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Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Flip by David Estes




YA Sci-Fi/Dystopian
Slip #3
My Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis

In a scared and broken world where someone must die before another can be born, one family has been torn apart by fate and a ruthless government, only to find themselves suddenly thrust back together with one chance to save their struggling nation.

Benson and Harrison Kelly and their newfound allies within the rebel consortium are finally fighting back, but the Department of Population Control and its ultimate weapon, known as the Destroyer, won't rest until they're all dead. The task will take them into the belly of the beast and force them to face a secret about their past that will change everything.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Lifers, Jarrod, has a new weapon, in the form of an angry, desperate twelve-year-old boy, and he won't hesitate to use him to destroy an entire city as part of a hidden agenda only just starting to be revealed.

The fate of humanity hinges on a series of impossible choices made by those with nothing to lose. One family. One chance to flip everything they know on its head. One action-packed finale that will leave you breathless.

My 2 cents

"Don't cry because its over, smile because it happened." --Dr. Suess

And that's exactly how I feel as I am now at the end of this fantastic story. The Kelly family's journey through this trilogy was just amazing, moving from one extreme to the other. Although I'm sad its over, I'm thrilled I got to experience it!

Flip was all I wanted and then some. Everything that was good about the first two books continues here in the finale. The stakes have been upped, and the read was even more intense, with even better action sequences. But Flip stays true to the basic story of a family trying to be together and free in a terrible world.

**I should mention now that there might be spoilers for Slip and Grip, but none for Flip. **

Things I love about Flip:

The Kelly Family My absolute favorite thing about this trilogy, from beginning to end has been the theme throughout about family. This is such an important theme, and one that is missing a lot in YA. My family is the most important thing in the world to me, and I'm sure is the same with most people. How great to see a series touching on this in such a relevant and realistic way. This family is not perfect. They love each other and drive each other crazy at times. But in the end, it is their loyalty to each other that makes all the difference. 

"“Family doesn’t go one way. It goes every way. We help each other, we protect each other, and we die for each other, if that’s what it takes.” 

The Characters I'm not going to touch on each one, as they are all really good in this book. I feel that any character development that was lacking in the previous books (especially the first one) all comes together here. These characters are all complex, with moments of both highs and lows. And all of the main characters had a complete story arc that made sense and fit into the story perfectly.

The World Building One of my absolute favorite things in any series is when the world building just builds and builds with each book. The world building in Flip jumps leaps and bounds from the first two books. We get to see a lot more of this crazy world, and most of it is done through the ads and articles in between each chapter. Like before, it really gives us an insight to the public's viewpoint, as most of our characters are in hiding and almost in the dark themselves. Just really brilliantly done.

Comedy Hour Despite this being a very dark, intense story, I was LOLing through a lot of it! I love the humor throughout, and think its a perfect balance with action and suspense. A few of my favorite lines:

"Eventually, Simon shifts his position, grunting lightly, and then says, “Nice makeover.”
“Are you hitting on me?” Harrison jokes.
“All I want is to be your frienemy,” Simon jokes back.
“I’m not ready for commitment,” Harrison says. “Too young for that. "

"Minda says, “Yeah. Just do what Janice does and you’ll be fine.”
“You want us to all wear tiger-striped dresses?” Harrison asks.
“Sure. So long as you laser your legs first,” Minda says." 


The Twists Again, lots more of them happening in the finale! I'm not sure I've ever seen a twist written as well as the big one in Slip, but the ones in here I think have topped it! MIND BLOWN!

The Writing Loved it. Just beautiful writing. I'll give you a few examples:

"“Words can split logs and start fires and break stones, but they can also hug you and warm you and fight the wars you don’t have the strength to fight.”

"But then I realized that life is a gift that can’t be replaced. Life is the purpose. Life is always worth it, no matter how terrible you feel, no matter what mistakes you've made, or others have made. This world isn’t for running. It’s for standing. It’s for fighting."


Need I say more?

The Action I mentioned it before, but these were AWESOME action scenes! They went on for pages, were very detailed, and the pacing was perfect. Really made the pages fly!

The Ending One of the best endings to a trilogy EVER. Everything tied together nicely, it all made sense, and we got a wonderful epilogue that tells us what's up with our favorite characters a year after the story. Really loved that! 

Flip was an EPIC finale and I loved every minute of this book! After the last page, I was in a book fog, and it took me a bit to come back to the real world. These characters were just so real to me. Slip is one of the best trilogies I have ever read. I will be thinking about it for a long while.

And I'll leave you with another favorite quote:

"It’s not the power of the universe rallying against him, but humans. Just men and women full of hate and evil and ignorance. Nothing more, nothing less. And humans can be defeated, no matter the odds. In the end, good has a chance to prevail if those who wield its mighty sword do not lose hope."

You can buy Flip here:
Amazon

And don't miss the first two books in the series!







Author Photo - David Estes


About the Author:
Author of popular YA dystopian series, the Dwellers Saga and the Country Saga. Voted books to read if you enjoyed the Hunger Games on Buzzfeed and Listopia.

Join 2,700+ David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite in David Estes' official fan group at:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/70863-david-estes-fans-and-ya-book-lovers-unite

David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. David grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife. They now live together in their dream location, Hawaii. A reader all his life, he began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010, and started writing full time in June 2012. Now he travels the world writing with his wife, Adele. David's a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table.

You can find and contact David here:
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