Book Nerds Across America

Still Point is the third and final book in the Awaken trilogy.  It is about a futuristic society in which technology has taken over.  There is very little face to face interaction and just about everything is done through a computer.  The grass and trees are plastic, dating is done exclusively online, and everything you do is monitored.  Maddie and her friends, who are referred to as the Digital School Dropouts, have been fighting to unplug society and bring back face to face schools.

There is a new character introduced in this book, which definitely adds a twist to the story line.  Jax was intercepted by Justin and his team of dropouts when he was about to get arrested for fighting the digital system.  Since then, he has been helping the cause in a more behind the scenes fashion.  Maddie met him during an online museum tour when she was still in Digital School and decides to contact him to see if he will help their cause.  I don't want to give away any spoilers, but he becomes an integral part of the story.  He teaches Maddie that there is a Middle Ground (Hint Hint...that is the name of the second book in the series) and she doesn't have to be such an extremest.  We can use technology as a tool, but we don't need to rely on it for everything.

This series should be considered required reading for most of the younger population.  I'm just as guilty as the next person when it comes to constantly checking messages on my phone and tweeting friends hundreds of miles away while ignoring the people sitting in the same room with me.  This series not only brings to light an escalating problem in our society, but really encourages readers to evaluate their own behavior.  I'm going to make a conscious effort to limit the amount of time I spend online outside of work.  I really don't need to check my Facebook and Twitter accounts countless times a day.  Katie teaches us that we need to focus on the now and live in the moment or life will simply pass us by.

I would like to thank Katie and her publisher for providing an ARC of Still Point.  I thoroughly enjoyed this series and would highly recommend it to all of our followers who read YA.

To celebrate the 8 days of Hanukkah, the four book nerds will each select an author or book series that is meaningful to us to share with all of you.

Thank you Good Choice Reading for hosting this Blog Tour.

Katie Kacvinsky's novels, Awaken, First Comes Love, and now Second Chance are some of my favorite books.  She is an amazing writer with a huge amount of talent!!



When First Comes Love came out we all assumed that it was going to be a stand alone book.  Well, thank goodness Katie didn't do that to us! When she announced that Second Chance was coming out I think I actually screamed!

Second Chance is an emotional ride for Dylan and Gray as they work through their personality differences.  Dylan and Gray really love each other but they are so different from each other.  I think that is the one thing that I loved the most.  Katie really knows how to keep a girl wanting more.  She writes from both point of views and that just completes the story perfectly.



I am so excited that Katie has already said that there will be a third book, because I need more of Dylan and Gray.  Also, I cannot wait to see how this story is completed.

Thanks Katie for a great book and story.

For more information about Katie Kacvinsky, you can check out her website.

Jacque's Review:

As I am sure you can tell from our reviews, Mary and I LOVED Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky.  Therefore, we were absolutely elated when she agreed to answer a few questions for us to share with our followers.

If you aren't already familiar with Katie, you can find out more about her at katiekacvinsky.com .  You can also follow her blog for the most up to date information on her current projects and upcoming book releases.

So without further ado, here is our interview with Katie.

1. One thing that we liked about Awaken is that it isn’t too far from today’s reality.  We can see life becoming as isolated and socially awkward as you described, and in ways it already has.  What ultimately inspired you to write a book about becoming unplugged?


2.  While Maddie was in need of becoming technologically unplugged, Justin was equally in need of becoming emotionally unplugged.  I felt they complemented each other perfectly.  Why did you feel it was important to include this element in his character?

 As soon as I started writing Justin's character, I realized how important he would be to the story. He carries so much weight; he's the foil against society, he's a teacher, he's on a mission, he's a protagonist, the love interest....this book is just as much Justin's story as it is Maddie's.  I liked the idea that he needed to "wake up" along with Maddie.  Honestly, the main reason he is so closed off hasn’t even been revealed yet.  I was saving that piece of his past for Middle Ground.

3.  While we anxiously await the release of Middle Ground next fall, we would love to know if this will be the final installment in the Awaken Series or if there is more of Maddie and Justin to come?

I'm currently working on the third and final book in the series.

4.  There is very little information out about First Comes Love, which is scheduled to be released in May of 2012, besides the fact that it is a love story.  Is there anything you can share with your fans about this next book?  Will this become another series?

Oh, man, I'm so bad at describing my books and I wrote them. Basically, I wrote First Comes Love because I wanted to try and write about emotionally-heated issues from a male perspective.  This book is Gray's experiences dealing with family, loss, friendship, love, sex, and independence. It's a story about how relationships change our lives--how meeting one single person can throw our lives completely off course and why love is the most important thing we have going for us.

5.  We love to hear more about the authors that we like.  Can you tell us why you wanted to become an author?

 It took me a long time to realize this is what I wanted to do. In high school, I was actually kicked out of my honor's English writing class. When I was sixteen, my teacher pulled me aside and said, "Katie, your writing is shit. You don't deserve to be in my class."  I was placed in a remedial class after that, which was really frustrating because English had always been my favorite subject.  But it also taught me, at a very young age, to grow a thick skin and not let anyone place a limit on what I can do. So, I kept writing.  Writing is like breathing to me, it's like walking. It's my way to vent, to celebrate, to reflect. I am a very private person; I have a hard time opening up to even my best friends, but I've never had a problem dishing out my thoughts with a pen and paper.  It’s when I’m at my best.  So, I just write the kind of stories that I would pull off of the shelf.  As long as I’m having fun writing a book, I know I’m on the right track.

All of the Book Nerds would like to thank Katie for taking time out of her very busy schedule to answer some of our questions.  We would ESPECIALLY like to thank her and her publicist for offering to send us an ARC of First Comes Love, which we will review and share with all of you as soon as we can.

Jacque's Review:

Awaken is set about 50 years into the future.  From the way technology is moving at the speed of light and people are embracing it without thought or question, I do not feel that Katie's predictions are unrealistic.

I found this book to be very thought provoking.  How many times have you been out with friends or family and spent more time with your head in your phone than interacting with the people you are with?  Are your virtual friends more important than your actual friends?  What do you REALLY know about your thousands of friends on twitter, blogs, and other social networking sites.  Is technology making face to face contact awkward and uncomfortable?  Is it time that we take a step back and actually become "unplugged?"

This is exactly what Justin and his friends are trying to do.  They are helping people who want to live the way things were in the early 2000s, which is considered to be a crime.  Life doesn't have to be ALL about speed and convenience.  We need to take the time to enjoy food, friends, family, and daily activities.  We need to take a step away from the digital world and actually LIVE our lives.  Yes...we can tour a location on a digital screen, but we are not engaging all of our senses and we are missing out on the true experience.  These are just a few of the lessons that I took away from this book and could really relate to while reading it.

The other main character in this book is Madeline.  Her father is the founder of Digital School, but she is a strong supporter of Justin's cause.  While Justin is helping others to live freely, he is all about work and has closed himself off on a personal level.  Madeline is the one person that confronted him about how he needs to take time for himself.  There needs to be a balance in life.  For the first time in his life, Justin spends more than a day in one place.  He begins to develop a relationship with Madeline, but he is still learning how to become unplugged emotionally.

Madeline and Justin's relationship is still evolving and there is a considerable amount of work that still needs to be done if the world is truly going to become unplugged.  Fortunately for us, Katie has a sequel to this book, Middle Ground, which is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2012.  I have already added it to my to be read list and will be anxiously awaiting its release.  I absolutely loved the characters and can't wait to see what is in store for them in the sequel.

Flo's Review:

I remember, a long time ago -- probably when this book first came out -- thinking, "Oh, this sounds interesting." So I was happy that the BookNerds selected it as our December Book of the Month. Jacque read it first and was really excited about it, then Teri started it next and couldn't finish it, so I was definitely curious as to what I would think.

Unfortunately, I ended up taking Teri's road with this one. I did not finish it.

I definitely think the concept of Awaken is an interesting one. Like a lot of dystopian fiction, Maddie's world does not seem that unrealistic. I could easily see this happening by 2060. But the most important part of a book for me is my connection with the characters. And I didn't feel that with this protagonist. Maddie reminds me of Vi in Possession, and I have the same criticism for her as I did for Vi -- I like to see the journey that the main character takes from being totally pro-Their Society to being totally con-Their Society. When we start the story, Maddie has already rebelled in the past. She's already questioning. But she has resolved to put it behind her, when she meets Justin. And seemingly like a light switch, Justin is leading her back down the rebellious path again. It's a very thin, very hard line for YA books to cross when the lead character is a young girl and the one who starts her thinking differently is the Hottie Boy. It has to come across that the girl is making the decision on her own, coming to terms with her changing view by herself, and not just blindly following the boy. To me, it read like Justin swooped in and suddenly, hey, maybe Mom's not too crazy! I don't know...maybe I need there to be some other outside factors besides just the Boy for me to buy such a big change of heart? Maybe it would have been easier for me if I felt the boy was that amazing (and for whatever reason, I didn't connect with Justin)?

All that being said, the truth is I didn't finish it. Maybe the pieces I saw of Maddie and of Justin, of the whole story, are just that -- pieces.  And I'd need to see more to fully understand. I did read a review (and Jacque just said it, above) that talked about Maddie unplugging physically and Justin unplugging emotionally and how they help each other and are, thus, a perfect fit. I like that :) And, I know I said this before, but I really do like the realness potential of this one. It makes you think -- could we really be headed that way? How would you be in that world?

Maybe we should start fighting to stay unplugged now.

~Flo~
Mary's Review

Ok.  I will be the first BookNerd to admit that I am technology addict.  I do not think I could live without my Facebook or Twitter!! Plus, all of us BookNerds met on Twitter!! However, when I read this book my mind was actually opened to "the old ways".  Well, I am not that old BUT I do remember days before the Internet took over.  Don't get me wrong, I love those days and I would never change my childhood; however I do not know what I would do with technology today.  Back to my point, when I finished this book (and before I tweeted it) I actually looked at my computer differently.  The stuff that Justin was telling Maddie really got me thinking because I am (sort-of) the same way.  I socialize on the Internet, I have gone to school on the computer, I keep up with the latest news/activities on the computer and I do almost all my shopping on the Internet.  Could I survive if something happen to the Internet?  Sure I could but, I think it would be hard. 

When I read Maddie I saw a lot of her in me.  I could see her being sucked into the world of technology and not being able to come out.  That is one reason why I look at my computer differently.  Then there was Justin (sigh)! He was there to "guide" Maddie to seeing the world without being "plugged into it".  Maddie's mother had planted some ideas in her head already.  The journal was my favorite thing because Maddie looked at it as an artifact, but it was something that became so important to Maddie.  I loved that Justin protected Maddie so much.  My most favorite part of the whole book was when they were on the beach watching the sunset. Something so simple as a sunset was a life changing experience for Maddie!  It was hard for me to see Maddie go against her father so much because I saw how much it hurt her.  Though, in the end, Maddie really sees the world as it should be "unplugged". 

I loved this book and I cannot wait to see what the next book bring with Justin and Maddie!!