Review & Blog Tour: Rage Within by Jeyn Roberts

I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of the Rage Within Blog Tour:

Rage Within by Jeyn Roberts

Published by September 4th 2012 by Simon & Schuster 

Pages: 384

Source: ARC provided by the publisher

Summary:

      Aries, Clementine, Michael, and Mason have survived the first wave of the apocalypse that wiped out most of the world’s population and turned many of the rest into murderous Baggers. Now they’re hiding out in an abandoned house in Vancouver with a ragtag group of fellow teen survivors, trying to figure out their next move.
     Aries is trying to lead, but it’s hard to be a leader when there are no easy answers and every move feels wrong. Clementine is desperate to find her brother Heath, but it’s impossible to know where he’d be, assuming he’s alive. Michael is haunted by the memories of his actions during his harrowing struggle to survive. And Mason is struggling with something far worse: the fear that he may be a danger to his friends.
     As the Baggers begin to create a new world order, these four teens will have to trust and rely on each other in order to survive.

My Thoughts:

This was good. I mean really good. I enjoyed the Dark Inside. It was creepy, and disturbing, but Rage Within takes the “creep” factor to a whole new level. We learn much more about the origin of the Baggers in this novel and I loved the twist of how they came to be… completely unexpected. The story is narrated in a similar way to the first, with the four main characters alternating the voice in the novel. This format works with a book like this and I enjoyed reading the different perspectives of the characters throughout. If there is one thing I’ve learned from reading apocalyptic fiction it’s that I would simply not survive for very long. The way these teens, band together and survive is incredible. They way they find hope and the strength to carry on in the midst of disaster is more than admirable. Fast paced, chilling, and an interesting exploration of character; the Rage Within was what I hoped for and more. Recommended.

I am  happy to welcome CLEMENTINE; one of my favourite characters from this series for interview on the blog:

1. Do you think there is anything that would have prepared you for what has happened in the world?

I don’t know. How do you really get prepared for that? They don't really teach stuff like that in high school. It would have been nice to have a heads up about the town hall tho. Maybe then I could have warned everyone or at least gotten Mom and Dad out of town.

2.What have you learned, what advice would you give to other survivors?

Be careful with who you trust. I know, that’s almost impossible unless you plan on living all by yourself. I was alone in the beginning and I hated it. Life has been better since hooking up with Michael and the others. But at the same time, you’ve got to be careful. Baggers are sneaky and they are everywhere.

3. What is the first thing you will say to Heath when you find him?

 I think about that all the time to be honest. I don’t know. So much time has passed and I’ve changed a lot. I guess I’ll tell him about Mom and Dad. At least he’ll know what happened to them. After that, I don’t know. I think I just want to hug him.

4. Do you have any hope for the future? What do you think it will look like?

I do have hope for the future. Mason says we have to fight and I agree. There will come a time when we have to stand up to the Baggers and take back our world. We have to show them that we’re not just slaves and we’re not afraid. I think we could do a lot of good with the world once the Baggers are gone. Maybe everyone could join together and form a smaller community. It’s strange to see all those empty buildings.
Maybe everyone could start over on an island. I like that idea. It would be peaceful and quiet. It would be nice to live in a place where we could grow a vegetable garden. I’m good with things like that. No Baggers. Everyone working together to make our new life a real one.

Thank you Clementine!

About the Author:

Jeyn Roberts (pronounced Jen - the Y is silent)grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and started writing at an early age, having her first story published when she was 16 in a middle-grade anthology called LET ME TELL YOU. 

When she was 21, she moved to Vancouver with dreams of being a rock star, graduating from the University of British Columbia with a degree in Writing and Psychology. For the next few years she played in an alternative/punk band called Missing Mile before moving to England where she received her MA from the prestigious Creative Writing graduate course at Bath Spa University. Jeyn is a former singer, songwriter, actress, bicycle courier and tree planter. 
An avid traveler, she’s been around the world, most recently, teaching high school in South Korea. 
A lover of animals, Jeyn volunteers regularly with helping abandoned and abused animals, especially cats.

Learn more about Rage Within.
Follow Jeyn Roberts' blog.
Visit JeynRoberts.co.uk.
Like Jeyn Roberts on Facebook.
Follow @JeynRoberts on Twitter.

Aug 27 – Blog tour kick off at yasimon.ca

Aug 28 – Lost in the Library blog - Q&A with Clementine
Aug 29 – Escaping One Book at a Time blog - Q&A with Michael
Aug 30 – The Bursting Bookshelf - Q&A with Mason
Aug 31 – Book Nerd - Q&A with Aries

Simon & Schuster has generously provided an ARC of Rage Within for one lucky reader!

Leave a comment on this blog post telling me one skill you would need to survive an Apocalypse; as well as your email address. Entrants must be 13+, Canada only. 

Winner will be chosen at random on September  2nd 2012 and announced here.

How would you survive?