The Living Author: Matt De La Pena | Language: English | ISBN:
B00CVS2JIU | Format: PDF
The Living Description
Shy took the summer job to make some money. In a few months on a luxury cruise liner, he'll rake in the tips and be able to help his mom and sister out with the bills. And how bad can it be? Bikinis, free food, maybe even a girl or two—every cruise has different passengers, after all.
But everything changes when the Big One hits. Shy's only weeks out at sea when an earthquake more massive than ever before recorded hits California, and his life is forever changed.
The earthquake is only the first disaster. Suddenly it's a fight to survive for those left living.
“De la Peña has created a rare thing: a plot-driven YA with characters worthy of a John Green novel.”-
Entertainment Weekly, A- “Action is first and foremost. . . . De la Peña can uncork delicate but vivid scenes.” —
The New York Times “[
The Living] is special because of its extraordinary protagonist, Shy, who I haven’t been able to shake from my mind in the weeks since I read the book.”-John Green, author of
The Fault in Our Stars
"There's no way to classify The Living. It's everything I love mixed into one fantastic, relentless, action-packed story. As always with Matt, the characters are the best part. So real. I loved this book."-James Dashner,
New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series and The Eye of Minds
[
Star] "An addictive page-turner and character-driven literary novel with broad appeal for fans of both."-
Kirkus Reviews, Starred[
Star] "An excellent, enthralling ride...a great read for those looking for adventure and survival stories."-
VOYA, Starred"De la Peña (I Will Save You) delivers near-constant action, a high body count, and a compelling cast of characters in this socially aware thriller."-
Publisher's Weekly"Peña takes the time to establish some solid rapport among his characters before unleashing the mayhem, though, and the central disease and drug scam is so viciously immoral that readers will probably book passage on the upcoming sequel, to learn whether Shy and his two smokin'-hot love interests will bring the bad guys to their knees."-
The Bulletin "Adventure survival enthusiasts will relish the vivid and raw descriptions of the sinking ship, blistering sun, and shark-infested waters. But most appealing is the empathetic teen, portrayed as a tough guy with a romantic side, who will appeal to both males and females, and is likely to appear in the upcoming sequel."-
School Library Journal
"A straight-up tour de force, a breathless, horrifying dash into the void...he fun of de la Peña's latest is how unexpectedly he blends genres, making this, in a sense, four books in one: a finely observed social-class drama, an on-the-sea survival adventure, a global-disaster book, and a contagion thriller."-
BooklistPura Belpre Author Honor Award WinnerAn ALSC 2014 Notable Children's Book PickFrom the Hardcover edition.- File Size: 1006 KB
- Print Length: 322 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0385741200
- Publisher: Delacorte Press (November 12, 2013)
- Sold by: Random House LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00CVS2JIU
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,206 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
Have you ever read one of those books that leave you scratching your head? The Living by Matt De La Pena did just that to me.
I selected this book after reading a blurb about it in a magazine. The blurb said a few things that immediately caught my interest: dystopia, pandemic, California Earthquake. It indicated that this was a new and exciting voice in dystopic fiction.
I bought it, and there are a few things you need to know:
First of all, this isn't dystopic…yet. There is a pandemic in the background. It doesn't become important to the story until the very end of the book. This is, instead, reminiscent of those slightly cheesy block buster disaster flicks you see on a certain science fiction network. (I described it to someone as largely a mix of Titanic and Life of Pi.)
The book is also extremely short for what I paid for it. I wouldn't have minded if the book didn't end abruptly. I think somewhere it's described as a cliffhanger. It's not. It's basically the end of a chapter and the book is over until the next one.
Now, I know it sounds a bit like I'm panning the book. I'm really not, but I think you should know what you're getting and what you're not.
Thinking of the book as a disaster book, it's fun, it's cheesy, it's thoroughly improbable, and I actually did enjoy it (once I stopped looking for it to be a dystopia!). You've got a terrific group of characters, some heartbreak, action and adventure, and yes…cheese. Now it is improbable. No spoilers here, but you are left scratching your head a lot. Why on earth did they do that? Wait a second…if they were going to do that to them, why bother with everything else they did?
I don't "review" books in general, but when I read one that is worth telling everyone about I'm happy to give a shout-out. "The Living" by Matt de la Pena is most definitely one of those books. It is probably worth mentioning that I am not the target audience for this book, and it is not the type of book I normally choose to read. Matt sold me on himself, as a person, first, and that intrigued me to read something he wrote.
I ran across Matt de la Pena for the first time at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference in Missouri a few weeks ago. He was one of the keynote speakers. I had a manuscript critique scheduled at the same time (with his editor, interestingly enough), so I missed the first half of the talk. When I came back into the conference room, the whole place was laughing and fully engaged. That's something unusual to find after the long morning they had already been through and right after lunch. It didn't take me long to figure out why they were so entertained. He was interesting to listen to and told his stories in a delightful and humorous way. I knew I would have to check out his books right away.
The first few books Matt has written are YA stories focused on inner-city and low income kids facing challenges in their own communities. I love the fact that those books are out there, but I wasn't sure how much I could connect with them--being near 50 and about as WASPy as one can get. But his new book, "The Living," stepped outside of that and put his characters in a world I could relate to. Some of the language and phrasing threw me off a bit at first, but I got used to it quickly and just got lost in the story. It's hard to say much of anything without giving away the fun of being shocked by events as they unfold.
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