they would have changed their names when Western civilization stopped worshipping them as gods, allowing them to live freely among us.


I did choose each name for what it means, some more than others – Walter, for instance, means “army leader”, while James means “supplanter”. The exception is Calliope, which in the story was chosen by her counterpart for its Greek roots. The reason the gods changed their names – and why Artemis didn’t wind up with the name Diana – is explained throughout the series, but you get to actually see this happen in The Goddess Legacy (July 31).


Q: Goddess Interrupted begins with the main character Kate Winters adjusting to her new life as an immortal. Given Kate’s innate strength and stubbornness, was it difficult to switch gears to portray her as a bit more vulnerable and unsure of herself in her new role as goddess AND wife?

A: Not so much, to be honest – her progression felt natural to me. While Kate is very tough in certain ways, she’s extremely vulnerable as well. She’s emotionally dependent on the people around her (her mother in the first book, Henry in the second), and that in and of itself carves the path she takes in the sequel. She’s spent six months with Henry, falling in love with him and forming a relationship she thinks is going to last for eternity. But Henry is battling his own demons and isn’t ready to be the person she needs him to be, and because Kate is so stubborn, she has a hard time coming to terms with that. In the sequel, Kate really is her own worst enemy emotionally – her entire world has changed, after all, and that’s a lot for anyone to take – but it’s all part of her development into a goddess and queen.


Q: Kate finds herself trying to work through her rather complicated relationship with James, as well as her relationship with her new husband, Henry (Hades). Neither seems to be black and white, but rather varying shades of gray. Were any of Kate’s feelings or situations based on any relationship struggles you’ve been through?


A: Not personally, no, but I did try to make Kate’s relationships with the people in her life as realistic as possible. She isn’t perfect, and neither are they, and that’s something they all have to work through at varying points in the series. None of the relationships in the books are based off of specific experiences I’ve been through though.


Q: What is your favorite part of the writing process? Least favorite?

A: Outlining is by far my favorite part of the process. I love the idea stage, where anything’s possible, and it’s such a shiny place. All of that comes crashing down when I write the first draft though, which is the hardest part for me. I tend to get mentally exhausted about two thirds to three quarters of the way into the manuscript, and it’s always a struggle for me to push through it, especially if I’m on a deadline. And inevitably there are a ton of problems I didn’t notice in the outline stage that have to be fixed for the story to work. I’m a perfectionist, so in order for me to continue writing the story, everything I’ve already written has to make sense.


Q: Do you have a favorite quote or line from a poem or book?

A: I love so many quotes that I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite.


Q: How did you get your first publishing deal and how did that feel?

A: My agent, Rosemary Stimola, sent the manuscript out to various publishers, and after a long submission process, Harlequin TEEN offered to publish it! I was stunned at first, but that quickly gave way to giddiness. It was an incredible feeling to know I’d be published, and to this day, I still can’t quite believe it.


Q: When is the next book in the series due out? Any hints on what will happen in book 3?

A: Goddess Interrupted, the sequel to The Goddess Test, came out in late March. The next book in the series, The Goddess Legacy, will be out July 31. It’s a collection of five novellas told in the perspectives of Calliope, Ava, Persephone, James, and Henry, and together they form one story.


The third book in the series, The Goddess Inheritance, is currently scheduled to be released in March 2013. Unfortunately I can’t say too much about it, but the challenges that Kate will face are pretty clear by the end of the sequel!


Q: After the huge success of The Goddess Test, Goddess Interrupted is on many, many TBR lists for this summer. What’s on your TBR list?

A: I’m so excited for a slew of books coming out – The Girl in the Clockwork Collar, Grave Mercy, The Selection, The Serpent’s Shadow, Philippa Gregory’s YA novel, and a ton of others. I never have as much time to read as I want, but I’m definitely making time for all of those and more!


Q: Yearbook Superlatives! If you went to high school with the Greek gods and goddesses, who would you vote for?

• Most likely to succeed? - Hera
• Class clown? - Hermes
• Nicest? – Demeter or Hephaestus
• Best dressed? - Aphrodite
• Best dancer? - Apollo
• Most school spirit? - Iris
• Most likely to attend summer school? - Ares
• Teachers pet? – Athena

Thank you, Aimée!

About Goddess Interrupted

Title: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Release Date: March 27, 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Buy: Amazon, B&N, Harlequin, Indiebound

Goodreads Summary: Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it. Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future. Henry's first wife, Persephone.

And now for the giveaway. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

Winner!

Congrats to Kim H., the winner of the Fairy Tale Giveaway Hop. The winner was chosen by Random.org and has been contacted. I'm starting more giveaways soon so make sure you enter. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Waiting on Wednesday: Throne of Glass

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. This week’s choice is:

Title: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publish Date: Aug. 7, 2012
Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads Summary: After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Why am I waiting on Throne of Glass? Have you guys heard all the buzz about this book? It sounds awesome and I love a good fantasy novel! Additionally, it’s also been getting rave reviews and I’m really excited to read it for myself. What books are you waiting on?

Book Review: Love Amid the Ashes

Title: Love Amid the Ashes by Mesu Andrews

Release Date: March 2011
Publisher: Revell
Pages: 411 pages
Genre: Christian Historical

Goodreads Summary: Readers often think of Job sitting on the ash heap, his life in shambles. But how did he get there? What was Job's life like before tragedy struck? What did he think as his world came crashing down around him? And what was life like after God restored his wealth, health, and family? Through painstaking research and a writer's creative mind, Mesu Andrews weaves an emotional and stirring account of this well-known story told through the eyes of the women who loved him. Drawing together the account of Job with those of Esau's tribe and Jacob's daughter Dinah, Love Amid the Ashes breathes life, romance, and passion into the classic biblical story of suffering and steadfast faith.

I’m a huge fan of Christian historical fiction and love books based on people from the Bible. It takes a lot of creativity for a writer to take small bits of history and weave entire stories out of them and when it’s done well, it’s really enjoyable. Most times, the story is great and completely believable, other times if falls short and misses the mark. Unfortunately, Love Amid the Ashes missed the mark for me.

A story based on the Biblical account of Job is great material to work with. Mesu Andrews makes good use of the potions of Job’s story that we are very familiar with but Job is not really the main character in this book, Dinah is. Honestly, this surprised me as I thought the story would focus on Job more than anyone else.

Dinah is Jacob’s only daughter, the one who, according to scripture, was raped by Prince Shechem and whose brothers took revenge by killing the prince and all the men in the city. Andrews’ book puts a different spin on the situation. Instead of being raped, Shechem approached 15-year-old Dinah, proposed to her and the two eloped, all on the same day. In Love Amid the Ashes, Dinah was actually in love with her husband, her brothers slaughtered him and she was labeled and an evil temptress by everyone who heard the rumors. This is the first portion of the story that I had an issue with. I have a hard time believing that with the culture she lived in, this girl, with Jacob for a father and those 12 men for brothers, would be crazy enough to run off with a man from a different culture and religion who she had just met.

Now an adult, Dinah is pretty much unmarriageable because of her reputation but her grandfather’s dying request is that she become the second wife of Job’s oldest son. Job, being a distant cousin and a faithful man who trusts God decides to honor the request and takes Dinah on a lengthy trip to his family’s home.

The middle part of the book does focus on Job and his trials including his wife’s inappropriate relationship with another man, her idolatry and a host of other things, but the point of the story is muddled with the fact that Dinah is constantly in the picture, people treat her like a whore, a bad luck charm and the reason why calamity has befallen Job in the first place. I also have an issue with the fact that Dinah’s looks (she is tall and thin with blond hair and blue eyes) are mentioned several times, especially the blond hair. Her description sounds more like European supermodel than Middle Eastern woman but maybe that’s just me.

This book also has a lot of secondary characters, many of them I thought were unnecessary and the extra made this book way too long. Another thing I found surprising is the author’s extremely unflattering portrayal of twin brothers and patriarchs of their families, Jacob and Esau. I know Jacob did some conniving things but I would like to think that circumstances in his life, including physically wrestling with God, humbled and softened him. Not according to Andrews. She writes them as two of the biggest jerks and meanest fathers ever.  

Love Amid the Ashes is not a bad book by any means and this review may be coming out harsher than I intend it.  There is a very good message in the book that regardless of your past is, after you seek God’s forgiveness, you are free from the shame and embarrassment of whatever you did. But Job did not sin against God and so there is the second message that you should praise and trust God in all your circumstance.  The story just felt like several books mashed together and there is too much going on. Most reviewers seem to love it but it just was not the book for me.

Content: Kissing, some violence.

My Rating: Just Fine