Review: Flesh and Bone by Jonathan Maberry

Flesh & Bone by Jonathan Maberry

Hardcover, 469 pages

Published September 11th 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Source: Own
Buy the book:  Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads:

Reeling from the tragic events of Dust & Decay, Benny Imura and his friends plunge deep into the zombie-infested wastelands of the great Rot & Ruin. Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong journey through a fierce wilderness that was once America, searching for the jet they saw in the skies months ago. If that jet exists then humanity itself must have survived…somewhere. Finding it is their best hope for having a future and a life worth living.

But the Ruin is far more dangerous than any of them can imagine. They are hunted by fierce animals escaped from zoos and circuses. They must raid zombie-infested towns for food and medical supplies. They discover the very real truth in the old saying: In the Rot & Ruin…everything wants to kill you.

And what is happening to the zombies? Swarms of them are coming from the east, devouring everything in their paths. These zoms are different. Faster, smarter, infinitely more dangerous. Has the zombie plague mutated, or is there something far more sinister behind this new invasion of the living dead?

In Flesh & Bone, Benny Imura, Nix Riley, Lou Chong and Lilah the Lost Girl are pitted against dangers greater than anything they've ever faced. To survive, each of them must rise to become the warriors Tom trained them to be.

 One of my favorite series and it just keeps getting better and better. This installment takes the previous dangers met by our heroes and makes them look like teardrops falling into a five gallon bucket. The Rot & Ruin brings some horrific surprises for Benny and his crew!

  The journey has already hurt them physically and mentally, but it continues to give our heroes grief. Things don't turn out anything like they thought they would. The cults they encounter are far more crazy than what they could have imagined. This takes their lives and journey into an entire new direction. The incident with Chong was one I was waiting for, just was not sure which character it would happen to. It will be interesting to see how the plot winds that one out. Especially with Lilah involved. We get to see so much more of her and her thoughts this time around and I loved every minute of it. She's become my favorite character. 
Benny and Nix take on some almost hilarious scary events. They are totally plausible, but also laughable because that is all I would be able to do in those situations. Its that sad and horrific and I would be screwed. You will really get to see these two grow up in this book. They are learning the complete in's and out's of a relationship and time will tell if it is something they want to hold on to. 

For a time their journeys are divided, but then combine again at the end. Both paths are filled will potholes, especially when they learn about the airplane and the real history of life after First Night. This opens a whole new can of worms to deal with. The crew's Sanctuary and new friends may not be all they are cracked up to be. From what we learn towards the end, Sanctuary could actually be anything but what it implies. The anxiety you will feel at the end of this book will make you extremely mad. There is so much left wide open, you will be sitting in a corner, rocking, and waiting for the final book in the series, Fire & Ash, to come out in September. Don't worry, you won't be alone. I will be patiently biting my nails until the end of this saga!

Review: Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hardcover, 438 pages

Published October 4th 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Source: Purchased
Buy the book:  Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads:

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

 *Sigh* I had such hopes for this book. Cresendo was...well horrid in my opinion and I had hoped this would be the redeemer for it. Sadly, I was mistaken. 
The book suffers from major lack of plot. Nora doesn't have her memories and Patch is being...well, Patch I guess and just floating along. It is definitely written better in some minor aspects, but it still just doesn't have that little thing that jumps out and grabs you. I found myself just flipping through the pages saying to myself "Get on with it and get it over with." You can see what's going to happen five chapters back and there's just filler in between. And yes, I can probably write and outline of Finale at this point as well.
What saved this book for me, a little, was Patch, Jev, and Vee. Patch and Jev show a little of their true selves. I especially like Jev. Why? I don't know, there's just something about him. Vee. I really just wanted to smack her at times. I kept waiting to see what would happen next with her and her shenanigans though. She may be annoying but at least what was happening around her was usually interesting.
This one was definitely an improvement over the second book. However, it is still very lackluster compared to the first. I will probably read the final book, but it will be because I am already so invested in this series. I hope that the final book will be as good as Hush, Hush, but I simply want this series to be done already.

Review: Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry

Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry
Hardcover, 519 pages
Published: August 30, 2011 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Buy the Book: Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads: In post-apocalyptic America, 15-year-old Benny Imura and his friends set out into the great Rot & Ruin hoping to find a better future but are soon pitted against zombies, wild animals, insane murderers, and the horrors of Gameland.

Maberry does it again. Many second books suffer from "Second-Book Syndrome" and provide only filler for the storyline. Expecting that from this book, especially considering the plot, I was taken off guard by how fulfilling it was. The book could stand on its own and gives the reader an exciting ride through the Rot & Ruin. Fear and heartache are constant reminders for Benny and the reader that this world is no bed of roses.

The book picks up just shortly after Rot & Ruin's ending. Benny is mentally preparing himself for the trip out to the Rot & Ruin, but there is some understandable hesitation by other members of his little group. Events in the village hasten their decisions and departure time. This is a game-changer at the beginning of the book and later towards the end. The "decisions have consequences" theme continues form this point on the characters come to many crossroads and have to weigh their options. I do like this because it reminds me of watching Benny grow up in the first book. Now, he and his friends are faced with challenges and situations that most adults would have difficulty planning a course of action for, especially including the life or death factor.

There are periods of downtime, but it is filled with interesting character interactions that keep the reader entertained while learning more about the group. The information you learn in this downtime is vital to understanding the decisions they make and the action that follows them. The action sequences are heart-stopping and keep you on edge until you catch your breath at the end. The culminating events are two-fold in my opinion. One will leave you in tears and the other will let you see Benny and the gang at their finest. It is an evil tug-of-war between your mind and heart because there is so much to process. At the end of the book you're left with so many feelings of "What if?" With Maberry's writing we're in a guessing game of how and if they're going to overcome this life dealt to them. I guess we'll be finding out with the release of Flesh & Bone in September and the announced final and fourth book in the series, Fire & Ash!

Review: 5/5 for Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Hardcover, 458 pages

Published October 5th 2010 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Source: Purchased
Buy the book: Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads:

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

For some insane reason, I was not expecting much from this book. It's not one of my usual go-to's and definitely a little long to read while in grad school. The synopsis was, eh, so-so at best for me and didn't put me in any real rush to read it. Then I got involved with a couple Halloween read-a-thons and thought it would be a good fit for it. It turns out I was right and was relatively surprised with how much I loved this book.

The characters in this book feel very real to me. Benny, being the fifteen year old that he is, has the stereotypical incidents of "teenage-hood." The usual outbursts, emotional turmoils, rebellion against rules and family, and mistakes are not beneath him at all. However, it was very enjoyable to watch him grow-up and become so aware of the world around him. I could almost see his naivety floating off of the page. The most impressive evolution is his relationship with his brother, Tom, due to the life realizations. The book chronicles his "coming-of-age" story beautifully and it really holds the plot together like a central line. Many of the other characters that Benny is friends with go through similar trials and their relationships entwine seamlessly as they mature into young adults.

The plot holds steady through the book. It didn't matter when I put the book down or picked it up, I was always in the middle of some event going on in their lives. I can see some being put off because not all of these events were dramatic or heart-stopping, but they were essential. While not venturing out into danger, Benny was experiencing really strong events personally that really made up for it. These scenes were as involving to me as the actions scenes and really completed the book. Maberry held the delicate balance between the scenes wonderfully and it gives the reader a complete sense of satisfaction when they're finished with the book.