Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Exile, by Shannon Messenger - First Impression, by Matthew MacNish


Before we get started, here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Sophie Foster thought she was safe. Settled into her home at Havenfield, surrounded by friends, and using her unique telepathic abilities to train Silveny--the first female alicorn ever seen in the Lost Cities--her life finally seems to be coming together.

But Sophie's kidnappers are still out there. And when Sophie discovers new messages and clues from the mysterious Black Swan group, she’s forced to take a terrifying risk—one that puts everyone in incredible danger.

As long buried secrets rise to the surface, it’s once again up to Sophie to uncover hidden memories—before someone close to her is lost forever.

In this second book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, Sophie must journey to the darkest corners of her luminous world in a sequel that will leave you breathless for more.


Furthermore, you can read Shannon's Project Middle Grade Mayhem blog tour stop for the release of book 1 in this series, or you can read my daughter's impression of the first book.

Anyway, Shannon was kind enough to include my daughter in the informal tour for the ARC of Exile (AKA Keeper 2). So today we get a look at the first page!

It opens with a Preface (not a prologue, because it's a kind of look-ahead), that reads like this:

* * *

Sophie's hands shook as she lifted the tiny green bottle.

One swallow held life and death--and not just for her.

For Prentice.

For Alden.

Her eyes focused on the clear, sloshy liquid as she removed the crystal stopper and pressed the bottle to her lips. All she had to do was tip the poison down her throat.

But could she?

Could she give up everything to set things right?

Could she live with the guilt, otherwise?

The choice was hers this time.

* * *

Pretty epic, right? Certainly just as tense as the opening to Keeper of the Lost Cities. What do you all think? Has anyone read Keeper 1? Are you looking forward to when Exile is released on October 1st this fall?

14 comments:

  1. Cool your daughter got to see it early. Cover art is really nice.

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    1. One of my favorite things about MG lit is all the amazing illustrated covers.

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  2. I want to read this now, but man i would have been ALL OVER THIS as a preteen

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  3. *Faints* Oh the drama, the choices...October is too far away! Nice that your daughter got included. I'm now even more excited about this book coming out.

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  4. Ooo, very cool beginning! I haven't read the first one yet, but they're on my to-read list. And how nice your daughter got to read the ARC! I would've loved to read a not-yet-released book when I was a kid.

    I like the cover a lot! I don't pay much attention to covers, but it's hard not to notice a middle-grade cover! They're beautifully drawn and always look completely different from all the other MG covers around them. Once you get into teen and adult books, the covers start looking a lot like the one next to it, which is a shame.

    Happy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines

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    1. Agree 100%. And my kids is VERY excited to read not-yet-released books.

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  5. I LOVE Keeper of the Lost Cities, and this is perfectly epic. I want to read it. Now. <3

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    1. I loved Keeper too, Cassidy! I can't wait till my daughter is finished with Exile.

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  6. I was wondering what an "alicorn" was but I guess it's the gorgeous pegasus-unicorn on the cover. The blurb sounds great, and I'm so happy for Shannon. She's such a sweetheart in WriteOnCon every year, and she deserves every success she gets. :-)

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  7. When I saw the topic of your post, I thought, ooh, I wonder what the cover will be like, 'cause the last one was so cool. And this one's even better!

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Thanks for adding to the mayhem!