BLOG TOUR REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: J.A. Souder’s Renegade – Released Nov 13th (@jasouders , @torbooks)

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie.

Her memories have been altered.

Her mind and body aren’t under her own control.

And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb… and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

I occasionally find a YA novel that really grabs me but, in all honesty, it’s not that often.  Not that I feel YA is bad by any means.  That’s not the case at all.  I just tend to drift more towards the darker side when it comes to my reading material.  However, Renegade was one of those fine exceptions.

I found that the characters and the society that they are living in is gripping from the beginning.  The book takes place in a post-war-of-some-sort world and right off the bat, I was pulled in, wanting to know how they got to where they are.  The way of life is somewhat reminiscent of Lois Lowry’s ‘The Giver’.  Not too say it’s a rip off of The Give or anything.  It’s not.  Far from it , in fact.  Make no mistake, this book certainly holds its own but the FEEL of the book is along the same lines.  You get the sense that something just isn’t right and immediately, your heart goes out to the main character because you know she’s different from everyone else.

I don’t want to get into too much more detail as I don’t want to give away the plot lines.  If you were a fan of The Giver, you will LOVE this book.

On a side note, LOOK AT THE COVER.  I shouldn’t be admitting that because it’s taboo to admit that one does, in fact, judge a book by its cover but the cover is what originally attracted me to this book.  The artwork is absolutely beautiful and, if you want a glimpse of the world Evie lives in, the cover is literally a scene right out of the book.  Love it!

Overall, I am giving Renegade 4 solid stars.  Well worth the read!  🙂

The wonderful folks at Tor books approached me for this review a while back and I snagged the book on NetGalley.  A few weeks ago, they were kind enough to send me a hardcover copy as well for a giveaway!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS OPEN TO U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY.

THE WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN
SATURDAY DEC 15TH @ 12PM

Fill in this form to enter:

RENEDAGE
by J.A. Souders

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR COPY!