Thursday, September 9, 2010

Dystopian Anyone? Audiobook Review and FREE ARCS

I have these ARCS:
MATCHED
Matched

SAPPHIQUE
Sapphique (Incarceron, #2)
 
WITCH AND WIZARD: THE GIFT
The Gift

HUNGER
 Hunger


It seems like Dystopian stories can be split into some sub-categories:

Strong Fantasy feel with or without magic (like Incarceron)
Strong sci-fi feel (like Uglies)
Victim(s) of the society turned hero(es)- (Witch and Wizard, Unwind, Maze Runner, Hunger Games, Incarceron)
Product of a supposedly Utopian society having second thoughts/learning truths- (Uglies, The Adoration of Jenna Fox)


Tell me which kind of dystopian story you like best and why. I'll try to match the right ARC to the right comment and draw names if I get more than one match.

As for my audiobook review, the two things I find most unique about the Life As We Knew It series are that we’re there (as readers) from the day everything changes, and the protags are normal teens with no special gifts or role in the overall future of their new world other than personal survival.


This World We Live In-Susan Beth Pfeffer 
This World We Live In (Last Survivors, #3)


This third book in the series (Life As We Knew It and The Dead And Gone) brings together the characters from the first two books as they continue to survive after an asteroid has changed the orbit of the moon, bringing it closer to us.

As a Reader:

I enjoyed the first two books, especially how they occurred in the same timeline, only with different settings and characters. I also liked how this book brought the two sets of characters together and added new. I thought the book dealt well with the issues of survivor guilt and adding new members of a group when individual survival is so precarious.

As a Writer:

The author has the protag, Miranda, make a questionable choice toward the end. Though I see how keeping that choice a secret moves things forward nicely into the next book, I still have problems with the character motivation. It seems like the author could have easily built in stronger reasons for Miranda to do what she did that would keep readers more firmly in sympathy with her. But maybe the author was aiming for the shades of gray.

If you like this, you might also like:
Uglies series- Scott Westerfeld
Incarceron- Catherine Fisher
Witch and Wizard- James Patterson
Unwind- Neal Shusterman 
Hunger Games series- Suzanne Collins
Maze Runner-James Dashner
The Adoration of Jenna Fox-Mary E. Pearson

Remember. Tell me what kind of Dystopian you like, and you might get one of the FREE ARCs shown above.

10 comments:

  1. Dude! I WANT ALL OF THESE, STAT. As a dystopian author whose book is much like The Hunger Game and Uglies, I'm going to go with that type of sci fi.

    But I also really really adore The Adoration of Jenna Fox...so yeah. Maybe just all of it?? Can I pick that??

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  2. I haven't read any of these, but I probably like the ones that show a victim turning into a hero! I'm probably less of the sci fi, but, for me, it's really the story! Awesome contest!

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  3. I adore all dystopian but I think I like the strong sci fi themes the most. I love books with high technology springing from the cyberpunk subgenre.

    I also like books that have a guise of a Utopian society. It is amazing how intertwined the ideas have been. I will be exploring this idea more of my blog soon.

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  4. Love your breakdown of the sub genres! I love them all, but I think I'm partial to the victims of society turned heroes.

    I just found your blog, and have enjoyed it so far! Thanks!

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  5. Oh man - I really want Matched and Sapphique. I love romance and dystopian and the whole thought of romance being the dystopian is so awesome. Also I love Incarceron
    it was to different and the world building was amazing. I can't decide which type of dystopian I would like best - I've loved all that I've read. I think probably I like the victim of society turned hero the most.
    I like the name of your blog. I've just discovered that I like audiobooks. There are so many awesome books out there and I can't read all of them, but If I listen while I clean house - I can add a few more books into my normal books read for the month.

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  6. Thanks everyone for commenting! I dug through my Book Expo stuff and found that I managed to snag two copies of MATCHED. So everyone who commented should get a book. I'll be in touch!

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  7. Thanks again for being so generous!

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  8. Hi Jennifer, I was on CC tonight and read your message. My email is laurapauling@yahoo.com

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  9. My book came the other day! Thanks again.

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  10. I like the Incarceron, Matched, Uglies, Hunger Games type stories. Honestly, I would be happy with any of those.

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