Waiting on Wednesday: 19/09/2012

 

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 

Today's Pick:

Unwholly by Neal Shusterman

416 pages.

Published by: Simon & Schuster

I. WANT. THIS. BOOK. SO. BADLY.

 

Blurb

Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa—and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp—people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simultaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished.
Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself.
Rife with action and suspense, this riveting companion to the perennially popular Unwind challenges assumptions about where life begins and ends—and what it means to live.

 

My Thoughts

OK, what can I say, I'm nuts about this book. It's out already, came out on the 28th of August, a month ago- so how come I don't HAVE IT yet? I'm just going to go cry now, don't have the power to talk *blubbers*

 

Eden's Root by Rachel E. Fisher

Title: Eden's Root

Series: Eden's Root Trilogy
Author: Rachel E. Fisher 
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 380
Published: December 17th, 2011
My rating: 3

 

Blurb

The year is 2033 and the world hovers on the edge of explosion as unexplained crop deaths lead to severe global food shortages. In the United States, the Sickness is taking lives slowly, creeping its way into every family. Fi Kelly has already faced the Sickness in her own family, toughening her beyond her years. But a shocking confession from her dying father will push her toughness to its absolute limits. Saddled with an impossible secret and the mission of saving her little sister, Fi sets out to transform herself into the warrior that she must become to survive the coming collapse. Along the way, she will discover that evil can be accidental and that love can be intentional.

 

Review

It's the year 2033, world chaos, one girl and her family. Sounded interesting, and proved to be so. There were some turn effects for me, though, but we'll get to that later. The main concept of this dystopian novel seemed to spin around the problem of food, a problem that I think is connected with real life. Fi Kelly's- the protagonist- dad is on the verge of death because of the sickness, but he has secrets that will change Fi's whole life. Before her fathers death, he reveals to her that the very food they eat is killing them all. Sickfood. Yikes, huh? But there is a solution- and it'll be the biggest risk she'll ever have to face.

Fi Kelly, she's a very different character. Petite in size, but when it comes to energy, she's bursting with it. Seriously, she is, and that sort of threw me back a little. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love a strong female character, but I don't like them perfect. There were times when she'd go out on raids and stack her bag with like, a dozen cans and who knows what else. I can barely hold a grocery bag to my car, and I'm tall, but this petite girl can stack a whole bag and run with it without slowing down? Seemed a bit unrealistic. Her ego, didn't like that either. She felt herself responsible for everyone's safety, so she would put up this I'm so strong shield in front of everyone, and then complain when alone. Got tired of her a long time ago. Don't get me started on the whole Sean thing (trying not to spoil much).

Just because I didn't like Fi, didn't mean I didn't like the story. There was something about it that kept me bound for some reason. Maybe it was the thrill of all the adventure, or just wanting to know how things would end up. I will be honest though, this was one of those stories where there weren't that many surprises. And it sort of repeated itself. For example, Fi and her family met with people along the way, adding them to their family. When you thought the family was done, well, you'd be wrong.

One thing that made me laugh a little was french. Yeah, there was some french here or there, and speaking french myself (Canadian here!), I found it funny when the characters said something wrong.

Ok, this one I have to write down, because it irked me to no end! The characters in the story.... drum roll please... LAUGHED. AT. EVERYTHING. Even the things that made no sense, and at random times.

Then there was the romance. It was slow, very slow, and when I thought it might get interesting, it got triangular (oh hahaha). I'm not a fan of love triangles, unless their written pro-ishly. Period.

In all, I realise that this review wasn't all positive, but it was the most honest I've ever been. Why I gave it three stars? The first was for the effort and the idea. The idea was creative, very. Second, If I read to the end, it deserves some credit. And the third star, well, I did enjoy it a little. With a bit of tinkering, I think the story could go far.

Teaser Tuesday: 04/09/2012

 

 

 

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser

 

Title: Eden's Root

Author: Rachel E. Fisher

Pages: 371
Given to me by the author for review purposes.

 

Page: 289

 

'Oh God, now I REALLY wish I could sink through the forest floor.'

 

(Review coming up soon)