Debut Author Challenge # 13: Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts...AND A Giveaway!!!

Reading Song of the Day: "In the Dark" by Flyleaf

Omigod! We've come to the end of our list!!! And it's before December 31st. I didn't think we were going to do it, but we finished each and every book that we said we'd read for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge! *throws confetti* *pops champagne*

And our final book-- holy shiz, you guys, it definitely helped us end this DAC on a high note. I finished Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts in the span of a week. I could not. Put. It. Down.

Here's what Goodreads has to say:

Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever.

Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

Okay, tell me you don't wanna grab that book and read it right NOW. It is so, so, so, so good and if that summary isn't enough to get you interested, then I shall give you...

The Top Four Things You Need to Know About Dark Inside

1. The Four Points of View (POVs) are distinct, interesting, and I felt empathy for them. That is so hard to do with just one character. Imagine how difficult it would be for FOUR! I found myself flipping the pages because I wanted--no needed--to know what was happening with each and every character. And not all of them are saints, yet I saw the good in each one. Bravo, Roberts, bravo.

2. The book is effing scary. The last time I got scared from reading a book was when I read Roald Dahl's The Witches when I was a kid. Dark Inside had so many scenes where I was holding my breath because the author described the tensions and creepiness with such amazing sensory details that I felt like I was there. I was so freaking scared of those crazies!

3. There are love stories and hope among all the chaos. When the world is ending and there are a bunch of crazy people trying to kill you, the last thing you think you'll care about is love and relationships. And that's true for these teenagers, yet amongst their struggle for survival, they still manage to forge relationships. And some of them are truly heart wrenching.

4. It makes you think, but not in a preachy way. There's an obvious message behind Dark Inside. But I didn't feel like I was being "taught" to behave a certain kind of way. I felt like I needed to think about some of the choices I make from now on. AND it also makes me think about humanity. Okay, I know that sounds boring. But I promise you--it's so not! The book just really makes you think: what if...

If you like...

Books: The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, and Blood Red Road by Moira Young...then you'll like Dark Inside.

Movies: Quarantine, The Crazies, and Stephen King's Desperation...then you'll like Dark Inside.

Okay, so now to the reason you read this post (JK- we know you love us and THAT'S why you read our posts :D). To celebrate the fact that we made it to the end of the 2011 DAC, we are going to give a $15.00 Amazon e-gift card to one follower that comments on this post as well as our Debut Author Challenge post from last week here. If you comment on both posts your name will be entered TWICE. You have until Wednesday (November 23rd) 12AM EST to enter and we will announce our winner on Turkey DAY!