Sunday, December 2, 2018

Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton

Book info:
TitleStronger, Faster, and More Beautiful
AuthorArwen Elys Dayton
Genre:  YA  Science Fiction
Release Date:  December 4th, 2018
Publisher:  Delacorte Press
Source:   ARC received from publisher for review
My rating:  4 stars

Synopsis:

For fans of television shows Black Mirror and Westworld, this compelling, mind-bending novel is a twisted look into the future, exploring how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimen and what it means to be human at all.



Set in our world, spanning the near to distant futures, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is a novel made up of six interconnected stories that ask how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimens, and how hard that will push the definition of "human."



This extraordinary work explores the amazing possibilities of genetic manipulation and life extension, as well as the ethical quandaries that will arise with these advances. The results range from the heavenly to the monstrous. Deeply thoughtful, poignant, horrifying, and action-packed, Arwen Elys Dayton's Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is groundbreaking in both form and substance.





BOOK LINKS

      Goodreads
      Amazon
      Barnes and Noble
      Book Depository
      Kobo
      IndieBound
      iBooks


My Review:
This was a really neat look at genetic modification and manipulation, things that are becoming closer and closer to being reality. Especially with the recent news of a scientist in China who supposedly modified the genes of twins before they were born so that they would be immune to AIDS.  All of the different stories had their definite importance to the overall story.  However a few I liked better than the others.  When I first started the book, I was reminded a bit of the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman.  As that is one of my favorite series, that is a good thing.  

The first story was a good one, kind of gave the beginnings of how this all could start, or has started, and it was twins, one ended up with parts of the other one in order to live.  The second story was one I really liked how it went.  It was a great story of how teens would deal with a situation like that.  The way it would feel to get revenge, and then the way the person you got revenge on, getting it.  I really liked that story and how it ended.  The third story was about the Reverend who was what you'd call the religious figure fighting the genetic manipulation.  But his story, wow, just what a big shocker.  And then to have him fit into all the stories afterwards perfectly.  However the fourth story, while interesting, and unique, still had a little too much that kept me from quite connecting with the main character.  The next story started out a little boring, but then when we got the Russian back story it clicked and got to where it fit and I enjoyed it more.  

The final story really wrapped the whole thing up in a perfect way.  It had parts that tied in to today's social issues.  As I read, the science teacher in me kept needing some reason for why the people with genetic modifications were having the issues.  And the way that the author fit that in, it was just, well, to use the same word I've already used, it was perfect!  I liked all the different ways the author took each little idea with genetic modifications and how she saw things could maybe go.  Some may have seemed a little out there, but who knows what could actually happen? That is what science fiction is for.  Not once did the story get preachy about genetic modification being bad, in fact all the stories really brought up the reasons for why  it can be a good thing, and I liked that a lot.

I've already put this on my list to buy for my school library, hoping that my students will really enjoy it as well, and that it will make them think, just like it did for me.


About the Author:

ARWEN ELYS DAYTON is the author of the Seeker series—Seeker, Traveler, and Disruptor and the e-novella The Young Dread—and the science-fiction thriller Resurrection. Arwen lives with her husband and their three children on the West Coast of the United States. You can visit her at arwendayton.com and follow @arwenelysdayton on Twitter and Instagram.

Giveaway:

  1 finished copy of STRONGER, FASTER, AND MORE BEAUTIFUL by Arwen Elys Dayton
  US Only


  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:
http://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2018/11/tour-schedule-stronger-faster-and-more.html 



PRAISE FOR STRONGER, FASTER, AND MORE BEAUTIFUL

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful will send shivers down your spine. Teen Vogue

“Powerful, poignant, and action-packed, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is an exciting sci-fi adventure firmly rooted in the realities of our present day that fans of Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series will love. Bustle

“Part cautionary tale and part ode to the inventive human spirit, Dayton’s brilliant collection of stories is best described as a scientific Twilight Zone.Publishers Weekly, Starred

“Compelling and terrifying, this volume is science fiction at its finest.
School Library Journal, Starred

“This speculative, thought-provoking novel will take readers on a frightening, remarkable journey through humanity’s past, present, and possible future.” Booklist, Starred

“Imaginative and incisive.” Kirkus Reviews, Starred

“An alternately charming and horrifying exploration of what it means to be human and how far we’ll go in pursuit of personal and societal ‘perfection.’ Dayton’s newest is imagination at its best and most terrifying. I devoured this book. —Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken

A work of unforgettable vision and imagination. This book is everything I love about science fiction.”
—Jay Kristoff, New York Times bestselling coauthor of the Illuminae Files

Haunting, challenging and provocative—this is an extraordinary book. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
—Amie Kaufman, New York Times bestselling coauthor of the Illuminae Files

A deep and suddenly necessary exploration of the beautiful and terrible futures we face.
Every story leaves you desperate for more.”
—Hank Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is a remarkable book, visionary and very hard to put down.
—Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of The Dark Between the Stars

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautifulfast-paced, tightly plotted, and engaging from the first page—puts a human face on the prosperity or catastrophe that is waiting just around the corner.”
David Friedberg, founder of Climate Corporation

“Arwen Elys Dayton explores the next era of humanity with astonishing heart.
Peter H. Diamandis, MD, founder of XPRIZE and Singularity University and author of the New York Times bestsellers Abundance and Bold
 
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