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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
I nearly didn't make it through this one. the last twenty or so pages really saved it. Lily is impossible to like, but I'm intrigued enough by Mel to continue the series, eventually.
I received an advanced readers copy of The Farm by Emily McKay through a giveaway hosted by Goodreads. The novel was really interesting in the beginning, but seemed to trail off as the novel continued. I think this may stem from the fact that the novel seems to have a lot of plot threads, but not a lot actually happens. The novel is just 420 pages of Lily, Mel, Carter, and others leaving the farm, Mel getting captured by the Dean, and finally revealing that Mel is actually the abductura instead of Lily (which any reader could have guessed from the very beginning). Overall, the novel is a pretty quick read and seems to be a setting up point for future books in the series. It has some shining aspects that made the novel very enjoyable. For example, the chapters that were in Mel's point of view were particularly fascinating and rhythmic.
In this post-apocalyptic near future world, a scientific screw up has turned people into ‘Ticks.’ Yes, ‘Ticks’ drink blood, but they aren’t Vampires. They are monsters, and look like Monsters. When the outbreak happened Lily and her autistic twin sister Mel went, like most teens, to a Farm. At the time they were told it was for their own protection, but as time went on it was clear they were being farmed for their blood. When teens turn eighteen they disappear. They are told they leave the Farm, but Lily isn’t waiting around to find out. She makes an escape plan, but when she starts to put the stages in place a boy from her past, Carter, shows up.
The Farm is romance writer Emily Mckay’s first YA novel. It’s told in Lily’s and Mel’s first person perspective, and in part Carter in third person. Lily has the main stage when it comes to voice. She is a strong, fierce and easy to like. The voice throughout the novel never comes off as dense. Mel’s perspective chapters were never long, but always interesting. On the other hand Carter’s felt a little unsure at first, but the switch between Lily’s first person and his third quickly became seamless.
Carter shows up, not only to find Lily, but more importantly to find an abductura. He believes that is what Lily is, and finding her means mankind can fight back. Save humanity! This makes Carter my kind of guy. What’s better than a rebellion for a good cause? He keeps a lot of information from Lily because her main focus is keeping Mel safe. There is also a side romantic plot blooming between Carter and Lily. It has a little angst to it, but not that much. I was impressed with both characters throughout the novel.
There are also side characters, Joe, McKeena and Sebastian. Sebastian comes into the Farm with Carter. He is a big mystery until about halfway through the novel. Even after his secrets are exposed he still fits in as a dangerous-mysterious guy. Joe and McKeena go through a lot with the other characters. One of my favorite things was the character growth throughout the novel.
Enough about the bright shining characters, I need to discuss this Tick infested world. The novel starts out on The Farm. It seems, at first like a horrible dystopian, where teens are treated in awful ways. There is a lot of gruesome behavior going on. The world is also where readers need to suspend belief. McKay gives a lot of great explanations as to why the teens are farmed, or rather, why they believe they are farmed. The world on the other hand is not near as detailed as the characters, and in many ways it doesn’t need to be. The characters are so believable and likeable. They might turn addictive when later books come out. There are a few things I wondered about, but I can’t share those without giving a spoiler.
The bottom line, at least for me, is that McKay writes great characters. I am sorry if a lot of this review pushed that fact, but it’s true. The YA genre, in my opinion, sometimes suffers from dense heroines and tired writing. This isn’t the case with The Farm. It is easy to read, with an adventurous/survival plot line that serves the novel well. I am dearly hoping that the second novel is not too long in the making. It has the potential to be a great series!
The Farm is romance writer Emily Mckay’s first YA novel. It’s told in Lily’s and Mel’s first person perspective, and in part Carter in third person. Lily has the main stage when it comes to voice. She is a strong, fierce and easy to like. The voice throughout the novel never comes off as dense. Mel’s perspective chapters were never long, but always interesting. On the other hand Carter’s felt a little unsure at first, but the switch between Lily’s first person and his third quickly became seamless.
Carter shows up, not only to find Lily, but more importantly to find an abductura. He believes that is what Lily is, and finding her means mankind can fight back. Save humanity! This makes Carter my kind of guy. What’s better than a rebellion for a good cause? He keeps a lot of information from Lily because her main focus is keeping Mel safe. There is also a side romantic plot blooming between Carter and Lily. It has a little angst to it, but not that much. I was impressed with both characters throughout the novel.
There are also side characters, Joe, McKeena and Sebastian. Sebastian comes into the Farm with Carter. He is a big mystery until about halfway through the novel. Even after his secrets are exposed he still fits in as a dangerous-mysterious guy. Joe and McKeena go through a lot with the other characters. One of my favorite things was the character growth throughout the novel.
Enough about the bright shining characters, I need to discuss this Tick infested world. The novel starts out on The Farm. It seems, at first like a horrible dystopian, where teens are treated in awful ways. There is a lot of gruesome behavior going on. The world is also where readers need to suspend belief. McKay gives a lot of great explanations as to why the teens are farmed, or rather, why they believe they are farmed. The world on the other hand is not near as detailed as the characters, and in many ways it doesn’t need to be. The characters are so believable and likeable. They might turn addictive when later books come out. There are a few things I wondered about, but I can’t share those without giving a spoiler.
The bottom line, at least for me, is that McKay writes great characters. I am sorry if a lot of this review pushed that fact, but it’s true. The YA genre, in my opinion, sometimes suffers from dense heroines and tired writing. This isn’t the case with The Farm. It is easy to read, with an adventurous/survival plot line that serves the novel well. I am dearly hoping that the second novel is not too long in the making. It has the potential to be a great series!
Same comment as the last book I read. At first the change of narrator turned me off a bit but once I got past that, I couldn’t put it down.
***3.5***
I definitely would have rated this higher and loved it so much more if there hadn't been so many grammatical errors with all those missing words. It really threw me off when it happened.
And I also knew the twist at the end a third into the book.
But it reads really easily. It's hard to put down. I really loved Mel and lily. Not so much carter and everyone else.
And I feel really iffy about this whole carter and lily thing. He's sort of de-romanticized it. :P
I definitely would have rated this higher and loved it so much more if there hadn't been so many grammatical errors with all those missing words. It really threw me off when it happened.
And I also knew the twist at the end a third into the book.
But it reads really easily. It's hard to put down. I really loved Mel and lily. Not so much carter and everyone else.
And I feel really iffy about this whole carter and lily thing. He's sort of de-romanticized it. :P
I thought the title sounded interesting and the blurb made me think of the Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa.
I was excited by the idea of an apocalypse mixed with vampires and monsters. As the book begins, I like what I am reading. The pace is good and the most unusual thing is Mel. It is not often that authors write about a main character with autism. I think there are lots of misconceptions of what it is and how people with it act.
Honestly, I do not like the chapters from Mel's pov. I could not understand much of what she was thinking. I did get that she processes people by sounds. The chapters from Carter's pov was not in first person. Do not know why the author did Lily's and Mel in first person and Carter in third person.
Lily was annoying. Plain and simple. Always wanting things her way and making things difficult. I do not believe Carter and Lily's romance and how he wanted her from the moment he saw her. The bad boy falls for the nerd, cliche. However, Lily has changed since then. Perhaps he could fall for her now but oh nooo it has to be this long drawn chemistry since a long time ago. That was in the Before. Now, things are different. Survival is first and foremost. I found it hard to sympathize with her other than for the fact that she loves her sister very much.
The secondary characters were not very memorable and they felt one dimensional.
Honestly, the blurb was misleading because the Ticks are not vampires but mutated humans who feed on blood. There are the real vampires and then the Abducturae. People with powers of projecting their emotions and will on others. What is with that name? it did not fit the story at all. Sounded weird. The title of the book is also misleading. They spend like less than 30% of the book on the Farm.
The writing I did not enjoy. There were so many boring spots and it felt like the same scenes were repeating. I found myself slogging through the book. However, The plot was well planned and I got a surprise at the end. It pickes up right as the book ended. This book was just okay.
I was excited by the idea of an apocalypse mixed with vampires and monsters. As the book begins, I like what I am reading. The pace is good and the most unusual thing is Mel. It is not often that authors write about a main character with autism. I think there are lots of misconceptions of what it is and how people with it act.
Honestly, I do not like the chapters from Mel's pov. I could not understand much of what she was thinking. I did get that she processes people by sounds. The chapters from Carter's pov was not in first person. Do not know why the author did Lily's and Mel in first person and Carter in third person.
Lily was annoying. Plain and simple. Always wanting things her way and making things difficult. I do not believe Carter and Lily's romance and how he wanted her from the moment he saw her. The bad boy falls for the nerd, cliche. However, Lily has changed since then. Perhaps he could fall for her now but oh nooo it has to be this long drawn chemistry since a long time ago. That was in the Before. Now, things are different. Survival is first and foremost. I found it hard to sympathize with her other than for the fact that she loves her sister very much.
The secondary characters were not very memorable and they felt one dimensional.
Honestly, the blurb was misleading because the Ticks are not vampires but mutated humans who feed on blood. There are the real vampires and then the Abducturae. People with powers of projecting their emotions and will on others. What is with that name? it did not fit the story at all. Sounded weird. The title of the book is also misleading. They spend like less than 30% of the book on the Farm.
The writing I did not enjoy. There were so many boring spots and it felt like the same scenes were repeating. I found myself slogging through the book. However, The plot was well planned and I got a surprise at the end. It pickes up right as the book ended. This book was just okay.
For me this book has a star rating of 4.5 / 4.9. The book it’s mostly fast-paced. The plot just keep on giving, something I personally enjoy. I really like how the story is told in multiple POV (Lily, Mel and Carter).
It’s a good book from start to finish! I really like it!
It’s a good book from start to finish! I really like it!
It was alright; your average vampire book. The fact that Mel is autistic put a neat spin on things although it didn't seem as bag a deal later on in the book as it did in the beginning. Let's just say this book didn't answer as many questions as it did raise them. I'm assuming there's a sequel and I probably wont' read it.
This book would've been so much better if only the characters weren't so erratic and annoying, and the plot didn't have so many holes. The beginning was promising - with the fantastically creepy atmosphere and downright disturbing concept - but my initial excitement quickly turned to disappointment when the pointless drama started. Not to mention Lily, who was probably one of the most unlikeable characters I have ever met.
I was going to give this one 2 stars, but the ending was somewhat redeeming, in that it offered a surprising plot twist I didn't see coming and promised interesting new developments in book two. We'll see how it goes!
I was going to give this one 2 stars, but the ending was somewhat redeeming, in that it offered a surprising plot twist I didn't see coming and promised interesting new developments in book two. We'll see how it goes!