Review: SYLO by D.J. MacHale

 SYLO
 D.J. MacHale

Series: SYLO #1
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Publication date: July 2nd 2013
by Razorbill

Does Tucker Pierce have what it takes to be a hero when the U.S. military quarantines his island?

Fourteen-year-old Tucker Pierce prefers to fly under the radar. He’s used to navigating around summer tourists in his hometown on idyllic Pemberwick Island, Maine. He’s content to sit on the sidelines as a backup player on the high school football team. And though his best friend Quinn tells him to “go for it,” he’s too chicken to ask Tori Sleeper on a date. There’s always tomorrow, he figures. Then Pemberwick Island is invaded by a mysterious branch of the U.S. military called SYLO. And sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option for Tucker, because tomorrow may never come.

It’s up to Tucker, Quinn, and Tori to uncover the truth about the singing aircraft that appears only at night—and the stranger named Feit who’s pushing a red crystal he calls the Ruby that brings unique powers to all who take it. Tucker and his friends must rescue not just Pemberwick Island, but the fate of the world—and all before tomorrow is too late.  

-A copy was provided by Penguin Canada for review-

Almost a 4 star, SYLO starts off as your run of the mill YA sci-fi mystery but it ends up being much more complex than expected. I did really enjoy it, but I found that 1) we didn't get enough answers even for a first book in a series and 2) it could have done with 50 or so less pages - which is likely linked to 1).

A strong aspect of this novel is how the beginning chapters really pull you into the story. Being engaged from the start is a wanted feat that is not often achieved. MacHale does this by getting right into the sudden deaths happening on Tucker's island. He then keeps it up by introducing small chapter cliffhangers every so often throughout the book, which I'm personally a sucker for. Barring that, however, I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. Some of it simply felt off for supposedly being the voice of a 14 year old. And some of it felt cliché; for instance, the frequent use of "suspenseful" sentences like:

""Thirty yards!" Kent called out.
...as the machine gun behind us opened fire.
We were about to cross the stern of the flaming destroyer when...
"Now!" Tori called."

"I eased the wheel to port, made the gentle turn and...
...my moment of peace instantly vanished."

I know this critique is more of a personal preference but there were a lot of these suspension points throughout that I found cheesy. Another small quirk is how, during normal conversations, a character was said to "scream" or "shout". Either the author was hoping for a heightened tone effect, or these islanders are really freaking intense (and loud)!

"I think we're making a big mistake." Quinn said.
"Seriously?" I shouted. "Now you're having second thoughts?"
-Sounds like a shouting match, don't it? (It's not.)

Our male protagonist, Tucker, is your average teenager who likes his simple island living, so when it gets quarantined and people start dying, he gets a little restless. Tucker is an average character; he's not someone who's especially memorable long term, but I didn't dislike him. Same goes for the secondary characters. While most were charismatic, I didn't get emotionally attached to them - which is proven by my lack of reaction when one of them dies. I did grow the most connected to Tori, one of the main secondary characters. I loved that she's a tough girl who's able to fend for herself; her intelligence, strength, and bravery shine through.

The plot itself is what's truly entertaining in SYLO, and does make up for the aforementioned qualms, some. There is a ton of mystery from the get go, the sudden deaths being the first of many. There are unexplained aircraft hovering about - one of which explodes right in from of Tucker, never to appear in the news. Bizarre drugs that turn people into temporary supermen. Then there's how insanely far the military is going to make sure no one leaves escapes. With an abundance of secrets on this island, it's unfortunate that we become privy to very few answers by the end, though. I wish we'd gotten further into the bottom of it all; we barely scratched the surface. For that reason, I think the book could have been shortened 50 pages or so to stop the non-answers from dragging at times - it was not excessively so, but it did feel lengthy. At least the ending does show us how deep this bottom goes, and I really liked where the author went with it.

SYLO is what I would consider a boy book; a male protagonist, a lot of football talk, missiles, explosions, plenty of death, fighter planes, warships, and a kick-ass climactic battle at sea. Everything a boy-book loving girl like myself could ask for!

3 Hot Espressos

Review: This is W.A.R. by Lisa Roecker

This is W.A.R.
Lisa Roecker

Genre: YA Mystery
Publication date: July 2nd 2013
by Soho Teen

This is W.A.R. begins with a victim who can no longer speak for herself, and whose murder blossoms into a call-to-arms. Enter four very different girls, four very different motives to avenge Willa Ames-Rowan, and only one rule to start: Destroy James Gregory and his family at any cost. Willa's initials spell the secret rallying cry that spurs the foursome to pool their considerable resources and deliver their particular brand of vigilante justice. Innocence is lost, battles are won—and the pursuit of the truth ultimately threatens to destroy them all.

-A copy was provided by Soho Press for review-

There are so many things I disliked about this book that I decided to review via bullet point, make of it as you wish:

♦ The premise: Rich family gets away with anything - murder in this case - because you know.. they're rich! Duh! But then these friends of the dead girl and daughters of other rich neighbors (though not AS rich) decide to be vigilantes and bring the family down. *queue intense music* To do that, they first have to all give 25,000$ each (O_o) as their vigilante club fund (yes- a club! Like when I was 7! THIS IS SO EXCITING!) to use for buying information and other important vigilante tasks. Where can this plot go wrong? *snort*

♦ If you like bad daytime soap operas, then maybe I would tell you to read this book (but probably not).

"Saying "no" to the Gregorys meant her job would be mysteriously downsized; a gas leak or a termite infestation would leave the tiny apartment she'd rented for the summer uninhabitable. Type-written threats, sent via envelopes with no return address, would ensure that she left town quickly and quietly.""

...*snort*

♦ This one guy is offering date rape drugs to girls regularly, and they take them willingly! But they're not dumb, nope, I mean, why worry about taking an unidentified pill that "will only relax you"? How about this one girl who actually did know what it was, and, smart girl that she is, fakes taking it because… well because she wanted to get raped (duh!). Unfortunately, though, she got saved by one of the vigilantes (How dare she?).

"I never take his stupid pills. I never do anything I don't want to do. And I sure as hell don't need to be saved. I had him right where I wanted him the entire time."
“But, you were drugged; you were attacked.”
“I was acting. The Gregorys are so easy.”

Great self respect, there!

♦ Meet Sloane: "Sloane knew she was dumb. She said dumb things all the time, did dumb things. She’d learned to compensate for being an idiot by shutting up and agreeing with whatever everyone else said or did."

"It didn’t happen often and she could never be sure when it was coming, but she was sometimes struck out of the blue with an idea."

"It was like playing rock, paper, scissors. Sloane hated that game because she could never remember what was supposed to beat what so she always ended up playing rock. Rocks were hard. Rocks could smash. Rocks should always win."

But really it's not her fault…

Sloane's parents: "When Sloane missed curfew because she passed out behind the boathouse at the Club’s Summer Swing, they were sure Sloane must have narcolepsy. She didn’t, but that hadn’t stopped her parents from putting her on some crazy drug."

At one of four POVs in this novel, Sloane is at least the most memorable. Stupid is harder to forget?

♦ Foolproof plans to bring the killers down:

Putting photoshopped scandalous pictures of the boys on t-shirts and selling them at the gift shop.

Selling the family's antique watches. "“ON EBAY!” Lina shouted. “We sell them on eBay.” She laughed maniacally, and everyone couldn’t help but join in. Sloane laughed the loudest for once. Turned out being a dumbass had its moments."

And my personal favorite: slipping hormone pills in the boys' drinks until they grow manboobs.

These girls, like, OMG, like they have the bestestest ideas!

___

Do I really need to point out more? This is not W.A.R., this is B.A.D. (that was too easy!)!

I'm done here.

*Quotes in this review were taken from the uncorrected proof*

1 Cold Espresso

Stacking the Shelves (60)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews featuring the books we got this week, and I also mention blog news/happenings of the past week. 

It's going to be a short post this week as my mailbox was pretty lonely, but I did find a few good reads at the sales tables which I'm pretty happy about. Also if you missed it this week, I listed my top zombie books on this week's Big Girls Don't Cry - on the zombie subject, just got back from seeing World War Z and I though it was pretty awesome! The story and zombie lore were both so well thought out (note that I haven't read the book, but I do hear it's nothing like it). Anyways, there were also 2 new giveaways posted on the blog this week make sure to enter! :)

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THIS WEEK'S BOOK HAUL:

 (Click on covers or title links for Goodreads)
I received for review:
 


I bought:
Found these for 5$ each! How can that go wrong? ;)

-Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols
-You Against Me by Jenny Downham
-Bystander by James Preller

Awesome bookmark finds:

Short and sweet!
Don't forget to link me to your book haul! :)

Interview + Giveaway: The Well's End by Seth Fishman

I've got a special treat for you today. Seth Fishman is here to entertain us and talk about his fantastic looking upcoming YA Thriller novel, The Well's End. To end with a bang you can enter to win your very own ARC and some signed art!

The Well's End
Seth Fishman

Genre: YA Thriller
Publication date: February 25th 2014
by Putnam Juvenile

A deadly virus and an impossible discovery unite in one enthralling can’t-miss read.

Sixteen-year-old Mia Kish has always been afraid of the dark. After all, she’s baby Mia, the one who fell down a well. That was years ago, though the darkness still haunts her. But when her classmates and teachers at ritzy Westbrook Academy start dying of old age from a bizarre and frightening virus that ages its victims years in a matter of hours, Mia becomes haunted by a lot more than the dark. Their deaths are gruesome and Mia worries she and her friends may be next. In order to survive, Mia and her small crew must break quarantine and outrun armed soldiers in hazmat suits who shoot first and ask questions later.

And there’s only one place to go—the Cave, aka Fenton Electronics. Mia knows it’s somehow connected and hopes her dad, Director of Fenton Electronics, who has always been strangely secretive about his work, has the answers she needs, and more importantly a cure to save everyone before the whole town succumbs to the mysterious virus. Unfortunately, it’s not answers Mia discovers, but something far more treacherous and impossible than even the virus itself.

A high-stakes, fast-paced adventure with imagination and heart.

Interview with Seth Fishman

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Let's say hi to Seth and learn a bit more about this book of his! ;)

First of all, thanks to you and your XpressoReads Readers (that's a fun mouthful).  Hope these answers shed a nice light on The Well's End and the world of Mia Kish!

First, why don't you describe your book in a haiku (we all love haikus!) 

She's Baby Mia,
Even as the virus aged
Her classmates to death.

(This was way harder than I wanted it to be!)

What was the hardest part of writing in the POV of a female protagonist?

I must admit that I knew this wouldn't be a walk in the park, so I was hyper-vigilant while writing Mia, asking my wonderful editor (Stacey Barney) and my lovely wife for as much help as possible.  But I think the hardest thing was the not knowing what I was missing, not having the intuitive understanding of how a teenage girl might thing.  What became clear is that, when writing scenes between Mia and... a certain major character, I found that I was overplaying Mia's hand, and making the guy too... cool, I guess.  Which felt very realistic for me, but my readers weren't sure he liked her at all (which is real life, though eh?) So I had to work hard to change that, put them on even keel.  It was so different from anything I've written before and a real challenge.  But, at the end of the day, I was focusing on an interesting character, regardless, you know?

What was your favorite scene to write in Well's End?

This is an easy one for me: There's a scene where Mia has to, for various reasons, break through ice on a lake and swim underneath the ice, which is basically one of the scariest things I could imagine.  It was so dark and hard to write, but when it was done it felt claustrophobic (in a good sense), and I hope it's just as intense for readers too!

Is there anything about you or your book that would surprise your readers?

Hmm, maybe a few things.  Like, that Mia falling down a well is based on a true story from my hometown.  Or that the gas mask on the cover is REAL and that the art director cracked the glass to make that image.  Or that this is my fourth book (and first one that was young adult, and good enough to be published).  Or that I can hold my breath for 3 min and 6 seconds under water.

Thanks so much for coming by my little corner of the web, Seth! The Well's End definitely sounds awesome!

About the Author

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Seth's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Seth Fishman is a native of Midland, Texas (think Friday Night Lights), and a graduate of Princeton University and the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. He spends his days as a literary agent at The Gernert Company and his nights (and mornings) writing. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey. This is his first novel (that’s not in a drawer).

Fresh Batch (New Releases June 23rd - 28th)

Exclusively titled for Xpresso Reads, Fresh Batch features the hottest releases of this upcoming week.

Flavor of the week:

Ashes on the Waves
  Mary Lindsey

Publication date: June 27th, 2013

by Philomel/Penguin

Liam MacGregor is cursed. Haunted by the wails of fantastical Bean Sidhes and labeled a demon by the villagers of Dòchas, Liam has accepted that things will never get better for him—until a wealthy heiress named Annabel Leighton arrives on the island and Liam’s fate is changed forever.

With Anna, Liam finally finds the happiness he has always been denied; but, the violent, mythical Otherworlders, who inhabit the island and the sea around it, have other plans. They make awager on the couple’s love, testing its strength through a series of cruel obstacles. But the tragedies draw Liam and Anna even closer. Frustrated, the creatures put the couple through one last trial—and this time it’s not only their love that’s in danger of being destroyed.

Based on Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling poem, "Annabel Lee," Mary Lindsey creates a frighteningly beautiful gothic novel that glorifies the power of true love.

Ashes on the Waves Book Trailer:

 

Jessica's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

YA author of SHATTERED SOULS (2011), ASHES ON THE WAVES (2013), and FRAGILE SPIRITS (2014), all from Philomel/Penguin.

Represented by Ammi-Joan Paquette from the Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

Also writes under the pseudonym Marissa Clarke