Book Review: Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott
Title: Fire & Flood
Series: Fire & Flood #1
By: Victoria Scott
Author Info: Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre Type: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Romance
Publication Date: February 25th 2014
Pages: 320 pages
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Scholastic Press
SUMMARY:
A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother's life—and her own.
Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.
Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.
The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place.
Fire & Flood by young adult author Victoria Scott is an exciting new teen series filled with an adrenaline rush of action, danger and romance.
Young Tella Holloway becomes a contender in a deadly survival race know as the Brimstone Bleed desperately hoping of winning its prize: a cure which would save the life of her sick brother Cody. There's a catch of course, there can be only one winner and survival is not guaranteed. With little or no experience Tella joins the Brimstone Bleed, her only companion, an odd shaped egg, dull and cracked, holding within it an unhatched Pandora. She is instructed to treat it well and it will protect her when she needs it the most. This epic quest crosses through the terrain of a terrifying jungle and deadly desert, pushing Tella's endurance to unimaginable lengths. Joined by others in the race, Tella finds friendship and help within a close knit group of contenders, and possible romance in the midst of a game of life and death.
Fire & Flood is a pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat read that grabs your attention and does not let go. You stumble into the race along with Tella not even sure what the Brimstone Bleed is, nor how they could possibly have a cure for illnesses that no one else seems to. Drugged, blindfolded and dumped into a situation so foreign to her nature, Tella rises to the occasion. A perfectly, imperfect heroine who isn't fearless, but full of heart and determination. She is incredible selfless, and as soon as her "little egg companion" turns into a Pandora (think animal robotics) it becomes clear how much of her nature is an important factor in winning the race. It is not by stealth and skill alone, but her interaction with this amazing animal that becomes a catalyst for her survival. I loved her odd quirks, and this young teen who rather be doing her nails and shopping Nordstroms ends up battle men, wild creatures and disgusting insects.
I will admit I was skeptical about the cure part in the beginning, but Victoria Scott explains this part of the plot slowly, and it is revealed how the cure and contenders are linked as well as what exactly the Pandoras are, and who created them. This part of the mystery was as fascinating for me as the actual survival race. The Pandoras are amazing, these animal-bot creatures will have your heart before you know it. I loved this concept of the book, and is really a high aspect of the story.
The romance in Fire&Flood was perfect in my opinion. You have a terrifying situation, a survival race, so any romance has to be intertwined carefully into it or else seem superficial. Victoria Scott not only manages this wonderfully, but she makes you fall for the hero as well as Tella. Completely different that her famous Dante Walker, you're going to fall for the kick-ass, hot and mysterious Guy-you can't help it.
Fire & Flood is an exciting beginning to a serious that's going to capture a whole new set of fans for Victoria Scott as well as please old fans. Perfect for young adult readers who thrill at survival and high action stories, and love romance that puts the swoon into it. I'm desperate for book two, I need more Pandora and Guy time, and can't wait to see where the competition takes Tella next.
My Rating: 4.5. Stars. I really liked it!
PLEASE NOTE: A courtesy review copy of this book was provided by Scholastic Press in exchange for my fair review. Thank you Scholastic Press for the review opportunity!
