Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher but I also bought my own copy early thanks to @decaturbookfest. Thanks! All options are my own!
Author: Corrie Wang
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Publication Date: September 17, 2019
Recommended Age: 15+ (violence and slight gore, some romance)
Genre: YA Dystopian
Publisher: Freeform
Synopsis: “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.
Review: I loved this amazing book! I loved the commentary on gender and I thought the story did well to convey that lesson to teens. The book has great world building and amazing character development.
My only issue was that I felt the story was slow in pace in a couple of places. That’s it. This is a really good book!
Verdict: A must read!
CITY OF BEASTS ASSETS
About the Book:
Title: CITY OF BEASTS
Author: Corrie Wang
Pub. Date: September 17, 2018
Publisher: Freeform
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 384
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD
“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.
About Corrie:
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
BLOGGERS WHO HAVE POSTS BEFORE SEPTEMBER 16TH, PLEASE POST THIS PRE-ORDER CAMPAIGN INFO!
CITY OF BEASTS PRE-ORDER CAMPAIGN
Please submit proof of purchase to CORRIEWANGBOOKS [at] GMAIL [dot] COM. All formats apply (physical & e-book). Open to the United States only. Last day to submit is MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 at 11:59 PM.
PRE-ORDERS FROM BLUE BICYCLE BOOKS
http://bluebicyclebooks.bigcartel.com/product/corrie-wang-city-of-beasts
Each signed pre-order copy of City of Beats will come with:
- 1 set of 5 Battle Cards featuring different mercenaries
- A special paperclip necklace made by Mouse which makes you a part of the City of Beast family
- Entry to win 1 of 3 raffle prizes
- 1st prize is a Jackrabbit Filly t-shirt/patch/ $10 gift card
- 2nd prize $10 gift card to Jackrabbit Filly and t-shirt
- 3rd prize $10 gift card to Jackrabbit Filly
ANY PREORDERS FROM AN INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
Pre-order City of Beasts at your local indie and you will receive:
- A signed bookplate
- A set of 5 Battle Cards featuring different mercenaries
- A special paperclip necklace made by Mouse, making you part of the City of Beast family
PRE-ORDERS FROM ANYWHERE BOOKS ARE SOLD!
ANY PREORDERS FROM AN INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
Pre-order City of Beasts anywhere else books are sold you will receive:
- A signed bookplate
- 1 of 5 Battle Cards at random
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive finished copies of CITY OF BEASTS, US Only.
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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
Disclaimer: I received this copy from NetGalley. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Publication Date: April 18, 2019
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Recommended Age: 18+ (technology and destruction)
Publisher: Indie published
Synopsis: In 2048, AI specialist Tomo is about to lose his job in Silicon Valley, as U.S. unemployment soars past thirty percent. He’s a terrible team player, and his ass-kissing skills are sub-par. While Tomo’s got talents for making robots act more human, the job makes him feel more like a machine.
When his hometown in Japan is destroyed by a tsunami, Tomo has the reason he needs to take a break.
But in Tokyo, Tomo overhears something impossible to ignore: a care-giving bot is pressuring his grandmother to sell her condo and move into an old folks’ home. Elderly neighbors complain their bots sing the same tune.
Tomo breaches the veil of customer service at the care-giving company, revealing a yakuza scheme that amounts to genocide. Tomo now has an opportunity to put his talents to better use—with help from an upbeat slacker and a rogue AI.
TOKYO GREEN (91,000 words) is a stand-alone SF novel that explores not only the dangers of technology, but also the ability of technology to thrust humanity deeper into nature, making the future a worthwhile destination for all.
Review: I thought if you like dystopian sci-fi this was a good book for you. The writing is solid and the characters are well developed. The story is interesting and the worldbuilding is really good.
However, the pacing kills it for me and I just struggled through this book. I might be in a mood, but it was just not for me.
Verdict: A decent book.
PopTheButterfly Reads 