Tag: science-fiction

Book Review: Crewel by Gennifer Albin

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the LeftLeave a comment

Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Genre: Young Adult, Science-Fiction, Dystopia/Utopia

Publishing Info: Wattpad serialisation September 2014 (originally published October 16, 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Pages: 400

Star Rating: 4/5

Back Cover Summary:

Incapable. Awkward. Artless. That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail. Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because tonight, they’ll come for her.

Crewel is the first book in Gennifer Albin’s gripping young adult series.

 

 

I read this book for free when it was posted as a serialisation on the writing website Wattpad, but I would have gladly bought it. The world Albin has created blew me away. This book stands out from many of the other dystopia/utopia young adults books because it has such a unique, original, and imaginative world and concept. The idea is that particular girls can manipulate ‘the weave’ and use it to manipulate the events in Arras. I can’t find the words to explain it right but Albin explains it very clearly and beautifully. Even if you don’t understand the concept right away it becomes more clear as the chapters go on.

Adelice is a strong character who wants to protect the people she cares about as much as she wants to get out of the Guild’s controlling hands. I like how she doesn’t lap up the lavish lifestyle the Guild provides for the Spinsters, not really caring for all the beauty treatments and expensive clothes. It shows she has an independent mind. I also like that she isn’t inherently rebellious like many other protagonists in the dystopia/utopia genre. Her parents drive her to rebel and hide her gifts to protect her from the Guild controlling her, which propels her into a path away from the rules.

The ‘villains’ of the story aren’t necessarily completely evil, and have their own motivations for their actions. They help move the book along as they continually attempt to push Adelice into a mould of the perfectly behaved and obedient Spinster.

The one thing that let the book down (and why I only gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 stars) is that the love triangle sneaks into it. This crops up in so many young adult books that I find it incredibly annoying. In most books it isn’t necessary for the plot and if it is then it is a very weak plot device. However, it isn’t too bad in Crewel as Adelice’s whole world doesn’t revolve around her decision between these boys. It’s very much a side plot which comes up occasionally but which isn’t constantly being shoved in your face. The two ‘love interests’ have good personalities and they actually have a past which very much influences their actions, emotions and personality.

At first I wondered where the plot was going to go as at the start it is mostly about Adelice being at the academy. Then there are twists and turns and the plot begins to build up and get very exciting. I found myself unable to stop reading once I got into it. There are a few slow parts but mostly there is lots going on and it kept my attention.

Overall I was sad when it was finished and itching to get my hands on the next book. I was also disappointed to not be able to give it the stunning five stars I wanted to due to the love triangle issue. What makes this book special is how fresh and original it is and how amazing and imaginative the concept of the book is. I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone interested in dystopia/utopia and is looking for something mind-blowingly unique and exciting.

Book Review: Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris

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Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris

Genre: Young Adult, Science-Fiction, Romance, Mystery

Publishing Info: June 7th 2012 by HarperCollins Children’s Books

Pages: 445

Star Rating: 3.5/5

 

Back Cover Summary:

STOP THE COUNTDOWN. SAVE THE WORLD…

Leaving the beach, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit head on by a pickup truck.

And killed.

Then Ben Michaels, resident stoner, is leaning over her. And even though it isn’t possible, she knows Ben somehow brought her back to life…

Meanwhile, Janelle’s father, a special agent for the FBI, starts working on a case that seems strangely connected to Ben. Digging in his files, Janelle finds a mysterious device – one that seems to be counting down to something that will happen in 23 days and 10 hours time.

That something? It might just be the end of the world. And if Janelle wants to stop it, she’s going to need to uncover Ben’s secrets – and keep from falling in love with him in the process…

 

I really wanted to love this book. When I started it I was really into it, really enjoying it, really gripped by it, then I don’t know what happened. It started off so well with lots of mystery and suspense. Then it took a different turn and went in a completely different direction to what I was expecting (won’t give away any spoilers). I like books which surprise me and aren’t predictable, so this is a good thing. It’s also a bad thing because what started out as a thrilling mystery suddenly turned into a bizarre science-fiction revelation. I love science-fiction, but I just didn’t like this angle in this particular book. It had great potential as a thriller, but the science-fiction just made it unbelievable and too out there. It spoiled what started out as a great book, in my opinion.

Janelle’s character was good and fairly likeable, though I know some other readers have commented that they found her annoying. I felt she didn’t really change that much as a character and there was much more potential for Norris to develop her character and improve her character arc. Ben Michaels was a good ‘love interest’ character, but he wasn’t anything spectacularly different from all the other characters out there. Norris adopted the all-too-familiar love interest who is different inside to the image he projects on the outside. What was good to see was the ‘romance’ treated as a side plot, not the main focus of the story like it is in so many teen and young adult books.

There were several other important characters. The relationship between Janelle and her brother is portrayed very well and also Janelle’s friendship with Alex is believable. However I found Elijah an annoying character because he always seemed to be yelling. I get he’s a troubled character but he just seemed a bit too over-the-top.

The writing style was good – Janelle’s voice was sustained well all the way through – but nothing particularly new or interesting. I felt the book dragged on a bit. It was quite long and I don’t really think it needed to be so long and drawn out.

I wasn’t particularly happy to find out there are going to be more books in this series. The story ends at the end of the book, yet there are going to be more of them. It always seems to be the case with teen and young adult books that it has to be a series. Sometimes they would work better as a standalone and in this case more books really aren’t necessary. I probably won’t be reading them, not because I didn’t enjoy this one, but because I’m happy with where the story ended in this book.

Overall I enjoyed reading Unravelling, mainly because I liked the element of mystery in it and Norris managed to surprise me. I only gave it 3.5 stars because it didn’t blow me away. It wasn’t bad by any means but it wasn’t amazing.

 

Book Review: Gone by Michael Grant

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Gone by Michael Grant

Genre: Young adult, science-fiction, dystopia

Publishing Info: 2009 by Egmont

Pages: 560

Star Rating: 4/5

 

Back Cover Summary:

Suddenly there were no adults, no answers. What would you do? In the blink of an eye, the world changes. The adults vanish without a trace, and those left must do all they can to survive. But everyone’s idea of survival is different. Some look after themselves, some look after others, and some will do anything for power.

 

Gone is the first in a six book series by Michael Grant, the last book of which has recently been released. I have to say the fact there are six books put me off a little bit, especially when I started reading the book. My problem was how could the plot be sustained for six whole books? So far I’ve only read the first, though I have the second waiting on my bookshelf, so this remains to be seen.

The book mainly follows the characters of Sam, Astrid and Quinn as they try to come to terms with the fact there are no longer any adults. There are other important characters as well and they inevitably all come together. There are a lot of characters in this book but Grant manages to give them each a personality, a history and a part in the story. None of the characters seem pointless, they all have a purpose.

The plot is a really interesting one and really keeps the reader gripped. The idea of all the adults disappearing, leaving only children under the age of fifteen, is a great plot point. It reminds me of ‘Lord of the Flies’ a little. There is no explanation for why all the adults have disappeared and makes you desperate to find out. There are a good variety of conflicts between a number of characters of different natures which also drive the story.

There was one thing that really bugged me about the book, though. The names – some of them were so odd. I think some were supposed to be nicknames but even so. Orc? Cookie? I just found it weird.

I did feel it went on for a bit too long. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the review I’m a little concerned that Grant managed to drag it out to six books. I’m reluctant to judge before I’ve read them all but I’m not sure if I’m going to manage to get that far. As much as I enjoyed reading the first book and got through it pretty quickly because I could not put it down at some points I’m just not sure where Grant is going to go with it in the next five books. In my opinion there isn’t enough substance to the plot to make it last that many books. The only thing that would make me read to the end would be to find out how it all happened and how they get out of the FAYZ. I would definitely recommend reading the book though as I very much enjoyed it.