Quickie Review: Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott (Fire and Flood #1)

Fire and Flood | Victoria Scott | Scholastic Press | Fire and Flood #1 | 5 Stars | Source: Bought | 305 pages Young Adult | Dystopia
Release Date: February 25th, 2014
Goodreads

Goodreads Synopsis:

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?

Victoria Scott’s breathtaking novel grabs readers by the throat and doesn’t let go.

Review:

This was bought on a whim and read within a couple of days. I think 3 days is the best turn around time I have ever had. This is testament to how consumed I was by this novel. I couldn’t put it down!

I really enjoyed our main characters in this novel. Tella’s development was  an interesting one to see. On the one hand she was quite vain and selfish. On the other hand, she was constantly grieving for her brother. I think we have all seen someone close to us in pain at some point and seeing Tella in this pendulum of a life made her easy to empathize with. Side characters also were incredibly insightful. All had a reason to be there and a family to fight for and seeing all of their individual stories added more depth to the tale.

Some of the my favourite parts of the novel were dedicated to the Pandoras. They are basically animals and companions that help the contestants. There was a range of animals with different abilities and seeing their interactions with the main characters and each other was something I thoroughly enjoyed reading about. Some of the pandoras were wole characters on their own.

When I read the synopsis for this one I immediately thought of The Hunger Games. The only thing the two series have in common is that they are both dystopia/fantasy. That is it. The Brimstone Bleed is a completely different concept. The origins and motives behind it are something that kept me guessing until the end and I can’t wait to read further into it in the sequels to come.

To say I loved this novel is an understatement. It has been a long time since I have just wanted to sit, read and forget what is going on around me for a while. This novel provided with me with an escape into an amazing world with kick ass characters. If you want a dystopia at the top of its game, this is the one for you.

Goodreads Average: 3.91/4 (Out of 2,097 ratings)

EXTRAS:

As soon As I finished Fire and Flood, I tweeted Victoria Scott (@VictoriaScottYA) and asked her how long the series would be. There will be a sequel called Salt and Stone and out next year. She also said that possibly a third one may come out as well. I hope so!