Middle-Grade Review: Not Quite a Ghost

I got a wonderful surprise in the mail last week that I read right away: Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu, a middle-grade spooky thriller with a twist from a favorite author and a virtual friend for over 15 years. She and I share the same chronic illness, ME/CFS, an immune disorder, and we each reached out to the other at various times, as I explain in this post on my chronic illness blog, Great Books from a CFS Author. I reviewed her first middle-grade novel, The Shadow Thieves, book one of The Cronus Chronicles, in which she cleverly worked her illness into the story of modern-day kids battling Greek gods. My son (a young teen at the time) and I both loved the action-packed, funny series. I later reviewed her middle-grade novel Breadcrumbs (and also reviewed it for Family Fun magazine), which features a ten-year-old girl dealing with real-life issues who meets fairy-tale characters in the snowy woods. I enjoyed it so much, I gave it to my niece for Christmas that year! I also enjoyed The Real Boy, about a young boy who works for a wizard and is dealing with his own challenges. I reached out to Anne recently to see how she was doing and how her health was, and she sent me a copy of her latest middle-grade novel, Not Quite a Ghost. I read it immediately and think it may be my favorite of her novels, which is saying a lot!

Eleven-year-old Violet is going through a lot of changes in her life. Her family has just moved out of their too-small house into an older house that needs some work. Violet's teen sister, Mia, is thrilled to finally have some privacy and gets her first choice of rooms, and their little brother needs to be near their parents. That leaves Violet up in the creepy attic bedroom with the ugly wallpaper all by herself. She's also starting middle school, where her closest friends suddenly seem to change and to want a bigger friend group. Then, in the first weeks of school, Violet gets sick ... and she doesn't get better. Sometimes she feels OK and tries to act normally, leading some friends to think she's faking, and other times, her body just won't work and she can't get out of bed. Spending a lot of time in the attic bedroom, Violet begins to see strange things in the weird wallpaper and suspect that she's not alone up there. She calls on her new friend, Will, who's been researching ghosts, to help her, but is there anything they can do? 

I loved this spooky, unique novel and never wanted it to end! Violet is eventually diagnosed with ME/CFS, the same illness that the author and I share. Both of my sons got it, as well (it has genetic roots), at ages 6 and 10, and it affects millions of other kids and teens all over the world--even more now since long-COVID often develops into ME/CFS. Ursu describes the disease perfectly, with all of its mysterious symptoms, seemingly random ups and downs, dismissive doctors and school personnel, and disbelieving family and friends (though Violet's family is very supportive). I felt seen. If all of that sounds like it might be depressing, it's not! 

Ursu brings her marvelous sense of humor to this novel, and I was often laughing out loud while reading it. And she writes kids so well; young readers will definitely see themselves in Violet and her friends. Plus, there is also that wonderfully creepy supernatural plotline throughout the novel. The suspense and tension crank up as the strange experiences in Violet's attic bedroom increase, and she and Will try to figure out what's happening. Ursu has created a clever parallel to what's happening in Violet's body with the house being unable to expel whatever has "invaded" it in the attic. It's a gripping, original story with a nail-biting climax that is perfect. Like I said, of all of her unique, magical, funny, suspenseful novels, this one is my new favorite.

288 pages, Walden Pond Press

HarperAudio

You can visit Anne's website for more information about her books. And to read about her inspiration for this book and her own illness experiences, see her blog post "On Hauntings" on the Nerdy Book Club blog.

This book fits in the following 2024 Reading Challenges:

 

Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - October - Wicked Good Reads

Alphabet Soup Challenge - N

Diversity Reading Challenge

Literary Escapes - Minnesota

RIP - Readers Imbibing Peril 
 

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me  

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio sample here, too, which showcases the humor in the story).

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 
  

Fiction Review: The Ferryman

With my husband's encouragement, I chose The Ferryman by Justin Cronin from my stack of Big Books in late August. It was longer than some of the other books still in my pile, but he assured me it was a quick, gripping read. And he was right! This inventive novel from the author of The Passage trilogy (and a very different (not sci fi) novel,  The Summer Guest) took me on a rollercoaster ride, with surprises around every corner.

Proctor works as a Ferryman, a very respected position, on the island of Prospera. There was some sort of global crisis out in the wider world that resulted in the creation of this hidden, remote paradise. No one dies on Prospera. Mental, physical, and emotional health is constantly monitored, and when someone's rating starts to decline (and definitely before they hit 10%), they "retire." Ferryman like Proctor guide them through this transition phase and accompany them to a ferry, where they will travel to a neighboring island known as the Nursery. There, they will be "reiterated," eventually taking the ferry back to Prospera as a new 16-year-old iteration (with no memory of their past life/lives) to start fresh. Proctor remembers his own ferry ride to Prospera at 16, meeting his adoptive parents, Cynthia and Malcolm, who were delighted at his arrival. Now, Proctor enjoys his important job--and is very good at it--but he has started to have some difficulties. First, his mother dies (actually dies) in a very unexpected and unusual way, and now he's been summoned to retire his own father. Even more disturbing, Proctor has been dreaming, which isn't supposed to happen to Prosperans, and his dreams are increasingly disturbing. He begins to see cracks and flaws in their perfect society, as he wonders what is happening to him.

That is just the broad framework of the earliest chapters in this unique novel, which is continually surprising. As Proctor's journey continues, the reader goes along for the ride. Every time you think you have something figured out or know what's coming next, there is another shocking twist you never saw coming. It's a truly unique science fiction plot that provides insights into our own humanity and society (as the best sci fi does), like this passage:

"It's been my experience that a lot of human interaction comes down to just these sorts of exchanges, less an actual conversation than a form of parallel confession--the two parties performing their interior monologues, not really listening to each other but merely taking turns. I do not mean this cynically or as a statement of personal superiority; I'm as guilty as the next guy."
 

Cronin's writing pulls the narrative along at a fast pace; this was indeed a quick read because I couldn't bear to set it down. His characters are fully fleshed-out and feel real so that you are rooting for (or booing for) them throughout the story. I love this combination in a novel: unique, gripping plot with plenty of emotional depth and thoughtful insights. The end result is truly magical and a delight to read, and the ending was perfect. I wish I could read it again for the first time, not knowing what was coming.

538 pages, Ballantine Books

Random House Audio

This book fits in the following 2024 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - August: Seasons, Elements, Weather
Big Book Summer Challenge

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. It sounds great, with multiple narrators.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio sample here, too).

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 

Fiction Review: Firekeeper's Daughter

For Christmas this year, instead of asking for specific books, I gave my family a list of authors I've never read and about whom I've heard great things. One of those was Angeline Boulley, and I was thrilled that my husband gave me The Firekeeper's Daughter as a gift. I finally see what all the fuss was about! While published as a YA novel, this story has so many layers and such complex themes that it will be loved by any adult, too. It's a mystery/thriller with great emotional depth, set against a fascinating cultural background.

Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has always had a foot in two worlds, though she often feels as if she doesn't fully belong in either. She lives in Sault (pronounced Soo) Ste. Marie, Michigan, near the Canadian border, with her mother. Her mother's parents were French and Italian, and her father, who died, was a part of the local Ojibwe tribe, though her parents were never married. Her closest ties to the tribe are her half-brother, Levi, her beloved Aunt Teddie, and her best friend Lily. Levi is a part of the renowned Sault Ste. Marie Superiors hockey team, and as the novel begins, he introduces Daunis to a new member of the team who just moved to town. Jamie is gorgeous, polite, and charming to everyone he meets, including Teddie's twin six-year-old girls. Daunis soon starts to fall for him, though she senses he's hiding something. 

Daunis' town, where the tribe seems integrated into the larger community and hockey is king, includes a dark secret. The scourge of meth has reached their community, with tragedy seemingly around every corner now. Lily's ex-boyfriend, Travis, was a straight-A student in all of Daunis' AP classes until he got into drugs, discovered meth, and started dealing. He keeps begging Lily to take him back--and to try meth. Daunis' own Uncle David, her mother's brother, died recently of an overdose, stunning his family since he'd been clean for 15 years. Amid this community in crisis, Daunis discovers an FBI investigation is ongoing and is asked to go undercover as a part of it. She wants to help her community and find out who the source of the meth is and where it's coming from, but she doesn't necessarily agree with the FBI's approach. Her conflicted feelings increase, as does the danger, as she gets closer to answers.

While this is a mystery/thriller at heart, with plenty of suspense, action, and a twisty plot, there is so much more to it. We see the complex grieving process of Daunis and her family, her closeness to both sides of her family, and a burgeoning love in the midst of tragedy. In addition, this novel provides an in-depth look at the modern Native American experience, and Daunis' own particular challenges of living in two different worlds (though, to some extent, all members of the tribe live that way). The details of traditional ceremonies, healing, and customs, and the closeness of the tribal community, are beautiful and fascinating. These details are authentic because the author herself is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie tribe. I loved getting to know Daunis and her family, felt fully immersed in their world, and was rooting for the whole community to get to the bottom of the drug problems and begin to heal.

NOTES: 

The author says this novel is being developed into a TV series (which would be amazing!), but it doesn't show up in IMDb yet. 

The setting was described so beautifully that I wanted to visit and included stop in Sault Ste. Marie on our summer vacation to Michigan! Unfortunately, we had to cancel due to my illness, but I can't wait to see it in person next summer.

494 pages, Henry Holt and Company

Macmillan Audio

This book fits in the following 2024 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Alphabet Soup Challenge - F

Diversity Reading Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - Michigan
 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. The sample gives you an idea of both the suspense and the cultural setting.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio sample here, too).

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 
  

Teen/YA Review: Dangerous Lies

During the R.I.P. Challenge in October, I enjoyed a unique YA thriller about the Witness Protection Program, Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick.

Stella Gordon is starting over in the tiny, remote town of Thunder Basin, Nebraska. Her name isn't even really Stella, but that's the name she's been given by the Witness Protection Program (WITSEC), after witnessing a shooting in her own home involving a dangerous drug cartel. Now, a U.S. Marshal has dropped her off at a farmhouse that feels like the middle of nowhere to Stella. An ex-cop named Carmina is pretending to be Stella's foster mother, as part of her cover story. Nothing in Thunder Basin feels familiar, and Stella misses her old neighborhood in Philadelphia, her best friend, and especially, her boyfriend, Reed, who is also in WITSEC now. The only thing Stella doesn't miss is her addict mother, who also witnessed the murder but was put into a treatment program. Stella's been the only responsible one in her household for as long as she can remember, and at least it's a relief not to be worried about her mom for now. She tries to settle into Thunder Basin, and to pass the endless boring hours, she gets a job and joins a local softball team. The first friend she makes is a guy that lives down the road from Carmina, Chet, who wears a cowboy hat and mows her lawn for her. Over the summer, Stella and Chet get closer, and Stella wants so badly to tell him who she really is, but the danger of being found is always there, plus unexpected dangers right in town.

I'm fascinated by WITSEC (if you are, too, check out the TV show, In Plain Sight), so I was hooked right from page one of this fast-paced novel. Stella is prickly and defensive, but she grows on you, as you see the hurt and vulnerabilities beneath. The author has created interesting, real-feeling characters and a story that pulled me right in. Suspense and tension come from multiple places in the plot, as Stella encounters problems in town, as well as the ever-present danger of being found and the stress of pretending to be someone else. There were plenty of surprising twists that kept me turning the pages. This is more than just an action-packed thriller, though. It's also the tender, warm story of a young girl finding a home and learning to feel safe and loved.

384 pages, Simon & Schuster

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge (extra points for being on my shelf for 8 years?)

R.I.P. Challenge
 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio sample here, too).

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

  

Fiction Review: Upgrade

My husband and I are huge fans of Blake Crouch, both his novels and the TV shows based on his books and/or screenplays. We both enjoyed the shows Wayward Pines and Good Behavior, based on his novels and screenplays. Recently, he has written an excellent trio of science fiction thrillers: Dark Matter (my favorite), Recursion, and now Upgrade. And I just read that Apple TV+ is making Dark Matter into a TV series, and Netflix bought the rights to Recursion for a movie adaptation! Like those novels, Upgrade is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller based on a terrifying scientific premise. (links here are to my reviews).

In the near-future, Logan Ramsay is working for the GPA, Genetic Protection Agency, a new government agency tasked with stopping any genetic modification research. The GPA is the result of an agricultural experiment gone terribly wrong. A researcher genetically modified the insects that feed on rice in China so that instead of harming the rice, the insects would cause stronger, healthier rice with greater yields. But unforeseen consequences resulted in a global famine that the world is still recovering from, decades later. Logan himself was a genetic biologist imprisoned for his work, and he joined the GPA as a condition of his release. As the novel opens, Logan and his partner, Nadine, are leading a raid on a laboratory in Colorado, based on information obtained from a scientist they just arrested. They have a whole SWAT team with them, but as Logan enters the building first, he is hit by some kind of explosion that rips right through his protective gear. Hospitalized for weeks afterward, Logan experiences extremely high fevers and terrible pain,. They guess that he was exposed to something from the explosive device, but none of the doctors can identify the infection that seems to have seized him. He recovers and is released from the hospital and sent back to his wife and daughter. Soon, though, Logan begins to notice changes: small at first but growing over time. He can think more clearly, speed read complex books and understand everything, and remember every word he's ever read in his life, like single lines from in-depth scientific reports he reads decades ago. Logan also notices physical improvements in strength and stamina. He suspects that whatever infected him at the laboratory introduced a genetic hack into his body; he's been upgraded. He figures out that what's happening to him will soon be forced on the entire population ... and he's the only one who can stop it.

And, that is just the beginning! As always with Crouch, this novel starts with a bang (literally) and takes off at breakneck pace. There are unexpected twists and turns around every corner and a whole lot of surprises. All of that makes it an excellent thriller, but the subject matter is also fascinating and thought-provoking. Crouch (as Logan) digs deep here into the ethical and moral implications of upgrading the human race and of the mind-bending concept of humans trying to save humanity by engineering our own evolution. This is the kind of science fiction I love, the kind that makes me think. Logan and the other characters are fully developed, so that you are rooting for him, to both save the world and hang onto his humanity as he becomes something new. This thoughtful, page-turning thriller was engrossing and gripping, with a very satisfying ending. It's a very close second to my favorite, Dark Matter! I hope this one gets adapted for TV or movie, too.

337 pages, Ballantine Books

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - Colorado

R.I.P. Challenge

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here (from the beginning of the novel--it sounds good!) and/or download it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm (the same audio sample is available here) and support local bookstores.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

Teen/YA Review: Crash and Bang (Visions trilogy)

Pulling books off my shelves for my large "pile of possibilities" for the R.I.P. Challenge and Series September last month, I noticed a forgotten YA novel: Bang by Lisa McMann, book two in her Visions trilogy. Lisa McMann is an old favorite author of mine (I loved her YA series Wake, standalone Cryer's Cross, and middle-grade series The Unwanteds, links to my reviews), so I requested book one of this newer trilogy, Crash, from my library and read both of them in September. They lived up to my high expectations, and I read these gripping paranormal thrillers in record time!

Jules is sixteen and lives in Chicago but doesn't have a typical teen life. She spends her free time helping out in her family's Italian restaurant, and her best friends (only friends?) are her older brother and younger sister. They're the only ones who really understand what it's like to live with their father's severe depression and hoarding. But Jules is managing OK until she starts to see frightening visions whenever she looks at screens. In her repeated vision, she sees a snowplow jump the curb and hit a restaurant full of people, followed by a huge explosion. Her vision ends with nine body bags in the snow, and she can see a face in the last one, of her old friend and current crush, Sawyer. As her visions increase in intensity and frequency, showing up in mirrors, windows, signs, and more, she searches them for clues and figures out that it's Sawyer's family's Italian restaurant that she's seeing exploding violently. The problem? She and her siblings have been forbidden from even speaking to Sawyer and his family because of some age-old feud among the adults in the families. How can she pinpoint the exact time of the impending disaster and warm Sawyer and his family in time? Or will the increasingly violent visions make her go crazy first? What if her dad's mental illness runs in the family?

No spoilers of Crash's ending, but in book two, Bang, Jules' visions have ended, but someone close to her begins to see different--but similarly horrifying-- visions of another impending disaster. Together, they are trying to figure out what is being seen so they can stop it from happening.

As always, McMann has created a bizarre but believable paranormal premise in the midst of a very realistic situation. The tension here ramps up higher and higher as Jules' visions worsen, while she tries to navigate high school, working in her parents' restaurant, and dealing with her dad's issues. She's a fully-developed character, with wonderfully close relationships with her siblings as the three of them band together to keep their family's secrets. There is even a sense of humor in these novels; did I mention that Jules has to drive a food truck with giant meatballs on top to school? That humor is on display in the audio sample below, as Jules lists "5 Reasons Why I'm Shunned." I love the way this novel is a thriller, with great suspense, while it also has so much emotional complexity, dealing with issues like mental illness. Lisa McMann has done it again, with an original premise and engrossing page-turner, and I can't wait to read book three in the trilogy, Gasp.

Crash, 256 pages, Simon & Schuster

Bang, 272 pages, Simon & Schuster

These books fit in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge (Bang)

Diversity Reading Challenge (both)

Literary Escapes Challenge - Illinois (both)

R.I.P. Challenge (both)

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. This sample highlights the humor in the novel as well as some background about Jules and her siblings.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (there's also an audio sample here, a different one, about the visions).

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 
  
 

 

Fiction Review: A Solitude of Wolverines

I took advantage of the seasonal R.I.P. Challenge and Series September event to finally read a book I have heard wonderful things about: A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson. I first heard about this series on the Book Cougars podcast and bought this first book for my husband. I thoroughly enjoyed this outdoor thrill ride.

Wildlife biologist Alex Carter is attending a wetlands dedication ceremony near Boston when a man comes through the crowd shooting. He is particularly focused on her, since she discovered the bird that cancelled the development slated for the area, which resulted in him losing his job and home. Alex escapes unharmed but deeply shook up. When an old professor calls later that day to ask if she could fill in at the last minute on a wolverine population study in the mountains of Montana, Alex is only too happy to leave the city and get back to the wilderness, where she feels at peace. She's been hired by the land trust that purchased over 20,000 acres of wilderness. It was the site of a ski resort that had its heyday in the 1930's-60's. Now, Alex is staying alone in the spooky old resort (think The Shining kind of vibes) when she's not backpacking through the beautiful mountains and forests on the land. She sets up "traps" with meat to capture photos of the elusive and solitary wolverines, in the hopes of finding some living on the property. From her very first day in Montana, though, Alex experiences both covert and very open hostility and threats. Ranchers, hunters, and trappers are not at all happy about this land being designated as conservation land. Alex meets a few welcoming people nearby and in town (26 miles away), but as the threats and danger ramp up, she is very much on her own on the property, trying to fend off increasingly violent threats and protect the animals on the land.

I thought I'd enjoy this novel because I enjoy most thrillers, and I love the outdoors and nature, but it surpassed even my high expectations. It's an original premise, a thriller with a wildlife biologist at its center, and Henderson is an excellent writer who carries it out beautifully. The thriller is action-packed, right from the very first pages when Alex is shot at to the breath-taking climax. The mystery here is a good, twisty one with surprises that I never saw coming, and the suspense is fast-paced. That gripping story is set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Montana mountains, with plenty of stunning descriptions of the natural world and fascinating information about wolverines, as Alex proceeds with her study. The characters here are fully fleshed out; Alex is a likable three-dimensional character that I came to care about and was rooting for. This outdoor adventure thriller has it all and kept me riveted from beginning to end. I can't wait to read book two, A Blizzard of Polar Bears, which I also bought for my husband last year (see the pattern here?).

309 pages, William Morrow

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - Montana

R.I.P. Challenge

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 
  

Fiction Review: Afterland

My husband and I both loved The Shining Girls, Lauren Beukes' suspenseful, creepy novel about a time-traveling serial killer (and its fabulous TV adaptation). So, when I saw Beukes' name while book shopping for my husband last year, I picked up her novel Afterland, another action-packed sci fi thriller.

Chillingly, this dystopian and post-apocaylptic novel begins in June 2023 in a world that looks very different from our own present. In the aftermath of a new, unique pandemic that only affects those with a Y chromosome, more than 99% of the males around the globe have died. In this new post-pandemic world inhabited mainly by women, the few remaining boys and men have become much sought-after. As the novel opens, a woman named Cole escapes with her twelve-year-old son, Miles. They are on the run from the U.S. government, from their latest luxurious but stifling protected custody, and even from Cole's own sister, Billy. Everyone wants something from Miles, and Cole's instinct as a mother is to keep him safe from all of it. They got stuck in the U.S. during the pandemic when her American husband died, but now Cole desperately wants to get herself and Miles back home to South Africa, and away from the U.S. government. As they travel across the country, switching cars and hiding in various abandoned homes, Miles dresses like a girl and pretends to be Mila. In escaping from Billy's horrible scheme involving Miles, Coles is worried she may have actually killed her sister. They encounter groups of women along the way--including artists in a communal-living home in Salt Lake City and some crazy female church group all dressed in neon-colored robes in Colorado--but Cole doesn't know who she can trust. Meanwhile, in alternating chapters, Billy is reluctantly teamed up with some really rough characters chasing after Cole and Miles, to make sure Billy keeps her promise to deliver the precious boy to the highest bidder.

The suspense never lets up here, as Cole and Miles/Mila travel across the U.S., trying to stay safe, keep Miles' real identity a secret, and make it to the East Coast so they can find a ship to take them back home. Beukes' world-building here is creative and immersive in this post-apocalyptic all-female world that is still new and unstable.  With Billy and her criminal handlers hot on the trail, the danger to Cole and Miles is very real and imminent, keeping the narrative moving at a fast pace and the tension high. It's a pulse-pounding, action-packed thriller set against a fascinating, unique backdrop. I very much enjoyed the ride.

404 pages, Mulholland Books

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Diversity Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - Utah

Big Book Summer Challenge

 

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. It sounds like a great audio production.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

    
  

Teen/YA Review: Scythe

My husband, son, and I are big fans of Neal Schusterman, author of dozens of outstanding middle-grade and YA novels. Two of our favorites are the middle-grade Skinjacker trilogy (starting with Everlost), an imaginative look at the afterlife, and the YA dystopian series that starts with Unwind, which is still a family favorite, many years later. Schusterman doesn't just write fantasy and science fiction, either. Bruiser is a mostly realistic YA novel about abuse, with a bit of a supernatural twist, and Challenger Deep is a creative, powerful YA novel about mental illness, based on the author's own son's experiences with schizophrenia. So, I wanted to read Scythe even before I heard all the rave reviews. I don't know why it took me so long! It was just as good as I expected.

Scythe takes place in a far-off future, where technology has evolved to the point where there is no more suffering. The Thunderhead (which began with the present-day "cloud") has evolved into intelligent AI that oversees every aspect of life, so there is no more need for government or politics. Disease has been eradicated, and nanites in each person's bloodstream automatically heal injuries, treat pain, and even control mood to prevent anger or despair. Even middle seats on airplanes have been abolished! Sounds like a pretty great way to live, right? The only problem is that with no natural death and humans now essentially immortal, the world needed a way to control population so it wouldn't outstrip the world's resources (which are carefully apportioned by the Thunderhead so everyone gets what they need). The answer to that problem was to designate certain humans as Scythes who are tasked with gleaning (i.e. killing) a certain number of people each year to keep the world in perfect balance. Ideally, these Scythes operate under a strict moral code and are revered for their role in society, but as is always the case where humans are involved, not all Scythes follow the rules and aspire to ethical behavior.

In this world, two ordinary teens, Citra and Rowan, have recently been selected by Scythe Faraday (each Scythe chooses a historic name) to train as Scythes. Neither of them wants to dedicate their life to gleaning, but that--along with evidence of honesty and compassion--is precisely why Scythe Faraday chose them to be his apprentices. He's one of the good guys and begins to train Citra and Rowan rigorously in killing techniques, as well as old world history and philosophy and the moral code of the Scythes. Their training is interrupted, though, as some of the Scythes with more selfish motives intervene.

As in all of Schusterman's dystopian novels, he has created a thoroughly unique and fascinating future world, where you can easily see the chilling links back to our own world. His novels are always gripping and suspenseful, yet thought-provoking, and Scythe is no exception. The reader quickly comes to like Citra and Rowan--and Scythe Faraday, too--and all of the characters are interesting and three-dimensional. It's an action-packed story, full of surprising twists, that kept me turning the pages. Schusterman has done it again, with another thoughtful, high-stakes dystopian thriller. I can't wait to read book two, and I've already moved Scythe onto my husband's to-be-read pile, because I know he'll love it, too.

435 pages, Simon & Schuster

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This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

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Big Book Summer Challenge

 

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