Review: WITHER by Lauren DeStefano

This dystopian read by debut YA novelist Lauren DeStafano is actually the first dystopian novel I've ever read. I know, I can hear the collective gasps. But I didn't read The Hunger Games trilogy. I haven't picked up my copy of Matched yet. But something about this novel called to me. So when a won a copy of the book from a fellow blogger, it went straight to the top of my TBR pile.

That was a wise decision, if I do say so myself.  Here's the goodread's description:

What if you knew exactly when you would die? 

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out. 

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home. 

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.

Some of my favorite things:

* The beginning chapter will grab you and pull you right in. Don't think you can just skim the first chapter and come back later. It doesn't work like that.

*  The female characters in particular are extremely well-developed. Rhine, Jenna and Cecily are all distinct, with their own quirks, strengths and weaknesses.

* The first person, present tense voice was extremely well done. It gave such a sense of urgency to the words. And since it's narrated in the present, the reader has no idea if Rhine is going to pull through or not. It was perfectly suspenseful.

*  The novel, while the first in a series, easily stands alone. The ending leaves loads of room for the next book but has such a satisfying end, I'm not going to be pulling my hair out between now and the release of book #2. Sometimes that's almost more motivation to read it...

* The author shows us both sides to some of the main support characters. I love how DeStefano fleshes out the motivations and human frailties. In the end -- well, I don't want to post any spoilers. Let's just say I felt sorry for someone by the end of the story than I didn't go into it thinking I would pity.  Put it that way.

Unsure about:

* And this is where my dystopian virginity is going to show... for the most part, I found the near-future world very well conceived. The visuals are crystal clear and intriguing. But a few things bothered me. Why people die at a certain age.  It's a little convenient, although it does make for an interesting premise! And then there was the weather. Here we are in the future, with enough technology to create genetically perfect individuals, but we can no longer predict hurricanes. So that bothered me. Hurricanes showing up out of the blue and long, snowy winters in Florida. My poor little brain can't wrap around those things.

Okay, you say, that's all you can find to nit-pick about? Pretty much. I give Wither four out of four Greek coins -- a OMG! rating.  If you have any interest in dystopian futures, character-driven plots, or just really good story telling, I'd urge you to give it a read.

Thankful for Thursday: Series

Today's meme writing prompt is series. What book series are you thankful for having read?

My go-to answer to this question always seems to be Twilight. It was popular when I'd just started writing YA and it really motivated me to try to create three-dimension characters that would have appeal across a large readership. But since I've used that answer a few dozen times now, I wanted to dig a little deeper.

Ok, a lot deeper.  We're talking all the way back to elementary school here.  Remember those identical blonde twins with diametrically opposed personalities, Jessica & Elizabeth Wakrefield?  Oh yeah, I'm talking Sweet Valley High!

I'm thankful for this series because it's the first one I can remember voraciously reading. I loved these books. I loved Elizabeth and her smart brain and classy dress. I can distinctly remember (and this would be fifth grade), looking at one of the illustrations of Elizabeth on a cover and thinking, "Now that's how I want to look when I'm a teen."  Her look was classic and timeless and I wanted to be the nice, smart girl, like she was.

Now, I have no idea if those thoughts carried through with me into my own high school years. I like to think I may have been classic, but I do seem to recall cutoff denim shorts, so I'm not sure I achieved that goal.  Anyway, my point is that this series got me really drooling over books. And while I may have read as much throughout some years, that love of consuming books has never gone away.

What about you? Do you remember the first series that got you hooked? (Don't forget to drop into the Oasis to link to the meme with you own TT post.)

Rebecca Ryals Russell Blog Tour & Interview

I'm honored to be participating in Rebecca Ryals Russell's Blog Tour for her debut release: Odessa - The Serapym Wars.  The YA fantasy was released April 1st from Muse It Up Publishing.  Here's a description of the story:

Myrna Watts, 17 years old, struggles with the inner demons for an attack at age 15 by men with 'glowing red eyes.'  Now, two years later, she finds herself mysteriously transported to a frightening foreign planet ruled by demon-dragons.  

The some cute but too-sweet young man tells her she's there to fulfill her destiny which was written in some Prophecy millions of years ago?  Yeah, right. 

Rebecca was kind enough to answer some questions both for readers and for writers.

For readers/adoring fans --

Describe Myrna’s personality.  What makes her different from other main characters?

Myrna is a high school senior. She’s shallow and pedantic; has an in-crowd group she hangs with who teases others who are slightly different/unusual or just have the bad luck to come from situations they have no control over. She skips school to go shopping at the mall. Her dad, who owns the largest advertising agency in Jacksonville, Fl, gives her a brand new Tesla car for her seventeenth birthday. She takes it for granted. And her English Professor mother has her registered at the university already, even though she doesn’t want to attend college at all. But she plans to go just to keep peace, and the money coming in.

But she also struggles with inner demons from an attack by three red-eyed boys when she was fifteen; and then a vision of those same boys murdering her favorite brother, the one who saved her two years ago.

Then she wakes one morning to discover she must fulfill a prophecy on the demon home world of Dracwald. Throughout this discovery, the quest and training, she changes and realizes what a poor excuse for a human she was. She eventually takes on the quest as leader of the Vigorios (seven teenaged demon hunters) and becomes quite skillful with the sword--but only after many stumbling errors in judgment and a lot of self-doubt.

She also has to deal with the attack from two years ago when three guys raise those scars to the surface of her heart, eventually forcing her to choose between them.

What's something that readers would be surprised to know about Myrna (that doesn't give any plot points away)?  I mean, does she bite her nails, gag on broccoli, secretly read US Weekly when she's on Earth?

As badass as Myrna thought she was in high school, she’s still a virgin and very uncertain of herself around men. Placed into this strange, dangerous situation on Dracwald, all affectation falls away and she realizes how simple and vulnerable she really is. For the first time in her life she sees that she must depend on others for help. She has a really irritating habit of saying “Mother o’ pearl” about everything, too.

The idea of demon-dragons is really cool.  Was there anything in particular that inspired this idea?

Actually, the idea came from the statement in Revelations, in the Bible, about Satan being a dragon and God leaving him in that form. I took that a step further. I imagined Satan (whom I call Narciss) and all of the angels who follow him and are then cast out of Heaven (Asgard) remaining in their dragon forms as a means of punishment. Laud (God) tells them that in order to return to Asgard and their old forms, they must be repent and accept him as Holy Leader. They refuse and become completely evil, corrupting the planet of Dracwald with their evil—it spreads throughout the waters and soil, poisoning the inhabitants and creating monsters.

For writers who are interested in your path to publication --

Tell us what drew you to MuseItUp publishing.  You've got several more books coming out with them, they must be great to work with, yes?

My first contact with MuseItUp Publishing came in a chat with Lea and her editors, cover artist and current authors at the time. This was a few months into the beginning of the company. I was impressed with the family atmosphere and attitudes. I wanted badly to become part of that family. Since joining them last July, I have been pleased to notice this family feeling continues even as the company grows in size. We are now over 100 authors and adding more weekly. Yet Lea continues to share everything with us—discussions are held constantly in our author’s loop, about how to improve the eBook industry and make MuseItUp the best eBook publisher out there.

I currently have seven contracts with Muse, through mid 2012, and am working on several more manuscripts in the Seraphym Wars and Stardust Warriors series. My website has all of the covers I’ve created for each book contracted, excerpts, release dates and more.

How much input, if any, did you have into your cover art?

We have an awesome cover artist and Lea recently hired another one. For the Odessa cover, I designed and used one of my own while waiting for the official cover. My oldest daughter was the model (and actually is the concept for Myrna as well, with some of my other daughter mixed in). I loved the way my cover turned out, so I showed this to Delilah who took the idea and ran with it, coming up with her version. We tweaked a little here and there, added the sword through the word Odessa and such, and wa-la! Gorgeous cover! I love it.

I have one for Zarena, the next book due out in July for the MG Stardust Warriors Series. I really like it and hope the official one looks similar to it.

What's been the most fun thing you've done since Odessa launched on April 1st?

I had my first speaking engagement at the Naples Press Club Writer’s Conference April 9-10. Sandy Lender asked me to speak on Writing for YA. I chose to do a presentation comparing writing for Middle Grades vs Young Adults. I was so nervous. I made my first power point presentation, which my advertising hubby said was wonderful, especially for a first; and spoke for nearly an hour. The computer glitched and I didn’t make it through my whole presentation, but the audience said I was good. I got to spend the weekend with my hubby in a gorgeous hotel, eat out all the time and I bought a beautiful linen skirt set, so that made up for any problems, right?

Thanks to Rebecca for stopping by for an interview and allowing me to participate in her blog tour.  For more information on Rebecca and her novels, check out her website.  To read an excerpt and get a longer book description of Odessa, head to Muse It Up Publishing.  Finally, you can buy Odessa anywhere ebooks are sold.

Happy YA Debut Book Birthdays

It's Tuesday, so you know what that means -- happy debut book birthday day!! (Sorry I went AWOL last week - the stomach bug kept me from doing anything productive or otherwise.)  Remember, while there are plenty of other YA titles making their debuts today, these are titles by those authors who have never before seen their name in print. Exciting, huh?  Let's show them some support.

Blood Magic (The Blood Journals #1) by Tessa Gratton
(Click on links for full Goodreads summary.)  Brother and sister duo out to unravel the mystery of their parents' apparent murder-suicide while exploring the hidden world of blood magic.

Juniper Berry by M. P. Kozlowski
M.P. Kozlowsky's debut novel is a modern-day fairy tale of terror, temptation, and ways in which it is our choices that make us who we are.


Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese
A boy addicted to the high of seeing the future must kick the habit and try to break the main rule of Diviners -- don't try to change the future -- to save a friend of a girl he loves.

Review & Book Birthday Party: The Goddess Test

Due to a stomach bug from hell yesterday, I didn't have time to do my usual debut YA book birthday party. I did, however, finish Aimee Carter's debut YA novel - The Goddess Test - on Sunday night.  So to celebrate her book birthday TODAY, I figured I'd post my review.  (I received by copy via NetGalley and the publisher, which in no way influenced this review.)  From Goodreads:

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.



Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.


Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

For those of you who know what a Greek mythology junkie I am, you now understand why I couldn't wait to get my hands on this novel.  The writing is absolutely amazing and I was instantly sucked in.  This was an incredibly fresh take on the classic myths and you'll undoubtedly look at Hades in a new light after reading this book.  His character was heartbroken and lonely, without any hint of malice or evil that we often find being used to describe Hades.

There were a few points toward the end that bugged me, but I can't get into it without including some major spoilers.  The only thing I'll say with specificity is that Kate's internal monologue tends to bog the story down after awhile.  She takes on so much pressure for everyone else's happiness and she broods about it a lot. 

Overall, I would recommend this book.  The characters are well-developed and each is distinct.  Like I said, the writing is lovely.  And the settings are described with vivid and rich details.  I give this novel 3.5 out of 4 Greek coins.  Go forth and get yourself a copy & wish Aimee a happy book birthday!

And after you've read it, please stop by and tell me what you thought.  i'm happy to talk "spoilers" with those of you who've already read it.