Blog Tour: Revolutionary (Anomaly #3) by Krista McGee (Review + Giveaway)

 Blog Tour Schedule

Published: July 15^th, 2014 (Thomas Nelson) 

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5

Source: NetGalley (Blog Tour)

Goodreads ~ Amazon 

All her life Thalli thought she was an anomaly. Now she must use her gifts to fulfill the role she was called to play: Revolutionary.

Back in the underground State against her will, Thalli is no longer the anomaly she was before. She has pr

oven herself to be a powerful leader aboveground and returns with information that Dr. Loudin needs to complete his plan of uniting the world under one leader: himself. But he, too, has information. A secret he has kept from Thalli her entire life. A secret that, once revealed, changes everything about the person Thalli thought she was.

Hoping to help Thalli rise up against the Scientists, both Berk and Alex join her underground, but their presence only brings more trouble for her. Now Dr. Loudin knows just the leverage to use on his captive, and she is forced to choose between the two of them. Is her first love her true love? Or does Alex ultimately claim her heart?

Unsure of everything around her, including her own identity, Thalli doesn’t know where to turn. She knows she needs the Designer, but he seems further away than ever. What she does know, though, is that if she doesn’t do something to stop Loudin, the fragile world aboveground will be lost once and for all. [Description from Goodreads]

I read Revolutionary immediately after reading Luminary (#2), and can I just say that this book series is one you just don’t tire of. I love Krista’s writing style- as stupid as this statement sounds, it’s easy to read and enjoy (trust me, some writing styles can be difficult to read!). One other “side detail” of the book that I really like is the cover. I love the covers for all the books in the trilogy, in fact, because they effectively represent the theme of the books.

Now down to the nitty gritty stuff. I loved how this book wraps it all up in such a dramatic way. Sooo many secrets are revealed! Dr. Loudin’s true self is uncovered, Thalli finds out  more about herself that she didn’t know before, and she even discovers secrets about her friends from New Hope. It was almost like every chapter was a book in itself, with drama and a climax and a cliffhanger ending.

I have to admit, in the past two books, I’d been a little disappointed in Dr. Loudin’s degree of evilness (is that a thing? I’m making it a thing). I don’t think I even realized I was disappointed until I read Revolutionary, though. Because in Revolutionary, Loudin is SO mean. He’s just a super big meanie. He’s about as mean as Loki was in the Avengers, when Loki shot Agent Coulson with that huge gun. That’s pretty mean, ya know? Granted, I didn’t invision Loudin being as gorgeous as Loki is, but that just made Loudin’s actions that much more treacherous.

But enough about villains…on to our incredible protagonist, Thalli! I loved seeing her grow over the span of the series. She’s come a long way since Anomaly. I do wish we could have seen some more changes due to her time aboveground. One thing was the fact that she still doesn’t use contractions. There aren’t many contractions used by much of anyone, in fact, and for some reason that really bugged me in all three books. It’s just the littlest detail, but for some reason it annoyed me at times.

I’m really glad that we were introduced to Alex’s character, and that he got a lot more attention in Revolutionary. Alex has definitely become one of my favorites from the trilogy…he’s just adorable. And I’m also glad that there was a significant increase in romance in this last book, as there was in Luminary (compared to Anomaly).

I found Revolutionary to be a fantastic ending to this unique and ground-breaking series! I might have said this before, but Krista McGee has done a great job in mixing more of the dystopian genre with the YA Christian genre. This hybrid is something I’m seeing more of on bookshelves today, and hopefully something I’ll continue to see. If you haven’t read Anomaly, be sure to do that this summer! Or if you have, be sure to finish the series. You won’t be disappointed…

Quick Content Review: *may contain spoilers*

Language: None

Violence: Very Mild

Sexual: None

About the Author:

Krista writes for teens, teaches teens, and more often than not, acts like a teen. She and her family have lived and ministered in Texas, Costa Rica, and Spain. Her current hometown is Tampa, FL.

Author Links:

http://kristamcgeebooks.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5015496.Krista_McGee

https://twitter.com/KristaMcGeeYA

https://www.facebook.com/krista.a.mcgee

Blog Tour: Anomaly by Krista McGee (Review + Giveaway)

Tour Schedule

Published: July 9^th, 2013 (Thomas Nelson)

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ B&N ~ Book Depository

Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds left to live. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not afraid.

Decades before Thalli’s birth, the world ended in a nuclear war. But life went on deep underground, thanks to a handful of scientists known as The Ten. Since then, they have genetically engineered humans to be free from emotions in the hopes that war won’t threaten their lives again.

But Thalli was born with the ability to feel emotions and a sense of curiosity she can barely contain. She has survived so far thanks to her ability to hide those differences. But Thalli’s secret is discovered when she is overwhelmed by the emotion in an ancient piece of music.

She is quickly scheduled for annihilation, but her childhood friend, Berk, convinces The Ten to postpone her death and study her instead. While in the scientists’ Pod, Thalli and Berk form a dangerous alliance, one strictly forbidden by the constant surveillance in the pods.

As her life ticks away, she hears rumors of someone called the Designer—someone even more powerful than The Ten. What’s more, the parts of her that have always been an anomaly could in fact be part of a much larger plan. And the parts of her that she has always guarded could be the answer she’s been looking for all along.

Thalli must sort out what to believe and who she can trust, before her time runs out… [Description from Amazon]

When I first started Anomaly, I thought it was pretty typical of the dystopian genre. The language, the focus on and exaltation of science over everything else (other fields, religion, love, emotion, etc), and the theme of human ignorance and dependence on a higher power (which, in turn, ends up being evil, though that’s often obvious from the start). These are reoccurring themes in dystopian literature today. Anomaly included them all, which is why I initially labeled it as “typical.” I was soon contradicted in my opinion, though, as well as pleasantly surprised.

Typical as it may have seemed, Anomaly’s fantastic plot twists is what really did it for me. It doesn’t turn out how you think it will. And don’t try and refute that statement until you’ve read the very last page. Oh yeah. It’s one of those books. The ones that change everything with the last few sentences, leaving you breathless and stunned. But that’s all I’m saying. *seals lips and throws away key*

It was really easy to connect to Thalli, obviously, since she had the “ability” to feel emotions (this made her an anomaly). An emotionless character would be pretty hard to connect with. *wink* I liked the “robotic” language that Krista used (sparse use of contractions). This can be a typical aspect of a dystopian, but it worked well in this book. As far as Berk, he was good as a love interest, but I liked Stone better. I just did. But I don’t think Thalli and Stone are going to happen, for reasons I can’t disclose. Spoilers! (oh my word, total Doctor Who reference right there, for those of you who didn’t catch it)

I’ve never read any other books by Krista McGee, though I’ve heard her YA books and her Christian romances are fantastic. But she’d never ventured into the dystopian genre before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised. Definitely looking forward to seeing what happens next in this series.

Quick Content Review: *may contain spoilers*

Language: None

Violence: None- Mild (human experimentation; not gory, no description)

Sexual: None- Mild (some kissing…or thoughts about kissing…or something like that)

About the Author…

Krista McGee’s passion to see teens excited about serving God is a driving force behind her novels. Ever since college when she spent a summer working at a youth camp, McGee knew she wanted to invest in teenagers. Since then she’s been involved in a variety of youth ministries and currently teaches at a Christian school in Tampa, FL.

McGee broke into the writing world during her time in Spain. A friend encouraged her to submit an article to a Christian girls’ magazine, and it got published. Once her family moved back to Tampa, she got the idea for her first novel, First Date, a modern take of the story of Esther. Her subsequent books, Starring Me and Right Where I Belong, are based on Rebekah and Ruth.

When Krista McGee isn’t living in fictional worlds of her own creation, she spends her days as a wife, mom, teacher and coffee snob.

Connect with Krista:

Website│Twitter│Goodreads│Facebook

***GIVEAWAY***

5 print copies of Anomaly, US only.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway