Rush by Eve Silver
Book Stats:
Reading level: Young Adult
ARC: 361 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release date: June 11, 2013
Series: The Game #1
Reviewed by: Stéphanie
Source: ARC from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository
So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?
When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures.
There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.
Almost half the year has gone by and I can honestly say that RUSH by Eve Silver might end up near the top of my YA reads of 2013. This is my first Eve Silver book and it also happens to be her debut YA novel. I opened this book with high expectations and I wasn’t disappointed at all. RUSH promises mystery, adventure, romance and aliens. What more can you ask of a YA science fiction novel?
I hope I didn’t lose any of you when I said aliens or science fiction because this isn’t your typical sci-fi. On the contrary, I think it offers a refreshing view of out of this world beings that have come to Earth, some in peace and others with the single goal of annihilating the planet and its inhabitants. Imagine living out your normal life and with one heroic act, you’re suddenly sucked into a parallel world where you’re fighting alien forces that are trying to destroy Earth. This is exactly what happened to Miki Jones and now she’s going about her everyday life where she can be sucked into this parallel universe to battle it out against the destructive Drau, without any warning. She’s accompanied by other teenagers like her, including a long lost friend, Luka, and the mysterious new guy at school, Jackson. Some on her team call it a game, while other are just going through the motions trying not to get killed. And if it really can be called a game, it’s definitively a deadly one, because no one is safe. Not even the seasoned warriors on the team.
Miki is a very inquisitive character. She wants to know everything about the game and why she was chosen. But most of all, she just wants to know what’s really going on. She doesn’t understand the game, except she knows she has to fight to stay alive. As the book progresses, she learns to ask the right questions and other team members become more inclined to answer her truthfully. Not only do we learn more about the deadly game, but we also learn more about the Drau and Miki’s background. I found it very easy to relate to Miki since she seems like a tangible and realistic girl. Even thought she shows courage and strength, her doubts and fears make her a realistic character since not all characters should be all fierce and powerful.
As for Jackson, I had a love/hate relationship with him in the beginning. With his constant wear of sunglasses and his cocky attitude, I didn’t like him as Miki’s love interest at first. He warned Miki herself multiple times that his intentions were not pure and that she should stay away because he isn’t a good guy. However, because of his charisma and his competency in the game, Miki starts to rely a lot on him, especially to get the answers that she needs to satisfy her inquisitive mind. At first, I much preferred Luka over Jackson but it’s almost as if the author herself gave up on Luka and fell for Jackson’s bad boy attitude. Luka became a boring character and I’ll probably end up not remembering who he is when the sequel come out. Overall, the romance in the story isn’t too overbearing, which is a nice change since it lets us readers concentrate on the story a little bit more.
There are just a few things in RUSH that I wasn’t too crazy about. First off, the fact the Miki only learns a few things at a time about anything involving the game was simply annoying. Obviously Jackson knows everything but it’s almost as if he likes having Miki beg for answers. Miki’s best friend, Carly, was simply a bitch that got pissed at her for the slightest things. She’s just a boy crazy girl that I would feel embarrassed to call a best friend. And finally, that awful cliffhanger definitively leaves you wanting more but I feel like it’s been done before. The book could have had a better ending than this horrible and stereotypical way Eve Silver left us hanging.
I’m not necessarily a gamer but I like to play video games from time to time. The fact that the points system in the “game” is very similar to those in video games makes it easier for the characters to aim for a goal and to actually survive. The video game references (and comic book/manga references too) makes this book a good one to recommend to boyfriends, young-at-heart husbands and guy friends in general. Even if the main character is female, I’m sure many guys will end up enjoying RUSH. It’s had some mixed reviews so the book is obviously not for everyone, but I personally enjoyed it. It’s an edgy, original and striking first book to a series.
