Welcome to the blog tour for The Breeders by Katie French!
Sixteen-year-old Riley Meemick is one of the world’s last free girls. When Riley was born, her mother escaped the Breeders, the group of doctors using cruel experiments to bolster the dwindling human race. Her parents do everything possible to keep her from their clutches– moving from one desolate farm after another to escape the Breeders’ long reach. The Breeders control everything- the local war lords, the remaining factories, the fuel. They have unchecked power in this lawless society. And they’re hunting Riley.
When the local Sheriff abducts the adult members of her family and hands her mother over to the Breeders, Riley and her eight-year-old brother, Ethan, hiding in a shelter, are left to starve. Then Clay arrives, the handsome gunslinger who seems determined to help to make up for past sins. The problem is Clay thinks Riley is a bender– a genderless mutation, neither male nor female. As Riley’s affection for Clay grows she wonders can she trust Clay with her secret and risk her freedom?
The three embark on a journey across the scarred remains of New Mexico– escaping the Riders who use human sacrifice to appease their Good Mother, various men scrambling for luck, and a deranged lone survivor of a plague. When Riley is shot and forced into the Breeder’s hospital, she learns the horrible fate of her mother—a fate she’ll share unless she can find a way out.
When the local Sheriff abducts the adult members of her family and hands her mother over to the Breeders, Riley and her eight-year-old brother, Ethan, hiding in a shelter, are left to starve. Then Clay arrives, the handsome gunslinger who seems determined to help to make up for past sins. The problem is Clay thinks Riley is a bender– a genderless mutation, neither male nor female. As Riley’s affection for Clay grows she wonders can she trust Clay with her secret and risk her freedom?
The three embark on a journey across the scarred remains of New Mexico– escaping the Riders who use human sacrifice to appease their Good Mother, various men scrambling for luck, and a deranged lone survivor of a plague. When Riley is shot and forced into the Breeder’s hospital, she learns the horrible fate of her mother—a fate she’ll share unless she can find a way out.
Katie French imagined herself an author when her poem caught the eye of her second grade teacher.
In middle school she spent her free time locked in her room, writing her first young adult novel. Though her social life suffered, her love for literature thrived. She studied English at Eastern Michigan University, where she veered from writing and earned an education degree. She spent nine years teaching high school English.
Currently she is a school counselor, doing a job that is both one of the hardest things she’s ever done and the most rewarding. In her free time she writes, reads great books and takes care of her two beautiful and crazy children. She is a contributor and co-creator of Underground Book Reviews, a website dedicated to erasing the boundaries between traditional and non-traditional publishing. She lives in Michigan with her husband and two children.
Review:
Riley has only known fear in her lifetime. In her harsh world, females are few and far between. This makes them highly sought after by a group of vicious people known as "The Breeders." The Breeders take women and enslave them in a hospital, forcing them to procreate as much as possible. It's the only way they see of furthering the human race. Riley desperately wants to avoid this, however this may be difficult. When Riley's step-father doesn't return from a trading trip to town, it's up to Riley to rescue him. The people in town think she's a "bender," a gender-less mutation. This manages to keep her out of the Breeders' eyes for now, but things become harder when Riley's mother and aunt are taken by the sheriff. Riley has to trust a mysterious (and handsome) young man named Clay to help her and her brother Ethan rescue her mom. Soon they find themselves on a journey with an outcome that none of them could have ever imagined.
There are a lot of great things in this book. Dystopians have been done a lot, but I was intrigued by the premise of this book. I was not let down. Honestly, I was so drawn in I read the book in one sitting. I meant to just read it bit by bit as I got other household chores done, but that all went down the drain. The pacing was pretty magnificent, and it keeps you wanting to turn the page and find out what happens next. Definitely finish all your necessary tasks before you start this book. I think I had never really had a good grasp of how important females are to the survival of our species before this. I mean, clearly I knew women have the children, but this book put it in a perspective I hadn't quite grasped before. Riley is a fierce and determined young lady, sometimes to a fault. I appreciated how much she wanted to save her family, but sometimes I just wanted to shake her and tell her to think things out more fully. I guess this made the book more exciting though.
Things were definitely left open in the end. As I flipped pages and saw my pages left quickly decrease, I was a little sad because I knew some things I wanted resolved wouldn't be. I will be eager to read the second book. This book does have a lot of violence, so if that thing bothers you be leery. However, it serves as an example of what lawlessness can do and the effect of ruthless people have on others. Although this book paints a rather dreary picture through most of it, you do see glimmers of hope. This book was really great, so if you like dystopians definitely check this one out.
Book provided for review.
This blog tour has a great giveaway going with it. You have a chance to win one of 10 e-book copies of The Breeders! It's a great book, so definitely enter. Thanks for stopping by!
1 comment:
This one sounds like a really unique read! Thanks for sharing :) I'm totally adding this to my wishlist.
-Kimberly @ Turning the Pages
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