Short and Tweet: The Defiant by Lisa M. Stasse and Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither

The Defiant (The Forsaken #3) by Lisa M. Stasse

In this gripping conclusion to The Forsaken Trilogy, Alenna’s loyalties are put the ultimate test—and it’s one of life and death.
Alenna Shawcross and the others who escaped the wheel are working toward an all-out assault on the United Northern Alliance. The plan is to dismantle it from the inside—and Alenna is one of the few people who can access the organization’s inner sanctum. But when she returns to the home she has nearly forgotten, she encounters old friends and is swept into a secret plan that puts everything she loves in danger.
Knowing what is at stake for her and her friends, Alenna ventures into the heart of the treacherous UNA. She’s determined to bring them down, because freedom is the only choice. Or is it?

Publishes in US: July 8th 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: ya dystopia
Source: bought
Series? The Forsaken #3
My reviews
#1 The Forsaken
#2 The Uprising 

Buy it: Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound Book Depository

Author stalk away: ~site         

 

Karen at For What It's Worth and Mary at The Book Swarm occasionally post twitter-style reviews. Karen calls hers Short and Tweet, and I am going to borrow that review style here.

Fast paced, action packed conclusion. Aleena is stronger than ever & also put to the test. So many twists including betrayals. Somewhat HEA.

Okay, I will explain in a bit more detail my "somewhat HEA" since its the series conclusion. This is a story with an uprising, a story about trying to take control of a corrupt government. So yes, some people do die, a lot of no names on both sides in fact. And the country is pretty torn up after the decisions of leaders on both sides. But its hopeful, and it left me satisfied. 

When Cate Benson was a kid, her sister, Violet, died. Two hours after the funeral, Cate’s family picked up Violet’s replacement. Like nothing had happened. Because Cate’s parents are among those who decided to give their children a sort of immortality—by cloning them at birth—which means this new Violet has the same smile. The same perfect face. Thanks to advancements in mind-uploading technology, she even has all of the same memories as the girl she replaced.
She also might have murdered the most popular girl in school.
At least, that’s what the paparazzi and the anti-cloning protestors want everyone to think: that clones are violent, unpredictable monsters. Cate is used to hearing all that. She’s used to defending her sister, too. But Violet has vanished, and when Cate sets out to find her, she ends up in the line of fire instead. Because Cate is getting dangerously close to secrets that will rock the foundation of everything she thought was true.
In a thrilling debut, Stefanie Gaither takes readers on a nail-biting ride through a future that looks frighteningly similar to our own time and asks: how far are you willing to go to keep your family together?

Publishes in US: September 16th 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young 
Genre: YA Sci-fi
Source: Simon Teen via Edelweiss
Series?

Buy it:   


Author stalk away: ~site
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Great premise and mystery but slow beginning and connecting to main character. Didn't understand how cloned twin was so different.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Is there anyone that you trust completely? (outside family)

Review: The Uprising by Lisa Stasse

The Uprising (The Forsaken #2) by Lisa M. Stasse

In this dystopian sequel to The Forsaken, Alenna has survived the brutality of life on the wheel—and now she’s going back for more.
Alenna escaped. It was expected that she would die on the wheel, the island where would-be criminals are sent as directed by the UNA—the totalitarian supercountry that was once the United States, Mexico, and Canada. But Alenna and her boyfriend, Liam, made it to safety. Except safety, they will soon learn, is relative.
In order to bring down the UNA, they must first gain control of the wheel. If the mission succeeds, the wheel will become a base of revolution. But between betrayals, a new Monk leading a more organized army of Drones, and the discovery of a previously unknown contingent, Alenna, Liam, and their allies might be in over their heads. One thing Alenna knows for sure: There will be a reckoning. And not everyone she loves will make it out alive.

Publishes in US: August 6th 2013 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA dystopia
Source: bought

The Forsaken (The Forsaken, #1) my review

Stasse, Lisa M. *

Series? The Forsaken #2

The Defiant (The Forsaken #3) Expected publication: July 8th 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Stasse, Lisa M. *

Buy it: Amazon  Barnes & Noble IndieBound Book Depository

Author stalk away: ~site         

 

    I wanted to read The Uprising because I enjoyed The Forsaken. I don't remember much over a year out besides I liked the strength of Alenna and related to her finally finding a place after feeling like she didn't fit in in the "regular" world. 

    Aleena is so tough and her and Liam have become legends since escaping from the wheel and coming back to the rebel camp. But things aren't easy there, they have been questioned about who they knew, and aspects about life there. 

    The romance in this one was good though it wasn't everything I hoped it would be. It was like they made their connection already and it was just assumed they were close. I was just wanting a little more heat. There was some now that I think about it, at goodbyes and moments of great suspense. Some good kisses and some very sweet declarations of how they feel. I guess it comes down to I wish they were together every second and that they didn't have to go through as many hardships. But then, that is what makes the plot so exciting and on my toes. 

     There were lots of surprises in this one. From continued answers to betrayals and places they end up to returning characters. There were also some new characters that I came to like and respect that I didn't expect. 

     The ending wrapped up the themes of this book well, but I was still longing to know what would happen next and what would become of Aleena and Liam and their friends and family. 

Bottom Line: Must read for Forsaken fans.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Could you go back into a violent unstable place if you thought there was the possibility of revolution against corrupt government at the risk of not only your life but your loved ones?

Review: The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

A thought-provoking and exciting start to a riveting new dystopian trilogy.
As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.
The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse
Published in US: July 10th 2012
1st in series, can't find any info about book 2 release, working title, The Uprising
Source: Lisa Stasse and Simon for review


    The Forsaken is a heart-stopping, action packed beginning to a series that I already have fallen in love with and am yearning for the next.
    Alenna has always felt like an outsider, different in some unexplained way from society until she fails the personality test and is shipped to The Wheel, where even though they all should be mentally unstable or have a predisposition for violence, she finally feels like she fits in.
    I know that I could really relate with Alenna, I never quite feel like I fit in, and one day I hope that I find that circle of people where I really do. It comes close with book blogging, and fortunately I have my husband, but I still feel on the edges sometimes. So it really is awesome to watch Alenna come to realize her strengths, and bond with the people around her. She has things to teach Gadya, Rika, David, Liam and the others, and they have things to teach her. Like how to fight, the value of being kind, that things aren't always what they seem and to never give up.
    This is a gritty and suspenseful novel, and Lisa really nailed the dystopian category. The government is corrupt and it seems so powerful, but there are cracks. There are groups of rebels and they fight to survive. Lisa wrote her characters where I cared about them, and it was hard to read when something happened for them. I rooted for them and for the best to happen to them, and sometimes it did, and keeping it realistic, sometimes it didn't.
    There was a spy in the camp, and I kept switching up my suspicions on who it was. Lisa really had a talent there, making people seem suspicious, and then clearing them in ways that I didn't see coming. David especially. One minute I was warm to him, and believing that he really had Alenna's best interest at heart, and then he would do something to make me think, well... Hmmm... But I didn't even really suspect who they said it was in the end... but I am wondering if it is really that person because of the phrasing.
    Lisa Stasse paces the story beautifully. There is always action going on, keeping me on my toes, wondering what will go wrong next, and how they will get themselves out of each sticky situation. She throws  me just enough of a bone with the romantic tension, of course leaving me wanting more, and for each question that she answers, I have more that I just know will be revealed in its sweet time.
    I flew through this story, staying up til 2am to finish because I couldn't go to sleep without knowing what happened to the characters that I grew so attached to.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Do you feel like you fit in, or are different from others, or somewhere in between?

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