Trailer Tuesday (01/04/2014)

Trailer Tuesday continues! I'm finding that a majority of the trailers are for books from bigger publishing companies. I so rarely see a book trailer that I will be including those anyway!

If you would like to see your trailer featured here, or would like to share one you found and loved, please send me a link to it via Twitter, Facebook or my contact form on my blog.

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Review: The Cleansing

Book Summary

After the earth suffered from a series of severe natural disasters that claimed many lives, people are still fearful years later. America allows in foreigners from other devastated areas to assist with rebuilding. As a result, a new wave of immigration occurs, and now Americans are in the minority. They are discriminated against and blamed for global warming.

 When a foreigner becomes president of the United States, he devises a plan that will prevent Americans from standing in the way of his tyranny. He forces them to attend the Earth Education Program, where they are supposed to learn how to take better care of the environment.

The story follows John and Annie Weber, an American couple, who discover that the program is more malignant than it appears. As a massive genocide takes place, John and Annie struggle to survive in this new world.

Star Rating

5 / 5

I really enjoyed this book. It's depth surprised me. The character development in this book is superb and by the end of the novel you really feel connected to the characters. What makes this book even more amazing is how the plot is handled. It's pacing, subplot interjections, flashbacks, and plot twists kept me hooked. In a distant future I suppose the events in this book could become a possible reality. I think that the potential possibilities is what makes certain dystopian novels truly chilling. This is a great dystopian novel, and I think anyone who likes thrillers or drama would appreciate this book.

Review

Throughout the book we see racism directed at Americans through laws. Having studied the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s I can see some similarities and, in the beginning, it was interesting to see things turned around on Americans. It wasn't long until their treatment stopped being an interesting 'how would you like it' and turned into something that registered as just wrong to me as a reader. The main characters in this novel, John and Annie, are a somewhat average couple. I think this makes it a lot easier to relate to the feelings of the characters. They aren't action heroes, they aren't the strongest or most intelligent, they aren't anything particularly special. They survive the story by their own skills, personal strengths, love and luck. But, as in all true dystopian novels, they are doomed to fail. We follow these two characters, share in their heartbreak and joys. We feel everything they do. In fact, towards the end of the book, I was close to tears (and I don't often cry over books!). I was happy to see that, at the end of the book, a sequel is planned. While I do hate cliché or unearned happy endings, I would like to think that the fictional world of this book can right the wrongs of Julian. So obviously I will be reading the rest of the series!

The book is sometimes interrupted by subplots of other characters. At first I thought it was strange, then I began to like it. The other perspectives helped give a bigger view of what was happening in the world and how other people were living or suffering. I found the chapter dedicated to John's parents to be very chilling and, for that reason, enjoyable because I didn't see it coming. I thought there would be some side note as to what happened to them, or that they would be left as deaths that happened off screen, presumably at the Earth Program. Laura and Stephanie's subplot was also interesting because their story gave the book its final, horrific chapter. Evans shows that she isn't limited to following just the 'main' characters in a book, and that she can weave a bigger picture using minor characters to spice up the novel.

This book was definitely easy to read, the length was perfect and I enjoyed the pace. For me, Evans ticked all the right boxes. Despite Annie's inability to bear children and her irritability (and bitterness) towards her family and friends who had children, Annie never came off as a character who was petty or annoying because of that aspect of her character. To me, her feelings and thoughts were justified, and so I liked her very much as a character. Furthermore, I felt John had a vulnerability about him which made him believable because he wasn't Mr Action Man.

  

While it isn't a negative point, I did foresee Annie getting pregnant, or at least a pregnancy scare, in the book because of the mention of nausea. Perhaps my mind was just making huge assumptions because of one word. However, there was a lot I didn't foresee. In this book I felt there were quite a few twists in the story. For example, when Annie and John are sent for 're-education' I thought the worse that would happen would be rigged exams to keep Americans locked up permanently. I ended up thinking the characters were just being a bit paranoid, but when the soldiers began to shoot at the Americans I realised how Evans had created a place where Americans were lulled into a false sense of security - and I too had been taken in by it! Moreover, I certainly didn't see one of the good guys mercilessly taking the life of a spy. As a reader I know it's what should always happen, but good characters do tend to refrain from outright murder, or there's more emotional anguish written. And, of course, the last note I made on this book was 'omg'. I definitely didn't think the ending would happen in such a way. I hope I haven't given too much away about this book, but it's rather difficult to explain how much of a pleasure it was to read without nodding to all the twists and turns in the book.

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Review: Life First

Book Summary (from Amazon)

 Strong-willed Kelsey Reed must escape tonight or tomorrow her government will take her kidney and give it to someone else.

 In this future forged by survivors of pandemics that wiped out 80 percent of the world's population, life is valued above all else. The government of "Life First" requires the mentally ill to be sterilized, outlaws abortions and sentences to death those who refuse to donate an organ when told.

 Determined not to give up her kidney, Kelsey enlists the help of her boyfriend Luke and a dodgy doctor to escape. The trio must disable the tracking chip in her arm for her to flee undetected. If they fail, Kelsey will be stripped of everything.

Review
*** I was given this book for free in exchange for an honest review. ***

Life First by RJ Crayton gets off to a pretty good start. I know a lot of readers use the first chapter to gauge whether they want to continue with a book or not and Crayton's chapter certainly doesn't let it down. It ends on a cliff hanger to compel readers to continue with the book, and establishes the main character, as well as important factors that influence Kelsey and her later decisions (such as her upcoming surgery and her father). Crayton doesn't take too long to give the reader a little more insight as to what's going to happen in regards to Kelsey's apparent fate. I felt Life First had good pacing from the start and it certainly kept me reading. I appreciated the well sized chapters which allowed me to stop at natural breaks in the book.

Crayton has a habit of holding back certain details to leave the reader wondering why. Kelsey's father, for example, is first described as being somewhat impersonal and out of touch with his daughter. When Crayton reveals he is a politician it all seems to make sense. This technique is used throughout the book and is part of the reason I originally disliked Kelsey. Early on in the book I found myself disliking Kelsey as I perceived her as exaggerating events and even, at times, being unduly selfish. As more was revealed I was able to sympathise more with Kelsey.

However, I still found the character of Kelsey to be annoying at times. She feels she is in a 'do or die' situation in regards to the surgery, despite her father telling her the chance of misfortune is only 5%. Later on, when we learn the fate of Kelsey's mother and best friend, it seems a bit more understandable that Kelsey would be very wary of what could go wrong.  At times Kelsey seems to be rather innocence, and believes that speaking her mind is for the best and (as a result of this) gets herself deeper in trouble. In fact, whenever she acts independently she seems to do things wrong. My ultimate grievance with her is that she lived in a society whose core values were ones she didn't share. Rather than leave society, as she was seemingly free to do before she was marked for surgery, she choose to stay until called upon to do her 'civic duty'.

I was intrigued as to how in a society obsessed with Life First (and with technology such as Life Monitoring Systems) there was no mention of organs being grown in a laboratory as an alternative to human donation. Manufacturing body parts would seem to hold no risk for any human donor, whereas the system of donor's carries a risk of damaging complications. Nevertheless, the idea of Life First is an interesting change to other social movements found in dystopian media.

Unlike many books, Crayton uses the first person present tense and I feel that this works. Given all the problems that arise in Kelsey's life it always seems like the next problem could lead to the end of Kelsey.  The uncertainly of Kelsey's ultimate fate left me feeling as though she was going to die and the odds certainly did seem stacked against her. I think this made the book more thrilling because of her mortality.

Front Cover

The front cover could use a little something to make it really stand out as it seems a little bland and forgettable. Maybe a propaganda Life First poster?

Overall Rating

 3.5 / 5 

A well paced dramatic sci-fi which raises questions of social duty and morality. While I personally didn't like Kelsey much, most of the characters are admirable as they overcame obstacles they faced as a result of society. The use of present tense adds an exciting element of uncertainty to this book. This works well as a stand alone novel for young readers, but I feel as though it could have been made into a much darker, more elaborate adult novel which could have really explored the dark side of Life First and the world beyond Kelsey's limited life and environment. This is one possible direction Crayton might take in the sequel - we'll have to wait and see!

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Review: Build a Man

When I  started reading the book I was sceptical. Drama and romance make up the majority of chick lit and I've never been a great fancy of either unless they're accompanied by fabulous fantasy or a good dose of horror. After a while drama and romance all start to seem the same when you break the components down. There are formulas that work - readers like them - and they stick. I started reading Build a Man by Talli Roland thinking this book would be predictable and a sign that, yes, these aren't really my type of books. Yawn. However, the last 30% of the book had me tapping my screen like crazy (I use the Kindle App so no thumbing pages for me). I spent a good few hours reading without interruption because I want to know what happens. As a realist and part time pessimist I could believe that there was a (slim) chance that there might not be a happy ending. After a while happy endings just become so samey, as though in fiction land everything is always perfect with a happy-ever-after ending and I find that a little depressing because real live doesn't work that way. Nevertheless, this happy ending didn't disappoint me. Serenity made some massive mistakes and in a way she 'paid' for them. But more importantly she learned from her mistakes. Her shallow dreams of being a tabloid writer disappeared when she realised how 'dirty deeds' play an important role. I'll be honest - I wondered why she would have progressed to the second article given the attitude of Leza. But when you fixate on a dream for so long and convince yourself it's harmless, or even beneficial to the parties involved, the character's motivation is understandable.  

This story introduces the reader to Serenity. Her daily life involves being a reception for shallow and snobby women wanting cosmetic surgery. It isn't difficult to find yourself sympathising with her. The customers are rude and seem to have little integrity. Funnily enough, when Serenity's undercover we could say equally bad things about her. She lies, betrays a good man and even panders to a woman with a horrid mantra ('if it bleeds it leads'). Depending on your views of cosmetic surgery you may be like me and find yourself siding with her 'hippie' parents who would look down on Serenity's dream of becoming a tabloid writer. But people have to make their own mistakes to learn from them and this is a story of that. 

Roland does a wonderful job of creating characters which the reader will, no doubt, have strong opinions on. It isn't difficult to dislike Peter in this book. He is boring, unemotional, and just what you might wrongly imagine all doctors are like. It's clear in the beginning of the book that Peter is a poor match for Serenity, though she seems quite blind to it herself originally. I'm honestly not sure I could ever put up with a man like that. Maybe it is because of this that by chapter 6 I felt like I knew the direction of the plot. Jeremy is a much more down to earth sort of the character, and much easier to fall in love with, as reader, than Peter. This is why I felt so sorry for him when bits of his past are revealed. His relationship was ruined by a superficial partner and rather than thinking it's good that they ended, he believes if he looks good then he will attract the right partner. It seems strange that he thinks that by being more physically attractive he will find someone who truly loves him, but isn't this the same mistake many women make? I really like the reversal in this book. It could easily have been about a male doctor and female patient. 

To be honest the idea of the Build a Man column is great. Who wouldn't like to be involved in an interactive designing of the perfect man who is single and looking for love? In this book it's the characters that make it great. The plot is fun, but without such vibrant characters it would feel pretty flat. From the lovable Jeremy, uncaring Peter, detestable Mia and flawed Serenity, Roland includes an interesting range of character. This allowed me to feel more involved with the story. This is certainly a fun read and I would recommend this to anyone who likes the chick lit genre.

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Review: The Disappearing Girl

The Disappearing Girl by Heather Topham Wood is a book which I would like to see presented to girls of around sixteen (and perhaps younger if some of the sexual content was toned down or omitted). Thanks to the media, eating disorders have a higher profile than ever before and they are a stark contrast to the increasing obesity figures. Wood covers the serious issues of eating disorders skilfully which, to me, was more important than the romance aspects of this book. Although, the latter might be the main appeal for younger readers picking up this book. For this reason I see this book as being a good way to raise awareness of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa on an emotional and cognitive level, rather than a dull factual level.

The protagonist, Kayla, begins as a relatively normal and relatable girl. She is shy, a little overweight and down to earth. To put it simply she is likeable  reliable and responsible as a sister, friend and individual. The pressure of her father's death and her mother's unyielding criticism of her weight soon become too much for her to handle any longer. Kayla soon begins to binge and purge, then starts starving herself. Wood details Kayla's downward spiral and the unfortunate symptoms of eating disorders, such as pushing those who want to help away.

I won't spoil the ending for anyone intending to read the book, but I will say that I found this book predictable. I don't mean this in a negative way. However, having studied eating disorders I could already foresee what would happen next and even the ending. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable journey. As I have never had an eating disorder myself, nor do I personally know anyone who has, I do not know how accurately Wood's construction of the cognitions and emotions of someone suffering with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa were. However, Wood seemed careful not to under exaggerate or belittle Kayla in her struggles.

Needless to say, what I liked about this book was just the way that such a sensitive issue was handled and explored. Kayla's normal-ness made it feel much more real, though at times I found the romance and the character of Cameron to be a little... intense and possibly over the top. But girls in love are that way, aren't they? Strangely enough I also liked how Wood's constructed Kayla's mother. Making her out to be the  evil step-mother type character (though she is her biological mother), then linking that to her own pain over her husband's death and upbringing helps remind the reader that more than genes are passed on in a family.

I found the ending to be a rather pleasant tying up of the story. Sometimes it is nice to have some real closure at the end of a story rather than being left on a frustrating cliff hanger where you wished another chapter existed. At the same time, because I had predicted most of the plot, I did consider not reading the last chapter or two because it seemed pretty obvious how things would end.

Ultimately, I found this book to be well written, engrossing and just the right length. The characters were well crafted and the issues at the heart of the book were brilliantly explored throughout the course of the novel. It is certainly worth the price and I would recommend it to anyone who likes reading about life issues or romance. But, it isn't the most cheerful of books, so avoid reading it if you want something as a pick-me-up!

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