Glow - Amy Kathleen Ryan

Title: Glow (Sky Chasers #1)
Author: Amy Kathleen Ryan
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 385
Date read: October, 2013

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager - until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage - and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.

I really liked this. It fit the bill perfectly as the final read of a read-a-thon. It was engaging, quick-paced and - most importantly - a really quick read!

It reminded me a lot of "Across the Universe" by Beth Revis, and there were definitely a lot of similarities in the basic premise of the two books, even if the actual plot took it two different directions. I think I like Waverly's story line slightly more than Kieran's, but in both situations I was surprised and appalled by the actions of the people surrounding them.

I'm not entirely sure what I thought of the epilogue though - it did change the mood of the book somewhat, in a direction I'm not sure I like. It's too early to tell though, so while I won't go rushing out to purchase the next book in the series, I might just pick it up if I find it at as low a price as I did this one :)

Prepper - Lise Bidstrup

Title: Prepper
Author: Lise Bidstrup
Genre: Dystopian, YA
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 186
Date read: October, 2013

Daniel har altid vidst at jordens undergang en dag vil komme, og at den er nærmere end de fleste tror. Faktisk er han sikker på at det vil ske i hans levetid, for hans forældre er ivrige deltagere i en gruppe der kalder sig selv "Preppere", som aktivt forbereder sig på den naturkatastrofe der vil udslette livet på orden, og arbejder hårdt for at have muligheden for at overleve den.

Og ganske rigtigt - en sen nat ringer alarmklokken, og Daniel forsvinder sammen med sin familie og 15 andre personer ind i et skjult beskyttelsesrum for at overleve det anarki der utvivlsomt vil følge en naturkatastrofe. De har mad og vand nok til 4 år, og vil først dukke op igen når menneskeden er ved at få styr på sig selv igen.

Bogen skifter hele tiden i tid, hvor hvert andet kapitel er i "nutiden" og hvert andet kapitel fortæller om Daniels opvækst, og hvordan hans liv som "Prepper" har påvirket hele hans barndom.

Jeg elsker dystopisk/apokapyltisk YA og var dybt fascineret af denne beskrivelse af forberedelserne inden og konflikterne under en apokalypse. Beskrivelserne af livet i beskyttelsesrummet - inklusiv alle konflikterne medlemmerne imellem - virkede realistiske, omend de godt måtte have mere detaljerede. Især hvad angår Daniels forhold til de andre personer.

Slutningen var måske en smule forudsigelig, men det er meget typisk for YA, så det i sig selv er ikke grund til at give bogen en lavere rating. Desværre syntes jeg også den var en smule brat, og ville have foretrukket at lidt flere sider var blevet brugt på at udforske reaktionerne... muligvis bare som en epilog: "9 måneder senere..." eller noget i den stil.

Så 3.5 stjerner bliver det til... 4 stjerner hvis den havde været bare en side længere, 4.5 stjerner hvis den have været 10-20 sider længere.

Men udemærket læsning som den var, og den holdt fint min interesse - selv under en 24-hour read-a-thon hvor kravene ellers er noget højere ;)

Crown Duel - Sherwood Smith

Title: Crown Duel
Author: Sherwood Smith
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 2.5/5
# pages: 224
Date read: October, 2013

A deathbed promise to their father sends a daring girl and her brother off to war. Filled with intrigue, romance, and magic, this spellbinding novel is a dramatic coming-of-age story about a girl who rises from impoverished beginnings to take command of her own fate.

Unfortunately rather disappointing. I had had this book recommended very highly to me, but while it was certainly okay, I never felt it went beyond that. The plot was predictable, and I never really got to care for the characters. Besides, how often do we need to be told that Mel is tiny and no matter whose clothes she borrows, she'll go swimming in them? I don't usually notice such repetitions, but here it got tedious even for me.

I didn't dislike it, and it kept me okay entertained, but I'm not particularly fussed about reading the sequel.