Taken by Erin Bowman

There are no men in Claysoot, not a single one a day over eighteen that is.  The heist has taken them all.  The heist doesn't care if you are a son, brother or even father.  If you are male, when you turn 18 you vanish at midnight on your birthday.  They call it the heist, because no one knows what happens to you, they don't know if you live or die or anything about where you go.
There is no escaping is, no one ever has, not since the beginning when the ground first shook and the winds kicked up and then the light came towards and took the first boy.  It's happened the same way ever since.

Some have tried to figure it out, they have attempted to climb the big walls that surround Claysoot.  But anyone who climbs is killed.  They may disappear over the top of the wall, but by morning the town finds their body burned and dead lying next to the wall.  Which is why climbing the wall is a form of suicide.

Gray Weathersby's doesn't have much time, just a few short months before his own turn in the heist will come.  But when he discovers a letter from his mother that he wasn't supposed to see, it changes everything.  Gray begins to question anything and everything.
He only has his childhood friend Emma to confide in, but even he's not sure how much he can trust to tell her, without risking her own life as well.
But he's bound and determined to find some answers, even if that means risking everything.  One night Gray makes a choice, a choice that will kill him or save him or possibly worse.  He has no idea, but one thing he is sure of, only minutes after making it he realizes Emma is bound for the same fate as him now.

I really enjoyed Taken by Erin Bowman, in this Dystopian primitive world.  The author made a few choices that I particularly liked.  First I really liked that the main character was male.  Of recent most of your main characters in Dystopian are kick butt females, so I really liked having the main character as male.  He's also quite likable.  Not some insane image that you can't relate to, but the character Gray himself is very realistic.
I also liked that as many questions as you get, you also get some answers.  You don't have to wait until the third book to find out what the heist is, you find out pretty quickly.  With that said, this is a very fast paced book, so as soon as you figure one thing out, you are thrown another set of questions and obstacles.
I really did enjoy this read!  I am already reading the sequel Frozen, and look forward to later this year (April) when the third and final book Forged comes out!  In other words, this is a great series to start, because you won't have to wait years to find out how it ends!

Book Review - Resist By Sarah Crossan

I was so happy when this sequel finally came out, and I was even more thrilled to know it was just going to be a sequel instead of a trilogy.  Not because it's not a great series, because it is!  But Sometimes its so hard to find a book you love and have to wait so many years just to find out how it's going to end.
Resist is the sequel to Breathe.

As always, this is not a spoiler review for Resist, but if you haven't read Breathe first, you may want to read the first book before reading the rest of this review!

Resist picks up pretty much exactly where Breathe left off.  Bea, Quinn, Ronan and Alina are all outlaws and on the run and hoping to start a revolution.  The world is dying, and they never know which breath may become their last.

Bea and Quinn are with Jazz and on their way to what they hope will be to find a resistance and additional hope and help in Sequoia.  But when they are only a few days away tragedy strikes Jazz and Quinn is forced to move on without Bea and Jazz and get to Sequoia for help and back before Bea and Jazz run out of air.

Quinn reaches sequoia to find that Alina and the others made it there before him.  he had hoped for a welcoming and help, but what he is about to get is nothing he could have ever imagined. Armed with only determination, he must find a way to get back to Bea before it's too late.

Alina, has been at Sequoia for long enough to know it is nothing like they could have ever expected and the furthest thing from the safe haven they imagined.  Each day there, seems to take a different turn.  When Quinn shows up, they realize they must all come together and get back to Bea and the pod and join the revolution.

Ronan was raised with privileges, he has never had to work for every last breath.  But despite his privileges, he has decided he wants to help aid and become the resistance from within the pod.  Ronan is forced to have to choose and decide if he has the courage to do what it's going to take.  However, just because he is privileged doesn't mean he is going to have it easy.

Sarah Crossan has woven a beautiful conclusion to the Breathe series with Resist.  This sequel is full high energy and fully action packed with characters you will love.  A few twists and turns that you would have never guessed that will keep you guessing til the last pages.  This is a YA dystopian, but even adults will love this series.  I absolutely loved the original plot of this Breathe series and Resist was a wonderful conclusion.  If you check it out I think you will too!!!


Disclaimer: I was not asked to review this book, this review is of my own thoughts and opinions after I read the series.

Dystopian Giveaway Hop

Thanks for stopping by my blog on the Dystopian Giveaway Hop, Hosted by My Shelf Confessions & I Am a Reader, Not A Writer.




YA Dystopian are some of my favorite books to read.  So I compiled a list of a few of my favorite series.
My winner will have their choice of ONE of the books listed below.
I listed the 1st book in the series, however if the winner already has that book, I may be willing to send the second or third book in each series as the prize instead.  FYI I am sending the winner a NEW PAPERBACK copy.
My only rules are the winner of a paperback copy MUST have a U.S. Mailing address.  If the winner is international, you will receive a $10 Amazon gift card instead of the book of your choice.

Enter Below

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review of Anomaly by Krista McGee

Just finished reading Anomaly by Kristin McGee and I have to say I LOVED this book!  I found it to be different than your regular Dystopian novel, and really enjoyed this authors writing and approach.
This book is filled with non-stop action situations for the characters, the book keeps you guessing with a few twists that make this book very hard to put down!

After nuclear bombs destroyed the world from being habitable outside of contained pods, the world is now ruled by scientists.  This new mankind is forced by their creators to remove all brain functions that involve love, curiosity, the need to question authority, imagination and anything outside of government sanctioned daily life.  Those who do exhibit any of these or any type of questionable behaviors are referred to as an Anomaly and are disposed of.

Thalli is different, she has been an Anomaly her entire life, and she knows it.  She generally questions everything.  At a young age she watched a friend get taken and never returned to their pod.  So, aside from her best friend Berk.  Who is a scientist and also the only type of humans to be allowed freethinking.  Thalli has been alone and hid her anomaly from everyone else.  That is until one day when she accidentally makes an irreversible mistake.
Now, she is in a race against time and she can't tell the difference between what is real and what isn't.  New friendships and love begin to come into play, and she is having to learn the quick and hard truth about faith and all that comes with it.

It's no secret that lately I have really gotten into Dystopian YA Novels.  So when I came across the chance to review this book, I couldn't resist.  I was so happy that Anomaly by Krista McGee didn't disappoint!  In fact it was so good, I had a hard time putting it down one night for sleep rather than reading it cover to cover.  The only thing I dislike about these type of novels is, they have to end and I have to wait until the next book to find out what happens next.
I highly recommend this YA novel to anyone ages 14 and up.  I also feel this is one of those Young Adult novels that was written for adults like myself to enjoy as well!

AUTHORS BLOG

Disclaimer:  I received a complimentary copy of Barefoot Summer from Book Sneeze for this review.  I was not required to write a positive review, all opinions and thoughts are my own.