Author: Jennifer Bosworth
Paperback: 373 pages (ARE version)
Published date: May 8, 2012 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Macteenbooks/Macmillian
FTC: Received to review from Shelf Awareness
Do you remember a short while ago I reviewed the awesomely fun book Cinder -- the futuristic Cinderella story where Cinder is part human part cyborg? Well, that author, Jennifer Bosworth, and a bunch of other Macteenbook authors are doing this huge tour called Fierce Reads. Scroll towards the end of my post to see the cool metallic red package the books come in -- pretty cool marketing plan, and it worked.
Struck is one of those books that you greedily devour in just a day or two. I love it's mix of post-apocalyptic (L.A. after a massive earthquake), fantasy/sci-fi (Mia has The Spark after being struck by lightening a bazillion times), and romance (of course there is).
Back of the book:
One month after a major earthquake has leveled Los Angeles, seventeen-year-old Mia Price faces a cult convinced that her unique history of lightening strikes is the key to their apocalyptic vision. But there is another group that seeks Mia's help in stopping the Followers. And neither side is willing to lose her. Then Mia meets a boy who will do everything he can to protect her, or so it seems. When the two factions collide, Mia discovers the lightning scars she hides reveal a staggering power. But it means she must choose saving the world over the possibility of love.
My thoughts:
It's a superbly scary story of the lengths some people will go through to have control over others. While I greedily gobbled up the story, it's not to the level that I enjoyed Divergent and Cinder (I'm still shoving those books on people).
The main story focuses on the Prophet who has a tv show called The Hour of Light where he's developed a huge following among people who want to have hope or put blame on something for the earthquake happening. He also has huge tent revivals that especially appeal to the homeless masses, The Displaced. There's also a counter cult that's cropped up in revolt of the Prophet and his sect. Both cults want Mia's special gift to help out their cause. The cult thing is quite creepy but scarily realistic. I could totally see crazy cults pop up like this after a major disaster.
The post-apocalyptic L.A. scene was my favorite part of the book because it just seemed so realistic. The lack of medical help for Mia's mom who's suffering from severe PTSD, the lack of food and supplies for the survivors, the lack of adequate police force, the looting and crime -- such a great setting for this story.
Mia Price is a pretty cool character. Before the earthquake she'd been struck by lightening multiple times - which can actually happen and I find absolutely fascinating. Her need to hide the visible lightening strike scars on her body, her confusion and self-blame on why she gets struck -- great character depth. I love that her family is extremely important to her. The mentally absent mother and the younger brother thing is a bit cliche but it still works.
The side characters are pretty entertaining and fun and I love the sort of cliff hanger at the end. What else is to come and are some of the characters good guys or bad guys? It does make me want to read a follow up book if there is one. I also like that she didn't make it HAVE to be a series book (yeah, Delirium, I'm talking to you).
Anyway, a fun and entertaining read and I'm curious to see if there's a book two and where she takes the story.
I found this pretty epic book trailer over at Jennifer Bosworth's website:
Head over to Serendipity Reviews to check out an awesome post on the behind the scenes look at the making of the book trailer.
You can check out Fierce Reads on Facebook and go to the Extras section to read the beginning of Struck. There's also a ton of chances to win some of the Fierce Read books.
I also just found that Tor.com has a short story up from Jennifer Bosworth called Prophet which is kind of a background to the creepy cult leader.
And here's the awesome Fierce Reads packaging I told you about. Pretty cool, right?
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