Book Review: Tankborn

Author: Karen Sandler
Genre: YA; Science Fiction; Dystopian
Release: September, 2011
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 4/5

Description: Best friends Kayla and Mishalla know they will be separated for their Assignments. They are GENs, Genetically Engineered Non-humans, and in their strict caste system, GENs are at the bottom rung of society. GENs are gestated in a tank and sent to work as slaves as soon as they reach age fifteen.

When Kayla is Assigned to care for Zul Manel, the patriarch of a trueborn family, she finds secrets and surprises; not least of which is her unexpected friendship with Zul's great-grandson. Meanwhile, the children that Mishalla is Assigned to care for are being stolen in the middle of the night. 

After weeks of toiling in their Assignments, mystifying circumstances enable Kayla and Mishalla to reunite. Together they hatch a plan to save the disappearing children. Yet can GENs really trust humans? Both girls must put their lives and hearts at risk to crack open a sinister conspiracy, revealing secrets no one is ready to face.

Review: I must admit, this book surprised me, in a good way. I wasn't really expecting much, but boy am I glad I requested it!

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

• I would've liked a little more description about the world around them. Loka is the name of the planet humans inhabited after Earth was destroyed. I would've like more description as to what Loka looked like. She had a few descriptions, but not enough, in my humble opinion.

WHAT I DID LIKE

• The descriptions Ms. Sandler do have are awesome. I can picture the characters & I can see what's happening.
• The complexity of the novel...she created an interesting world beyond our normal world. She addresses prejudices in a unique way. GENs (Genetically Engineered Non-Humans), who were not born the natural way, but through test-tubes, are on the lowest level and treated as such. Lowborns are born from mothers, but they are not high status. Still they have more rights than GENs. High Status Trueborns are at the top.
• I loved the characters from Kayla and Mishalla, to their love interests, Devak and Eoghan. Kayla and Mishalla are such strong female main characters. They are GENs, sometimes treated like lower than dirt, but it doesn't break them or cause them to become whiny. I found myself rooting for them throughout the whole novel.
• I loved the romance between Kayla/Devak & Mishalla/Eoghan. Devak is a trueborn while Eoghan is a lowborn. Both boys are higher than Kayla and Mishalla, but they fall for them anyway. I liked that the romance didn't start right away. Both Kayla and Mishalla had feelings for their prospective love interests, but they didn't act on it cos of the statuses. They were hesitant, even when the guys showed interest.
• There were points in the novel that had edge-of-your-seat action.
• The ending left it open for a sequel.

I sure hope Ms. Sandler writes a sequel to Tankborn! I want to know what has happened to Kayla, Devak, Mishalla, and Eoghan.

ARC Review: Those That Wake

Author: Jesse Karp
Genre: Young Adult; Dystopian
Release Date: March, 2011
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 2.5/5

Book Blurb: New York City's spirit has been crushed. People walk the streets with their heads down, withdrawing from each other and into the cold comfort of technology. Teenagers Mal and Laura have grown up in this reality. They've never met. Seemingly, they never will.

But on the same day Mal learns his brother has disappeared, Laura discovers her parents have forgotten her. Both begin a search for their families that leads them to the same truth: someone or something has wiped the teens from the memories of every person they have ever known. Thrown together, Mal and Laura must find common ground as they attempt to reclaim their pasts.

What I Didn't Like...

• It had a slow start. the beginning did not catch my attention. I kept reading in hopes that it would change, but it didn't do it for me.
• It read more like an adult book, rather than a YA. In fact, in parts of the book, we read from the points of view of the two adult main characters.
• The plot got quite confusing at some points and left me thinking, "What?"
• The ending was just as confusing.

What I Liked...

• The teen characters, Mal and Laura. I found myself rooting for them...especially for Laura. I wish the budding romance between them was fleshed out more (despite the typical bad boy/good girl vibe), but that's just cos I'm a closet romantic.
• The concept of a future where people are more into technology than human contact was interesting, especially with today's obsession with technology.

The blurb is what drew me in. I mean, I admit I'm sometimes guilty of texting/emailing/Facebooking/tweeting instead of calling and talking to the person. Sadly, the blurb was the most interesting part of the book to me. I SO wanted to like this book, but it just didn't hold my interest. Who knows, maybe your opinion will be different.