Rush by Eve Silver

So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

My Review:

Had potential. But some things that I couldn't get over:

1. INSTALOVE. For some reason that isn't really explained, Miki immediately falls in love with Jackson. Like...literally the first time she sees him. Nope.

2. IT MAKES NO FREAKING SENSE. Besides the strange idea of being pulled into a video game that is actually real life, there were points in this book that drove my nuts (also the fact that this was never really explained...such as HOW?).
Ex.  Jackson wears sunglasses all the time. But somehow, Miki is able to read every expression he has. How can that be possible if he's hiding half his face?!

This book was just...I don't know. There was potential there, but this was just not good.

2/5 Stars

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker.

Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

My Review:

WOW.

Killer aliens, a romance, kids fighting for their lives (but on their own!).  A vivid fantasy world was created in this book by Yancey, along with stellar characters.

I'm not even sure what to say about this book. It was amazing. Nothing I expected and better than I could have anticipated.  I really wish it hadn't taken me so long to pick this book up.  I had heard lots of hype but never took the time to see for myself.  And OMG now I understand why people are going nuts.

Right from the first page, I was hooked.  Yancey uses an interesting storytelling technique to describe the events of the previous waves.  We learn about them through other scenarios going on and memories and one of the main characters talks to us.

There were also multiple POVs in this book with different chapters.  I think this is what really tied the book together and made it what it was.  All the characters eventually have a connection and their stories all mix, giving us a complete picture of everything that went on in this post-apocalyptic world.  One of the main characters, Cassie, might be one of my favorite heroins.  She was strong, courageous, SMART, and also relate-able.  The other characters were also phenomenal and I seriously looked this book.

I need the second book STAT.

5/5 Stars

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same? 

The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career. 

Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one. 

But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.

My Review:

Despite the rather lackluster cover, this is one of my new favorite dystopians book.  It had all the right element to really hold me interested.

I loved the idea of there being a test that participants must pass in order to "earn" their right to go to college.  Add to that the fact that the test is dangerous and people die, and you've good me hooked.

The characters were well-developed and surprisingly relate-able.  A nice romance developed without it overpowering the story or the action taking place.

If you like dystopians, you've got to at least give this book a shot!

5/5 Stars