Breath In, Breath Out

Published:  October 2nd, 2012

Breathe (Breathe # 1)

By: Sarah Crossan

Greenwillow

ISBN-13:  9780062118691

Inhale. Exhale. 
Breathe. 
Breathe. 
Breathe . . .
The world is dead. 
The survivors live under the protection of Breathe, the corporation that found a way to manufacture oxygen-rich air.

Alina
has been stealing for a long time. She's a little jittery, but not terrified. All she knows is that she's never been caught before. If she's careful, it'll be easy. If she's careful.

Quinn
should be worried about Alina and a bit afraid for himself, too, but even though this is dangerous, it's also the most interesting thing to happen to him in ages. It isn't every day that the girl of your dreams asks you to rescue her.

Bea
wants to tell him that none of this is fair; they'd planned a trip together, the two of them, and she'd hoped he'd discover her out here, not another girl.

And as they walk into the Outlands with two days' worth of oxygen in their tanks, everything they believe will be shattered. Will they be able to make it back? Will they want to?

Review

     The oxygen supply of Earth has become severely depleted and as a result, the remaining populace has to live inside domes supported by artificial oxygen, under a corporation by the name of Breathe.  They found a way to keep everyone from dying and promise that they're working to fix the outside environment...but are they really?  Inside the dome are three teens whose lives are about to change forever.  One is Alina, a girl whose parents are missing and who relies on the underground rebellion as a way to fight for a future that is made right.  But at what cost.  Then there are Bea and Quinn, best friends who live in the shadow of money and parental expectations.  Bea is poor and her parents can barely afford her.  Quinn has everything but is left feeling cold from lack of familial connections.  These three collide on a trip outside the dome, where Alina tags along for their oxygen supply and lands them in a whole lot of trouble.  But once Bea and Quinn learn the truth about Breathe and the outside world will they still want to go back to the dome?  And is the rebellion really as perfect as Alina thinks it is?  When things finally explode who will be left standing and where will they turn?  I went into this thinking, great yet another dystopian by formula.  I left with much the same impression.  I think the basic story would have been interesting - if it hadn't been done before so recently in Under the Never Sky and Masque of the Red Death.  The multiple points of view weren't helpful in creating three-dimensional and layered characters either.  They all felt really flat to me, because I barely got any time with them individually.  Also, the plot ended up feeling very paint by numbers, with even the cliffhanger failing to inspire me.  I liked the storyline with Maude Blue, the drifter/ex-Breathe employee.  It ended up being the reason that I finished the book at all.  She was an interesting addition the little walking party and definitely the most interesting of the characters individually.  The world building was seriously lacking.  I never understood how the "apocalypse" happened and what the "Switch" was.  When was the book set and how long ago had the switch been?  Overall a confusing setting, semi-dimensional characters and a recycled plot made for a fairly mediocre and somewhat dull read.  I will definitely not be reading the next one.  

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. It became available for purchase on October 2nd, 2012.* 

It's a Love Story, Baby Just Say Yes

Expected Publication: October 9th, 2012

Mystic City (Mystic City # 1)

By: Theo Lawrence

Random House Children's Books

ISBN-13: 9780385741606

For fans of Matched, The Hunger Games, X-Men, and Blade Runner comes a tale of a magical city divided, a political rebellion ignited, and a love that was meant to last forever. Book One of the Mystic City Novels.

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection—and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city—including herself.  

Review

   Aria Rose is missing a major chunk of time.  So major, that she can't remember falling in love with Thomas Foster, the son of her family's multi-generational political  enemy or that they were engaged.  She also doesn't remember her supposed overdose on a mind altering substance created by the magic of mystics, called Stic.  Aria begins to question whether or not things really happened the way she's been told after she finds Thomas in a compromising position and it seems like her parents will do anything for her not to remember.  Then she meets Hunter, a rebel Mystic from the Depths of the city who wants to destroy the current political order, and Aria feels an inexplicable connection to him.  Things begin to unlock from her memories and send her down a dangerous path that might lead to the collapse of New York City - and her entire world with it.  Can Aria figure out the truth in time to know who to trust?  And who will live or die when it comes down to the biggest fight of them all?  I was intrigued by the concept of global warming trashing the world and causing a new class system to form.  The fact that natural magic was thrown into it caused me to request this from the publisher.  I was left with mixed feelings by the time the book ended, which are still mixed a half a month later.  Aria was semi-likeable, but I felt like she used her missing memories to act like a ceramic doll at some points and an atrocious brat at others (like when dealing with Hunter at first).  The whole dynamic between the Mystics, who are drained of the powers to keep them 'harmless', and the wealthy non-Mystics was very confusing.  If I had the powers to make people do what I wanted them to, would I voluntarily let myself be drained, treated like a second-class citizen and crushed into inescapable poverty?  HELL TO THE NO!!!  It didn't strike me as very realistic.  I liked Hunter and his complicated back-story and Thomas was delightfully morally ambiguous for a slightly villainous side character.  Aria's friends Bennie and Kiki were basically afterthoughts and despite the author's attempt to make Davida a major part of the story, I never saw any depth to the servant girl's relationship with Aria (which was supposedly really close).  I felt like it was a little to clearly drawn in terms of right and wrong, without enough in-between to be a truly satisfying and fleshed out story.  Aria as a heroine did annoy me at the constant obliviousness she displayed to what was really going on around her.  And there was some major inconsistency in the overall world-building that irks me.  Generally not a book I would recommend for anyone but tween girls, or young adult/adult readers looking for a bit of fluff.  I won't be going further with this series.

VERDICT:  3/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is October 9th, 2012.*