Vivian Versus The Apocalypse

Vivian Versus The Apocalypse by Katie Coyle

Paperback, 288 pages

Expected Publication 5th September 2013 by Hot Key Books

Shelves: books-i-own, young-adult, title-appeal, road-trip, realistic-fiction, read-in-2013, mental-health, lgbt-characters, cover-appeal, contemporary, apocalyptic

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

A chilling vision of a contemporary USA where the sinister Church of America is destroying lives. Our cynical protagonist, seventeen-­year-­old Vivian Apple, is awaiting the fated 'Rapture' -­ or rather the lack of it. Her evangelical parents have been in the Church's thrall for too long, and she's looking forward to getting them back. Except that when Vivian arrives home the day after the supposed 'Rapture', her parents are gone. All that is left are two holes in the ceiling...

Viv is determined to carry on as normal, but when she starts to suspect that her parents might still be alive, she realises she must uncover the truth. Joined by Peter, a boy claiming to know the real whereabouts of the Church, and Edie, a heavily pregnant Believer who has been 'left behind', they embark on a road trip across America. Encountering freak weather, roving 'Believer' gangs and a strange teenage group calling themselves the 'New Orphans', Viv soon begins to realise that the Rapture was just the beginning.

As soon as I saw the cover and title of this book, I had to know what it was about - it looked contemporary but the title sounded a bit dystopian - with those being my favourite genres, I had to investigate! I read the description and it did sound fantastic. I was curious to see how the author would put this together and I hoped that it would work out well - thankfully it did!

This isn't really like any other book that I've read and that is a fantastic thing. This is a contemporary, realistic book, but it's also apocalyptic. We're introduced to a situation where a lot of the American population have decided to follow a new religion and under the Church of America, many, but not all, of these people have disappeared in what has been known as the 'Rapture'. With Believers and non-believers left behind, a group of teenagers set out to try and discover what is really going on. Of course, there are plenty of twists and some stumbling blocks along the way which makes this book a definite page turner. There was a constant wonder in my mind as to what the Church of America really was, or what it involved. There is a lot of substance to this book and the characters also face a lot of other issues that are interwoven into the book alongside the Rapture.

I can't tell you about all of the issues - you'll have to read it for yourself - but nothing ever seems clear-cut or fully comprehensible, at least not until the end of the book. It's interesting to see how your thoughts and opinions change as the book progresses and we learn new things. The pace is consistent and there always seems to be something new to find out, making this a real page turner. There is one warning for you though - it is extremely hard to put it down! I could have happily sat and read this all in one go, it had me hooked!

The characters really helped this book to be a success. Our main character, Vivian, was really easy to connect with, she had real guts and determination but there was always that sense of vulnerability around her, which made her so real. I loved meeting her best friend, who seemed awesomely kick-ass whilst still being obviously fragile, especially due to problems within her own family. I also enjoyed reading about Edie, a pregnant Believer - it was interesting to see the differences between a Believer and the non-Believers. The character who grew on me most was Peter, the love interest to our protagonist. I was a little sceptical when we first met him, he seemed to be just thrown into the story quite randomly and I feared it would be an awful case of instant love between the two characters, but I was happily proved very wrong. The relationship between Vivian and Peter was so lovely to read about - it all felt so natural, slightly shaky (as a teenage romance can be) and both characters bonded in such a gradual, loving way. Their romance somehow felt intricate, it felt precious and a lot deeper than a lot of other YA romances - perhaps due to the problems they both faced and the conflicts that arose. I would have loved to read more about Vivian and Peter - I don't know if there will be a follow on to this book, but if there was, I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up.

Vivian Versus The Apocalypse has been one of my top summer reads of 2013 and will be a highlight of the books I have read throughout the year due to the fantastic writing and the compelling, refreshing plot idea. Katie Coyle has already won the Hot Key Books Young Writers Prize for this book and I truly hope that she wins more - she is clearly extremely talented and I think her writing rivals that of some of the current top YA authors. I will be recommending this to anyone I can!

Saving June

Saving June by Hannah Harrington
Paperback, 336 pages

Expected Publication: 1st June 2012 by Mira Ink

My shelves: arc-or-review, books-i-own, contemporary, mental-health, read-in-2012, realistic-fiction, really-good, road-trip, suicide, title-appeal, to-be-reviewed, young-adult

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

‘If she’d waited less than two weeks, she’d be June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn’t consider that.’

Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.

When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going, California.

Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.

Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.

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My thanks go to Mira Ink for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I heard about this book, I knew that it was going to be something that I would enjoy. I'm a big fan of contemporary books, especially if they have the ability to make me cry (weird?). I am glad to say that Saving June was everything I wanted it to be - captivating, fun, hopeful and heartbreaking, all at the same time. This will hopefully be one of the top contemporary YA reads of the year.

We are sent on a road trip through America with Harper, her best friend, Laney, a mysterious guy called Jake Tolan and June's ashes. The story is narrated by Harper and focuses on coming to terms with her sister, June's suicide. I am happy to say that I thought that the topic was dealt with in a realistic and tasteful way. Although I do find books based on mental-health issues very interesting, I do sometimes feel wary of them as they can easily be handled in an incorrect manner - thankfully this wasn't the case for this book. I thought that the characters all handled the situation well, yet differently, in their own ways and it was interesting to see how the different parties reacted to the news. I do wish we could've learned a little bit more about June and her decision, but what we did learn with Harper was enjoyable. We definitely learned a lot about Harper herself.

All of the characters that we were introduced to in this novel felt well presented and each had their own unique personality, something that is very important, and although they were different, they were all relatable in some way. Harper is our protagonist, and as aforementioned, grieving over her sister. I thought that Harrington did a phenomenal job of portraying Harper's grief in an atypical manner. Harper was seen by her parents and aunt as 'rebellious', but that didn't really seem true to me - it just looked like she was doing what she thought was right during her life, and had her own opinion on things. Her relationship with Laney, her best friend was fantastic. It was clear that they both supported each other, despite their differences in thoughts. I loved that Laney was very forthright and she did what she want - she oozed confidence whilst still having some fragility, was very fun and I can see a lot of people loving her. 


We met a whole bunch of different people during the road-trip and experienced a lot of different things, mostly due to meeting Jake Tolan, a boy who had a connection with June before she died. I really liked Jake for the most part and I thought that his passion for music was wonderful. I've read a few books that have been music-orientated but didn't like them - Harrington successfully managed to connect me with Jake as I could certainly relate to a lot of the things he said about music. As a love interest, I can understand why Harper was attracted to him - he was respectful yet snarky and there was a good amount of chemistry between them both. Trying not to include spoilers - I did feel a little irked by him towards the end, though I could understand his decision at the same time.


I like listening to music for much of the same reasons as Jake - to quote: 

“It's just nice, I guess. Knowing that someone else can put into words what I feel. That there are people who have been through things worse than I have, and they come out on the other side okay. Not only that, but they made some kind of twisted, fucked-up sense of the completely senseless. They made it mean something. These songs tell me I'm not alone. If you look at it at that way, music... music can see you through anything.”"

I thought it was SO cool that this book had not one, but three playlists included. I absolutely loved being able to listen to the songs that captured the mood of the characters at the time and it certainly added another form of 'connection' to them. Harrington didn't just say that Jake felt these things, but she proved it by creating some amazing soundtracks to back it all up. Reading this book, along with listening to the soundtracks, really made it feel as though we were having an experience with the characters. I felt pure emotion whilst reading and admit to tearing up as the book came to a close.


Overall, this was a very powerful, emotional yet enjoyable story. It didn't just feel like I was reading a book - even if it is an overused phrase, I totally felt as though I was taking a journey with Harper, Laney and Jake. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to any young adults or adults. I think that this is a story that will stay with me for quite a while. 

Listen to one of the songs from Saving June...