Novel Teen Blog Tour and *Book Giveaway*: Captives by Jill Williamson

 

 

In the village of Glenrock, during the year 2088, life is fairly simple, almost old-fashioned. But the lives of three brothers and their family and friends are about to change. The eldest, Levi, is handsome and a natural leader who is about to be married to his one, true love, Jemma. The middle child, Mason, is practical, smart, and dreams of being a doctor, much to his father's chagrin. And the youngest, Omar, is an artistic, rebellious soul who is restless under his father's constant disapproval, which leads him to make a heart-breaking choice. When those in Glenrock are taken captive and brought to the Safe Lands--a modern, futuristic society enclosed by formidable walls and security--the brothers are torn apart, but their individual journeys just might make it possible to bring those who survived back together again.

 

With so many dystopian stories flooding the fiction scene, Captives by Jill Williamson stands out with its fresh take on the ancient tale of the Israelites taken captive by the Babylonians. The first part of the book rolled along steadily with character and world building taking the forefront. And what a world! It was colorful, compelling, and jumped straight off the page. The second half though is when I felt the story really pick up speed as the action grew more intense. I was flipping pages to see what would happen next until I suddenly realized I was at the end. 

 

Captives explores delicate subject matter through the characters facing tough situations and makes one contemplate seriously about the future of our society. Even though the topics are serious, there are still moments in the book that make me smile, especially the Princess Bride quotes interspersed throughout. Which leads me to end this review with a quote--just for fun--from the Princess Bride that I feel will compliment Captives very nicely (though the giant and monsters bit depends on your point of view ;) ).

 

The Grandson: A book?...Has it got any sports in it?

Grandpa: Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants

monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...

The Grandson: Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try to stay awake.

Grandpa: Oh, well, thank you very much, very nice of you.

Your vote of confidence is overwhelming.



 

Genre: Dystopian/YA

Ages: 15 and up

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 2013

 

*I would like to thank the author and publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!

 

To win a free paperback copy of Captives by Jill Williamson,

just put your email address in the comment section below to

enter yourself into the drawing.

The winner will be announced on Friday, May 31st, 2013.

 

*Giveaway is only valid in the USA.

 

Book Trailer

 

 

Captives' Pinterest Page



 

Team Novel Teen is a group of bloggers dedicated to spreading the word about clean teen fiction. Check out other posts about Captives by Jill Williamson by clicking on the links below, and click here for more information about Team Novel Teen.

 

ADD Librarian • Blooming with Books • Bookworm Reading • Chris Kolmorgen • Christian Book Review Blog • Christian Bookshelf Reviews • CTF Devourer • Emily Rachelle Writes • Heavenward Reviews •  Labor Not in Vain • The Life of a Teenage Writer • The Maniacal Bookworm • Mrs. Southern Bride • Oh, Restless Bird • Pages from My Journal • The Pen and Parchment • Rachelle Rea • The Ramblings of a Young Author • Realm of Hearts • Shadow Writer World • A Simple Life, Really?! • Surrendering All of Me • Terri Harr • Verbosity Book Reviews • Who YA Reading? • Worthy2Read • The Writings of Rosie

 

Support an Author: Jill Williamson

 I've decided to start something new on my blog. Authors survive in the writing world not only because of their terrific story-telling skills but because of readers. Especially in this new world of publishing that's changing by leaps and bounds, and most authors have to market themselves without a huge marketing team behind them. So, on a regular basis, I'm going to choose a great author I admire and love and have a "Support an Author" day.

 Today's author:



                     Jill Williamson

Author Bio:

Jill Williamson is an author of all things weird. She grew up in Alaska with no electricity, an outhouse, and a lot of mosquitoes. Her Blood of Kings trilogy won two Christy Awards, and she recently released Replication, a science fiction teen novel from Zonderkidz. Jill lives in Oregon with her husband and two children and a whole lot of deer.


Jill is the fearless leader of Team Novel Teen. It's an amazing group of authors and readers who promote clean, teen fiction. Jill also has recently released a young adult spy series called "The Mission League." Read my review of the first book The New Recruit here.

Now, how do we support Jill, you ask? There are some really simple and quick things you can do (besides going out and buying her books and reviewing them, of course!).;-)

1. "Like" Jill's author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/jillwilliamson



2. From Jill's author page, you can then "like" ALL of her books by clicking through to each of their pages (paperback AND Kindle).




3. "Like" Jill on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jwilliamsonwrites

4. (For Goodreads users) Mark as to read or rate or review: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16000072-the-new-recruit

 

Huzzah! You just supported an amazing author! Good for you!

*gives a virtual pat on the back*

For your general "likeableness" today, here's a special treat
for those of you who haven't read any of Jill's books and
would like to sample some of her writing (and for
those fans who just like re-reading her awesome stories!)
The first chapters of each of Jill's books:

By Darkness Hid
To Darkness Fled
From Darkness Won
Replication: The Jason Experiment (podcast)

New Recruit: Chapter One

 



Book Review and Scavenger Hunt Contest: The New Recruit by Jill Williamson

But I had to stay in. My mother had died for this loony organization.
I'd do whatever it took to live up to her sacrifice,
 at least until I found out who "they" were.
And made them pay.

 

Spencer Garamond has been recruited into a super secret spy agency known as the Mission League. You'd think, hey, any fourteen-year-old guy would be thrilled to be a spy-in-training, but Spencer was more or less forced to become spy by none other than his grandmother to keep him out of trouble. It was either join the Mission League--a Christian spy organizaton--or be shipped off to military school. So Spencer joins the Bible geeks, who he thinks are just a little off their rocker, if you know what I mean.

 

But then, his perspective of the Mission League changes when he discovers his parents, whom he never met, were spies, and his mother died for the cause. Combine this revelation with encountering an odd gang of Russian boys and mysterious woman named Anya who's been haunting his dreams for years, and Spencer discovers maybe he should be taking this Mission League thing a bit more seriously.

 

The New Recruit by Jill Williamson is a fresh twist on a spy tale full of intrigue, humor, and touching moments. One of the best aspects of the book for me was the viewpoint of a non-Christian character in a primarily Christian setting. Spencer's view of various characters' beliefs and actions that provoke misunderstandings and Christian culture clashes is eye-opening and I believe important for other Christians to know about. Spencer and the other characters' paths toward understanding each other is slow but believeable. Add in the over-arching, suspenseful mystery in Moscow, and The New Recruit is a fun and thought-provoking read.

 

Genre: Christian/YA/Suspense

Ages: 14 and up

Pages: 399

Publication Date: October 2012

Part of a Series: The Mission League (Book 1)

 

*I would like to thank the author and publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Visit these awesome bloggers who will be reviewing and hosting book giveaways of

The New Recruit all this week:

 

(10/8) Life with a Mission

           Labor Not in Vain 

(10/9) Writings of Rosie

(10/10) Endless Antique

Christian Bookshelf Reviews

(10/11) Life of a Teenage Writer

(10/12) The Ramblings of a Young Author

(10/13) Karen DeBlieck

 

--Check out the website for the Mission League. It has character details, sketches, the book trailer, classified terms, a map of Moscow, and even summaries of the next books in the series.

 

--Read Chapter One of The New Recruit.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Go Undercover Scavenger Hunt 

 

To celebrate the release of The New Recruit, the author, Jill Williamson, is hosting

a very fun spy contest!

 

--The Grand Prize is a $100 Barnes and Noble gift card--

(Soooo worth it for all of us Nook impulse buyers!)

 

--The 10 runner ups will receive Mission League spy kits--

(Sooo worth it for all of us who duck around corners

while humming the Mission Impossible theme song...

wait, am I the only one who does that?)

 

For more info about the contest just click the banner below:

 

 

And just for grins and giggles, here's Jill--or, ahem, Jill's uncle from some

foreign country that prides itself in growing fantastic mustaches and eyebrows--

explaining the rules of the contest:

 

 

So come join this undercover mission and unleash you inner spy!

 

covertly glances in both directions and ducks around the corner while humming

"duh duh...duh duh duh"