Release Day Blitz and Giveaway: Toxic by Lydia Kang

Hello bibliovores! I'm so excited to be sharing information about Lydia Kang's latest novel, Toxic. This is a YA sci-fi novel that is bound to be a page-turner. Read on and enter the giveaway!

About the Book:

Toxic by Lydia Kang

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Publication Date: November 6, 2018

Official Summary:

Cyclo, the first and largest biological ship of its kind, is dying. A small crew of mercenaries have handed over the rights to their life to document the death of the ship, but the abandoned ship is anything but abandoned—one girl has been left behind.

Hana has known nothing but the isolation of a single room and the secret that has kept her there for seventeen years. When she meets Fennec, the boy assigned to watch her, she realizes that there is a world she has yet to experience but she is doomed to never meet.

When crew members begin mysteriously dying, Hana and Fenn realize that they are racing against the death of the ship to find a way to survive—unless someone kills them even before Hana’s truly had a chance to live.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository | The Ivy Bookshop

About the Author:

Lydia Kang is an author of young adult fiction, poetry, and narrative non-fiction. She graduated from Columbia University and New York University School of Medicine, completing her residency and chief residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. She is a practicing physician who has gained a reputation for helping fellow writers achieve medical accuracy in fiction. Her poetry and non-fiction have been published in JAMA, The Annals of Internal Medicine, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Journal of General Internal Medicine, and Great Weather for Media. She believes in science and knocking on wood, and currently lives in Omaha with her husband and three children.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

The Excerpt:

My heart is beating so fast I can barely stay standing. I have clawed my robe until it has holes in the edges.

It has been six hours now. I am absolutely forbidden to leave my room, a room that does not exist in the consciousness of any crew member except my mother, hidden as it is in the most unused part of Cyclo’s body, the northeast quadrant, alpha ring.

For the last two hours, I’ve raised my hand countless times, poised a few inches from the door, before dropping it. Even touching the door is strictly forbidden. But I can’t wait here for much longer. Where is Mother? Where could she be? I’d even read the last entry in her diary, looking to see if anything was off, but there was nothing but our last discussion on why hedgehogs are not related to sea urchins. My eyes are full of tears, and I’ve already cried several times out of sheer panic.

I keep my voice steady and say, “Cyclo. Please open the door.”

Cyclo, not bothering to speak because the message is too urgent, blanches with white that moves in waves over the door.

Forbidden.

“Cyclo. Please open the door,” I say again, this time my voice cracking. I’ll only just peep my head outside, just a little look. I won’t step a foot out there. I know people will be walking the hallways. But if no one is there…maybe I can make my way to her lab and see why she’s delayed. I know exactly where it is. I’ve spent much of my life studying Cyclo’s every detail—the story of her birth, the way she harvests starlight energy, the layout of the ship down to every single storage vacuole and crew member unit.

The Giveaway:

A signed copy of Toxic plus a swag bag, including enamel pin, signed print of a hand painted TOXIC artwork, bookmarks, and signed book plates. Open in US only (a $20 Amazon e-gift card will be substituted for an international winner)

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Review: Catalyst by Lydia Kang

Catalyst by Lydia Kang

Book Two of the Control series

Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books

Publication Date: March 24, 2015

Rating: 3 stars

Source: ARC sent by a friend (thank you, Lili!)

Summary (from Goodreads):

For fans of Uglies and The Maze Runner comes a complex, thrill-filled love story that will make you question exactly what it means to be human

In the past year Zel lost her father, the boy she loves, her safety, and any future she might have imagined for herself. Now she, her sister, and the band of genetic outcasts they've come to call their family are forced on the run when their safe house is attacked by men with neural guns. But on the way to a rumored haven in Chicago, Zel hears something--a whisper from Cy, the boy who traded himself for her sister's safety. And when she veers off plan in order to search for him, what she finds is not what she expected. There's more to their genetic mutations than they ever imagined...aspects that make them wonder if they might be accepted by the outside world after all.

What I Liked:

Hmm, I think I felt a bit let down by this book. I had high expectations, after reading Control, so perhaps I just wanted too much. In any case, this book wasn't awful (yay), but it wasn't that great either. Three stars is not bad though, so don't be totally discouraged! After all, Control was really good (in my opinion).

THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ CONTROL. But not Catalyst spoilers.

In this book, Zel and her gang are on the run. Split up in the beginning of the book, Zel and several unexpected faces find themselves in an underground not-so-safe safehouse called Inky, where she and her companions are monitored and restricted - basically prisoners. At Inky, a man named Julian is in charge. He basically collects children with supernatural traits, and having Zel is like hitting the jackpot. All the while, Zel is hunted by the government, who is framing her (her DNA, really) for killing an important official. The world isn't willing to accept the young ones with special abilities, and there is nowhere to hide.

To be honest, I didn't retain a lot of specific information that happened in Control. So I was worried about starting this book and being totally lost. I very specifically remember the ending though. But Kang made it easy to return to the world of Control, so it wasn't too bad. Even if you remember nothing, it's okay, because Kang reintroduces a lot of the information from Control, but not in an info-dump-like way.

I think I liked Zel even more in this book - despite the fact that she acted like a lovesick fool at times. I'll forgive her... because she's pretty tough otherwise. She's smart, she thinks on her feet, she thinks outside the box. 

I liked the supporting characters too. We get to know Caliga better - I understand her a lot more in this book. I'd go as far as saying that I like Caliga. I can't remember if I liked her at all in Control, but probably not. I liked some of the new ones too, like Tennie, and Xiulan, a boy and a girl at Inky who wanted to escape like Zel. 

Now let's get to the dislikes.

What I Did Not Like:

I have to admit: I was a bit bored by this one. I didn't feel the same spark of interest that I felt towards Control. The story arc didn't feel the same. In Control, there seemed to be an overarching purpose (find Dyl). In this book, I thought the sentiment might by the same (find Cy), but then Zel finds Cy relatively quickly into the book (which is YAY, but at the same time, what now?). Perhaps I just felt like the series plot was lacking, but also, the plot for this book.

I also thought there was less sciencey things going on... a huge part of what made me like Control was the amount of science that was put into the fiction. Granted, I wanted even MORE science in that book, but I feel like if Control didn't have enough, this book didn't have even close to the amount of science I was expecting. Zel is barely in a lab doing any kind of medical research, and neither is Cy. Dyl is, but she's not in most of the book.

I didn't like the way the romance went. There's no love triangle, and Cy and Zel are reunited pretty quickly in the book, but things are so different. Their relationship is very strained, and I feel like they never really TALK. They never hash out why things were strained, what happened over the past year with each of them and between them. A year is a long time not to have any contact with a person you love. Things will change (and they did), and communication is kind of important. 

The ending overall didn't feel creative or special or anything like that. It seemed cliche and boring, as if the author couldn't figure out how to end the duology. To be honest, after reading the majority of the book, about 75% of the way, I was wondering the same thing. This book was so weird, in terms of the plot and story. The ending felt very anticlimactic. 

I think I was just very unsatisfied, and wanted more from the book. Maybe others will find it pleasing and delightful and everything they'd expected. But I felt slightly disappointed.

Would I Recommend It:

Ehhh. Personally, maybe not. I hate saying this about science fiction (because I LOVE science fiction and would push science-related anything on anyone), but overall, this series was a bit of a letdown. Control was awesome but Catalyst was... not. Overall, I'd say skip the series. Which doesn't make much sense with my rating of the two books, but this series gives an overall "meh" feeling.

Rating:

2.5 stars -> rounded up to 3 stars. Like I said, overall, the series is a bit "meh" for me, but I'm glad I gave the duology a shot! Control was really good. This one, ehhh.

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

Waiting on Wednesday (#98): Catalyst by Lydia Kang

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I'm featuring:

Catalyst by Lydia Kang

Book Two of the Control series

Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books

Publication: March 24, 2015

Summary (from Goodreads):

For fans of Uglies and The Maze Runner comes a complex, thrill-filled love story that will make you question exactly what it means to be human.

In the past year Zel lost her father, the boy she loves, her safety, and any future she might have imagined for herself. Now she, her sister, and the band of genetic outcasts they've come to call their family are forced on the run when their safe house is attacked by men with neural guns. But on the way to a rumored haven in Chicago, Zel hears something--a whisper from Cy, the boy who traded himself for her sister's safety. And when she veers off plan in order to search for him, what she finds is not what she expected. There's more to their genetic mutations than they ever imagined...aspects that make them wonder if they might be accepted by the outside world after all.

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

I loved Control! Book two, please :D

Swoon Thursday (#44): Control by Lydia Kang

Swoon Thursday is a hot meme hosted by the fabulous ladies at YA Bound!

- From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering

- Try to make the swoon excerpt 140 characters (or less), if you are going to tweet about it. Use the hashtag #YABOUND when tweeting

This week, my swoon is from Control by Lydia Kang!

"Don't leave." His hand passes within an inch of my face to shut the door once and for all, and then slips to my cheek. My skin burns with electricity that even Micah couldn't generate. Only this time, there are no magic tricks involved.

I know we;re on the knifes edge of something and nothing, but nothing is all I've ever had. I don't know what to do. So I shut my eyes and turn away. Cy catches my arm to spin me around. Before I can inhale with surprise, his lips are on mine.

His mouth is warm and strong, and it sends waves of weakness down my spine. He breaks the kiss and I sway, unsure if my legs are still working.

"Don't leave," he repeats in a whisper.

I take a few breaths and hold on to the wall. I nod, the tiniest movement of my head, and just like that, I'm over the knife's edge and drowning in a sea of something. Cy encircles my waist with his arm and tilts his head down to find my lips again. We bump against the wall and there's no Micah, no horrors, no parental disappointments, nothing but this fire in my toes and knees and every inch of skin I possess.

I pull him closer, as if I could make his very molecules lock with mine and never let go.

Cy scoops me up and carries me over to his bed as if I weighed less than an ounce. We melt into the softness of his sheets, and the delicious weight of his body pins me to the bed.

- ARC, pages 252-253

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Read my review HERE.

LOVED this book! Any scifi lovers out there? You WANT to read this one!

Review: Control by Lydia Kang

Control by Lydia Kang

Book One of the Control series

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: December 26, 2013

Rating: 4 stars

Source: ARC sent by a blogger friend (Thank you, Nereyda!)

Summary (from Goodreads):

An un-putdownable thriller for fans of Uglies

When a crash kills their father and leaves them orphaned, Zel knows she needs to protect her sister, Dyl. But before Zel has a plan, Dyl is taken by strangers using bizarre sensory weapons, and Zel finds herself in a safe house for teens who aren't like any she’s ever seen before—teens who shouldn't even exist. Using broken-down technology, her new friends’ peculiar gifts, and her own grit, Zel must find a way to get her sister back from the kidnappers who think a powerful secret is encoded in Dyl’s DNA.

A spiraling, intense, romantic story set in 2150—in a world of automatic cars, nightclubs with auditory ecstasy drugs, and guys with four arms—this is about the human genetic “mistakes” that society wants to forget, and the way that outcasts can turn out to be heroes.

What I Liked:

YAY I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK! I was afraid that I wouldn't, because this one was one of my highly anticipated debut novels of 2013. I hate that feeling when you wait for something for so long, and then it is just BAD. Well, that is not the case with this one! For me, at least.

Oh, and big thanks to Nereyda from Mostly YA Obsessed, for sending me this book. This review would not be possible without her and her amazing self. You rock, lady!

Back to the review. This book is so complex! Set in the future, this book exemplifies the wonders and terrors of science. Mutations are possible - and in this book, children with special traits can be used for their traits, and exploited. Zel and her sister Dyl are separated, after their father dies, and Zel knows something is wrong. Apparently, Dyl has a special trait (unknown to Zel or Dyl), and Zel will stop at nothing to get her sister back, and to safety. 

One of the things I really liked about this book is how unique Zel is. After reading so many YA novels, you kind of see the same type of YA heroine over and over. Not in EVERY novel, but in many novels, especially the recent ones, the heroines start to act and sound and seem the same. Well, Zel is different. Her attitude is different. Her being is different. All of this makes her character development different. 

Zel considers herself deficient, underdeveloped, ugly, especially when compared to her sister. Zel was born with Ondine's curse, a condition that makes her much less than perfect. She has difficulty breathing, and has to wear something that regulates her breathing. Also, she seems to be a late bloomer. Her body isn't very... developed, for a seventeen-year-old.

Well, no matter. In the beginning of the book, Zel seems very depressed and hollow, despondent and weak. As the book goes on, and Zel has to fight to get her sister back, she grows, in character and in physicality. Living with new people - Vera, Hex, Wilbert, Cy, and Marka - isn't easy, and it definitely builds her character. I really liked the character development in Zel. In the end, she has to use dirty tricks to do what she must, but she has to do so. I do no fault her, because honestly, I'd probably do the same, if it were my sister involved.

This book's plot deals with getting Dyl back. Another group has Dyl, a group that wants to exploit her potential abilities for financial gain. But there is something else. They want something else from her, something tied to Ana, Cy's sister. Everything is twisted and connected, and Zel is in the middle of everything.

I loved how interesting Kang kept this book. I don't think I was ever truly bored at any point in this book. Every time I thought the plot would steady, Kang threw in another plot twist or revelation or new piece of information. This isn't to say that there was TOO MUCH going on - no, not at all. Kang had a way of keeping the plot moving, but not to the point where the plot was moving, but readers would be left behind.

The romance is a pretty sizable part of this book. It isn't the overarching theme of this book, or the dominant part of the plot, which is good. It's there, and in the first half of the book, it's somewhat subtle. I really liked the romance in this book, because it creeps up on you, slowly and progressively. I think readers really get a chance to fall in love with the couple, so, no insta-love. In my opinion. No love triangle either.

I LOVE how science-y this book is! You all know I'm huge in math and science - environmental engineering major, what up! Kang uses her science background to her advantage, and in turn, this book is heavily science-based. I personally don't think the science was overwhelming, but I'm used to quite a bit of biology/chemistry/genetics studies, so I enjoyed the employment of so much science.

The ending. I kind of saw it coming (not a bad thing at all), so I wasn't enraged or devastated or cheering or celebrating or anything very passionate. I like the ending. It fits this book really well, even if it is, um, a smidgen bittersweet. I don't want to give anything away. Don't worry about liking/disliking the ending! If you pay attention in this book, and if you really read this book and understand this book, you'll see that no other ending would fit this book better than the one that Kang wrote.

What I Did Not Like:

This might scare some of you, but I kind of wanted more scientific explanations. I don't really understand the mutation thing - that certain babies have traits due to mutations, and others don't. Why? How was this brought about? Perhaps I need to re-read this book and see if I missed the explanation somewhere. I re-read a certain passage, but it didn't clear up much. And the thing that Zel was doing with the DNA linking? I don't really understand that either - not the linking part, but the purpose of that. What was she achieving, by stringing and linking all the DNA?

Kind of minor, nit picky complaints, but as a science nerd, I truly would like to understand. But that's it (from me) for dislikes! This book just felt like a four-star-read to me, versus a five-star-read.

Would I Recommend It:

This is definitely a novel for science fiction lovers! As I said, I loved how this book was so entrenched in science - specifically, genetics and genomes. However, you don't have to love science fiction to enjoy this book! It's an amazing thriller as well, and the romance in this book is simple and sweet. All around, Control is a good fit for many, many audiences!

Rating:

4 stars. Bring on Catalyst! I cannot wait to see what book two has in store for us.

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

Waiting on Wednesday (#35): Control by Lydia Kang

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I'm featuring:

Control by Lydia Kang

Book One of the Control series

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: December 26, 2013

Summary (from Goodreads):

When a crash kills their father and leaves them orphaned, Zel knows she needs to protect her sister, Dyl. But before Zel has a plan, Dyl is taken by strangers using bizarre sensory weapons, and Zel finds herself in a safe house for teens who aren’t like any she’s ever seen before—teens who shouldn't even exist. Using broken-down technology, her new friends’ peculiar gifts, and her own grit, Zel must find a way to get her sister back from the kidnappers who think a powerful secret is encoded in Dyl’s DNA.

A spiraling, intense, romantic story set in 2150—in a world of automatic cars, nightclubs with auditory ecstasy drugs, and guys with four arms—this is about the human genetic “mistakes” that society wants to forget, and the way that outcasts can turn out to be heroes.

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

I've been waiting for this one for a while! I love science fiction :)

***Edited, 08/25/2013***

A blogger and friend and all-around wonderful person is sending me this book! So, the wait will be over for me. SOON :D