Adele of Persnickety Snark is running the FIVE challenge ~ and I'm pumped about seeing her posts and joining in here on some of them. (you can join in with the Mr Linky here and see what other people have been choosing)
To kick it off here's Five Great 2010 Debuts that you might have missed out on...
For this series I also want to highlight books that are awesome but may not be popping up everywhere in the best of lists. It's so hard to choose favourites, best-of's, etc ~ when there's a lot of brilliant books out there that slip under the radar...
What 2010 debut have you loved reading this year?
* and, yeah, I'm a day late, sometimes, that's how I roll :)
Five hundred years into the future, the world is a different place. The Melt has sunk most of the coastal cities and Newperth is divided into the haves, the “Centrals”; the have-nots, the “Bankers”; and the fringe dwellers, the “Ferals”. Rosie Black is a Banker. When Rosie finds an unusual box, she has no idea of the grave consequences of her discovery. A mysterious organisation wants it – and will kill to get it. Forced to rely on two strangers, Rosie is on the run. But who can she trust? Pip, the too attractive Feral, or the secretive man he calls boss? From Earth to Mars, Rosie must learn the secrets of the box – before it’s too late.
I loved this.
There's a great vibe to this book - which doesn't sag in momentum - the plot kept moving forward making it an energetic and captivating read. The prose is just lovely, clean and fresh, I'm a fan.
I adore Rosie. Mostly, I love that she stuffs things up a fair bit. She does things she's not supposed to - she's not always thinking straight. I love teens (and people) who have the best of intentions but somehow still manage to screw up and fudge their way along. Ultimately, she's one tough girl that I care oh-so-immensely about. She's inventive, and a strong protag. You will love her :)
Pip. I'll add him to the top of my crush-worthy list of fictional characters. He is just done so well. I can't pigeon hole him at all. He's a Feral and not what you expect and he keeps not being what you expect until you kinda don't know what to expect anymore. He's funny, clever, hot, mischievous and infuriating.
I was initially caught up by the mystery of the box, and how Rosie opens it and triggers a domino chain of events of seemingly never-ending catastrophic events (kinda like this run-on sentence). Then, the plot deepens, and twists and gradually I found myself invested not just in the story that was unfolding, but the characters. by the end, i was deeply invested in all the main characters lives. They have such intriguing histories and painful pasts and there's secrets, mysteries, and most of all - a huge betrayal. Ouch.
There's torture and freaky stuff going down on Mars... and other sci-fi stuff that I can't coherently relate but made sense when I read it, haha. (It's 500 years in the future: half set in Australia, then space and finally on Mars).
Boys will love this too. Plus, it would make an ideal classroom read. One of those non-boring high school texts that will captivate and spark a whole range of discussion and debate.
It's the first in a series. I'm really hanging out to see what happens next, hey :)
I am very psyched for this one - brilliant premise, funky cover art, Australian and it's receiving some outstanding reviews.
It's out now in Australia and New Zealand. I spotted a copy @ Kmart and the cover looks stunning in the flesh, the black ink raised and bumpy :) My copy is flying to me after winning one from The Book Gryffin. (yay! Thanks Tye)
The Rosie Black Chronicles
by Lara Morgan
Five hundred years into the future, the world is a different place. The Melt has sunk most of the coastal cities and Newperth is divided into the haves, the “Centrals”; the have-nots, the “Bankers”; and the fringe dwellers, the “Ferals”.
Rosie Black is a Banker. When Rosie finds an unusual box, she has no idea of the grave consequences of her discovery. A mysterious organisation wants it – and will kill to get it.
Forced to rely on two strangers, Rosie is on the run. But who can she trust? Pip, the too attractive Feral, or the secretive man he calls boss?
From Earth to Mars, Rosie must learn the secrets of the box – before it’s too late.
In other news. The Rain! Argh. I live on the coast and it's rained for weeks and weeks and now it's forecast to pretty much rain until Christmas. It's thundering-down, blast-in-your-face, insane-overflowing-gutters stuff.
Have a good (hopefully sunny weekend)
