The Scourge Book Tour: review and giveaway

Fans of dystopian YA may want to check out the title we feature today. Reader Girls hosts The Scourge Book Tour presented by Kismet Book Tours. Our review is below and there's a daily giveaway where 30 readers can win an e-book copy of this riveting novel.

The Scourge by A.G. Henley

YA dystopian*e-book, 242 pages

Published January 31st 2012

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Seventeen-year-old Groundling, Fennel, is Sightless. She’s never been able to see her lush forest home, but she knows its secrets. She knows how the shadows shift when she passes under a canopy of trees. She knows how to hide in the cool, damp caves when the Scourge comes. She knows how devious and arrogant the Groundlings’ tree-dwelling neighbors, the Lofties, can be.

And she’s always known this day would come—the day she faces the Scourge alone.

The Sightless, like Fenn, are mysteriously protected from the Scourge, the gruesome creatures roaming the forests, reeking of festering flesh and consuming anything—and anyone—living. A Sightless Groundling must brave the Scourge and bring fresh water to the people of the forest. Today, that task becomes Fenn’s.

Fenn will have a Lofty Keeper, Peree, as her companion. Everyone knows the Lofties wouldn’t hesitate to shoot an arrow through the back of an unsuspecting Groundling like Fenn, but Peree seems different. A boy with warm, rough hands who smells like summer, he is surprisingly kind and thoughtful. Although Fenn knows his people are treacherous, she finds herself wanting to trust him.

As their forest community teeters on the brink of war, Fenn and Peree must learn to work together to survivethe Scourge and ensure their people’s survival. But when Fenn uncovers a secret that shatters her truths, she’s forced to decide who and what to protect—her people, her growing love for Peree, or the elusive dream of lasting peace in the forest.

About A.G. Henley

 

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A.G. Henley is the author of the young adult novel, THE SCOURGE. She is also a clinical psychologist, which means people either tell her their life stories on airplanes, or avoid her at parties when they’ve had too much to drink. Neither of which she minds. When she’s not writing fiction or shrinking heads, she can be found herding her children and their scruffy dog, Guapo, to various activities while trying to remember whatever she’s inevitably forgotten to tell her husband. She lives in Denver, Colorado.
Learn more at www.aghenley.com

My thoughts:

A.G. Henley has created a quiet tale of perseverance, forbidden love, revelations and survival set amidst a world where the remaining humans struggle to keep some semblance of normality while running from monsters they are forced to share the land with. I say this is a quiet tale because it sucks you in with its interesting premise and a society where one seventeen year old girl is determined to do her part to help her people simply live. Once you begin reading The Scourge, you simply can't stop. Every time I came to the end of a chapter I thought I could stop and do something else (like go to sleep).

Nope, I couldn't. I. Was. Hooked. Fenn is admirable as she shares her world with us. She may be Sightless but she is astute and has simply sharpened her other senses to help her exist. She takes over from Aloe as the primary source of bringing in water for both her people, the Groundlings, and for the ones who live above in tree homes, the Lofties. Both groups, not trusting of the other, have learned to co-exist while zombie-like flesh-eating monsters traverse the lands. 

I found the world A.G. Henley created a fascinating one, one made so more with the introduction of the Sightless playing such a major role in the survival of the Groundlings. When Fenn begins to show her out of the box way of thinking, right from the opening chapter  during the Summer Solstice gathering, I knew this would be a mesmerizing read. Action, mystery, budding romance, revealing secrets, all shown from the mind of an unforgettable heroine, The Scourge is a riveting read. My only complaint is the ending seemed rushed, especially after the intense build-up of the story. I was surprised to see this is a stand-alone novel but I would not mind returning to this world again.

Fans of dystopian YA, especially of Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth series, should grab a copy of The Scourge. Recommended.

Rating: 4

Cover comment: Works for me.

Book source: I received an e-book from the tour company in return for my honest review during a book tour.

Giveaway: 

30 daily winners will win an eCopy of The Scourge!

a Rafflecopter giveaway