Colony East Blog Tour {Review and Giveaway}

I am so thrilled to have the Colony East Blog Tour stopping by today with my review and tour wide giveaway...

Colony East 

(Toucan Trilogy #2) 

by Scott Cramer

Genre:Young Adult Science Fiction/ Dystopian

Age: 12 +

Published: Oct. 2013

In a terrifying world where an epidemic has killed off most of the world's adults, fifteen-year-old Abby struggles to keep her brother and sister safe.

When a new, deadly disease spreads among the survivors, Abby must make the dangerous journey to Colony East, an enclave of hidden scientists caring for a small group of children for reasons unknown.

Abby fears that time is running short for the victims, but she's soon to learn that time is running out for everyone outside Colony East.

Find the book: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N |iTunes | KOBO

Night of the Purple Moon (Toucan Trilogy #1)

Abby Leigh is looking forward to watching the moon turn purple, unaware that deadly bacteria from a passing comet will soon kill off older teens and adults. The lightning-fast epidemic sweeps across the planet when the germs attack the hormones produced during puberty.

On a small island off the coast of Maine, Abby must help her brother and baby sister survive in this new world, but all the while she has a ticking time bomb inside of her -- adolescence.

Night of the Purple Moon is FREE on Amazon & for Nook.

I received a galley of this title in exchange for my honest review

Last year, Scott Cramer’s Night of the Purple Moon captivated me and left me breathless with its intriguing post-apocalyptic and sci-fi elements, wonderful characters, and palpable atmosphere…so I was really excited to dive into its sequel Colony East, and it definitely did not disappoint! Cramer returns with a strong, thrillingly fast-paced sequel that had me feverishly turning pages until the very end.

At the end of Night of the Purple Moon, Abby and her siblings had overcome devastating obstacles to survive the deadly space germs that wiped out the world’s adult population and was quickly killing off those survivors that reached adulthood. In this sequel, Abby, Jordan, their friends, and some new friends find themselves once again at the mercy of the newly mutated virus and Abby must make her way to Colony East, in NYC, where a group of surviving military, medical, and scientists adults have erected a new sanctuary for kids…but at what price?

Everything I loved about Night of the Purple Moon is seamlessly carried over into Colony East- the fascinating sci-fi elements, the excellent world-building, relatable characters, and the exciting pacing. In Colony East, the already complex and layered world-building is expanded and explored even further and more in-depth. Throughout the course of the book we and the various characters are placed in several settings and, while these settings are vividly laid out, I do wish some were explored a bit more and I’m hoping we learn more about them in book three. This is a world that feels terrifyingly real, yet utterly captivating. Cramer doesn’t hold anything back when crafting and exploring this post-apocalyptic world and I love that he isn’t afraid to depict its realistically brutal, bloody, desperate side. The scientific aspects concerning the space germs and viruses, while at times went a little over my head, are given proper and realistic explanation and definition, which I really appreciated.

At the heart of this book, and its predecessor, are the characters. Cramer has created such realistic, interesting characters with such depth. None of the characters ever feel cliché or one dimensional, and many surprised me in startling and moving ways.  Abby continues to be a heroine that is easy to connect with and impossible to not root for. The adolescent characters, like Abby, must take on so many adult responsibilities and literally have lives in their hands, yet they are still kids, and Cramer explores and depicts this conflicting, complex notion so beautifully. Because the characters are so well written and developed, the emotional atmosphere in Colony East feels that more real and poignant.

The pacing in Colony East is fantastically fast, but never feels rushed, and adds to the story’s addicting intensity and thrilling plot.  And once again, Cramer has woven one hell of an ending! Like with Night of the Purple Moon, the last several chapters of Colony East had me furiously turning pages and left me breathless. 

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Colony East is everything a sequel should be! Once again, Scott Cramer has entertained, captivated, intrigued, and moved me in so many ways. This series is only getting better and I can’t wait to read book three!

MY RATING

Scott Cramer has written feature articles for national magazines, covered school committee meetings for a local newspaper, published haiku and poetry, optioned a screenplay, and produced customer reference accounts for a big computer company. His pursuit of a good story has put him behind the stick of an F-18, flying a Navy Blue Angels’ fighter jet, and he has trekked through the Peruvian mountains in search of an ancient Quechua festival featuring a condor. He is the author of Night of the Purple Moon and Colony East. Scott and his wife have two daughters and reside outside Lowell, Massachusetts (birthplace of Jack Kerouac) in an empty nest/zoo/suburban farm/art studio with too many surfboards in the garage. Find the author: Website |  Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

$35 Amazon Gift Card

(open anywhere with an Amazon available)
10 winners of ebooks of Night of the Purple Moon and Colony East

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This blog tour is brought to you by: 

Review: Night of the Purple Moon

TITLE: Night of the Purple Moon  AUTHOR: Scott Cramer PUB DATE: 3/25/12                         FORMAT: ebook SOURCE: Amazon

Space germs decimate the adult population. Who will survive?For months, astronomers have been predicting that Earth will pass through the tail of a comet. They say that people will see colorful sunsets and, best of all, a purple moon.But nobody has predicted the lightning-fast epidemic that sweeps across the planet on the night of the purple moon. The comet brings space dust with it that contains germs that attack human hormones. Older teens and adults die within hours of exposure.On a small island off the coast of Maine, a group of teens and children struggle to survive in this new world, but all the while they have inside them a ticking time bomb — adolescence.

THREE WORDS: Gripping. Palpable. Well-Developed

MY REVIEW: There is no shortage of dystopian novels available today, but Scott Cramer’s Night of the Purple Moon is unique in that its main characters are middle school age teens and tweens. But don’t think that just because the characters in this book are young that the story lacks suspense, powerful emotions or intense experiences. It doesn’t lack these things at all!

Life for Abby and her family on Castine Island is seemingly normal, until the night of the comet and the purple moon. With the comet comes a contaminated space dust that attacks hormones, killing grown-ups and older teens. With her parents dead, middle-schooler Abby and her brother Jordan, along with their young neighbors, must band together to take care of the island’s remaining children. The small group of survivors face many obstacles (lack of food, reckless older kids, sickness) all while knowing that with each passing day their chances of getting sick only grows.

Night of the Purple Moon is a quick, yet powerful read that captivated me from beginning to end. Cramer has crafted a well-developed story full of excellent world-building, riveting situations and likable characters.

The basic idea of space germs killing off the grown-ups and teens that have gone through puberty is out there enough to be intriguing, but isn’t so farfetched as to be unbelievable. And whether realistic or not, it makes for a frightening and suspenseful story. There’s a very gripping intensity to this premise that makes it quite thought-provoking and unforgettable.

I love the fact that the survivors are all middle-school age kids and younger because this adds an even more emotionally complex layer to the story, making it almost impossible for readers to not become invested in these characters. And the characters themselves are easy to connect with and like. I really enjoyed to getting to know Abby, Jordan and their neighbors and watching them all grow and mature as characters. There is something so poignant and startling in the way that these characters have to emotionally mature quickly and yet be terrified of physically maturing.

I was greatly impressed with how palpable every emotion is in this book and how real this world feels. I felt every heart-wrenching, painful, scary moment as if I too were experiencing them. The isolation Cramer creates with his characters’ physical location (an island accessible by boat only) works so well as a storytelling tool, creating an enthralling and tangible fear in readers.

Without giving anything away, I can honestly say that the last handful of chapters in this book were some of the most nerve wracking, yet absolutely captivating chapters I’ve read in a long time. The last few pages were breathtaking…I literally forget to breathe while reading them!

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Night of the Purple Moon is a wonderful example of how to create a terrifyingly realistic and captivating post-apocalyptic world that will leave readers thoughtful and entertained.

MY RATING

Find the author: Website / Goodreads / Twitter

Purchase: Amazon (only $2.99)

Guest Post and Giveaway: YA/MG Author Scott Cramer

Today, Scott Cramer is stopping by for with an insightful guest post and ebooks giveaway! Scott is the author of the YA dystopian novel, NIght of the Purple Moon...

Space germs decimate the adult population. Who will survive?
For months, astronomers have been predicting that Earth will pass through the tail of a comet. They say that people will see colorful sunsets and, best of all, a purple moon.
But nobody has predicted the lightning-fast epidemic that sweeps across the planet on the night of the purple moon. The comet brings space dust with it that contains germs that attack human hormones. Older teens and adults die within hours of exposure.
On a small island off the coast of Maine, a group of teens and children struggle to survive in this new world, but all the while they have inside them a ticking time bomb — adolescence

Handling Death In My YA Dystopian Novel

Scott Cramer

Death, both real and symbolic, is prevalent in both YA and MG literature. When my YA dystopian novel, Night of the Purple Moon, was on submission, one NY editor had concerns with scenes where my characters found dead parents. He suggested a re-write where those discoveries would be handled in flashbacks. For reasons too numerous to mention, that re-write never happened.

With the tagline--Space germs decimate the adult population…who will survive?—death is a recurring theme. What I tried to do was handle it as sensitively and realistically as possible. NOPM is a very clean book, no sex, no violence, with few graphic descriptions, yet the novel has evoked strong emotional responses.

I am watching with great curiosity how readers are reacting. The following snippets came from customer reviews on Amazon and Goodreads:

• A lot of people die in this book: not just the 6 billion adults who die "off stage" but quite a few of the kids and their parents whom we've met. These deaths are described with an unusual combination of sympathy and relentlessness.
• Perhaps a little too much for children younger than eleven or twelve.
• I'm not sure how old your child should be to read this book, but if they're likely to have nightmares after reading about the death of nearly the entire adult population, they should probably wait a few years.
• And here is where the story takes a turn. As you can read from the premise, all older teens and adults die from the dust that everyone is now breathing. Thus leaving only younger teens and...babies. Yes, THIS is where I had a hard time. I blame it on the "mommy" in me, but just the thought of little ones being left to take care of themselves... I was drawn all the more into the story and couldn't read fast enough to find out what happens to these defenseless children.
• It was descriptive enough to picture what was happening, but not to be overwhelming. I didn't want it to end. The strength and perseverance these kids had to have to deal with their traumas and fears and still have hope, create a working society and survive looking towards the future, was amazing. I cried with them and laughed with them.
• Similarly, the characters - especially Abby and Emily - are very well-developed and this makes it gut-wrenching when bad things happen to them. (And believe me, some very bad things happen to some of them - I was stunned by how dark it got at points.)

Overall, I am pleased with the responses and the restraints that I showed as an author. I know that the book is mostly about hope and determination. I do, however, understand that NOPM might be too intense for some kids, so I have since posted a ‘parental advisor’ on Amazon.

Find the author: Website / Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

Win an e-copy of Night of the Purple Moon!

Scott Cramer is giving away 10 Kindle copies of his book!

All that Scott ask in return from the winners is that they write a short review on Amazon if they enjoy the book.

DETAILS

Giveaway will run from 5/1 - 5/6

There will be ten (10) winners who will each receive a Kindle copy of the book

Open to anyone who can read Kindle ebooks (you can download Kindle apps from Amazon)

Fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter

• Must be 13+ to enter
• One main entry per person
• Winners will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours