Welcome to our first guest post in the YAAM – 2010 edition. As part of our celebration of all things YA, we tried to invite authors from different genres to write articles about the books and the genres they write. Michael Grant is the author of the Gone books (so far with three books published: Gone, Hunger and Lies), one of Thea’s favourite Dystopian series. Please give it up for Michael Grant!

The GONE series. Oh, good lord, why did I write the GONE series? Approximately 550 pages each. Times 6. Which — if you can believe the calculator app on my laptop — totals 3,300 pages.

Would this be a good point to mention that I don’t touch-type? Two fingers. Left and right index. Occasionally, if it’s something exciting like an action scene, I can use the middle finger on my right hand. Middle finger on my left hand? Totally useless. I swear that finger contributes nothing and I hate it.

Where was I?

The GONE series (GONE, HUNGER, LIES so far and PLAGUE, DARKNESS and LIGHT still to come,) has a simple premise: one day for reasons no one understands at first, everyone 15 and over disappears from the town of Perdido Beach, California. The kids left behind soon discover three salient facts: they are trapped inside an impenetrable dome, some of them are mutating in fairly disturbing ways, and your 15th birthday doesn’t necessarily call for a party.

So, one day I was thinking about 1) LOST, 2) THE STAND and 3) This half-formed idea I have called GUNS AND DRAGONS. (How great is that name? Guns are cool, Dragons are cool. Put them together and it’s a case of coolness squared.)

And one last thing: I was thinking about Disney movies. What do Disney movies always do? Aside from recycling dance sequences? And going with the cute animal sidekick? They kill Mom. Little Mermaid? Dead mom. Bambi? Dead mom. Aladdin? Dead mom. Nemo? Mom was a Filet-O-Fish sandwich some kid ate half of and then threw out.

A slight digression: Everyone said when THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG came out that the cool thing was to have an African-American heroine. That was cool. And about damn time. But the amazing thing, the knock-me-down Disney revolution was: mom was not dead! An actual mother. In a Disney movie!

So, anyway, LOST, THE STAND, GUNS AND DRAGONS and every matricidal Disney movie ever made. That’s what I was thinking about. And suddenly, I had it. A group of characters cut off from the outside world, in an existential struggle between good and evil, with the laws of nature rewritten, and not just dead moms, not even both parents dead, but everyone over the age of 15 wiped out!

Wiped out! Gone! By Michael Grant.

With GONE I started with an over-the-top fantasy/science fiction/horror premise, and then wrote it with absolute seriousness and all the realism I could bring to it. The basic idea may be crazy, but the way it plays out is realistic. My characters aren’t all good or all bad. (Well, except for Drake who is definitely all bad.) My characters make mistakes, do stupid things, do mean or short-sighted things. Some go well beyond short-sighted all the way to evil. But I work at making sure all the characters stay real — even when that frustrates readers.

The result with GONE is a very dangerous, violent, intense world. Because although good often triumphs over evil, it takes its sweet time doing it. There is love and romance in GONE but it’s not the main focus. Characters in GONE are mostly paying attention to finding food, avoiding being eaten by killer worms, avoiding being purged by sick-minded bigots and dealing with the fact that Drake is walking around with a ten foot tentacle where his arm used to be. When they have the time they have romance. But their first priority is survival.

So, it’s a mix of the hot and the horrifying. Kind of like the Megan Fox – Brian Austin Greene marriage.

I have a simple goal as a writer. I don’t care much whether I get good reviews. (Although I do get them.) And I don’t care whether I hit bestseller lists. (Although, it’s kind of cool when I do.) I really set out every day to write a story that makes readers stay up all night reading.

The thing that is special about science fiction, fantasy and horror — and GONE fits somewhere on that spectrum — is that in addition to keeping readers up all night neglecting their homework, I get to think about some interesting ideas. In GONE we deal with politics: who’s in charge, who should be in charge? And there’s just a bit of philosophy: what is true and how do we know it? And moral issues: are right and wrong always the same or do they change when circumstances change?

There are even sneaky bits of history. A rather obscure case is that of Zil and Human Crew. Zil is modeled on the rise of Hitler. Zil’s main supporters are Turk, Hank, Lance and Antoine. Without going into too much boring detail, I’ll say that each is based on a member of Hitler’ inner circle. (One easy clue: Lance means spear, and spear in German is speer. As in Albert Speer, the handsome, well-educated architect who gave Hitler some glamor.) In LIES Zil and Human Crew even stage a sort of burning of the Reichstag, the German parliament building, which was burned by the Nazis who then tried to use the ensuing chaos to take power.

Of course I don’t really expect anyone to see all that while reading the book, but in the course of doing my main job — frightening readers and keeping them up all night — a science fiction sort of premise gives me an opportunity to write about some interesting issues, and I hope make readers think a little about good and evil, and the ease with which good people can cross the line.

It adds a level of interest for me as well as for readers. And that makes it fun to use those two (and occasionally three) fingers to type those 550 page manuscripts.

A quick note on where the series stands. I have completed book #4, PLAGUE. (Which sounds like a happy book, doesn’t it?) And I have just crossed the 200 page mark on DARKNESS.

And still my left middle finger contributes nothing to the writing process. Although it occasionally helps me when I’m driving in traffic.

Thank you Michael!

Well folks, it’s finally here. This Sunday, we cordially kick off our second annual Young Adult Appreciation Month!

Because we had SO much fun last year with YAAM, we of course had to make it an annual event. This year, YAAM runs from July 18th to August 21st, and is our month-long celebration of all things Young Adult. Over the course of the month (actually, if you look at the dates, it’s a five week celebration – because in the Smugglerverse, 1 mo = 5 wks), we will be exclusively reviewing YA – everything from dystopian SF to GLBT, from contemporary to paranormal, and everything in between. We’ll also be having our very favorite YA authors over for guest blogs about their writing, including Sarah Rees Brennan, Michael Grant, Zetta Elliott, amongst many others.

So, without further ado, we present you with the schedule for Week 1 of YAAM 2010!

On Monday, we kick things off with Ana as she reviews two romantic young adult titles, Forget You by Jennifer Echols (one of her favorite YA contemporary authors) and Beastly by Alex Flinn.

On Tuesday, Thea covers one of her favorite subgenres – YA dystopia/apocalypse – with reviews of Birthmarked by Caragh O’Brien and POD by Stephen Wallenfels.

Wednesday, Ana reviews the highly anticipated Kiss Me Deadly anthology…

…and on Thursdsay we have our first Joint Review of the event, as we take on Fat Vampire by Adam Rex.

On Friday, Thea reviews For The Win by Cory Doctorow – with a giveaway opportunity, of course.

And on Saturday, we close out the week with our first author guest post, from Michael Grant – author of the GONE books (one of Thea’s favorite series’).

It’s gonna be a busy one, and we hope you enjoy!

Title: Lies

Author: Michael Grant

Genre: Horror, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult

Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: May 2010
Hardcover: 464 pages

It’s been seven months since all the adults disappeared. Gone.

It happens in one night. A girl who died now walks among the living; Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach; and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most: Drake. But Drake is dead. Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness—or so they thought.

As Perdido Beach burns, battles rage: Astrid against the Town Council; the Human Crew versus the mutants; and Sam against Drake, who is back from the dead and ready to finish where he and Sam left off. And all the while deadly rumors are raging like the fire itself, spread by the prophetess Orsay and her companion, Nerezza. They say that death is a way to escape the FAYZ. Conditions are worse than ever and kids are desperate to get out. But are they desperate enough to believe that death will set them free?

Stand alone or series: Book 3 in the GONE series

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the Publisher

Why did I read this book: I was introduced to Michael Grant’s GONE series last year. I swallowed Gone and Hunger whole, and was left salivating for more – in fact, Hunger made my Top 10 Favorite Books of 2009. So, yeah, you could say I was just a tad bit eager for the release of Lies this year! When I got my ARC, there was some shrieking. I’m not gonna lie.

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN THE SERIES. If you have not read the first two books and do not wish to be spoiled, AVERT YOUR VIRGIN EYES!**

Review:

Over half a year has passed since the impenetrable dome-like force field has settled over the seaside town of Perdido Beach. Everyone over the age of 15 vanished in an instant – poofed out – while the children were left behind. Times have been hard for the children and teens trapped in the FAYZ (the “Fallout Alley Youth Zone”); the FAYZ not only cut off the trapped children’s contact with the outside world, but it also somehow manifested in strange mutations. Some of the children and teens developed powers – the ability to fire light from hands, to cancel gravity, to move at incredible speeds, to teleport. The animals in the FAYZ began to change too – snakes grow wings, coyotes learn to speak, and worms grow to monstrous size. Under the ruthless leadership of Caine, the rich, troubled kids from the Coates Academy clashed with the Perdido Beach children with their reluctant leader, Sam. An all-out war ensued in Hunger, especially as food dwindled, and the children of the FAYZ began to starve.

And all the while, the ominous Darkness – an evil entity that calls itself “the gaiaphage” – remains fixated on these trapped children, determined to manipulate, to kill, to devour, to break their will, and to take control of this isolated, trapped universe in an impenetrable bubble.

In Lies, things are even more dire for our trapped youth in the FAYZ. The food situation has been kind-of sorted out, though everyone is still constantly hungry. Resentment continues to breed in Perdido Beach, even with the exile of Caine and the Coates kids and the death of the twisted, sadistic Drake. Zil and his thug followers on the “Human Crew” thrive on the lack of stability in town, and propagate their mission to isolate and kill all the “Freaks” (those kids with superpowers). Sam struggles with the ineffectiveness of the newly formed Town Council, while Astrid is livid at his decision to keep secrets from her and her fellow Council members. And Orsay, the girl with the ability to walk in others’ dreams, begins to see the dreams of those outside of the FAYZ. Known as “the Prophetess” and with a growing following hungry for her news of the outside world, Orsay may be the salvation of every trapped child, or their damnation.

Man, I love this series.

If I had to describe this book, and this series overall, in a single word, it would be “relentless.” The action never quits; these poor kids have not a second of solace, as the tension and horrors keep mounting. Driven mad by hunger and malnutrition, pushed to their absolute breaking points, our hero Sam is tested harshly in this third novel. One of my only complaints with the prior books in this series was how the bulk of this multi-cast of characters fell simple along the lines of “good” or “evil” – there are the sadists like Caine, Drake and Diana; sycophants like Computer Jack and Howard; and the troupe of good guys, with Sam, Astrid, Edilio, Dekka, and Breeze. In particular, the ostensible lead characters – Sam and Astrid – came across as almost too good to be true. True, Sam has had his share of reluctance as a leader, and he has made questionable decisions, but Astrid prior to this book has been largely relegated to the supporting, motherly/virginal/good girl role. In Lies, I was delighted to see that this simplicity is gone. Sam loses it (and really, who wouldn’t lose it, considering the circumstances? Seven months of death, destruction, and fear grind down on even the staunchest of heroes). We finally get a look at what makes Astrid tick, and she gains color and depth as a character. For a genius, she makes her own share of mistakes – she’s the perfect example of idealism failing in a situation where realism is needed. Condescending, hypocritical, and haughty, the Astrid of Lies is not the infallible girlfriend of the earlier books. And this, along with her gradual realization of her mistakes and her ability to finally take action, endeared her to me as a character. I loved it.

There’s a LOT going on in terms of plotting for Lies too, and I don’t want to spoil anyone eager to scoop up book three. So, I’ll just drop a few teasers: Lies introduces us to a new group of excellent characters. It also gives readers a glimpse of what is outside the bubble. There are more deaths, more tragedies, and more desperate acts from an increasingly desperate group under Cain’s leadership.

And you didn’t really think the gaiaphage was defeated, did you? You didn’t think you’d seen the last of certain characters, did you? No. I didn’t think so.

While the descriptions and general level of writing is pretty straightforward in this book (as it has been for the prior books), what Mr. Grant lacks in writerly finesse and style, he more than makes up for with his gift for plot and his ability to tell a story. I am constantly amazed at Michael Grant’s ability to balance the supernatural elements of this story, managing to keep things grim, dark, and terrifying when it’s such an easy slide into cheese or comedy. Kids with superpowers, religious zeal, the embodiment of evil…it’s a lot to handle, but the GONE books do it with aplomb.

I devoured Lies in a day, unable to sleep until I knew where the story was going – because I really had no clue how everything would tie together by the end of this installment (and holyfreakingcrap is it GOOD). The GONE books are reminiscent of early Stephen King – there’s a reason why he’s blurbed the series. (On that note, if you read Under the Dome and were left wanting more, look no further. In my opinion, the GONE novels are superior.) Heck, I’d even go so far as to say that Lies and the other books in this series are even darker than anything “adult” fiction I’ve read recently. Lies is chilling stuff, dudes. It’s the good stuff. If you haven’t been to the FAYZ yet, you should. Horror fans, Lord of the Flies fans, apocalyptic/dystopian fans, if you haven’t read this series, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Get GONE. Now.

Notable Quotes/Parts: Courtesy of Harper Teen’s Browse Inside feature, you can read the first 90 pages of Lies online for free. I highly recommend you check it out:

Additional Thoughts: If you’re a fellow fan, make sure to check out the official site for the GONE books – www.theFAYZ.com. Also, a few days ago Michael Grant mentioned something about a “TV thing” for the GONE books on Twitter. I’m intrigued, but also skeptical – especially given how grim this most recent installment was. It’s gonna be tough to get a young cast to do some of the things that happen in these books (and get it to pass for network TV, no less), especially in Lies. But, couch potato that I am, I’m pretty excited, and I have my fingers crossed.

Verdict: Although I think I liked Hunger ever-so-slightly more, Lies is made of AWESOME. I loved it. Easily one of my favorite books published in 2010, thus far.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

Reading Next: Feed by Mira Grant

Happy Sunday, one and all!

We hope you’ve had a good weekend. Before we delve into yet another week of book mayhem, we’ve got some assorted tidbits to share… (I apologize in advance, as this post is kind of long)

Arthur C. Clarke Award:

Last week, the Arthur C. Clarke Award – the most prestigious SF award in the United Kingdom – was bestowed on China Miéville (again), for his novel The City and the City. (He had previously won the award for Perdido Street Station in 2001, and Iron Council in 2005. This win is the kick in the pants we’ve needed to read The City and the City – we’re planning a Miéville Day in June (Thea is dying to read Kraken). We’ll keep you posted.

Hark! Is That A Flying Pig?

A release date – a final, carved in stone release date – has been set for the long awaited second novel in the Kingkiller Chronicles. That’s right folks. Patrick Rothfuss has announced that The Wise Man’s Fear will be completed by the end of the year, with a release date of March 1, 2011. Time to start marking those calendars…

Trailers All Over The Place:

Have you seen these bad boys? I really like the new “Birth of a Spartan” Halo trailer (here’s the extended cut):

There’s this new SF/horror film called Splice coming out soon too, and it looks awesome (I adore Sarah Polly & Adrian Brody):

Speaking of horror, there’s also the second trailer for the new George A. Romero film (to be released Video On Demand) that looks like awesome fun too:

And finally, if you missed it on PBS this Wednesday, you can still watch it online for free – David Tennant (aka the 10th Doctor Who) and Patrick Stewart (aka…well, Patrick Stewart needs no introduction) starred in a new rendition of Hamlet. And it is awesome. Just check out Tennant’s delivery of Hamlet’s famous soliloquy.

To Me, Gunslingers!

After sitting on the adaptation rights to Stephen King’s magnum opus, his Dark Tower series, the LOST team of JJ Abrams, Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse apparently have returned those rights to Stephen King….

And now Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman are looking to pick up them up. As much as I love LOST (and believe me, I love LOST a lot in spite of its many missteps and ridiculously cliched dialogue), I was nervous about the Darlton/Abrams take on my favorite series of all time. Ron Howard has an awesome track record with book to film adaptations, so I’m stoked on that front, at least. Akiva Goldsman has won an Oscar for his adaptation of A Beautiful Mind…but he’s also written some pretty bad films. See Batman and Robin. I’m scared. But I really hope this works out.

A Suckfest on Elm Street:

This weekend, I saw the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street – generally, I try to stay away from Michael Bay’s shameless, soulless remakes of horror films, but because of the stroke of brilliance casting of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger, I was guardedly optimistic about this movie. Holy piles of steaming dog poop, Batman, but this was TERRIBLE. I’m talking, gouge-my-eyeballs out with splintered chopsticks bad. It was poorly acted, retardedly directed (apparently Mr. Bayer ONLY knows how to shoot extreme closeups and nothing else), and utterly NON-scary. I mean, they couldn’t even get a single “BOOM!” scare. Now how exactly does one screw that up?.

Jackie Earle Haley’s performance as Fred Krueger is the only high point of the film – he’s ridiculously creepy, and his Rorschach-voce totally works. I also liked the new backstory they gave Freddy, which makes the town’s coverup (and children’s lost memories) much more plausible.

Bottom line: I actually FELL ASLEEP in the theater during the movie’s climactic scene. In a movie about a man that kills you in your dreams, how’s that for ironic?

Free Comic Book Day & Thor:

This Saturday was international Free Comic Book Day (the first Saturday in May, each year), and my shop was having an awesome gathering. Folks dressed as assorted superheroes stood soliciting customers from the street (Gambit, Rogue, and Green Lantern (John Stewart, represent!) were my favorites), there was a Superman bounce house, a DJ, and hotdogs grilling outside the store. Inside it was a madhouse too, but in a good way. Along with my bag of free comics, I also got a couple of SWEET posters. Case in point:

And on the comic book (and oddly, Star Trek) note, the first image of Thor has been revealed (via io9 and Yahoo Movies). Ohoho! We likey.

(If you’re wondering who the actor is playing Dr. Blake/Thor, it’s Chris Hemsworth, you might remember him from Star Trek last year – George Kirk, who met his ill, heroic fate in the movie’s opening scene.)

(Does anyone else get teary just thinking about that scene? It gets me every time. That and the opening of Up.)

This Week On The Book Smugglers:

It’s another busy one here (lolz, like, when is it not?)! On Monday, Ana reviews The Prince of Mist by one of her most beloved authors, Carlos Ruiz Zafon – a young adult novel that has just been translated to English.

On Tuesday, Ana reviews Shade, Jeri Smith-Ready’s newest novel and the first book in her young adult UF series. Later in the day, Thea reviews one of her most highly anticipated books of the year – Lies by the ever-so-talented (and seriously twisted) Michael Grant.

Wednesday, Devon Monk is our guest author of the day! To celebrate the release of Magic on the Storm, the fourth novel in the Allie Beckstrom series, Devon will be talking Inspirations & Influences. AND you’ll have a chance to win a copy of her latest release.

On Thursday, Thea reviews Feed, author Mira Grant’s take on the zombie apocalypse, presidential elections, and the new media (seriously!). And, later in the day we’ll have Mira Grant (a pseudonym for UF author Seanan McGuire) over with an Inspirations & Influences post of her own.

We close out the week with a joint review of military science fiction novel In Her Name: First Contact by the awesome Michael Hicks.

And…that’s about it from us today! As always, we remain…

“On The Smugglers’ Radar” is a new feature for books that have caught our eye: books we heard of via other bloggers, directly from publishers, and/or from our regular incursions into the Amazon jungle. This is how the Smugglers’ Radar was born, and because there are far too many books that we want than we can possibly buy or review (what else is new?) we thought we could make it into a weekly feature – so YOU can tell us which books you have on your radar as well!

On Ana’s Radar:

I got this ARC from Gollancz this week and it looks AWESOME. I read Sam Sykes’ story in the Dragon Book and I loved his characters so I am really looking forward to this one now. It is a debut novel that is creating quite the buzz online.

Lenk can barely keep control of his mismatched adventurer band at the best of times (Gariath the dragon man sees humans as little more than prey, Kataria the shict despises most humans and the humans in the band are little better). When they’re not insulting each other’s religions they’re arguing about pay and conditions. So when the ship they are travelling on is attacked by pirates things don’t go very well. They go a whole lot worse when an invincible demon joins the fray. The demon steals the Tome of the Undergates – a manuscript that contains all you need to open the undergates. And whichever god you believe in you don’t want the undergates open. On the other side are countless more invincible demons, the manifestation of all the evil of the gods, and they want out. Full of razor-sharp wit, characters who leap off the page (and into trouble) and plunging the reader into a vivid world of adventure this is a fantasy that kicks off a series that could dominate the second decade of the century.

Melissa Marr’s next in her Wicked Lovely series has its cover!

I have on good authority *ninja* that this new series is VERY GOOD especially for fans of the Sookie Stackhouse series!

After being laid off from her job as Half Moon Hollow’s children’s librarian, Jane drowns her sorrows in Electric Lemonade and Mudslides using her severance package (a $25 Shenanigans gift certificate). Atthe bar she’s kept company by a magnetically attractive (if a bit pale) stranger, Gabriel Nightingale – who follows her out and takes matters into his own hands when Jane’s car breaks down and she’s mistaken for a deer by a drunk with a rifle as she’s headed home in the dark, on foot. If Gabriel doesn’t turn Jane, she’ll be, as the saying goes, dying young and leaving a pretty corpse. Being undead, though, is just the beginning of Jane’s problems. She’s still unemployed, has “family issues,” a best friend who finds love with a werewolf (werewolves and vampires don’t mix well); she’s also being framed for murder, stalked by a former crush, and romanced by her moody sire. What’s an undead girl to do?This hilarious, delightful debut novel combines MaryJanice Davidson’s sass and Charlaine Harris’ small town Southern charm to form the perfect read for lovers of paranormal romantic comedy.

I follow Jill Myles’ livejournal and her first book is going to be out soon. It sounds fun But I am so not a huge fan of the cover!

Jackie Brighton woke up in a Dumpster this morning, and her day has only gotten weirder. Her familiar B-cups have somehow become double Ds, her sex drive is insatiable, and apparently she had her first one-night stand ever…with a fallen angel. All she remembers is gorgeous Noah’s oddly hypnotic blue eyes…and then a dark stranger whose bite transformed her into an immortal siren with a sexy Itch. With help from Noah, Jackie begins to adapt to her new lifestyle — until she accidentally sends Noah into the deadly clutches of the vampire queen and lands herself in a fierce battle for an ancient halo with the queen’s wickedly hot righthand man. Who just happens to be the vampire who originally bit her. How’s a girl supposed to save the world when the enemy’s so hard to resist?

And since I am always on the lookout for new PNR: has anyone read this?

A twist of fate made Zoe Pappas heir to the Byzant throne. Bound by duty and devotion to keep the Empire safe, Zoe is captured while on a secret diplomatic mission and sent to an underground prisoner-of-war camp. In this strange, shadowy place, residents are governed by fellow inmate General Matthias “Doc” Raven, whose powerful magnetism rouses an urgent desire in Zoe. But the intensity of her attraction is matched by her surprise at discovering that Doc has a secret of his own: he is a vampire.

Zoe’s presence puts everyone in the camp in danger. Doc knows it, and knows too that Zoe’s royal status makes it impossible for her to bond with a vampire. The only way to save her is to help her escape, and lose her forever. But some fires are impossible to quench, even when following your heart is the ultimate taboo….

Finally, this is the first Steampunk title from Angry Robot, to be released in January. It looks great!

A brilliant criminal stalks the streets of London. Scotland Yard is on his trail. But how can the city remain safe when every book is a potential weapon?

On Thea’s Radar:

There are so many books I’m looking forward to in this edition of the stash, it’s not even funny. First up, one of my absolute favorite authors of all time…

Far from the land of her birth, Moirin sets out across Tatar territory to find Bao, the proud and virile Ch’in fighter who holds the missing half of her diadh-anam, the divine soul-spark of her mother’s people. After a long ordeal, she not only succeeds, but surrenders to a passion the likes of which she’s never known. But the lovers’ happiness is short lived, for Bao is entangled in a complication that soon leads to their betrayal.

Naamah’s Curse comes out in June 2010, and I am already salivating. Then, there’s the third book in Michael Grant’s awesome ongoing Gone series:

No synopsis yet, but the cover looks awesome. I love this series, and cannot wait for this next book! Then there’s this upcoming book from Mette Ivie Harrison – I’ve read and really enjoyed The Princess and the Hound (which I will get around to reviewing one of these days), and her covers are just awesome:

Again, no synopsis yet! But pretty cover. Heard about this next one from book pimp Karen Mahoney:

Beings of unimaginable power, classified as myths and legends, have been imprisoned in the secluded town of St. Ives for centuries watched over by guardians with supernatural skills. Te Evangeline’s father was one such guardian, a “binder” who died in the line of duty and who passed along his ability to his daughter. Now, Te must awaken the magic within her before her father’s killer releases his fellow prisoners on an unsuspecting world.

Then, there’s the new Aprilynne Pike:

Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger–and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.

When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?

I’m not crazy about the new cover (it kind of looks like bad calendar photo), but I really loved Wings and am eager for more from Ms. Pike. And finally, caught wind of this one thanks again to KMont over at Lurv a la Mode:

Sisters Serena and Meteora were once proud members of the high court of the Fairy Queen- until they played a prank that angered her highness. Separated and banished to the mortal realm of Earth, they must find a way to survive in a strange world in which they have no power. But there is more to their new home than they first suspect…

A sympathetic Meteora bonds with a troubled young girl with an ornate tattoo on her neck. Meteora recognizes it as a magic symbol that will surely bring danger down on them all. Serena, meanwhile, takes in a tortured homeless boy whose mind is plagued by dark visions. The signs point to a rising power that threatens to tear asunder both fairy and human worlds.

And the sisters realize that perhaps the queen cast them from their homes not out of anger or spite- but because they were the only ones who could do what must be done…

Jane Yolen was one of my favorite authors as a young adult (Sister Light, Sister Dark and the Pit Dragon books were my favorites), so I’m eager to try this new release.

Phew. That’s it from us – what books are you looking forward to?

Title: Gone and Hunger

Author: Michael Grant

Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Speculative Fiction

Publisher: Harper TEEN
Publication Dates: Gone – June 2008; Hunger – May 2009
Hardcover: Gone – 576 pages; Hunger – 608 pages

Stand alone or series: Books 1 and 2 in the Gone series by Michael Grant.

Why did I read these books: I’d had my eye on Gone for a while last year – the premise sounded phenomenal, a sort of modern day Lord of the Flies with a supernatural twist. Finally I decided to pick it up a few months back…and I couldn’t put it down. And when I got an ARC of Hunger, book 2, I was ecstatic.

Summary: (from Amazon.com)

Gone
In the blink of an eye.

The Darkness has awakened. And it is hungry.

Review:

GONE

Gone introduces us to the world of the FAYZ – the Fallout Alley Youth Zone. In the blink of an eye, everyone in the small seaside town of Perdido Beach over the age of 15 has disappeared. Poofed. Gone. A strange, shimmering barrier separates the residents of the FAYZ from the outside world; a dome-like structure that distorts even sunlight and stifles waves on the ocean. Frightened and alone, the children look for leadership and turn to 14 year old Sam, known throughout town for his single act of heroism a couple of years back, having calmly steered a school bus to safety when the driver had a sudden heart attack. As one of those marked by nature as a leader, Sam is still reluctant to claim responsibility for every living person in the FAYZ – and he’s spared from having to take control when kids from Coates Academy, the private school a few miles north of the beach, show up in town. Led by the handsome and charismatic Caine, the Coates kids take control of the beach, designating jobs for the other children. Though Caine initially seems smoothly benevolent, it becomes clear to Sam and a few others that Caine and his lackeys are more interested in power than the well-being of any of the children, especially after his makeshift “police force” (comprised of former bullies) beat a young girl to death. And soon, Sam discovers that something is very strange about the FAYZ – certain children, including Sam and Caine, have developed superhuman powers, and animals begin displaying shocking new characteristics. Snakes can fly, coyotes can talk, and something lurks in the darkness, hungry and ancient. Meanwhile a war is brewing between the Perdido Beach kids and the Coates kids, as Sam and Caine race for control of the FAYZ before they turn 15 – for at 15 years old, they too will disappear.

Gone is a forceful, relentless novel. A bit Lord of the Flies, a bit It, a bit X-Men, this was a novel that I could not tear myself away from. Tightly plotted, dark as hell, with a number of surprising twists along the way and a multitude of wonderful characters, Michael Grant won me over with this solid start to a new series. Though the main focus of Mr. Grant’s books isn’t necessarily an explication of man’s animal nature when stripped of its facade of civilization portrayed through the eyes of children (such as Lord of the Flies), there is something haunting and compelling about these sorts of post-apocalyptic/stranded/dystopian novels. Especially those that involve children.

Plot-wise, I couldn’t be more pleased. Michael Grant seems to me to be a Stephen King fan (and in turn, Stephen King is one of Mr. Grant’s), employing a broad scope of different, deeply flawed characters thrown into an impossible situation and letting them grow from there. Upon starting the book, I had absolutely no idea that nuclear radiation induced superpowers would play any role in the novel, nor did I expect the book to be so dark as it ultimately was. Though the writing level is decidedly young adult, the themes within the novel and the level of violence is certainly more mature. Children kill other children; they use guns; they reduce others to starvation and cruel imprisonment. If William Golding let his lost boys use automatic weapons and superpowers, Gone might have been the final product.

The similarities to Stephen King and Lord of the Flies are imbued in every sentence of this novel, as though Grant is paying homage in his own unique version of these dark, coming of age parables. The division between Perdido Beach and Coates, between Sam and Caine is very much the same divide between Ralph and Jack (of LOTF). The characters are similar in their notions of right and wrong, civilization versus survival instinct. And, like King’s It (and somewhat like The Regulators/Desperation for reason’s I won’t disclose for fear of spoiling), something ancient and very hungry waits to devour the young children of the FAYZ; evil, dark, patient. The blend is intoxicating, and it makes Gone something very different from the slew of speculative fiction young adult novels on the market.

Just as the plotting and ideas for the story were wonderfully imagined, the characters were also solid. Sam as the reluctant leader who makes more than his share of missteps is wholly believable, and his complete lack of interest in taking control of Perdido Beach endears him as the obligatory “hero” character. His transformation from someone who chooses to remain average and anonymous – reflected especially in his deteriorating friendship with best friend Quinn – to strong leader is an engaging, resonating read. Sam’s love interest, the brilliant Astrid (nicknamed “Astrid, the Genius” by the Perdido crowd) plays leading lady in Gone; Astrid is Sam’s second in command and though somewhat support-system-esque is a strong character in her own right, especially as a very smart girl caught in a very bad situation, and also as an older sister trying to protect her younger, autistic brother.

However, the most engaging characters in my opinion were the “baddies” (not exactly surprising – “bad” characters are so much more fun than the good guys). While Caine, as Sam’s opposite, is fascinating in his motivations and machinations for power (if somewhat predictable), the two standouts to me were his lieutenants, if you will: the malicious, sadistic Drake, and the manipulative Diana. Drake is every child’s nightmare; a bully, eager to inflict pain in any way he can, practically a serial killer in the making. Drake is bitterly angry at Caine and the other “freaks” who develop superpowers, but a dark twist of fate brings him power of his own late in the novel (a deliciously horrifying twist). Diana, in contrast, is an enigma. She manipulates characters to her own inconceivable ends – including Caine, who is in love with her. She is cold, calculating, and I had no idea what her endgame was…and that is something incredibly refreshing in any novel, let alone a young adult novel. The multitude of secondary characters, on both Sam and Caine’s respective “sides” of the FAYZ are wonderfully drawn and I applaud Mr. Grant’s keen sense of teenage (and younger) children. Very compelling stuff.

Perhaps the most wonderful, shocking thing about Gone was the fact that I was expecting it to be a self-contained (no pun intended) story, with a definitive resolution. More often than not, I’ve found that YA series’ tend to wrap things up in a single book and then later a “companion” novel (same world, different story) will be released as its own stand alone novel. Imagine my shock, then, when I finished the book and the FAYZ was still going strong – no resolution, but many provocative questions had been raised. I eagerly looked for the next entry in Mr. Grant’s Gone universe, and campaigned for an ARC of book two…

HUNGER: A GONE Novel

Hunger begins months after the events of Gone, detailing how life has soured in the FAYZ over the course of a few months. Though Sam has been able to beat turning 15 and has blossomed as the leader of Perdido Beach, he has a number of problems facing him ever day – the most pressing of which is food. In the early days of the FAYZ, the children ran amok, raiding the local Ralphs (a Southern California grocery chain) and homes for cookies, chocolate bars and chips, while the fresh produce sat untouched. Now, months later, the McDonald’s has run out of frozen food, everything perishable has rotted, and there are no more cookies or goodies remaining. Resorting to eating canned artichokes and condiments, the children of Perdido Beach begin to turn on each other – catching vermin, eating neighbors’ pets, and the jokes about cannibalism start to hold an ominous foreboding.

After being beaten by Sam and his crew of superhuman freaks, Caine has visited the mysterious, terrifying entity in the local mine called The Darkness, and has spent weeks in a terror-gripped coma. When he awakens, Caine has a singleminded mission and aims all his strength at taking Perdido Beach down once and for all. Though, Caine’s thoughts aren’t quite his own…the Darkness waits and like the children of the FAYZ, it is very hungry.

As the title suggests, this second novel focuses on the theme of hunger and the continued deterioration of civilization in the FAYZ. There are many deliciously creepy scenes in this installment – one of my favorites has to be the opening chapter, with killer flesh eating worms in the fields. Mutations are becoming more prominent in this book, and the X-Men comparisons are completely warranted. As one would predict, lines begin to be drawn in the sand of the Perdido kids – between the Normals (or, as their Stryker-minded leader calls them, the Human Crew) and the Muties/Freaks/”Moofs”. Kids are frustrated with their hunger, not wanting to work for their food and blaming Sam for their problems. When the Coates kids come back and make a stand for the nuclear power plant, Sam has reached the end of his rapidly fraying rope – which is completely understandable, given that he is just a fifteen year old boy with the weight of a community on his shoulders.

By and large, I think Hunger lived up to its predecessor, and in some aspects surpassed it. There is much more revealed in this installment about the source of the FAYZ, and much more explored with the maleficent Darkness that has its hooks into characters that have been in its presence. The violence is turned up in this book, as is the twisted, gleeful sadism Mr. Grant inflicts on his characters – and I mean that in the best possible way. This is not a series for the weak of heart!

However, there were some drawbacks to Hunger – namely, how boring Sam and Astrid were. I felt a little bit of Jack and Kate (of the TV show LOST) sort of apathy towards these two heroes; Sam is the woebegone leader who just doesn’t want to lead but just can’t help it, and Astrid spends way too much time relegated to a secondary, worried girlfriend role (for a genius, Astrid doesn’t do too much in this book – powers or no powers, I wish she had been given something more interesting to occupy herself with than cry about Sam and her brother Little Pete).

Once again, I found myself infinitely more interested in the Coates kids – namely Drake and Diana. Drake is less formidable in this book, but still remarkably terrifying; and Diana’s motivations are as ambiguous as ever. Her relationship with Caine is dark and twisted – and is it wrong that I am fascinated with them, much more so than boring, vanilla Sam and Astrid?

Back on the “hero” side of the line, Lana (the Healer) gets a whole lot of attention in this book, as do Computer Jack, Brianna “The Breeze”, and Albert. These secondary characters again are far more interesting than Sam and Astrid – particularly Lana’s tortured compulsion to the Darkness, Jack’s spinelessness, Breeze’s superhero fixation, and Albert’s cool calculating personality. Each of these characters are well rounded and fascinating, making for a wonderful ensemble cast.

As for the story, once again I found myself unable to put down this second book, and it was over far too quickly. Luckily for me, and for other fans, Hunger is just book 2 of a planned 6 book series. I cannot wait to read book 3, titled Lies, to see what next will befall the children of the FAYZ.

Notable Quotes/Parts: Harper Teen has a phenomenal LOOK INSIDE feature, where you can check out the first few chapters of many of their titles. Check out the opening of Gone and Hunger below.

Additional Thoughts: In addition to the wonderful Look Inside feature, the Harper Teen website also has a fantastic homepage for the Gone novels.

Also, make sure to check out the author’s blog (which took me forever to find!) HERE.

I also mentioned earlier that Stephen King, the Master of Horror himself, is a fan of these books. If you’re into King, you may know that his next novel coming out in November of this year is titled Under the Dome. It is a rewrite of a novel King began to write in the 1980s, with something of a similar premise:

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mills, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as “the dome” comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if—it will go away.

Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens—town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician’s assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing—even murder—to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn’t just short. It’s running out.

~ Synopsis from Lilja’s Library

Dan Simmons has already given his stamp of approval. Who else is excited?

Verdict: Gone and Hunger are dark, compulsive reads embodying the best of post-civilization novels and supernatural fiction – for both young adult and adult readers alike. I, for one, cannot wait to return to the FAYZ once more.

Highly recommended…and Hunger just might make it on my list of favorite reads so far in 2009.

Rating:

Reading Next: Jasmyn by Alex Bell

Howdy !!!

We shall start by saying: yay, Roger Federer beat Roland Garros!!! He now holds the record (along with Pete Sampras) of 14 grand- slams titles. Congratulations to Federer – we are great fans here at the UK based office of the Book Smugglers!

OK, not that I got that off my chest, moving on to:

Winners of the Flash Giveaway:

The two winners, randomly picked by Ramdon.Org are

Christina (comment number 41)

And

Kimik (comment number 4)

Congratulations! Please send your snail mail address to contact AT thebooksmugglers DOT com

We would also like to say thank you to all of you that entered the contest – we will have a few more of Flash giveaways in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!

This week on the Book Smugglers

Monday

Last week, Ana reviewed a YA book, The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan, a book that is already shortlisted for her top 10 of 2009. Because the book is so damn good, we invited the author to write a piece on her Inspiration and Influences for us and are delighted to say that she said yes. So tomorrow come by to see what she has to say and for a chance to win one of 5 copies of her books and a special goodie bag she is so generously giving away.

Tuesday

Ana reviews the Fantasy novel The Adamantine Palace by debut author Stephen Deas. There will be dragons, folks!

Wednesday

We will do a joint review of Night’s Rose by Annaliese Evans. The book is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale and we were both really looking forward to reading it and…. the book is not quite what we expected.

Thursday

Ana reviews Mark of the Demon by another debut author, Diana Rowland. The book is not out till June 23rd but already the word on the internets is that it is very good.

Friday

Thea reviews two YA post-apocalyptic novels : Gone and Hunger by Michael Grant.

Upcoming:

The next few weeks will be sort of crazy around these bands. We have LOADS of new books to review and super cool guests. On the Romance front, Loretta Chase will be interviewed by Ana on her new book Don’t Tempt Me in two weeks;

Then, on the Fantasy front, author Jacqueline Carey has written an exclusive article for our Inspiration and Influences feature. We will publish it around the 24th when her new book Naamah’s Kiss is coming out.

We are very excited about both of these and also about:

YA APPRECIATION MONTH.

It is coming.

~ your friendly neighborhood book smugglers