The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North Review

Title: The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August

Author: Claire North

Publisher: Redhook

Publication Date: April 8, 2014

Description:

No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes.

Until now.

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. ‘I nearly missed you, Doctor August,’ she says. ‘I need to send a message.’

This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.

Review:

I have some pretty conflicting thoughts about this read.

First, let me say that is gets better. The first half reads like a bit of an information dump. Just so much description and history that it can prove a bit tedious to get through at first but just stick around for the second half because it definitely gets better; in fact it gets awesome.

Harry August has the ability to go through an entire life time, die, and be reborn over and over again. This is an account of his first 15 lives and the relationships he has formed and continues to form throughout his existence.

At one point he meets a man who has lofty ambitions to use technology he acquires throughout his lives, as he has the same abilities as Harry, to build a machine that will basically give him a God like view of the world.

This book is both about Harry's friendship with this man and his duty to stop him as his invention is causing the Earth to be destroyed faster and faster each life they live through.

This is part historical fiction, part science fiction, has spy elements to it, but it is ultimately a story of friendships and vengeance. 

I was very impressed by the writing style. It was detailed yet concise and had a great element of information and emotion that tied in together.

I would be interested to read more by this author in the future. Claire North has a great literary voice and I would definitely recommend this read. 

My Star Rating:

4 out of 5

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Broken Dolls by Tyrolin Puxty E-Arc Review

***I received this book from netgalley.com and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***

 

Title: Broken Dolls

Author: Tyrolin Puxty

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Publication Date: December 14, 2015

Description:

Ella doesn't remember what it's like to be human; after all, she's lived as a doll for thirty years. She forgets what it's like to taste, to breathe...to love. 

She watches the professor create other dolls, but they don't seem to hang around for long. His most recent creation is Lisa, a sly goth. Ella doesn't like Lisa. How could she, when Lisa keeps trying to destroy her? 

Ella likes the professor's granddaughter though, even if she is dying. It's too bad the professor wants to turn Gabby into a doll, depriving her of an education...depriving her of life. 

With time running out and mad dolls on the rampage, Ella questions her very existence as she unearths the secrets buried in her past; secrets that will decide whether Gabby will befall the same fate...

My Review:

I actually first heard about this book on buzzfeed.com on their list of the 24 Best Science Fiction Books of 2015.

I love buzzfeed and their lists so I immediately went onto netgalley.com and requested what I was interested in and this little book topped the list of peaking my interest!

Excerpt and link from original article: 

10. Broken Dolls by Tyrolin Puxty

Curiosity Quills Press

tyrolinpuxty.com

Talking dolls who used to be human, a dying girl who may be destined to be a doll, and a professor who’s turning broken girls into broken dolls. Creepy and fascinating, this story will draw you in as it reveals more about the motivations and histories of its characters. 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/best-science-fiction-books-of-2015#.ioKlKeAV0


From the original article I thought about how strange a concept this was and wondered how it could be pulled off in only 175 short pages. It is classified as a Young Adult Science Fiction on goodreads.com and it does read young in terms of the wording and language but I didn't think that took away from the story. In fact I think it added an element of simplicity to the speech of the dolls that felt genuine. 

The concept is unlike anything I have ever read. Basically their is a Professor who takes girls who are dying, and who have no chance at surviving and turns them into dolls. Somehow in his infinite wisdom he has found a way to transfer their essence into doll form.

Our main character, Ella, is his most successful creation. She is a ballerina doll and can walk, talk, dance, and enjoys living in her box in the attic and watching television. She has no memories from her human life and idolizes the professor.

All is well with Ella until the professor creates a new doll, a goth named Lisa. Something goes terribly wrong in her building process and she can remember all of her previous life except for her "death." She becomes convinced that the professor is sinister and breaks into the lab turning all of Ella's emotions and memories back on. The story quickly progresses from there with Ella questioning her existence as a doll, developing a friendship with the professor's granddaughter, and slowly unraveling the secrets of her creation.   

At the same time this is going on there is a worldwide epidemic where people with "O Negative" or "Universal Donor" blood type are contracting an incurable virus that kills people quickly and that no one knows how people get.

Obviously there is quite a bit going on in this story but as it all unfolds at the end you will not be disappointed. The twist is insane and unexpected and I can't wait for book two just because of the ending. 

This is book one in what appears to be at least a duology so hopefully it will continue to be just as impressive as this debut but also be a little better in its final execution.

My Star Rating:

4 out of 5

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