Book & Author Details:

The Colony by Kathleen Groger
(A Rasper Novel, #1)
Publication date: April 5th 2016
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Synopsis:
Trust no one.
Never go out in the dark.
Always have a weapon.
Sixteen-year-old Val lives by these three rules etched on her arm. Her rules and her gun are the only things standing between her and assimilation by hordes of human-looking aliens she calls Raspers.
By day, Val gathers supplies. By night, she hides and wishes she could go back in time…before her family died…before the annihilation…before the Raspers began stalking her and demanding she join their collective.
But when the Raspers attack in broad daylight, the truth becomes startlingly clear.
They’re evolving.
A fellow survivor crashes into Val’s life. Adam’s full of charm and promises—like rumors of a safe haven—but there’s something wrong. He’s survived with no supplies, no weapons…no plans. Time is running out. With the formula for survival shifting around her, Val must decide how many rules she’s willing to break to escape the Colony.


Purchase:
The Colony is a young adult sci-fi story that has a Walking Dead meets V (or a similar type show) feel to it, and I have to say, it's one of my favorite reads of 2016. I couldn't put it down!

We have Val, the main character. She's 16, all alone, and trying to survive in a world that's gone to hell in a handbasket. She has rules she lives by, like don't go out at night and don't trust anyone. It isn't until she's out scavenging that she realizes those rules are no longer going to save her.

Saved by Adam, Val knows she shouldn't trust him. But what choice does she have? She lets her guard down enough to stick with him, but tells herself she can take him out if need be.

It isn't until Val and Adam meet up with a couple of other survivors that things start to go downhill very quickly. Hiding and trying to survive isn't enough anymore. The Raspers, as Val calls them, are not only hunting them, but evolving enough to seem almost human. Almost...

When the truth about the Raspers, and everything else that seems to be going on around Val and Adam, is revealed, things really get out of control. You'll just have to read the book to see what I mean.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed The Colony. It has action, suspense, a really horrific scene involving one of the characters, and lots of sci-fi/dystopian-esque stuff going on. The plot moves at a relentless pace, pushing you towards the ending, which will leave you eager and anxious for more. It's one of those edge-of-your-seat reads that you won't be able to put down or stop thinking about once you finish.

The characters, Val and Adam, are likable enough. Val gets a bit frustrating at times, but it's understandable why she acts the way she does. And Adam, with all his secrets, is still a good person who only wants to help. The government, of course, is the "bad guy" in the story. The Raspers, however, are a different story. They're pretty unique. I can definitely say I like how they're not really human, not really zombies, and not really alien. They're just sort of a mish-mash of all three of those things.

I'd rate The Colony 5 stars. It's well deserved, and I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys young adult sci-fi with a slight twist.




AUTHOR BIO:
Kathleen wrote her first story in elementary school about a pegasus named Sir Lancelot. It had no plot or conflict, but it sparked a dream. After serving a fifteen-year sentence in retail management, the bulk in big box bookstores, she turned her love of reading into a full-time career writing dark and haunting characters and stories.

She lives by the mantra that a day is not complete without tea. Lots of tea. Kathleen lives in Ohio with her husband, two boys, and two attention-demanding dogs. When not writing or editing or revising, you can find her reading, cooking, spending time with her family, or photographing abandoned buildings.


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