HELP!

I've got some great news. My sister and I are currently in the process of writing our first novel.

Amazingly, it's not looking too bad the the moment, but it needs a lot of editing and work.

I'm looking to see what people think of our idea. Please please please leave a comment below (or any other way you could communicate to me) about what you think of this idea, whether you would read it, or whether you think it sounds like anything else. We're in dire need of people with this kind of information.

So this is pretty much what would be on the back of the book , were it to be published:


'Evangeline always thought déjà vu was when your brain glitches and can’t figure out the difference between long and short-term memory. That is, until she gets switched and finds herself in a futuristic parallel universe where the government is eradicating anyone deemed undesirable. What’s worse is that her fugitive counterpart has left her in deep trouble. On the run with a man who seems to know her, but that she has never met before, Evangeline is hurled headfirst into an adventure she never wanted.'

It's kind of a sci-fi adventure, with parallel worlds, futuristic gadgets, nods towards psychology and a view of family and friend relationships, as well as government conspiricies. 

We'd love to know what you think.

0.4 by Mike Lancaster

The book cover - image from google

0.4 is the story of Kyle Straker, a 15 year old voice recorder onto tapes and transformed into a book. Nobody knows if this is a hoax or if it is real. But this is his version of the events of the early 21st Century.

I love the cover of the book. It's pretty awesome and makes you think about what weirdness could possibly be in this book. So, just by looking at it you can tell that it's a sci-fi. Futuristic in some ways and completely normal to the point of mundane in others. It has everything to do with technology. It's so sci-fi, I wasn't quite sure how to react when I finished the book. I think my thoughts were: "Well, that's odd, and also pretty cool". one thing I can say for sure is that it has some great ideas and leaves you thinking about reality.

Reality itself is a huge theme here. And I thought the book was a bit short actually, because it didn't explore reality in the way I would have liked. Sure, it was action-packed, but I wanted more background and insight.

It's an easy read, and very interesting (I read it in a few hours). But I don't think it's for everyone. Basically if you're not a fan of dystopias, weird goings-on, mysteries or classic science fiction, don't read it. If you're in it for a story that is different, interesting, and plot-driven it's for you. A good thing is that it can be read by either gender, as long as they like the premise.

Unfortunately I didn't really feel much for the characters. I understood Kyle, but wasn't really overly empathetic towards him. I think perhaps the author could have described his feelings a bit more. It was probably more aimed at a teen audience though, so I'm not really the target audience.
However, I think teens would love this, I think especially boys who like sci-fi and gadgets.

For me, this book gets 2/5 stars. While it was a good idea, and I loved the premise, I don't think it was executed quite right for me. I didn't feel much fro the characters and it was on the young side.

-------------------------------------------
There is a sequel already out, called 1.4, which tells you about the aftermath of 0.4.
0.4 /Human4 on Goodreads.com.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Image from google

This book is always recommended. I swear anyone who has ever read it would urge others to give it a go. So after people and websites galore told me to read it, and after it being on my to-read list for an age, I finally have.

Hitchhikers Guide is every bit as awe-inspiring as I expected it to be. It twists your mind every which way possible, into a mass of awesomeness, and breaks the boundaries of thinking in a way that is only comparable to one other literary piece: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
That's right, I just compared something to Lewis Carroll. And it's so very true.

Unfortunately, I was silly, and saw the 2005 film first. Although the film has an exceptionally star-studded and pretty darn amazing cast, it just doesn't live up the the genius of the book. This also meant that I already knew some big things that were revealed in the book, but I did appreciate how Adams very subtly weaves the story.

It also had a side-effect of reading anything that Marvin the robot said in Alan Rickman's voice. This, however, is not such a bad thing, as if anything it made for even more amusing reading.
A general side effect of the book was that every time I read it I wanted Tea.

The characters are very well developed for such a small book, and even some smaller parts had personalities that you could easily identify. Ford in particular has a very good personality - I do love the fact that he just can't help himself from being curious. I also have a sneaking suspicion that underneath the egotistical exterior Zaphod has a lot more to offer.

Book Cover from Wikipedia

As there's literally nothing I can fault it on, I'll tell you about things I loved. one thing I particularly enjoyed about this book was the side notes on things in the Universe and beyond, and how everything he says is either amusing, or ties in with the story at some point. Or both.

In fact, I'm sure that some minor references in this book will turn out to be the crux of the whole plot in another. In that way I wish I hadn't seen the film - I would have been even more in awe. I would probably have never seen anything coming.
Luckily, there's four more books to read.

So the main themes: Life, the Universe, and Everything. That pretty much sums up the whole book, don't you think?
All in all it's witty, with laugh out loud moments, whilst contemplating life as we know it. I'd call that Genius.

Definitely 5/5 stars.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder is the story of a cyborg mechanic in futuristic New Beijing. Captivating already.
Now, it also has other elements: the stepmother (legal guardian), handsome prince, a ball. This is Cinderella, but not at all as you know it.

As an avid consumer of fairy-tale adoptions, both in literature and film, I was always going to go for this one. But the thing that really got me wanting to read it it the setting, and in fact the general premise of it. What makes it so different from other adaptations is that it is futuristic (kind of like in A Long, Long Sleep, but better). The idea of Cinderella being a cyborg in New Beijing is wonderful, especially as we get to know the perks and difficulties that come with it. Throw in a few androids, portable screens, I.D chips and were peachy for the future. These ideas are very, very well thought through, and for such a small book I am very impressed with how much was explained, although I would like to see more explanation of what happened to the world in the next few books. The ideas of the futuristic earth aren't really that far out of reach, which I love.

Image from Google.

The characters have the depth that is needed to really bring this story to life, with Cinder far more feisty and interesting than her Disney counterpart. (I was always very disappointed with Cinderella, because she let things happen to her, and gave up far too early for my liking. If it were me I'd have moved out of that house waay back). The prince has a far larger role to play than in original stories, with emotional turmoil and the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders he has his work cut out.

The themes in this are wonderful. It has all the usual that you would expect: Love, life issues, death, good and evil, and so on, but they are looked at in ways that I've rarely seen before. It makes them more interesting.
Then theres the other themes: duty, loyalty, betrayal, freedom, guilt, lies, finding who you are, all weaving into Cinder's life to make a truly complex book.

The narrative is good, the story completely sucks you in within the first few pages. The plot points, revelations and details are executed well. I think that this book is more aimed at young adult readers, although I would still recommend this to adults and slightly younger teens too.
Also, look out for other fairy tale references.

The themes are good, the heroine is believable (even if she is a cyborg) and the twists are cutting, so I'm giving this book 5/5 stars.


----------------------------------------------------------
Marissa Meyers Website
Marissa Meyers Journal
Reviews from Goodreads.