Pledged by Louise G. White

October 23, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / Leave a comment

Pledged (Gateway #3) by Louise G. White

Published: October 22^nd 2015

A big thank you to Louise for giving me a copy to read and review.

The deal was simple: Carolyn and her friends could return home after 21 days. What could happen in 3 short weeks?

Rather a lot: Carolyn’s mother is livid about her “rescue” and Edward is being groomed for a chiefdom he doesn’t want. The Agency’s “elixir of life” has been perfected, and O.W.E. permits mean that certain humans have been authorised to work in the demon realms.

The destroyer is about to face her greatest fear, and it has nothing to do with killing demons: She must decide what to do about Ethan and Note who risked everything for her and already accomplished the impossible in “Chasing the Demon”.

Oh my gosh where do I start. I have been hanging out for this book since I finished Chasing the Demon in July last year. I’ve now read it and Loved it, but am sitting here trying to figure out how to tell you about the story without spoiling it.

At the start of the book we get a wonderful summary of the story so far. I loved the idea of the refresher summary and I loved the execution – It was like a warm hug from a friend I hadn’t seen in ages.

Each book introduced new charters while keeping the old, so yes there were a lot of characters to keep track off by the end of it, but the writing is easy to read and keeping up with them all wasn’t a problem. I found that the jumping around between the thirteen different POV characters pushed the story along at a ferocious pace.

This book has; action, adventure, danger, magic, romance, and of course the destroyer.
I was enthralled with the world Louise created after only a few chapters of the first book and she’s kept me so the whole way through, but alas, now the trilogy is complete.
The only bad thing I can say about this, the third book, is that it isn’t long enough. I would have loved to have gotten to spend more time with all of the characters, well most of them anyways.

In the first two books I was rooting for the other guy to win in the love triangle, but the way Louise ended it felt exactly right.

“…they leaped together into the first adventure of the rest of their lives.

The end.”

I’m looking forward to reading whatever Louise White comes up with next.

Purchase Links:

Louise has had a variety of jobs, including waitress, library assistant, nurse, and police officer. She holds a BSc in Health Studies, and a PG certificate in Primary Education. She lives in the scenic west coast of Scotland with her family.

Louise didn’t set out to write Fantasy, but when she sat with her laptop to begin The Calling, it became apparent that she still believed in Bogey Men, the Monster in the cupboard and of course, the Faeries at the bottom of the garden. Suddenly she found that she was writing a story of heroes who could be found both on our doorsteps and in the realms that lie beyond.

Author’s Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

The Calling, Gateway #1 My Review | Goodreads

Chasing the Demon, Gateway #2 My Review | Goodreads

The Soul Thief by Majanka Verstraete

September 5, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 1 Comment

The Soul Thief (Angel of Death #1) by Majanka Verstraete

Thank you to Majanka, Booktrope and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book to read and review.

When sixteen-year-old Riley is injured in a car crash and sees a girl stealing a boy’s soul, she’s convinced she’s hallucinating. But when she sees the same girl at the hospital later, she knows she wasn’t dreaming. That’s when Riley learns her secret heritage and who she really is: a halfling Angel of Death.

Riley must come to terms with her new reality and supernatural abilities, but before she can do this, girls her age start dying in mysterious circumstances. It’s up to Riley to figure out why, what the innocent victims have in common, and what she can do to stop them.

We get straight into the action with this book, seeing the main character in a horrific car accident. Riley Scott is a Halfing Angel of Death but she doesn’t know that yet. She isn’t hurt all that bad physically in the accident but the chain of events it sets up changes her life forever. She goes from being a normal sixteen year old girl to finding out some serious family secrets, coming across a range of paranormal beings she didn’t even know existed and through no fault of her own becomes a target for the bad guys.

By the end of this book we know who the good guys are, have seen Riley kick some butt, but we’re not quite sure who all the bad guys are. So I’m sure there will be plenty more twists and turns in book two and three.

The cliff-hanger ending of this book really sets Riley up with some epic tasks to accomplish. This book is action packed, intriguing, full of paranormal beings and the main characters are easily likable. Bonds of friendship are tested and some romance is thrown in too.

I liked the way the book dealt with the whole God/Angels thing, I’ve found it to be a bit of an interest killer for me with angel related books. I tend to stick to shape shifters and witches for my paranormal, but Majanka appeased me.

I’m going to leave it at that, anything else I think off to write just feels like a Spoiler!

Four stars for this strong start to what promises to be a fantastic new paranormal young adult series.

Now a quote:

I read this and thought “Ohhh I like that. I have to write that down. Yes, I never needed a knight in shining armor, but damn a cunning wizard could come in handy. I should use pretty font and Instagram this quote” 😛 :-).

Author’s Links

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Newsletter

Purchase Links

Amazon | B&N | Booktopia AU | Amazon AU

Night Owls by Jenn Bennett

August 30, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / Leave a comment

By Jenn Bennett – Night Owls (UK & AU) The Anatomical Shape of a Heart (US).

Published: 13th August 2015.

Thanks to Jenn Bennett, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Feeling alive is always worth the risk.

Meeting Jack on the Owl—San Francisco’s night bus—turns Beatrix’s world upside down. Jack is charming, wildly attractive…and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. Beatrix herself has an incredible artistic talent and is determined to become a medical illustrator. Across midnight buses, blog posts and through her artwork, Beatrix unravels the enigma that is Jack while the two of them fall passionately in love.

But Jack is hiding a piece of himself. On midnight rides and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who this enigmatic boy really is.

Will the secrets Jack stubbornly guards come back to haunt him? Or will Bex’s own complex family fall apart first?

AWWWWWWWWWW!!! Just give me a second as I sit here and hug my HB pencils.

We follow the likeable Bex as she struggles to do what she feels is right. We see her deify her mother for the first time in her life, for good reasons. We see her fall in love with a broken boy who needs her. Find herself. And confront her absent father.

Both Bex and Jack families, even through from extremely different social standings, have issues. We get to see them all work through these issues and come out the other side.

Things I loved: Both leads were Artsy. Good old teen angst. Divorce and Mental Illness’s were addressed. Jack’s Adorable law breaking. Sexy Classic Cars. Happy endings for all the main characters that didn’t feel over the top or super cheesy, just warm and fuzzy.

Things I didn’t: Nothing.

I laughed out loud with this book. At once stage I got antsy, had to put it down and go for a walk because the characters dramas was stressing me out – I just wanted them to be happy! I finished Night Owls and just sat on the lounge with a big smile on my face.

There is adorable first time teen love heavily sprinkled throughout the whole story – Perfection!! I’m putting this on my re-read when needing a pick me up shelf 🙂 Five Stars.

Purchase Links:

Amazon | B&N | Booktopia | Amazon AU

Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly

August 26, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / Leave a comment

Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly

Published 6^th August 2015

304 pages paperback

Thanks to the author, Hot Key Books and The Five Mile Press for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

“Of course I didn’t like Digby when I first met him. No one does.”

“Preparing to survive a typical day of being Digby’s friend wasn’t that different from preparing to survive the Apocalypse.”

The first time Philip Digby shows up on Zoe Webster’s doorstep, he’s rude and he treats her like a book he’s already read and knows the ending to.

But before she knows it, Zoe’s allowed Digby—annoying, brilliant, and somehow…attractive? Digby—to drag her into a series of hilarious, dangerous, and only vaguely legal schemes all related to the kidnapping of a local teenage girl. A kidnapping that might be connected to the tragic disappearance of his little sister eight years ago. When it comes to Digby, Zoe just can’t say no.

But is Digby a hero? Or is his manic quest an indication of a desperate attempt to repair his broken family and exorcize his own obsessive-compulsive tendencies? And does she really care anyway?

This is a contemporary debut with razor-sharp dialogue, ridiculously funny action, and a dynamic duo you won’t soon forget.

planet digby

After her parents get divorced, high school junior Zoe Webster moves with her mother from Brooklyn to upstate New York, determined to get back to the city and transfer to the elite private school her father insists on. But then she meets Philip Digby–the odd and brilliant and somehow attractive?–Digby, and soon finds herself in a series of hilarious and dangerous situations all centred on his search for the kidnapper of a local teenage girl who may know something about the tragic disappearance of his kid sister eight years ago. Before she knows it, Zoe has vandalized an office complex with fake snow, pretended to buy drugs alongside a handsome football star dressed like the Hulk, had a serious throw down with a possible religious cult, challenged her controlling father, and, oh yeah, saved her new hometown.
For fans of John Green and David Levithan, this is a crime novel where catching the crook isn’t the only hook, a romance where the leading man is decidedly unromantic, a friendship story where they aren’t even sure they like each other, and a debut you won’t soon forget.

My first thought upon finishing this book was “God, I hope they do a sequel! I want to know what Digby finds out off of Ezekiel about his sister.”

I think the synopsis above comprehensively lays the story out. If your not hooked by that hook, then I’m not sure what I can tell you. I’m giving this book Five Stars. I had a lot of fun reading it.

Hot Key Books labels this book as 50% Mystery, 30% Humour, 20% Friendship. There is a twisting and turning Who-Done-It-vibe the whole way though. Teenagers just trying to survive being teenagers. Heart warming moments. Multiple creepy bad guys. And tonnes of fun.

By the end of the second page I was hooked on the story and hooked on Digby “the local troublemaker”. Sixteen year old me would have been eating her heart out over Digby.

Right from the start Digby causes Zoe grief and gets her into trouble, and that trouble is addictive. The way Digby sasses every one rubs off on Zoe and it’s for the better as she finally stands up to her ass of a father.

While the kidnapping of the local teenage girl is solved. The mystery of Digby’s little sisters disappearance deepens and we are left with a Kiss and open ending to the book.

I loved Digby, Zoe, Henry and Felix. Especial Felix when he comes flying out of the Ambulance towards the end – Ok I’m just going stop, I wouldn’t want to give any of the surprises away.

I tweeted Mrs Tromly in regards to the unfinished business at the end of book and bless her she tweeted me back within minutes saying that YES, a sequel named Trouble Makes a Comeback will be out next year. I’m excited.

Stephanie Tromly was born in Manila, grew up in Hong Kong and now lives with her husband and son in Winnipeg. She is working on her PhD in English Literature.

Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Amazon AU

Twitter | Goodreads| Hot Key Books

Killing Time by Ingrid Nickelsen

August 13, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / Leave a comment

Killing Time

(For Better or for Worse #2)

by Ingrid Nickelsen

Published 26^th April 2015 by Untold Press

I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review. Thank you Ingrid!

Death is the ultimate heartbreak. Evangeline never expected it to break hers after she died. No one should have to choose between their husband and their first love, but it is that choice that shatters her spirit.

She makes her choice, choosing not to transition, and finds that death can be vengeful too.

The world of the dead is far more complex that she ever knew, and facing the consequences of her actions might be the hardest obstacle yet, Fighting to survive in a world she doesn’t understand, she seeks the help of the wanderers. Time is running out as winter grips the land and her companions help her search for Will. Perhaps, if she keeps her eyes open and believes in her love enough, she will make her way back to him before the Hunters find her first.

Unexpected reunions, impossible choices, and long-hidden secrets will fill her journey with joy and sadness. It is Hunting season and Evangeline will have to fight for those she loves while remembering that cheating death always has a price.

Told from a dual perspective, Killing Time brings the For Better or for Worse series to a heart-stopping continuation in every sense of the word.

I’m writing this review over a month after reading the book, as I’ve been on holidays, but I can remember exactly how I felt and what I said the moment I finished this book.

I felt super hyped up and I said “I can’t wait to read next one”.

Unlike the first book that was just told in Eve’s point of view, we get duel POV with the addition of Will. I really enjoyed being inside Will’s head.

We get a lot of drama early on with Eve forced to join a group of wanders after running off from her transition ceremony. Eve’s choice not to transition caused all sorts of trouble and we start to get a sense of how much when Brielle and Will are captured and thrown in prison by the Midnight Hunters.

There are a fair few twists and turns along the way with newly introduced characters and some previous ones popping back up. Some really big “Oh Snap” moments happen thanks to a certain big deal new character.

We get more magical visions, this time it seems that Eve and Will are transported to some sort of parallel world. While there some emotional bombs are dropped on us all for good measure.

Things get really interesting as we start learning about the Seekers and the Midnight Hunters; their powers and their plans for Will.

This book is definitely more in depth emotionally. We find out more about the characters back stories, making the whole story a more engaging and enjoyable read. I got goosebumps meeting the seekers and witnessing the twisted truth they tell Eve about her and Will’s connection.

The last 150 pages are an intense whirlwind. And that epilogue! Bring on the third and final book. I am expecting the final book to be an epic show down.

Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

Ingrid Nickelsen Ingrid is a French girl, college student, and dreamer. She currently resides in Paris, where she spends most of her time going to museums and the movies.
Despite the romantic atmosphere in Montmartre, or even the fancy cafés in the Champs Elysées, she would easily trade it all for a nice walk in the woods with her schnauzer, Golden. She’s always craving adventures, and finds that books are the cheapest way to travel to far-away lands. She’s inwardly convinced that words have the power to heal the worst blisters on our hearts, or at least can make us forget about them for a little while. And sometimes, it’s just enough to face another crazy day.

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes

June 21, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 2 Comments

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes

Published: 22nd June 2015 by Harper Collins

Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me an ARC and the opportunity to read and review this book.

With a harrowing poetic voice, this contemporary page-turner is perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, Julie Berry’s All The Truth That’s in Me, and the works of Ellen Hopkins.

The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust.

And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too.

Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it’s clear that Minnow knows something—but she’s not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of—if she’s willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past.

The Sacred Lies of Minnow By is a hard-hitting and hopeful story about the dangers of blind faith—and the power of having faith in oneself.

This book has received so many raving reviews and so many “loved it” reviews from fellow book bloggers that I follow. I can understand how someone could be so WOW’d by this book. The writing is beautiful, easy to read /understand and flows at a perfect pace. The action arches and curves to keep you tearing through the pages till the end.

It’s hard to believe that this is Stephanie Oakes Debut! It is her debut people and in my eyes it is flawless. I’ve already added her next book to my TBR even though it won’t be out until next year.

Cults disgust me. Anyone who hides behind religion and lies degusts me. In fact any person who can hurt another living thing and enjoy it, degusts me. Even so I think this book is brilliant. It made me keep reading even though I hated the topic matter. I either wanted to slap sense into the characters or see them run them over with an army tank. Ok, I wanted the Prophet to be run over by an Army tank, the rest I wanted them to wake up to themselves, stupid sheep.

I liked Minnow from the start, but I loved her once she woke up and started to rebel.

My only complaint is that I wanted more closure at the end. I wanted to know that the innocent got a happy ending and the others got what they deserved – even if that is unrealistic.

I generally read books to escape the horrible world we live in. This book spotlights the horrible world we live it, but I am glad I read it. I think anyone 13+ could read this and get something out of it.

I’m going to share what I am sure is going to become one of my favorite book quotes. I’ll give you a little lead in so it makes sense. Warning the work fuck is used, but there is very little swearing in the book considering she ends up in juvenile hall.

* * * * * * *

“FUUUUUCK!” She screams.

“A MILLION TIMES FUCK!” I scream with her.

“What on God’s sacred green Earth is going on?” Benny calls from the skyway. She approaches the bars, her arms crossed.

“Nothing,” Angel and I sat in unison…

“Fuck,” I Whisper.

“Fuck,” she whispers back, a smile creeping onto her face. And, inside that smile is the knowledge that some things are just too sad, too screwed up. Sometimes there’s nothing for it but shouting “Fuck” with your best friend at the top of your lungs.

* * * * * * *

I think that sums up life; something’s are just too sad, too screwed up. I’ve been known to scream profanities at the sky, sometimes there is nothing else we can do to release the pain.

Stephanie Oakes is a teacher and YA author from Washington State.

THE ARSONIST, her second YA mystery is scheduled for publication in fall 2016.

Website – http://www.stephanieoakesbooks.com

Twitter – https://twitter.com/stephanieeoakes

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/543716.Stephanie_Oakes

Tumblr – http://stephanieoakes.tumblr.com/

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

June 13, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / Leave a comment

Rot & Ruin, Vol. 1: Warrior Smart by Jonathan Maberry (author) & Tony Vargas (Illustrator)

Graphic Novel /Comic Book – Paperback, 120 pages

Published May 5th 2015 by IDW Publishing (I won a copy through Diamond Distributors)

Brand-new adventures set in the world of Rot & Ruin!

Written by New York Times best-selling author and multiple Bram Stoker award-winner, Jonathan Maberry, this all-new storyline continues events from the award-winning series of novels.

We meet Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Chong as they travel through the Sierra Nevada mountains just one faltering step ahead of zombie hordes and one giant leap behind the plane flying through the sky that set them on their journey of discovery.

I’ve never read any of the other Rot and Ruin books and to be honest I wouldn’t have read this book hadn’t I won it – but I’m glad I did as I mostly enjoyed it.

The first page sets up the universe, giving us sufficient background on the characters and their world. By the second page you’ve got a feeling for these likable kids and the story can take off at a fast pace, which it does really well. I didn’t feel I was missing anything by not reading the previous books.

We follow Benny Imura, his girlfriend Nix, his best mate Chong and Lilah the girl they found living out in the forest on her own, as they scrounge for supplies and dodge and slash their way through the hordes of zombies while trying to track down where the plane they saw came from.

The story is pretty standard until they stubble access the creepy farmer John and his baby farm. I’m not going to say anymore then “it” made me really psychotic thriller uncomfortable, but “it” made the story – if that makes sense.

I’m not a big Zombie fan. I love me some evil bad guys, demonic cults and mythological beasts – but I’ve never been on the Zombie band wagon.

I would say that over all I enjoyed this compendium more than the first eight Walking Dead’s combined – sorry that’s all I’ve got to compare it to – I made it through the first eight of The Walking Dead books by Robert Kirkman. I decided to give the Walking Dead a try as I really enjoyed what I’d read of Kirkman’s Outsiders (demonic possession) series.

I think zombie loving teens (and any zombie fans in general) would eat up this take on a YA Zombie Apocalypse Graphic Novel – Hey! Zombies just aren’t my thing and I’m still giving it a three stars, so that should say something.

Twitter – https://twitter.com/jonathanmaberry

Website – http://www.jonathanmaberry.com/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/72451.Jonathan_Maberry

The Feral Child by Che Golden

June 4, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 1 Comment

The Feral Child (Feral Child Trilogy #1) by Che Golden

Published in 2012 by Quercus UK

266 Pages

“Gripping, mystical and adventurous, young readers will be as hooked as Maddy was the minute she set foot inside that creepy as hell old castle,” Irish World said of The Feral Child.

Maddy, an orphan, is sick of her Irish town, and sick of her cousin Danny, one of the nastiest people you could meet. Mad as hell one evening, she crawls inside the grounds of the castle, the one place she has always been forbidden to go. Once inside, she is chased by a strange feral boy, who she suspects is one of the faerie: cruel, fantastical people who live among humans and exchange local children for their own.

When the boy returns to steal her neighbor Stephen into his world, Maddy and her cousins set off on a terrifying journey into a magical wilderness, determined to bring him back home. To do so, they must face an evil as old as the earth itself.

Che Golden has created a gripping adventure that interweaves Maddy’s modern Irish experience with the vivid fantasy of the region’s ancient folklore. Readers will enjoy the frank and bold heroine of Maddy, and will be dazzled by The Feral Child‘s evocative rendering of Irish folklore and richly imagined alternate worlds.

Going off the synopsis I thought I was going to love this book, but sadly I wasn’t as enchanted as I expected to be – Never the less it was a sweet fast paced easy read. The fae in this story are not sparkly wish granting flower hugging sweetie pies and therefore probably more believable.

After losing both her parents Maddy, the 10 year old protagonist, ends up living in Ireland with her elderly grandparents. Maddy has two cousins that join her on her adventures; Roisin was lovely, but Danny wasn’t very realistic – little boys do not have changes of heart that quickly. And that malicious Aunt hell bent on taking Maddy away from her grandparents, owww I couldn’t stand her.

Maddy is angry at the world and everyone in it (understandably) and the fae target her because of the great anger and pain she harbours inside. The pain she holds inside her nearly gets her killed in the magical realm, twice! I think this story holds an important lesson to be learnt for the Middle Grade audience it was written for. And I doubt that any faults I found with the stories rushed character development would even be noticed by that target audience. Ten year old me would have eaten this up thinking it was the most fantastical thing ever!

The highlight of the book for me was Maddy’s adorable dog George, he added humour to the story and Maddy realising her deep love for her Grandparents.

While I found that some parts of the story were far too rushed, overall the book was enjoyable and there were some really wonderful parts in the story that made reading it worthwhile.

Paradise City by CJ Duggan

April 14, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / Leave a comment

Paradise City (Paradise #1) by CJ Duggan

Pub Date 28^th April 2015 (Hachette Australia)

I received an eBook ARC from Net Galley in return for an honest review – So Thank You CJ Duggan and Hachette Australia.

From the author of the bestselling Summer series, comes the first book in a seriously sexy New Adult series you won’t want to miss. For fans of Abbi Glines, Sarah Dessen and Colleen Hoover.

There’s bound to be trouble in Paradise . . .

When her parents decide a change will be good for her, seventeen-year-old Lexie Atkinson never expected they’d send her all the way to Paradise City. Coming from a predictable life of home-schooling on a rural Australian property, she just knows that Paradise will be amazing. But when she’s thrust into a public school without a friendly face in sight, and forced to share a room with her insipid, hateful cousin Amanda, Lexie’s not so sure.

Hanging out with the self-proclaimed beach bums of the city, sneaking out, late-night parties and parking with boys are all things Lexie’s never experienced, but all that’s about to change. It’s new, terrifying . . . and exciting.

And when Lexie meets Luke Ballantine, the swoon-worthy, bad-boy leader of the group, the chemistry between them is electric. Trouble with a capital T, Luke is impulsive, charming and answers to no one, and he’s sexier than any guy Lexie has ever known. Lexie begins to wonder if Luke is going to be good for her . . . or very, very bad?

Raise your left hand if you ever made an ass of yourself in high school. Now raise your right hand if you ever tortured yourself over a boy (or girl). Now give yourself a high five because you survived, maybe not unscathed, but you survived.

Oh how this book took me back. Duggan perfectly captures the – he likes me, he likes me not – torture teenage girls put themselves thought. Perfectly captures the hormone induced hysteria that growing up causes.

I loved how real Lexie felt. I wanted to be her friend, I wanted her to flourish and succeed. At some points it was if I was reading my own but better written teenage diary. I wanted to jump into the pages; slap Amanda, kick Ballantine up the bum and hug Lexie while offering her a big bowl of cookies and cream ice cream.

I love bad boys with soft and cuddly centers, love seeing their masks slip, love seeing them let their guards down. Every teenage girls dream is a bad boy that’ll be good just for her. A naughty, cheeky, hot mess. A bad boy who’s really not a bad guy – Boom! it’s Ballantine.

A likable, relatable sheltered country girl. A grade A student who’s been cooped up and restricted – and now, damn the consequences, she’s going to find out what it’s like to live – Boom! it’s Lexie.

There are twist and turns and lessons to be learned. Family tensions, school detentions and late night rendezvous. A boy named Luke Ballantine and girl named Lexie Atkinson – Boom! an exciting, endearing and entertaining story.

Duggan’s writing is beautiful; fresh, humorous, full of heartache and yet full of hope – A damn nice surprise in what can be a rather unbelievable, excessive and skanky genre.

I am internally chucking a full blown teenage tantrum that I have to wait until September to find out what happens next in the world of Lexie. Five Stars.

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/CJDuggan

Website – http://www.cjdugganbooks.com/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/CJ_Duggan

We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

March 31, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 2 Comments

We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

Release date: April 1, 2015

Thank you Simon & Schuster Australia for giving me an ARC to read and review

Four high school seniors put their hopes, hearts, and humanity on the line as an asteroid hurtles toward Earth in this contemporary novel.

They always say that high school is the best time of your life.

Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle—and her reputation—and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, doesn’t understand all the fuss about college and career—the future can wait.

Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors—along with the rest of the planet—wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present.

When I finished reading the last page I actually laughed at loud “that’d be right”. I closed the cover and muttered to myself “that’s brilliant”. Yep, I LOVED IT. And dare I say, I think it’s going to be the next big thing, I’m imagining the closing credits for the movie adaptation already.

I finished We All Looked Up on Sunday morning and I’ve been trying to figure how to write a review to do it justice ever since. Wallach’s writing is beautiful, easy to read, emotional and powerful.

We get backgrounds on the four view point characters and then follow them as they learn that there is an asteroid tearing toward earth with a 66.6% chance of impact, with the possible collision being so catastrophic it will wipe out the world. The four viewpoints are: the all-around golden boy and Jock Peter, the promiscuous and artsy Eliza, the good girl and overachiever Anita and the stoner and slacker Andy. Wallach uses teenage stereotypes and makes them feel real. He gives a world of complicated characters to care for and despise all at once. There is a little bit of all of us in this story somewhere.

We follow them as they try to survive until the end, as they try to deal with and make sense of their lives, as the world goes crazy and they try to come to terms with death. There are inner demons faced and new friendships made. The story keeps moving on, revolving through the different viewpoints. The different points of view flow beautifully and I enjoyed getting in all their heads.

The ending was open and leaves us to ponder. I’d like to think this book might make a few teens wake up to themselves. What would you do if the world was coming to an end? I found a few parts hard to swallow, mainly Anita’s struggle of living her life for everyone other than herself, as I feel that way sometimes, so that made me contemplate my own situation.

FIVE STARS for the next big thing > > > We All Looked Up.