Tagged: vanessa garden
Carrier by Vanessa Garden
(Cover picture courtesy of A Reader of Fictions.)
For fans of The Walking Dead and The Hunger Games comes a YA novel about freedom, choice and family — and the terrifying disease that makes them mutually exclusive.
From the day she was born, Lena has viewed the world through the jagged window of a razor-wired fence. The hundred-acre property she shares with her mother in the Australian outback may keep her safe from the Y-Carrier disease, but it is no longer enough to hold Lena’s interest, and her mother’s increasingly tight grip on her free will is stifling.
Just as her curiosity blooms and her courage rises, she meets a boy through the fence — the first boy she has ever laid eyes on. His name is Patrick and he comes with a dangerous yet irresistible invitation of adventure beyond the fence, an invitation to which Lena cannot say no.
But Lena’s newfound freedom is short-lived and she soon discovers that the Y-Carrier disease is not the only enemy she faces on the outside. Her new enemies want something Lena has, and they are willing to do anything to get it…
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
If you’re thinking this is a zombie book, I’ve got news for you: it’s not. You never, ever see a zombie. No, instead this is something a lot more interesting, something that hasn’t really been done before.
We have Lena, a seventeen-year-old girl who has lived only with her mother and cousin, fearing what lurks beyond the fence that keeps the family safe. Now that her cousin Alice is dead it’s just Lena and her mother and the two, like quite a few teenage daughters and mothers can’t stand each other. Lena wants to get out and explore the world. It’s been a while since she’s seen a Carrier (only males carry the disease but they live; females die from the disease) and she wants to go out and explore. She knows how to hunt from killing rabbits inside the fence but her mother refuses to let her go. So when she sees a boy she decides to make her move.
Now I know all of this sounds pretty cliché but I can assure you that there are quite a few plot twists along the way. The plot is incredibly fast-paced and just when you think you know what’s going to happen, Vanessa Garden changes everything on you. At the same time, the plot twists actually make sense within the context of the story. They’re not totally out in left field, I promise.
The characters are by far the best part of the novel, especially Lena. She’s strong and determined but not afraid to admit she’s out of her element when she meets Patrick. He’s the first boy she’s ever seen (aside from her magazine crush) and you can guess how much awkwardness ensues. And the thing is that the awkwardness is believable. They’re two teenagers that have had exactly zero experience with the opposite sex. What do you expect to happen, really?
Overall, Carrier was a pretty good novel. It didn’t have the ‘wow’ factor that Vanessa Garden’s first book Captivate did but it’s a good standalone novel. It doesn’t release until March 1, but if you’re at all intrigued by the blurb or my review I think this is the book for you. It’s certainly worth a try.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Captivate by Vanessa Garden
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
In a glittering underwater world, nothing is as it seems…
For the past twelve months since her parents’ death, seventeen-year-old Miranda Sun has harboured a dark secret — a secret that has strained the close relationship she once shared with her older sister, Lauren. In an effort to repair this broken bond, Miranda’s grandparents whisk the siblings away on a secluded beach holiday. Except before Miranda gets a chance to confess her life-changing secret, she’s dragged underwater by a mysterious stranger while taking a midnight swim.
Awakening days later, Miranda discovers that she’s being held captive in a glittering underwater city by an arrogant young man named Marko…the King of this underwater civilisation.
Nineteen-year-old Marko intends to marry Miranda in order to keep his crown from falling into the sinister clutches of his half-brother, Damir. There’s only one problem. Miranda is desperate to return home to right things with her sister and she wants nothing to do with Marko. Trying to secure her freedom, Miranda quickly forms an alliance with Robbie — Marko’s personal guard. However, she soon discovers that even underwater, people are hiding dangerous secrets…
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
You know what? I didn’t expect to like Captivate as much as I did. The only reason I really took a chance on it was the fantastic cover. Sometimes, as I’ve found out, you can judge a book by its cover.
At first I thought this would be a mermaid book. In hindsight I’m not quite sure why I thought that but it turns out that this book is more science fiction than fantasy. I don’t want to give the big reveal away but it turns out mermaids and science intertwine in the history of the city, even if it’s not in the way you expect. The history of it is fascinating and I like how they maintain some customs from the surface while at the same time their culture evolves to suit their environment. It makes it a lot more realistic, believe me.
The one thing I was surprised to like was the characters. I know it sounds so much like your typical love triangle but it isn’t. The actions of Miranda make sense given her situation and her guilt over her parents’ death but the reactions of Robbie and Marko surprised me the most. They aren’t solely motivated by love, like a lot of love interests are. They are also motivated by family, duty and honour and it’s much more complicated (and believable) than your traditional oh-no-I-like-two-boys-and-they-like-me love triangle. There’s more to Robbie and Marko than meets the eye and Miranda has quite a few surprises up her sleeves as well.
There were some plot twists that I had no idea were coming. Vanessa Garden seems to have almost totally departed from traditional YA formula when it comes to plot twists. It’s shocking. I completely did not see the ending coming and I was pleasantly surprised with Miranda. She stayed true to herself throughout the novel but at the same time was able to admit when she was wrong. And most importantly of all, she learns to slowly forgive herself for her parents’ deaths.
It’s a fascinating story and I can’t wait for the rest of the Submerged Sun series to come out, even though Captivate was just published this year. We can expect big things from Vanessa Garden in the future, that’s for sure! If you’re looking for some interesting science fiction, a little bit of romance and a fast plot look no further than Captivate.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
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