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shelleyd's review against another edition
3.0
*I got this book for free from goodreads, in exchange of an honest review.
I chose this book not only because of the interesting sounding plot (who doesn't love exploring a futuristic world, especially in a book with an eye catching title such as The Death Thieves?) but also because one of the reviews or comments about it was by one of my favorite authors, James Dashner of the Maze Runner series. I've never picked up a book by Julie Wright before, and honestly don't think I've heard of her before this one, but I'm glad I read it.
Was it my favorite book out of all the ones I've been devouring this year? No, but it was a fun read.
Summer Dawn Rae is an orphan along with her twin sister, Winter, and has learned how the system works. Learned it in order to survive in the world, and keep her sister safe so she can keep everyone else safe in return. They've been bounced from foster home to foster home since a young age, and fought to stay together forever until a tragedy pulls them apart. Summer is killed in a car accident, but instead of truly dying and that being the end of her life, she's pulled out of the car just before impact and into a place outside of time by a guy who only offers his name as Tag and tells her that she's dead, but also destined to come to the future with him to help save mankind.
She's one of a select few, he says, that can help the future continue and not die out. At first, Summer is resistant to help, only wanting to get back to her sister, but after a couple other near death instances, she begins to trust Tag and allows him to take her to the future where she's been told she'll be like a queen. Except... the future isn't exactly what she pictured it would be like. This new future is beautiful in many ways, but like her Aunt Theresa used to say, there's ugly hiding in a beauty suit, and Summer is beginning to learn that in this new future, there's a whole lot of ugly hiding under a beauty suit indeed.
The first chunk of this book was a little slow for me, as it was simply setting the scene and introducing the important characters, and it was really around 40% of the book where the story really picked up. By then, we were introduced to all of the New Youth (the kids who are meant to save the future), feel a little more established in this futuristic world that Wright created, and can start to see the truth behind the mask that the future presents.
The story itself, though it had picked up and I did find myself more interested in it, wasn't really my thing. The whole reason for the New Youth to have been brought to the future was...not quite my thing, I suppose. The whole idea of kids, ranging from ages fifteen or sixteen to their early twenties being brought from their respective time periods to a future to be essentially breeders, to bring new a new generation into the world and that to be their one and only purpose, didn't sit too comfortably with me, but I was happy to see that Summer felt the same way. While everyone else was interested in flirting and, as the main character herself puts it, finding a mate, she's interested in finding a cure to the disease that brought the future into shambles in the first place. I do have to say, however, it was an interesting idea, one that I don't believe I've seen before.
The reason I give this book three stars instead of four or even five like many of the other reviewers, is because I felt that by the time the book came to a climax, it really dwindled. It was really only the last middle part of the book that really made it stand out to me, and made me interested to know where the story was going and what would happen, but as soon as the climax happened and we were left with the question 'what happens now?', I also was thinking, 'what now?' in a more general sense of the question. The climax wasn't as exciting as I had hoped, and it left me wondering if there was a sequel to this book that would answer questions I had, but by the time I reached the end, I was glad to see it was a stand alone novel.
The characters are interesting enough for the most part, and while Summer does make for a strong female main character, I did often find myself thinking she suffered from the syndrome that a lot of other female leads suffer from in dystonia YA books: the 'I'm not like other girls' feeling. While it wasn't constant, it was brought up several times in how Summer saw her roommate of the New Youths that it was enough to bother me, and that was something I wasn't terribly fond of.
That said, I would recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a different and relatively fast read, and who enjoys characters who don't take no for an answer and aren't afraid to do what's right, instead of what's easy or expected. Would I personally read the book again? Most likely not, but I wouldn't rule out looking up other books by the author and seeing if there's something else I'd like to read.
I chose this book not only because of the interesting sounding plot (who doesn't love exploring a futuristic world, especially in a book with an eye catching title such as The Death Thieves?) but also because one of the reviews or comments about it was by one of my favorite authors, James Dashner of the Maze Runner series. I've never picked up a book by Julie Wright before, and honestly don't think I've heard of her before this one, but I'm glad I read it.
Was it my favorite book out of all the ones I've been devouring this year? No, but it was a fun read.
Summer Dawn Rae is an orphan along with her twin sister, Winter, and has learned how the system works. Learned it in order to survive in the world, and keep her sister safe so she can keep everyone else safe in return. They've been bounced from foster home to foster home since a young age, and fought to stay together forever until a tragedy pulls them apart. Summer is killed in a car accident, but instead of truly dying and that being the end of her life, she's pulled out of the car just before impact and into a place outside of time by a guy who only offers his name as Tag and tells her that she's dead, but also destined to come to the future with him to help save mankind.
She's one of a select few, he says, that can help the future continue and not die out. At first, Summer is resistant to help, only wanting to get back to her sister, but after a couple other near death instances, she begins to trust Tag and allows him to take her to the future where she's been told she'll be like a queen. Except... the future isn't exactly what she pictured it would be like. This new future is beautiful in many ways, but like her Aunt Theresa used to say, there's ugly hiding in a beauty suit, and Summer is beginning to learn that in this new future, there's a whole lot of ugly hiding under a beauty suit indeed.
The first chunk of this book was a little slow for me, as it was simply setting the scene and introducing the important characters, and it was really around 40% of the book where the story really picked up. By then, we were introduced to all of the New Youth (the kids who are meant to save the future), feel a little more established in this futuristic world that Wright created, and can start to see the truth behind the mask that the future presents.
The story itself, though it had picked up and I did find myself more interested in it, wasn't really my thing. The whole reason for the New Youth to have been brought to the future was...not quite my thing, I suppose. The whole idea of kids, ranging from ages fifteen or sixteen to their early twenties being brought from their respective time periods to a future to be essentially breeders, to bring new a new generation into the world and that to be their one and only purpose, didn't sit too comfortably with me, but I was happy to see that Summer felt the same way. While everyone else was interested in flirting and, as the main character herself puts it, finding a mate, she's interested in finding a cure to the disease that brought the future into shambles in the first place. I do have to say, however, it was an interesting idea, one that I don't believe I've seen before.
The reason I give this book three stars instead of four or even five like many of the other reviewers, is because I felt that by the time the book came to a climax, it really dwindled. It was really only the last middle part of the book that really made it stand out to me, and made me interested to know where the story was going and what would happen, but as soon as the climax happened and we were left with the question 'what happens now?', I also was thinking, 'what now?' in a more general sense of the question. The climax wasn't as exciting as I had hoped, and it left me wondering if there was a sequel to this book that would answer questions I had, but by the time I reached the end, I was glad to see it was a stand alone novel.
The characters are interesting enough for the most part, and while Summer does make for a strong female main character, I did often find myself thinking she suffered from the syndrome that a lot of other female leads suffer from in dystonia YA books: the 'I'm not like other girls' feeling. While it wasn't constant, it was brought up several times in how Summer saw her roommate of the New Youths that it was enough to bother me, and that was something I wasn't terribly fond of.
That said, I would recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a different and relatively fast read, and who enjoys characters who don't take no for an answer and aren't afraid to do what's right, instead of what's easy or expected. Would I personally read the book again? Most likely not, but I wouldn't rule out looking up other books by the author and seeing if there's something else I'd like to read.
momwithareadingproblem's review against another edition
4.0
I received an eARC of this book from I Am a Reader. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Death Thieves by Julie Wright is an interesting and unique take on the dystopian trope. Summer Dawn Rae living her life one day at a time in foster care with her twin sister when she is ripped from a car accident that should have killed her and taken to save an unknown future.
Summer is an easy to like character. While she makes rash decisions, she ultimately puts her sister’s needs first. She describes herself as the heat to Winter’s cool. Their names really reflect their personalities. Summer is outgoing, rebellious, and doesn’t take orders well. When a soldier from the future saves her from her death, she fights him. She wants to stay in her own time stream and live with the only family she knows. You have to admire her for that. She’s great at causing trouble.
The story revolves around this unknown future, a future where the human population is dying off due to a mutated STI/STD that causes them to be sterile. Summer is taken at the moment of her death so as not to disrupt the past and brought to the future to be a “New Youth.” Basically her and many others are there to breed and repopulate without the mutated infection. Obviously rebellious Summer is all for helping….NOT. It’s interesting story, yet the plot moves at a very slow pace until about the 60% mark. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still an interesting read, just takes a little while to get into the story.
Overall I enjoyed this unique take on time travel and dystopia. Summer is an interesting character as she tries to fit into this new society and get back to her sister. If you enjoy science fiction and dystopia, I recommend you pick up a copy for yourself!
Death Thieves by Julie Wright is an interesting and unique take on the dystopian trope. Summer Dawn Rae living her life one day at a time in foster care with her twin sister when she is ripped from a car accident that should have killed her and taken to save an unknown future.
Summer is an easy to like character. While she makes rash decisions, she ultimately puts her sister’s needs first. She describes herself as the heat to Winter’s cool. Their names really reflect their personalities. Summer is outgoing, rebellious, and doesn’t take orders well. When a soldier from the future saves her from her death, she fights him. She wants to stay in her own time stream and live with the only family she knows. You have to admire her for that. She’s great at causing trouble.
The story revolves around this unknown future, a future where the human population is dying off due to a mutated STI/STD that causes them to be sterile. Summer is taken at the moment of her death so as not to disrupt the past and brought to the future to be a “New Youth.” Basically her and many others are there to breed and repopulate without the mutated infection. Obviously rebellious Summer is all for helping….NOT. It’s interesting story, yet the plot moves at a very slow pace until about the 60% mark. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still an interesting read, just takes a little while to get into the story.
Overall I enjoyed this unique take on time travel and dystopia. Summer is an interesting character as she tries to fit into this new society and get back to her sister. If you enjoy science fiction and dystopia, I recommend you pick up a copy for yourself!
sammah's review against another edition
4.0
Different and quirky, I found myself enjoying this little sci-fi read. While at times the main character got on my nerves, I liked Tag enough to get over it and continue on.
gxnld's review
5.0
Thank you so much, EbooksforReview for giving me the opportunity to have such an amazing read!
In a nutshell: Death Thieves focuses on the death of Summer Dawn Rae, a young woman who was supposed to die in a car accident... until some soldier who calls himself Tag pulls her out and tries to bring her back to his time.
I feel that this entire book was satisfying. Half of the book focuses on her journey to the future, whereas the other half focuses on her life there. It's interesting because the first half spans only four days in comparison to the other half taking a span of a year. It may sound like it could interrupt the way you read the story, but it didn't bother me at all while I was reading it.
I feel that the only thing I wasn't the biggest fan of was Summer Dawn Rae's over explanation of specific ideas. Don't get me wrong, it's good to be clear, but I feel like it got to the point where I rolled my yes at the book, reassuring that I understood what the main character was trying to say.
I actually love that if Julie Wright really and truly wanted to, she probably could've made this story longer, turning it into a trilogy. Maybe it's because I ended up reading the last half tonight, maybe not, but I feel that this story could so very possibly, and if done properly, be made into a beautiful trilogy.
I loved the love between Tag and Summer Rae. Some people may consider the entire idea to be insta-love, but I think they went through a significant amount of emotions and death situations before settling on the fact that they are both attracted to and love each other.
The friendships and the enemies that Summer Rae had made were beautifully created. It's hard to come up with other characters with a true purpose in the story, so I truly enjoyed Jay and Jen's presence, along with the brute presence of Ed.
I also wish that I knew what had happened to the rest of the characters. I love Jay and Jen, but what had truly happened to them? What happened to Ed after the dinner party? I feel that there were too many questions left behind on the other characters, but aside from that, entire story was epic.
In a nutshell: Death Thieves focuses on the death of Summer Dawn Rae, a young woman who was supposed to die in a car accident... until some soldier who calls himself Tag pulls her out and tries to bring her back to his time.
I feel that this entire book was satisfying. Half of the book focuses on her journey to the future, whereas the other half focuses on her life there. It's interesting because the first half spans only four days in comparison to the other half taking a span of a year. It may sound like it could interrupt the way you read the story, but it didn't bother me at all while I was reading it.
I feel that the only thing I wasn't the biggest fan of was Summer Dawn Rae's over explanation of specific ideas. Don't get me wrong, it's good to be clear, but I feel like it got to the point where I rolled my yes at the book, reassuring that I understood what the main character was trying to say.
I actually love that if Julie Wright really and truly wanted to, she probably could've made this story longer, turning it into a trilogy. Maybe it's because I ended up reading the last half tonight, maybe not, but I feel that this story could so very possibly, and if done properly, be made into a beautiful trilogy.
I loved the love between Tag and Summer Rae. Some people may consider the entire idea to be insta-love, but I think they went through a significant amount of emotions and death situations before settling on the fact that they are both attracted to and love each other.
The friendships and the enemies that Summer Rae had made were beautifully created. It's hard to come up with other characters with a true purpose in the story, so I truly enjoyed Jay and Jen's presence, along with the brute presence of Ed.
I also wish that I knew what had happened to the rest of the characters. I love Jay and Jen, but what had truly happened to them? What happened to Ed after the dinner party? I feel that there were too many questions left behind on the other characters, but aside from that, entire story was epic.
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
This book was so fantastic! The world was intriguing and aggravating, and I loved the characters and their struggles! Really great book!
buttercupsobsession's review
5.0
I received this eBook for free in exchange for an honest review. I read the description on this and it sounded intriguing so I took a chance and I'm so glad I did. I loved this book. It started out slow, but kept you interested the whole time and the information felt necessary. The book just kept getting better as it went on.
It has such and interesting take on time travel, elitist society, and dystopia. Fans of The Maze Runner, The Selection, The Jewel, etc will find enjoyment in this book. It had science, technology, forbidden romance, good guys, bad guys, all the things that I like in a good fiction book.
Summer our main character and her twin sister Winter have not had it easy. They grew up in foster care until their Aunt Teresa adopted them, but she is fairly strict, and Summer is always testing her patience while Winter always plays by the rules. The sisters have always taken care of each other and have always stayed together until the day the day Summer "dies". At the moment of Summer's death she is whisked away by Tag, who steals her from her death and takes her through time and space to help save humanity. Summer is to become a race of Elite New Youth to help repopulate the world with pure blooded children, free of mental disease. It is very Adam and Eve with a twist. Summer fights Tag at first then decides to go with him to this new future, and she eventually ends up enjoying her new life. She never really accepts that she's dead and never really conforms to her new life. She's supposed to find a New Youth boy, get married, and have babies as soon as possible. Summer, ever the rebel, does none of those things as she finds herself wanting to cure the disease that plagues the world as opposed to just being part of the re-population plan. She and a friend uncover a sinister plot regarding the New Youth's children and vows to stop them as well as go back in time and save the one person that means everything to her, her sister.
It has such and interesting take on time travel, elitist society, and dystopia. Fans of The Maze Runner, The Selection, The Jewel, etc will find enjoyment in this book. It had science, technology, forbidden romance, good guys, bad guys, all the things that I like in a good fiction book.
Summer our main character and her twin sister Winter have not had it easy. They grew up in foster care until their Aunt Teresa adopted them, but she is fairly strict, and Summer is always testing her patience while Winter always plays by the rules. The sisters have always taken care of each other and have always stayed together until the day the day Summer "dies". At the moment of Summer's death she is whisked away by Tag, who steals her from her death and takes her through time and space to help save humanity. Summer is to become a race of Elite New Youth to help repopulate the world with pure blooded children, free of mental disease. It is very Adam and Eve with a twist. Summer fights Tag at first then decides to go with him to this new future, and she eventually ends up enjoying her new life. She never really accepts that she's dead and never really conforms to her new life. She's supposed to find a New Youth boy, get married, and have babies as soon as possible. Summer, ever the rebel, does none of those things as she finds herself wanting to cure the disease that plagues the world as opposed to just being part of the re-population plan. She and a friend uncover a sinister plot regarding the New Youth's children and vows to stop them as well as go back in time and save the one person that means everything to her, her sister.
avoraciousreader68's review
rebeccacarter's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to get caught up in the story of Summer and Tag, two young people born a century apart. The author has created a descriptive futuristic world where people cannot have children, so they're created in a nursery. The only problem is that many of the children are "defective" and go crazy. The story is engaging from start to finish; the world is well-defined; the characters are full of life and emotions. A great read.
I received a copy of this book through the Kindle Scout program.
I received a copy of this book through the Kindle Scout program.
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