Author: Emily McKay
Series: First in a Series
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Publish Date: December 4, 2012
Genre: YA, Paranormal Dystopian
Pages: 432
Source: ARC
Buy the Book: The Farm
Shaunta’s Review: I picked up a copy of Emily McKay’s book, The Farm, as an ARC at RWA way back in July. I’ve been dying to share it with you guys, but wanted to wait for it to be released. Today’s the day! So, now I get to tell you that The Farm is a great book. I really enjoyed it.
It was refreshing to read vampires that were scary monsters, and not sparkly love interests. The Ticks, as they are called in this book, feed on the blood of teenagers who are rounded up and harvested. Harvested. I told you it was scary.
There are several things this book does just right, including the scary Tick vampires. They are as much of a psychological horror as they are a physical one for the reader.
One of the point-of-view characters is a girl named Mel who has autism. Emily gets that character just right. I appreciated that she was three-dimensional, authentic, and an individual instead of a collection of symptoms.
I loved the relationship between Mel and Lily, the twin sisters who were the two main characters. It’s warm and a little frustrating for them at times, and very organic.
The love story in this book hits just the right note, too. It added a level of excitement, without overtaking the adventure part of the story. I was rooting for Lily and Carter all the way through. I can’t wait to read the sequel, to learn how that plays out. Like I mentioned before, Carter is refreshingly human. It was nice that the two of them had a past history together, as well, so that this wasn’t a case of insta-love.
The Farm is a great book if you like your reads a little scary, a little sweet, and a whole lot action packed. It’s also well-written, with a fast pace and incredible attention to detail in the world building.
(Disclaimer: Emily and I share an agency and an editor at Berkley. My opinions on this book, though, are my own.)