Title: The Farm
Author: Emily McKay
Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…
And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.
Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…
Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...
And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.
Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…
Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...
My Review:
The Farm, this book for me was the first book in which one of the main characters has a disability. While Mel was a unique and refreshing character, I didn't feel that her part in the book, or her disability made it better or worse off than the others. I felt throughout the end of the book, that her role in the book was lacking, I didn't feel that she was all that important. Which was sad, because I was looking to read about what a girl with a disability in a post-apocalypse.
I have to say that this book being compared to Resident Evil mixed with The Hunger Games was either an all out lie, or a very large stretch in the wrong direction. Resident evil bit I could have understood, but the love story was a stretch if that's the bit of Hunger Games you were going for If you are seeking a book that, as vampires and zombies, in a post-apocalypse world, this isn't too shabby, but I'm nearly positive there are better books out there.
The world in this book is rather lackluster. The camp that the book starts in, and the ending city is the extent of this book and frankly I was hoping for more destruction and chaos than what this book actually gave. Than throughout the entire book there is this abductura the vampires are looking for, and they believe that person is Lily. Okay so yes that's Carter's agenda, and frankly it's annoying. I hated that, the person they are trying to find is the reason Carter sought out Lily. It makes the whole relationship start, a little unbelievable.
Lily and Carter were the best redeeming factor in this book. Their relationship was actually rather good, and a good representation in my opinion of what a relationship in a zombie apocalypse would be. I loved how they nearly argued constantly throughout the book, and at the same time it was part of the biggest disappointment I had in this book. I was looking at the relationship when I was done with the book, and I hated how they really didn't have a good deep romance. But typically of apocalypse books, you would be more afraid and running for your life than worrying about who your boyfriend is. But their relationship lacked something a bit more passionate.
Than there is the zombie or ticks as they are called in this book. I am not sure how anyone else felt in this book, there were times when they were scary and you actually were on the edge of your seat looking for their next appearance. I wished there was more of the grotesque gory zombies that normally show up in this type of genre. That was a huge disappointment as well. I wanted more thrill out of this book, and it just wasn't there.
The best supernatural part of this book was the one vampire in the book. I need to express how just badass these vampires were. I am probably going to get hated on by everyone that loved the ticks in this book, as opposed to the Vampires. I understand that the ticks were brilliantly described and looked really horrible. However, I didn't find they were menacing. There is a difference between looking menacing and actually being menacing. In the case of The Farm, and to the main characters over and over the vampire that traveled with them knowingly was holding his thirst back from eating one of them. That threat to me, was more impressive than the chance at the ticks showing up.
I am going to go back and talk about one of my favorite scenes near the end of the book. The church with the rotting corpses. I loved that scene and it shows just how desperate the person was, in achieving their goal. I loved the scene and the reactions by Lily, Carter, and Mel. It was just a fantastic scene and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. However, the book was just mediocre and I hope the next book in the series brings some death to the ticks.
I have to say that this book being compared to Resident Evil mixed with The Hunger Games was either an all out lie, or a very large stretch in the wrong direction. Resident evil bit I could have understood, but the love story was a stretch if that's the bit of Hunger Games you were going for If you are seeking a book that, as vampires and zombies, in a post-apocalypse world, this isn't too shabby, but I'm nearly positive there are better books out there.
The world in this book is rather lackluster. The camp that the book starts in, and the ending city is the extent of this book and frankly I was hoping for more destruction and chaos than what this book actually gave. Than throughout the entire book there is this abductura the vampires are looking for, and they believe that person is Lily. Okay so yes that's Carter's agenda, and frankly it's annoying. I hated that, the person they are trying to find is the reason Carter sought out Lily. It makes the whole relationship start, a little unbelievable.
Lily and Carter were the best redeeming factor in this book. Their relationship was actually rather good, and a good representation in my opinion of what a relationship in a zombie apocalypse would be. I loved how they nearly argued constantly throughout the book, and at the same time it was part of the biggest disappointment I had in this book. I was looking at the relationship when I was done with the book, and I hated how they really didn't have a good deep romance. But typically of apocalypse books, you would be more afraid and running for your life than worrying about who your boyfriend is. But their relationship lacked something a bit more passionate.
Than there is the zombie or ticks as they are called in this book. I am not sure how anyone else felt in this book, there were times when they were scary and you actually were on the edge of your seat looking for their next appearance. I wished there was more of the grotesque gory zombies that normally show up in this type of genre. That was a huge disappointment as well. I wanted more thrill out of this book, and it just wasn't there.
The best supernatural part of this book was the one vampire in the book. I need to express how just badass these vampires were. I am probably going to get hated on by everyone that loved the ticks in this book, as opposed to the Vampires. I understand that the ticks were brilliantly described and looked really horrible. However, I didn't find they were menacing. There is a difference between looking menacing and actually being menacing. In the case of The Farm, and to the main characters over and over the vampire that traveled with them knowingly was holding his thirst back from eating one of them. That threat to me, was more impressive than the chance at the ticks showing up.
I am going to go back and talk about one of my favorite scenes near the end of the book. The church with the rotting corpses. I loved that scene and it shows just how desperate the person was, in achieving their goal. I loved the scene and the reactions by Lily, Carter, and Mel. It was just a fantastic scene and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. However, the book was just mediocre and I hope the next book in the series brings some death to the ticks.
