Happy New Year 2018

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

 My first reaction to a book marketed as YA and having premarital sex, alcohol abuse and bad behavior was negative.  That reaction was primarily due to the age of the person  that I had planned on giving the book.  Introspection is a wonderful thing, after some thought I realized my preconceived notions colored my reaction to the book.

Tess is a troubled teen in a restrictive household.  This is a theme that should have resonated clearly to someone with my background and eventually it did.  Tess ends on a journey and the journey is one of growth.   Tess grows into a person that she can live with and she finally over comes her self loathing.   I

don’t see this as a spoiler as the journey is the story, not the result. 

I enjoyed the diverse characters and the quigutl were intriguing.

I recommend the book.

Web; https://rachelhartmanbooks.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Merry Christmas 2017

Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra

 India sometime in a post apocalypse world.   There are remnant portals left by either an advanced civilization or aliens that are a peripheral part of the story.  The main plot is focused on a mostly matrilineal sheriff type of law enforcement group and it’s lone male group, more precisely on a young man and woman from each group.  

This story set seems to be in the area of

Kyra is a bit of a rebel in her home group but becomes more so when her mentor and mother substitute dies mysteriously.   Rustan takes his ethics very seriously and when he errs in fulfilling an assigned duty it racks him with guilt.

This book is a nice character study of two young people struggling in a very different world.  

I enjoyed it.

Web: https://ratiwrites.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Gaiman's Neverwhere, the Ultimate Edition

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

The End of Ordinary by Edward Ashton

This book is not about sentient corn of any kind.  No zombie corn, no ravaging corn cobs.   The book is about near future genetically manipulated people and the issues it creates. 

The plot resonates well with the almost daily breaking news of some other illness that can be alleviated or eliminated with genetic manipulation.  It isn’t too far fetched to imagine designer children or animals.  Jurassic Park doesn’t hold a monopoly on the frightening consequences of altered genes. 

A sub-plot is also clear that the have and have not situation may create a whole new discriminatory slate. 

In addition it is made clear that a parent desperate to live vicariously through a gene altered super child may not always find a child with the same goal as the one in which the parent hopes to revel.

This was well done with a wealth of thought provoking scientific and ethical postulates.

Web: http://www.edwardashton.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.