Book Review: Origin by Jessica Khoury

Origin by Jessica Khoury

Expected Publication: September 4, 2012

Publisher: Razorbill

Age Demographic: YA Sci-Fi Fantasy

Pages: 393

ARC: Provided for review by ATW ARC Tours

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home--and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin--a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost

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Amazon & B&N

Beautifully lush and mysteriously intriguing, Origin brings to life the age old clash between science and nature. Set in the vividly imaginative jungle surrounded by gorgeous landscape, exotic terrains and animals, it's filled with breath-taking romance and incredible dangerous peril. Jessica Khoury sets out to tell an amazing action filled suspenseful shocking adventure sure to engage and captivate readers. Wonderfully bold and deliciously original, Origin is a story that will answer questions with more questions and pique interests that will stay with readers long after the last page has been turned. Evockative and thrilling, Jessica Khoury weaves together a tale that explores the moral delimma's of science versus mankind and spiritual faith, while adding in a hint of the paranormal element so delicately.

Origin's pages are filled with bravery, intrigue, and heartbreaking action filled romance sure to titilate any sci-fi paranormal fan. Khoury brings to life a wonderfully written and developed herione, sure to grab any reader's attention. Pia is an extraordinary character that is likable, easy to connect with, and interesting. It's a wonderful reading experience getting to embark on the journey of self-discovery with her, as the story unfolds revealing dark secrets that have been kept from her and a chance at possible freedom from being so incredibly sheltered for seventeen years of her life. The passion that she exuberates for what she believes is right and wrong, is just as confusing as all of the dark secrets of her true identity and origin that have been kept from her, and yet it's beautifully written and dripping with insurmountable emotion that is just as real and palpable as the air she breathes.

Jessica Khoury explores a dark and terrifying outlook on the manipulation of science to further mankind's lifespan, that is so realistic that at times, parts of the novel was gruesome and extremely dismal. She pens a powerfully stunning story that evokes as much confusion and mystery, that reader's simply won't be able to put it down. The romance is such a wonderful element that helps to lighten the darkness and to push Pia head first into freedom, forcing her to make a decision between what she believes is right and wrong. It's beautiful and wildly imaginative and dripping with suspense. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys well thought out plot driven novels, that explore science versus humanity, and delivers a strong female herione and exciting sub-character's who come with their own stories to tell.

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Jessica Khoury is 22 years old and was born and raised in Georgia. She attended public school followed by homeschooling, and earned her bachelor's degree in English from Toccoa Falls College. She lives in Toccoa, Georgia with her husband Benjamin, two terrible dogs, and an abundance of books, shoes, and sweet tea. When not writing, she's usually directing stageplays or coaching soccer. Origin is her first novel.

Book Review: Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz & Ron Bass

Lucid by Adrienne Stotlz & Ron Bass

Publication: October 2, 2012

Publisher: Razorbill

Age Demographic: YA Contemporary

Pages: 342

What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever?

Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different--except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other.

The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiraling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever.

This is a dazzling debut that will steal readers' hearts.

To Purchase Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz & Ron Bass: Amazon & B&N

Lucid is a powerfully emotionally gripping new debut that is sure to tug at readers heart strings and have them aching with the characters. Stoltz and Bass have really teamed up and written a powerhouse phenomenal new young adult novel, with an interesting twist. It's a beautifully crafted heartbreaking tale, that reaches out and allows readers to feel with the characters and the odds they are facing. It is truly one of the most fascinating reads, that I've had the pleasure of enjoying all year. The transition between the dream worlds, the two girls lives (Maggie and Sloane), and the confusion and mystery were definitely enough to capture my attention.

This dymanic duo, have definitely cultivated a wonderfully engaging, heartbreaking, painful, and confusion mystery that will stun, wow, and captivate anyone. The characters are so well developed, the twist in the story arc is incredibly intriguing, and the massively unexpect cliffhanger at the end make it such an incredible read. It's a wonderfully confusing and distorted way of looking at life from two different sides of the coin. For me, personally, it's rare to find a gem such as this novel that can actually make me feel torn and sympathetic to both dream worlds and both girls, at the same time. In a way, it's magnificently disturbing and beautifully written.

Lucid holds the desires, dreams, and hopes of two girls caught up within each others dream worlds, and trying to decipher which one is real and which one is fake. The alluring thing, when it comes to this book, is the fact that it's so incredibly relatable and brilliantly stunning in the storytelling details that it's hard not to be drawn into its web of conflict, confusion, and chaos. It is probably one of the most unique and original stories, that I've read in quite some time. I wouldn't be so quick to pass this book up, as I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys heartfelt emotionally gripping stories that will pull at their heart. It is definitely worth the read.