Let's Talk: Underrated Books

Let's Talk is a discussion feature at I Swim For Oceans

What ONE underrated book do you want to share with the blogosphere - new or old? 

There are quite a few, but I think I'll pick:

Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue by Hugh Howey.

Growing up an orphan in the Milky Way hasn't been easy, especially as a teenage girl in the Naval Academy. Unfortunately for Molly Fyde, things are about to get worse. Just as she's finding her place amongst the boys, her unfair expulsion from the Academy takes away the only two things that truly matter: flying in space and her training partner, Cole. Sent off to a normal school, she feels destined for a dull, unspectacular future.

Then, a marvelous discovery changes everything: Her father's old starship, missing for a decade, turns up halfway across the galaxy. Its retrieval launches Molly and Cole on the adventure of a lifetime, one that will have lasting consequences for themselves and billions of others. What starts off as a simple quest to reconnect with her past, ends up forging a new future. And the forgotten family she hoped to uncover is replaced by a new one she never foresaw: a band of alien misfits and runaways... The crew of the starship Parsona.

I'll admit it - I initially judged this book by its cover. But, fortunately, the story inside truly surprised me in a good way. It's the first book in a quartet, and a truly great sci-fi adventure that has a wonderful protagonist and cast of equally memorable characters. Once you get a few chapters in, Howey's writing becomes addictive and difficult to set aside. The different worlds presented are easily visualized because of detailed descriptions. Action, adventure, twists (this series has great shocking twists), and even a little romance - this book deserves some more readers. I would definitely recommend this book for any sci-fi / adventure / mystery fan. 

Go to I Swim for Oceans to join in with your own choice!

"Let's Talk" image from I Swim For OceansCover + Summary from Goodreads

In My Mailbox 29

IMM is hosted by The Story Siren

For Review: 

Molly Fyde and the Blood of Billions (book 3) by Hugh Howey (signed) (OMG,OMG!! Ah, I wish I could start it now but I need to get through a few other review books first!!)

Won from Elana Johnson: 

- Girl Scout Cookies (Um, awesome!)

- Notebook (custom made by Elana, it's so cute!)

- $5 to Barnes and Nobles

- Bookmark matching The Maze Runner made by Elana

- From the Query to the Call by Elana Johnson 

- $40 to use at Tags-n-Stones (I chose this lovely necklace!)

- Signed copy of The Maze Runner by James Dashner (and he sent a sneak preview of The Scorch Trials too!)

Won from Kieran Scott:

Yeah, I was pretty much really ecstatic to win this. Kieran (aka: Kate Brian and also as Emma Harrison) is one of my favorite writers, and has been for about seven years now.

From Library:

She's So Dead To Us by Kieran Scott 

(not pictured, because I already returned it awhile ago---it was awesome)

And I believe that was it, but really, who knows. I've been too busy to even remember what day it is. :)

And you guys might notice a new header! I'll hopefully be able to make up a post to tell you all about that sometime this week!

Lea

Molly Fyde and the Land of Light by Hugh Howey Review

Book: Molly Fyde and the Land of Light 

Author: Hugh Howey

Age: Young Adult

Pages: 332

Copy Provided by: Author

Summary (from Goodreads):

Molly Fyde has forever dreamed of reconnecting with her mysterious past. Now she's about to meet it in a way she never expected...head-on.

Her father is alive. Her mother's memories are trapped in the very ship that bears her name. On the run from their own Navy, Molly and her crew have been tasked with the impossible:

Rescue her parents. Save the galaxy. End a war.

But first, Molly must help a crew member in need, which means running to the very race she was trained to meet in battle.

Planet Drenard. Homeworld of humanity's sworn enemy. The next stop for the starship Parsona.

Review: Molly Fyde and the Land of Light is a spectacular, captivating, and shocking follow up to The Parsona Rescue.

Howey's debut, Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue was amazing, but Land of Light was even more impressive. The novel starts off with an intriguing prologue, and the first chapter pulled me back into the story with ease. As the pages turn, this novel grips you entirely. With each startling secret or shocking moment, I became more entranced by the story. This is not a series you want to miss. If you love action, adventure, and a dash of romance, then you'll love The Bern Saga.

I'm not going to get into details here, because then I'd be spoiling the novel (and probably a few points in the first one)!

Highlights: Howey's description is fantastic, because he always makes me feel like I'm there, in the moment with the characters. I love how a few footnotes were included with this novel to help the reader's understanding, and I love how Howey took a risk by also giving us a glance into the other characters' minds, which I actually enjoyed.

Land of Light far exceeded my expectations, surpassing the greatness of The Parsona Rescue. Now I am definitely eagerly anticipating the release of the next novel, Molly Fyde and the Blood of Billions!

Lowlights: Hmm...nothing I can really think of. It was amazing. The Bern Saga is a must-read.

My review of the first novel in The Bern Saga:

Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue

Rating:    

In My Mailbox 16

I.M.M. is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren (click the link for more info)!

This week was completely awesome, book wise. I was literally jumping with joy when I got these four....plus something extra!

For Review:

Molly Fyde and the Land of Light by Hugh Howey (signed to me, and with a little blurb about book 1 from myself and fellow awesome readers/bloggers on the back cover + inside!)

Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue T-shirt (Thank you Hugh! I'm totally wearing this to my classes on Monday!)

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (*happy*)

Won:

Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook (signed to me, which is totally awesome! Thank you Delightful Reviews and Eileen!)

Gift/Bribe?:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (okay, this was more of a bribe, but I was happy to accept it anyway because I want to read it!)

Hope everyone had a great week, a fabulous weekend, and that you all have a super-awesome week coming up!

Lea

Interview: Hugh Howey

Today, I have author Hugh Howey (author of Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue) here to answer a few questions about himself, Molly Fyde, and pretty much whatever else popped into both of our heads! I actually have quite a few more questions + answers from Hugh, but I'm saving those to post another time.

Where did the inspiration behind the Molly Fyde novels come from?

A lot of it comes from my own adventures. In order to save money while I went to college, I bought a small sailboat to live abroad. I was getting ready to start my senior year when I realized something: let's say I graduated, got a job, slaved away for forty years, saved up all the money I could...what would I want to do? I'd want to buy a sailboat and go live in the Bahamas! Well, why not skip a few steps? So I threw my dock lines and sailed off for a year. I went through two hurricanes, met loads of interesting characters, visited hundreds of islands, and basically had my retirement early enough to enjoy (but also early enough to run out of money).

As I physically left those adventures behind, I think my mind kept roaming. When I sat down to tell the story of Molly Fyde, it practically wrote itself. All the amazing thrills I encountered--the harrowing ordeals, the storms and break-downs, the wonderful people and the villains, the love and the heartache--the pages of these books seem to have a limitless capacity to absorb them all. So I keep pumping them in there.

What's the hardest part about writing the Molly Fyde novels? The easiest?
The hardest part has to be doing bad things to my characters. These people live inside me more vividly than a reader can imagine. I've gone on adventures with them that might never be written down anywhere. I know their entire life, all the amazing things that are yet to come. I know about future generations and past generations and how they're all tied together.

The other day I was driving down the road and I started thinking about the end of an upcoming book. I began writing the scene in my head--a really tragic yet beautiful one--and I completely broke down. I just had this huge emotional reaction, stronger than I imagine the scene will illicit out of any of my readers. That happens quite a bit when I'm in the writing stages, especially if I'm using my characters to deal with a tragedy similar to one I've experienced in my own life. Those days can be difficult.

The easiest part for me has to be the dialog. It comes so naturally for some reason. It's something my editor commented on early and often with the first manuscript. When my characters start jabbering back and forth, it's like I'm right there with them. My only challenge is making sure my fingers keep up.

Do you ever find it difficult to write about/create all of the different worlds/species in the Molly Fyde novels?
Yes and no. It's easy to come up with them, but it's difficult to make sure these worlds and people will be accepted by the reader. The conundrum is this: I'm trying to pull off believable fiction and write satire at the same time. That's a fine line to tread. You need to create and populate these lands that exaggerate some of our own failings, but you have to make those exaggerations internally consistent. You have to make them real.

If I wanted to go the comedic route (like Douglas Adams, Jasper Fforde, or Terry Pratchet), I would have the freedom to splash paint with all the care of Jackson Pollock. Ten foot cockroaches could come to life, even though (as Edison, one of my characters might put it): exoskeletons are non-optimal once volume and surface area exceed certain rations. Sure, those characters would be fun and entertaining, but they wouldn't satisfy my drive to make stories believable. But maybe I'm the only person who thinks Captain Kirk should be wearing a seatbelt.

So, I'm bound by logic but I want to be imaginative. I want to create fantastical lands like Oz, or the islands Gulliver traveled, but I want them to feel as solid as the Kansas we all live in, or the England we sail from. I guess you could say it's a self-imposed problem.

What are you working on right now?

A kick-butt interview.

Anything else you'd like to add?

Sure, I'll give that last question another go! I almost wasted it on a bad joke.

Let's see...right now I'm working on the third book in the Molly Fyde series: "Molly Fyde and the Blood of Billions." I'm hoping to have it ready by the end of the summer. The fourth book will wrap up the Bern Saga and be out around this time next year. It's be called "Molly Fyde and the Fight for Peace."

Squeezed into that schedule will be a non-Molly book that's close to finished. Entitled "Half Way Home," it tells the story of a young group of kids trying to settle a distant planet. Normally -- in this universe at least -- colonists are brought out of their growing vats at the age of 30, their training programs complete and their automated settlement ready to assist them. However, something goes horribly wrong on this one planet and the initial settlement phase is interrupted. Out comes a group of 15-year-olds who have only completed half their training. They find a colony settlement half-built and acting strangely. It's a harrowing survival story as these kids try to govern themselves while unlocking the mysteries of their new home. I think readers are gonna dig it.

Oh, one other thing I'd like to say since you've given me such a wonderfully open-ended question: I really appreciate the chance everyone has taken with these books. I know they are something special. I know they are as good, if not better, than the popular books out there right now. In a lot of ways, I see these books as the embodiment of many of the characters in YA fiction. The Molly books aren't the head cheerleader. They aren't the football star. There's no multi-million dollar campaign to make them the most popular. They're just wonderful books, inside and out. Sure, they're easy enough to ignore in the hallways because they don't have flashy advertisements and the most fashionable labels. However, I think people are missing out if they chose to walk on by, looking at whatever they are being told to look at. Reviewers and readers have been unanimous: once you stop and have a chat, once you get to know these books, you'll find a new best friend.

I think a lot of us can empathize with these types of characters. You see them in so much great fiction. And I think the kids who know what Molly must've felt like to be in that Academy with all those boys -- I think they'll not just appreciate the story, I think they'll appreciate what this entire series is about. Books, written by an avid reader, published by a small press, raved over by the bloggers that are just like them (rather than the big newspapers)...there's almost something meta about it. Something self-referential. A story that represents what it's all about, rather than being the very thing it internally rails against.

The best part? I feel completely free. I don't have to worry about how popular the books become. Those of us that stop and chat with them...we'll know. And that's all that matters.

Yeah, that sounds cheesy, but I really believe it.

Thank you for the interview Hugh! I bet taking time off to go sailing was incredible, and Half Way Home sounds awesome!

For those of you who don't know already, I love this novel, so please go check it out on Amazon! I promise you wouldn't regret reading Molly Fyde & the Parsona Rescue!

Lea

Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue by Hugh Howey Review

Book: Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue

Author: Hugh Howey

Age: Young Adult

Source: Author

Summary:

When Molly gets kicked out of the Naval Academy, she loses more than just another home, she loses the only two things that truly matter: flying in space and her training partner, Cole. A dull future seems to await, until a marvelous discovery changes everything.

Her father's old starship, missing for decades, turns up halfway across the galaxy. Its retrieval launches Molly and Cole on the adventure of a lifetime, one that will have lasting consequences for themselves and billions of others.

What starts off as a simple quest to reconnect with her past, ends up forging a new future. And the forgotten family she hoped to uncover becomes one she never foresaw: a band of alien misfits and runaways--the crew of the starship Parsona.

Review: Wow. To be honest, I was hesitant with this one, but decided to give it a shot because the summary made me remember the days I used to re-read Ender's Game over and over...

At first, I was so nervous because the first chapter was filled with technical speak I didn't understand, but it was intriguing and adventurous, so I continued. I shouldn't of worried, because as the novel progressed, I grew to understand everything.

Molly is a very three-dimensional character, and I am still surprised at how well Howey depicts a seventeen-year-old girl. I felt myself connecting with Molly, and I truly loved how amazingly awesome she was. When it comes to female main characters, I really look for how strong and smart they are, and Molly was definitely both.

The adventure in this story will leave you turning the pages, breathless for more and more. I continually found myself surprised with each new chapter, wondering how everything would work out. Molly Fyde's story kept me on my toes, eager for more. Then with the revelation at the end, whoa. I'm going to try keeping plot points out of this review, so all I have to say is that this is a story I can see anyone enjoying.

Highlights: Description in the novel was spectacular. I found myself really seeing everything, clear as day. All of the different planets were amazing, and even all the species Howey introduces us to. This novel really has it all, action, adventure, love....it was truly an amazing story that I want more of.

Lowlights: The first chapter had me panicking, but it was all for nothing because as I stated earlier, the spaceship-talk was easy to follow afterwards.

Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue has definitely landed on my best books of '09 list, and I know I'm anxiously awaiting Molly Fyde and the Land of Light!

Rating: