I noticed this book won an award a while back so I put it on my TBR but have just now had a chance to read it. I'm glad I finally did though. It's one of those stories that will make you appreciate all the things you have and take for granted on a daily basis. It's set on the Gulf Coast in a post-oil dystopian world which I did not realize until I started reading and I was a little confused at first because the author doesn't give any background upfront on the alternate world and characters. That part is pretty much overlooked until toward the end of the book so it did take me some time to figure out what a lot of the terminology and roles were of the supporting characters.

As for the story itself, it's about a boy named Nailer, who lives in a shanty town on Bright Sands Beach and works on the "light crew" scavenging copper from wrecked oil tankers. The whole beach area where he is from has been devastated by extreme hurricanes and is now poor and rife with crime. Nailer is desperate to get away from that life and his abusive, alcoholic father and is always hoping that his luck will change for the better one day. Then another bad storm occurs and a wealthy clipper ship wrecks on their beach and Nailer is faced with having to decide whether to help the only survivor on the ship or help himself survive by scavenging the ship before anyone else gets there. There is more to the story then that but you'll just have to read the book because I don't want to spoil it.

All in all, it was a good thought-provoking story but I definitely think there should have been more background given on the alternate world and supporting characters. The author does a really good job though of developing the main characters and setting the atmosphere. He paints such vivid descriptions of the struggles and hardships the main characters face which helps you sympathize with the decisions they have to make to survive. If you are ever in need of a reminder of how good we really have it, you should definitely read this one! 

Pines is one of those books that will make you question the things you see, the places you go and the people you know and don't know. Things are not always as it seems in Wayward Pines, Idaho and when Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke travels there to look in to the disappearance of two of his co-workers he soon finds that out. I can't say much more then that without giving away the story so you will just have to check it out. It was a little different from what I've been reading lately. It was sort of a mix of sci-fi, horror, thriller, mystery and dystopia/post-apocalyptic but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once you read the first few pages, you're hooked and you won't want to put it down. It was definitely the fastest I've read a book in a while because I couldn't stand the thought of not knowing what was going to happen next. If you can, check out or buy all three books in the series at once so you'll have the next one on hand. Trust me, I'm wishing I would have done that! 

Nothing new under the sun. This book was not what I expected it to be. Most of all I didn't expected to read a pretty generic zombie book. And so monotonous. I concur with other reviews that pointed out the unnecessary length of the book. I was easily bored. Or maybe I'm just not into zombie books, this is my first foray in the literary genre.

The first couple of chapters (from Melanie's pov) were great and interesting. I definitely liked Melanie's point of view. But since this is a book with multiple point of views, it shifted to other characters for which in the end I cared less. Also it wasn't long before the story gave off a vague sense of déjà vu, and fell into the "another zombie book" category. If this was a short story focused on Melanie for example, I would have given this 4 or 5 stars. Unfortunately the story took a pretty predictable turn and frankly 400+ pages is too long for this kind of story. Read the first 10 chapters and the last 5 or so, and you have your story.

Melanie is endearing and the reader feels for her to some extent but I can't help but compare this book with Angelfall and particularly Melanie with Paige Young (Penryn's little sister). I think what the author tried to do in The Girl with All the Gifts actually gives better results in the Angelfall series even though Paige Young is just a side character and not at all the entire focus of the story. I felt for Melanie but not quite as much as for Paige and her family. Because I need more context; who they really are, their relationships, and their back story in order to belief the characters are real, and to eventually root for them. Unfortunately, I didn't have that with Melanie and co. I couldn't feel Melanie bonding with the others, if she had any fears, was she questioning her situation etc. All I felt was her obsession with Miss Justineau. And although there are some signs of the characters' 'humanity', those are few and far between. I didn't connect with any of the characters. Here it felt like I just met the characters and I already had to separate from them.

The ending was okay, I understand where the author is coming from, but I can see plot holes from miles away. What could have made this book more interesting is to have an epilogue or something with a flash forward that shows us how this new 'species' evolves. Because honestly I'm a bit sceptic about their survival instincts, certainly after they ate all their 'food supply' and they can't technically 'die'.

In the end I enjoyed it on and off and I'm glad I read it, though if this was a series I wouldn't read its sequel. So an okay read that will appeal to readers who aren't tired of post-apocalyptic zombie books.

Now I get why it took me 3 tries to finally buckle down and read Into the Still Blue. The final installment was good in its own right, but it was very different in execution. I had been expecting one thing, and when I got something else, I think I balked at it without realizing. Once I got over the fact that the character-driven vibe of the past two books wasn't going to be as strong of a factor here, I settled in to enjoy the one thing that I always say YA sci-fi books need more of : actual sci-fi. 

While I still missed some of what made UTNS and TTEN so special to me, I understood why the trilogy ending needed to branch off and kick some ass.

All in all, this was a satisfying (okay, so one thing could have been more satisfying...but I get it...sigh) end to an excellent trilogy. Well done, Ms. Rossi. 

This book provided from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I don't have time to write up an in-depth review for this book because I have overdue stuff on-deck. 

Fast rundown : There were some great characters and an interesting world concept (superpowers make everything better), but something didn't fully click for me. I can't even put my finger on what it was. 

Even so, I liked the book enough that I'll continue with the series. I hear the second installment is even better.