Posts Categorized: Review

Tuesday, May 09, 2017

Blog Tour: Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld

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I received this book for free from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Blog Tour: Spill Zone by Scott WesterfeldSpill Zone by Scott Westerfeld
Published by First Second on May 2, 2017
Genres: Graphic Novel, Horror, Supernatural, YA
Source: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

Nobody's ever really explained the Spill. Was it an angelic visitation? A nanotech accident? A porthole opening from another world? Whatever it was, no one's allowed in the Spill Zone these days except government scientists and hazmat teams. But a few intrepid explorers know how to sneak through the patrols and steer clear of the dangers inside the Zone. Addison Merrick is one such explorer, dedicated to finding out what happened that night, and to unraveling the events that took her parents and left her little sister mute and disconnected from the world.

This was a creepy, weird book, interesting graphic novel.  I don’t tend to read a lot of them, but I do enjoy them on occasion. This one has beautiful artwork and a pretty crazy storyline. I thought that the illustrations really brought the story to life and added a creepy factor to it.  The characters were great too and though we don’t learn too much about them yet, it really makes the anticipation for a sequel almost unbearable.

Addie is the main character. She takes care of her little sister now that her parents are dead. Thanks to The Spill. No one is allowed in the Spill Zone, but Addie sneaks in and takes gorgeous, haunting, and chilling photos of it. It’s super dangerous, but that is the only way for her to make enough money to help her sister. She has some collectors who will pay big bucks for the art.

Lexa is Addie’s little sister. One of the few survivors from The Spill. She also doesn’t talk. None of the survivors do. She does have a doll, Vespertine who she communicates through. It’s no normal doll though. It’s living. It just needs to recharge in the Spill Zone sometimes. Vespertine travels with Addie on occasion and keeps Lexa company other times.

This book gave me the creeps at times. The creatures in the Spill Zone, the atmosphere there, and mostly Vespertine. There’s always that presence of danger, not just in the Spill Zone, but everywhere. In the Spill Zone though, any trip there could be your last. I thought this was a great graphic novel and can’t wait to see what comes next. You need to see and read this for yourself. Get a physical copy if you can because an eraser would not do this beauty justice.

I was also sent a gorgeous photo that was one of the ones taken to use for illustrations. Unfortunately, my iPad thinks the file is too big and won’t insert for me so I will have to add it later when I’m on my computer.

Don’t forget to check out the other tour stops. Click here to go to the fierce reads blog tours page.

Needs More Diversity: Queer, There and Everywhere by Sarah Prager

Posted by on 05/02/2017 • 0 Comments

I feel like somewhat of a black sheep because I didn’t absolutely love this book but *insert shrug emoji*. I love that we get to learn about so many amazing individuals, I love the detail each section goes into and how easy it is to read and yet, when I look back at the people who are represented in this book, it seems like there isn’t as much rep as their could be. Queer, There and Everywhere is essentially trying to present readers with the stories of amazing queer people across time and remind people that queer people have always been here. For a book trying to achieve that though, it primarily draws on queer people from the western world and those closely tied with the historical movements in the western world….

Different in a Good Way: Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon

Posted by on 04/07/2017 • 2 Comments

Motorbike clubs is always a good way to get a person’s attention but I honestly did not expect what I got from Done Dirt Cheap. I assumed there would be an element of fluff to the book but instead, what I got was a complex, thoughtfully crafted novel with words that just jumped off the page. There are some books you finish that will oddly make you feel nostalgic for something you don’t even quite remember and Done Dirt Cheap was that book for me. In some ways it was reminiscent of the contemporary YA novels I grew up on.

I think part of the nostalgia for me came from the focus on female friendships in this book. Like both the main characters have their love interests and those relationships are important (and…

4 Reasons to Read Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Posted by on 04/04/2017 • 6 Comments

GEEKERELLA is everything it promises to be. It is incredibly cute and adorably nerdy. Did you grow up kind of obsessed with the Another Cinderella Story movies? Do you want to read a book that is at least the first movie in book form? YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. GEEKERELLA is everything you will ever want from a modern adaptation of a Cinderella retelling. It reminded me so much of why modern retellings of fairy tales are some of my favorite things to read.

Elle grew up watching Starfield (a Star Trek-esque show) with her father. It is one of her few connections to him now that he is gone and it is also one of her only form of escapes. It has allowed her to connect to…

Timely and Important: Saint Death by Marcus Sedgwick

Posted by on 03/30/2017 • 1 Comment

Saint Death is one of those books you are going to want to hurl across the room, not because you hate it but because its too painful. Or you could do what Joey does and put scary books in the freezer for another day. The release of the book is so timely and I hope that it will reach the hands of many because it is such an important book. Right now, the conversation surrounding immigration is one of the most politically charged ones. People feel like immigrants are ruining their lives and that the answer is to throw up metaphorical and literal walls between countries. To this I respond with:

I am going slightly off topic and that’s fine because Saint Death is a book that is going to start…

Not really memorable: Freya by Matthew Laurence

Posted by on 03/29/2017 • 1 Comment

I feel pretty let down by Freya? The question mark is there because I am not even entirely sure how I feel, just that Freya wasn’t what I wanted it to be when I was looking for a book with norse myth in it. I love books that are set in the modern world and feature heavy doses of mythology and yet, while Freya-the book-was absolutely adorable at times, Freya as a character was kind of annoying. She was obnoxious and while it sometimes made sense since she was a goddess, it could also get really annoying.

I like the contrast the author attempts with her being badass and feminine at the same time, but I also feel like he wasn’t entirely successful with crafting Freya’s character as a blend of those characteristics. She…

The Universe Thanks Whitney Gardner for Writing…: You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner

Posted by on 03/27/2017 • 2 Comments

You’re Welcome, Universe is an incredibly special book and one I count myself lucky to have had the opportunity to read. It’s eye-opening, heartwarming, angsty and just a whole lot of fun. Julia is a main character YA has been waiting for and will be made all the more better by her presence.

Julia is a deaf, Indian graffiti artist. She is incredibly talented but also just tired of graffiti not being taken seriously as an art form. She is tired of all the people who give graffiti a bad name and she is tired of it being seen as vandalism instead of ART that has the ability to make a point and to make people think. She gets kicked out of her school when she covers a slur about her…

Arthurian Myth Meets World War II: The Metropolitans by Carol Goodman

Posted by on 03/24/2017 • 1 Comment

If you’ve been following along with discussions surrounding World War II books in the community, you will already know this but there aren’t many World War II books out there with Jewish main characters. Not only does The Metropolitans have a (German-American) Jewish main character, it also has Japanese-American, first nations & Irish-American main characters. The page space is split up b/w the four characters and while I cannot accurately speak for any of the rep since I am not from any of those groups, I did feel that it was done pretty well. (If you are from any of those groups and feel differently, I’d be eternally grateful if you choose to let me know so I may edit this review to reflect that!)

One of my favorite childhood books…