DNF Review: Extraction by Stephanie Diaz

Extraction by Stephanie Diaz.

Extraction #1.
Published: July 22, 2014.
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin.
Source: Requested an ARC from the Canadian distributor for review consideration. Thanks, Raincoast!
Did not finish. Stopped around page 90.

Goodreads Synopsis:

"Welcome to Extraction testing."
Clementine has spent her whole life preparing for her sixteenth birthday, when she’ll be tested for Extraction in the hopes of being sent from the planet Kiel’s toxic Surface to the much safer Core, where people live without fear or starvation. When she proves promising enough to be “Extracted,” she must leave without Logan, the boy she loves. Torn apart from her only sense of family, Clem promises to come back and save him from brutal Surface life.
What she finds initially in the Core is a utopia compared to the Surface—it’s free of hard labor, gun-wielding officials, and the moon's lethal acid. But life is anything but safe, and Clementine learns that the planet's leaders are planning to exterminate Surface dwellers—and that means Logan, too. 
Trapped by the steel walls of the underground and the lies that keep her safe, Clementine must find a way to escape and rescue Logan and the rest of the planet. But the planet leaders don't want her running—they want her subdued.
With intense action scenes and a cast of unforgettable characters, Extraction is a page-turning, gripping read, sure to entertain lovers of Hunger Games and Ender's Game and leave them breathless for more.

My Review:

Oh, Extraction. I wanted so badly to like you. I really did. Unfortunately, I made it only about 90 pages in before I just had to put you down. I might eventually try to continue you, but to be honest, there's nothing drawing me back.

When I started Extraction I was expecting an exciting sci-fi with high stakes and a strong, passionate romance that makes it impossible for Clementine to leave Logan behind. I got... none of these things. Sure it was sci-fi, and it has some interesting elements to it. I like the idea that people took to different levels of the Earth in order to try and protect themselves - although I'm pretty sure it'd be impossible to live near the core, so... how are they doing that? I like the idea of the shield protecting them from the moon's acid smoke - although, since when does the moon give off acid smoke? How did that start? Starting to see why this isn't working for me? Even the aspects I like are marred with questions that are essential to understanding why these things are the way they are. I wish they had been explained at the same time as the so-called solutions they came up with were.

Now what about those high stakes I thought I was promised? Meh. There were some moments I was supposed to feel tense or scared for Clementine and Logan. I know I was supposed to; that's how it read. But did it actually raise any stakes for me? Nope. Did it create tension? Nope. Did it manipulate my emotions like scenes of that nature are supposed to? Sadly, no. I know that things were bad and that life was dangerous, I could read that. But the writing gave me no feelings about the fact that things were bad and dangerous. It was a lot of telling and not a lot of making me care.

As for the romance, well, I just wasn't feeling it. There was nothing there that made me ship them, let alone anything that would make me feel like Clementine should risk her only chance at safety ever for this guy. There was some sweet backstory but it didn't feel powerful. It wasn't convincing, nor did it even really establish them as an actual couple. They almost had a couple of moments but they kept getting interrupted. There was no passion, just a dull "I like this guy. I want him to kiss me." I'm sorry, but that does not a ship make. I wanted to like them and I wanted to want Clementine to do something about having to leave him to die. But I just didn't care.

I know this sounds a little harsh, but I honestly just wasn't being drawn into this book at all. I promise to be honest when I'm writing reviews, so this is me being honest. I was disappointed. To be fair, I really didn't get that far into the book. It's entirely possible that everything picks up one or two chapters after the point at which I put it down. If you've read it and it does, let me know and I'll give it another shot. And I am still curious about life in the Core. (No, unfortunately I didn't even make it that far). I just wasn't connecting with the story I got. I wasn't feeling anything - not the stakes, not the connection between Clementine and Logan, not the fear that she's supposed to be feeling, nothing. There was nothing there to get me invested in anything. I just... didn't care. Sorry, Extraction. You just didn't do it for me.

ReReadathon and Shelf Sweeper Week Two Update

Alas, another week and another disappointment for those of you following my progress. Turns out that despite having the week off work, being at a festival nearly every single day into the night really cuts into my reading time. Plus I took some time to read The Kiss of Deception which, while not on my list, was wonderful. I'm so glad I read it but it took time away from my challenge books.

I did manage to get one more reread in this week, and it was another good one.

It had been too long since I'd read these books so I'm glad to be getting back into that world before Mockingjay Part I comes out in theatres in November.

Hopefully the next three weeks hold lots of reading so I can at least try to come close to meeting my goal for this thing! And kudos to everyone doing better at their goal than I am so far!

Waiting on Wednesday #72: Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This is where you showcase an upcoming release you're anxiously awaiting!

This week, I'm waiting on:

Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither.

Expected Publication: September 16, 2014.
by: Simon & Schuster BFYR.

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Cate Benson was twelve, her sister died. 
Two hours after the funeral, they picked up Violet’s replacement, and it was like nothing had ever happened. Because Cate’s parents are among those who decided to grant their children a sort of immortality—by cloning them at birth. So this new Violet has the same smile. The same laugh. That same perfect face. Thanks to advancements in mind-uploading technology, she even has all the same memories as the girl she replaced. 
She also might have murdered the most popular girl in school. 
Or at least, that’s what the paparazzi and crazy anti-cloning protesters want everyone to think: that clones are violent, unpredictable monsters. Cate is used to hearing all that, though. She’s used to standing up for her sister too, and she’s determined to prove her innocence now—at whatever the cost. But the deeper she digs for the truth, the further Cate's carefully-constructed life begins to unravel, unveiling a world filled with copies and lies, where nothing and no one—not even her sister— is completely what they seem. 
In a pulse pounding debut, Stefanie Gaither takes readers on a nail-biting ride through a future that looks frighteningly similar to our own time and asks: how far are you willing to go to keep your family together?

Why I'm excited:
More sci-fi? This one about clone replacements for dead people that may or may not be violent and dangerous? With secrets and surprises and family stakes? Yeah, you can definitely count me in on this one.

What are you waiting on this week?

Review: Panic by Lauren Oliver

Panic by Lauren Oliver.

Published: March 4, 2014.
Published by: HarperCollins.
Source: Requested an ARC from the publisher for review consideration. Thank you, HarperCollins Canada!
More from the publisher here.

Goodreads Synopsis:
Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

My Review:

Panic is an interesting contemporary - yes, contemporary, not dystopian - novel that didn't wow me but certainly had my attention when it came to one of the biggest aspects of the novel. Unfortunately, not all of the elements lived up to that big one. 

The strongest point of the novel is the actual playing of the game of Panic. Panic is played by the graduating seniors who do increasingly difficult and dangerous dares in order to be the one to win a pot of money - over $50,000 - that they had all contributed to over the year. Panic is a game that I could actually believe might exist in a small town. Its clouded origins and the stories of past winners were a thing of legend and I definitely got swept up in the idea of the game. The tensions and fear that the players experience around the events are built up very well and really got me into their emotions. The dares were believable even in their stupid levels of danger and were given great weight in the story and in consideration of their implications. The game of Panic was a thrill to read about and I truly enjoyed it. I just wish the rest of the novel had lived up to it. 

To be honest, the characters really didn't do much for me in this novel. While the four primary characters - Heather, Dodge, Nat, and Bishop - were characterized decently well, none of them really stuck with me after having finished the book. They were interesting enough in the moment but I never felt attached to any of them, not did I truly come to care about their situations. I appreciated what Heather's younger sister, Lily, brought to the story and to Heather as a character. I liked that she brought out another side to Heather and helped give her more motivation. However, Lily's own characterization didn't always work for me. Much of the time she seemed younger than the 12 years she was supposed to be. It came through in the way she acted and spoke and it just didn't really work for me. 

Finally, the romance aspect was pretty underwhelming. I don't know if it was because I didn't connect with the characters much in the first place or what, but there was just no memorable romance in this book at all. I feel like if Oliver had felt the need to include one, it could have been much more strongly developed and made more memorable (and preferably with stronger characters, as well). If you're going to include a romance, I really need to care about it in one way or another. My apathy towards the attempted love story is disappointing but ultimately stems from the fact that the characters didn't mean much to me and that nothing from the romance actually stuck. It was ultimately unsurprising and unmemorable. 

The game aspect of Panic was an intriguing and exciting concept that really caught my attention. Unfortunately, the characters and the execution of much of the rest of the book was a bit of a let down and didn't live up to the potential created by the fantastic idea that was the risky game of Panic.

ReReadathon and Shelf Sweeper Week One Update

It has only been 5 days, and a busy 5 days at that, so I feel slightly less bad about having only completed one book for the RRSS14 thus far. Luckily I have this coming week off from work and while my evenings are all booked up (it's festival season around here so I'll be at outdoor concerts every night), I'll have my days to read all I want!

The only book checked off my list so far:

My reread of Grave Mercy is done (and it was just as wonderful the second time around), so at least that's one step closer. Can't wait to get to the rest of the trilogy!

Next week I'm going to try to have much better numbers up here. Fingers crossed!

Waiting on Wednesday #71: The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This is where you showcase an upcoming release you're anxiously awaiting!

This week, I'm waiting on:

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters.

Expected Publication: October 14, 2014.
by: Amulet Books.

Goodreads Synopsis:
Olivia Mead is a headstrong, independent girl—a suffragist—in an age that prefers its girls to be docile. It’s 1900 in Oregon, and Olivia’s father, concerned that she’s headed for trouble, convinces a stage mesmerist to try to hypnotize the rebellion out of her. But the hypnotist, an intriguing young man named Henri Reverie, gives her a terrible gift instead: she’s able to see people’s true natures, manifesting as visions of darkness and goodness, while also unable to speak her true thoughts out loud. These supernatural challenges only make Olivia more determined to speak her mind, and so she’s drawn into a dangerous relationship with the hypnotist and his mysterious motives, all while secretly fighting for the rights of women. Winters breathes new life into history once again with an atmospheric, vividly real story, including archival photos and art from the period throughout.

Why I'm excited:
I loved (loved loved loved) Cat's debut, In the Shadow of Blackbirds. That alone is enough to make me want this book. But then she had to go and make it another historical fiction novel, which is only my favourite genre. And she's tying in hypnotism and women's suffrage and a rebellious girl and more of the old photos like were in Blackbirds? "MUST HAVE NOW" is basically where I am with this one.

What are you waiting on this week?

Review: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas.

Published: July 16, 2013.
Published by: Simon Pulse.
Source: Purchased.

Goodreads Synopsis:
It's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations. 

As Anna sets out to find her friend's killer; she discovers hard truths about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone around her thinks she is not just guilty, but dangerous. When the truth comes out, it is more shocking than one could ever imagine...

My Review:

Dangerous Girls is a book that you want to go into knowing little about it. It is a book that seems straightforward but isn't, so knowing too much about it could spoil the experience for you. That said, this is going to be a short review because I'm going to try not to give too much away. If you don't want to read further for fear of losing some of the experience (which is what I'd choose, if I were you), I'll just say that I strongly recommend reading this one and that I suggest you go into with as little information and as few expectations as possible.

This is an interesting read, exploring the court case against Anna as she tries to prove that she is innocent of Elise's murder, as well as flashbacks to various points in their friendship and parts of their Aruba vacation. Jumping around in time to see all these different scenes could have been confusing but instead I found that they were stitched together so well that it only made for a more exciting and more intriguing read. I also loved that there were snippets included of the media's coverage of the case, showing how they tried to portray Anna in one light or another -- often negatively -- and how that contradicts what comes from Anna's narration. The characters are strong and well written, especially Anna. They are all structured within the plot so perfectly that the novel is smooth and pulls off its finale excellently.

I wish I had been able to go into it without expecting something major to happen because, since I knew *something* was coming, I was constantly trying to come up with what it could be instead of watching everything play out as it did. Because of this, I had a hunch about the truth. I still think that all the events played out extremely well -- clearly this book was thought through and plotted with skill -- but I wish I could have enjoyed this smart writing without analyzing it the way I did in anticipation of a shock.

Definitely worth a read, but try to go in without any assumptions or ideas about the ending (I know, hard after I've been talking about it, but I warned you!) and just enjoy the journey. Also, when you recommend it to others (which I think you will after you read it), keep everything hush hush!