Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Dark Intercept by Julia Keller!
Check out my review and the giveaway below.
The Dark Intercept
by Julia Keller
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: October 31, 2017
Synopsis:
The State controls your emotions. What would you pay to feel free?
In a radiant world of endless summer, the Intercept keeps the peace. Violet Crowley, the sixteen-year-old daughter of New Earth’s Founding Father, has spent her life in comfort and safety. Her days are easy thanks to the Intercept, a crime-prevention device that monitors and provokes emotion. But when her long-time crush, Danny Mayhew, gets into a dangerous altercation on Old Earth, Violet launches a secret investigation to find out what he's hiding. An investigation that will lead her to question everything she's ever known about Danny, her father, and the power of the Intercept.
Praise for THE DARK INTERCEPT
“The Dark Intercept grabbed me from the first page and shook me until the last. A riveting and suspenseful story of love, risk, and betrayal.” —EMMY LAYBOURNE, author of Berserker, Sweet, and the Monument 14 trilogy
“A chilling and thought-provoking look at the power of weaponized emotion.” —MELISSA LANDERS, author of the Alienated trilogy and Starflight
“Both cautionary and hopeful—a rare, literary feat.” —GENNIFER ALBIN, New York Times bestselling author of the Crewel World trilogy
“A stormy, spine-tingling ride in which everything remembered and once felt in your life can be used against you.” —BLUE BALLIETT, author of Chasing Vermeer and The Calder Game
“The Dark Intercept goes straight to the heart of why privacy matters in today's world. Keller has written an accessible coming-of-age adventure where the teenage protagonist comes to understand the consequences of living in a society that monitors everyone's emotions, including her own.” —MICHAEL C. ROBINSON, Chair of the American Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee's Privacy Subcommittee
“Julia Keller writes so viscerally that she takes the readers with her into the worlds she has created. The Intercept is a fascinating springboard which she uses to explore the importance of feelings, and how they affect our lives and choices.” —BETSY FRASER, Selector, Calgary Public Library (Alberta, Canada), and 2016 YALSA/ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Service to Young Adults Achievement Award-winner
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| Photo Credit: Elaine Phillips |
Julia Keller, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and former cultural critic at the Chicago Tribune, is the author of many books for adults and young readers, including A Killing in the Hills, the first book in the Bell Elkins series and winner of the Barry Award for Best First Novel (2013); Back Home; and The Dark Intercept. Keller has a Ph.D. in English literature from Ohio State and was awarded Harvard University’s Nieman Fellowship. She was born in West Virginia and lives in Ohio.
I thought The Dark Intercept was a very interesting and engrossing read. The story was unique, gripping, and filled with action and drama. Set in the future in a divided world, split between New Earth and Old Earth, the story focuses on Violet Crowley and her search for the truth. Violet's investigation into her crush Danny Mayhew leads to surprising revelations about Danny, the Intercept, and her family.
Violet was an interesting character. She's the daughter of New Earth's founder, Ogden Crowley, and she helps out with surveillance for the Intercept--a crime prevention device that all citizens wear, that monitors everyone's emotions. Violet becomes curious when she observes her crush Danny get into an altercation on Old Earth and she doesn't give up until she finds out what secrets Danny is hiding. I thought Violet was quite a strong and gutsy character, but she did take a lot of crazy risks throughout the story.
I loved the world building in this book. Old Earth and New Earth were fascinating settings that were complete opposites of one another. Old Earth was gritty, dark, and home to the unfortunate people who remained stuck there, while New Earth was clean, modern, and home to the fortunate ones who were chosen to live there. I thought both worlds were well detailed and described. Of course, the people on both Earths were never really free since they had to all be monitored by the Intercept. A person's emotions can be used against them at any time and their emotions can become weapons against them. It's scary to think about living in a future where you are constantly monitored and controlled, where your emotions can be used against you at any time.
There were plenty of surprises in this story and I loved reading about Violet's investigation into Danny and the stunning revelations that are uncovered throughout the story. There was a lot going on in this book and some things became a little confusing and hard to follow, but ultimately, I really liked the plot, the characters, and the author's writing. I definitely look forward to the next book in this thrilling series.
*I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from the publisher for review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thanks to the publisher and Jean Book Nerd for letting me be a part of this tour.
--Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter
- 3 Winners will receive a The Dark Intercept Swag (Tote Bag, Notebook and Copy) by Julia Keller.
Ends: November 25, 2017
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