Blog Tour: Terra by Gretchen Powell
On Tour with Prism Book Tours...
Hello there! My name is Gretchen Powell. I am 24 years old, half-Chinese, and the owner of two adorable miniature schnauzers. I am an occasional drinker of classy wines, and I wrote a book.
By day, I work for a government contractor in our nation’s capital.
By night, I binge on episodes of Doctor Who and sleep fitfully.
Sometime in the mid-afternoon, I write another blog called Honey, I Shrunk the Gretchen! about weight loss, food, fitness, and my life.
Some of my favorite things include polka dots, Harry Potter, pretty much any TV show that airs on Thursday nights (yep, I'm talking Vampire Diaries #notashamed), and playing the ukulele.
Terra
by Gretchen Powell
Paperback, 286 pages
Published December 12th 2012 by Hopewell Media
Premise:
A broken and desolate Earth. A young girl struggling to survive. A lost boy with a powerful secret.
A discovery that will change everything.
In the distant wake of a plague that has decimated the Earth's population, humanity is split in two: The rich and powerful live in skycities that float overhead, while those who remain on the ground have gathered in settlements strewn across a dying planet. Eighteen-year-old Terra Rhodon is a terrestrial--a denizen of the barren groundworld--who makes her living as a scav. Long abandoned by her father, her caregivers gone, Terra supports herself and her younger brother, Mica, by scouring the earth for discarded scraps and metals to recycle for profit. One day, while on a routine scavenging run, she discovers something that shocks her home settlement of Genesis X-16. When the value of her discovery is revealed, Terra's world is turned upside down.
Terra suddenly finds herself asking questions no one will answer. Her search for the truth leads her to Adam--a beguiling skydweller unlike any she has ever met. But Adam has secrets and a quest of his own, and with him by her side, the world Terra thought she knew begins to unravel. Soon her discoveries unearth a terrifying conspiracy that has the potential to shatter everything--a revelation that will test the bonds of loyalty, family, and love.
My Rating: 5/5 stars
First of all. I LOVED this book. Dystopian, sci-fi- right up
my alley! I got to the end of the book and read the “The story continues in
Book II” and my jaw dropped. Literally. I was like, ‘Noooooooo!’ Cliffhanger!!!
But it’s a good kind of cliffhanger, not the bad kind. I know, you’re probably
like, “Jessica- a cliffhanger is a cliffhanger. We are still left waiting and
wanting!” True, true. Seriously though. I was reading the last part of the book
and for a minute I thought Gretchen Powell was going to go all Mockingjay on us
and I started getting very apprehensive. (Muahaha, guess you readers will have
to read the book to know what in the world I’m talking about!)
Terra is an 18 year
old girl who takes care of her 13 year old brother Mica. She is a Scavenger-
someone who scavenges for metal, plastic (junk, basically) and turns it in for
credits (money). I love the world that Powell has created for us. Terra is a
terrestrial, meaning she lives on the planet’s surface, which is hard and
unforgiving. Life as a terrestrial is no picnic. These people work hard to
survive and have to deal with things like acid rain, Raiders, and the fear of
contamination from the plague (if they cross the contamination lines). Terra is
a spitfire and I think I like that the most about her. She doesn’t let the fact
that she’s an 18 year old girl get in the way of the job she does, and
certainly doesn’t take any crap from the other Scavengers.
The story really kicks off, as Terra is out scavenging in a
place where not many know about and she finds a metal device. She brings it
back and turns it in on Collection Day. She ends up receiving A LOT of credits
for it and is escorted home by a collection officer. This really should have
been Terra’s first clue that something curious was going on. Terra is overly
cautious and holds back on spending the money, much to her brother’s dismay.
Terra decides to go back out Scavenging again, hoping to
find more devices like this one. The other Scavengers would be angry at seeing
Terra go back out, because it would seem selfish. (What person wouldn’t want
the chance to improve their lifestyle? Especially when you are taking care of
your kid brother and you want him to have more opportunities and chances at
living a better life?) However, she runs into a group of Raiders and then as
she is fleeing is trapped, but rescued. Adam is your mysterious, handsome,
stranger who says he is collecting data and information from the planet.
It was a little frustrating to see Terra and Adam interact
at the beginning. Both are unwilling to trust the other and Terra is definitely
infuriating because she is so rude to him, despite the minor fact he saved her
life. Having lost someone she did care about, Terra is very reluctant to admit
to herself that she is attracted to Adam. I am not a fan of insta-love at all
because it’s just not realistic to me, and even though it didn’t seem much time
had passed since Terra and Adam first met, their relationship definitely
progressed quickly. However, that was not something that bothered me. I thought
the romance in the novel worked out quite nicely setting it up for future
growth in the next novel.
I did love Mica and Adam’s interaction. Mica, being 13,
looks up to Adam. We have a boy who has no male figure in his life, so
naturally he is going to bond with Adam and form attachments to him. "Mica shouldn't get so attached," I say suddenly. "He's had enough people duck out on him."
He shuts the cabinet door. "Mica has, huh?" he says, stepping toward me.
Clearly, Terra is not only afraid of Mica becoming too attached to Adam, but I think she feels the same way about herself where he is concerned.
The second part of the book, I found myself flying through
the pages. In the beginning we are introduced to Terra’s world and how she
lives and in the second half of the novel, we really start to figure out some
things about Adam- why he is so unwilling to answer Terra’s questions, how he
ended up where he did, and the biggest of all- what is really going on with
him? The second half is action packed, fast paced, and propels us to the end,
leaving us readers to desperately want to know what happens next!
If you are a fan of Hunger Games, Divergent, or even The
Maze Runner series, I think you will really enjoy Terra.
In Terra's world, resources are scarce and many people make their living as "scavs," hunting for scraps to turn in on Collection Day in exchange for credits. For this tour, YOU are a scav, and there are scraps all over the blogosphere for you to find! On each participating blog, there will be one of 9 possible questions. Answer the question to receive a keyword that will get you an extra entry in the awesome giveaway!
Head over to The Reading Diaries to find the answer!!
Giveaway April 1 - 26
One lucky scav will win a Terra prize pack! Get a signed copy of Terra, along with three exclusive (and gorgeous!) bookmarks, as well as a delicate silver watch--just like Terra's!--all packed up inside a scav bag of your very own! US only.
An additional five (FIVE!) winners will get a digital copy of Terra in the format of their choice. International.
Open only to those who can legally enter. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and announced on Rafflecopter and Grand Finale posts as well as emailed and the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Burgandy Ice @ Colorimetry and Prism Book Tours and sponsored by Gretchen Powell. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Terra on Tour!!
April 2013
Check out the Reviews of Terra!! And become a "scav" and track down all the answers to the Collections questions hidden in the excerpts. :-) Plus, celebrate Gretchen's birthday by bringing something fun to the party!!
1 - April Fool's Day LAUNCH!
- I Am a Reader, Not a Writer Excerpt 1
- fuonlyknew Excerpt 2
2 - A Tiffyfit's Reading Corner Review
3 - Jessie's Book Place Excerpt 3
4 - Mel's Shelves - Review
5 - Lovin' Los Libros - Review
7 - Christy's Cozy Corner - Review
- Total Book Geek - Excerpt 5
8 - The Quiet Concert - Review
9 - LDS & Lovin' It - Review
10 - Jessabella Reads - Excerpt 6
11 - Gretchen's Birthday Party!!
- Passion & Life - Excerpt 7
12 - Tressa's Wishful Endings - Review
14 - Living a Goddess Life - Review
- Books, Books and More Books - Review
15 - Marked by Books - Excerpt 8
16 - Blood, Sweat and Books - Review
17 - Bookworm Lisa - Review
- Mortality Bites - Excerpt 9
18 - Getting Your Read On - Review
19 - Grand Finale Blast!!
6 comments
OMG this book sounds freaking AWESOME (and I love the author's bio - she sounds like a very cool person!). I'm so glad you're on this blog tour, because now I know about this book. I can't wait to get my hands on it!
ReplyDeleteKelley- I LOVED this book! I thought it was so good! I love dystopian with a hint of sci-fi. So much fun! Thanks for checking it out and commenting! I love hearing what you guys think!
DeleteDystopian is my favorite genre, and this sounds like a great dystopian novel!! I'll have to read this..
ReplyDeleteEmily- I highly recommend this one. I really enjoyed it!!
Delete5 stars hmmm! Sounds great :-) And I love that Terra is a spitfire! That's exactly what I like my leading ladies to be :-)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this book Trish! I can't wait for the next one to come out!
DeleteLeave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!
My blog is an award-free blog, however, as I just do not have the time to follow-up.