The Compounders - Julie Trettel

The Compounders is the debut of Julie Trettel. It's book 1 in a new dystopia series. And it covers alot!!!

The United States of America is going through some turmoil and Mike Jenkins wants to protect his family. He builds an amazing bunker and moves several families in. Here they live, not knowing what's happened to their country, in safety.

After several years of living in isolation, the Elders decide to open the bunker doors. They are allowed outside, but limited time. Holly Jenkins is thrilled to have her freedom and solitude. She sneaks up a mountain to her "special" place to enjoy some quiet time to reflect on the things going on in her life.

And here, she meets Griffon. He tells her about his village and what has happened. The United States of America no longer exists. There is martial law. Food is limited. There is no religion or books. It is worse than Holly's father could have ever imagined.

I was given the book, in exchange for an honest Amazon and Goodreads review (I'll post them shortly). I loved the story. I'm a dystopia fan, and this is probably one of the more realistic ones I've read. I also enjoyed how Holly grew, not just age-wise, but she matured and found herself.

But here's what I struggled with. Holly. I know she's growing and changing and learning what's important and finding her way (and that sentence has too many ands). Holly struggles with her feelings for Milo, her best friends brother and the pastor's son. The Elders would like to see them as a couple. Holly has feelings for him, but she's not sure he's the one. Then she meets Griffon. He makes her feel like no one else. But while she spends her Sundays-Wednesdays with Milo, she secretly makes her way to the cave on Thursdays-Saturdays to be with Griffon.

Then all hell breaks loose and Griffon is shot. She brings him and his family into the bunker for protection. She finds her strength and decides she needs to help the small town. And here she becomes close with Griffon's friend, Jared. And now she's confused about her feelings for him. Yes, she's a teenager. Yes, she flips flops in and out of love, but just when you start loving the story-line, you get sucked into this. Sorry.

Cruel Beauty - Rosamund Hodge

I am a huge fan of Cinderella stories.

Actually, 

if am honest,

I'm a huge fan of fairy tales.

So when I heard that Cruel Beauty

was a new twist on

The Beauty & the Beast

I knew I had to give it a read.

I didn't so much read this book

as I did gobble it up!

Nyx is an amazing character.

She is strong-willed,

witty, brave

and,

dare I say,

sarcastic!

She is angry, bitter and fierce.

And she craves to be loved. 

She has spent her whole life 

being prepared to sacrifice her life

and kill a beast. 

Before her birth,

her father made a deal with the Gentle Lord,

the evil ruler/monster

of their kingdom. 

In exchange for allowing his wife

to conceive the twins, 

their father promised one twin

to the Lord in exchange.

But the Lord plays tricks.

He granted the father's wish,

and Nyx and her sister were born.

But he also lost his wife

to childbirth.

Then there is the Gentle Lord,

Ignifex.

For centuries her has terrorized

the kingdom. 

But things are never as they seem.

Cruel Beauty mixes the best of two of my favourite genres;

fairy tales and Greek mythology.

It is cleverly written and hooks you in 

from the start. 

If this is how she debuts,

I cannot wait to read more from this amazing

author. 

Nil - Lynne Matson

Nil.

Zero.

Nothing.

Nada.

Seventeen year old Charley,

heads to Target one summer day

and suddenly finds herself

lying on a beach.

Naked.

Twelve days later,

she meets a group of teens 

and learns she's on the island of 

Nil.

And on Nil, 

you have exactly 365 days to leave

or you die.

Ok,

so let me start by saying I really enjoyed this book.

And I am fully aware it has gotten mixed reviews.

In fact, 

I think I even tried not to like it.

To focus on the negative.

I even,

gasp,

found out how it ended.

And yet,

I cried.

So I'm thinking,

if I know how a book ends,

I shouldn't cry.

But I did.

So this was a darn good book.

Charley meets Thad on Nil.

He teaches her about the island.

And they fall in love.

And it has it's 

Survivor meets Lost

moments.

We also meet Bart,

who's not very nice.

He tries to steal other's doors

(there's a porthole type thing to get out)

he picks fights.

And yet, 

his story just ends.

We never learn what Nil is

or how these kids end up there

and for many,

we don't know what happened to them.

But,

she made me cry.

And that alone

means this was one darn good book!!!!

Landry Park - Bethany Hagen

Landry Park was the book I choose

for my February 

Yound Adult Debut Author.

The US has been divided into sections

and classes 

and is ruled by the rich gentry. 

Here we meet 17 year old

Madeline Landry

who dreams of going to university.

But as the eldest, 

and only child,

it is her duty to marry

and continue the Landry lifeline. 

In comes David Dana.

Handsome and charming.

He makes Madeline think about

how her life is.

How those who are not gentry are treated.

He makes her question all that she knows is true.

This is a little different than recent dystopia books.

Madeline is strong

but her strength comes through in her character

and not her muscles.

She sees the Rootless

and how they are treated

and knows she must do something.

She's one of those characters 

you love

even when you think she needs a smack!

Defy - Sara B. Larson

I decided to join

The Story Siren's 

2014 Debut Author Challenge. 

The idea is, 

each month you read a

Young Adult novel

by a debut author.

For January,

I picked

Defy

by Sara B. Larson.

Defy is the story of Alexa Hollen.

Her parents are killed during a war

by a sorcerer.

She can either be held captive

and shoved into a birthing centre

(basically where girls are repeatedly raped

until they get pregant)

or she can guise herself as a boy

and serve as part of the prince's guards.

She chooses the later.

For three years she pretends she's a boy.

Then one night,

while trying to protect the prince,

she, the prince and fellow guard, Rylan

are abducted.

Rylan admits he always knew she was a girl.

The prince,

who gave the impression of being an idiot,

turns out to be a nice guy.

Oh, and he suspected she was a girl too.

See where this is going?

So now Alexa has two men in love with her.

A prince and a guard.

Who do you think she'll choose?

But Defy is a little more than that too.

Alexa learns she wasn't the only one keeping secrets.

She is given the opportunity to help the prince

end this war

and bring peace to the land.

But at what cost?