Review: Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Title: Avalon

Author: Mindee Arnett

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: 1.21.2014

Pages: 432

Genre: SciFi, Dystopian

Series: Avalon #1

Source: eARC from publisher

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy in this fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi adventure from author Mindee Arnett.

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

Avalon is the perfect fit for teens new to sci-fi as well as seasoned sci-fi readers looking for more books in the YA space-and a great match for fans of Joss Whedon's cult hit show Firefly.

Review:

What’s a stronger word than love? Because whatever word is beyond love is the way to sum up all my thoughts of AVALON. Mindee Arnett, where have you been all of my days? And how did I survive without this story in my world and on my shelf?

I am the first to admit I’m not a huge SciFi fan. OK, truth? Spaceships and such make me feel like an idiot. I don’t get the quantum mechanical-whatever. Hyperdrive is what happens when I have too much sugar. I failed science, people, so I typically avoid science fiction novels because who likes to feel dumb? But Arnett has such an amazing gift for storytelling, I got it. I was in her world. I understood the way things worked and didn’t have to pull out my science text book (good thing since it’s propping up part of my bed).

It takes a lot to sell me on a male narrator. Especially when written by a female. I’m sorry, but it’s true. I often find guy’s acting totally girly or being overly emotional (no, I am not female bashing, we girls just have a different mindset), but that was never an issue here with Jeth. From the start I bought him. I loved him as a storyteller. He has snark and wit and balls. A fabulous combination when wielded appropriately—which Arnett does.

If you follow me on twitter, you’ve likely seen me pimping this book out to everyone. Yes, this book has some similarities to a show called Firefly that I may be obsessed with, but those little parallels only made me love every word of AVLON all the more. This book has it all—action, drama, romance, mystery … Can I have book 2 yet?

Buy: Amazon