Search This Blog
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (7)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (2)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (3)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (3)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (9)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (2)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (2)
International:
- Argentina (1)
- Australia (2)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (3)
- China (1)
- England (20)
- France (1)
- Ghana (1)
- India (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Poland (1)
- Russia (1)
- Scotland (3)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Friday, October 25, 2013
Pulse-pounding SYLO Hits Intended Target
6:15 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Things on Pemberwick Island, Maine, don't change much from year to year. The tourists come, the tourists go, and life moves on for the locals. Bored with small-town life, most of Pemberwick's teenagers can't wait to leave the island behind. Not 14-year-old Tucker Pierce. His family hasn't been in Maine very long, but he loves the area's rugged beauty, the island's quaint, laid-back charm. It beats living in some dirty, crowded city any day.
Tucker's peaceful island world is shattered when Marty Wiggins, a senior tailback, collapses during a high school football game. His sudden, inexplicable death stuns everyone, especially Tucker, who saw the rage and confusion brewing in Marty's eyes just before he died. The football player isn't the only islander acting weird—suddenly, everyone seems to be consumed with an unnatural and deadly kind of aggression. Something weird is definitely going on.
Then, SYLO, a mysterious military group, invades the island, taking things from weird to worse. The soldiers allow no one on or off the island and offer no explanation for their actions. Have the islanders all been infected with some crazy virus? Are more people going to die? And what's with the strange, humming aircraft that circle Pemberwick, but only at night? Cut off from the outside world, with no t.v. or Internet access, Tucker has no idea what's going on. He only knows he has to find out. With the help of his best friend, Quinn, and Tori, the girl he's been crushing on forever, Tucker will figure out what's happening on his island. Even if it means putting everything—and everyone—he loves in grave danger.
With plenty of pulse-pounding action to keep the pages turning, SYLO by D.J. MacHale is an exciting read that will appeal to even the most reluctant of readers (especially if they're male). The plot's pretty cliché, the characters pretty cardboard, the writing pretty average, but the story moves along at a frantic pace, making you keep reading in spite of the book's hang-ups. SYLO's overly long and totally far-fetched, but it wasn't a horrible read. It's entertaining, anyway. When I finished the book, I handed it to my 14-year-old son and—no surprises here—he's been riveted since Page 1. Does SYLO hit the spot for its intended audience? I'd say yes, yes, it does.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of other YA dystopian books, although no specific titles are coming to mind)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for mild language (no F-bombs), violence and sexual innuendo
To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of SYLO from the generous folks at Penguin. Thank you!
1 comment:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
-
-
Just His Secretary12 hours ago
-
Morrison, Toni "The Bluest Eye"12 hours ago
-
-
-
-
When We Flew Away By Alice Hoffman17 hours ago
-
A Letter from Ireland by Ann O’Loughlin17 hours ago
-
Audiobook: Every Valley20 hours ago
-
-
-
Family Man by Elinor Lipman1 day ago
-
-
-
-
Bookish Quote of the Day!!!3 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Reading Recap September 20242 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Review: The Duke and I2 months ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus2 months ago
-
Sunday Post2 months ago
-
-
-
The Music of 2024: Q23 months ago
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ▼ 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)
I've heard mixed things about this too. Glad you still thought it was worth reading.
ReplyDelete