Dazzled by Books

"Rush" by Eve Silver was a fantastic book. This is one of the stories that has been sitting on the top of my TBR pile, so I was excited when I was able to get ahold of an audiobook copie to listen to in my car as I drove to work. I also own the hardcover so there was a few times that I followed along. I have to say that Silver does a fantastic job with the storyline and the characters. I am pretty sure this is my first story being exposed to aliens.

Miki Jones is sixteen years old and has just found out that her life is going to be turned completely upside down. Miki's mom past away from cancer so it is just her and her dad now. Miki tries to keep her grades up and also spend time with her friends but she also worries about her dad and how much he is constantly consuming alcohol. Miki starts hearing this voice in her head that calls her by name and that voice ends up telling her to save a little girl that was in the middle of the road. Since she saved the little girl Miki technically died and was set into another owrld where there are teams of kids that fight aliens called the Drau in order to save the planet and human kind. The kids in the room claim that it is a game but it is real not just the classic video games you play at home.

Miki already knows one of the other teenagers that she is pulled with. Luka and Miki have known each other for years since they went to school with each other. Luka has moved around a lot with his father being in the military. Luka died the year before and he was pulled from a different region. One of the biggest things of the game is that everyone is pulled from a different region. After they fight they go back to the exact moment they were pulled even when in there mind it has been days. To the rest of the world it will seem like no time has passed at all. When Rachelle one of the other teenagers that Miki met on her first day as part of the game dies. Miki is expecting to see her the next time around but she doesn't.

Jackson is Miki's love interest in the story. He seems to be a huge jerk and nothing else but in a way he seems to look out for Miki wanting to make sure that she is okay. Outside of the game he ends up being the new student that just moved to Miki's school so not only is Jackson complicating Miki's personal life but he is also complicating the game life too. All Miki wants to know is what is Jackson's deal and why does she seem to like him so much?

I loved the gaming theme of this novel. I really don't think I have read any alien book previously, so I have to say that I really liked this one. I know that this book has its flaws. Everybook has flaws. I have to admit that Miki irritated me a lot at first. I didn't like all the self pity that she seemed to stir around herself. As Miki began to accept her new reality, I began to really like her. Miki grew up a lot from the beginning of the novel to the very end of the novel, so I was pretty impressed with Silver's character development.

I am looking forward to getting my hands on the second installment in The Game series. I think this storyline has a lot of potential and I am looking forward to seeing where it goes. I think "Rush" is a great book to pick up and read.