Genre: Dystopia


Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Matriarchal Society Gone Corrupt: Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera

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I received this book for free from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Matriarchal Society Gone Corrupt: Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam RiveraDealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on March 5th, 2019
Genres: Dystopia, YA
Source: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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three-half-stars

At night, Las Mal Criadas own these streets.

Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City. That roles brings with it violent throw downs and access to the hottest boydega clubs, but the sixteen-year-old grows weary of the life. Her dream is to get off the streets and make a home in the exclusive Mega Towers, in which only a chosen few get to live. To make it to the Mega towers, Nalah must prove her loyalty to the city's benevolent founder and cross the border in a search for a mysterious gang the Ashé Ryders. Led by a reluctant guide, Nalah battles other crews and her own doubts, but the closer she gets to her goal, the more she loses sight of everything—and everyone— she cares about.

Nalah must do the unspeakable to get what she wants—a place to call home. But is a home just where you live? Or who you choose to protect? 

I honestly didn’t know that Lilliam Rivera had a new book coming out until earlier this year which just shows you where publishing’s priorities are in terms of marketing. In my eagerness to read anything Rivera writes, I actually forgot to read the summary and it wasn’t until a while later that I realized Dealing in Dreams was a proper dystopian novel. If you read my review for We Set the Dark on Fire, you will know I don’t do dystopia anymore but given that I’ve technically now read two dystopian novels for the first time in literal years, I THINK IT’S SAFE TO SAY I am doing dystopia again. BUT, to be clear, I am only doing dystopia written by POC.

Dealing in Dreams starts off super slow. I actually read 11% first and put the book down. I considered DNFing because it just wasn’t grabbing at me but my friend Shannon told me she had the same problem at first so I decided to push through instead of DNFing. I am so glad I did because otherwise, I would have missed being immersed in the vibrant, matriarchal world of Mega City.

First things first, even though Dealing in Dreams was much harder for me to get into than Rivera’s debut The Education of Margot Sanchez, I can still see how far she has come since writing Margot Sanchez. I love how complex many of the characters are, I love how how imperfect Nalah is and I really just love this world.

Dealing in Dreams is set in a matriarchal society gone corrupt, and not everyone is quite aware of how deep that corruption runs (including Nalah.) I genuinely loved this take, especially when it was later contrasted with another matriarchal society. I also adored the time and care Rivera puts into slowly unfolding all the systematic discrimination in this society. Not only did it provide a great lens with which we could look at our own society, but it felt a lot more realistic as Nalah slowly came to realize how much the system works against them.

Backtracking a bit, while Nalah’s crew is super complex, I found that some other major secondary characters weren’t? For example, Déesse, the villain, seems pretty flat. We don’t really know her motivation or what forced her to deviate off the track set by the other founders of Mega City. 

Overall though, this book is both a remarkable adventure and a compelling dystopian novel. You’re sure to fall in love (or at least in like) with Nalah’s badass crew and sure to be taken in by the brewing revolution. If you’re a fan of dystopian novels or ready to give one a chance, Dealing in Dreams is not a book to be missed.

three-half-stars

3.5 Hot Espressos

Breathes Life Into a Genre I Thought I Was Done With: We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Posted by on 02/28/2019 • 0 Comments

Currently, I am staring at a blank document trying to figure out how words work because I am not entirely sure how to even begin to describe We Set the Dark on Fire? When I first started hearing about the book, I thought it was a fantasy but then my friend, Shannon said it was more dystopia so I really didn’t know what genre I was diving into. I did go in expecting some badass girls and I GOT SOME BADASS GIRLS.

Upon finishing, I think I can say that while this book isn’t like a futuristic sci-fic novel, labelling it dystopia is not wholly inaccurate. WHICH, if you like me stopped reading dystopia half a decade ago because it was all bland, I promise We Set the Dark…

Legend: The Graphic Novel Series adapted by Leigh Dragoon, illustrated by Kaari

Posted by on 05/08/2016 • 1 Comment

Having loved the first two books in the Legend series (I still haven’t read Champion!), I was so excited to dive into these graphic novel adaptations and see how the story would translate over into a new medium.

Day and June are fantastic characters whether they are in a novel or graphic novel. I love them as individuals and I love them as a couple. Although, admittedly, I am kind of upset my favorite bathroom scene did not find its way into the graphic novel (SO MUCH SWOON IN THAT SCENE.)

The action scenes also translate very well into the graphic novel format and I love the ways in which the world building comes to life through the beautiful illustrations. It allowed me to experience the dystopic world Marie Lu…

Review: The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons

Review: The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons

Posted by on 08/07/2015 • 8 Comments

When you hear the words “young adult dystopian”, what are the first things that come to your mind? Wait, don’t bother; I’m going to do a checklist for you:

☑ There is a special, teenage snowflake… ☑ … who insists she is average and normal… ☑ … but catches the attention of one or two or three love interests… ☑ … who without the help of experienced adults… ☑ … manages to topple an oppressive government/system.

Am I right, or am I right?

However, you need not fear because The Glass Arrow took a completely different direction, deciding to give this world-renowned checklist a big “fuck-you”. It may not look like at first, but this standalone YA dystopian is about an unfortunate girl who was stuck in an unfortunate, cruel world and strived to escape…

Review: Rook by Sharon Cameron

Review: Rook by Sharon Cameron

Posted by on 05/14/2015 • 12 Comments

I really can’t shake off the feeling that this book would have been 5 times better if it wasn’t as long as it was.

Yeah, it was only, what, 464 pages? 6000 Kindle locations? But let me tell you that reading this felt like it took bloody eternity. Not even my love for anything French could have prevented the yawns this book made me do… oh, every 5 minutes. If it wasn’t for the fact I needed to read and finish this in the next six hours just in time to write this review for today (I like to live dangerously), I would’ve set it aside to take a well-deserved nap.

But, hey, I did it, friends! I survived! Even though most of the time in the last six hours I was…

Giveaway: The Remedy by Suzanne Young

Giveaway: The Remedy by Suzanne Young

Posted by on 04/30/2015 • 6 Comments

Thanks to the lovely people at Simon & Schuster, I’ve got a copy of The Remedy up for giveaway today! This novel is the first in a new series set in a world before The Program that has just released last week!

The Program series: (Click on the covers for Goodreads)

Don’t forget to: Read the first 8 chapters of The Remedy here! Find Suzanne Young on Twitter and Facebook Share using hashtag #ReleasetheRemedy

Giveaway!

Simon & Schuster has generously offered up a THE WORLD BEFORE THE PROGRAM prize pack:

–a copy of The Remedy –plus Suzanne Young’s series The Program and The Treatment.

Open to US and Canadian addresses only Giveaway ends May 11th, 2015 Prizing & samples…

Fearless Playlist!

Fearless Playlist!

Posted by on 04/22/2015 • 2 Comments

The Fearless blog tour is stopping by the blog today with the book’s Playlist! Here’s a little about the book first:

Fearless Playlist Biffy Clyro – Many of Horror

Ludovico Einaudi – I Due Fiumi

Mumford and Sons – I Gave You All

Paramore – Playing God

Erik Satie – Gnossienne no. 1 (Lent)

Mumford and Sons – Awake My Soul

Dustin O’Halloran – Fragile No. 4

Message to Bears – Running Through Woodland

The Temper Trap – Soldier On

Fleet Foxes – Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

Miike Snow – Silvia

Ludovico Einaudi – La Nescita Delle Cose Segrete About the Author

Emma Pass grew up at an environmental studies centre near London, went to…

Interview with Sharon Cameron + Giveaway!

Interview with Sharon Cameron + Giveaway!

Posted by on 04/20/2015 • 35 Comments

Sharon Cameron is on the blog today for a conversation on her newest release, Rook! First, let’s see what this book is all about:

Interview with Sharon Cameron

Hi Sharon! Thanks for stopping by today! I was a big fan of The Dark Unwinding and am looking forward to reading Rook!

Hello, and thanks so much for having me. So thrilled that you loved The Dark Unwinding!

Let’s start with giving us a brief description of Rook using a tweet (140 characters or less).

Okay!

In a future without technology Sophia rescues innocents from death during the second French Revolution. Outwitting her fiancé is not so easy.

What was the most interesting part of your research for this novel? Is there something surprising or fascinating that you…