Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts

Monday, 25 January 2016

Review: The Taking by Kimberly Derting


Title: The Taking
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre:YA, Scifi
Release Date: April 29th, 2015
Blurb: A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing. 

When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day. 

Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men. 
Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own??



REVIEW:

When I first picked this book up I had thought it was going to be about faery's (since the cover has a bunch of little bugs on it!), but was pleasantly surprised by the back cover to learn it was more about alien abductions.  Who doesn't love a good alien abduction story?
Kimberly Derting is by far one of my favourite authors, and this book was no let down!  Derting grasps the voice of a teenage girl perfectly, blending normal issues like dating and school in with the preternatural problems the characters face.
I found the reactions of everyone in Kyra's life to be odd after her return; granted everyone must react oddly to something like that.  A person disappears for five years and returns with no memory there's bound to be some oddness.  Her mother was a little cold, as were her friends (her friends didn't even really make much of an appearance at all, actually).
There was something missing, however, I'm just not sure what it is.  Maybe it was because the book leaves off with such a major cliffhanger I'm feeling this way...which obviously means I just need the next one, right?  No matter what, I can't wait to find out what happens!




Tuesday, 1 September 2015

Release Day Blitz: The Body Institute by Carol Riggs


The Body Institute
Release Date: 09/01/15
Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:
Meet Morgan Dey, one of the top teen Reducers at The Body Institute.

Thanks to cutting-edge technology, Morgan can temporarily take over another girl’s body, get her in shape, and then return to her own body—leaving her client slimmer, more toned, and feeling great. Only there are a few catches…

For one, Morgan won’t remember what happens in her “Loaner” body. Once she’s done, she won’t recall walks with her new friend Matt, conversations with the super-cute Reducer she’s been text-flirting with, or the uneasy feeling she has that the director of The Body Institute is hiding something. Still, it’s all worth it in the name of science. Until the glitches start…

Suddenly, residual memories from her Loaner are cropping up in Morgan’s mind. She’s feeling less like herself and more like someone else. And when protests from an anti–Body Institute organization threaten her safety, she’ll have to decide if being a Reducer is worth the cost of her body and soul…
About the Author
I'm a YA writer represented by Kelly Sonnack of Andrea Brown Literary. My sci-fi novel THE BODY INSTITUTE explores the themes of society, identity, and body image. I live in the beautiful, green state of Oregon and have a Studio Arts degree; I'm an SCBWI member. 

You'll usually find me in my writing cave, surrounded by my dragon collection and the characters in my head. I also enjoy reading--mostly young adult novels--as well as drawing, painting, and quilting. I also attend writing conferences, walk with my husband, and enjoy music and dance of all kinds. 


Author Links:
 photo iconwebsite-32x32_zps1f477f69.png  photo icongoodreads32_zps60f83491.png  photo icontwitter-32x32_zpsae13e2b2.png  photo iconfacebook-32x32_zps64a79d4a.png

GIVEAWAY:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, 15 July 2015

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:


Author: Claudia Gray
Genre: YA, SciFi
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Blurb: Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions. 
Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared. 

Note: These book covers will be the death of me.  And then I'll come back to read the words, and die all over again.  I'm still not sure I've fully recovered from the first book in the series, A Thousand Pieces of You.  Either way, I cannot wait to get this book this November!