Blog Tour Interview with Polly Holyoke, author of The Neptune Project (and Giveaway!)

Welcome to the blog tour for The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke! I've got a fabulous interview with this awesome author, and just below that, a giveaway! 

Read my review for The Neptune Project HERE.

The Interview:

(that's Polly)

(that's her book!)

Alyssa: Hi, Polly! Thank you so much for joining today on my blog!

Polly: It’s my pleasure to be here.

Alyssa: So, Polly. Describe your book in ten words. GO!

Polly: Genetically-altered teens fight to survive in the sea.

Alyssa: Is there anything about your book that you would change?

Polly: I had to delete a scene or two that I liked, but the book is probably stronger without them.

Alyssa: What is something that you must have when writing? 

Polly: I definitely like to start my writing day with a cup of English Breakfast tea with just the right amount of milk and sugar. That’s a very British way to enjoy tea, but I got hooked on having it that way when I went to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland my junior year of college.

Alyssa: What type of books do you like to read? What are you currently reading?

Polly: I’m reading a number of YA and MG books by other 2013 debut authors right now. I recently finished Parched by Melanie Crowder. It’s a climate disaster dystopian set in the future, and it is a beautiful, searing read. In general I like to read literary, historicals, science fiction and fantasy.

Alyssa: Where is your favorite place to read?

Polly: Any place which is quiet, which in my busy house is often hard to find! I get much of my reading done in the car waiting to pick up my kids from various events.

Alyssa: What’s your favorite distraction when writing under deadline?

Polly: I go for walks. Whenever I get stuck or stalled, I put my trusty pack of dogs into their harnesses, and off we go for a stroll.

Alyssa: What do you think of the cover of The Neptune Project?

Polly: I love the way my main character Nere is depicted. Her hair and her sea suit are just right, and the cover artist did a wonderful job with the light beneath the waves. The water off the coast of California is more green than blue, and the visibility there is rarely that clear, but a cover showing a bunch of green murky water wouldn’t have appealed to kids’ imaginations the way this beautiful blue one does!

Alyssa: What’s one song that embodies The Neptune Project?

Polly: Well, since I work for Disney now, I often say the lyrics from “Under the Sea,” fit my story nicely. “Darling, it’s better down where it’s wetter, take it from me,” hopefully ends up being true for my characters.  But “Never Let Me Go,” by Florence and the Machine sounds like sea music to me, and the lyrics, “And I’m going under, but I’m not giving up! I’m just giving in…” make me think of a harrowing moment in the story when her mother forces Nere under the surface to make her breathe water into her lungs for the first time.

Alyssa: Are you working on anything related to The Neptune Project? Or something new? Anything contracted? 

Polly: I have already written a sequel, and Neptune 2 has been bought by Puffin UK. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping I’ll hear good news soon from Disney Hyperion as well.

Alyssa: And that’s a wrap! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, Polly!

Polly: Thanks so much. Guess I better dive back into my work, so to speak! 

Alyssa: Have fun with that! :)

About the Book:

The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: May 21, 2013

Summary (from Goodreads):

THE NEPTUNE PROJECT is set in a future where the seas are rising and wars and famines wrack the surface world. Nere Hanson and her teen companions are shocked to learn that they have been genetically altered by their desperate parents to live in the sea. Protected by her loyal dolphins, shy Nere leads the rest on a perilous journey to her father's new colony. Fighting off government divers, sharks and giant squid, can Nere and her companions learn to trust each other before their dangerous new world destroys them?

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo

About the Author:

Polly Holyoke has been imagining stories since she was in fifth grade. When she isn't writing, Polly loves reading, camping, skiing, scuba diving and hiking in the desert (where she quite stupidly got herself bitten by a rattlesnake). She lives with three rescue dogs, two spoiled cats and a nice husband who is tolerant about the piles of books all over their house. Her debut middle grade novel, THE NEPTUNE PROJECT, is the story of a young girl leading a group of genetically altered teens fighting to survive in the sea. She is thrilled that this novel will be published by Disney/Hyperion and Puffin Books UK summer, 2013. She thinks the best part about being an author is going to work in her sweatpants and getting paid for daydreaming!

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

The Giveaway (tour-wide):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke

The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: May 21, 2013

Rating: 3 stars

Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

THE NEPTUNE PROJECT is set in a future where the seas are rising and wars and famines wrack the surface world. Nere Hanson and her teen companions are shocked to learn that they have been genetically altered by their desperate parents to live in the sea. Protected by her loyal dolphins, shy Nere leads the rest on a perilous journey to her father's new colony. Fighting off government divers, sharks and giant squid, can Nere and her companions learn to trust each other before their dangerous new world destroys them?

What I Liked:

I was not sure what I was expecting from this book, but I know for a fact that I did not realize it was a Middle Grade novel! I love Middle Grade, and I am really glad I got the chance to read this book. I believe it is my first Middle Grade read of the year.

Anyway. The concept of this book was very interesting! I haven't read many books that deal with an underwater setting, and I thought that Ms. Holyoke did an excellent job of describing the ocean and underwater. I was blown away by the depth of her knowledge of the ocean (no pun intended), and how she went from talking about one type of fish to another with ease. It was clear to me that Ms. Holyoke had a vast knowledge of the underwater world, and that she did her research well. I have to say, that is my favorite thing about this entire book - the description of below the surface, and the use of many different fish species and other ocean-related things that added to the authenticity of this novel.

The novel is set in a futuristic time. In this novel, the world has been heating up drastically due to global warming, and there is garbage everywhere, and the Marines basically own the ocean. I didn't get a good feel for what was going on above the surface, because the majority of the book is spent underwater. But I thought that it was awesome that Ms. Holyoke used an environmental problem to get her novel going (because I'm all about the environment, as an environmental engineering major).

So Nere (the protagonist) and a bunch of other kids have been subjected to change from land-loving humans to sea-loving humans. Nere's parents perfected some sort of shot that made Nere and two other kids from Nere's island able to survive underwater. Nere and the other two kids meet up with other kids from other areas of the world, and they all must swim across the sea to meet Nere's father in an underwater community.

The romance threw me off. It wasn't that I was torn between two guys - because Nere wasn't torn between two guys (though there was the presence of two guys). I liked the obvious guy well enough, but his predicament at the end... I didn't really buy it. I won't spoil anything, but I was not impressed with the male love interest at the end of the book.

The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, and the author did say she had another book written. Hopefully that book takes care of the cliffhanger!

What I Did Not Like:

It's not to say that I didn't like this book... I just didn't love it. I didn't feel impressed at the end of the book, despite my fascination with the overall idea of the story. And there were little things that bothered me throughout the book.

For one, I seriously thought this book was a Young Adult book (for older teens, I suppose) for a good portion of the book, because Nere's voice and actions are pretty developed. I guess that can be seen as a good thing, that she's mature, but it just didn't make sense when I found out her age. She didn't act like an adolescent. So I was confused about that.

And you already know that I can't stand the love interest's decision at the end of the story. Why can't he just run away? What's so hard about swimming away? I hope I didn't spoil anything - but you all probably have no idea what I'm talking about. 

I also didn't really see a climax in this book. It just kept going and going (which was really boring), and there would be a problem pretty often (like, sharks, or the Marines), but I didn't see a ton of buildup, and then the "climax" wasn't really a climax. And getting to the end took some effort, because I felt like the story just drifted on and on for a sizable percentage of the story.

And the cliffhanger ending. I was a tad bit irritated with it, and I have half a mind not to read the next book (if it gets picked up by Disney-Hyperion), because I don't really care to see where this story is going.

Would I Recommend It:

If you liked Middle Grade, yes! Go for it! You might enjoy it. If you're a Young Adult fan, then probably not. I'm glad I got the chance to read this one, but if it weren't for the tour, I probably wouldn't have picked it up.

Rating:

3 stars. Not bad, but not amazing either.

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