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#Book Blitz #Spindrifts by A-M Mawhiney #Dystopian #YA @Xpresso Book Tours

28/11/2022

 

Spindrifts
A-M Mawhiney
Publication date: November 24th 2021
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult

Racism, climate change, and violence are in the past. The new world values respect and collaboration with others. But are there secrets lurking in the shadows of the Land of Hope? What truth about the past is being covered up?

When fifteen-year-old Fania returns from Immersion, she is shattered to learn that the next phase of her education is at home with Alicia, her granny. She had hoped for something far grander that would prepare her for an important role with the Earth Project. Their two strong personalities clash as Fania begins to learn more about the past and her family’s role in it.

As Fania grows in confidence and power, she starts to wonder exactly what secrets Alicia is keeping in her underground lab. After Fania discovers the truth, she finds her calling: one that has the power to change everything.

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EXCERPT:

Fania’s Journal: An excerpt from Spindrifts by A-M Mawhiney © 2021

I’m supposed to write in my journal every day. Sure. Like that’s the best use of my time. They said it’d be a private place to think, but I’ve wondered about that. I can think in my head without writing my thoughts. Just in case, I always use my disconnected tablet for the real journal, encrypted with three protective codes and in a language I developed myself. I know this might be over the top, but I’ve felt better knowing no one can read my actual journal. So, people can read how excited I am about my apprenticeship, but privately I’m totally dissed. I really want to learn about people From Away, and instead I’m apprenticing with Granny, my great-grandmother, who’s spent most of her life close to home in her research laboratory, two miles down an ancient mine shaft. It used to be where they studied mysteries of the universe! How the heck did that work?

I’ve always loved Granny. I’ve felt as though we’ve had a special relationship, and I’ve missed spending time with her. I just never thought they’d give me a responsibility so far removed from what I really want to be doing.

Ezma told me I’ve many skills and a strong aptitude for analytical thinking. I know what that means. It means sitting in an underground lab every day for the rest of my life. I guess I wasn’t very good at hiding my feelings because Ezma felt she had to remind me what Granny does is very important. Then she asked me a curious question.

“Do you know what she does?”

Well, of course I do! I explained, “Granny is the researcher who found the serum. She said it was a fluke.”

That comment made Ezma laugh, hysterically almost. “Well, Fania, you’ll find there’s a lot you can learn from Alicia. I hope you’ll keep an open mind.”

When I boarded the transport to head home after two years at Immersion, my patch reminded me to change my timer back to the village’s schedule. The health patch is a misnomer; it’s actually an up-to-date example of bio-merged nanotechnology. This latest gen’s so far advanced compared to the primitive models my grandparents used when they were young—those things they wore on their wrists. Now the healer implants the technology at birth where it merges with our brainwaves. It has reciprocal transformational capabilities, but I’ve been told there are limitations so it can’t change the basic personality or natural abilities of anyone. The patch transmits and receives communications, monitors personal health data, and provides all my reading materials. Everyone in our territory has them, so far as I know.

Author Bio:

A-M Mawhiney was deeply moved by the events of 2020 and the cries from advocates fighting for equity and justice for people living precarious lives because of structural barriers and discrimination. As a former social worker and academic she has spent her career seeking ways to improve lives of marginalized learners through inclusive education for all students. Mawhiney has hope for a better future for us all. Her vision of what this might look like inspired her to write Spindrifts.

Anne-Marie lives in Sudbury, Ontario, in the territory of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek in the Robinson-Huron Treaty Area, with Dave McGill and their canine companion, Charlie.

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#Blog Tour #Book Review #The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He @Xpresso Book Tours

6/5/2021

 

The Ones We’re Meant to Find
Joan He
Published by: Roaring Brook Press
Publication date: May 4th 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Perfect for fans of Rick Yancey and Marie Lu, The Ones We’re Meant to Find is a sci-fi fantasy with mind-blowing twists, ready to burst onto the YA scene, from the critically-acclaimed Descendant of the Crane author, Joan He.

Cee awoke on an abandoned island three years ago. With no idea of how she was marooned, she only has a rickety house, an old android, and a single memory: she has a sister, and Cee needs to find her.

STEM prodigy Kasey wants escape from the science and home she once trusted. The Metropolis—Earth’s last unpolluted place—is meant to be sanctuary for those commited to planetary protection, but it’s populated by people willing to do anything for refuge, even lie. Now, she’ll have to decide if she’s ready to use science to help humanity, even though it failed the people who mattered most.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play


Author Bio:

Joan was born and raised in Philadelphia but still will, on occasion, lose her way. At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that stories were her favorite kind of art. She studied psychology and Chinese history at the University of Pennsylvania and currently writes from a desk overlooking the city
waterfront. Descendant of the Crane is her young adult debut.

For updates, please sign up for her newsletter: http://eepurl.com/c5rvdL. For business related inquiries, please contact her literary agent, John Cusick of Folio Lit.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram


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My thoughts:

This book was everything I was waiting for! Science-fiction is one of my favourite genres and when the writing is as good as Joan He's, it makes you feel powerful emotions and makes you think about the world created in it for days and days afterwards. The Ones We're meant to Find has multiple twists and while I am dying to tell you how brilliant the plot is, I don't want to spoil your reading pleasure.

Straight from the beginning we are thrown into a mystery. We meet Celia who is stranded on an island, lost her colour vision and most of her memories and is desperately trying to find her sister Kay. Then the story switches to Kasey and her life in this futuristic dystopian world and we get a new set of elements that might seem confusing at the beginning, but will all come together into a mesmerising overall picture.

Joan He's use of different forms of narrative (first person for Celia, third for her sister Kaycey) was absolutely brilliant. The characters are so well-differentiated and unique and you are compelled to read on to understand their personalities and their motivations. Both sisters are  flawed in their own ways and you might relate more to one or the other,or more likely than not, you will relate to both of them at different points. The intensity of the bond between them and their love for each other is undeniable and will break your heart.

Whatever expectations you have,the book is going to surprise you. I loved  the steady pace and this feeling of being on the verge of figuring it all out. Of course, you learn more or get another mind-blowing twist which shifts your perspective.

It is one of the most engaging and emotional stories I've read this year. Everything in it including the futuristic world with its environmental disasters that is paying consequences  for our actions in the present, the characters, the plot- all of it was so well-written that the book definitely went beyond my expectations and I can't recommend it high enough. Can't wait to read what Joan He writes next!

Thank you to Giselle from Xpresso Book Tours, NetGalley and Roaring Books for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.



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