Mundie Moms

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Drought Blog Tour- Character Interview, Ford


Ruby Prosser dreams of escaping the Congregation and the early-nineteenth century lifestyle that’s been practiced since the community was first enslaved.

She plots to escape the vicious Darwin West, his cruel Overseers, and the daily struggle to gather the life-prolonging Water that keeps the Congregants alive and gives Darwin his wealth and power. But if Ruby leaves, the Congregation will die without the secret ingredient that makes the Water special: her blood.

So she stays.

But when Ruby meets Ford, the new Overseer who seems barely older than herself, her desire for freedom is too strong. He’s sympathetic, irresistible, forbidden—and her only access to the modern world. Escape with Ford would be so simple, but can Ruby risk the terrible price, dooming the only world she’s ever known?(quoted from Goodreads).

We're thrilled to have Ford, one of the main characters from Drought with us today. Recently we were able to ask him a few questions.

How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Lonely. Moral. Strong.

What can you tell us about your world?
I live in Hoosick Falls, NY, a town that can't even officially be called small. Tiny is more like it. My Mom is real sick so I had to find a job with health insurance, this summer. All I could get was a job up on a mountain, working for a man called Darwin West. You wouldn't believe what goes on in those woods... but I can't tell you. If I did, Darwin West would make sure my mother suffered for it.

What do you admire most about Ruby?
She's not all giggly and flighty like the girls I know in Hoosick Falls. She's seen things, a lot of things. But that doesn't stop her from believing that people like me might have good inside.

As an Overseer, what are your responsibilities?
If Darwin West finds out I told you this stuff, I'm a dead man.
First, the biggest job of any Overseer is to keep your mouth shut. If you talk, your whole family could be dead. Second, you make sure the workers keep on working--and that they never run away. If Darwin West tells you to hurt them, you do it. Even if it makes you sick.

What is one thing you want to do in the "real" world?
I want to find a place where Ruby and I can be safe.

If there was something you could change about your world, what would it be?
I'd make it so Ruby wanted to leave the woods to be with me. She's got her reasons, I guess, but seems like I could give her a better life.
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Thank you Ford for being with us today!
You can find read my review for Drought here and find out more about Drought by visiting Pam's site here

Book Review- Human Blend

By Lori Pescatore
Self Published
Source: ARC from Author
Rating: 2.5 Stars- I wanted to like it more than I did.

Synopsis (From back of the book): Marion, Virginia seemed like a nice place to live a normal life, but she is not a normal girl. Laney has special abilities that keep her looking over her shoulder as she makes her escape from the men who had kidnapped her. A young doctor's interest is piqued when he witnesses her mysteriously curing a young child's illness. He befriends her due to his growing fascination with uncovering the true nature of her abilities, but not without harboring secrets of his own. Laney's budding relationship with a local boy puts both of them in danger when the men she was hiding from find her. All of their lives will change forever as ancient secrets become unearthed.

From the beginning Human Blend seemed very interesting and original. I was really enjoying the story and I liked the main character a lot, but it kind of changed for me about four chapters in. It became a little bit of a struggle to get used to the writing, it changed from just one point of view to several all of a sudden. I found that even though the storyline intrigued me I kept getting distracted by little flaws in the writing here and there, some of the sentences didn't really make sense to me.


I thought Julie (the MC) might be one of those strong female heroines, she seemed very mature at the beginning, but she changes all of a sudden and becomes whiny, childish and stubborn, I was surprised she didn't stomp her foot a couple of times through the story. She became more of a damsel in distress through the whole novel, and I was a little disappointed in that. I really didn't feel a lot of the romance in this one, it just felt like they rushed right into it and more like an infatuation or lust. It only took about a day for Julie to have an intimate relationship with one of the guys, but even then she seemed to be attracted to someone else, and that was a little irritating.

What kept me flipping the pages and actually finishing the book was the curiosity I had to find out what Julie really was. I really did enjoy the originality of it, the main character had this really amazing ability of healing others and herself also seeing numbers and predicting wins. I loved that she wanted to do good and use her powers to heal the sick while volunteering in a hospital.

I liked the mystery of not knowing what she really was, it kept me wondering and guessing but unable to figure it out until it's all explained towards the end. I also enjoyed the addition of some other paranormals that come into Julie's life and seem to have some surprising abilities of their own. The ending definitely leaves room for a sequel, not with a cliffhanger ending but one that seemed more of a beginning of a new journey. If you enjoy paranormal novels for older YA readers, with mystery and a bit of sexual tension then you might like Human Blend.

Waiting on Wednesday-Between Shades of Gray

Published by Penguin
To Be Released March, 2011

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously—and at great risk—documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart. (quoted from Penguin's site).

I am really looking forward Between The Shades of Gray's release. I have already started reading it, and let me just say, this book will move you in a way that few books can and it will be hard to put it down. It's a thought provoking read that will stir up a variety of emotions in you. I really think it's a book that will be talked about for years to come! Be sure to visit Ruta's site here to learn more about Between The Shades of Gray. You can watch a video of Ruta here-

Ruta Sepetys discusses her upcoming novel, Between Shades of Gray from Penguin Young Readers Group on Vimeo.



Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, and allows us to spotlight a book that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

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