J.E. Anckorn

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book so much I read it in one sitting! It kind of reminded me of The Host by Stephanie Meyer which I really enjoyed as well. The story is told from the point of view of Gracie and Brandon in alternating chapters. Then Jake the child they find takes a turn in the narration. Gracie and Brandon meet up after an alien invasion destroys the world as they knew it. They've both lost their families and have to stick together to find a safe place to stay at Brandon's uncles cabin up north. They find Jake along the way who doesn't speak and has many secrets of his own but they all grow together and take care of each other as they make their way through a dangerous landscape. Coming across people they cannot trust and some who they thought they could trust. Very good story!… (more)

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A real alien invasion is not just like in the movies. Except that it read exactly like watching one of those movies. Giant alien spacecraft arrive, doing nothing for some time, until they start harvesting. The few people left over are trying to survive and slowly start to realise there might be something more threatening out there,

The story contained the typical characters in a (post)apocalyptic YA. The protected character who will have to learn everything about survival but does have a good brain and a big heart. The troubled character who for convenience knows a lot about survival. To spice things up, they are also taking care of a little boy.

It was an average read. I was mostly interested in the storyline of the little boy, but found the ending unsatisfactory. The rest of the story was quite a standard read. I did enjoy it, for I like these kind of books, but the alien invasion wasn't given too much of a new angle to make it really interesting.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!… (more)

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Forget Armageddon. Aliens have shown up in large numbers in strange silver ships and they did not come in peace. Destroying buildings and killing humans, the aliens have made a right mess of Earth. The remaining people are scattered among shelters, but when they thought they could count on the government to protect them, they soon realize how very wrong they were. Gracie, Brandon and Jake need to get to safety and wait for the Army to rescue them from aliens and the special agencies such as the CIA. However, they didn't count on Jake being of special interest to the government and aliens alike. Now they can't trust anyone except themselves. How long can they hide and survive? And if there's no one left, does it matter if they do?

This is an interesting take on alien invasion. A slow start, but picks up as it goes along. The story is told from three POVs, 14-yr-old Gracie, 15-yr-old Brandon and 5-yr-old Jake. None of them are related, but they all want to survive. Gracie and Brandon's stories of the invasion are sorta similar, but Jake's is very different. He's very different.

The invasion is a bit confusing. Why hover and wait around for so long? Then come in guns blazing when it later becomes clear that they want the humans. So why slaughter so many? Didn't make sense. And our own governments? What asshats! Seriously.

I enjoyed the switching POVs. It gave a well-rounded telling of the events both before and after the invasion. The writing is superb and the plot interesting. It made me wonder aloud to my husband how well our own kids would fair if they were dumped into a flight and survive situation. The kids in this story had to go back to basics. Forget tv, internet and video games. How well would most of the kid/teen population today get along if they had to do without electricity, running water and grocery stores? How many of us are prepared for such an event? I grew up on a farm and my husband knows how to hunt, so we would probably be ok as long as we avoided the aliens and the bad government guys. But still...eep. Let's just not let this happen. Ok?… (more)