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Thursday, September 27, 2012

A fantastic YA read: Rot & Ruin



When I went into reading Rot & Ruin I did not expect to find it so engrossing. I’ve only read one other zombie book, Outpost, and liked it, but that one was a totally different look at the zombie lore. In Rot & Ruin zombies act like expected, but apart from that, the author doesn’t present his zombie story like others. Instead, he takes it from a very human angle, following the lives of Benny, his brother and friends. We get down to how life is for Benny, what it is like to live in a time where the old conventions of the world are no longer viable. In school, amongst their studies they learn how to handle zombies. When they reach 15 they have to start working so they can keep their rations. Because they live in an enclosed town, where it is supposedly safe from zombies, he has only a limited choice of jobs he can pick from, of which most he considers boring. So, in the end he ends up becoming an apprentice to his half-brother Tom, who is a bounty hunter (a closure specialist to be precise). At the beginning of the book Benny will annoy you, because he acts like a selfish teenager that unjustly blames his brother for things. He admires the wrong kinds of people, two other nasty bounty hunters, when he should be admiring, instead of hating, his brother. But as the story proceeds events happen one after the other and his affected and preconceived notions about how things are starts to be questioned, then falls completely away.

What I loved about this book was the way the author didn’t make the zombies out to be the real villains. The zombies act on instinct, they have no hate in them, just need, you can’t judge them on a human level, because they are no longer human and are basically animals that don’t know any better. But the bounty hunters (apart from Tom) are the real villains. They know what they are doing, are supposedly with feelings, yet they do the vilest things: like preying on the zombies and young children for their own amusement. They’ve created a Gameland where they barter money to see which children can survive in a pit (and other scenarios) against zombies. They also hack at zombies for their own amusement, playing with them, and forgetting they were once people, people that were loved. This is Tom’s view of zombies, which is why he’s a closure specialist. He gets contracts from families to go put their loved ones (who have become zombies) to rest in a humane manner.

Because of what the bad bounty hunters do they have made enemies not only with Tom, but a girl who roams the wilderness. When the worst of the bounty hunters attack people that Tom and Benny love, taking one of them, the brothers go looking for her (Nix, and Benny’s love interest). Along the way the lost girl joins them, leading to an explosive climax. And the epilogue is so perfect, really moving.

This is just a fantastic novel, well worth your time reading. I’ve been told that this book and its sequels are being turned into movies, which I would absolutely love to see.

5 very well deserved stars. I highly recommend Rot & Ruin.  

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Graffiti Heaven's Fan Page

My new book Graffiti Heaven has a fan page. I will be discussing everything to do with the book at this link: Graffiti Heaven's Fan Page. Some of the topics that will be discussed include (in alphabetical order): Abuse, Bullying, Coming of Age, Dating and Sex, Drugs, Edgy YA Reads, Family Issues, Homophobia, Peer Pressure, Prejudice, Racism, Sexuality, Teen Depression and Attempted Suicide, Teen Life, Teen Pregnancy, etc.

I am open to answering questions and chatting about these topics, as well as the future of this series. I will also upload articles every so often.




Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Graffiti Heaven and Music


I'm in the mood for some music, so since my new edgy ya book Graffiti Heaven (the prequel to the Behind the Lives series) is set in the year 2000, I thought I'd see what songs my characters would've listened to back then. Some songs have also been chosen according to the characters' story-lines as well as their personalities. I have numbered the countdown in relation to the main characters, Ash being the most important, then Tiana, Jenna, Levi and so forth.

ENJOY THE COUNTDOWN!




 10
Ant 
 A bad choice in song for the rough and nasty mouthed Ant? By the third to last chapter of the book, you'll find out why I picked Ricky Martin's She Bangs.




9
 Salma
Destiny's Child was mentioned as playing at Salma's party. Plus, she tries to jump Ash there, so Jumpin', Jumpin' is right in more ways than one.




 8
Dante
Lil Bow Wow's song Bounce With Me is perfect for Ash's naughty li'l brother, plus it's stated in the Behind the Lives series that Dante likes rap. Lil Bow Wow is also the same age as Dante, 13.




7
Hunter
The Backstreet Boy's video Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely sadly fits Hunter's character. It also suits Kelly O'Brian as well.




 6
Lavinia 
Oops, I Did it Again by Britney Spears.
Like the song says, Lavinia's not that innocent.

 

Joel
The dreadlock boy who loves reggae and is a big fan of Bob Marley. But, I've chosen a New Zealand reggae song for him as it suits him well. It's called For the Love of it and is by Salmonella Dub, with the talented Tiki Taane on vocals.




4
Levi
Nelly's Country Grammar is perfect for Tiana's brother. He loves cars and women, and the music would be his taste.




3
Jenna
 She wants real love from Ash, she has hot pink streaks in her blonde hair and she kicks arse and will punch anyone who gets in her way.
Like Pink, Jenna's Not Every Girl.




Tiana
Tiana is an eternal romantic, so Sound Garden's song I Knew I Loved You is perfect for her, plus it relates to how she feels about Ash.




1
Ash 
You couldn't get a song that fitted Ash's tragic soul better than Crawling, just change the female in the video to a guy. Although this song was released as a single in 2001, it was on Linkin Park's album Hybrid Theory, which came out in 2000.