I'm thrilled to bring to y'all a book that will surely makes your hearts skip a beat!
~Rock Chick Fairy
TITLE: The Summer the World Ended
AUTHOR: MATTHEW COX
PUBLICATION DATE: JUNE 28, 2015
As far as Riley McCullough is concerned, her best friend getting ‘dragged’ off to Puerto Vallarta for the first two weeks of summer vacation was the end of the world―at least until the bombs fell.
Life in suburban New Jersey with her mother has been comfortable, not to mention boring, to an introverted fourteen year old. As if her friend’s surprise trip wasn’t bad enough, her expectations for the ‘best summer ever’ disintegrate when she gets sent across the country to stay with a father she hasn’t seen in six years. Adjusting to a tiny, desert town where everyone stares at them like they don’t belong proves difficult, and leaves her feeling more isolated than ever. To make matters worse, her secretive father won’t tell the truth about why he left―or what he’s hiding.
Her luck takes an unexpected turn for the better when she meets a boy who shares her interest in video games and contempt for small town boredom. In him, she finds a kindred spirit who might just make the middle of nowhere tolerable.
Happiness is short lived; fleeing nuclear Armageddon, she takes shelter with her dad in an underground bunker he’d spent years preparing. After fourteen days without sun, Riley must overcome the sorrow of losing everything to save the one person she cares about most.
Life in suburban New Jersey with her mother has been comfortable, not to mention boring, to an introverted fourteen year old. As if her friend’s surprise trip wasn’t bad enough, her expectations for the ‘best summer ever’ disintegrate when she gets sent across the country to stay with a father she hasn’t seen in six years. Adjusting to a tiny, desert town where everyone stares at them like they don’t belong proves difficult, and leaves her feeling more isolated than ever. To make matters worse, her secretive father won’t tell the truth about why he left―or what he’s hiding.
Her luck takes an unexpected turn for the better when she meets a boy who shares her interest in video games and contempt for small town boredom. In him, she finds a kindred spirit who might just make the middle of nowhere tolerable.
Happiness is short lived; fleeing nuclear Armageddon, she takes shelter with her dad in an underground bunker he’d spent years preparing. After fourteen days without sun, Riley must overcome the sorrow of losing everything to save the one person she cares about most.
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I was provided with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is one story that I'll never forget.
I'm still reeling now from what I've just read and honestly, I'm having a hard time organizing my thoughts right now.
First things first, I have to say that I will try my best not to give out any spoilers in this review. I think it's crucial that I let other readers find out things at their own time.
I'll try and focus on my feelings while reading this instead. :)
Alright, here it goes...
The Summer the World Ended revolves around the life of our heroine named Riley. If you ask me what her characteristics are, I'd say that she's your typical modern teenager. She's witty, she has her own insecurities and she loves playing video games.
Unfortunately, for this typical teen... the world gave her not-so-typical problems. She experiences what a 14 year old girl should never have to experience. At least not at that age. Lonely, upset and full of questions against the world, she goes with her dad (yeah, the dad who left her and her mom 6 years ago) to somewhere far far away. I say far far away because of the way she describes the place. No big buildings, no phone lines, no signal, no cable. Really a place out of nowhere. I guess it's safe to say that she was having a really hard time transitioning from the city-feel to the deeply-rural-feel. It was curious how she was able to hold on to her sanity.
I felt so bad for her because I totally think she's been through enough at this point. Luckily, being with her dad was not so bad. They crack up jokes at times. I find his dad adorable even with him being so busy with all of his radio activity for the government. With all his quirks, he's quite a likable character. He could be so protective of her, he could be weird, he could be fun, he could also cause her so much embarrassment! hint: condoms errr... Haha! He could also be badass.. like teaching her how to use guns. That was amazing! He might not be the best dad, but he tries. No matter what, that's still the important thing.
She also meets a new friend, Kieran. They form a new bond and have a good time together. Until everything goes into chaos. Bombs fly and she's once again whisked away, but this time out of pure terror. Once again, in one summer, she asks so many questions like: How are they going to survive underground? How are the people outside? Is everyone dead? Will they be alright once they go back topside?
Those are questions that will surely be answered..... but I won't tell ya!
You must read it!!!
I think it's also safe to promise that you will never see that ending coming! I swear!! Come find me if you actually guessed the right ending, but I'm already telling you now... Dude, you won't!
I'm giving this a 5 not just because I truly like Riley, but because of that ending!!! THAT UNIQUE AND CHART TOPPING ENDING! This book is so unique, it deserves all the stars in the world. Totally love it!
5 FAIRY WINGS!
( as seen on Goodreads )
Born in a little town known as South Amboy NJ in 1973, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Somewhere between fifteen to eighteen of them spent developing the world in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, and The Awakened Series take place. He has several other projects in the works as well as a collaborative science fiction endeavor with author Tony Healey.
Hobbies and Interests:
Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom systems (Chronicles of Eldrinaath [Fantasy] and Divergent Fates [Sci Fi], and a fan of anime, British humour (<- deliberate), and intellectual science fiction that questions the nature of reality, life, and what happens after it.
He is also fond of cats.
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