Review: Survival Colony 9 by Joshua David Bellin

Title: Survival Colony 9

Author: Joshua David Bellin

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books 
Publishing Date:   

Pages: 336
Genre: YA Post Apocalyptic   

Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC 

  

In a future world of dust and ruin, fourteen-year-old Querry Genn struggles to recover the lost memory that might save the human race.

Querry is a member of Survival Colony Nine, one of the small, roving groups of people who outlived the wars and environmental catastrophes that destroyed the old world. The commander of Survival Colony Nine is his father, Laman Genn, who runs the camp with an iron will. He has to--because heat, dust, and starvation aren't the only threats in this ruined world.

There are also the Skaldi.

Monsters with the ability to infect and mimic human hosts, the Skaldi appeared on the planet shortly after the wars of destruction. No one knows where they came from or what they are. But if they're not stopped, it might mean the end of humanity.

Six months ago, Querry had an encounter with the Skaldi--and now he can't remember anything that happened before then. If he can recall his past, he might be able to find the key to defeat the Skaldi.

If he can't, he's their next victim.

When I was approached to read this book, it was new to me. I am usually hesitant to say yes right away to a book that is completely new to me but this one sounded unique and really caught my attention so I said yes. I am really glad I did. I really enjoyed this book. It was a but different than I expected but it was also better than I hoped it it would be. The read was a slow and deep kind of read. More of a thinking book than an action book and I just fell in love with the story and the characters.




Querrry woke up six months prior the where the story begins. He woke up with no memory of his past, his world, or who he was. He has spent the last six months he has been learning to live in a dangerous world on the run with his colony and trying to remember his past and the terrible accident that took his memory. No one will tell him these things, it is up to him to remember. As things start to happen in his colony threatening and taking the lives of those he loves, memories come trough, secrets are told, and Querry's life changes once again.



I really don't know where to start with my thoughts, It was a very riveting read for me. I normally don't get into the books with little action or character interaction, most of the book, I spent in Querry's head. Trying to figure out what happened to him. It was a huge mystery in the book but was easily put on hold with the present dangers that lurked in his life. It was a book about Querry's  past and present. Both kind of a mystery, but one more so than the other. There were times I was able to forget the looming desire to know about his past when he was running or fighting for his life or when he was dealing with other issues within his colony, but it always came back... the question of what happened. Both the question of his past and the events of the present kept me turning pages. I needed to know about both. 

I really liked Querry. I was able to attach to him from the very beginning. He had a hard life, always on the run from the evil creatures skaldi  and he was constantly trying to prove himself to his father. If that wasn't enough he was picked on because of his father being the commander of the colony and he didn't know who he was. So yes his days were full of fun. He never gave up, he never settled, he was determined and he was loyal, and he was strong. I really liked him. There were a few times in the book when he made some pretty stupid decisions, acting totally like a teenager would, which made him more real and didn't bother me in the least. I was a bit teary eyed and proud of him in the end, like I watched my own child grow into a man. 

Within saying that last sentence, the book read more like a coming to age book than  a survival book, although survival was very essential to the story, it was more about Querry's journey and discoveries. I think that is what really hooked me. I enjoyed Querry's story and his journey. 

The book wasn't fast paced or slow. It started out as a flicker from a match and seemed to develop into a raging fire in the end. It was slow anticipation that kept me on toes but grounded me in the moments too. I was excited and anxious to see what was lurking around the corner but I also content in exploring the moment. 

The only complaints, and they are minuscule, was the world building and the ending.  I really didn't quite get what the skaldi were and how they came about. I would have liked just a bit more explained about the world that Querry lived in and how it came about. The ending was good, like I said I was teary eyed, but it didn't have full completion for me. Like I said the book was more about Querry's journey and that had resolution and was good but I would like to know what happens next in this world, mainly with the skaldi. It all comes down to those darn ugly evil creatures that I know nothing about. So that's it. Other than that, I loved the book. I hope there is more after this one. Please Mr. Author!

A very intense and emotional read about a boy and his journey to become a man in a world of evil ugly little creatures that want to devour every human. 

I've been writing novels since I was eight years old (though admittedly, the first few were very, very short). I taught college for twenty years, wrote a bunch of books for college students, then decided to return to writing fiction. SURVIVAL COLONY NINE is my first novel, but the sequel's already in the works!

I love to read (mostly YA fantasy and science fiction), watch movies (again, mostly fantasy and sci-fi), and spend time in Nature (mostly catching frogs and toads). I'm the world's worst singer, but I play a pretty mean air guitar. I also like to draw, and you can check out some of my artwork on my website.

Oh, yeah, and I like monsters. Really scary monsters.

Delightful Discoveries #78

Delightful Discoveries are books that I have discovered recently... old, new, just released... from blogs, Goodreads, libraries, friends, or bookstores. 

Ghosting by Edith Pattou 

  

On a hot summer night in a Midwestern town, a high school teenage prank goes horrifically awry. Alcohol, guns, and a dare. Within minutes, as events collide, innocents becomes victims—with tragic outcomes altering lives forever, a grisly and unfortunate scenario all too familiar from current real-life headlines. But victims can also become survivors, and as we come to know each character through his/her own distinctive voice and their interactions with one another, we see how, despite pain and guilt, they can reach out to one another, find a new equilibrium, and survive.

Told through multiple points of view in naturalistic free verse and stream of consciousness, this is an unforgettable, haunting tale.

Girl Defective by Simmone Howell 

In the tradition of High Fidelity and Empire Records, this is the literary soundtrack to Skylark Martin’s strange, mysterious, and extraordinary summer.

This is the story of a wild girl and a ghost girl; a boy who knew nothing and a boy who thought he knew everything.

It’s a story about Skylark Martin, who lives with her father and brother in a vintage record shop and is trying to find her place in the world. It’s about ten-year-old Super Agent Gully and his case of a lifetime. And about beautiful, reckless, sharp-as-knives Nancy. It’s about tragi-hot Luke, and just-plain-tragic Mia Casey. It’s about the dark underbelly of a curious neighborhood. It’s about summer, and weirdness, and mystery, and music.

And it's about life and death and grief and romance. All the good stuff.

The Worst Girlfriend in the World by Sarra Manning

My best friend was now my deadliest enemy, the one person I'd hate beyond all measure for the rest of my life . . .

Franny Barker's best friend, Alice, is the worst girlfriend in the world according to the many boys of Merrycliffe-on-Sea. She toys with them, then dumps them. But she'll never dump fashion-obsessed Franny. Nothing and no one can come between them.

Not even tousle-haired rock god, Louis Allen, who Franny's been crushing on hard. Until Alice, bored with immature boys and jealous of Franny's new college friends, sets her sights on Louis. Suddenly, best friends are bitter rivals.

Is winning Louis's heart worth more than their friendship? There's only one way for Franny to find out.

No Parking at the End Times by Bryan Bliss

  
Abigail’s parents have made mistake after mistake, and now they've lost everything. She’s left to decide: Does she still believe in them? Or is it time to believe in herself? Fans of Sara Zarr, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell will connect with this moving debut.

Abigail doesn't know how her dad found Brother John. Maybe it was the billboards. Or the radio. What she does know is that he never should have made that first donation. Or the next, or the next. Her parents shouldn't have sold their house. Or packed Abigail and her twin brother, Aaron, into their old van to drive across the country to San Francisco, to be there with Brother John for the "end of the world." Because of course the end didn't come. And now they're living in their van. And Aaron’s disappearing to who-knows-where every night. Their family is falling apart. All Abigail wants is to hold them together, to get them back to the place where things were right. But maybe it’s too big a task for one teenage girl. Bryan Bliss’s thoughtful, literary debut novel is about losing everything—and about what you will do for the people you love.

Twisted Fate by Norah Olson

When Alyson meets Graham Copeland, the new boy next door, she instantly feels like he’s a kindred spirit—shy and awkward like her, someone who has trouble making friends. It’s impossible to resist having a crush on him. 

As usual, her sister, Sydney, sees things differently. In Sydney's mind, Graham's odd personality and secretive past scream psychopath, not sweetheart. Her gut is telling her to stay away from him, and to protect a love-struck Alyson from her own naïveté. But despite her instincts, Sydney is surprised to realize that a part of her is drawn to Graham, too. 

And the more Sydney gets to know him, the more she realizes just how right—and wrong—she is about everything.

Waiting on Wednesday #120

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I Can't wait for:

Now That You're Here by Amy K. Nichols

NOW THAT YOU'RE HERE is a he-said/she-said sci-fi thriller told in the alternating voices of Danny, a street-smart graffiti artist who is jolted into a parallel world, and Eevee, the quietly alluring science geek he kissed once in his world, and finds himself falling for in this one. Together, they must figure out what caused Danny’s jump, before another jolt in the space-time continuum separates them forever.

OK so, He said/she said, thriller, parallel world, all sound good to me. This sounds a bit different and interesting. Can't wait to check it out.  

Teaser Tuesday #15 and Top Ten Tuesday #105

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Bloggers choose two

sentences out of our current read to peak others' curiosity.

Survival Colony 9 by Joshua David Bellin

                                 

I
n a future world of dust and ruin, fourteen-year-old Querry Genn struggles to recover the lost memory that might save the human race.

Querry is a member of Survival Colony Nine, one of the small, roving groups of people who outlived the wars and environmental catastrophes that destroyed the old world. The commander of Survival Colony Nine is his father, Laman Genn, who runs the camp with an iron will. He has to--because heat, dust, and starvation aren't the only threats in this ruined world.

There are also the Skaldi.

Monsters with the ability to infect and mimic human hosts, the Skaldi appeared on the planet shortly after the wars of destruction. No one knows where they came from or what they are. But if they're not stopped, it might mean the end of humanity.

Six months ago, Querry had an encounter with the Skaldi--and now he can't remember anything that happened before then. If he can recall his past, he might be able to find the key to defeat the Skaldi.

Teaser:
He kept up a running commentary as I crawled around in the dirt searching for evidence. " It doesn't have to be much, " he reminded me. 

Top Ten is an original feature/weekly meme created here at

The Broke and the Bookish that features a great bookish top ten every week.

Top Ten To Contemporary Reads that I think are underrated... 
well I havn't read as many as some so I am just going to try my best and list some I loved that I may or may not have seen a lot of talk about.. 

Review: Party Games by R. L. Stine

Title: Party Games 

Author: R.L. Stine 

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publishing Date:  September 30th 2014

Pages: 288
Genre:  YA Horror

Series: Stand Alone Fear Street Novel
Source: ARC 

  

R.L. Stine's hugely successful young adult horror series Fear Street is back with the first new book in almost 2 decades. With more than 80 million copies sold around the world, Fear Street is one of the bestselling young adult series of all time. Now, with Party Games, R.L. Stine revives this phenomenon for a new generation of teen readers, and the announcement of new Fear Street books caused a flurry of excitement both in the press and on social media, where fans rejoiced that the series was coming back.

Her friends warn her not to go to Brendan Fear's birthday party at his family's estate on mysterious Fear Island. But Rachel Martin has a crush on Brendan and is excited to be invited. Brendan has a lot of party games planned. But one game no one planned intrudes on his party—the game of murder. As the guests start dying one by one, Rachel realizes to her horror that she and the other teenagers are trapped on the tiny island with someone who may want to kill them all. How to escape this deadly game? Rachel doesn't know whom she can trust. She should have realized that nothing is as it seems… on Fear Island.

R.L. Stine makes his triumphant return to Shadyside, a town of nightmares, shadows, and genuine terror, and to the bestselling series that began his career writing horror for the juvenile market, in the new Fear Street book Party Games.

I was a little bit excited for this book. It sounded like it could be really good and I read a few of Stine's books when I was a teenager.... before Goosebumps. I wasn't a huge fan but I did read some and enjoyed them. I received this ARC and dove into it. I was a bit disappointed actually. I thought the story was good. It had the hold horror movie style feel to it, but the writing lacked for me. The characters were in high school but I felt as if I was reading a middle school book. The characters lacked for me too. I struggled at times but I did finish the book because I was curious for the ending, but I wasn't really impressed with the overall read. 

Rachel, the main character, is invited to a party on an island. The host of the party and the star of the party is Brendan Fear. Infamous for his family's deeds and pretty good looking, Rachel doesn't hesitate. Before the party and after the party strange things happen, rats in beds and such like that. Then there are the murders that start killing off her friends. Rachel and a few survivors are stuck on the island with a killer. It could be anyone, even the host of the party.




Liked the story, liked the ending, liked the murders, liked the creepiness. If the story wasn't as interesting as it was and if I wasn't curious on who done it... I wouldn't have finished the book, but because it was interesting and I was curious. I finished the book and didn't regret finishing it. I would have liked more character development and more mature writing. Those are the things I really disliked. 

The main character was an OK character. She wasn't absolutely boring but wasn't anything to get excited for either. Just kind of blah. She also seemed a little contradicting. She seemed like a smart girl, and at the beginning I thought she was bright, secure, and had her head on straight. The further in the book I went, the more dumb she seemed. That classic horror dumb girl vibe. She also seemed a bit too wishy washy for me. I never really got annoyed by her because I never connected to her, but she did have some annoying characteristics. The love interest wasn't any better. I never felt the wow factor, the oohhh feeling or even an understanding why all the girls supposedly wanted him. Again just a blah character. There were a few secondary characters that were better. I liked a couple for their humor or their sweetness but unfortunately their parts were minor and they didn't make too many appearances. 

The romance was definitely not my style. It was rushed, too convenient, and too cliche. It didn't make sense at all. Why would Brendon invite someone he never spoke too before to his exclusive party, and why did he care so much to be her hero and protect her. He barely knew her but it seemed like there should have been some long time relationship going on before the book even started and nope there really wasn't. The friendships did make sense and I did enjoy the relationship among the other peers in the book.

The writing was my biggest issue. It just seemed geared towards a much younger crowd even though the characters were all in high school. I was expecting something a bit more mature. I think actually this would be a great book for 6th-8th graders. There were a few funny moments and a few silent scream moments but for the most part there were eye rolling moments for me. 

I was able to finish the book and glad I did but definitely not my style.  

Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.

R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.

Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.