Eat Your Heart Out - Kelly deVos

Oh my gosh - Kelly deVos's new YA novel, Eat Your Heart Out, was so much fun to read!! 

I think this description from Razorbill is perfect - and it's what had me so eager to pick up Eat Your Heart Out... "Shaun of the Dead meets Dumplin' in this bitingly funny YA thriller about a kickass group of teens battling a ravenous group of zombies."

There are six teens and and a leader in Vee's pod at Camp Featherlite for Overweight Teens. One of the other members is a aspiring film maker and she mentally slots everyone into a role - you know, The Outcast, The Jerk, The Nerd and more. This cemented the feeling of being immersed in a teen horror flick. Which I have to say, has been a long time guilty pleasure of mine.

deVos gives each of the characters a voice with their own chapters. They're all wonderfully drawn with strengths and weaknesses. But as a group, they're pretty formidable. The reader is privy to the overall picture - their secrets and the danger stalking them. And there are plenty of chances in Eat Your Heart Out, to pick up a pillow and yell, "Don't go outside - there are zombies!" 

Lots of action kept me rapidly turning pages. Eat Your Heart Out did read like a movie!

And that cover? Fantastic! Eat Your Heart Out was great escapist reading. But along with being a fun page turner, deVos has woven in a needed message as well. "...Because when you create a culture when people can be dehumanized for trivial reasons like body size, everyone's human dignity is in jeopardy. I intend for this read to be inclusive and affirming, and hope you read with care if these topics are ones close to your heart." This was a first read of deVos for me - and it most definitely won't be the last. See for yourself - read an excerpt of Eat Your Heart Out.

(And I leave you with this warning - be careful with your hazelnut coffee whitener...)

Girls With Razor Hearts - Suzanne Young

I listened to the first book in Suzanne Young's YA series 'Girls With Sharp Sticks last year (my review). I quite enjoyed it and happily settled in with the newly released second book, Girls With Razor Hearts.

Mena and some of her friends discovered the truth about the  experiments and violence at their school, Innovations Academy, in the first book. They escaped and are now on the hunt for the Corporation, determined to take it down and free the girls still at the Academy. (Now, I am deliberately leaving out a few details in order to prevent spoilers.) They head to another school, hoping to make contact with an investor's child that reportedly attends this institution.

I had to shut down my default pragmatic thinking. I could see flaws in their plan (and had suggestions on alternates!) But without that flawed scheme we wouldn't have the plotlines that lead to ever increasingly dangerous places and people on the way to the final aha! So, my advice? Just go with it. And take note that the words futuristic and dystopian are good descriptors of this series.

I liked the cast of characters I met in the first book. And Mena is a great lead. You'll have no problem knowing who to dislike and suspect - although there are some that I'm not sure about. Are they working with or against the girls? The friendships between the girls are well depicted. And a blossoming romance is well done and well paced.

Gentle readers, there are some 'darker' matter in Girls With Razor Hearts. Some of it may be triggers for certain readers and listeners. I will say that the phrase..'but he's such a nice guy' was powerfully used.

GWRH does explore a number of  themes - bullying, sexism, classism, abuse and more. Perhaps a few too many more as I started feeling overwhelmed with the issues, feeling like they were taking precedence over the plot.

I did choose to listen to Girls With Razor Hearts. I was so very glad to see that Caitlin Davies was also narrating this second book. She did a great job with the first book and continuity is important with series. Her voice has created mental images of all the players. She uses a well enunciated, almost clipped, naive voice for Mena that is just right for the character and plot. Davies provides many different voices for the other players (including males) that make it easy to differentiate who is speaking. Her voice is clear and easy to understand. She uses her voice well, interpreting and presenting anger, fear, action and more. Hear for yourself - listen to an audio excerpt of Girls With Razor Hearts.

While the girls found some answers in this second entry, there are still more questions and more 'baddies' to chase down. We'll see what book three brings!

To Catch a Killer - Sheryl Scarborough Release Day Giveaway

Sheryl Scarborough's debut novel, To Catch a Killer releases today and I have a copy to give away to one lucky reader!

From the publisher, Tor Books:

"In this contemporary mystery by debut author Sheryl Scarborough, a teenage girl uses forensic science to solve the cold-case murder of her mother.

Erin Blake has one of those names. A name that, like Natalee Holloway or Elizabeth Smart, is inextricably linked to a grisly crime. As a toddler, Erin survived for three days alongside the corpse of her murdered mother, and the case—which remains unsolved—fascinated a nation. Her father's identity unknown, Erin was taken in by her mother's best friend and has become a relatively normal teen in spite of the looming questions about her past.

Fourteen years later, Erin is once again at the center of a brutal homicide when she finds the body of her biology teacher. When questioned by the police, Erin tells almost the whole truth, but never voices her suspicions that her mother's killer has struck again in order to protect the casework she's secretly doing on her own.

Inspired by her uncle, an FBI agent, Erin has ramped up her forensic hobby into a full-blown cold-case investigation. This new murder makes her certain she's close to the truth, but when all the evidence starts to point the authorities straight to Erin, she turns to her longtime crush (and fellow suspect) Journey Michaels to help her crack the case before it's too late." Read an excerpt of To Catch a Killer.

Sheryl Scarborough worked as a story writer and series developer in children's television before
receiving her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College, where she studied under Rita Williams-Garcia, Tom Birdseye, and Susan Fletcher, among others. She currently lives and works in Kalama, Washington. To Catch a Killer is her debut. You can connect with Sheryl on her website, follow her on Twitter and like her on Facebook.

And if you'd like to read To Catch a Killer, enter to win a copy using the Rafflecopter form below. Open to US and Canada, no PO boxes please. Ends Feb 18/17.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rains - Gregg Hurwitz

Quite a few of my favourite adult authors have started writing young adult books - many of them series.

Gregg Hurwitz has just released The Rains  - the first in his new young adult series. And though it's marketed to teens, this adult reader quite enjoyed The Rains.

That ominous cover would lead you to believe weather is the inspiration for the book title. Well, something does fall from the sky, but it's not rain. Instead it's some sort of parasitic spore that infects anyone over eighteen, turning them into some sort of zombie. The driving force behind this attack may be  an alien race. So, who are the Rains? Fifteen year old Chance Rain and his seventeen year old brother Patrick Rain. And the third person on the cover is Patrick's girlfriend Alex. Together, they're leading force behind the battle for survival for the rest of the under eighteens kids.

Chance is our narrator - indeed it is his journal we are reading. "If you're reading this, your life is at risk. Maybe, just maybe these pages will give you a chance."

Hurwitz has plotted an inventive mashup between aliens and zombies and added lots of action and nail biting scenarios. But he has also developed his lead characters well. They have depth and feeling and the reader will immediately be drawn to them., especially Chance. Chance does a lot of growing up as the book progresses. There is also a romantic thread running through the book between Patrick and Alex, but it too is portrayed realistically. Alex is just as strong a lead as the boys. The relationship between the brothers is well drawn, believable and heartstring tugging.  And with every story there has to be a negative character. Readers will love to hate Ben, who is the antithesis of the boys. Hurwitz himself is the owner of a number of Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs. In the book, Chance also raises Ridgebacks. They too endear themselves to the reader as part of the 'good guys' team. (But I have to say, there's one chapter where I yelled No, no, no!)

I liked the rural setting - our heroes are a little more down to earth and pragmatic than some of the zombie novels set in cityscapes. A few of the plot devices are a bit too pat - but this is the adult mystery reader in me speaking. Just go with the flow and enjoy The Rains. It's a great addition to the teen fiction scene and would appeal to both male and female readers. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Rains.

You can connect with Gregg Hurwitz on his website, like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.  And keep your eyes peeled for the next book -  Last Chance.