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Tuesday 31 January 2012

***Review*** Pure by Julianna Baggott


 
Released : 8th February 2012
Series :Yes #1 in the Pure series
Format :Kindle
Source : Digital ARC Netgalley
Author Site: Julianna Baggott
 
Goodreads Synopsis:
We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.
Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.
When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.

 My review:

“We know you are here, our brothers and sisters.
We will, one day, emerge from the Dome to join
you in peace.
For now, we watch from afar, benevolently.”

Wow this was one complex and mind popping book.  Ten years ago atomic bombs were detonated on Earth; a select few were allowed to escape the detonations by entering a dome.  This dome protected those inside and a new self sufficient community was made.  Meanwhile those outside the dome “the wretches” were left to survive.  Their bodies twisted, scarred and fused to everyday objects.  Life is a constant struggle for them.

This book did take me a good, and I mean a good few chapters to settle into.  I think it is the sheer detail to the story that just boggles the mind.  When you learn about each character you really do settle into the story.  I thought this book was very good and I loved the way the story panned out, I was taken by surprise in a couple of places, and I really like that in a book.  I mean who likes predictable books?!?

My favourite character was Pressia Belze, what a lovely gutsy character
she was.  We meet Pressia around the time of her 16th Birthday.  One of her hands is fused into a doll head that she was holding at the time of the detonations.  This girl has to grow up so fast to deal with the chaos that erupts when she meets a “pure”.  I loved the romance between Pressia and Bradwell, it was sweet and just shows that love can occur in the most horrendous places.

I do think that books which have an element of things that could be possible and believable certainly make you think more about the world around you.  This story could in theory come true in a few decades time.  Pretty scary stuff.....

Lots of detail and some really good characters.  I really liked the way the story was written; it didn’t boggle the reader with too much science fact and science talk, but just enough for readers to grasp the enormity of a nuclear holocaust. 

Story rating: 4/5 – weird and wonderful.  A fast paced ride.

Cover rating: 4/5  I love the butterfly in the dome, certainly a very suitable cover that relates to the story.

About the Author:
 
 Critically acclaimed, bestselling author Julianna Baggott also writes under the pen names Bridget Asher and N.E. Bode. She has published seventeen books over the last ten years. Film rights for her forthcoming novel PURE have been acquired by Fox 2000. The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, written under pen name Asher, was published in spring 2011. There are approximately 50 foreign editions of her novels to date.

Julianna began publishing when she was twenty-two and sold her first novel while still in her twenties. After receiving her M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she published her first novel, Girl Talk, which was a national bestseller and was quickly followed by Boston Globe bestseller The Miss America Family, and then Boston Herald Book Club selection, The Madam, an historical novel based on the life of her grandmother. She co-wrote Which Brings Me to You with Steve Almond, A Best Book of 2006 (Kirkus Reveiws) optioned by producer Richard Brown and adapted by Keith Bunin with Matthew Warchus set to direct.

Her Bridget Asher novels include The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, The Pretend Wife, My Husband's Sweethearts. More info can be found at her Bridget Asher blog.

She also writes bestselling novels for younger readers under the pen name N.E. Bode as well as under Julianna Baggott. The Anybodies trilogy was a People Magazine pick alongside David Sedaris and Bill Clinton, a Washington Post Book of the Week, a Girl's Life Top Ten, a Booksense selection, and was in development at Nickelodeon/Paramount; The Slippery Map (fall 2007), and the prequel to Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007), a movie starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman. For two years, Bode was a recurring personality on XM Sirius Radio.

Julianna's Boston Red Sox novel The Prince of Fenway Park (HarperCollins), was published in spring 2009. It is on the Sunshine State Young Readers Awards List for 2011-2012.
The Ever Breath (Random House) was published in December, 2009.

Baggott also has a highly acclaimed career as a poet, having published three collections of poetry and having been published in the best literary publications in the country, including Poetry, The American Poetry Review, and Best American Poetry in 2001 and 2011.

Baggott's work has appeared in over a hundred publications, including the The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Glamour, Ms., Real Simple, and read on NPR's Here and Now, All Things Considered and Talk of the Nation. Her essays, stories, and poems are highly anthologized.

She is an associate professor at Florida State University's Creative Writing Program.

In 2006, Baggott and her husband co-founded the nonprofit organization Kids in Need - Books in Deed, that focuses on literacy and getting free books to underprivileged children in the state of Florida.
 
 

Sunday 29 January 2012

Mail Box Sunday (IMM) - Weekly Round Up #15

Hi guys!!  It’s Sunday again :D time for another Mail Box Sunday.  I’m going to share with you what goodies I’ve had through the post this week. A small selection this week, especially compared to to last week :)

In My Mailbox (IMM) is hosted by The Story Siren -what a great way to see what everyone else has had in their mailbox over the week!





What books I got over the past few week:


 Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong - This was kindly sent to me by Lainy @ So Many Books, So Little Time. Thank you Lainy!!





Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison - This was an e-book from Netgalley.

What books did you get in the mail this week? Leave a comment and a link and I will have a peek :)


Friday 27 January 2012

Friday Recommends #8

Friday Recommends is a weekly meme hosted by Dani at Pen To Paper.  This is where we list a book we would highly recommend. 

I'm quite excited about this new feature as one of the things I love is being able to share the news about a great book.  We've all been there!  After reading a fab book you want to shout out to the world how great it is.


The rules for Friday Recommends are:
  • Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.
  • Please consider adding the blog hop button to your blog somewhere, so others can find it easily and join in too! Help spread the word! The code will be at the bottom of the post under the linky.
  • Pick a book that you've read, and have enjoyed enough to recommend to other readers. It can be a book you've read recently, or a book you read years ago - it's up to you - but make sure you tell us why you love the book (like a mini review). You make the post as long or as short as you like.
  • Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of this post after posting your blog post.
  • Put a link back to pen to paper (http://vogue-pentopaper.blogspot.com) somewhere in your post.
  • Visit the other blogs and enjoy!
My choice this week is:
 
 
Goodreads Synopsis:

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home.

Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized.

Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they’re caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect.
 
I can't believe I haven't put this book down for a past Friday Reccomends as I loved it!!  It made #2 of my top five all time reads for 2011. It's fast paced and I love the characters, especially Kale who has a certain something special about him :)  If you haven't already got your hands on a copy of this book, seriously go and buy one now.  I gave it top marks a full 5 star rating.  I can't wait for the next one in the series, Toxic, to be released possibly May this year :D

You can see my full review of Touch HERE

 

Thursday 26 January 2012

Young Adult Giveaway Hop


It’s time for another giveaway!!  This one is was fun to do as I love YA books, it’s one of my favourite genres.  So I was really excited to choose some really good YA books.  One lucky winner will get to choose one book from those I’ve listed below.

This giveaway is open to International followers, so if the Book Depository ships to you, yes you can enter!!  Click HERE to see if the Book Depository ships to your country.



This giveaway hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Down the Rabbit Hole 

To find details of the hop and the links click Here


~ Fracture by Megan Miranda
~ Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
~ Touch by Jus Accardo
~ Cinder by Marissa Meyer
~ Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
~ 0.4 by Mike Lancaster


So here are the details:
  • There will be 1 winner - The winner will choose one book of their choice from those listed
·         Open to International Followers
·      
  • You must fill out the rafflecopter form below to enter
  • Giveaway will end January 31st 2012



The Time Will Come #18

Every Thursday, Jodie at Books For Company hosts The Time Will Come, a weekly meme in which we list a book that we really want to read or keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books that have been on the TBR shelf for awhile now but also they can be books that have just come into my home.  I have a massive to-read pile, it seems to be growing by the day.....

If you'd like to join in?
  • Pick a book you have been meaning to read
  • Do a post telling us about the book
  • Link the post up in the linky on Jodie's blog.
  • Visit the other blogs!
  
Here is my choice for this weeks Time Will Come:
 
 
Goodreads Synopsis:

The companion guide to the hysterical television show of the same name, in which Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant force their arrestingly simple pal Karl Pilkington on a global journey "He'd have been happier in medieval times in a village where you didn't travel beyond the local community."  —Stephen Merchant
 
A cult celebrity due to his role in The Ricky Gervais Show, the most-downloaded podcast ever, Karl Pilkington has been accused of being a comic creation, so unburdened is he by complex thought—but that is truly just him. The trio's newest project mines Karl massive provinciality: put simply, Karl is not big on traveling. Given the choice, he'll go on vacation to Devon or Wales or, if pushed, eat English food on a package tour of the Mediterranean.

So what happened when he was convinced by Gervais and Merchant to go on an epic adventure to see the Seven Wonders of the World? Does travel truly broaden the mind? Find out in Karl Pilkington's hilarious travel diaries.

 I've been a big fan of this tv show as I love the dry humour of Karl Pilkington.  He's faced some tough challenges and sometimes I can't blame him for being a bit stubborn and bad tempered.  So when I saw this book I thought it would be good to re-cap some of those moments and read about Karl's hilarious travels.  I've got it sat waiting to be read on the kindle and I do hope I get a chance to read it soon.  One to definitely lift the spirits ;)

What books do you have on your bookcase that you just can't wait to read? 

 
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