This book is the second book I will be reviewing in the coming weeks for Clean Teen Publishing. If you follow my blog, you know that my preference is to read clean (no language or sexual content) books, so I'm really happy to promote this publisher and their authors. It also helps that, so far, I have enjoyed their books. :)
Concealed in the ShadowsYA Dystopian
December 15th 2012 by Createspace
(first published May 17th 2012)
Goodreads summary:
Sydney Harter has long awaited September 12th, 2033—her eighteenth birthday. She can finally apply for guardianship of her sister, who is her only family and entire world. She hopes they will be lawfully reunited, but is prepared to defy authority and risk everything to escape the captivity of Miles County so that they can be together.
Escaping will be difficult and dangerous. Citizens are bound to their county by sophisticated chip implants that deliver shocks to those who dare to cross the electric barrier. Sydney is very clever, but her trickery is limited against the all-seeing eyes of technology. Even if they were to survive the escape, disappearing into the forgotten forests and towns of the past seems an impossible task.
What Sydney doesn't know is that she is the particular interest of two opposing forces. With deceit, fear, and warfare surrounding her—can she trust the party that aims to help with her fight against the other? Can she open her heart to receive and return unexpected love? When her sister’s life becomes jeopardized, Sydney will have to weigh a new love against the only enduring love she has known. The cost could be deadly…
How will she choose?
What I thought:
I was excited to read this after reading Double Star last week. It ended up being another good read from Clean Teen Publishing.
DISLIKES:
I'm going to get what I didn't like out of the way first. This one did tend to do a little back and forth dance with me. I would be really into the book and what was going on and then there would be a lull because of too much information or descriptions of something that happened before and then the book would engage me again. I think that if these parts could have been conveyed in a different way, such as when the character experiences them or learns about them or in a way that the reader can experience with the character what is going on instead of being told things, that this would have worked much better. I also thought some of the information was rather irrelevant or unnecessary. There were also a few places where things didn't click for me. One example was why Sydney would drive to Miles when the same chopper that dropped her sister could take her (trying not to spoil anything). There are a few more instances like this that just didn't work for me.
LIKES:
The dystopia world that the story takes place in was interesting. It took a while before there was an explanation as to how the USA went from a free country to having different fenced-in counties, but it was eventually explained towards the end of the book. The whole media overload with the culture was interesting too, where the citizens pay much more attention to their government issued, regulated, and monitored tablets than individuals around them. They have basically become in-humanized.
I really liked Sydney, Cy, and Crewe. Sydney is really fierce. She has had to care for her younger sister and herself her entire teenage life in a world that cares little for them. She is also smart, clear-headed, and loyal. She would give anything to protect her sister, Evie. Cy and Crewe are brothers that have some similarities, but are mostly opposites. I liked Cy from the get-go, but I almost immediately recognized something in Crewe that Sydney would mesh better with.
Then there is the suspense as the plot moves forward. I really didn't know what was going to happen. I tried to figure things out as I normally do, but there were several things that I just didn't see coming. This definitely kept me reading to find out how things were going to work out.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this. I'm planning on reading the next book in this series and finding out what happens to Sydney and her sister. If you enjoy reading YA dystopians then I would recommend giving this a try.
Content: Some mild swearing and violence, but I would consider this fairly clean
Source: Purchased from Amazon during a free promotional period.
I was excited to read this after reading Double Star last week. It ended up being another good read from Clean Teen Publishing.
DISLIKES:
I'm going to get what I didn't like out of the way first. This one did tend to do a little back and forth dance with me. I would be really into the book and what was going on and then there would be a lull because of too much information or descriptions of something that happened before and then the book would engage me again. I think that if these parts could have been conveyed in a different way, such as when the character experiences them or learns about them or in a way that the reader can experience with the character what is going on instead of being told things, that this would have worked much better. I also thought some of the information was rather irrelevant or unnecessary. There were also a few places where things didn't click for me. One example was why Sydney would drive to Miles when the same chopper that dropped her sister could take her (trying not to spoil anything). There are a few more instances like this that just didn't work for me.
LIKES:
The dystopia world that the story takes place in was interesting. It took a while before there was an explanation as to how the USA went from a free country to having different fenced-in counties, but it was eventually explained towards the end of the book. The whole media overload with the culture was interesting too, where the citizens pay much more attention to their government issued, regulated, and monitored tablets than individuals around them. They have basically become in-humanized.
I really liked Sydney, Cy, and Crewe. Sydney is really fierce. She has had to care for her younger sister and herself her entire teenage life in a world that cares little for them. She is also smart, clear-headed, and loyal. She would give anything to protect her sister, Evie. Cy and Crewe are brothers that have some similarities, but are mostly opposites. I liked Cy from the get-go, but I almost immediately recognized something in Crewe that Sydney would mesh better with.
Then there is the suspense as the plot moves forward. I really didn't know what was going to happen. I tried to figure things out as I normally do, but there were several things that I just didn't see coming. This definitely kept me reading to find out how things were going to work out.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this. I'm planning on reading the next book in this series and finding out what happens to Sydney and her sister. If you enjoy reading YA dystopians then I would recommend giving this a try.
Content: Some mild swearing and violence, but I would consider this fairly clean
Source: Purchased from Amazon during a free promotional period.
What do you think? Is this something you would like to read? Want to win a copy? Enter via the rafflecopter below.
Please note that you must be at least 13 years old. This giveaway is open to US and INT entrants as long as you can accept an ebook copy for Nook, Kindle, or as a PDF. Please ensure that you correctly enter your email (and check your junk mail folder if I'm not on your contact list) so that I have a way to contact you. You can read my giveaway policy on my policies page.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: This post also contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase of any type using these links, I receive a small kickback.
No comments
Post a Comment
I love comments! I try to read and reply to them all. Feel free to agree or disagree and generally share your thoughts with me.