Review: The Tearings (The Tearings #1)

The Tearings (The Tearings #1) by V.C. Repetto
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Release Date: November 22, 2013
Buy Links:

Amazon

Book Description:

From the moment the black vans appear to take the sick away, Maya knows there is something wrong. A high school sophomore, she seems to be the only one to question the sudden disappearances at school and the masks everyone is forced to wear to keep from catching the new disease spreading through the entire United States. Even when word of the new “healing centers” reaches the public, no one dares to ask what is happening.

But when Maya catches the disease, the one they call The Tearings, and is taken to one of these centers along with her mother, the truth becomes all too clear. She is separated from her family and forced to work, becoming one of the more fortunate ones who is not sent to the testing wings. Bullied by the guards to the point of death, she meets David Summers, the enigmatic young Captain who appears to loathe his position of power in the camp and who seems as drawn to Maya as she is to him.

When Maya suddenly becomes the disease’s only survivor, she must put her trust on David to find a way to escape the camp and get the truth, and the cure coursing through her veins, out to the world.

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Holy crap this book was terrifying!

Okay, okay not terrifying, but seriously freaky. The Tearings follows 16-year-old Maya as a deadly virus strikes her home town and then spreads across the U.S. When Maya catches the disease and gets taken by the black vans and forced into one of the many “healing center” it’s only a matter of time before the disease claims her.

But when Maya suddenly becomes the disease’s only survivor, she must put her trust on David, the man running the healing center, to find a way to escape the camp and get the truth, and the cure coursing through her veins, out to the world.

I absolutely loved this book. It took me two days to read because I had to keep putting it down, not because the book wasn’t awesome, but because it kept freaking me out! The plot is so realistic with everything that goes on in today’s world with biochemical warfare and such that I can absolutely see some disease getting unleashed on the world and American citizens being totally unprepared for it.

The really scary part is the government reaction to everything. The way they swooped in and basically took kids to concentration camp like places made me want to cry. The fact that no one asked any questions or even tried to find out where all the sick people were disappearing made my heart hurt because I honestly feel like if something like this happened people would do exactly that.

I love how strong Maya’s character is though. The way she stood up for herself after being bullied by some of the other kids and the way she stood up for Tom was just brilliant! At first I was so annoyed that she wouldn’t stand up for herself, but after getting sent into isolation she came out a new person and I really liked that about her.

And oh my god, her connection with both Tom and David were so palpable that I can’t seem to choose who I like more! Am I Team Tom or Team David??? I don’t know. Can I be both? I seriously loved the entire premise of this book. I hated the soldiers because they were terrible people, but it gave the book that extra push it needed to be supremely frightening.

There is nothing scarier than realistic issues. We’ve seen the government get out of control in history and we’ve seen what people can ignore to protect themselves throwing that all together in one book made for a fast paced and exciting read. I would highly recommend The Tearings to any of my fellow reviewers and readers. Excellent read!

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Author Bio:

When not planning how to survive the next plague and/or apocalypse, I like to submerge myself in as many Victorian Gothic novels as I can find. It is quite fun in my head, actually, between all the moldy lace and gas masks. I am an avid quilter and cross-stitcher, who longs one day to buy a weaving loom. I live in house much too small for all my pets.

I live in a land far, far away, where people have begun disappearing from their houses and the blackest of vans have been roaming the streets. You are welcome to stay for a bit, if you're brave, though I should warn you, a cold has been making the rounds..

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