survival

REVIEW:  The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

REVIEW: The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

Dear Ms. Stasse, Ah, the dystopian subgenre. For something touted as the new vampire, it wore out its welcome fairly quickly, didn’t it? Despite the popularity of the recent Hunger Games movie, I remain skeptical that it’ll see a resurgence in popularity. I’m still willing to give the subgenre a try because you never know,(…)

Friday Film Review: The Snow Walker

Friday Film Review: The Snow Walker

The Snow Walker (2003) Genre: Adventure/Drama Grade: B NOTE: This one has a bittersweet ending. If you’re okay with that, read on. At Susanna Kearsley’s urging I put this one in my Netflix queue months ago where it lingered and lingered. And lingered. She gently goosed me a bit about it in a comment on(…)

REVIEW: This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

REVIEW: This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Dear Ms. Pfeffer, I’ve made no secret of the fact that I love post-apocalyptic novels. While I do think it’s more suited to certain genres than others (I’m afraid I’ve yet to really fall in love with a post-apocalyptic romance), post-apocalyptic young adult fiction is one subgenre I have yet to get tired of. I(…)

REVIEW: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

REVIEW: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Dear Ms. Collins, The Hunger Games was my favorite novel of 2008.   For me it had the perfect combination of a great heroine, fast-paced plotting, and gripping tension.   And considering the cliffhanger ending, I’ve been looking forward to Catching Fire since I finished last page of that book. To refresh readers, and to bring people(…)

Thursday Afternoon Haiku Moment: Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The following is a spoiler filled tale in the spirit of Green Eggs and Ham. I am a zombie fan! Zombie fan I am That zombie-fan-I-am That zombie-fan-I-am! I do not like that Forest of Hand (and Teeth)! Do you like The village and Mary? I am not being contrary. This story is not believable(…)

REVIEW: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

REVIEW: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Dear Ms. Ryan, We’ve joked about zombies becoming the new vampire here at Dear Author.   For a while, it seemed like zombies were replacing faeries as the hot paranormal trend.   In fact, I first heard about your debut novel from a publishing deal announcement during one of those waves.   The reason why it stood out(…)

REVIEW: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

REVIEW: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Dear Ms. Collins, I have no doubt that many people will compare this book to the Japanese novel, Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. How can they not? Both books take place in dystopian futures and feature oppressive governments that require children to compete in a last man standing survival game. And while it’s true there(…)

REVIEW: People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

REVIEW: People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Dear Ms. Brooks, I had initially become interested in reading this book after seeing it listed at Fictionwise as a pre-sale item. Right after that it dropped off their site and the possibility of an ebook seemed to vanish into thin air. Don’t know what happened with that but when I spotted it in my(…)

REVIEW: the dead and the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Dear Ms. Pfeffer, Your previous novel, Life As We Knew It, completely blew me away. Your vision of earth overcome by a disrupted climate affected me in a way that hasn’t happened in a very long time. And since I can’t get enough of apocalyptic settings, no matter the genre, I was beside myself when(…)

REVIEW: Stranded by Eve Vaughn

Dear Ms. Vaughn: This was a top seller at Samhain’s My Bookstore and More a few weeks ago. I’m always curious about what other people are reading and so I bought the book blindly (no cover, no blurb) and I had never read you before. India Powers is a woman who has spent her whole(…)

REVIEW: All or Nothing by Claire Cross

Dear Ms. Cross: I read this one against my will. I had started your last book, One More Time but then stopped after the first three chapters which featured a lawyer basically throwing a case because he believed his client was guilty. When I received All or Nothing, I was sure I didn’t want to(…)

REVIEW: How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Dear Ms. Rosoff, When a book has won a slew of awards including ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2005 and Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year, and has even been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, it hardly needs more accolades from me. Here I am regardless, writing this open(…)