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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
If you are looking for intelligent prose, then this book is not for you. If you are looking for an exciting story, then this might be the book for you. It definitely kept me intrigued, but the writing grated on me. It's like it needed another round of edits before being sent to the publisher
This book was an intense, emotional whirlwind! Up to the very last page, secrets were being revealed and new mysteries were being found. When I first picked it up, I was upset that I had chosen [yet another] series, but it was a great choice! I am so sucked into this story and I'm getting the next one soon!
Tucker lives with his family on an island off the coast of Maine. He prefers to remain fairly anonymous, just trying to survive high school. Then people on his island start dying, he sees a mysterious explosion off the coast of the island, and the Marines declare a quarantine on the island and start rounding up people and placing them in internment camps. Does Tucker have what it takes to become a hero and save his island?
I enjoyed MacHale's Pendragon series, so I was glad to see another book by this author. This book does not disappoint. There's plenty of mystery and intrigue involved - why is the island quarantined? How did those people die so suddenly when they were perfectly healthy? What is that weird, red crystal the surfer guy keeps trying to push on people? Combine that with plenty of action, and I can see this being a popular read for teens and tweens. This novel is fast-paced and could easily lend itself to a sequel. I look forward to more good things from MacHale.
Recommended for: teens, tweens, fans of sci-fi, fans of suspenseful books
Red Flags: the Ruby that some people end up taking is pretty obviously a drug; lots of violence (people getting murdered, etc.); language
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley for the purposes of review.
I enjoyed MacHale's Pendragon series, so I was glad to see another book by this author. This book does not disappoint. There's plenty of mystery and intrigue involved - why is the island quarantined? How did those people die so suddenly when they were perfectly healthy? What is that weird, red crystal the surfer guy keeps trying to push on people? Combine that with plenty of action, and I can see this being a popular read for teens and tweens. This novel is fast-paced and could easily lend itself to a sequel. I look forward to more good things from MacHale.
Recommended for: teens, tweens, fans of sci-fi, fans of suspenseful books
Red Flags: the Ruby that some people end up taking is pretty obviously a drug; lots of violence (people getting murdered, etc.); language
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley for the purposes of review.
I can certainly see why the middle school boys love this one - lots of action, constant plot twists and a likable main character. For me the book was overly long but many of my students told me they could not put it down.
Amazing that after 400 pages I still can't give this one a definitive genre. For sure it is a mystery but is it going to be more sci-fi or adventure???? Recommended for grades 6 & up. Minute amounts of bad language and some violence.
Students who enjoyed SYLO may also like The Maze Runner, Virals and Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment.
Amazing that after 400 pages I still can't give this one a definitive genre. For sure it is a mystery but is it going to be more sci-fi or adventure???? Recommended for grades 6 & up. Minute amounts of bad language and some violence.
Students who enjoyed SYLO may also like The Maze Runner, Virals and Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment.
Tucker is just your average ordinary teenage freshman. He plays football and doesn't mind sitting on the bench, until a player dies on the field. Shaken, Tucker and his best friend Quinn take a midnight bike ride and witness a strange music filled aircraft light up the night sky with a foreign weapon. Not long afterwards, when Tucker has to step up and actually play in a game, a man offers a substance called Ruby to help with his performance. When Tucker tests it, he realizes that it gives him supernatural strength and stamina. Believing that the football player who died had taken this substance before his death, Tucker yells at the man and walks away from the drug.
On the small island of Pemberwick everyone knows everyone and when people start dying, it effects the whole island. Especially when the island is declared quarantined by the government and is invaded by a special branch of the military called SYLO. People are cleared from the streets of the island and live in fear of the military leader who is there for their "protection". Tucker and his friends start connecting dots and realize that there is more going on in Pemberwick than meets the eye.
A thriller and page turner, SYLO kept me up and questioning. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. Keep an eye on this one!
On the small island of Pemberwick everyone knows everyone and when people start dying, it effects the whole island. Especially when the island is declared quarantined by the government and is invaded by a special branch of the military called SYLO. People are cleared from the streets of the island and live in fear of the military leader who is there for their "protection". Tucker and his friends start connecting dots and realize that there is more going on in Pemberwick than meets the eye.
A thriller and page turner, SYLO kept me up and questioning. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. Keep an eye on this one!
I loved this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat because I wanted to know what was going to happen next! The excitement never let up. This was a fast and fun read.
D.J. MacHale does it again!! After reading Pendragon I was looking forward to another action packed adventure complete with amazing characters and he certainly came through! MacHale is truly a great story teller and adds elements of mystery to his action packed epicness.
I was hooked by the first couple lines: "It was the perfect night for a football game. And for death." I don't know why but this made me literally laugh out loud and also was the perfect set up for the actions that would follow. The characters are pretty interesting and I love Tucker, Quinn and Tori. When things really start to go down, they make a really epic team.
MacHale also creates a great air of mystery that really keeps you guessing at all the possibilities. There are so many twists that arise that add to the mystery and just when you think you have it all figured out, BAM a new twist makes you rethink that.
The plot reminds me a lot of the movie Red Dawn, where the U.S. is invaded by the Chinese. Except in this book, we invade ourselves and the question is why.
SYLO may be considered a boy book with a lot of football talk, explosions, thought of war and lots of battle scenes, but I think this is the perfect book for anyone who needs a little more action in their reading. I give this book a well deserved 4.5/5 for a plot that's jammed packed with action and mystery (and not to mention a strong female character which I gotta love). The book is just, to put it simply, Epic :) and I can't wait for the next book!
I was hooked by the first couple lines: "It was the perfect night for a football game. And for death." I don't know why but this made me literally laugh out loud and also was the perfect set up for the actions that would follow. The characters are pretty interesting and I love Tucker, Quinn and Tori. When things really start to go down, they make a really epic team.
MacHale also creates a great air of mystery that really keeps you guessing at all the possibilities. There are so many twists that arise that add to the mystery and just when you think you have it all figured out, BAM a new twist makes you rethink that.
The plot reminds me a lot of the movie Red Dawn, where the U.S. is invaded by the Chinese. Except in this book, we invade ourselves and the question is why.
SYLO may be considered a boy book with a lot of football talk, explosions, thought of war and lots of battle scenes, but I think this is the perfect book for anyone who needs a little more action in their reading. I give this book a well deserved 4.5/5 for a plot that's jammed packed with action and mystery (and not to mention a strong female character which I gotta love). The book is just, to put it simply, Epic :) and I can't wait for the next book!
Those who know me well know that I don’t shy away from longer novels. That’s why D.J. MacHale’s new novel, SYLO, came my way I didn’t even flinch at its 400 pages. I can typically read 400 pages in less than a month. The premise was intriguing and it seemed to set up a series of dystopian thrillers that could potentially rival my love for The Hunger Games series. That’s why it pains me so much that it took almost a month and a half for me to finish this novel.
I had a really hard time getting into this story, thanks to totally off pacing. It was like nothing would happen for pages on end, and then when something exciting did happen, no one on the island of Pemberwick reacted realistically. This made the story drag, despite the fact that some pretty bizarre stuff was happening on the island. MacHale could have easily cut at least fifty pages from the book without losing any of the essential storyline. I also found MacHale’s writing a little stilted. For much of the novel, 14-year-old Tucker’s voice did not sound like that of a teenager, but instead a grown man.
I did not DNF this book though, even though I thought about it several times, and I’m glad I didn’t. The last 150 pages or so knocked me off my feet with action that kept me reading through my daily hour commute by bus until I was finished. I like having that feeling about a novel from early on, and if I had given up on this one, I never would have thought much about this book at all. In the end, I was left with a lot of question about SYLO, Tucker’s parents, and the future of the United States, but I think MacHale left things so open-ended so that readers will be pick up the next in the series, Storm. I think I will give it a try, especially if it delivers the thrilling dystopian storyline that is promised.
I had a really hard time getting into this story, thanks to totally off pacing. It was like nothing would happen for pages on end, and then when something exciting did happen, no one on the island of Pemberwick reacted realistically. This made the story drag, despite the fact that some pretty bizarre stuff was happening on the island. MacHale could have easily cut at least fifty pages from the book without losing any of the essential storyline. I also found MacHale’s writing a little stilted. For much of the novel, 14-year-old Tucker’s voice did not sound like that of a teenager, but instead a grown man.
I did not DNF this book though, even though I thought about it several times, and I’m glad I didn’t. The last 150 pages or so knocked me off my feet with action that kept me reading through my daily hour commute by bus until I was finished. I like having that feeling about a novel from early on, and if I had given up on this one, I never would have thought much about this book at all. In the end, I was left with a lot of question about SYLO, Tucker’s parents, and the future of the United States, but I think MacHale left things so open-ended so that readers will be pick up the next in the series, Storm. I think I will give it a try, especially if it delivers the thrilling dystopian storyline that is promised.
This is one of those books that, when I go out to look at the bookshelves in the stores, I tell myself it's a good buy. It looks like a good book, with a good premises, but it isn't long before I worry myself in thinking what if it isn't a good book like I assumed? What if it ends up being one of those books I end up regret buying because I assumed wrong. Yeah, I worry myself about this stuff all the time. It wasn't until I went to the bookmobile one day to return some of my books and I happen to see it on one of my shelves and decided I'll read it when I get the chance to. At the least, I'm not loosing money... right?
But I am happy to say that my first initial reactions to this book was more accurate than the afterthoughts.
We follow a boy named Tucker as he sits on the sidelines at a football game. It's a small town, so of course there's not that many people there. I start to feel comfortable because, hey, I grew up in a small town myself. It's boring and life just becomes stale after a while. It's just another normal night of teenagers playing football and their parents watching them either do well or... well, do horrible. That is until one of the star football players, after hitting the touchdown of the game, suddenly falls down and dies right in front of everyone.
Everything stops being the same from there.
It's a small town. It's not that often that someone dies. At least, according to Tucker. But him, and his close friend Quinn, after going through a midnight motorcycle ride to cool down see something strange one night... it becomes clear that things were going to change. Especially when there are more deaths that just randomly happen. Especially when the military, under the disguise of 'Sylo', decide to take over and isolate the island from the rest of the United States.
Earlier on, there was already a guy who was suspicious in the first place: Feit, who carries around stuff that he has dubbed 'Ruby'. But it's not just nothing- when consumed, it can make the person feel stronger and energetic. With the first thought, it's not difficult to notice that this is one of the things that Sylo could be looking for. But there's is so much more than what meets the eye and it's someone that no one had seen coming.
There's trouble and no one is safe.
I loved this book. I fell in love with the story development and the pacing of everything, nothing felt like it was slowed down too much. I'm still left with the lingering thoughts of 'what the hell's happening here', but I suppose that's what the second book is for: hopefully to figure out what and why everything's going down and what's really the main issue is.
The one thing that bothered me was character consistency for some of the characters. Tucker grew up throughout the book but, at the same time, it didn't feel like his character didn't change as much as the others. At the same time, however, I felt like the other characters' personalities (Olivia and Kent) wasn't as solid. Olivia seemed like this shy and unintelligent young teenager, but when she was needed she kept her calm and suddenly took the lead. At least... until it was over. Kent was shown as this tough guy throughout the book but, around the end, well... I'll just say, not as much. But I feel like I'm over analyzing things. Maybe I am. The characters were still lovable and I still cared for them. Well... some of them.
But it shouldn't deter any potential readers. This was still a wonderful read and I'm looking forward to the next book. If you like dystopian books with mysteries, secrets, etc- then you'll like this book, for sure.
But I am happy to say that my first initial reactions to this book was more accurate than the afterthoughts.
We follow a boy named Tucker as he sits on the sidelines at a football game. It's a small town, so of course there's not that many people there. I start to feel comfortable because, hey, I grew up in a small town myself. It's boring and life just becomes stale after a while. It's just another normal night of teenagers playing football and their parents watching them either do well or... well, do horrible. That is until one of the star football players, after hitting the touchdown of the game, suddenly falls down and dies right in front of everyone.
Everything stops being the same from there.
It's a small town. It's not that often that someone dies. At least, according to Tucker. But him, and his close friend Quinn, after going through a midnight motorcycle ride to cool down see something strange one night... it becomes clear that things were going to change. Especially when there are more deaths that just randomly happen. Especially when the military, under the disguise of 'Sylo', decide to take over and isolate the island from the rest of the United States.
Earlier on, there was already a guy who was suspicious in the first place: Feit, who carries around stuff that he has dubbed 'Ruby'. But it's not just nothing- when consumed, it can make the person feel stronger and energetic. With the first thought, it's not difficult to notice that this is one of the things that Sylo could be looking for. But there's is so much more than what meets the eye and it's someone that no one had seen coming.
There's trouble and no one is safe.
I loved this book. I fell in love with the story development and the pacing of everything, nothing felt like it was slowed down too much. I'm still left with the lingering thoughts of 'what the hell's happening here', but I suppose that's what the second book is for: hopefully to figure out what and why everything's going down and what's really the main issue is.
The one thing that bothered me was character consistency for some of the characters. Tucker grew up throughout the book but, at the same time, it didn't feel like his character didn't change as much as the others. At the same time, however, I felt like the other characters' personalities (Olivia and Kent) wasn't as solid. Olivia seemed like this shy and unintelligent young teenager, but when she was needed she kept her calm and suddenly took the lead. At least... until it was over. Kent was shown as this tough guy throughout the book but, around the end, well... I'll just say, not as much. But I feel like I'm over analyzing things. Maybe I am. The characters were still lovable and I still cared for them. Well... some of them.
But it shouldn't deter any potential readers. This was still a wonderful read and I'm looking forward to the next book. If you like dystopian books with mysteries, secrets, etc- then you'll like this book, for sure.
I wasn't crazy about Sylo and I think it was because of the violence. But I'm sure guys would probably like it better. Sylo takes place on an island off of Maine. One day the island is invaded by Sylo, a mysterious secret branch of the US Military. Some people on the island are dying unexpectedly and anyone who tries to leave the island is being killed by Sylo. Tucker and his friends can't believe what is happening to their home and have come to the conclusion that their parents know what is happening but aren't telling them. They've decided to make a break for it and try to leave the island, but everything is not as it seems and they witness a strange military battle over the ocean. Sylo vs who? They try to make it to the mainland for answers.