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Daynight #1
Daynight
An alternate cover of this ISBN can be found here.
Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Earth’s benevolent non-profit by day, Thera’s totalitarian regime by night. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance™. Reality: the SCI subjects Second Chancers to strict controls and politically motivated science experiments like Cleaving—forced lifetime union between two people who have sex. Punishment for disobeying SCI edicts? Immediate Exile or death.
Meet Kira Donovan. Fiercely loyal, overly optimistic, and ensnared by the promise of a full-ride college scholarship, Kira signs the SCI Recruit contract to escape memories of a tragedy that left her boyfriend and friends dead.
Meet Blake Sundry. Bitter about being raised in Exile and his mother’s death, Blake’s been trained to infiltrate and destroy the SCI. Current barrier to success? His Recruit partner—Miss Goody Two Shoes Kira Donovan.
Meet Ethan Darcton. Born with a defective heart and resulting inferiority complex, Ethan’s forced to do his SCI elite family’s bidding. Cleave-worthy Kira Donovan catches his eye, but the presiding powers give defect-free Blake Sundry first dibs.
Full of competing agendas, romantic entanglements, humor, twists and turns, daynight is Megan Thomason’s debut young adult dystopian novel and first in the daynight series.
Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Earth’s benevolent non-profit by day, Thera’s totalitarian regime by night. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance™. Reality: the SCI subjects Second Chancers to strict controls and politically motivated science experiments like Cleaving—forced lifetime union between two people who have sex. Punishment for disobeying SCI edicts? Immediate Exile or death.
Meet Kira Donovan. Fiercely loyal, overly optimistic, and ensnared by the promise of a full-ride college scholarship, Kira signs the SCI Recruit contract to escape memories of a tragedy that left her boyfriend and friends dead.
Meet Blake Sundry. Bitter about being raised in Exile and his mother’s death, Blake’s been trained to infiltrate and destroy the SCI. Current barrier to success? His Recruit partner—Miss Goody Two Shoes Kira Donovan.
Meet Ethan Darcton. Born with a defective heart and resulting inferiority complex, Ethan’s forced to do his SCI elite family’s bidding. Cleave-worthy Kira Donovan catches his eye, but the presiding powers give defect-free Blake Sundry first dibs.
Full of competing agendas, romantic entanglements, humor, twists and turns, daynight is Megan Thomason’s debut young adult dystopian novel and first in the daynight series.
342 pages, Paperback
First published November 12, 2012
About the author
Megan Thomason
7 books362 followersBestselling, award-winning author Megan Thomason lives in paradise aka San Diego, CA with her husband and five children. A former software manager, Megan vastly prefers writing twisted tales to business, product, and marketing plans. When she isn't typing away on her laptop, she's reading books on her phone--over 600 in the last year--or attending to the needs of her family. Megan's fluent in sarcasm, could potentially benefit from a 12-step program for road rage, struggles with a Hot Tamales addiction, loves world travel & fast cars and hates paperwork & being an insomniac.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 204 reviews
December 21, 2014
Oh man where do I start with this book? The first half was great and I was really engrossed with both the plot and the characters. The second half however is a whole'notha story. Everyone was incredibly fickle, with zero backbone, and the plot quickly turned convoluted and sick. Between the" daddies boys" love interests to the boy crazy storyline, this book ended up feeling like a bad Sci Fi version of Gossip Girl.
I am disappointed that the author wasn't able to succeed after her great start and I find that I don't care enough about what happens to read the next book, I just don't think that I could stomach anymore of this sick and perverted storyline. 2.5/5
I am disappointed that the author wasn't able to succeed after her great start and I find that I don't care enough about what happens to read the next book, I just don't think that I could stomach anymore of this sick and perverted storyline. 2.5/5
January 28, 2013
I have decided self-published books are my new "thing". After the spectacular debut of Susan Ee's Angelfall and Megan Thomason's gorgeous gem of a book we have here, publishing companies need to get their heads out of the Twi-Hard's and 50 Shades of Crap's asses and be smacked in the face with delicious stories like daynight.
My desperate need for all things dystopian novel got a real big present when I scored daynight FOR FREE on Amazon as a Kindle download. As I trudge my way through mediocre books, I like to have little treats as motivation. Daynight went from motivation to obsession in three chapters. This book is enthralling, captivating and I just want to devour and then savor everything about it.
Blake and Kira our the main narrators and hot damn do I feel intimately connected to them. They are magnificently developed. The true talent of an author comes through when I can see their pro-tags in real life and describe their reactions to decision that has nothing to do with the book. I adored Blake and Kira. They are loyal and lovely with so much depth in their characters they became real to me even outside the book's confines. And then there is Ethan, our third point to the Almighty Love Triangle. While he is a front runner of Kira's affection, I firmly place allegiance with Team Blake. Either way, the budding romances, tantalizing affections, and the swooning feelings we get to hear to from all sides is enticing. All three narrators are perfect and beautiful and interesting. This story really captures the unique personalities of the human race; what we will do for love, what we will give up for what's right, what strong morals and unwavering loyalty can do.
daynight is dynamic and interesting and has secured a spot in my Top Ten Favorite Dyspotia's. I am drooling over Thomason's work and I am aching to read the rest of this series. Please oh please finish this masterpiece off! If only for my sanity :)
Read all my reviews at www.rattlethestars.com
August 10, 2016
2/5 stars
Nope. This book did not work for me.
My reaction throughout the book:
I was originally going to give it five stars...then four...then three...then two when I finally reached the end.
Why did I not like it?
I'm not sure why everyone liked this book so much. I would NOT recommend it and I will NOT be reading any sequels.
Nope. This book did not work for me.
My reaction throughout the book:
I was originally going to give it five stars...then four...then three...then two when I finally reached the end.
Why did I not like it?
I'm not sure why everyone liked this book so much. I would NOT recommend it and I will NOT be reading any sequels.
August 23, 2018
Before reading this book, I read the reviews and they either ranged from "Loved it to pieces" to "hated its guts." This is what lead me to read it myself to see why was there such dissention. I now see why it went one way or the other. I wont lie, it was pretty weird with some twisted parts it, but those are the types of books I love to read anyway so maybe Im biased. However, I can see how it may have offended others. Overall, I gave it a 3 and will read the next one soon.
May 1, 2013
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I'm just going to come right out and say it. This book isn't one of my favourites. And it just sucks to not be able to get into a book that's received so many great reviews; it's like I'm missing out on something that every other reader was privy to! I picked up Megan Thomason's debut novel "Daynight", intrigued by the whole idea of a second chance at life and the supposed great cast of characters... But I'm getting ahead of myself. To the beginning we go!
When Kira Donovan, an average seventeen-year-old in her junior year, signs the Second Chance Institute (SCI) Recruit contract to escape memories of a bombing that left her boyfriend and friends dead, she has no idea what she's in for. Her Recruit partner is the snarky, brooding Blake Sundry, who's determined to infiltrate and destroy the organization that sent his family to Exile...as well as the boy the SCI wants to Cleave Kira to. But Kira's mind is ensnared by memories of Ethan, a gorgeous, mysterious boy she met at the fateful party, not to mention the son of one of the Ten--the presiding powers of the SCI. With the totalitarian government watching their every move, can Kira, Blake, and Ethan survive the brutalities and threats thrown at them?
The one thing that really drew me to "Daynight" in the first place was its intriguing, unique plot. I mean, an institute that resurrects people to give them a second chance at life on an alternate planet? Count me in. I'd never encountered such an exciting concept in the YA dystopian world before, and needless to say, I was reeled in even before the book began. There's also some great world building going on in "Daynight", where everything is the opposite of Earth. The novel mostly takes place in Thera, a carefully monitored world accessible from Earth via a series of portals--if you enter by land on Earth, you arrive at sea on Thera, and vice versa. The sunlight on Thera is too harsh for human skin, so the inhabitants of the world live by a nocturnal schedule. And, of course, the rigid lifestyle imposed upon the people on Thera by the SCI only serve to complete the whole dystopian element of the novel.
But then comes the bad. What really turned me off of "Daynight" was the characters. The entire novel alternates between the points of view of Kira, Blake, and Ethan. While there was some distinction between the voices of each of the protagonists, they all pretty much said the same thing: "Wow he/she is so hot, oh gads almighty I'm so attracted to him/her." Seriously. Sure, I get that a YA novel unavoidably has some steamy romance between the characters, but literally all the characters would talk about was how much they wanted to maul one another. It's like they were teenagers amped up on ten times the amount of hormones. Gosh.
Another thing about the characters was that their reactions to all the things happening to them in such a messed up world were so tempered. Take, for example, Kira. The SCI shoots some people really, really close to her (won't say who to avoid spoilers), and she accepts it as cool as a cucumber. What?! If I saw people I didn't even like get shot in the head, I would be on the floor bawling my eyes out. And then when Blake and Ethan discover something about their respective bloodlines and families, they pass it by with a "whoah, what?" and then joking around about it with Kira. I mean, are you serious? So many things that would floor normal teenagers are accepted and handled with such calm that it's like they're not even human. And that's what really put me off the novel and prevented me from becoming truly engaged and invested in the characters: their sheer unbelievability.
Overall, "Daynight" is probably a big miss for me. There's some incredible potential with the unique concept of a shot at a second life on a totalitarian alternate world, but the characters need a lot of work before the novel can be truly engaging.
Rating: 1.5/5
I'm just going to come right out and say it. This book isn't one of my favourites. And it just sucks to not be able to get into a book that's received so many great reviews; it's like I'm missing out on something that every other reader was privy to! I picked up Megan Thomason's debut novel "Daynight", intrigued by the whole idea of a second chance at life and the supposed great cast of characters... But I'm getting ahead of myself. To the beginning we go!
When Kira Donovan, an average seventeen-year-old in her junior year, signs the Second Chance Institute (SCI) Recruit contract to escape memories of a bombing that left her boyfriend and friends dead, she has no idea what she's in for. Her Recruit partner is the snarky, brooding Blake Sundry, who's determined to infiltrate and destroy the organization that sent his family to Exile...as well as the boy the SCI wants to Cleave Kira to. But Kira's mind is ensnared by memories of Ethan, a gorgeous, mysterious boy she met at the fateful party, not to mention the son of one of the Ten--the presiding powers of the SCI. With the totalitarian government watching their every move, can Kira, Blake, and Ethan survive the brutalities and threats thrown at them?
The one thing that really drew me to "Daynight" in the first place was its intriguing, unique plot. I mean, an institute that resurrects people to give them a second chance at life on an alternate planet? Count me in. I'd never encountered such an exciting concept in the YA dystopian world before, and needless to say, I was reeled in even before the book began. There's also some great world building going on in "Daynight", where everything is the opposite of Earth. The novel mostly takes place in Thera, a carefully monitored world accessible from Earth via a series of portals--if you enter by land on Earth, you arrive at sea on Thera, and vice versa. The sunlight on Thera is too harsh for human skin, so the inhabitants of the world live by a nocturnal schedule. And, of course, the rigid lifestyle imposed upon the people on Thera by the SCI only serve to complete the whole dystopian element of the novel.
But then comes the bad. What really turned me off of "Daynight" was the characters. The entire novel alternates between the points of view of Kira, Blake, and Ethan. While there was some distinction between the voices of each of the protagonists, they all pretty much said the same thing: "Wow he/she is so hot, oh gads almighty I'm so attracted to him/her." Seriously. Sure, I get that a YA novel unavoidably has some steamy romance between the characters, but literally all the characters would talk about was how much they wanted to maul one another. It's like they were teenagers amped up on ten times the amount of hormones. Gosh.
Another thing about the characters was that their reactions to all the things happening to them in such a messed up world were so tempered. Take, for example, Kira. The SCI shoots some people really, really close to her (won't say who to avoid spoilers), and she accepts it as cool as a cucumber. What?! If I saw people I didn't even like get shot in the head, I would be on the floor bawling my eyes out. And then when Blake and Ethan discover something about their respective bloodlines and families, they pass it by with a "whoah, what?" and then joking around about it with Kira. I mean, are you serious? So many things that would floor normal teenagers are accepted and handled with such calm that it's like they're not even human. And that's what really put me off the novel and prevented me from becoming truly engaged and invested in the characters: their sheer unbelievability.
Overall, "Daynight" is probably a big miss for me. There's some incredible potential with the unique concept of a shot at a second life on a totalitarian alternate world, but the characters need a lot of work before the novel can be truly engaging.
Rating: 1.5/5
January 31, 2013
Review:
Daynight was vastly different from the majority of books I've read lately. That being said I'm not really sure how I feel about that. On one hand, the premise was great and the characters were equally enjoyable. On the other hand, I was left feeling confused at the end. Almost like I had sensory overload. It's taken me days to process this book and the events therein in order to review.
Let me start out by saying the writing is superb. The Author's narrative was spellbinding and I was sucked in from the very first page. As for the characters, Kira was a female teen I could root for and in fact did the majority of the time. I also loved Daynight's love triangle, which honestly feels weird saying since usually they are pet peeves of mine. Ethan and Blake while complete opposites were both worthy of Kira's affection. It's a shame polygamy isn't an option for her character because both guys could really provide Kira what she needs both physically and mentally.
On the downside, while I liked the direction the book went in, I just am not sure I had enough time to process the bombshell dropped on the characters near the end. My mind is this hazy mess of information and I'm thinking I will seriously need to reread this in the future to catch stuff I undoubtedly missed. I guess you could say this book blew my mind, least that is how it feels when trying to put my thoughts into words.
Overall I am highly recommending you pick a copy of Daynight up and give it a go. Perfectly paced writing combined with superb narrative, likeable characters, and fantastic world building will no doubt leave Daynight on many Top Ten book lists this year. Yeah, it was that good. In the end I will be giving Daynight ★★★★. I will probably bump this rating up once I have a chance to reread but until then 4 is where it stands.
*I purchased a copy of this book to review for the tour. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way for providing them.
Daynight was vastly different from the majority of books I've read lately. That being said I'm not really sure how I feel about that. On one hand, the premise was great and the characters were equally enjoyable. On the other hand, I was left feeling confused at the end. Almost like I had sensory overload. It's taken me days to process this book and the events therein in order to review.
Let me start out by saying the writing is superb. The Author's narrative was spellbinding and I was sucked in from the very first page. As for the characters, Kira was a female teen I could root for and in fact did the majority of the time. I also loved Daynight's love triangle, which honestly feels weird saying since usually they are pet peeves of mine. Ethan and Blake while complete opposites were both worthy of Kira's affection. It's a shame polygamy isn't an option for her character because both guys could really provide Kira what she needs both physically and mentally.
On the downside, while I liked the direction the book went in, I just am not sure I had enough time to process the bombshell dropped on the characters near the end. My mind is this hazy mess of information and I'm thinking I will seriously need to reread this in the future to catch stuff I undoubtedly missed. I guess you could say this book blew my mind, least that is how it feels when trying to put my thoughts into words.
Overall I am highly recommending you pick a copy of Daynight up and give it a go. Perfectly paced writing combined with superb narrative, likeable characters, and fantastic world building will no doubt leave Daynight on many Top Ten book lists this year. Yeah, it was that good. In the end I will be giving Daynight ★★★★. I will probably bump this rating up once I have a chance to reread but until then 4 is where it stands.
*I purchased a copy of this book to review for the tour. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way for providing them.
November 16, 2012
I am always reluctant to read books that have been self-published, due to the nature of the game: anyone can publish, regardless of the quality of their writing. "daynight", however, blew away all of my expectations.
"daynight" recounts the stories of three young adults, Kira, Blake, and Ethan, and their interactions with one another and the Second Chance Institute (SCI). It's set in a dystopian world unlike any other I have encountered in the dozens upon dozens of young adult novels I have read to date. The world Thomason has created is refreshing in its "newness" and ingenuity - just unpredictable enough to be exciting - yet familiar enough that it will fit comfortably aside books such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Legend; paragons of the dystopian genre.
Equally refreshing is the writing, which flows very well and is easy to follow. The quality of dialogue, something that many writers struggle with, is superb. We see flashbacks from each character throughout the book. Those do, at times, move a little slower than the rest of the story; however, they contain developments essential to our understandings of the characters at present. While you are able to predict things here and there, the story is interspersed with enough artfully executed plot twists to keep things plenty interesting.
The grammar is better than I expected from a self-published book; errors are few and far between. Thankfully, the spelling is excellent and I did not find any problems with word usage. I have been known to quit reading a book if there are enough problems with spelling and grammar, regardless of how good the story is. :)
"daynight" is a captivating read, a fantastic debut for Thomason, and hands-down the best self-published novel I have read to date. I highly recommend it.
"daynight" recounts the stories of three young adults, Kira, Blake, and Ethan, and their interactions with one another and the Second Chance Institute (SCI). It's set in a dystopian world unlike any other I have encountered in the dozens upon dozens of young adult novels I have read to date. The world Thomason has created is refreshing in its "newness" and ingenuity - just unpredictable enough to be exciting - yet familiar enough that it will fit comfortably aside books such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Legend; paragons of the dystopian genre.
Equally refreshing is the writing, which flows very well and is easy to follow. The quality of dialogue, something that many writers struggle with, is superb. We see flashbacks from each character throughout the book. Those do, at times, move a little slower than the rest of the story; however, they contain developments essential to our understandings of the characters at present. While you are able to predict things here and there, the story is interspersed with enough artfully executed plot twists to keep things plenty interesting.
The grammar is better than I expected from a self-published book; errors are few and far between. Thankfully, the spelling is excellent and I did not find any problems with word usage. I have been known to quit reading a book if there are enough problems with spelling and grammar, regardless of how good the story is. :)
"daynight" is a captivating read, a fantastic debut for Thomason, and hands-down the best self-published novel I have read to date. I highly recommend it.
May 23, 2013
I liked this book up until 70%. The concept is honestly weird more than it is interesting.
So you have the SCI who I saw a few reviews where people mentioned being confused which made no sense to me because even reading it I understood what they were essentially trying to do but at the same time I understand how it doesn't make sense.
This is the worst 'evil' plot I've ever heard. Not to mention the main character literally signs up for a program that will take up a year of her life without having a clue what the program does and her parents let her? I understand needing money for school. A -very- good reason but just no. I'm no-ing all over this book.
It seemed like one of those books where the author does things and my first reaction is, "wow this author has balls." In reality they're just making things happen so that they can get the parameters where they want them.
I just, it was weird. The writing had me a little thrown off at first but was interesting. The characters I liked. The book concept was just no.
So you have the SCI who I saw a few reviews where people mentioned being confused which made no sense to me because even reading it I understood what they were essentially trying to do but at the same time I understand how it doesn't make sense.
This is the worst 'evil' plot I've ever heard. Not to mention the main character literally signs up for a program that will take up a year of her life without having a clue what the program does and her parents let her? I understand needing money for school. A -very- good reason but just no. I'm no-ing all over this book.
It seemed like one of those books where the author does things and my first reaction is, "wow this author has balls." In reality they're just making things happen so that they can get the parameters where they want them.
I just, it was weird. The writing had me a little thrown off at first but was interesting. The characters I liked. The book concept was just no.
March 5, 2013
Great new dysotopian story! Welcome to Thera where we live during the night and sleep during the day. And oh ya, if you recognize some familiar faces here from people you thought were previously gone there may be a reason behind it.
I really enjoyed the concept behind daynight and that I couldn't predict where the book was going but it wasn't so far-fetched that I couldnt follow along. I love a good surprise. I also liked that each chapter followed along one of three main characters in the story. I didn't get lost with switching in between their perspectives as the author did a good job of seperating their personalities and stories.
Kira at times could be a little naive but it added to the emotion of wanting her to see that not only did she have one man favoring her but two. Can't wait for book 2!!
And thank you to the author for the clean read! I definitely feel okay with recommending this book to others without being concerned by content.
I really enjoyed the concept behind daynight and that I couldn't predict where the book was going but it wasn't so far-fetched that I couldnt follow along. I love a good surprise. I also liked that each chapter followed along one of three main characters in the story. I didn't get lost with switching in between their perspectives as the author did a good job of seperating their personalities and stories.
Kira at times could be a little naive but it added to the emotion of wanting her to see that not only did she have one man favoring her but two. Can't wait for book 2!!
And thank you to the author for the clean read! I definitely feel okay with recommending this book to others without being concerned by content.
August 4, 2017
Like so many other reviewers of this book, it seems, I really enjoyed the start of this. The concept was new, and delving into the world with Kira and Blake was a delight... but then, things got stupid.
After chapter 14 or 15 I pretty much had this look on my face:
A love triangle is bad enough, when you add insta-love to that I end up with permanent eye-roll muscle strain.
When things got all weird and creepy with the operations and the consequences of them I pretty much tapped out of the story.
But then I got lured back in with the science talk, thinking perhaps there was some real meat to this story...
Alas this was but a momentary reprieve for a flailing story.
I'd actually rate this a 2.5 out of 5, as I didn't loathe it, but I also didn't like it. It's a classic case of a brilliant idea polluted by what is deemed 'popular' in terms of genre, character stereotypes and plot, all of which are not needed.
Overall, I didn't like the characters, I didn't like the bad guys, I didn't like the love triangle and insta-love, and I HATED the ending. I will not be reading any more of this series.
I would only recommend this to people who like dull characters who are very two dimensional, unrealistic and show no remorse for horrific things they caused.
**Note: I received an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review**
After chapter 14 or 15 I pretty much had this look on my face:
A love triangle is bad enough, when you add insta-love to that I end up with permanent eye-roll muscle strain.
When things got all weird and creepy with the operations and the consequences of them I pretty much tapped out of the story.
But then I got lured back in with the science talk, thinking perhaps there was some real meat to this story...
Alas this was but a momentary reprieve for a flailing story.
I'd actually rate this a 2.5 out of 5, as I didn't loathe it, but I also didn't like it. It's a classic case of a brilliant idea polluted by what is deemed 'popular' in terms of genre, character stereotypes and plot, all of which are not needed.
Overall, I didn't like the characters, I didn't like the bad guys, I didn't like the love triangle and insta-love, and I HATED the ending. I will not be reading any more of this series.
I would only recommend this to people who like dull characters who are very two dimensional, unrealistic and show no remorse for horrific things they caused.
**Note: I received an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review**
February 5, 2013
A few things to know before we get started.
1. I didn't finish the book. I read almost half of it before setting it aside.
2. I don't read much YA fiction, but when I do, I read Divergent, The Hunger Games, Waterfall, So Not Happening, and The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back.
3. I don't watch current teen TV shows (outside of Good Luck Charlie, which might not count since it's on the Disney Channel).
4. I am a teenager (for a few more months).
So why didn't I finish this book?
I liked the idea. At the start, it had a good eerie feel to it with an interesting idea about this "other world" called Thera. Of course, that this other world was reached by sailing into the middle of the ocean and then entering magic portals is a little odd, but I can deal with it. (It reminded me a little of the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End scene when the green light flashes and they flip the ship, though not as exciting.)
The problem is that, from the start, the party scene hit me in the face. While underage drinking is obviously something that happens, it isn't exactly something I want to read about. At least, Thomason makes the reader view this partying as negative. Still, I didn't care for it. It also made me really not like the female main character Kira, because she seemed so smart except for her ridiculously poor taste in company.
Aside from that (minor-ish) offense, this book should not have been titled Daynight. It should have been titled "Cleaving." Cleaving in this world Thera is equivalent to marriage, without the cutesy stuff like engagements and weddings. Basically, if two people have premarital sex, they're automatically "cleaved" to each other. So, of course, many crass characters make jokes about cleaving, and cleaving is constantly on the minds of these hormonal teenagers. By the halfway point in the book it gets a bit ridiculous, and the main story of the novel (that of Thera's probably not-so-good intentions and the super teenagers saving the world) is almost lost.
Love triangles (squares, in this case) are so overdone. Is it realistic for a girl to have 3+ guys in love with her? Not for me, unfortunately.
On the bright side, Thomason writes well, and I liked that she lets the reader in on the different characters' perspectives. I like that she even repeats scenes just so the reader can see what two different characters think about what happens. Unfortunately, by midway all the characters can think about is what the other characters think of them and whether or not they want to cleave. *rolls eyes*
Basically, if I could have a cleaned up version that focused on character development and not this hormonal/lust/cleaving craziness, then I would have finished the book and given it more stars.
1. I didn't finish the book. I read almost half of it before setting it aside.
2. I don't read much YA fiction, but when I do, I read Divergent, The Hunger Games, Waterfall, So Not Happening, and The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back.
3. I don't watch current teen TV shows (outside of Good Luck Charlie, which might not count since it's on the Disney Channel).
4. I am a teenager (for a few more months).
So why didn't I finish this book?
I liked the idea. At the start, it had a good eerie feel to it with an interesting idea about this "other world" called Thera. Of course, that this other world was reached by sailing into the middle of the ocean and then entering magic portals is a little odd, but I can deal with it. (It reminded me a little of the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End scene when the green light flashes and they flip the ship, though not as exciting.)
The problem is that, from the start, the party scene hit me in the face. While underage drinking is obviously something that happens, it isn't exactly something I want to read about. At least, Thomason makes the reader view this partying as negative. Still, I didn't care for it. It also made me really not like the female main character Kira, because she seemed so smart except for her ridiculously poor taste in company.
Aside from that (minor-ish) offense, this book should not have been titled Daynight. It should have been titled "Cleaving." Cleaving in this world Thera is equivalent to marriage, without the cutesy stuff like engagements and weddings. Basically, if two people have premarital sex, they're automatically "cleaved" to each other. So, of course, many crass characters make jokes about cleaving, and cleaving is constantly on the minds of these hormonal teenagers. By the halfway point in the book it gets a bit ridiculous, and the main story of the novel (that of Thera's probably not-so-good intentions and the super teenagers saving the world) is almost lost.
Love triangles (squares, in this case) are so overdone. Is it realistic for a girl to have 3+ guys in love with her? Not for me, unfortunately.
On the bright side, Thomason writes well, and I liked that she lets the reader in on the different characters' perspectives. I like that she even repeats scenes just so the reader can see what two different characters think about what happens. Unfortunately, by midway all the characters can think about is what the other characters think of them and whether or not they want to cleave. *rolls eyes*
Basically, if I could have a cleaned up version that focused on character development and not this hormonal/lust/cleaving craziness, then I would have finished the book and given it more stars.
January 27, 2013
When I thought I had figured out where the plot of this story was taken me, I was amazed to find it go another way. Megan Thomason has created a book full of plot twists and turns.
Kira has a chance at a scholarship that would entail skipping out her senior year and going to the SCI. They offer second chances to people who have screwed up their lives. It is an opportunity that she can't pass up. It would set her on the path to a future success.
She soon discovers that if a deal is too good to be true, it is. SCI is a cover for an operation that brings people from earth to another plane of existence. Thera is the polar opposite of Earth. Where we have water, they have ocean. The climate is harsh, with more land, there is extreme heat. Lives are lived during the nigh time hours and sleep is during the unliveable heat of the day.
The society is dystopian. The people given a second chance is a huge surprise that I will not reveal. It is amazing to me the concept that Megan came up with. It is in many ways original.
Kira is meant to "cleave" with one of two potential suitors. One came from Earth with her, Blake, and the other is from Thera, Ethan. Both boys have much to offer and sound very attractive. It has left her with a dilemma, not easily solved.
My caution in this book would be with the emphasis on cleaving. While there are not any blatant intimate moments, there is much talk dealing with cleaving. It is a huge deal in the Theran society, and when cleaved it is for life, no exceptions. There are also some compromising situations and teens drinking.
Kira has a chance at a scholarship that would entail skipping out her senior year and going to the SCI. They offer second chances to people who have screwed up their lives. It is an opportunity that she can't pass up. It would set her on the path to a future success.
She soon discovers that if a deal is too good to be true, it is. SCI is a cover for an operation that brings people from earth to another plane of existence. Thera is the polar opposite of Earth. Where we have water, they have ocean. The climate is harsh, with more land, there is extreme heat. Lives are lived during the nigh time hours and sleep is during the unliveable heat of the day.
The society is dystopian. The people given a second chance is a huge surprise that I will not reveal. It is amazing to me the concept that Megan came up with. It is in many ways original.
Kira is meant to "cleave" with one of two potential suitors. One came from Earth with her, Blake, and the other is from Thera, Ethan. Both boys have much to offer and sound very attractive. It has left her with a dilemma, not easily solved.
My caution in this book would be with the emphasis on cleaving. While there are not any blatant intimate moments, there is much talk dealing with cleaving. It is a huge deal in the Theran society, and when cleaved it is for life, no exceptions. There are also some compromising situations and teens drinking.
June 17, 2016
This review has taken me two days to write. I've brainstormed in the shower and on my drive to work what I wanted to cover and i've written, erased, and rewritten paragraphs multiple times. So short and sweet: This is a really good book. It easily got a spot on my Favorites shelf.
I love that the government is well thought out and a major part of the plot. I'm not going to name any titles but so many ya dystopia books in the past few years uses the dystopia setting as just the setting, when it could be explored so much more.
Thera fascinates me. I'm terrified of it, but I also kind of want to live there. There's a lot of hints and foreshadowing that Theran government has a large part in Earth government and I can't wait to see that through.
I really liked the multiple perspectives. It adds to the story without slowing it down. I especially liked when individual scenes were done by multiple characters.
While I loved this book, it has flaws. The pacing is the one that sticks out the most to me. Some parts are too slow (notably any scene involving explaining the light/dark DNA) and some are too fast (I had to read the kitchen scene several times to fully grasp what happened).
Overall, daynight is incredible and I urge fans of the genre to give it a read.
Note: I won this books through Goodreads' First Reads.
I love that the government is well thought out and a major part of the plot. I'm not going to name any titles but so many ya dystopia books in the past few years uses the dystopia setting as just the setting, when it could be explored so much more.
Thera fascinates me. I'm terrified of it, but I also kind of want to live there. There's a lot of hints and foreshadowing that Theran government has a large part in Earth government and I can't wait to see that through.
I really liked the multiple perspectives. It adds to the story without slowing it down. I especially liked when individual scenes were done by multiple characters.
While I loved this book, it has flaws. The pacing is the one that sticks out the most to me. Some parts are too slow (notably any scene involving explaining the light/dark DNA) and some are too fast (I had to read the kitchen scene several times to fully grasp what happened).
Overall, daynight is incredible and I urge fans of the genre to give it a read.
Note: I won this books through Goodreads' First Reads.
November 2, 2014
The theme of this story is amazing! I am eagerly looking forward to the next in the series. I could really feel the author getting into her writing towards the end of the book. She appears to effortlessly seam tension, twists, love triangles, and a cliff hanger in unison. Based on the theme alone, this book would have five stars.
I love it when the cover art makes sense! Look at the cover art on this book. Can you figure out what the story is going to be about? No? Well, read the book, and you'll find out.
The things that I don't like? I am not an author! I have no validity or reliability to make these claims! Please take this negative critique with a grain of salt.
The author has a basic writing style. Sentences were frequently awkward. The sentences, paragraphs, and chapters can strongly use restructuring. Often times, I needed to reread sections multiple times to clearly understand the events of the story.
The only other thing that I did not like was that I felt like a pervish-old man. I was reading about older teenagers partying in intensely party attire, oozing with pheromones. I would have much rather read a story about young college students being introduced to their sexuality in a slightly more mature manner.
I love it when the cover art makes sense! Look at the cover art on this book. Can you figure out what the story is going to be about? No? Well, read the book, and you'll find out.
The things that I don't like? I am not an author! I have no validity or reliability to make these claims! Please take this negative critique with a grain of salt.
The author has a basic writing style. Sentences were frequently awkward. The sentences, paragraphs, and chapters can strongly use restructuring. Often times, I needed to reread sections multiple times to clearly understand the events of the story.
The only other thing that I did not like was that I felt like a pervish-old man. I was reading about older teenagers partying in intensely party attire, oozing with pheromones. I would have much rather read a story about young college students being introduced to their sexuality in a slightly more mature manner.
March 4, 2013
4.5 Stars
I received this book from the author in exchange for a honest review. Everything you are about to read is my full and honest opinion about the book!
Wow! This book was GREAT! I really enjoyed it very much! The author has done a wonderful job with the writing and creating a well thought out plot! Everything fit very well and flowed perfectly together!
The book starts off with the one of the main charters Kira signing up at the SCI to do service for them for a year in exchange for a full scholar ship to a college of her choice. But once she arrives there she realizes that what she signed up for is obviously not what she thought! She now finds herself in a very bad situation!
This book was very enjoyable! The author has brought something new and fresh to books! I look forward to the second installment in the series!
I received this book from the author in exchange for a honest review. Everything you are about to read is my full and honest opinion about the book!
Wow! This book was GREAT! I really enjoyed it very much! The author has done a wonderful job with the writing and creating a well thought out plot! Everything fit very well and flowed perfectly together!
The book starts off with the one of the main charters Kira signing up at the SCI to do service for them for a year in exchange for a full scholar ship to a college of her choice. But once she arrives there she realizes that what she signed up for is obviously not what she thought! She now finds herself in a very bad situation!
This book was very enjoyable! The author has brought something new and fresh to books! I look forward to the second installment in the series!
March 22, 2013
I got this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. I was totally entranced from the very beginning. The storyline started out captivating at the very beginning and I couldn't stop until I got to the end. You want to talk about a love triangle that keeps you guessing. I literally did not know which way Thomason was going to take the characters until the end. She kept you on your toes and every time you think something is going to happen Thomason takes it in a whole new direction.
I love the twists and turns in the story and all the characters. I so can't wait for the next installment to find out what might happen because I know it can't just end here. I want more, more, please!!!
I really enjoyed this book. I was totally entranced from the very beginning. The storyline started out captivating at the very beginning and I couldn't stop until I got to the end. You want to talk about a love triangle that keeps you guessing. I literally did not know which way Thomason was going to take the characters until the end. She kept you on your toes and every time you think something is going to happen Thomason takes it in a whole new direction.
I love the twists and turns in the story and all the characters. I so can't wait for the next installment to find out what might happen because I know it can't just end here. I want more, more, please!!!
March 14, 2013
This book had me gripping my seat, knuckles whitening with the suspense and agony of not knowing what the next twist may be. At very turn of a page my heart pace quickens at the affect of the words that linger in my head long after I've read them. Trickles of sweat loiter on my creased forehead as I gasp at what happens before me, my hands grasp the book in fear it may fall and shatter into pieces and I am deprived of knowing what the fate of Kira is. Book your ticket to Thera, come aboard this exhilarating journey and secure yourself a second chance, at reading one of the best books on Earth. It's totally out of this planet!
March 5, 2013
Interesting concept. It was more intense than I expected. I thought it would be just like the other popular teen romance craze series going around, but this one surprised me. I'm looking forward to the follow up.
September 27, 2013
My original thought on this book...
...and how i expected to feel after finishing the book...
...in reality...
Okay, probably not that bad but you can see what I'm trying to say. This was frustrating at best and damn stupid at worst.
So first we have Kira who is said to be distraught over the deaths of her boyfriend and best friend but we actually see no evidence to this. Maybe this is because she see's them hooking up at a party.
Next minute, THEY'RE DEAD!
And is she sad? Well...I wouldn't say that.
Kira doesn't have time to think about that because she's to busy thinking about 'Perfect Boy' otherwise none as Ethan.
I mean, her boyfriend's body isn't even cold yet. Not that he was a good boyfriend. That was the first of many bad mistakes courtesy of Kira.
Either way, she doesn't seem all to sad about their deaths dispite what she might want us to believe. Also did I mention the that as Kira left the party, the house went like...
...BOOM!
Suspicious, right?
Well not to Kira. She must find this perfectly normal because she is still thinking about Ethan and his chiseled abs.
While she is think about how perfect Ethan is and all the things that make him perfect, I am thinking B.O.R.I.N.G. That's right, BORING. Yes, Ethan may be molded to perfection and have many lovely traits that draw you to him, but where is the DRAMA? The spark? Well, I don't know where it is but it's certainly not in this book.
Around there was the time I started thinking...
But then something amazing happened. Enter Blake...or re-enter.
So Blake seems like the kind of guy that can't love and I found that so romantic.
So basically Blake and Kira don't like each other but then start a fake relationship because...I don't actually know why?
But still I'm here thinking Yes, now they'll get together and Ethan can go get someone else! This may be predictable but what can I say, I'm a romantic.
Then comes an array of unnecessary fill in relationship stuff that I can't even be bothered explaining.
Basically...
By now Kira and Blake have fallen into a real realationship and have been saying 'I Love You' a lot.
So, it's pretty obvious I'm on Team Kake or if you like Team Blira.
But then they get split up and Blake gets exiled and guess what the first thing he does is? That's right. He makes out with another girl.
My reaction:
URGHHHHHH!
Wait a second, why am I pulling my own hair when I could be pulling Blakes
Take that you slutty, man-whore!
Guess I don't like Blake anymore but that doesn't make Ethan any more interesting.
Okay I'm just going to ask everybody if I was the only one who found the ending of this book a bit far fetched. I mean really some of the things that happened came right out of the blue. There were no hints that they were going to happen and just seemed to be added to cause the characters extra stress which it failed at. Everything that happened in this book created little to no reaction from the characters. This was indeed the case for Kira in many parts of the book where no tears were shed. Although this could have been to prevent it looking like she was weak, I think she is entitled to cry in these moments.
Another thing that annoyed me was Blakes constant flashbacks. These were boring and added nothing to the story. I admit that I didn't read most of these after the first one proved to be unrelated.
The thing with this book is that I didn't feel very much while I read it. It was like Her boyfriend and bestfriend were having sex behind her back and then I was sitting here thinking Did you seriously not figure that out earlier? or She watches her parents get shot in the head and I'm thinking I could really go for some chicken right now. I felt almost nothing for the characters and the unfortunate events that fell upon them and it depressed me. The only time I felt anything during this book was when it came to the love triangle.
Overall my feelings on the book:
The book wasn't actually that bad but I am feeling dramatic.
I am not hard to please and even I thought this book had holes
...and how i expected to feel after finishing the book...
...in reality...
Okay, probably not that bad but you can see what I'm trying to say. This was frustrating at best and damn stupid at worst.
So first we have Kira who is said to be distraught over the deaths of her boyfriend and best friend but we actually see no evidence to this. Maybe this is because she see's them hooking up at a party.
Next minute, THEY'RE DEAD!
And is she sad? Well...I wouldn't say that.
Kira doesn't have time to think about that because she's to busy thinking about 'Perfect Boy' otherwise none as Ethan.
I mean, her boyfriend's body isn't even cold yet. Not that he was a good boyfriend. That was the first of many bad mistakes courtesy of Kira.
Either way, she doesn't seem all to sad about their deaths dispite what she might want us to believe. Also did I mention the that as Kira left the party, the house went like...
...BOOM!
Suspicious, right?
Well not to Kira. She must find this perfectly normal because she is still thinking about Ethan and his chiseled abs.
While she is think about how perfect Ethan is and all the things that make him perfect, I am thinking B.O.R.I.N.G. That's right, BORING. Yes, Ethan may be molded to perfection and have many lovely traits that draw you to him, but where is the DRAMA? The spark? Well, I don't know where it is but it's certainly not in this book.
Around there was the time I started thinking...
But then something amazing happened. Enter Blake...or re-enter.
So Blake seems like the kind of guy that can't love and I found that so romantic.
So basically Blake and Kira don't like each other but then start a fake relationship because...I don't actually know why?
But still I'm here thinking Yes, now they'll get together and Ethan can go get someone else! This may be predictable but what can I say, I'm a romantic.
Then comes an array of unnecessary fill in relationship stuff that I can't even be bothered explaining.
Basically...
By now Kira and Blake have fallen into a real realationship and have been saying 'I Love You' a lot.
So, it's pretty obvious I'm on Team Kake or if you like Team Blira.
But then they get split up and Blake gets exiled and guess what the first thing he does is? That's right. He makes out with another girl.
My reaction:
URGHHHHHH!
Wait a second, why am I pulling my own hair when I could be pulling Blakes
Take that you slutty, man-whore!
Guess I don't like Blake anymore but that doesn't make Ethan any more interesting.
Okay I'm just going to ask everybody if I was the only one who found the ending of this book a bit far fetched. I mean really some of the things that happened came right out of the blue. There were no hints that they were going to happen and just seemed to be added to cause the characters extra stress which it failed at. Everything that happened in this book created little to no reaction from the characters. This was indeed the case for Kira in many parts of the book where no tears were shed. Although this could have been to prevent it looking like she was weak, I think she is entitled to cry in these moments.
Another thing that annoyed me was Blakes constant flashbacks. These were boring and added nothing to the story. I admit that I didn't read most of these after the first one proved to be unrelated.
The thing with this book is that I didn't feel very much while I read it. It was like Her boyfriend and bestfriend were having sex behind her back and then I was sitting here thinking Did you seriously not figure that out earlier? or She watches her parents get shot in the head and I'm thinking I could really go for some chicken right now. I felt almost nothing for the characters and the unfortunate events that fell upon them and it depressed me. The only time I felt anything during this book was when it came to the love triangle.
Overall my feelings on the book:
The book wasn't actually that bad but I am feeling dramatic.
I am not hard to please and even I thought this book had holes
December 2, 2013
Alas, I actually hid my spoilers this time, so go ahead and read on
I'm confused.
This book is... different. Or should I say unconventional.
With similar themes to that of the Glow series, this book left me questioning whether I liked it or not.
I'm still not sure.
I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. It wasn't just OK but it wasn't subpar either.
The story starts off with Kira Donovan, one of three main protagonists. Kira takes a test conducted by the SCI, a secretive organization, where they test her abilities and her physical health. If she passes she will be under the SCI jurisdiction for one year but will be enrolled into an Ivy league college therein after. At least, that's what she thought would happen when she took the test.
We also have Blake Sundry, an outcast in Kira's school who also shows up to take the SCI's test. Passes and gets 'paired' up with Kira much to his dismay. Blake Sundry is well aware of the SCI's intentions for those who pass the test and is sent in as a rebel spy for his fathers bidding who is an avenging exiled SCI member.
And lastly we have Ethan Darcton, gorgeous with model-esque features, he's the son of one of the leaders of the SCI and of course ends up falling head over heels for Kira. He isn't in our story for much of the beginning but he becomes Kiras image for the perfect guy, ya know, after meeting him and talking to him for 2 hours at a rager....
The main point that I need to get across is that there are TWO worlds here. There is Earth and then there is Thera (Thera being an anagram for Earth). Thera can be accessed through the use of portals controlled by the SCI and can be used as two way mirror with Earth and Thera. Kira is considered an Original with 'Light' blood. This means she was born on Earth with what appears to be coveted genes for someone who can cross safely between the two worlds unlike many who develop implicating symptoms after traveling through the portals. Ethan and Blake are also originals, but are considered 'dark' bloods, as they were both born in Thera.
Thera is a strange place. People who die on Earth appear on Thera. Not everyone, as you have to be 'chosen' to enter it. Also, it's an inverted version of Earth, where the sea here on Earth are continents on Thera and vice versa. And the temperature. It's brutally hot there during the day and cools down to a meager ~90 degrees Fahrenheit at night, forcing it's inhabitants to live most of their lives during night and sleep during the day.
It's all very confusing, I was lost throughout most of it.
I can go on forever really, but let me state what I did like and didn't:
Pros:
1. The overall idea/premise of the story
VERY peculiar. But I did very much enjoy that fact. The story, like I mentioned earlier, is much like Glow in the sense that , not the whole outer space thing though. I liked that it had plenty of twists and turns that it kept me reading. I really wanted to know who Kira ended up with and I had absolutely no idea who it'd be. Imagine my surprise when . The ending I didn't like so much.....
2. The vocabulary
Actually i'm a bit conflicted on this as I hated it as much as I appreciated it.
Adage. Caveat. Ignominious. Inebriated. Moratorium. Obeisance. Subterfuge. Impetus.
I'm the type of person who used to stop when reading a book, look up it's definition, and write it at the bottom of the page (*gasp* She wrote on books! How sacrilegious!). I still do this, but I can't really write on ebooks so I save these words on my Dictionary app. Anyway, back to my point.... I thought they slowed down my pace. I can't just overlook the word, I'm not that person. Even if the plot is thickening and the action is over the rim, I have to stop and look up the word. Loved learning new words, but it was at the expense of the fluidity of the story.
Cons:
1. The whole love-triangle thing.
I actually liked both Blake and Ethan, Kira got annoying most of the time but she was tolerable enough. I think what annoyed me was the whole Kira and Ethan thing. Kira met Ethan for 2 hours at some party with her inebriated friends. They got along fabulously but then they parted ways. Neither Kira and Ethan could stop thinking about each other since. It kind of gets annoying. Real annoying. Kira is obsessed with this figment of what Ethan is and could be, she places him in a pedestal and worships him. The whole love triangle should never have even existed until way past 150 pages or so....
I don't know. I mean, yeah it was okay that Ethan and Kira met beforehand (necessary even) but the fact that Ethan was a constant on Kira's mind was kind of overwhelming to me as a reader. I didn't see the logic of it. I didn't see myself as Kira at all, maybe that's why. I'm not one to obsess over something as trivial as that... I just don't see it happening.
ALSO, Blake and his damn flashbacks. I understand why they were there but they keep setting back the progression of the story because there were SO MANY of them. I admit to having skipped some of his flashbacks after the third occurrence, I don't think they were necessary for the story.
2. There was so much going on I was confused for a large portion of the story
I think this was my fault. I started off reading it with very little interest. My sister recommended it but told me to be wary of the all the confusing twists and turns. It started off with confusion over the whole SCI purpose. I mean, what's their purpose for existing? What's their M.O.? I have no idea.
Anyways, interesting book. I won't soon forget it that's for sure. I might pick up the next book.... we'll see.
I'm confused.
This book is... different. Or should I say unconventional.
With similar themes to that of the Glow series, this book left me questioning whether I liked it or not.
I'm still not sure.
I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. It wasn't just OK but it wasn't subpar either.
The story starts off with Kira Donovan, one of three main protagonists. Kira takes a test conducted by the SCI, a secretive organization, where they test her abilities and her physical health. If she passes she will be under the SCI jurisdiction for one year but will be enrolled into an Ivy league college therein after. At least, that's what she thought would happen when she took the test.
We also have Blake Sundry, an outcast in Kira's school who also shows up to take the SCI's test. Passes and gets 'paired' up with Kira much to his dismay. Blake Sundry is well aware of the SCI's intentions for those who pass the test and is sent in as a rebel spy for his fathers bidding who is an avenging exiled SCI member.
And lastly we have Ethan Darcton, gorgeous with model-esque features, he's the son of one of the leaders of the SCI and of course ends up falling head over heels for Kira. He isn't in our story for much of the beginning but he becomes Kiras image for the perfect guy, ya know, after meeting him and talking to him for 2 hours at a rager....
The main point that I need to get across is that there are TWO worlds here. There is Earth and then there is Thera (Thera being an anagram for Earth). Thera can be accessed through the use of portals controlled by the SCI and can be used as two way mirror with Earth and Thera. Kira is considered an Original with 'Light' blood. This means she was born on Earth with what appears to be coveted genes for someone who can cross safely between the two worlds unlike many who develop implicating symptoms after traveling through the portals. Ethan and Blake are also originals, but are considered 'dark' bloods, as they were both born in Thera.
Thera is a strange place. People who die on Earth appear on Thera. Not everyone, as you have to be 'chosen' to enter it. Also, it's an inverted version of Earth, where the sea here on Earth are continents on Thera and vice versa. And the temperature. It's brutally hot there during the day and cools down to a meager ~90 degrees Fahrenheit at night, forcing it's inhabitants to live most of their lives during night and sleep during the day.
It's all very confusing, I was lost throughout most of it.
I can go on forever really, but let me state what I did like and didn't:
Pros:
1. The overall idea/premise of the story
VERY peculiar. But I did very much enjoy that fact. The story, like I mentioned earlier, is much like Glow in the sense that , not the whole outer space thing though. I liked that it had plenty of twists and turns that it kept me reading. I really wanted to know who Kira ended up with and I had absolutely no idea who it'd be. Imagine my surprise when . The ending I didn't like so much.....
2. The vocabulary
Actually i'm a bit conflicted on this as I hated it as much as I appreciated it.
Adage. Caveat. Ignominious. Inebriated. Moratorium. Obeisance. Subterfuge. Impetus.
I'm the type of person who used to stop when reading a book, look up it's definition, and write it at the bottom of the page (*gasp* She wrote on books! How sacrilegious!). I still do this, but I can't really write on ebooks so I save these words on my Dictionary app. Anyway, back to my point.... I thought they slowed down my pace. I can't just overlook the word, I'm not that person. Even if the plot is thickening and the action is over the rim, I have to stop and look up the word. Loved learning new words, but it was at the expense of the fluidity of the story.
Cons:
1. The whole love-triangle thing.
I actually liked both Blake and Ethan, Kira got annoying most of the time but she was tolerable enough. I think what annoyed me was the whole Kira and Ethan thing. Kira met Ethan for 2 hours at some party with her inebriated friends. They got along fabulously but then they parted ways. Neither Kira and Ethan could stop thinking about each other since. It kind of gets annoying. Real annoying. Kira is obsessed with this figment of what Ethan is and could be, she places him in a pedestal and worships him. The whole love triangle should never have even existed until way past 150 pages or so....
I don't know. I mean, yeah it was okay that Ethan and Kira met beforehand (necessary even) but the fact that Ethan was a constant on Kira's mind was kind of overwhelming to me as a reader. I didn't see the logic of it. I didn't see myself as Kira at all, maybe that's why. I'm not one to obsess over something as trivial as that... I just don't see it happening.
ALSO, Blake and his damn flashbacks. I understand why they were there but they keep setting back the progression of the story because there were SO MANY of them. I admit to having skipped some of his flashbacks after the third occurrence, I don't think they were necessary for the story.
2. There was so much going on I was confused for a large portion of the story
I think this was my fault. I started off reading it with very little interest. My sister recommended it but told me to be wary of the all the confusing twists and turns. It started off with confusion over the whole SCI purpose. I mean, what's their purpose for existing? What's their M.O.? I have no idea.
Anyways, interesting book. I won't soon forget it that's for sure. I might pick up the next book.... we'll see.
March 8, 2013
I absolutely loved this book and couldnt get enough. If you liked Divergent or Hunger Games you will love this one too, its got its own new sci-fi technology twist!
Megan Thomason is an amazing, creative and imagantive writer! I was fully immersed in her world and her story, and I am dying to reads the next book!
It took me about 2-3 chapters to get into this book, but once I was in, I was hooked, Im crazy about this book. I absolutely love this book and Im DYING to read the next book!! Check out more at my blog http://beautysinbreakdown.blogspot.co...
For starters, it took me a while to get into this book. I actually was very frustrated with the book at the beginning and I didnt like the first chapter whatsoever. For me, the tone that Kira had was annoying, and sounded weird. And there were so many loose ends that I was completely confused. However as I moved into the book I felt that some of my questions were quite clearly answered leaving some questions open, which the author seemed to have done purpose. And this method worked for me. I wanted to keep reading to learn more about everything. The things I was frustrated with in the beginning arent nagging me so much anymore.
I still have a few lingering questions that I think should have been answered in the first book like what is a pure light or pure dark and why do they belong together (is that like a pure male and female, which still doesnt make much sense...) and what "being" are they? How do people pass through the portals if they arent pure? Overall though I think some of these questions were meant to be left open for the next book.
So I must say that even though I didnt like the beginning, I absolutely loved this book and Im now dying to read the next one. This reminds me of how I felt about Delirium, I "needed" to read the next book. Thats how I feel about this book. The main character I love, Kira is cute, kind, considerate, loving, and somewhat, okay maybe a lot naive, but not in the sense where she is ridiculously so, just enough to make it understandable. Her character develops throughout the book too, she goes from the naive San Diego girl to reading between the lines and figuring out that sometimes you sacrifice what you want for who you love even though you may not ever see the results of said sacrifice.
I also like how her relationships build throughout the book, and the inner turmoil that we see her go through felt genuine.
I dont know who I like better Ethan or Blake, but I do know that I am happy with either guy "winning" whatever that may be, in the end. I felt that while we watched Blake continue to fight for his beliefs, we also watched him grow, and begin to think about how every action he takes has a reaction, (except for maybe the ending...I dont want to give too much away though) I like Ethan, but the author doesnt give much insight into him just yet. I get the impression the first book set up his role for the second, which makes sense given how everything plays out.
I also like that the author used different perspectives throughout the book, with the focus on Kira, but filling in certain aspects of the storyline through Ethan and Blake. I think without this there would be quite a few missing pieces. Im most amazed as to how the author created such a fluid story! There were so many moving pieces through out the novel that I am amazed at how she wove it all together.
I dont want to give too much away, but I almost feel as though my review is incomplete without discussing the Second Chancers. Ill try not to give anything away that you would learn within the first few chapters. Considering the idea of The Second Chance Institute, I thought it was interesting the way the that the student had no recollection of their previous lives Im still interested in learning more about this, and I know Bailey's story will complete some of this. I feel the same way about Bailey as I do about Ethan, that the story was left somewhat open ended and incomplete on purpose. Which is understandable (except that I am dying to read the next book to find out what happens!) I like the friction that the Second Chance students provide overall though because I think it adds a necessary layer to the story.
Last but not least I commend the author on making the hard decisions, it is difficult as the author and creator of a character to hurt them or have one killed off etc. but those decisions are paramount to the story, and I think Ms. Thomason did a great job of making those decisions in order to further the story. And in this instance as appalled by some of the decisions or hurt by them for the characters I also understood the meaning behind them and the affect that the decisions she made had on the characters to propel them into the next phase of the story. I thought this was flawless.
As for my issues, again the beginning was slow and confusing, the first maybe two chapters were hard for me to get through, but once I accepted Thera, I became more accepting of the novel overall. I think partly I needed to adjust my expectations and thoughts. Looking back now though I only wish I had waited longer to read the book until the author is done so that I can get all my answers!
To be honest, I really did love this book, and I believe the author put together one crazy, but creative and wonderfully written book that if you liked hunger games or diverent you will surely love this book too. All you need is a little imagination
Megan Thomason is an amazing, creative and imagantive writer! I was fully immersed in her world and her story, and I am dying to reads the next book!
It took me about 2-3 chapters to get into this book, but once I was in, I was hooked, Im crazy about this book. I absolutely love this book and Im DYING to read the next book!! Check out more at my blog http://beautysinbreakdown.blogspot.co...
For starters, it took me a while to get into this book. I actually was very frustrated with the book at the beginning and I didnt like the first chapter whatsoever. For me, the tone that Kira had was annoying, and sounded weird. And there were so many loose ends that I was completely confused. However as I moved into the book I felt that some of my questions were quite clearly answered leaving some questions open, which the author seemed to have done purpose. And this method worked for me. I wanted to keep reading to learn more about everything. The things I was frustrated with in the beginning arent nagging me so much anymore.
I still have a few lingering questions that I think should have been answered in the first book like what is a pure light or pure dark and why do they belong together (is that like a pure male and female, which still doesnt make much sense...) and what "being" are they? How do people pass through the portals if they arent pure? Overall though I think some of these questions were meant to be left open for the next book.
So I must say that even though I didnt like the beginning, I absolutely loved this book and Im now dying to read the next one. This reminds me of how I felt about Delirium, I "needed" to read the next book. Thats how I feel about this book. The main character I love, Kira is cute, kind, considerate, loving, and somewhat, okay maybe a lot naive, but not in the sense where she is ridiculously so, just enough to make it understandable. Her character develops throughout the book too, she goes from the naive San Diego girl to reading between the lines and figuring out that sometimes you sacrifice what you want for who you love even though you may not ever see the results of said sacrifice.
I also like how her relationships build throughout the book, and the inner turmoil that we see her go through felt genuine.
I dont know who I like better Ethan or Blake, but I do know that I am happy with either guy "winning" whatever that may be, in the end. I felt that while we watched Blake continue to fight for his beliefs, we also watched him grow, and begin to think about how every action he takes has a reaction, (except for maybe the ending...I dont want to give too much away though) I like Ethan, but the author doesnt give much insight into him just yet. I get the impression the first book set up his role for the second, which makes sense given how everything plays out.
I also like that the author used different perspectives throughout the book, with the focus on Kira, but filling in certain aspects of the storyline through Ethan and Blake. I think without this there would be quite a few missing pieces. Im most amazed as to how the author created such a fluid story! There were so many moving pieces through out the novel that I am amazed at how she wove it all together.
I dont want to give too much away, but I almost feel as though my review is incomplete without discussing the Second Chancers. Ill try not to give anything away that you would learn within the first few chapters. Considering the idea of The Second Chance Institute, I thought it was interesting the way the that the student had no recollection of their previous lives Im still interested in learning more about this, and I know Bailey's story will complete some of this. I feel the same way about Bailey as I do about Ethan, that the story was left somewhat open ended and incomplete on purpose. Which is understandable (except that I am dying to read the next book to find out what happens!) I like the friction that the Second Chance students provide overall though because I think it adds a necessary layer to the story.
Last but not least I commend the author on making the hard decisions, it is difficult as the author and creator of a character to hurt them or have one killed off etc. but those decisions are paramount to the story, and I think Ms. Thomason did a great job of making those decisions in order to further the story. And in this instance as appalled by some of the decisions or hurt by them for the characters I also understood the meaning behind them and the affect that the decisions she made had on the characters to propel them into the next phase of the story. I thought this was flawless.
As for my issues, again the beginning was slow and confusing, the first maybe two chapters were hard for me to get through, but once I accepted Thera, I became more accepting of the novel overall. I think partly I needed to adjust my expectations and thoughts. Looking back now though I only wish I had waited longer to read the book until the author is done so that I can get all my answers!
To be honest, I really did love this book, and I believe the author put together one crazy, but creative and wonderfully written book that if you liked hunger games or diverent you will surely love this book too. All you need is a little imagination
June 10, 2013
Okay so Daynight is a dystopian novel that centers around three speceific characters named Kira, Blake, and Ethan. I haven't done reviews in awhile so I'll just kinda cut to it then. Just explain everything that I've been wanting to say...or write. Hehehehe, writing humour. Anyway!
Let me start with the beginning. I truly believed it started with this strong hook that caught my attention right off the first sentence. I started to seriously devour this book flipping through pages with my face dug between, but then after a few chapters it actuallly fell flat. To be honest I got a bit bored. Maybe because sometimes the characters would ramble on and on about the Second Chance Institude, and that's not bad! Since of course we need to know how this system works, and every back details, but just the way it was written.
It was kinda like reading a textbook. My head started hurting and I just put the book down, and it took me three months to grab it back up again. Though let me tell you! Once I grabbed it back up, there was no putting it back down. The story picked up again and thankfully it never fell flat again. I read more than half of it, it one day because I couldn't stop!
The characters, the events, Kira's conflicted feelings, and the dangers of the Insitutde. It was too amazing to put down! And when I did put it down all I could think about was the book. In class, right before bed, as I ate, and even when family started to talk to me. Despite the segment of the textbook format of writing, the writing in general is great. The only character that only really sticks to me is, Blake.
And to be honest that's weird to me. Since I always fall in love with and root for the intelligent sweethearts like Ethan, but I guess you can say Ethan actually bored me. Probably because he was just too 'perfect' for my taste. Yes I know about his heart problem, but he's still a walking talking model isn't he? Blake though seems to have more of a hard working story.
Being a typical guy he still put his real thoughts and missions first. Plus I thought his moments with Kira were cuter. This being because their relationship bloomed.They went from enemies to Blake actually falling in love with her. Which I thought was the sweetest thing ever! One of my favorite parts is when Blake is looking for Kira finding Ethan beside stating to himself"Friend, my booty"(228)I'm sorry I just had to say it. It was adorable and made me smile. And only certain books can make me smile.
Also I just found his moments with Kira just more natural. I just thought it was a bit ridiculous that Kira began this obsession with a guy she met at a party. Honestly their conversation went by fast. He was great and all, but didn't leave an impression on me. It was more like a "Hey what's up? Let's talk." Then they did for a short amount and it was bye bye Ethan until further on. She fell for a guy who she didn't even know what his last name was. It's too unrealistic.
Which frustrated me when she starts whining. I'm just glad that when she found out the truth she held her over dramatic feelings back. Yes I thought Kira's desires for Ethan was very over dramatic. It's just Kira's and Blake's relationship flowed. I felt that Ethan was kinda pushed on us. I seriously felt that he was being shoved at me so I could like him ,but I don't!
And I don't mean that I don't like him because the way the author crafted him, but more like just the character in general. If that makes sense. Okay basically I liked the way the author wrote him, but in a result I didn't like Ethan. Yeah there you go. I felt Blake had more depth as a character and we were opened to his flaws. He didn't try to hide them from Kira so he looked higher than he was. He just acted him.
All the risks he took and trying to defy feelings for a girl he loved so he can focus on a mission for his father. It was highly enjoyable and one of the only reasons why I read on. I thought Kira despite her boy troubles was a very fun character to enter and read about. Reading her thoughts, dialogue, and actions. She was just greatly written and pretty interesting to see. There were moments she acted braver than your average girl. She's an amazing well thought out character, and more tolerable if you cut out her on and off obsessive Ethan feelings.
All in all this was an enjoyable book with twists and fluttery romance. Greatly recommended! Everyone should give this book a chance for it's great plot and interesting story. Plus the evil characters and events that unfold and flourish into a cliff hanging conclusion! You won't regret the high and low journey of what these three characters face alone and together. Definitely a great start to a series. Can't wait for the next one! Call me a fan if you must :3
Let me start with the beginning. I truly believed it started with this strong hook that caught my attention right off the first sentence. I started to seriously devour this book flipping through pages with my face dug between, but then after a few chapters it actuallly fell flat. To be honest I got a bit bored. Maybe because sometimes the characters would ramble on and on about the Second Chance Institude, and that's not bad! Since of course we need to know how this system works, and every back details, but just the way it was written.
It was kinda like reading a textbook. My head started hurting and I just put the book down, and it took me three months to grab it back up again. Though let me tell you! Once I grabbed it back up, there was no putting it back down. The story picked up again and thankfully it never fell flat again. I read more than half of it, it one day because I couldn't stop!
The characters, the events, Kira's conflicted feelings, and the dangers of the Insitutde. It was too amazing to put down! And when I did put it down all I could think about was the book. In class, right before bed, as I ate, and even when family started to talk to me. Despite the segment of the textbook format of writing, the writing in general is great. The only character that only really sticks to me is, Blake.
And to be honest that's weird to me. Since I always fall in love with and root for the intelligent sweethearts like Ethan, but I guess you can say Ethan actually bored me. Probably because he was just too 'perfect' for my taste. Yes I know about his heart problem, but he's still a walking talking model isn't he? Blake though seems to have more of a hard working story.
Being a typical guy he still put his real thoughts and missions first. Plus I thought his moments with Kira were cuter. This being because their relationship bloomed.They went from enemies to Blake actually falling in love with her. Which I thought was the sweetest thing ever! One of my favorite parts is when Blake is looking for Kira finding Ethan beside stating to himself"Friend, my booty"(228)I'm sorry I just had to say it. It was adorable and made me smile. And only certain books can make me smile.
Also I just found his moments with Kira just more natural. I just thought it was a bit ridiculous that Kira began this obsession with a guy she met at a party. Honestly their conversation went by fast. He was great and all, but didn't leave an impression on me. It was more like a "Hey what's up? Let's talk." Then they did for a short amount and it was bye bye Ethan until further on. She fell for a guy who she didn't even know what his last name was. It's too unrealistic.
Which frustrated me when she starts whining. I'm just glad that when she found out the truth she held her over dramatic feelings back. Yes I thought Kira's desires for Ethan was very over dramatic. It's just Kira's and Blake's relationship flowed. I felt that Ethan was kinda pushed on us. I seriously felt that he was being shoved at me so I could like him ,but I don't!
And I don't mean that I don't like him because the way the author crafted him, but more like just the character in general. If that makes sense. Okay basically I liked the way the author wrote him, but in a result I didn't like Ethan. Yeah there you go. I felt Blake had more depth as a character and we were opened to his flaws. He didn't try to hide them from Kira so he looked higher than he was. He just acted him.
All the risks he took and trying to defy feelings for a girl he loved so he can focus on a mission for his father. It was highly enjoyable and one of the only reasons why I read on. I thought Kira despite her boy troubles was a very fun character to enter and read about. Reading her thoughts, dialogue, and actions. She was just greatly written and pretty interesting to see. There were moments she acted braver than your average girl. She's an amazing well thought out character, and more tolerable if you cut out her on and off obsessive Ethan feelings.
All in all this was an enjoyable book with twists and fluttery romance. Greatly recommended! Everyone should give this book a chance for it's great plot and interesting story. Plus the evil characters and events that unfold and flourish into a cliff hanging conclusion! You won't regret the high and low journey of what these three characters face alone and together. Definitely a great start to a series. Can't wait for the next one! Call me a fan if you must :3
March 13, 2013
2.5 stars rounded up to 3
This review is also posted on Mommy's Reading Break
This book was both a Kindle freebie and received from the author for review.
Daynight is kind of a strange book, in that it doesn’t it into your typical dystopian novel. While it does take place in a dystopian (as in, opposite of utopian) society, it is not set in a futuristic, dystopian United State, or even Earth. The setting of Daynight is on Thera, Earth’s sister planet, which definitely puts it more in the sci-fi genre, in my opinion. Aside from the fact that it is on a different planet, once you learn about who the Second Chancers are and how they’ve come to be, it definitely feels more sci-fi. However, it does deal with humans, and not aliens, so it’s not too far in the sci-fi realm.
Daynight was a hard book for me. Even almost a week after finishing it, I’m still having a hard time sorting out my feelings for it. There were definitely things that I liked and things that I didn’t like. It was a slow read for me, and I don’t just mean that it took me several days of not bothering to pick it up. It took me 12 hours of active reading time, which is very unusual for me for a book that is 314 (or 325, according to the paperback) pages. I don’t know if this is a mistake in the page numbers, or if I just really read this book super slowly! It didn’t feel like I was turning pages all that slowly, but maybe I was.
Since I’m having a hard time formulating my thoughts into something coherent, I’m going to do this list-style.
Things I Liked
Multiple perspectives: Daynight was told from the alternating perspectives of Kira, Blake, and Ethan. Each chapter was from one perspective, and they didn’t necessarily always go in the same order. What was best about this, though, was that Megan would sometimes go back and retell a scene, especially if it was intense or important scene, from another character’s point-of-view. I thought that this was great because sometimes, you miss some important factors when looking at something from only one perspective.
The characters: I thought that Kira was a strong female character (and it doesn’t hurt that one of my daughters shares her name! lol), and she had some funny moments as well. She was the only one who was really out of the loop throughout the story and having to figure things out and navigate this new world. When she signed on at the SCI, she really had no idea what she was getting herself into, and I found it fascinating to see how she handled her situations. Blake and Ethan are really interesting characters, especially when taken together. They both play big roles in Kira’s life, but they’re such very different people that it’s interesting to see the interaction. Some of my favorite scenes, though, included Blake and Ethan together!
Plot Twists: There were definitely several plot twists in Daynight that I didn’t see coming, and that I really thought added to the story line.
Risks: Also, Megan Thomason was not afraid to take risks. There are some disturbing and graphic scenes within Daynight, and I really liked that she didn’t shy away from them.
Things I Didn’t Like
The pacing: As I said before, for such a short book, this book took me a long time to read. Sometimes, I felt like the story just got bogged down with too much information about the day-to-day lives.
Too much exposition: Sometimes I felt that things were overexplained in Daynight, either with a conveniently timed backstory or just too much description. I think this added to the slow-pacing.
The love triangle: Ugh! Somehow I must have rushed through reading the description and didn’t connect that there would be a love triangle. I just agree with many people that love triangles are overdone, and this one just frustrated me.
Too much story/ the ending: This one’s kind of hard to explain, but there were several moments within Daynight that I felt like the author was building up to an ending, and then it just kept going, and something new happened. I felt like there were several places where Daynight could have logically end, but didn’t. And then the actual end almost seemed random. Looking back, I can kind of see why it ended where it did, and it was probably a good place to end, but at the time I finished, I was slightly confused.
Overall, I’m still not really sure how I felt about Daynight. I’m saying it’s a little more than just okay, but not quite as far as to say that I liked it. I guess I kinda liked it? I got invested enough into the story and characters that I will probably read future books in the series, but it definitely wasn’t one of my favorites.
This review is also posted on Mommy's Reading Break
This book was both a Kindle freebie and received from the author for review.
Daynight is kind of a strange book, in that it doesn’t it into your typical dystopian novel. While it does take place in a dystopian (as in, opposite of utopian) society, it is not set in a futuristic, dystopian United State, or even Earth. The setting of Daynight is on Thera, Earth’s sister planet, which definitely puts it more in the sci-fi genre, in my opinion. Aside from the fact that it is on a different planet, once you learn about who the Second Chancers are and how they’ve come to be, it definitely feels more sci-fi. However, it does deal with humans, and not aliens, so it’s not too far in the sci-fi realm.
Daynight was a hard book for me. Even almost a week after finishing it, I’m still having a hard time sorting out my feelings for it. There were definitely things that I liked and things that I didn’t like. It was a slow read for me, and I don’t just mean that it took me several days of not bothering to pick it up. It took me 12 hours of active reading time, which is very unusual for me for a book that is 314 (or 325, according to the paperback) pages. I don’t know if this is a mistake in the page numbers, or if I just really read this book super slowly! It didn’t feel like I was turning pages all that slowly, but maybe I was.
Since I’m having a hard time formulating my thoughts into something coherent, I’m going to do this list-style.
Things I Liked
Multiple perspectives: Daynight was told from the alternating perspectives of Kira, Blake, and Ethan. Each chapter was from one perspective, and they didn’t necessarily always go in the same order. What was best about this, though, was that Megan would sometimes go back and retell a scene, especially if it was intense or important scene, from another character’s point-of-view. I thought that this was great because sometimes, you miss some important factors when looking at something from only one perspective.
The characters: I thought that Kira was a strong female character (and it doesn’t hurt that one of my daughters shares her name! lol), and she had some funny moments as well. She was the only one who was really out of the loop throughout the story and having to figure things out and navigate this new world. When she signed on at the SCI, she really had no idea what she was getting herself into, and I found it fascinating to see how she handled her situations. Blake and Ethan are really interesting characters, especially when taken together. They both play big roles in Kira’s life, but they’re such very different people that it’s interesting to see the interaction. Some of my favorite scenes, though, included Blake and Ethan together!
Plot Twists: There were definitely several plot twists in Daynight that I didn’t see coming, and that I really thought added to the story line.
Risks: Also, Megan Thomason was not afraid to take risks. There are some disturbing and graphic scenes within Daynight, and I really liked that she didn’t shy away from them.
Things I Didn’t Like
The pacing: As I said before, for such a short book, this book took me a long time to read. Sometimes, I felt like the story just got bogged down with too much information about the day-to-day lives.
Too much exposition: Sometimes I felt that things were overexplained in Daynight, either with a conveniently timed backstory or just too much description. I think this added to the slow-pacing.
The love triangle: Ugh! Somehow I must have rushed through reading the description and didn’t connect that there would be a love triangle. I just agree with many people that love triangles are overdone, and this one just frustrated me.
Too much story/ the ending: This one’s kind of hard to explain, but there were several moments within Daynight that I felt like the author was building up to an ending, and then it just kept going, and something new happened. I felt like there were several places where Daynight could have logically end, but didn’t. And then the actual end almost seemed random. Looking back, I can kind of see why it ended where it did, and it was probably a good place to end, but at the time I finished, I was slightly confused.
Overall, I’m still not really sure how I felt about Daynight. I’m saying it’s a little more than just okay, but not quite as far as to say that I liked it. I guess I kinda liked it? I got invested enough into the story and characters that I will probably read future books in the series, but it definitely wasn’t one of my favorites.
January 26, 2013
This is a 3.5 heart rating and was originally posted here: http://paranormalsisters.blogspot.com...
Just forewarning, I am hoping this will not turn into a rant of things I am confused about in the book but I can’t promise it won’t turn into that but I’ll try not to. ^_^
Okay, so this books genre is YA Dystopian, am I correct? Yes! Well, I honestly do not see where the Dystopian fits in with this story line!?! When I think Dystopian I think something big has happen to the states or better yet….the world. Like in The Hunger Games, Matched, Under The Never Sky, Wither, Divergent and this is just but a few of them.
In this book, nothing and I mean nothing has happen to the states or the world. Where Kira, one of the mc, lives it’s just like what it is today. Kids going to school, parents going to work, people working hard in life so they can survive in this pretty veil of a dog eat dog world. So I am honestly a little bit confused to where the author decided this was a Dystopian. It is more like YA Science Fiction.
Now let’s talk characters:
Kira, is the Female MC, in the beginning you see a little bit of her background but then we move onto the big plot line- her signing up for the The Second Chance Institute (a.k.a SCI) as this will help with a better future for a college. They really want her and they’ll go to extremes just to have her, and I mean to the extremes. What they do is seriously unbelievable and makes me have questions into why she is so important (okay, I know why but I don’t see the big picture of, why?).
Anyways, she was an okay character. I liked reading about her and seeing her journey with the SCI. She of course falls in love with two guys but in the end I am happy with whom she ends up with! <3 She’s tough, stubborn, and she is one to ask questions herself which I am happy about.
Ethan, is one of the Male MC, I loved him the moment he came in play. I think I fell a little bit for him or was it that some of the sweet romance scenes made me think of how my boyfriend is with me *shrugs* nonetheless, I adored him. He has daddy issues (actually, almost all the characters have somewhat of parent issues, which is a great twist when you read it), a supposed heart defect, but no matter what he is still oh so sweet. He isn’t a fan of how his parents work about Garden City and their plans of creating the parents of Thera. He has morals as they seem to not have any.
Okay, let’s move onto the last MC- Blake. He is the second guy Kira falls in love with and the other choice to being her partner for life (so is Ethan, by the way). He is a former exile, his father is a rebellion which he helps out with, he is an okay guy but he never really had Kira stand first over his rebellion, so he was a bit mean to her throughout the book. I don’t have much to say about him *shrugs*.
Plot:
I felt like it was a great concept, however, I am not a big fan of how it went about. I was confused for most of the book. I have more questions than answers. My first problem with this book was it being called a Dystopian when it is not. I honestly do not see the big picture!?! Like, why should I really hate these citizens of Garden City. Yes, I started to hate them with what they did to Kira when she refused to go back to this world but that’s it. I don’t see why Blake should hate them besides that his parents were exiled (I think it’s just more his father’s hate than his, again daddy issues), and I don’t see why having pure original blood lines are important besides them being able to travel to Earth and back to Earth’s sister planet Thera. Other than that, what makes them so special and why do they want so many pure blooded children and I mean so many.
Overall, I’m just confused of the main picture. I honestly don’t see where the author was going with this. But I do know if I had an actually physical copy of this book I would have devoured it. It had its moments of being an attention grabber, it had its sweet romance scenes, it did make you ache for the characters, the background scenes were great and came in when needed be, the head citizens of Garden City were great at being mysterious and made this world very suspicious, the wanting of people being Cleaved (turn into life partners) was creepy. All this makes me want to read the second, plus, I want answers!
It was an okay read but again…..it just left me with no answers and even more confused on what the hell the big picture is.
You may like it just try not to read anything else with it so you can concentrate on it.....
Just forewarning, I am hoping this will not turn into a rant of things I am confused about in the book but I can’t promise it won’t turn into that but I’ll try not to. ^_^
Okay, so this books genre is YA Dystopian, am I correct? Yes! Well, I honestly do not see where the Dystopian fits in with this story line!?! When I think Dystopian I think something big has happen to the states or better yet….the world. Like in The Hunger Games, Matched, Under The Never Sky, Wither, Divergent and this is just but a few of them.
In this book, nothing and I mean nothing has happen to the states or the world. Where Kira, one of the mc, lives it’s just like what it is today. Kids going to school, parents going to work, people working hard in life so they can survive in this pretty veil of a dog eat dog world. So I am honestly a little bit confused to where the author decided this was a Dystopian. It is more like YA Science Fiction.
Now let’s talk characters:
Kira, is the Female MC, in the beginning you see a little bit of her background but then we move onto the big plot line- her signing up for the The Second Chance Institute (a.k.a SCI) as this will help with a better future for a college. They really want her and they’ll go to extremes just to have her, and I mean to the extremes. What they do is seriously unbelievable and makes me have questions into why she is so important (okay, I know why but I don’t see the big picture of, why?).
Anyways, she was an okay character. I liked reading about her and seeing her journey with the SCI. She of course falls in love with two guys but in the end I am happy with whom she ends up with! <3 She’s tough, stubborn, and she is one to ask questions herself which I am happy about.
Ethan, is one of the Male MC, I loved him the moment he came in play. I think I fell a little bit for him or was it that some of the sweet romance scenes made me think of how my boyfriend is with me *shrugs* nonetheless, I adored him. He has daddy issues (actually, almost all the characters have somewhat of parent issues, which is a great twist when you read it), a supposed heart defect, but no matter what he is still oh so sweet. He isn’t a fan of how his parents work about Garden City and their plans of creating the parents of Thera. He has morals as they seem to not have any.
Okay, let’s move onto the last MC- Blake. He is the second guy Kira falls in love with and the other choice to being her partner for life (so is Ethan, by the way). He is a former exile, his father is a rebellion which he helps out with, he is an okay guy but he never really had Kira stand first over his rebellion, so he was a bit mean to her throughout the book. I don’t have much to say about him *shrugs*.
Plot:
I felt like it was a great concept, however, I am not a big fan of how it went about. I was confused for most of the book. I have more questions than answers. My first problem with this book was it being called a Dystopian when it is not. I honestly do not see the big picture!?! Like, why should I really hate these citizens of Garden City. Yes, I started to hate them with what they did to Kira when she refused to go back to this world but that’s it. I don’t see why Blake should hate them besides that his parents were exiled (I think it’s just more his father’s hate than his, again daddy issues), and I don’t see why having pure original blood lines are important besides them being able to travel to Earth and back to Earth’s sister planet Thera. Other than that, what makes them so special and why do they want so many pure blooded children and I mean so many.
Overall, I’m just confused of the main picture. I honestly don’t see where the author was going with this. But I do know if I had an actually physical copy of this book I would have devoured it. It had its moments of being an attention grabber, it had its sweet romance scenes, it did make you ache for the characters, the background scenes were great and came in when needed be, the head citizens of Garden City were great at being mysterious and made this world very suspicious, the wanting of people being Cleaved (turn into life partners) was creepy. All this makes me want to read the second, plus, I want answers!
It was an okay read but again…..it just left me with no answers and even more confused on what the hell the big picture is.
You may like it just try not to read anything else with it so you can concentrate on it.....
January 31, 2013
Pre-Reading Thoughts: Had to do with capitalization issues that were entirely my personal opinion/OCD and were pleasantly addressed by the author and therefore are null and void now.
First Off!: I don't write reviews that are summaries of the story, just to get that out of the way early. So, if you haven't already read the book this review won't be for you, as much.
Secondly, I'm a always weary of a self-published novel. They have a bad reputation (and are too often living up to their bad reputation). Let me tell you what, I bet you couldn't tell this book was self-published. It is written like a pro, the plot is solid, the characters are strong and continue to develop right up until the last page. daynight belongs right up next to other Big Publisher House books. No one is more surprised to say that than I am. By the time I reached the midway point for the book, I discovered that I was having a hard time putting my Kindle down. I read it while I was cooking, during my afternoon walk, until 2am when I fell asleep with my reader in my hand.
The plot was great with its twists. Although, I'll be honest and say I had them almost all figured out very early on (. It seems I have a freakishly trained ability to pick out plots in all things I read - which is why I rarely find myself interested in a mystery/detective novel.
It's so unique, I have never read dystopian novel with such an interesting idea as the Cleaving (automatically mated for life with whomever you first sex-it-up with) or the Second-Chancers. Especially them! It was refreshing to read such a new spin on the dystopia world and I am looking forward to where the sequel goes.
The cons: Every great book still has moments that lose, at least some, readers! This was mine.
*I originally had spoiler tags on this section but after finishing the book, I realize it isn't a spoiler at all and thus removed them. If anyone feels they should return, please comment before flagging so I have the chance to correct the error*
The opening scene opens on a girl who drank herself to death at her own party, is reanimated outside her body (not zombie) and is, quite understandably, upset. She is approached by a man in a white suit and deep voice (Auto-thought of Morgan Freeman in Bruce Almighty!) who says he knows the perfect place for her. Then the next chapter begins under the narration of Kira. Only, Kira isn't the same girl that the book opened with and is the only female narrative in the story. (Blake and Ethan are the others). So, who is this girl? What is her purpose in the introductory chapter? It doesn't appear as if she is relevant to the triangle characters' story line.
^--This was my first comment on the book and I stand by it. As the story unfolded, I understood why the prologue was there but I still maintain that it doesn't quite fit right as the way to start the book. It creates more confusion, as the girl and her specific story never resurface, and I spent longer than I'd like to admit trying to figure out if she was Kira during the opening chapter.
The Personal Tearjerker Moment:
The Techincals: There were about a half dozen areas I highlighted that were missing words like "me, of, a" etc. I read in the back of the novel that the author wants those emailed to her and if that still stands, I saved the pages/locations to email her. Has no bearing on her writing, which is quite good, editing is a big pain in the booty.
Overall, read this book if you like dystopia/YA. It's not juvenile and I truly appreciated how Ms. Thomason does not write as if she "dumbed it down" for a YA audience.
First Off!: I don't write reviews that are summaries of the story, just to get that out of the way early. So, if you haven't already read the book this review won't be for you, as much.
Secondly, I'm a always weary of a self-published novel. They have a bad reputation (and are too often living up to their bad reputation). Let me tell you what, I bet you couldn't tell this book was self-published. It is written like a pro, the plot is solid, the characters are strong and continue to develop right up until the last page. daynight belongs right up next to other Big Publisher House books. No one is more surprised to say that than I am. By the time I reached the midway point for the book, I discovered that I was having a hard time putting my Kindle down. I read it while I was cooking, during my afternoon walk, until 2am when I fell asleep with my reader in my hand.
The plot was great with its twists. Although, I'll be honest and say I had them almost all figured out very early on (. It seems I have a freakishly trained ability to pick out plots in all things I read - which is why I rarely find myself interested in a mystery/detective novel.
It's so unique, I have never read dystopian novel with such an interesting idea as the Cleaving (automatically mated for life with whomever you first sex-it-up with) or the Second-Chancers. Especially them! It was refreshing to read such a new spin on the dystopia world and I am looking forward to where the sequel goes.
The cons: Every great book still has moments that lose, at least some, readers! This was mine.
*I originally had spoiler tags on this section but after finishing the book, I realize it isn't a spoiler at all and thus removed them. If anyone feels they should return, please comment before flagging so I have the chance to correct the error*
The opening scene opens on a girl who drank herself to death at her own party, is reanimated outside her body (not zombie) and is, quite understandably, upset. She is approached by a man in a white suit and deep voice (Auto-thought of Morgan Freeman in Bruce Almighty!) who says he knows the perfect place for her. Then the next chapter begins under the narration of Kira. Only, Kira isn't the same girl that the book opened with and is the only female narrative in the story. (Blake and Ethan are the others). So, who is this girl? What is her purpose in the introductory chapter? It doesn't appear as if she is relevant to the triangle characters' story line.
^--This was my first comment on the book and I stand by it. As the story unfolded, I understood why the prologue was there but I still maintain that it doesn't quite fit right as the way to start the book. It creates more confusion, as the girl and her specific story never resurface, and I spent longer than I'd like to admit trying to figure out if she was Kira during the opening chapter.
The Personal Tearjerker Moment:
The Techincals: There were about a half dozen areas I highlighted that were missing words like "me, of, a" etc. I read in the back of the novel that the author wants those emailed to her and if that still stands, I saved the pages/locations to email her. Has no bearing on her writing, which is quite good, editing is a big pain in the booty.
Overall, read this book if you like dystopia/YA. It's not juvenile and I truly appreciated how Ms. Thomason does not write as if she "dumbed it down" for a YA audience.
March 12, 2013
This review and more at Sab The Book Eater
I've always been interested to read YA dystopia novels because I think most often than not they have the key elements I look for in books: romance, adventure, (plenty of) twists and turns, and fantastic imagery. daynight met my expectations and more!
LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS. I'm not going to lie. What got me gripped was the instant attraction between Kira and Ethan. It was so genuine without going overboard turning to insta love... it's not like Ethan could do anything about it though, but I'm not about to spoil that part for you. Ethan... is it me or are hot guys named Ethan? Ha. Ethan seemed perfect right off the bat and I enjoyed their initial chemistry.
But then Blake came into the picture and I got confused as hell! Seriously. It's been a while since I've read a novel with a love triangle in it. If I remember correctly the last one's Twilight and I've read that years ago. But Megan Thomason just had to torture readers. She made two equally swoon-worthy male leads and I couldn't choose a "team." I really don't like the whole "I'm on Team ____" thing but at 60% I was all, "Is this the part where I choose teams?" I liked that even if they were polar opposites, I wasn't forced to like one over the other. You know how some books do that? That didn't happen here. Sure, some things were total deal breakers but it wasn't like they were out of character so I wasn't left frustrated.
All throughout the story Kira's relationship with both guys deepened as they experienced more in Thera and I really loved how they both became Kira's support system. I loved Kira's tender moments with Blake and they way she was able to loosen up and enjoy whenever she was with Ethan. Now before you get the wrong idea, she wasn't dating both of them at the same time. It's... complicated. But of course, you'll know when you read it. It's not a Bella complex. It's just all part of the bigger story.
THE BIGGER STORY. This is where the all the fun starts. Somehow just when I start feeling like I have the slightest idea how the story's going to turn out, a new development comes up. It's typical in dystopia stories to have an oppressive government that has to be overthrown. But I think what made the difference in daynight was the multifaceted story line, essentially all leading to the same cause. I think that contributed to the story's richness. There are so many twists and turns in daynight but it was quite enjoyable! Everything fit perfectly in the story line.
AND SHE WRITES LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW. This is actually what made me rate this book 5 stars. I really enjoyed Megan Thomason's writing style. If you read the author bio below, you'll see she's fluent in sarcasm and boy am I glad! I liked that the characters spoke like real people but I especially liked their sense of humor. Even the notorious Brad Darcton had his fair share of funny lines:
"And how often do parents get to catch their grown son having a sleepover with his female 'friend'? I just love those awkward situations, don't you?"
Aside from that, I loved that the story's written in three different POVs. It helped me understand the story and the characters better. I really liked the flashbacks. Even though some were quite long, they were described so vividly; no time or page is wasted. Furthermore, the entire world and government of Thera was explained and described gradually which I think was a good move. I think if Megan just dumped everything in one chapter, that would've been incredibly boring.
OVERALL. daynight is definitely a must read. It was quite long but if I wasn't so busy with school work I think I would've been able to finish it faster - it's that engaging! It's the right combination of romance in a dystopia setting written wonderfully in a well-paced, mindblowing story. I can't wait for the next book!
I've always been interested to read YA dystopia novels because I think most often than not they have the key elements I look for in books: romance, adventure, (plenty of) twists and turns, and fantastic imagery. daynight met my expectations and more!
LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS. I'm not going to lie. What got me gripped was the instant attraction between Kira and Ethan. It was so genuine without going overboard turning to insta love... it's not like Ethan could do anything about it though, but I'm not about to spoil that part for you. Ethan... is it me or are hot guys named Ethan? Ha. Ethan seemed perfect right off the bat and I enjoyed their initial chemistry.
But then Blake came into the picture and I got confused as hell! Seriously. It's been a while since I've read a novel with a love triangle in it. If I remember correctly the last one's Twilight and I've read that years ago. But Megan Thomason just had to torture readers. She made two equally swoon-worthy male leads and I couldn't choose a "team." I really don't like the whole "I'm on Team ____" thing but at 60% I was all, "Is this the part where I choose teams?" I liked that even if they were polar opposites, I wasn't forced to like one over the other. You know how some books do that? That didn't happen here. Sure, some things were total deal breakers but it wasn't like they were out of character so I wasn't left frustrated.
All throughout the story Kira's relationship with both guys deepened as they experienced more in Thera and I really loved how they both became Kira's support system. I loved Kira's tender moments with Blake and they way she was able to loosen up and enjoy whenever she was with Ethan. Now before you get the wrong idea, she wasn't dating both of them at the same time. It's... complicated. But of course, you'll know when you read it. It's not a Bella complex. It's just all part of the bigger story.
THE BIGGER STORY. This is where the all the fun starts. Somehow just when I start feeling like I have the slightest idea how the story's going to turn out, a new development comes up. It's typical in dystopia stories to have an oppressive government that has to be overthrown. But I think what made the difference in daynight was the multifaceted story line, essentially all leading to the same cause. I think that contributed to the story's richness. There are so many twists and turns in daynight but it was quite enjoyable! Everything fit perfectly in the story line.
AND SHE WRITES LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW. This is actually what made me rate this book 5 stars. I really enjoyed Megan Thomason's writing style. If you read the author bio below, you'll see she's fluent in sarcasm and boy am I glad! I liked that the characters spoke like real people but I especially liked their sense of humor. Even the notorious Brad Darcton had his fair share of funny lines:
"And how often do parents get to catch their grown son having a sleepover with his female 'friend'? I just love those awkward situations, don't you?"
Aside from that, I loved that the story's written in three different POVs. It helped me understand the story and the characters better. I really liked the flashbacks. Even though some were quite long, they were described so vividly; no time or page is wasted. Furthermore, the entire world and government of Thera was explained and described gradually which I think was a good move. I think if Megan just dumped everything in one chapter, that would've been incredibly boring.
OVERALL. daynight is definitely a must read. It was quite long but if I wasn't so busy with school work I think I would've been able to finish it faster - it's that engaging! It's the right combination of romance in a dystopia setting written wonderfully in a well-paced, mindblowing story. I can't wait for the next book!
February 21, 2013
4.5 stars!
I got daynight when it was free on Amazon. It was the top download in teen sci-fi and my own book couldn't move it from that top spot. So I thought, what the hey? And I got it and began reading it.
There is so much that is amazing about daynight. It's a complex story with a complex background, so much so that there were times when I was reeling from trying to absorb it all. The pacing is often quick, and sometimes too quick because the ideas are just that complex, which I think testifies to the creativity of the worlds within the story.
I'm not sure how to explain without potentially giving away spoilers, and since I can't really tell what the spoilers would be (because there are super cool revelations all through the book that might blow your mind a bit), I won't go into very many details. My review will simply gloss the surface in order to preserve the element of surprise.
Let's just say, I was completely blown away by potentially one of the coolest ideas about Earth and this alternate world of Thera. That doesn't even explain it. But it's brilliant.
So anyway, I prefer to be REALLY subjective in my reviews because I'm not a professional reviewer, nor do I work for Clarion or Kirkus. I just like to hear myself.
I loved Kira. Sometimes I thought she was too smart for her age, but then, I have no recollection of how intelligent or dumb I was at her age. She's incredibly clever and tough. I rooted for her from the beginning. The only time I ever wanted to punch her out was when she was being totally blind about who loved her and who didn't.
BUT, I remember LOADS of times when I was intentionally BLIND to the romantic inclinations of my guy friends. Like, completely and purposefully daft just to preserve the friendship or because I wouldn't DARE be so arrogant as to assume that all these guys wanted a piece of me.
So I forgive Kira for being blind. Totally human.
I thought Blake and Ethan were great, and I can see why Kira is torn between them, but I think I'm in the Ethan camp. Sorry Blake. Their histories explain them really well, though I tend to hate flashback as a way to reveal it--sometimes I don't know if there's another way to do that, especially for Blake.
I think in the end, daynight only reveals a fraction of the complexity of the story. The end left me wanting to read the next book, which is great. My biggest reason for only rating it 4.5 stars is because there were times when the inner dialogue could have shed MORE light on specific events in the story.
There were circumstances where I was like, WTF!? But the characters just keep moving forward. I have no idea if that's even fair of me to say, because it ends up being akin to one of those 48 Hours Mysteries where witnesses are saying things like, "She just behaved really oddly after he was murdered. Like, no tears. And then she said let's go out for coffee to me. And WOULD A PERSON WHO'S BOYFRIEND WAS JUST BRUTALLY MURDERED SAY THAT?" And the answer is, who the hell knows? Guess what? People handle things differently.
So would Kira do some of the stuff she does? Who knows? The author knows. Kira knows. But I just want to know what Kira is thinking. I want to know why she presses forward and if she's anguished inside and scared and doesn't want to even crawl out of bed, I want to know that. And sometimes she says that, but often she doesn't.
I hope Megan keeps writing and the series just gets better. She has wicked sweet ideas that I've never read before, nor thought of before, but they're so good that I'm like, "Damn her! It should have been mine!"
I got daynight when it was free on Amazon. It was the top download in teen sci-fi and my own book couldn't move it from that top spot. So I thought, what the hey? And I got it and began reading it.
There is so much that is amazing about daynight. It's a complex story with a complex background, so much so that there were times when I was reeling from trying to absorb it all. The pacing is often quick, and sometimes too quick because the ideas are just that complex, which I think testifies to the creativity of the worlds within the story.
I'm not sure how to explain without potentially giving away spoilers, and since I can't really tell what the spoilers would be (because there are super cool revelations all through the book that might blow your mind a bit), I won't go into very many details. My review will simply gloss the surface in order to preserve the element of surprise.
Let's just say, I was completely blown away by potentially one of the coolest ideas about Earth and this alternate world of Thera. That doesn't even explain it. But it's brilliant.
So anyway, I prefer to be REALLY subjective in my reviews because I'm not a professional reviewer, nor do I work for Clarion or Kirkus. I just like to hear myself.
I loved Kira. Sometimes I thought she was too smart for her age, but then, I have no recollection of how intelligent or dumb I was at her age. She's incredibly clever and tough. I rooted for her from the beginning. The only time I ever wanted to punch her out was when she was being totally blind about who loved her and who didn't.
BUT, I remember LOADS of times when I was intentionally BLIND to the romantic inclinations of my guy friends. Like, completely and purposefully daft just to preserve the friendship or because I wouldn't DARE be so arrogant as to assume that all these guys wanted a piece of me.
So I forgive Kira for being blind. Totally human.
I thought Blake and Ethan were great, and I can see why Kira is torn between them, but I think I'm in the Ethan camp. Sorry Blake. Their histories explain them really well, though I tend to hate flashback as a way to reveal it--sometimes I don't know if there's another way to do that, especially for Blake.
I think in the end, daynight only reveals a fraction of the complexity of the story. The end left me wanting to read the next book, which is great. My biggest reason for only rating it 4.5 stars is because there were times when the inner dialogue could have shed MORE light on specific events in the story.
There were circumstances where I was like, WTF!? But the characters just keep moving forward. I have no idea if that's even fair of me to say, because it ends up being akin to one of those 48 Hours Mysteries where witnesses are saying things like, "She just behaved really oddly after he was murdered. Like, no tears. And then she said let's go out for coffee to me. And WOULD A PERSON WHO'S BOYFRIEND WAS JUST BRUTALLY MURDERED SAY THAT?" And the answer is, who the hell knows? Guess what? People handle things differently.
So would Kira do some of the stuff she does? Who knows? The author knows. Kira knows. But I just want to know what Kira is thinking. I want to know why she presses forward and if she's anguished inside and scared and doesn't want to even crawl out of bed, I want to know that. And sometimes she says that, but often she doesn't.
I hope Megan keeps writing and the series just gets better. She has wicked sweet ideas that I've never read before, nor thought of before, but they're so good that I'm like, "Damn her! It should have been mine!"
January 26, 2013
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. (Genesis 1:3-5) If light is good, what does the dark bring?"
From the first moments of people’s self-awareness, they began to wonder what is "beyond" and begin to forge stories and hopes of an afterlife, a world of second chances.
"daynight" by Megan Thomason has a little strange prologue, but it assures you about the existence of the second chance. Then, a linear beginning starts to grow so that you’ll get to be on nettles. What’s next? What's it gonna be? Who's good, who's bad and especially who is right and who isn’t, what really matters?
What if this second chance is not as good as you hoped to be? What if the second chance world is a world of heaven and hell alike? In such a world, unwittingly awakens Kira, our heroine. A seemingly ideal society, where there’s no material difference and everyone is happy bringing their own voluntary contributions. The problems arise when good intentions are tainted by lust for power, the ideals of racial purity and the use of genetic selection. Of course, the point of view always matters. How far can you push it up, where "the end justifies the means"?
"Everyone starts at neutral and ascends towards inclusion in the ‘Grand Council’ through compliance, and descends towards Exile through disobedience, a typical carrot and stick system."
Kira’s qualities are obvious and I loved her from the start. Central pawn in a game that she has no control over and where any opposition has serious consequences, Kira is trying to survive and to save those she loves. And because I brought up love, I must tell you that there is a triangle. I warn you not to choose a favorite! The action is so complex, there are so many secrets and variables, the people involved are so determined or so tied up about what they consider their imperative, that twists occur at every step and love seems to complicate everything. Apparently the boys are all different, born and raised in different environment, both have to face their fathers who use them to fulfill a specific purpose. If at first is only a mission or a revolt, the intimate struggle of the two "candidates" of what they must and what they really want to do is hard and requires sacrifices from both of them and from Kira. Some sacrifices will be made, for others will be too late. The author entwines very well the characters’ feelings, their love story with the social realities and battles that will have a devastating impact on it.
"“By the way, it’s not fake to me anymore. I’m falling for you, Kira.” Then he lets go and the river swiftly carries him away."
By subtle clues in chapters’ mottos, by alternating the narrator and by flashbacks, the author will outline the full picture of the evolution of the characters feelings and their reasons for what they decide.
In general book’s note the end is one unexpected. It may not be one to please everyone, but it certainly is a good one.
I took the risk to oblige myself to write about a book I didn’t read yet, and I won. What did I win? Let's see: the pleasure of an alert action, full of surprises, feelings, disappointments, with a well-placed humor, small consolation and hope for another kind of second chance.
"Kira’s tirade continues for a few minutes and my brain hurts from her psychoanalysis. Man I’m so happy I’m not a chick. They think way too much and over complicate everything."
Conclusion: read immediately this book!
May 2, 2013
I received an ebook copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Oh, the creepy world of Thera. When I first started this book, I had no idea just how crazy and insane the leaders of the SCI were. None. Trust me when I say you'll be reeling at all the revelations you come across. You won't be suspecting most of them.
After an tragedy left all her friends dead, Kira Donovan is completely sold on becoming a Second Chance Institute Recruiter. The recruits are sent away for a year to a "remote" location to observe Second Chancers. Once there, a Recruiter must take up the SCI's rules, customs, and everything in between. Her partner, Blake, has come on board to be a Recruiter for other reasons. What Kira ends up getting roped into is life changing and ends up being life changing for everyone. What exactly has she gotten herself involved in? The truth will haunt you.
At times I felt the writing to be a bit slow, the plot overly drawn out. Ultimately, though, all of this is necessary. Each chapter you get to dive into the head of one of the three main characters: Kira, Blake, and Ethan. You do have to pay a bit of attention though, as some of the beginnings of the chapter start back in time and then bring you back up to the present moment. Although a bit confusing, it does help you figure out what was going through that character's head a few moment ago. Each have a different purpose with the SCI. Mrs. Thomason is an excellent story teller, delving into each character's unique past. What you learn from their pasts have a profound effect on their future. Kira went to Thera with the goal of trying to escape the horror of her friends' deaths. She is vulnerable, inquisitive, and a strong female character. Because of her relentless questioning, she is bound and determined to expose the truth to this horrifying regime. She gets herself stuck in a love triangle, unable to choose between her "love at first sight," Ethan, or the boy who she is stuck living with for the next year, Blake. Blake's character is very strong willed and is bound and determined to carry out his main goal. He infuriated me to know end! One minute I thought he truly cared about Kira, the next he was on some death mission to sneak into SCI headquarters. He couldn't help it, though, it was indoctrinated in him since he was little. His father made him the hellbent guy that he was. He just wanted to take down SCI, no matter what. Ethan (swoon!) is the guy every girl could ever want. He is hopelessly in love with a completely clueless Kira and is a complete gentleman when it comes to competition with Blake. I seriously wanted to grab Kira by the shoulders and shake her hard! How could she be so blind!
You come across a slew of characters, all giving complete mixed signals. You never know who to trust. You honestly don't even know until the very end. Some of the characters, who will remain nameless, you still don't know their true intentions! I can't wait to read Thomason's next book, once it comes out. I'm just dying to know what happens to these characters, if who we think we can trust is really trustworthy, if another rebellion will occur, if the SCI has some other twisted objective. I want to know all the things! Did I mention all the plot twists and turns? Yeah, I'm still over here saying "no way!" I'm still trying to process everything. Mrs. Thomason keeps you on your toes, making sure to surprise you up until the very end. Good way to keep you dying for the next book, if you ask me!
This review can be found at Life of a YA Girl
Oh, the creepy world of Thera. When I first started this book, I had no idea just how crazy and insane the leaders of the SCI were. None. Trust me when I say you'll be reeling at all the revelations you come across. You won't be suspecting most of them.
After an tragedy left all her friends dead, Kira Donovan is completely sold on becoming a Second Chance Institute Recruiter. The recruits are sent away for a year to a "remote" location to observe Second Chancers. Once there, a Recruiter must take up the SCI's rules, customs, and everything in between. Her partner, Blake, has come on board to be a Recruiter for other reasons. What Kira ends up getting roped into is life changing and ends up being life changing for everyone. What exactly has she gotten herself involved in? The truth will haunt you.
At times I felt the writing to be a bit slow, the plot overly drawn out. Ultimately, though, all of this is necessary. Each chapter you get to dive into the head of one of the three main characters: Kira, Blake, and Ethan. You do have to pay a bit of attention though, as some of the beginnings of the chapter start back in time and then bring you back up to the present moment. Although a bit confusing, it does help you figure out what was going through that character's head a few moment ago. Each have a different purpose with the SCI. Mrs. Thomason is an excellent story teller, delving into each character's unique past. What you learn from their pasts have a profound effect on their future. Kira went to Thera with the goal of trying to escape the horror of her friends' deaths. She is vulnerable, inquisitive, and a strong female character. Because of her relentless questioning, she is bound and determined to expose the truth to this horrifying regime. She gets herself stuck in a love triangle, unable to choose between her "love at first sight," Ethan, or the boy who she is stuck living with for the next year, Blake. Blake's character is very strong willed and is bound and determined to carry out his main goal. He infuriated me to know end! One minute I thought he truly cared about Kira, the next he was on some death mission to sneak into SCI headquarters. He couldn't help it, though, it was indoctrinated in him since he was little. His father made him the hellbent guy that he was. He just wanted to take down SCI, no matter what. Ethan (swoon!) is the guy every girl could ever want. He is hopelessly in love with a completely clueless Kira and is a complete gentleman when it comes to competition with Blake. I seriously wanted to grab Kira by the shoulders and shake her hard! How could she be so blind!
You come across a slew of characters, all giving complete mixed signals. You never know who to trust. You honestly don't even know until the very end. Some of the characters, who will remain nameless, you still don't know their true intentions! I can't wait to read Thomason's next book, once it comes out. I'm just dying to know what happens to these characters, if who we think we can trust is really trustworthy, if another rebellion will occur, if the SCI has some other twisted objective. I want to know all the things! Did I mention all the plot twists and turns? Yeah, I'm still over here saying "no way!" I'm still trying to process everything. Mrs. Thomason keeps you on your toes, making sure to surprise you up until the very end. Good way to keep you dying for the next book, if you ask me!
This review can be found at Life of a YA Girl
March 7, 2013
A refreshing take on the dystopian world, though you won't necessarily see that to begin with. Second Chance Institute (SCI) is billed as something akin to the Americorps. You volunteer for a year of helping people &/or teaching (including the training you are required to undergo). In return you get a free ride to the school if your choice. At least that is what the brochures and ads say about it.
The reality is a whole different ball of wax. Once you are "in" the organization, you are in for the rest of your life. Not that you learn this until you've signed the papers and been transported to another world - literally.
Kira decided to join SCI for her senior year to get that free ride to college. She may have come from a well-to-do family, but that doesn't mean her parents give her anything she wants. Her boyfriend Tristan, and best friend Briella just don't understand how Kira can want to attend this 'institute' over spending her senior year with her friends.
One of the final nights of the year and all the kids in Kira's class are up at fellow student Bailey's massive mansion partying like there is no tomorrow. Kira's not really in the mood to drink, but goes to hang with Tristan and Briella. Tristan is drinking like a fish and drunk in no time, with Bri not too far behind. Meanwhile Kira meets Ethan, a guy she's never seen before, clearly not in high school. Though she doesn't know him they end up in a hallway talking for ages. Eventually Kira goes to find Tristan so she can get a lift home, while musing over the intense feelings that Ethan brought out in her. The strongly positive, intense feelings. While looking for Tristan Kira stumbles upon a scene she will never forget, even as it shatters her world. There before her is her boyfriend and best friend making out, oblivious to everything but each other. Kira slips out of the room before either one sees her, leaving the mansion altogether. As she heads down the driveway trying to get reception on her phone so she can call to get a ride home she is almost run down by another classmate. Blake, a real loner, manages to avoid hitting Kira. He is on his way to the party to collect his younger sister. What happens next is a total shock. . .and will influence both of them for as long as they live.
Skip ahead to SCI - both Blake and Kira had been accepted as 'recruits' and their job is to watch, interact, and report on the 'Second Chancers.' However during their training they never get a solid explanation as to what a Second Chancer is, only that they are not allowed to ever bring up the past with a Second Chancer.
When they do discover what Second Chancers are their worlds are turned upside down, and it becomes crystal clean why they are never to bring up the past. As time goes by more and more strange things take place, and Kira gets an education into the depths of corruption within the SCI.
Both Blake and Kira must learn to trust each other if they are to survive their experience at the Second Chance Institute, where almost nothing is as it seems.
The characters are mostly well developed, and their quirks are realistic enough to make them believable. The plot is full of unexpected twists and turns and sends you on a great ride as you try to figure out what is really going on. Aside from a few minor spots were the pacing seems to lag, the story tends to move along at a decent pace, easily keeping the reader engaged.
This is one story I am definitely looking forward to learning more about in the next installment.
The reality is a whole different ball of wax. Once you are "in" the organization, you are in for the rest of your life. Not that you learn this until you've signed the papers and been transported to another world - literally.
Kira decided to join SCI for her senior year to get that free ride to college. She may have come from a well-to-do family, but that doesn't mean her parents give her anything she wants. Her boyfriend Tristan, and best friend Briella just don't understand how Kira can want to attend this 'institute' over spending her senior year with her friends.
One of the final nights of the year and all the kids in Kira's class are up at fellow student Bailey's massive mansion partying like there is no tomorrow. Kira's not really in the mood to drink, but goes to hang with Tristan and Briella. Tristan is drinking like a fish and drunk in no time, with Bri not too far behind. Meanwhile Kira meets Ethan, a guy she's never seen before, clearly not in high school. Though she doesn't know him they end up in a hallway talking for ages. Eventually Kira goes to find Tristan so she can get a lift home, while musing over the intense feelings that Ethan brought out in her. The strongly positive, intense feelings. While looking for Tristan Kira stumbles upon a scene she will never forget, even as it shatters her world. There before her is her boyfriend and best friend making out, oblivious to everything but each other. Kira slips out of the room before either one sees her, leaving the mansion altogether. As she heads down the driveway trying to get reception on her phone so she can call to get a ride home she is almost run down by another classmate. Blake, a real loner, manages to avoid hitting Kira. He is on his way to the party to collect his younger sister. What happens next is a total shock. . .and will influence both of them for as long as they live.
Skip ahead to SCI - both Blake and Kira had been accepted as 'recruits' and their job is to watch, interact, and report on the 'Second Chancers.' However during their training they never get a solid explanation as to what a Second Chancer is, only that they are not allowed to ever bring up the past with a Second Chancer.
When they do discover what Second Chancers are their worlds are turned upside down, and it becomes crystal clean why they are never to bring up the past. As time goes by more and more strange things take place, and Kira gets an education into the depths of corruption within the SCI.
Both Blake and Kira must learn to trust each other if they are to survive their experience at the Second Chance Institute, where almost nothing is as it seems.
The characters are mostly well developed, and their quirks are realistic enough to make them believable. The plot is full of unexpected twists and turns and sends you on a great ride as you try to figure out what is really going on. Aside from a few minor spots were the pacing seems to lag, the story tends to move along at a decent pace, easily keeping the reader engaged.
This is one story I am definitely looking forward to learning more about in the next installment.
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