Sunday, January 11, 2015

Special Report: 'Parched'

A themed tour with Prism Book Tours.

ParchedParched
by Georgia Clark
YA Romantic Sci-Fi
Hardcover, 312 Pages
March 14th 2014 by Holiday House

Robots, renewable resources, and romance get tangled together in this thrilling futuristic adventure novel about a utopian city struggling to keep its peace.

 "Bold futurist adventure with unusual romance, riveting action and ominous ecological red flags." ?Kirkus Reviews
Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Indie Bound



Review:  

I'm quite impressed by this book. At first, it seemed dull and boring, but it steadily gained steam. I was suddenly spending my last hours awake reading it.
I do like the action. It was fast-paced and exciting. It kept you going. You felt like the ending was piled with action. It seemed a bit much for it to be heaped on top of you. I do think it was good overall. The action was edge-of-your-seat. You wanted to know what happened. You were clinging to the characters. The action kept the story going. It made the plot. 
The technology is also amazing. It's fantastic. And inventive. A scratch? Awesome. It would be fantastic to have that. Being able to cut it and give it to people? Sharing documents would be so easy. I also liked the technology related to Hunter. He was connected to the technology in ways you couldn't imagine. You gotta love this. I admit the buzzard and floaters are confusing. What are they exactly? I'm guessing hovercars. But it's hard to tell without the descriptions we need. The descriptions were lacking a bit. But it was nice. Some of the technology is fantastic. It's creative and innovative. 
And Hunter. I like his personality before he starts loving Tess. He is curious and interested in the world. He wants to know things. He's kind. He was an AI as well. I really liked that. He isn't human, but he acts exactly like one. Of course, I guessed he was Aevum before any of the others knew. I could tell. I mean...he acts human but not enough. You could tell something was up. But he was a good character. Kind. Caring. He really did care for Tess. Why? I don't know. Tess isn't very likable. I didn't like one thing. He seemed too superhuman. He didn't act like a normal AI. Or robot. He had the strength of a million men. And special skin? Oh goodness. He's too superhuman. I didn't like that.
There is a reason why this book isn't a five out of five. While I liked it, there were things I felt like it was a bit...okay in some parts. 
I didn't like the beginning. It seemed dull and boring. There was no action I was interested in. It was boring and dull. Yay, girl runs away. (Sarcasm.) I felt like it was lacking. I wanted more. I wanted more world building as well. It seemed vague and confusing. The world was odd. What is that? What are they saying? Tess speaks in Malspeak with other characters in the beginning. What is that word? What are they saying? I'm not sure. It's not translated. We don't get too much from actions or expressions. It's all confusing. There isn't a translation page at the end. I wish I could understand! And beginning wasn't just confusing. It was a bit boring and confusing. 
And the romance. I can tell it was well-intentioned. But I don't like it. Why did it form? When? I don't see it. Hunter puts too much into the relationship. Tess doesn't even seem to flinch. She acts like a typical girl until she figures out who Hunter is. You want her to put in effort. She doesn't give anything. She really doesn't. I wanted more. I wanted her to fall for him. And she doesn't seem to. Also, what does Hunter see in Tess? Her bravery? Curiosity? It's not like those really exist. I like Hunter, but I don't like Tess. I know that thee romance is well-intentioned. Hunter saves Tess for love. You can tell that. You can tell that the author is trying. I see that. I applaud her for that. But it didn't work. I didn't see the relationship forming. Nor did I see it holding up well. It might, of course. The benefit of the doubt. But I didn't feel like it was a good romance. 
Tess. She is a bit annoying. Also, it seems impossible for her to change completely into a tough girl. She is tough in the beginning. But we don't get to see the unwritten change between Eden girl to Badlands girl. I know we see some. But I wanted more. We also don't get the Badlands adventures. We get some when she tells Hunter stories. But they aren't much. She isn't special really. Not Achilles. She's not too smart or too brave. She isn't Lana or Benji. I feel bad for comparing her to the other Kudzu, but she isn't anything special. The only thing that makes her anything special is the artilect-knowing part of her. She doesn't have too many specialties. I didn't like her personality. She was acting rude to her uncle at first. And her friend. But acting nicer to the strangers in Kudzu? And wondering why Naz is being cold? Um...well...you're a stranger. They have reasons to be distrustful. 
I feel like this book could have been better. If it had more world building, clearer details, it would have been pretty great. Overall, it was pretty good.  

Weather:
Sunny with 20% chance of rain
4/5
Georgia Clark is an Australian writer and performer based in Brooklyn. She is the author of the young adult novels SHE?S WITH THE BAND (Allen & Unwin) and sci-fi/romance PARCHED (Holiday House). Widely published online and in print. Won some awards/grants/residencies. Has a play on at the NY Fringe festival. Pretty keen on cheese plates. 



 Georgia is gearing up to teach a short, online writing class about writing sci-fi through a Lit Reactor course. Want to go check it out and join? Go HERE! Begins January 14th.
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Signed copy of Parched (US only)
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