Review: Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer

Genre: Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic
Format: eBook
Published March 25, 2012 by Train Renoir Publishing
Find the author: Blog // Twitter // Facebook
Find the book: Goodreads // Amazon
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Space germs wipe out virtually everyone who has passed through puberty.
Abby Leigh is looking forward to watching the moon turn purple. 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, 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. - Summary from Goodreads

My Review

This book is one of those crazy 'what if' moments I knew I just had to read. What if virtually all adults in the world died overnight? What would humanity look like then? Night of the Purple Moon will answer all of these post-apocalyptic curiosities in an extremely haunting and realistic way. Be prepared to not be able to look away from the world Scott Cramer has created.

The characters are the very heart of this book, as the story is very character driven. At the ages of 13 and 12, the main characters Abby and Jordan along with their baby sister are suddenly forced into this mature role of caring for younger children on the island and finding efficient means of survival. You can plainly still read their innocence, but with each passing chapter you watch them grow up and the reader becomes genuinely invested in the success of the children. That's definitely my favorite part of this book.

Some readers may have trouble with the graphicness of this story. While the characters aren't exposed to much violence, they very often discover the aftermath of the new world. If you are vehemently against dead bodies, you may want to skip this one. It was a bit off-putting at first, but I'm glad I read something out of the norm for me in that sense. It's just plain realistic that those sort of things happen in a post-apocalyptic sort of situation.

The gruesome aspects of this book, partnered with its shorter length really create a great story. The writing style and plot get straight to the point. Not everything needs to be a 500 page novel. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre. It may only take you a day or two to read, but it will stay with you much longer than that once you've put it down.

Enter a *GIVEAWAY* to win one of five copies of Night of the Purple Moon and read my interview with Scott Cramer!

Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Genre: Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic
Format: E-book
Released: June 12, 2012 by Balzer + Bray
More about the author: Website // Twitter // Bio
Find the book: Goodreads // Amazon UK

It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen's "Persuasion", "For Darkness Shows the Stars" is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it. - Summary from Goodreads

With this book, for some reason, I had a preconceived idea of what this book was about. Upon hearing it was a Science Fiction/Post Apocalyptic retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, I thought I was sure I knew what I was getting into. I was initially caught off guard by a mood and setting of the book I wasn't expecting to read. This at first had me reading this book much slower than it ought to have been read until I gave it a second chance. I'm glad I did! This book is a gorgeous Post Apocalyptic, yet refined retelling of a story you thought you knew.

I was initially not excited about the Austen-era propriety in the book, as I don't usually associate it with Science Fiction. By the midway point I decided that it fit tone of the story and provided a really great contrast between technology and the ways of the stingy Luddites who want nothing to do with the technology that previously destroyed the human population. The world itself was absolutely gorgeous. Diana Peterfreund just has a way of describing the setting and setting up the mood of a story!

The characters of this book were so deeply written and rather heart-wrenching at times. The relationship of Elliot and Kai was written really well. It wasn't too lovey-dovey, but rather thoughtful and powerful, crossing the boundaries of their society. The social boundaries in this book are much deeper than upper and lower class. The Reduction was an event in the book's past where humans experiments with genetic enhancement went horribly wrong and all who survived became 'Reduced' to the mental capacity of a young child. I loved this controversial subject and I think it's horrifyingly believable!

I would recommend this book to people who have a taste for unique worlds and love the artful language. It's definitely a unique but well-executed contribution to the post apocalyptic genre. I'm now intrigued and want to read more from this author who has published other YA books. After doing a bit of digging, I still haven't firmly established this but I believe For Darkness Shows the Stars is a stand alone book.

Rating: 4/5 Stars