★★★★☆
A (very) short intro to Careen
3.75 out of 5 stars
I don’t think that people outside of the series would enjoy this as much as people who have read at least one of the books. I’ve read two of them so far and my biggest complaint was that it didn’t feel long enough. I knew it was a short story/novella going into it, but it just felt like it was missing something.
Careen ends up becoming a really developed character in the first two books, but in this one she’s mushy and I’m not sure what she would be. I’m sure that Lawson wrote her this way so that we could see just how much she’s changed from her beginnings.
The story itself was interesting, and we get to hear a little of Careen’s background, but as I said about — something was missing. I think that Lawson could have explained a little more about what makes Careen tick (more than she did in this).
Overall, this was an interesting short story in the world just before the Resistance series picks up. Honestly, I think there could be other short stories of other characters that were introduced in her other books. Similar to what Rebecca Rode did with her Number’s Game novellas.
Not strong enough to highly recommend, but not rough enough to tell you to avoid.
Book Description:
Spark: Careen's Prequel to the Resistance Series by Tracy Lawson
Series: Resistance #0.5
on October 21st 2016
Genres: Dystopian
Pages: 28
Format: Kindle
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Is it too much to want a fresh start?
Though Careen Catecher survived a terrorist attack when she was nine, her childhood ended on that awful day. Now, nine years later, she’s ready for her life to truly begin.
A full scholarship to a prestigious university far from her beleaguered home quadrant seems like a dream come true, but when she arrives on campus, she’s perceived as a charity case, despite grades and test scores that prove she’s the academic equal of the best students there.
Careen knows she’s tough enough to survive just about anything, and fitting in with her acquisitive peers—at least on the surface—is necessary if she’s going to leave the past behind and claim the stable future she craves.
But her past won’t stay buried. She’s only been at school for a few weeks when a cryptic message from an unlikely friend raises questions that may put her in danger all over again.
Check out this novella-length prequel to the award-winning Resistance Series, “a promising new YA series about a totalitarian America.”
Also by this author: Counteract, Resist, IgniteAlso in this series: Counteract, Resist, Ignite
About the Author:
Tracy Lawson knew she wanted to be a writer from the time she could read. In the first grade, she authored sixty-seven contact-paper bound books through her school’s Young Authors program. Though that pace proved impossible to maintain, she always intended to be a real author one day.
While working toward her Bachelor’s degree in Communication at Ohio University, she studied creative writing with the late Daniel Keyes, author of Flowers for Algernon. After short stints as a media buyer and an investigative analyst, she settled into a 20-year career in the performing arts, teaching tap dancing in Columbus, Ohio, and choreographing musicals. Though her creative energies were focused on dance, she never lost her desire to write, and has a non-fiction book to her credit: Fips, Bots, Doggeries, and More, (McDonald & Woodward, 2012).
Tracy’s love for writing Young Adult fiction is sparked by all the wonderful teens in her life, including her daughter Keri, a college student. Counteract is Tracy’s first novel.
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