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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
I usually like a good apocalyptic story, but this one just kinda dragged and I didn't find myself caring about the characters. The premise was definitely more interesting than the execution - I can't see myself reading the sequel unless I get really bored, but I digress.
Although Ms. deVos’ first novel, Fat Girl on a Plane, has been on my TBR since before it released, I haven’t yet had an opportunity to read it. So when I had the opportunity to join this blog tour for her second novel, Day Zero, I jumped at the chance to finally check out her writing. I wasn’t expecting to be absolutely blown away by this book, but I definitely was!
It has been a while since I’ve read a thriller that I wanted to race through so quickly it felt like my Kindle was on fire, but Day Zero was all that and more. This story is so propulsive, it’s simply a master class in writing a story that literally *forces* the reader to keep going. It’s like watching a movie where you really have to get up to get a snack or use the bathroom but can’t find a good point at which to press the pause button! There’s almost no breathing room while you’re reading, and I love that so much.
In addition to just being an incredible, fast-paced story, I have to admit that the premise is also absolutely terrifying. I don’t know if it would officially be classified like this, but I’d call this like near-future thriller, something like 20 years from now. The implications for just how quickly America can devolve into an autocratic dystopian nightmare are terrifying and, well, let’s just say especially relevant to current events. There is, in addition to a thrilling story, some biting social commentary in this book. I wrote down several quotes that felt particularly applicable to the current state of America, at least from my perspective. I’d love to chat with other readers to see if others feel the same way!
Basically, I love this book and highly recommend it to *everyone*. If you love stories about conspiracies, thrillers, dystopians, kick-butt girls, propulsive narratives, etc, PICK THIS UP! I am now on pins and needles until I can get my hands on Day One to see how this story concludes.
Rating: 5 stars!
**Disclosure: I received an early e-copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of this blog tour. This review is voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review of the book.
It has been a while since I’ve read a thriller that I wanted to race through so quickly it felt like my Kindle was on fire, but Day Zero was all that and more. This story is so propulsive, it’s simply a master class in writing a story that literally *forces* the reader to keep going. It’s like watching a movie where you really have to get up to get a snack or use the bathroom but can’t find a good point at which to press the pause button! There’s almost no breathing room while you’re reading, and I love that so much.
In addition to just being an incredible, fast-paced story, I have to admit that the premise is also absolutely terrifying. I don’t know if it would officially be classified like this, but I’d call this like near-future thriller, something like 20 years from now. The implications for just how quickly America can devolve into an autocratic dystopian nightmare are terrifying and, well, let’s just say especially relevant to current events. There is, in addition to a thrilling story, some biting social commentary in this book. I wrote down several quotes that felt particularly applicable to the current state of America, at least from my perspective. I’d love to chat with other readers to see if others feel the same way!
Basically, I love this book and highly recommend it to *everyone*. If you love stories about conspiracies, thrillers, dystopians, kick-butt girls, propulsive narratives, etc, PICK THIS UP! I am now on pins and needles until I can get my hands on Day One to see how this story concludes.
Rating: 5 stars!
**Disclosure: I received an early e-copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of this blog tour. This review is voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review of the book.
3.5 stars.
Susan ‘Jinx’ Marshall is your average seventeen year old girl who is addicted to junk food and just wants to play her beloved video game rather than focus on school work. Jinx is the daughter of Dr. Maxwell Marshall who is a famous computer genius and self-proclaimed doomsday expert. Much of Jinx’s childhood consisted of constantly running survival drills in preparation for catastrophe. Jinx’s mom finally had enough of the paranoia, so she remarried and took Jinx and her younger brother Charles with her.
Following a pretty typical school day, Jinx, her stepsister MacKenna, and Charles make a pitstop at the local convenience mart on their way home. That is when life as they know it is completely turned upside down. Now Jinx and Charles are forced to rely upon the survival skills that they were taught if they are going to live through the political turmoil, bombings, and the infamous Mr. Tork who is hellbent on capturing Jinx.
I haven’t read a post-apocalyptic story in quite some time, and this one starts off with a bang (quite literally). The beginning of the story is nonstop action as Jinx, MacKenna, and Charles are running for their lives. Everytime they thought they were one step ahead, Tonks is right there behind them to shake things up. This guy reminded me of something out of Judge Dredd or Terminator. He just doesn’t let up.
The politics in this book were a bit confusing to follow along with at first because it isn’t really outlined who did what and why. There are two opposing forces, and you really aren’t sure which side is responsible for all of the unrest and turmoil.
When it comes to characters, I really enjoyed both Jinx and Charles. At only seventeen, Jinx constantly steps up in order to make sure that her brother is safe and protected. Charles suffers from type I diabetes, and no matter what, Jinx is constantly checking on his health and well being so that he doesn’t suffer from an episode. If the end of the world was upon me, I don’t know that I could be as cool, calm, and collected as her in order to survive, but I also wasn’t raised by a dad who constantly made me run survival drills.
Overall, if you love a good post-apocalyptic survival adventure then definitely check this one out!
Thank you to the Harlequin Publicity Team and Inkyard Press for my tour invite and providing an eARC for review. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
Susan ‘Jinx’ Marshall is your average seventeen year old girl who is addicted to junk food and just wants to play her beloved video game rather than focus on school work. Jinx is the daughter of Dr. Maxwell Marshall who is a famous computer genius and self-proclaimed doomsday expert. Much of Jinx’s childhood consisted of constantly running survival drills in preparation for catastrophe. Jinx’s mom finally had enough of the paranoia, so she remarried and took Jinx and her younger brother Charles with her.
Following a pretty typical school day, Jinx, her stepsister MacKenna, and Charles make a pitstop at the local convenience mart on their way home. That is when life as they know it is completely turned upside down. Now Jinx and Charles are forced to rely upon the survival skills that they were taught if they are going to live through the political turmoil, bombings, and the infamous Mr. Tork who is hellbent on capturing Jinx.
I haven’t read a post-apocalyptic story in quite some time, and this one starts off with a bang (quite literally). The beginning of the story is nonstop action as Jinx, MacKenna, and Charles are running for their lives. Everytime they thought they were one step ahead, Tonks is right there behind them to shake things up. This guy reminded me of something out of Judge Dredd or Terminator. He just doesn’t let up.
The politics in this book were a bit confusing to follow along with at first because it isn’t really outlined who did what and why. There are two opposing forces, and you really aren’t sure which side is responsible for all of the unrest and turmoil.
When it comes to characters, I really enjoyed both Jinx and Charles. At only seventeen, Jinx constantly steps up in order to make sure that her brother is safe and protected. Charles suffers from type I diabetes, and no matter what, Jinx is constantly checking on his health and well being so that he doesn’t suffer from an episode. If the end of the world was upon me, I don’t know that I could be as cool, calm, and collected as her in order to survive, but I also wasn’t raised by a dad who constantly made me run survival drills.
Overall, if you love a good post-apocalyptic survival adventure then definitely check this one out!
Thank you to the Harlequin Publicity Team and Inkyard Press for my tour invite and providing an eARC for review. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
If you’re a fan of super smart and fierce females-this book is for you! Day Zero gives us a family on the run who is willing to do anything to survive told through the eyes of 17 year old Jinx Marshall. It’s an action packed tale of family, betrayal, and the dark world of politics.
When Jinx's stepfather is accused of organizing a terrorist attack, Jinx must rely on her father's doomsday prepping drills to get her siblings to safety and avoid the police. With time running out and unable to truly trust anyone, Jinx is pushed to her limits as she attempts to piece together the truth around her family's involvement in a cyberattack that has disrupted the entire American economic system.
Fast paced and full of action, Zero Day will keep you guessing until the very end.
When Jinx's stepfather is accused of organizing a terrorist attack, Jinx must rely on her father's doomsday prepping drills to get her siblings to safety and avoid the police. With time running out and unable to truly trust anyone, Jinx is pushed to her limits as she attempts to piece together the truth around her family's involvement in a cyberattack that has disrupted the entire American economic system.
Fast paced and full of action, Zero Day will keep you guessing until the very end.
The beginning of this book is so compelling. There is an election, things go wrong, there's a bombing, Jinx and her brother and stepsister are on the run. They have to adhere to the plan, the one Jinx's father drilled her on as her is the well-known Dr. Doomsday and was prepped for these scenarios. But something is not right. Jinx's stepfather is accused of being behind the bombing and everything unfolds from there.
There's a lot of action in the middle, with lots of running and figuring out who to trust. There's some politics, although it's obvious there are references to current events, I wish I understood the internal politics of this world better. There's just so much impact without details.
The twist at the end is great, without it, the book would have made no sense. So, if you're discouraged anywhere in the action, wait for the twist!
There's a lot of action in the middle, with lots of running and figuring out who to trust. There's some politics, although it's obvious there are references to current events, I wish I understood the internal politics of this world better. There's just so much impact without details.
The twist at the end is great, without it, the book would have made no sense. So, if you're discouraged anywhere in the action, wait for the twist!
adventurous
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Day Zero by Kelly deVos is one of those review copies I never quite got around to reading last year. However, one of the benefits of not reading a book promptly is not having to wait for the sequel. Instead, you can read both the original and the sequel back to back. This was my approach to Day Zero and its sequel, Day One.
A funny thing happened when I finished one and started the other, however. It quickly became apparent that the version of Day Zero I read had some major changes made to it before final publication. My version of Day Zero revolved around Jinx and her stepsiblings, Tyrell and Makeeba Anderson, who just happened to be Black and from Atlanta. Let me tell you that when reading a political thriller, the entire context of the story changes a lot when two of the main characters are Black and from the south. As 2020 showed the world, their experiences dealing with the police are completely different than a white person’s experiences.
While not perfect and definitely in need of some sensitivity reader feedback, I liked the version of Day Zero I read. Ms. deVos uses Tyrell and Makeeba to address police brutality and systemic racism before the world acknowledged it. Even better, she acknowledges that the Anderson siblings come from wealth but that wealth does not protect them from racial prejudice. The story has a completely different feel when Tyrell and Makeeba Anderson from Atlanta become Toby and MacKenna Novak from Denver. Suddenly, the politics of the story, which is the entire plot, are much less inclusive and incomplete.
The thing is, I rather liked the politics in my version of Day Zero. It is all too easy to envision 45 doing something as extreme as declaring a national emergency and calling the military to step into police roles. Even better, the opposition addresses what could happen if we fully adopted socialism while addressing racial barriers and cultural roadblocks long established by the founders of the country. It makes for a prescient story, a year ahead of the rest of the world. Except, that is not the route Ms. deVos and her editors ultimately chose.
As I did not read the final version of Day Zero, I can’t say whether I liked it. I can extrapolate, however, based on my reaction to Day One, which is not favorable. The story itself loses a lot of timeliness and gravitas when Makeeba goes from being a strong, politically aware Black young woman to MacKenna, a rather selfish, impetuous white girl of privilege.
Plus, Jinx is not nearly as commanding and forceful in the sequel as she was in the first book. In Day One, she lets others dictate her actions rather than taking the initiative. This is not the Jinx we get to know in the first book, and there again, the story suffers as a result.
As a result, much of Day One becomes an exercise in suspension of disbelief as the story takes one outlandish turn after another. By the time someone we thought dead in the first novel makes an appearance, the whole thing has become so ridiculous as to be disappointing.
Again, I have no idea if I would feel similarly about Day Zero in its end form, but I do imagine my feelings would be less positive than they were simply because having key characters to help draw attention to systemic racism in a political thriller is a massive gamechanger to the story. I have never had a review copy change SO much from the published novel, and the changes made are, in my opinion, a poor choice.
A funny thing happened when I finished one and started the other, however. It quickly became apparent that the version of Day Zero I read had some major changes made to it before final publication. My version of Day Zero revolved around Jinx and her stepsiblings, Tyrell and Makeeba Anderson, who just happened to be Black and from Atlanta. Let me tell you that when reading a political thriller, the entire context of the story changes a lot when two of the main characters are Black and from the south. As 2020 showed the world, their experiences dealing with the police are completely different than a white person’s experiences.
While not perfect and definitely in need of some sensitivity reader feedback, I liked the version of Day Zero I read. Ms. deVos uses Tyrell and Makeeba to address police brutality and systemic racism before the world acknowledged it. Even better, she acknowledges that the Anderson siblings come from wealth but that wealth does not protect them from racial prejudice. The story has a completely different feel when Tyrell and Makeeba Anderson from Atlanta become Toby and MacKenna Novak from Denver. Suddenly, the politics of the story, which is the entire plot, are much less inclusive and incomplete.
The thing is, I rather liked the politics in my version of Day Zero. It is all too easy to envision 45 doing something as extreme as declaring a national emergency and calling the military to step into police roles. Even better, the opposition addresses what could happen if we fully adopted socialism while addressing racial barriers and cultural roadblocks long established by the founders of the country. It makes for a prescient story, a year ahead of the rest of the world. Except, that is not the route Ms. deVos and her editors ultimately chose.
As I did not read the final version of Day Zero, I can’t say whether I liked it. I can extrapolate, however, based on my reaction to Day One, which is not favorable. The story itself loses a lot of timeliness and gravitas when Makeeba goes from being a strong, politically aware Black young woman to MacKenna, a rather selfish, impetuous white girl of privilege.
Plus, Jinx is not nearly as commanding and forceful in the sequel as she was in the first book. In Day One, she lets others dictate her actions rather than taking the initiative. This is not the Jinx we get to know in the first book, and there again, the story suffers as a result.
As a result, much of Day One becomes an exercise in suspension of disbelief as the story takes one outlandish turn after another. By the time someone we thought dead in the first novel makes an appearance, the whole thing has become so ridiculous as to be disappointing.
Again, I have no idea if I would feel similarly about Day Zero in its end form, but I do imagine my feelings would be less positive than they were simply because having key characters to help draw attention to systemic racism in a political thriller is a massive gamechanger to the story. I have never had a review copy change SO much from the published novel, and the changes made are, in my opinion, a poor choice.
At this point time, this book was a very telling read. The book follows a story of a young woman who was raised by a well known doomsday prepper father and is currently living with her mother and her new stepfather. I didnt know this would be the first in a series so I am quite excited for the next installment. However, the tale is an interesting and disturbing one at the point in history we currently find ourselves. Her stepfather is accused of blowing up the national bank and wreaking mass havoc in the world, causing the already mildly unhinged president to instate martial law and begin hunting him. A little terrifying and a lot compelling, I read this book during most of my spare time and you should too.
This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The story dragged a bit in the first half, and the political aspects were a bit weak, but it really made up for it in the second half. Overall a great story of how things fall apart.