Book Review & Giveaway: Dark Parties

By: Sara Grant

Published by: Little Brown

To Be Released on: August 3rd, 2011

Source: ARC from publisher to review

Purchase from: Amazon| Barnes & Noble|

3 stars-

In a world shrouded in fear and lies, how can you shed light on the truth?

Sixteen-year-old Neva lives in Homeland, an isolated country separated from the rest of the world by the Protectosphere. The government insists there’s nothing beyond its borders, but as Homeland’s resources dwindle, people, girls mainly, have started to go missing. If there’s no way out of the Protectosphere, where are they going? Suspecting the government is lying about everything, Neva and her friends stage a Dark Party in the hope of uncovering the truth and finding the freedom they dream about.

With it's enticing premise and intriguing world, Dark Parties is a dystopian I've been looking forward to reading. I liked the concept of the story line. Neva, the story's main character comes from a a country that isolated themselves from everyone else and it's government strikes fear into the hearts of it's citizens, in order to make them not ask questions or seek going beyond it's boarders. They also go so far as to control their population's growth rate. Of course it's more complicated than that. Neva and her friends are part of a movement who want answers and a change and they're not the only ones.

Sara Grant starts her book off by thrusting the reader into the dark, literally. The story begins in utter darkness, the kind where you can't even see your own hand in front of you. It's called a Dark Party and it's here that we first meet Neva and her friends, who appear to be hormone driven teens, sneaking around and hosting a forbidden party, but there's more to this party than making out. It sets the stage for defiance and taking a stand against a government that's both controlling and frightening and Sara allows us to see just how far the government will go to silence those who try to defy them and see what those seeking for truth will risk. Neva, an only child who's dad works for the Government constantly finds herself between a rock and a hard place. She wants answers from the government, she wants to know why people she knows keep disappearing and what it is her parents aren't telling her.

I really admired and was drawn to Neva's inner strength, her quest for answers and her undeniable urge to fight for freedom. Living in a terrifying, controlling, world full of lies, government cover ups, and disappearances, Neva is one of a few who's not afraid to look for answers. She's a character who doesn't back down even when the horrifying truth she uncovers comes at a cost, not just to her, but to those she loves. There are some great characters in this book, but I had a very hard time connecting with any of them. They're not in-depth characters and I missed their character chemistry, especially between Neva and the main love interest. Don't get me wrong, they have a few hot scenes, but I missed and felt there wasn't a story line between them telling me why they felt that way towards each other. The strongest chemistry for me was between Neva and her missing Grandmother who plays a big role in the story.

Sara Grant did such a great job at throwing in twist after twist with both the plot and the characters. It made the story line flow well and kept me turning the pages. There were a few things I had a hard time with, like the fact that Neva and Braydon mess around behind her best friend, Sanna's back, and though I later find out why, it's still something I was bugged by. At least I know understand why they did it, as that's one of many great twists Sara threw into the end of the story. The last few twists were something I didn't see happening. The end has a few more surprises, and it definitely leaves room for a sequel, which I hope Sara writes. I'm left wondering what's going to happen to Neva, her parents, her Grandmother, Braydon, and her friend Sanna. Aside from the story, I like what they did with the cover and adding the snowflake to it. I liked how Sara tied in Neva's name, the nickname her Grandmother calls her, Neva's tattoo and her snowflake pendant into the story. This is a book I'd recommend to teen readers, as there is a lot of sexual context through out the story, though nothing graphic.

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You can read an excerpt from the book here.

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About the author: Sara Grant is an American living in the UK. Born and raised in Washington, Indiana, Sara graduated from Indiana University with degrees in journalism and psychology. She now works as a freelance writer and editor for Working Partners, a London-based company creating series fiction for children. She lives in London with her husband. This is her first novel.

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Thank you to Little Brown, we're giving away 2 copies of Dark Parties. To ENTER:

- This is open to residents of the US only

- You must be 13 yrs & older to enter

- 1 entry per person/per email

- This giveaway will end on August 8th, 2011