Review Sunday: Thirst by Michael Carson

Amazon  Goodreads  Barnes and Noble

Standalone (with series potential)

Released: 2017

249 pages

Blurb:
"In the year 2045, climate change is killing people. Fifteen-year old Lily Star must use her power over water to save her family and thousands of refugees in the parched, superheated American West.

She’s a powerful Diviner who can find and raise water from from deep underground. At Everspring, the family's only source, she's been raising water since she was thirteen, but now it's dying from climate change. The Star family must ration every drop to stay alive. Ash from forest fires falls like snow, relentlessly blowing sand and dust are a fact of life, and millions of Floaters, driven out of their homes by flooding coastlines, drift inland looking for food, water, and new homes, which are in desperately short supply.

The United States has split into two unfriendly factions, the United Western Republic and the Eastern Alliance. When the Republic’s Minister of Water, Tanner Voles, discovers that Lily has the power that he’s been seeking, he pressures her to use it for his own political gain and the benefit of the water-hungry capitol, Aquion. But Lily and her family refuse, suspecting that Voles, a notoriously self-serving and evil man, will exploit her to get the water for the Republic and then kill her so nobody else can use her power. To gain control over her, he sends the family to Floater Camp 65, a broiling wasteland filled with thousands of Floaters. There Lily befriends Nate Arnett and the group 1Planet, an underground resistance group of kids who fight the government and give their generation hope for the future.

At the camp, Lily's grandmother tells her that she can reverse climate change in and around their sequoia-forest home, Skywood. She only has to raise the Black Lake, the source of Everspring, a vast body of water that lies a mile underground – which is what Tanner Voles is pressuring her to do. But Gran has a plan to keep the water from him and the Republic and use it for the good of the Floaters, and the local environment.

Lily's ability to do that is put into serious peril when Voles gives her a cocktail of drugs that he thinks will enhance her power. Instead it causes her to lose it and almost kills her. But it's discovered that her nine-year old brother Justin also has the power, and it's growing exponentially. He restores Lily's power to an even greater degree, and is instrumental to the exciting conclusion of the story.

Along the way, Lily’s belief in herself will be sorely tested, her like of Nate Arnett will turn to love, and she will be wracked with grief and guilt over the violence she leaves in her wake. But ultimately, she will come to believe that she can save her family and the Floaters dying of thirst. And at the same time, change the planet, at least their small slice of it."

Review Sunday: Poisoned Iris by Cindy Mezni

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

The Red Era #1

Goodreads Blurb:

"Athens was once the cradle of civilization. Now it's slowly but surely becoming the tomb of humanity.

The Red Plague, a violent virus which had run rampant decades ago, left its imprint on the planet and the flesh of men. All that remains of the modern world is an endless wasteland of ruins—Erebos—and two cities—Elysion, the obscure island of the Non-Infecteds about which no one knows a thing, and, Tartaros, the crumbling town of the Infecteds where despair, hatred, violence and poverty are the operative words.

And at the heart of this universe lives Irisya, a sixteen-year-old Non-Infected girl, staying recluse in her home to be safe and relying on her brother, Memphis, for everything.

But then, one day, he disappears without a trace.

Irisya has no choice. To save him, to survive, she will have to brave all the dangers of the outside world."

R&R Review Wednesday: Escaping the Rainfield by Eliza Rich

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Standalone to date

Goodreads Blurb:

"“April 12, 2003. “Beep. Beep. We interrupt your radio station to bring you this important message. The counties of… no. The states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and southern portions of Iowa and Nebraska are in a Flood Warning.””

This was no typical flood warning. With eleven states expecting three to ten inches of rain for an unprecedented number of days, the United States was in a frenzy. Families were evacuating their hometowns in hopes of locating refuge on dry land, but Hannah Davis’ family thought that they could out wait the storm. When their panicked Grandmother reaches out to them, requesting help, they find themselves fighting the weather and time to rescue her. As if that wasn’t enough, shortly after joining forces with two of Hannah’s classmates, Adrian and Ophelia, they come face to face with a gang that wants Adrian dead. As the days go by the family grows increasingly wary whether or not they will reach their Grandmother in time. Will the Davis’ be able to come together to outwit the storm and its surrounding catastrophes? Or will Hannah’s affection for Adrian put her family in more danger than it is worth?"

Review Wednesday: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.

Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.

Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.

And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight."

Review Tuesday: Carrie by Stephen King

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Stand alone to date

Goodreads Blurb:

"Carrie knew she should not use the terrifying power she possessed... But one night at her senior prom, Carrie was scorned and humiliated just one time too many, and in a fit of uncontrollable fury she turned her clandestine game into a weapon of horror and destruction..."

Review Friday: Glow by Kathleen Ryan

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Sky Chasers #1

Goodreads Blurb:

"What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside."

Review Sunday: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

The 5th Wave #1

Goodreads Blurb:

"After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up."

The Elite by Kiera Cass

I never should have bought this without reading it first. The first book was amazing and I got it in a heartbeat but this one left me cringing within the first 20 pages. At one point, I had to restrain myself from throwing the book at the wall I was so utterly frustrated at the plot and at the characters stupidity.

The largest source of my grief? How America was jealous of Maxon dating the other girls. Honey, you're in a competition for his heart so you have to compete against the other girls. That means that Maxon will be dating EVERYONE. Not just you. Because of your behavior, he needs to find someone who will be more reliable. I really hate to break it to you but your bringing this onto yourself.

Alright, you know it's bad when I start talking to the characters. But seriously! I wish I could smack some sense into her head! In The Selection, I loved America. She was so strong and brave and different than everyone else. She didn't care about the crown and she stayed true to herself. In The Elite, she contradicts herself every other chapter! It's enough to drive a girl insane I tell you.

Most books I love reading a second or even third time but I couldn't even bear to reread the first sentence of this book. I almost never give out one or two stars but I had to make an exception for this book. Ms. Cass was really on the right track with The Selection but somehow missed the mark on The Elite. I'll still be reading The One so hopefully she'll get it together and write a fabulous ending to this trilogy that really in my opinion should have been a stand alone book.