Dawn Brazil

TW: Self-harm (minor references, happens once), child abuse mentioned

I won a copy of this in a giveaway. Sam’s narrative voice was good, crispy and salty with a side of ketchup. I looked at a preview before signing up for the raffle, and her voice is what drew me to read the rest. There’s a unique, quirky substitution of the names of U.S. states in place of curse words. For example, “What the Houston?” That’s either going to be endearing or annoying to you. I like it though because it made Sam distinct. Honestly, the cast all had distinct voices and personalities.

However, I hated Joe though. He was just too nasty for no reason. I feel like he was supposed to be this lovable broody, snarky guy, but I just wanted him to shut up. It’s like he hated Sam on sight. Whatever their little banter was supposed to be was just draining. Every line is an argument or a putdown. when Sam and he started having a little connection, I was like why tho?

I’ll give him some merit. This was a line, BAY-BEE: “Words haven’t been invented to make me give up on you … I’ll follow you into darkness and fight like hell to pull you out every time.”

The story can be dark at times. It’s obvious one of the characters has been self-harming themselves. Sam has a lot of emotions and pain that rears its head in violent ways, sometimes. Despite the heaviness, Volt is also fantastical with pigs, reapers, literal dolls, and other things Sam cannot comprehend. I get major Alice in Wonderland vibes from this.

I cannot speak to the mental disability representation. There’s a nothingness that Sam keeps going into. I’m not sure if it’s disassociation or not. Minor reference to an Asian character’s “slanted eyes.”

I think the author is talented, so I didn’t regret reading this. I had to keep turning pages—uh, strolling to find out more. Info-dumps do not exist here, so mysteriousness around all the character’s backgrounds and traumas is ever present.… (meer)

If you like The Darkest Minds series and The Maze Runner, this dystopian series is in the same vein.

Pros:
-Love the alternate names of things (lifepods for smartphones, lifeshots for photos, learning stations for schools, so smart!)
-Will & Andi! oooh! So spicy! I'm kind of glad they're not full-on getting it on. They're just barely in high school. So I'm glad the author went slow with their relationship. I -cannot- wait to see what's up with them next. I'm going to flip if Will turned out to be the bad guy in the end.
-Great ending, and the preview for the next book.... talk about cliffhanger! I have to read it now!
-I really like how everyone has their own personality, you can clearly describe each person instead of just thinking of them as a character. -ChaWanda (aerial pod) is a refreshing best-friend. I just hope that its not being used to track Andi too... see, there's a lot of "should we trust this character?" mindset a lot when I read this book. I'm guessing the 2nd book will go into who can really be trusted and who can't (shadows of secrets & lies indeed, the title is fitting!)

Cons:
-Certain section's pacing is all over the place (and maybe why it's a bit hard to read in the beginning). It almost feels like this book was made visually for a movie, there's a lot of "visual" things happening, but it's not written down, so as a reader, I'm left wondering what the heck is going on, the transition is very jarring. Why did things happen, how did that person move so quickly to that spot, who's saying what now?The scene changed--how, when?
-Yes some things don't get explained, but that's part of the mystery isn't it? We're learning the same pace as the character. Maybe it'll all be clearer in book 2.
-Wish Andi (our main character) would say more things out loud than being in her head so much.… (meer)

DNF AT 33% Not everyone is meant to write a book. This is a good example of that. The only two POC in this book are levels down to a futuristic car and the other is an Asian named Marcus who is then nicknamed LT? But it's not explained why... just that eventually in the future that's what he's called so they started calling him that anyway? The main character that the book is written about is an absolute bitch who thinks she's better than everyone yet has no filter for the incredibly rude things she says to the people who are supposed to save her life. And yet somehow the one she's rudest to, for absolutely no reason, is suddenly her best friend now. What? Too much use of the word "whatever" and every reaction to something happening is her rolling her eyes at people. But again... she's better than you and won't hesitate to remind you of that. Save yourself the trouble and stay clear of not only this book but this author.… (meer)

Chloe Carmichael is seventeen, rich, and mostly pretty pampered. She does have her frustrations with her mother, who is very into appearances, and has insisted that she date "the right boy,"--Zach. She and Zach regard each other as friends, but they both agree to be "boyfriend and girlfriend" to others, due to maternal pressure. She has good friends, though, likes her science classes, and figures that in another couple of years, she'll be at college and not so much under her mother's thumb.

Then strange things start to happen. She has a strange, frightening vision of Zach being murdered--shortly before he is really murdered, exactly as she envisioned. She starts seeing strange things, hearing voices, and having strange dreams. A new group of kids at school tell her they know why; she's one of them, part of a special group with a mission, to protect humanity.

And they tell Chloe that although she doesn't remember it, her name is really Amanda, and they've known each other for several lifetimes.

I like the characters, and the plot moves along. Unfortunately, some rather basic things haven't been though through properly. Chris, Chloe/Amanda's boyfriend from their previous lives, tells her that there are six universes within this galaxy. They've lived their lives in each of the five others, and Earth, Chloe's Earth, is the sixth. It's their last chance to stop the enemy that threatens humanity.

Now, of course, there's a way this business of six universes in one galaxy can be made to almost make sense, except that events in the story subsequently make clear that that particular alternate interpretation isn't the one Brazil is using. In an otherwise well-constructed story, this is just a huge hole, that will toss many readers right out of the story. And that's too bad, because there is a good story in here. Perhaps Brazil just needs a better, more demanding editor.

Aside from that flaw, there's also the fact that this is the first book of a trilogy. It ends with a quite major cliffhanger. However, the subsequent volumes will be out this year, so there won't be a long wait for the rest of the story.

Overall, an entertaining story aimed at young adult readers.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)