BLOG TOUR - BONDING BY MATTHEW ERMAN AND EMILY PEARSON - GRAPHIC NOVEL [REVIEW + GIVEAWAY]

 

I am very excited to be a part of the blog tour from Rockstar Book Tours for BONDING, a sci-fi/romance that asks questions about love and existence.  Check out my review below, and don't forget to enter the giveaway! 

Book Information

Title: Bonding: A Love Story About People and Their Parasites

Authors(s): Matthew Erman and Emily Pearson 
Publication Date: January 31, 2023

Edition: Hardcover, eBook; 208 pgs
Publisher: Vault Comics
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Find It: Major Retailers

Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review.  My thoughts and opinions are my own.  Please note the purchase links above are affiliate links.

Tour Schedule

Week One

1/16/2023 - Sadie's Spotlight - Excerpt/IG Post

1/17/2023 - Bookish Trisha - Excerpt/IG Post

1/18/2023 - Writer of Wrongs - Excerpt

1/19/2023 - The Clever Reader - Excerpt/IG Post

1/20/2023 - A Dream Within A Dream - Excerpt

1/21/2023 - Two Chicks on Books - Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two

1/22/2023 - Nagma | TakeALookAtMyBookshelf - IG Review

1/23/2023 - Jeff_of_allmedia - IG Review

1/24/2023 - GryffindorBookishNerd - IG Review

1/25/2023 - @bubbles_books09 - IG Review/TikTok Post

1/26/2023 - travelersguidetobooks - IG Review

1/27/2023 - Eli to the nth - Review/IG Post

1/28/2023 - Nerdophiles - Review

Week Three

1/29/2023 - @coffeesipsandreads - IG Review/TikTok Post

1/30/2023 - Brandi Danielle Davis - IG Review/TikTok Post

1/31/2023 - brittreadsalattebooks - IG Post

2/1/2023 - Jenguerdy - IG Post

2/2/2023 - Rajiv's Reviews - Review/IG Post

2/3/2023 - A Blue Box Full of Books - IG Review/LFL Drop Pic

2/4/2023 - Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers - Review/IG Post

Week Four

2/5/2023 - See Sadie Read - Review/IG Post

2/6/2023 - Mallory Books - Review/IG Post

2/7/2023 - @just_another_mother_with_books - IG Review

2/8/2023 - Nonbinary Knight Reads - Review/IG Post

2/9/2023 - Novel Novice - IG post

2/10/2023 - Two Points of Interest - Review 

2/11/2023 - The Momma Spot - Review/IG Post

Week Five

2/12/2023 - onemused - IG Post

2/13/2023 - @jacleomik33 - IG Review

2/14/2023 - @thebookishfoxwitch - IG Review

The Summary

“Wear your heart on your sleeve.”  That’s the saying. But in BONDING, people wear their anxiety on their chests – in the form of a  parasite that shows everyone just what you’re feeling on the inside …

WEAR YOUR LOVE ON YOUR CHEST

A man, a woman—and their parasites. Marcus has been alone since the loss of his closest friend and has just recently entered into the dating scene, while Laura has drifted in and out of relationships since high school. They meet, they have a great first date, and Marcus almost dies—because the slug-like parasite that everybody carries in this world nearly rejects him, its host. BONDING is a funny, quirky, and honest look at love, in a world where everyone wears their anxiety, not on their sleeves, but on their chest like big ol' leeches.

Fans of Matthew Erman's work on Vault Comics' WITCHBLOOD and Archaia's JIM HENSON'S THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE will find lots to love in BONDING. Fans of Image Comics' ICE CREAM MAN VOL. 1, DC Comics' COLLAPSER and even books like THE HOST by Stephenie Meyer and THE PARASITOLOGY TRILOGY by Mira Grant will enjoy this foray into all the stressors of dating...where a parasite is the least of your worries (unless it kills you, that is.)

(Goodreads)

Review
“Erman and Pearson skewer genre norms in this sweet and casually unsettling comics romance-dramedy…”- Publishers Weekly

My Review

What I think makes reviewing graphic novels a bit harder than books is the fact that the visual aspect is just as important as the story.  A graphic novel can have an amazing plotline, but if I don't like the art, I can't read it.  Conversely, if the art is gorgeous, but the plot is horrible, I can't read it.  Luckily, Bonding: A Love Story About People and Their Parasites by Matthew Erman and Emily Pearson has both beautiful art and an engaging plotline.

Erman and Pearson come together to write one weird book, but it is weird in the absolute best possible way.  The Earth has been taken over by aliens, little slug-like parasites that have to use human plasma to survive.  So every person has a slug, and if the slug dies, you die.  Can you imagine your whole survival is reliant on this alien AND you have to move through the anxiety that is being a human being?  That is exactly what is explored in Bonding.

The storyline is generational, so we start off two generations after the invasion, where we meet our couple Marcus and Laura.  Both are young enough not to remember a time before the slugs, but old enough to know the changes within culture (such as chlorine now being completely illegal due to its' harmful effects on the slugs).  We follow their love story, trying to navigate the regular trials of dating/relationships, but within this sci-fi world of slug reliance.  We then fast-forward to their son, Ira's, story.  He, too, is in the first stages of a relationship when a catastrophe involving the slugs starts to occur.  I liked to see where Marcus and Laura end up, as well as the further development of this Earth living with slugs.  

The mix of sci-fi/romance/body horror gives you such creepy vibes.  One minute it will be a traditional "does he/she like me?" and then the next will be a race to stop one's slug from killing their host.  With each page, you don't quite know what to expect, which kept me glued.  I think that this isn't the story for everyone, especially straight romance readers.  But if you're a sci-fi reader who likes a little romance, then Bonding: A Love Story About People and Their Parasites will be right up your alley.

  

Final Rating

Excerpt

About the Author(s)

About Matthew Erman:

Matthew Erman is a comics writer from Columbus, Ohio. Alongside Lisa Sterle, he co-created the critically acclaimed comic horror series, Long Lost, which was optioned for Film/TV by Producer Jenny Klein (The Witcher, Daisy Jones and The Six). Erman has since worked on the comic book series Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and graphic novel Power Rangers: Sins of the Future with BOOM! Studios, series Care Bears: Unlock the Magic with IDW, the upcoming science fiction/horror/humorous romance original graphic novel Bonding, with artist and co-creator Emily Pearson for Vault Comics, and the smash supernatural action adventure comics series (with artist/co-creator Lisa Sterle) from Vault Comics, Witchblood. His short work can be found in anthologies such  as Corpus (2018), Dead Beats (2019) and Everything is Going Wrong (2019).

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon 

About Emily Pearson:

Emily Pearson is a freelance comic book artist from Davis, California.

She has previously worked for Black Mask Studios; “The Wilds”(2018) and “Snap Flash Hustle”(2018-19), Oni Press’s “The Vain”(2020), and the upcoming “Bonding” coming to Vault Comics in 2022.

In addition to comics series, she drew a short story for the Ringo Award Winning “Mine!” an anthology for Planned Parenthood, Vault Comic’s “Cult Classic Zero Short”, “CORPUS” curated by Nadia Shammas, and “Everything is Going Wrong: Comics on Punk & Mental Illness”.  She has illustrated various covers for comic books including: “Stranger Things: SIX” from Dark Horse Comics, “Calexit: Emmie X”, “The Devil Within”, “Sweet/Vicious”, “The Wilds”, “Snap Flash Hustle” from Black Mask Studios, “Going to the Chapel” from Action Lab, “Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists” from Scout Comics and many more.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads 

Giveaway

2 winners will receive a finished copy of BONDING, US Only.

Ends February 18th, midnight EST.

CLICK THE GRAPHIC

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WHAT I READ: FEBRUARY

This month was a slower reading month for me, compared to January.  I read only 4 books total, but I'm blaming the fact that February is shorter than the other months (flimsy excuse, I know, I know.).

I also spanned the age bracket this month, which is always fun, reading: 1 adult book, 2 YA books, and 1 middle grade book.  I'm trying to make sure I read more widely, not just genre and content, but age group as well.  I don't know about you, but I find different things to enjoy/relate to dependent on what age group I am reading in.

The genres were pretty consistent with my favorites: contemporary, fantasy, and sci-fi--my three favorites.  If I'm having a hard time getting into reading, I definitely reach for a comfort read, which is typically sci-fi/fantasy.  Do you have a comfort genre that helps with difficult reading months?

Overall, I really enjoyed each of the books I read this month, and I recommend them for everyone to read!

 The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

The first book I read this month, and it blew me away!  It felt like a warm hug, as I was reading it.  All my Goodreads review says is, "This was beautifully perfect".  And it really was.  I could live in this book, it was just so full of love, family, and the strength we have within ourselves.  A battle of injustice with a hero who is initially seen as normal/average/unremarkable; he ends up being anything but, and saves the day using his mind and his heart.

This was a 5 STAR for me.

"A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours."

If you haven't had a chance to pick this up yet, make it a priority because you won't be disappointed.  I have already ordered TJ Klune's other books because I want to devour all he has written.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

One of the challenges I've set for myself for 2021 is to read more BIPOC books, whether it be author or character (hopefully both).  I've heard really great things about Binti, so I got the ebook to check out.  It was interesting, and quick (didn't realize it was only 98 pages), but I definitely felt it was missing things.  There are more books in the series, and the premise/world-building/characters were enough to make me interested to continue.  But it wasn't quite what I thought.  Definitely going to continue to see if it becomes one of my faves.

This was a 3 STAR for me.

"Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.

If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself — but first she has to make it there, alive."

I think this is a good introduction, but wasn't as fully fleshed as I would've liked, but as there are additional books, recommend checking it out if you like sci-fi!

Spin with Me by Ami Polonsky

I had the opportunity to review this book through Rockstar Book Tours (check Jaime out; I love working with her!), and it was beautiful/adorable/impactful; a perfect middle grade introduction to love and gender identity!  Here's my full review, so please check that out to learn more.  Polonsky has a very deft hand when creating the plot and characters, making you feel what both Essie and Ollie are going through.

This was a 4 STAR for me.

"From the author of the critically acclaimed Gracefully Grayson comes a thoughtful and sensitive middle-grade novel about non-binary identity and first love, Ami Polonsky's Spin with Me.

In this elegant dual narrative, Essie is a thirteen-year-old girl feeling glum about starting a new school after her professor dad takes a temporary teaching position in a different town. She has 110 days here and can't wait for them to end. Then she meets Ollie, who is nonbinary. Ollie has beautiful blue eyes and a confident smile. Soon, Essie isn’t counting down the days until she can leave so much as she’s dreading when her time with Ollie will come to an end.

Meanwhile, Ollie is experiencing a crush of their own . . . on Essie. As Ollie struggles to balance their passion for queer advocacy with their other interests, they slowly find themselves falling for a girl whose stay is about to come to an end. Can the two unwind their merry-go-round of feelings before it's too late?"

This is such an excellent book for both adults and kids, one that can be read together as a family even!  And a great addition to the ever expanding LGBTQ+ world of middle grade books!

Into the Dark (Star Wars: The High Republic) by Claudia Gray

I am in love with this multi-media idea that Disney Lucasfilms Press is doing! The 3rd book (kind of...all the books/comics go together in a way you could technically read them in any order) of The High Republic project, I was so excited to be a part of this blog tour through Rockstar Book Tours (again, check them out)!!  Diving into a little known time period in Star Wars history, we get to learn all about the peak of The Jedi Order in the universe.  Excellent entry for veteran Star Wars author Claudia Gray, it was not only a great Star Wars book, but a great sci-fi/action book!  Check out my full review here!!

This was a 4.5 STAR for me.

"Long before the Clone Wars, the Empire, or the First Order, the Jedi lit the way for the galaxy in a golden age known as the High Republic!

Not everyone who hears the call to adventure wants to answer it....

Jedi Padawan Reath Silas loves adventure—reading about it, that is, not living it. Content to spend hours browsing the Jedi Archives on Coruscant, Reath dreams of being one of the great scholars of the Jedi Order. But Reath's master, the well-respected and virtuous Jora Malli, has other plans: she's taken a post at Starlight Beacon, the Republic's shining new outpost on the edge of known space. As her Padawan, Reath must join her, whether he likes the idea or not. (And he most definitely does not.)

So Reath reluctantly boards the ship that will take him and a few other Jedi to the dedication of Starlight Beacon, where Master Jora waits for him to start their new adventurous life on the frontier. But trouble in hyperspace leaves the ship and other nearby vessels stranded, with only an eerie abandoned space station reachable for shelter. And the secrets hidden there will not only bring Reath to a crossroads but, if left unchecked, could plunge the entire galaxy into darkness..."

This made me super hyped to jump into all The High Republic books/comics; Star Wars fan and sci-fi fans alike will really love this one!

So there you have it, all the books I read in February 2021.  Have you read any of them, and if you did, what did you think about them?  If you haven't gotten to read any, which are enticing you?  

Let me know what you read in February in the comments, and happy reading!

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BLOG TOUR --- Midnight on Strange Street by K.E. Ormsbee --- MIDDLE GRADE FICTION [Review + Giveaway]

Title: Midnight on Strange Street

Author & Illustrator: K.E. Ormsbee
Publication Date: January 21, 2020
Edition: Hardcover, ebook; 400 pgs
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Kindle - Barnes & Noble  - iBooks - Kobo - The Book Depository
Audience: Upper Elementary/Middle Grade
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tour Schedule

Week One

1/20/2020 - Lifestyle of Me - Review 

1/20/2020 - BookHounds Ya - Excerpt 

1/21/2020 - For the Love of KidLit - Excerpt 

1/21/2020 - She Just Loves Books - Review 

1/22/2020 - Jazzy Book Reviews - Excerpt 

1/22/2020 - Trapped Inside Stories - Review 

1/23/2020 - Descendant of Poseidon Reads - Review 

1/23/2020 - Books,Dreams,Life - Excerpt 

1/24/2020 - Fazila's Book Review Corner - Excerpt 

1/24/2020 - fictitious.fox - Review 

Week Two

1/27/2020 - Savings in Seconds - Review 

1/27/2020 - Precious books world  - Review 

1/28/2020 - Little Red Reads - Review 

1/28/2020 - Two Chicks on Books - Excerpt 

1/29/2020 - Ficticiouswonderland - Review 

1/29/2020 - Books and Zebras - Review 

1/30/2020 - jrsbookreviews - Review 

1/30/2020 - Jena Brown Writes - Review 

1/31/2020 - Eli to the nth - Review 

1/31/2020 - Two Points of Interest - Review

The Summary

AVERY MILLER is looking for a fresh start, away from all the bomb sirens and talk of war in Los Angeles. She expects to find a haven in Callaway, Texas, where the cool new substance “glow” was first discovered. What she doesn’t count on is making friends with glowboard skaters Dani, Bastian, and Lola, aka the Sardines. . . .

DANI HIRSCH, captain of the Sardines, knows for a fact they’re the best glowboarding team in Texas—if only they could prove it. Nothing will distract Dani from leading the team to victory at this summer’s big race. Not even food explosions in the school cafeteria, or a mysterious midnight message, or secretive government workers in Callaway. . . .

BASTIAN GIL is sick of the bullies who tease him for being a Sardine, for being different. Sure, he and his twin sister, Lola, can share thoughts. That’s just twin telepathy, though—nothing too weird, right? But when Bastian finds he can do even stranger things, he starts to wonder if maybe he really is different from the other kids at school. . . .

LOLA GIL wants life to go back to normal, to a time before big glowboard races and government investigations. But the more the Sardines discover about themselves—like how they can share thoughts and move objects with their minds—the more Lola begins to fear there was never anything normal about her. . . .

When the Sardines receive an ominous, otherworldly message, they must decide if they’ll use their newfound powers to stop an impending disaster—one that could have more to do with the war, their bullies, and glowboarding than they can possibly imagine.

(Goodreads)

My Review

Action, mystery, and strange incidents surround four young friends trying to not only figure out who they are, but what the heck is happening in their small town, and what does "glow" have to do with it?

I loved this book.  I think it is  great book for middle grade kids.  It focuses on friendship, independence, individuality, and success, all while a huge mystery is happening.  So the action is there for readers who like fast-paced, suspenseful builds, but also quieter, more reflective moments are there for the quieter reader.  

Avery, Dani, Lola, and Bastian are such great characters to follow.  They all are different from each other, but connected through glowboarding, a new type of skateboarding using "Component G" or "glow".  Glow is a mysterious substance found in their small town in Texas, and eventually all over the world, that can be used to power small machines.  Glowboarding is what is on the characters mind 24/7, but they also find out that glow itself may be leading to bigger things happening around, and to, them.

I don't want to give more away than that because everything builds to the end of the book, and the final glowboarding event that the kids have been practicing for.  The ending lends itself to a sequel, where we may find out about what exactly is happening on a larger scale, as you are really focused on the small town in this story.

While it is not plot heavy as far as learning more about the "Global War" that is alluded too, it is a fun, fast-paced book, that gives the ultimate lesson of learning who you are, and finding a group of friend that accepts that.

Final Rating

Excerpt

“Hey!” called Avery. “Slow down, okay?”

Dani didn’t slow down. She wrapped her legs around the branch, hoisting herself and, without pause, throwing her hands out to catch the next branch up.

One of her hands did not catch.

It slipped free, upsetting Dani’s balance and sending her hurtling downward.

What happened next happened very quickly. Lola raised her hands to her mouth. Bastian shouted at Dani’s descent. And Avery thought, No, she can’t hit the ground.

The way Dani had thrown out her arms, the way she had twisted her back—Avery couldn’t bear to watch the impact. Stubbornly she kept thinking it: Dani can’t hit the ground, she can’t, she can’t, she won’t.

That’s when something inside Avery began to burn. It was a sensation she’d first felt at her old school in LA. It was the heat between her stomach and her heart that burned every time she skated downhill on a curve. She felt the blue light’s energy, and suddenly she saw it, pulsing out of her. It washed around Avery, poured over the branches like water, rushed under Dani’s back and cradled her in its arms.

Then, in a snap, everything was fast and loud again.

About the Author

K.E. Ormsbee writes books, cooks food, & records podcasts in Austin, TX. She is the author of the WATER AND THE WILD fantasy trilogy (Chronicle Books and Gumption Press), folk mystery THE HOUSE IN POPLAR WOOD (Chronicle Books), and the upcoming sci-fi adventure MIDNIGHT ON STRANGE STREET (Disney-Hyperion, January 2020).

She also writes Young Adult novels as Kathryn Ormsbee: LUCKY FEW, TASH HEARTS TOLSTOY, and THE GREAT UNKNOWABLE END (Simon & Schuster).

K.E. Ormsbee likes clothes from the 60s, music from the 70s, and movies from the 80s. She is from the 90s. You can visit her online at keormsbee.com or follow her on Twitter & Instagram @kathsby.

Website | Twitter  | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

3 winners will receive a finished copy of MIDNIGHT ON STRANGE STREET, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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BLOG TOUR --- City of Beasts by Corrie Wang [Review + Giveaway]

Title: City of Beasts
Authors(s): Corrie Wang
Publication Date: September 17, 2019
Edition: Hardcover, ebook; 384 pgs
Publisher: Freeform
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Kindle - Barnes & Noble  - iBooks - Kobo - The Book Depository
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tour Schedule

Week One:

9/2/2019- Country Road Reviews- Excerpt

9/3/2019- Two Chicks on Books- Excerpt

9/4/2019- Character Madness and Musings- Excerpt

9/5/2019- Shelf-Rated- Review

9/6/2019- BookHounds YA- Review

Week Two:

9/9/2019- Lifestyle of Me- Review

9/10/2019- Daily Waffle - Excerpt

9/11/2019- A Dream Within A Dream- Review

9/12/2019- Life of a Simple Reader- Excerpt

9/13/2019- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

Week Three:

9/16/2019- Jena Brown Writes- Review

9/17/2019- Kati's Bookaholic Rambling Reviews- Excerpt

9/18/2019- Wishful Endings- Excerpt

9/19/2019- Book-Keeping- Review

9/20/2019- Jade Writes Books- Review

Week Four:

9/23/2019- Eli to the nth- Review

9/24/2019- two points of interest- Review

9/25/2019- The Layaway Dragon- Review

9/26/2019- Smada's Book Smack- Review

9/27/2019- PopTheButterfly Reads- Review

Week Five:
9/30/2019- lori's house of reviews- Review

The Summary

"If you see a beast, and you have the shot, don't hesitate. Kill it."

For seventeen years, fees have lived separate from beasts. The division of the sexes has kept their world peaceful. Glori Rhodes is like most other fees her age. She adores her neighborhood's abandoned Costco, can bench her body weight, and she knew twenty-seven beast counter attack moves by the time she was seven. She has never questioned the separation of the sexes or the rules that keep her post-nuclear hometown safe. But when her mother secretly gives birth to a baby beast, Glori grows to love the child and can't help wondering: What really is the difference between us and them?

When her brother, at the age of five, is snatched in a vicious raid, Glori and her best friend, Su, do the unthinkable - covertly infiltrate the City of Beasts to get him back. What's meant to be a smash-and-grab job quickly becomes the adventure of a lifetime as the fees team up with a fast-talking, T-shirt cannon wielding beast named Sway, and Glori starts to see that there's more to males, and her own history, than she's been taught. Glori, Sway, and a motley cohort of friends will go to the ends of the earth to find her little brother. And maybe save their divided world while they're at it.

(Goodreads)

My Review

This book is as timely as they come.  A dystopian set after a horrific nuclear disaster, where global warming has made the oceans rise that most Americans fled to the north, and where males and females live divided as enemies.  I don't know how far off this book will be if nothing changes in our world currently, not to start out too heavy here.

But the realism is what makes this such a page-turner. Oh, that and the characters, the setting, the dialogue...oh the whole book!  I absolutely adored it.  I couldn't put it down until the end (the end that's not quite an end, but any more would be spoilers).  Glori and Sway are my faves, hands down, no argument.  They're dynamic is killer, and both learn something from the other.  This is important in a book that could easily be all about hating the other.

The dialogue is very sharp, sprinkled with recognizable and purposeful slang, just different enough to feel like it developed organically within this world.  The use of the terms for female and male (always female and male -- not man and women, which is an important distinction because of sex vs. gender, which is blurred in this book) --- fees and nags and beasts and norms --- clearly show the opinion of each side of the divide.  And because they're are people alive from before the disaster struck, so there are references from our present mixed in.  This makes the book timely and timeless.

The two society's created are distinct and are a commentary on the two "perfect" societies, or at least desired societies that may be influenced by females and males; while it is clear that Wang leans toward the female camp, she does not paint a picture that males are the absolute worst.  There is balance in each, highlighting both the good and the bad of the two communities.

There is science galore; you can tell that Wang did her homework while writing to make the result of climate change and a nuclear holocaust as accurate as possible.  But the science doesn't detract, only enhances the story-telling.  This is ultimately a character piece, reflecting on what makes us human.  And I absolutely loved it.

City of Beasts by Corrie Wang is out in stores now!  Check out an excerpt from the book, and enter to win a copy below.  This is a must-read, and will go on your shelf right with The Hunger Games and Divergent when you're finished!

Final Rating

Excerpt

   Excerpt 1 City of Beasts by Jaime Arnold on Scribd

About the Author

Corrie Wang is passionate about libraries, recycling, and eating all the food, everywhere. Corrie grew up in Buffalo but spent her formative years in Brooklyn, where one of her last paying gigs was managing a three-story nightclub on the Lower East Side.

Writing to fix things that make her angry and explore things that frighten her, Corrie’s novels are about girls unapologetically conquering scenarios they should have little control over. Tired of seeing women and girls lose in this culture - spoiler - they never do in her stories.

Her debut novel, The Takedown was chosen as one of the best books of 2017 by the New York Public Library and a 2018 YALSA selection for Best Fiction for Young Adults. City of Beasts is her second novel.

Seeing, as Corrie wrote an entire novel about the freakiness and perils of socializing too much on the internets her existence there is haphazard at best. Now, more than ever, she feels it is time for everyone to look up. (Also, stand up, step up, and eat up. Woot!) That being said, you may follow her poor photography skillz on Instagram. AND P.S. Wang rhymes with 'song' y'all.

Website | Twitter  |Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

3 winners will receive finished copies of CITY OF BEASTS, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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