Blog Tour - SYLO by D.J. MacHale + Giveaway

Title: SYLO (The SYLO Chronicles #1)

Author: D.J. MacHale

Publisher: Razorbill

Release Date: July 2, 2013

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Book Depository

Does Tucker Pierce have what it takes to be a hero when the U.S. military quarantines his island?

Fourteen-year-old Tucker Pierce prefers to fly under the radar. He's used to navigating around summer tourists in his hometown on idyllic Pemberwick Island, Maine. He's content to sit on the sidelines as a backup player on the high school football team. And though his friend Quinn tells him to "go for it," he's too chicken to ask Tori Sleeper on a date. There's always tomorrow, he figures. Then Pemberwick Island is invaded by a mysterious branch of the U.S. military called SYLO. And sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option for Tucker, because tomorrow may never come. 

It's up to Tucker, Quinn, and Tori to uncover the truth about the singing aircraft that appears only at night--and the stranger named Feit who's pushing a red crystal he calls the Ruby that brings unique powers to all who take it. Tucker and his friends must rescue not just Pemberwick Island, but the fate of the world--and all before tomorrow is too late.

#1 New York Times bestselling author D.J. MacHalebrings his brilliant plotting and breathless pacing to SYLO, the first in this ultimate end-of-the-world adventure trilogy.

I'm always interested in a good adventure story, one where it's not always clear who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. And with D.J. MacHale's SYLO, that's exactly what I got. Granted, it took me a while to get into the story, but once I did, I found myself getting wrapped up in the action and attempting to puzzle out what was happening right alongside the characters.

Tucker Pierce was happy with his relaxed island life, trying to stay under the radar and just living his life. But when the star of the football team collapses in the middle of a game, making it so Tucker has to step up, everything changes. And when the navy shows up on the island, cutting them off from the mainland, everything starts to feel wrong. Tucker and his friends can't help but think that they aren't being told the whole story. And now it's up to them to figure out what is happening on Pemberwick Island…hopefully without getting hurt, or worse, in the process.

I'm not sure exactly how to describe SYLO. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the story, but it's kind of hard to put into words exactly how I felt about it. Going in, I was expecting a story filled with action and mystery as Tucker and his friends try to figure out what's happening on Pemberwick Island. And while that is what I got, I got it at a slightly slower pace than I thought it would be. But that might also be due to the fact that I was reading the book in small increments. Once I was able to sit down and read more of the book, I found myself getting dragged in, trying to puzzle out exactly what was happening on that island, especially exactly who was good and who was bad. And I still don't know exactly who is bad and who is good even after having read the whole book. There was just so much going on that every time I was starting to figure out who was the enemy, then something new would happen and I was back to square one. And now that I'm done, it's making me want to read the sequel to see if some of my suspicions are correct or not.

It was nice to read a book from a boy's perspective for a change. The only difficulty I had was that I was reading this book from the perspective of a 14 year old boy. For most of the book, I could enjoy reading everything from Tucker's perspective, he was always right in the thick of the action and I enjoyed the fact that he knew as little about what was going on as I did. But there were also times when I found it a little hard to relate to him as the narrator. Though I will say this, it was refreshing to read a story where the focus was on the mystery and the action. As a result, it felt like the story ended up being more about the plot than about the characters. But some of the characters still surprised me in the way they acted and changed as the story went forward. Hopefully I'll be able to see more of them in future books.

Overall, D.J. MacHale's SYLO was a highly enjoyable and action-packed read. If you are looking for something a little different that will take you on a adventurous ride, then you might want to check out SYLO.

About the author:

D.J. MacHale is a writer, director, executive producer and creator of several popular television series and movies. As an author, his ten-volume book series: PENDRAGON - JOURNAL OF AN ADVENTURE THROUGH TIME AND SPACE became a New York Times #1 bestseller.

He was raised in Greenwich, CT and graduated from Greenwich High School. While win school, he has several jobs including collecting eggs at a poultry farm, engraving trophies and washing dishes in a steakhouse…in between playing football and running track. D.J. attended New York University where he received a BFA in film production.

His filmmaking career began in New York where he worked as a freelance writer/director making corporate videos and television commercials. He also taught photography and film production.

D.J. broke into the entertainment business by writing several ABC AFTERSCHOOL SPECIALS. As a co-creator of the popular Nickelodeon series: ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?, he produced all 91 episodes over 8 years. D.J. also wrote and directed the movie TOWER OF TERROR for ABC's WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY which starred Kirsten Dunst and Steve Guttenberg. The Showtime series CHRIS CROSS was co-created, written and produced by D.J. It received the CableAce award for Best Youth Series.

D.J. co-created and produced the Discovery Kids/NBC television series FLIGHT 29 DOWN. He wrote every episode and directed several. His work on FLIGHT 29 DOWN earned him the Writers Guild of America award for "Outstanding Children's Script" and a Directors Guild of America nomination.

Other notable writing credits include the ABC AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL titled SEASONAL DIFFERENCES; the pilot of rate long-running PBS/CBS series GHOSTWRITER; and the HBO series ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN, BOY DETECTIVE for which he received a CableAce nomination for writing.

In print, D.J. has co-written the book THE TALE OF HTE NIGHTLY NEIGHBORS, based on his own telly and penned the poetic adaptation of the classic Norwegian folk tale EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON. His most current work is the spooky MORPHEUS ROAD trilogy; and a whimsical picture book THE MONSTER PRINCESS.

D.J. lives in Southern California with his wife Evangeline and daughter Keaton. They are avid backpackers, scuba divers and skiers. Rounding out the household are two elderly goldfish and a Kitten, Kaboodle.

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