[Book Review] Extraction by Stephanie Diaz

Extraction (Extraction #1) by Stephanie Diaz

Publication Date: July 22, 2014

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

Source: personal purchase

Summary

"Welcome to Extraction testing."

Clementine has spent her whole life preparing for her sixteenth birthday, when she’ll be tested for Extraction in the hopes of being sent from the planet Kiel’s toxic Surface to the much safer Core, where people live without fear or starvation. When she proves promising enough to be “Extracted,” she must leave without Logan, the boy she loves. Torn apart from her only sense of family, Clem promises to come back and save him from brutal Surface life.

What she finds initially in the Core is a utopia compared to the Surface—it’s free of hard labor, gun-wielding officials, and the moon's lethal acid. But life is anything but safe, and Clementine learns that the planet's leaders are planning to exterminate Surface dwellers—and that means Logan, too. 

Trapped by the steel walls of the underground and the lies that keep her safe, Clementine must find a way to escape and rescue Logan and the rest of the planet. But the planet leaders don't want her running—they want her subdued.

With intense action scenes and a cast of unforgettable characters, Extraction is a page-turning, gripping read, sure to entertain lovers of Hunger Games and Ender's Game and leave them breathless for more.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

My Review

You wouldn't expect a science fiction book set on another planet with a moon that spits out acid to be described as realistic, but that’s exactly how I would describe Extraction by Stephanie Diaz. She manages to take this completely fiction world and translate into relatable experiences. Everything from her characters to the situations the find themselves in just seems like they could happen to me – you know if I happened to live on the planet of Kiel.

[Book Review] Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian

Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian

Publication Date: January 20, 2015

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Source: eARC courtesy of St. Martin's Griffin

Summary

Jake Lukin just turned 18. He's decent at tennis and Halo, and waiting to hear on his app to Stanford. But he's also being followed by a creep with a gun, and there's a DARPA agent waiting in his bedroom. His secret is blown.

When Jake holds a personal object, like a pet rock or a ring, he has the ability to "tunnel" into the owner. He can sense where they are, like a human GPS, and can see, hear, and feel what they do. It's an ability the government would do anything to possess: a perfect surveillance unit who could locate fugitives, spies, or terrorists with a single touch.

Jake promised his dad he’d never tell anyone about his ability. But his dad died two years ago, and Jake slipped. If he doesn't agree to help the government, his mother and sister may be in danger. Suddenly he's juggling high school, tennis tryouts, flirting with Rachel Watkins, and work as a government asset, complete with 24-hour bodyguards.

Forced to lie to his friends and family, and then to choose whether to give up everything for their safety, Jake hopes the good he's doing—finding kidnap victims and hostages, and tracking down terrorists—is worth it. But he starts to suspect the good guys may not be so good after all. With Rachel's help, Jake has to try to escape both good guys and bad guys and find a way to live his own life instead of tunneling through others. 

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

My Review

Note: I received and advance readers copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is a spoiler free review.

I enjoyed Susan Adrian’s debut, Tunnel Vision. I don’t normally read books with paranormal elements because I’ve been kind of scared away by paranormal romances. However, if more paranormal books were like Tunnel Vision I would pick them up. The main thing I liked was the story itself. Without giving away any spoilers, it was a rollercoaster of a book. There were ups and downs and twists and sometimes I did not know how Jake was going to get himself out of a situation. I loved how the story built on itself effortlessly.