Review: Truly Amazing!!! Get it now!!!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 19, 2013
(Source: I was gifted a copy of this book by the author – thanks so so much to Cidney Swanson!)This is book 2 in the ‘Saving Mars’ series, and picks up where book 1 ‘Saving Mars’ left off. **Warning, some unavoidable spoilers for book 1 (such as where book 1 left off)**Jessamyn and Crusty are leaving Earth, leaving behind not only Jess’ brother Ethan (who has been rebodied), but also 2 other crew members, and Pavel – the earth boy who Jessamyn can’t stop thinking about.Jess and Crusty have even bigger problems to contend with when they get back to Mars though, as the people in charge have different ideas about when they should be rescuing the people left behind. Jess wants to go back immediately – they want to wait a mars annum – 2 earth years! But Jessamyn knows that those left behind won’t last that long.There are other things going on that Jess doesn’t know about though, and political landmines to avoid too.Can Jess get permission to lead a rescue mission? Can she go back and save her brother the way she promised? And how many people will get hurt in the process?OMG –I thought Saving Mars was brilliant, and boy did Defying Mars make an equally amazing sequel! Cidney Swanson – you have done it again!!Having just finished this book my heart is still racing, and I’ve got no idea how to burn off this excess adrenalin running through my body! Yikes!Defying Mars starts off with the crew of the Red Galleon down to just two members, and neither are happy about the situation, not because they can’t stand each other, but because it feels so wrong to leave good people behind on a hostile planet.Jess is once again an amazing character. She has such strength, and her drive and determination are just unfathomable. She’s so young, yet she knows in her heart and in her gut what feels right, and what feels wrong, and she has the guts and determination to pull off remarkable feats that even people more experienced than her would balk at.I love how Jess reasons things out, how she knows her own limits, and how she’s not afraid to admit when she needs help. I also love how strongly she feels for her family and friends, and how her decisions are right, even if they’re not for the greater good.Crusty – the mechanic, was one of the main characters in this second book, and it was nice to get a bit more of a feel for him, and the faith that he put in Jessamyn. His encouragement helped Jessamyn when she needed it most, and his support really meant a lot to her.Pavel, Ethan, and Wallace back on earth also play a part in this book, though in a lesser part than they did in the first book. It was nice to see how Ethan was able to help matters even in his re-bodied shape, and with even more disability than he had originally. Ethan’s character is a real testament to how having a disability doesn’t mean that you’re worthless, and his role in this whole mission is a real inspiration to anyone suffering from any sort of condition which might be labelled a ‘disability’.I loved the storyline in this book. Although there is initially less action in this book than the first, the decisions that Jessamyn must make lend us a different kind of story. Once again Jessamyn’s decisions are not easily made, and do not make her popular, but she does them anyway, because she does what she feels is right, even if doing these thing benefits other people more than herself.The ending in this instalment was explosive! The last 20% of the book was just riddled with tension, and so much stress and anxiety. I felt like screaming, or tearing my hair out, or just going totally crazy trying to hold it together while I read the book! (In a good way!) It was just aarrgghh!!!! There are no words – a seriously, epic, amazing, nail biting, edge of your seat, go totally potty, OMG, I totally love this book, what is she going to do now? They can’t be serious? Why? Why? Why? No! I’m going to be a basket case if this doesn’t end soon, god help me! Eek! Oh thank the heavens! Kind of an ending. Seriously. Now I need oxygen!This serious is truly extraordinary. It has elements of sci-fi, and dystopia, it’s YA, and has a seriously kick-ass main character, who is truly gifted in her own right. There’s a tiny touch of romance, and some serious edge-of-your-seat action. If you haven’t read this series before, or haven’t even heard of it – consider yourself told – this series is seriously good! I couldn’t recommend it more!!9.75 out of 10.