Take some ordinary teenagers, throw in a billion-dollar biopharmaceuticals company, genetic engineering, morally corrupt scientists and some sexual tension, and you have Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate’s fantastic new book, Eve and Adam.
To celebrate the release of Eve and Adam I’m giving away 2 hardback copies.
Thanks to everyone who entered. This competition is now closed.
I think I’m probably James Dashner’s number one fan (outside of the US). His Maze Runner Trilogy is one of my favourite series and the first book, The Maze Runner, is in my top 5 books. It’s one of those books that keeps you constantly on edge, trying to figure out what the heck is going on, and James Dashner’s amazing storytelling sends a shiver down your spine. Although the first book is my favourite of the series, James keeps you in suspense and reveals little pieces of the puzzle throughout the rest of the trilogy (The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure), making you eagerly await the next installment. The Death Cure was the perfect ending to the series, but James felt there was still more of the story he wanted to tell, specifically how the world went to hell in a hand basket and why there needed to be a maze in the first place. The prequel to the Maze Runner Trilogy, The Kill Order, has just been released in the US and I had to know how it all started.
Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.
Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next.
Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.
Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive.
I felt completely satisfied after finishing The Death Cure, but The Kill Order is like dessert. James reveals even more pieces of this wonderful puzzle of a story, connects them with pieces from the other books in the trilogy, and turns everything you thought you knew on its head. The story shows us what happened after the sun flares struck the earth, how people coped in the aftermath, where the Flare virus came from and how it spread. It’s told through the eyes of completely new characters, Mark and Trina, and we follow their fight for survival after the sun flares strike the earth. The things that Mark and Trina see are terrifying, horrific and sometimes incredibly creepy. Several times I thought twice about reading it before bed, in case those images stayed in my head. Although they’re different characters, you feel for them just as you felt for Thomas, Teresa and their friends.
Now that I’ve read The Kill Order I desperately want to start the series all over again, because there’s all this new information I didn’t know the first time around. One thing I especially love about The Kill Order is that Thomas and Teresa make an appearance, which really connects this book with the rest of the series. James’ ability to connect all the pieces of his story together left me shaking my head in amazement and thinking ‘Wow, this guy is good!’
If you want a series that blows The Hunger Games out of the water, read The Maze Runner Series.
5 out of 5 stars
N.B. This is the US hardback edition of The Kill Order. The paperback edition, published by Chicken House, will be available in NZ in March 2013. I’m an impatient reader, especially when it comes to series, so I couldn’t wait.
Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate have introduced us to characters that we both love and love to hate. They’ve coauthored over 100 books together, including one of the coolest series of my childhood, Animorphs. Michael is the author of the fantastic Gone series and BZRK, and Katherine stole our hearts earlier this year when she introduced us to the loveable, One and Only Ivan. They’ve joined forces once again to bring us creation story like no other, Eve and Adam.
Evening Spiker is recuperating from a freak accident in her mum’s medical facility. She is healing at a remarkable rate, faster than physically possible. As she grows closer to the hot lab assistant Solo, who seems to be hanging around a lot, she realises that things at Spiker Biotech are not quite as they seem. Joining forces, Solo and Eve uncover a secret so huge it could change the world completely. Spiker Biotech is about more than just saving lives. It’s about creating them.
Eve and Adam is an exciting, futuristic thriller, and one hell of a cool book! Take some ordinary teenagers, throw in a billion-dollar biopharmaceuticals company, genetic engineering, morally corrupt scientists and some sexual tension, and you have Eve and Adam. Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate sure know how to write and they suck you in from the very first sentence. This has to be one of the best first sentences ever – ‘I am thinking of an apple when the streetcar hits and my leg severs and my ribs crumble and my arm is no longer an arm but something unrecognizable, wet and red.’
The narration of the story alternates between Eve (Evening or E.V. to her friends), the daughter of Terra Spiker (head of Spiker Biopharmaceuticals) and Solo who is Terra’s ward. After her accident, Terra gives Eve the task of designing the perfect boy, using special software that her company has developed. After some initial skepticism Eve takes to the task and it takes her mind off her injuries, but it’s not long before she starts to wonder why her leg doesn’t hurt and there are no scars. Solo is a mysterious character and you wonder what his motives are. He seems to be sneaking around looking for something in particular, and puts on an act to make himself seem dumber than he actually is. When he finds what he has been searching for it’s shocking and neither him or Eve are quite prepared for the trouble that follows. Into this mix comes Adam, Eve’s perfect boy. I love the way that Eve describes him when she first sees him in person,
“He’s the most beautiful male I’ve ever seen. Ever. Anywhere. George Clooney and Johnny Depp and Justin Timberlake and all of them, all of them, would be cast as Adam’s less attractive best friend.”
The story is so gripping that I read it in one day. The end left me wondering whether Eve and Adam is the start of a new series or whether it is a stand alone novel. I felt like there were a few unanswered questions so this may not be the last we see of Eve, Adam, Aislin and Solo.
5 out of 5 stars
Every Day is David Levithan’s amazing new book, out in NZ and Australia this month from Text Publishing. I love David’s books and Every Day sounds really interesting and completely different. I can’t wait to lose myself in the story.
Sometimes it would be nice to be able to escape your own life and pretend to be someone else. What if you could connect yourself to a virtual world, where you could do exactly that and look completely different. You could have a different face, a different body, and you could even be a unicorn or a dragon. In this virtual world, everything is clean and bright, and you can work, shop and play. Enter the world of the Metashpere in Jeff Norton’s new book, Metawars: Fight for the Future.
Jonah Delacroix can’t stand the real world – so he lives most of his life inside a global computer-based virtual world called the Metasphere, where everyone is represented by an avatar. When he discovers the avatar of his dead father, and assumes his online identity, a series of events are unleashed that compel Jonah to race across the real world with a secret society to protect the freedom of all mankind…
Fight for the Future is the first book in Jeff Norton’s action-packed science fiction series about the fight for cyberspace. The real world has fallen into ruin and humans now spend most of their lives in the Meatasphere, a virtual world full of life and colour, where people work, go to school and socialise. There are two warring factions fighting for what they believe is right. The Millenials believe that the Metashphere should be controlled, but the Guardians believe it should be free. Matthew Granger, the creator of the Metasphere and leader of the Millenials has just escaped prison and will stop at nothing to take back his creation, one piece at a time.
The main character is Jonah Delacroix, a teenager who lives on a bus in the real world with his mum, but like most people, prefers to spend his time in the Metashpere. His father, who was once Matthew Granger’s personal pilot, was killed when a Guardian bomb blew up the airport. Jonah knows where his loyalties lie, but these loyalties are constantly tested in the story. Who do you trust when everyone thinks they’re right? One thing I really liked about the story was that there are no clear villains. They may seem like villains but they’re only fighting for what they believe is right. Matthew Granger’s character was really interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing how Jeff develops his character in the next book.
Metawars is a real boys story and the perfect book to hook reluctant readers. There are heart-stopping action sequences, spies, terrorists and cool characters. It’s sure to grab those video game addicted teens as they’ll understand the allure of wanting to be constantly plugged into the virtual world. To hook them in, all you need to tell them about the book is it’s like Alex Rider crossed with The Matrix. Once they’ve read Fight for the Future they’ll be hooked and eagerly awaiting the sequel The Dead Are Rising.
4 out of 5 stars
Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Evening Spiker is recuperating from a freak accident in her mum’s medical facility. She is healing at a remarkable rate, faster than physically possible. As she grows closer to the hot lab assistant Solo, who seems to be hanging around a lot, she realises that things at Spiker Biotech are not quite as they seem. Joining forces, Solo and Eve uncover a secret so huge it could change the world completely. Spiker Biotech is about more than just saving lives. It’s about creating them.
All the Wrong Questions: Who Could That Be At This Hour? by Lemony Snicket
Author Lemony Snicket is a broken man, wracked with misery and despair as a result of writing A Series Of Unfortunate Events. He spends his days wandering the countryside weeping and moaning, and his evenings eating hastily-prepared meals. But what was he like when he was thirteen years old? Find out in the brand new series from best-selling author Lemony Snicket!
Zom-B by Darren Shan
When news reports start appearing of a zombie outbreak in Ireland, B Smith’s racist father thinks it’s a joke– but even if it isn’t, he figures, it’s ok to lose a few Irish. B doesn’t fully buy into Dad’s racism, but figures it’s easier to go along with it than to risk the fights and abuse that will surely follow sticking up for Muslims, blacks, or immigrants. But when zombies attack B’s school, B is forced on a mad dash through the serpentine corridors, making allegiances with anyone with enough guts to fight off their pursuers.
Maddy West and the Tongue Taker by Brian Falkner
Maddy West can speak every language in the world. When she is asked to translate some ancient scrolls, Maddy is excited. But the scrolls hide many secrets. Secrets that send Maddy on a wild adventure with a stowaway ninja, a mysterious monkey, a Bulgarian wrestler and a fiendish witch. And soon Maddy finds herself in deadly peril. Does Maddy have what it takes to save herself and her new friends?
The Crystal Code by Richard Newsome
Gerald, Ruby and Sam are meeting up with Alisha and Gerald’s Australian school friend Ox for two weeks of snowboarding in the mountains of California. It’s a dream vacation.
But soon after they arrive—by helicopter, with Gerald’s butler Mr Fry at the controls, of course—the private chalet is attacked. Gerald and the gang escape through a secret passage, only to be pursued on snowmobiles by men with guns across frozen lakes and into the path of a cascading avalanche.
Join Gerald and his friends in the USA, the Czech Republic and a tiny island in Sweden for a new thrilling adventure. After all, with all that money, there’s got to be more to the story.
Every Day by David Levithan
Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.Can you love someone who is destined to change each day? YA superstar author David Levithan brings all his trademark insight to a novel that is edgy, romantic and page-turning. Every Day has a touch of the paranormal and a grounding in the real world.
The ACB with Honora Lee by Kate De Goldi
Perry’s mother and father are busy people … they’re impatient, they’re tired, they get cross easily. And they think that only children, like Perry, should be kept busy. On Saturday mornings Perry and her father visit her gran, Honora Lee, at the Santa Lucia rest home, but Gran never remembers them. ‘Who is that man?’ Honora Lee asks when Perry’s father leaves the room. After movement class is abruptly cancelled, Perry is allowed to go to Santa Lucia on Thursday afternoons. She discovers her Gran has an unconventional interest in the alphabet, so Perry decides to make an alphabet book with the help of Honora and the others. Soon everyone is interested in Perry’s book project.
Spook’s: Slither’s Tale
Far from the Wardstone, a new darkness is rising . . . Slither is a haizda mage who preys upon humans, drinking their blood to feed his dark urges. So when a local farmer dies, it’s only natural that Slither should want to feast on his lovely daughters. But then the farmer offers him a deal, and extracts from Slither a promise that will take him on a journey to the City of the Petrified Tree, to a fallen star-stone that holds great power, and straight into the path of Grimalkin, the Witch Assassin.
The Books of Beginning: The Fire Chronicle by John Stephens
It’s been six months since Kate, Michael, and Emma confronted the Dire Magnus, but the trail to their long-missing parents remains cold. Then Michael and Emma find a man who saw them ten years ago—three days after they disappeared. He knows about a map of a distant land, a place shrouded in mystery that may lead them to their parents. Meanwhile, Kate’s connection to the Book of Time is growing stronger and stronger, until a dangerous trick gets her stuck in the past, searching for a friend to help her. Only a perilous quest and a daring risk will help the children to harness the power of the Books of Beginning. But will it be enough to save them?
Ratburger by David Walliams
Things are not looking good for Zoe. Her stepmother Sheila is so lazy she gets Zoe to pick her nose for her. The school bully Tina Trotts makes her life a misery – mainly by flobbing on her head. And now the evil Burt from Burt’s Burgers is after her pet rat! And guess what he wants to do with it? The clue is in the title.
Fleur Beale has written some great novels, both for children and young adults. My favourite books of hers are the award-winning Juno of Taris series. Fleur’s latest book, The Boy in the Olive Grove, is a about a girl living in present day New Zealand, whose past lives resurface and turn her life upside down.
On the night of her seventeenth birthday Bess Grey sees images of a witch-burning unfold in front of her as if in a movie. She also sees images from a different time — lovers, and the girl, she’s sure is — was – herself. When she meets Nick she recognises him as the boy. There’s an immediate connection. However when her father nearly dies from a heart attack there’s no time to brood as Bess tries to save her father’s business. She falls in love with Nick but her difficult mother interferes, forcing Bess to make the hardest decision of her life. She must decide whether to lose her mother or the boy she loves.
The Boy in the Olive Grove is a really unique story about a girl who is navigating the minefield of her family life, while trying to deal with the lives she has lived in the past. In the present Bess has a horrible mother who doesn’t seem to care for her at all, a protective brother who has just up and left her, a father who is ill, and a step-mother who she feels awkward around. When she has a visions of herself burning a witch at the stake and of a mysterious boy who she has strong feelings for, she gets drunk and nearly kills herself on the road. This only seems to be the beginning of her troubles, as she gets expelled from her boarding school and sent home to live with her mother. Her dad falls ill and Bess gets left to look after his struggling furniture business. She continues to have the visions and her step-mother sends her to a psychiatrist who helps her to understand these and come to terms with what they mean.
I found the story quite unusual (it’s quite different in a way from Fleur Beale’s previous books), but the more I read, the more intrigued I became and wanted to find out how it would end. Fleur Beale always gets inside her characters heads so we know everything that they’re thinking and feeling. Bess has so much to deal with, from her visions, to taking over her father’s business, and dealing with her horrible mother, but she deals with everything extremely well. I know I wouldn’t have been able to handle all that at her age! I love the relationship that Bess has with the men that work for her dad. After some initial skepticism they warm to her and she helps to boost their confidence. I love the way they call her ‘boss.’
The only thing I didn’t really like about the story was the scheming, vindictive bitch that was Bess’ mum. I don’t think I’ve met a character that I’ve hated quite so much as her, and she didn’t seem to have any redeeming characteristics. I’d really like to know if there are mothers out there that are really like her, because I couldn’t quite imagine a mother that could be as cruel and uncaring as she was.
If you like contemporary Young Adult fiction that stands out from the crowd, The Boy in the Olive Grove, get a copy now. If you’re a fan of Fleur Beale then this is one not to be missed.
4 out of 5 stars
You can read an extract of The Boy in the Olive Grove on the Random House New Zealand website.
Eve and Adam is one of my most anticipated books of the year. It’s written by two amazing authors (and husband and wife) Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate. They’re both amazing authors in their own right, but I’m looking forward to seeing how their imaginations come together in the same story.
Eve and Adam is due out in NZ on 1st October.
In an unforgiving future, two warring factions – the MILLENNIALS and the GUARDIANS – are locked in a brutal battle over control of an online virtual world called the Metasphere.
Jonah Delacroix has always known which side he’s on – the same side as his dead father. But when he assumes his father’s avatar, he learns that things aren’t as black and white as he once believed. He’s catapulted into a full-throttle race through both worlds – but can he find the truth?
Metawars is a great new futuristic Young Adult novel by Jeff Norton. It’s a very cool, action-packed story, kind of like Alex Rider meets The Matrix. Metawars is out now in NZ from Hachette NZ.
Check out these great videos from the two factions of the story.
Joanne Harris was one of the amazing authors who spoke at the Christchurch Writer’s Festival over the weekend. I’m a huge fan of her books, particularly her books for younger readers, Runemarks and Runelight.
I have a signed copy of Runelight, the sequel to Runemarks, to give away. All you have to do to get in the draw is enter your name and email address in the form below. Competition closes Friday 7 September (NZ only).
Thanks to everyone who entered. This competition is now closed.
My Best Friends Are Books 