Swipe by Evan Angler - Review for NovelTeen

Everyone gets the Mark. It gives all the benefits of citizenship. Yet if getting the Mark is such a good thing, then why does it feel so wrong?

Set in a future North America that is struggling to recover after famine and global war, Swipe follows the lives of three kids caught in the middle of a conflict they didn’t even know existed. United under a charismatic leader, every citizen of the American Union is required to get the Mark on their 13th birthday in order to gain the benefits of citizenship. 

The Mark is a tattoo that must be swiped by special scanners for everything from employment to transportation to shopping. It’s almost Logan Langly’s 13th birthday and he knows he should be excited about getting the Mark, but he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling he’s being watched. Not since his sister went to get her Mark five years ago . . . and never came back.

When Logan and his friends discover the truth behind the Mark, will they ever be able to go back to being normal teenagers? Find out in the first book of this exciting series that is Left Behind meets Matched for middle-grade readers.


First off, I loved this book! It was excellently paced with action and mystery.  It had a simple, easy to follow plot that neverless kept readers intrigued.  I read it in a single day.

It did set you up well for book 2 and I will definitely be getting it when it comes out.  Most of the loose ends were tied up though I feel the ending could have been a bit more explained.  I suppose it leaves more mystery for the next book.

In all, Swipe was an excellent book, deserving of a 4 out of 5 stars.

Other reviewers:
ADD Librarian • Blooming with Books • The Book Fae • Book Nook 4 You • Bookworm Reading • Books I Recommend • Christian Book Review Blog • CTF Devourer • Fiction Fire • Jill Williamson • Labor Not in Vain • Maniacal Bookworm • My Story Shelf • Oh, Restless Bird • The Pen and Parchment • Reviews by Jane • Shadow Writer World

Evan's Website:
http://www.evanangler.com/



I reviewed this book for Team Novel Teen and I received the book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers.  The opinions expressed are entirely my own, however.

Abigail :)


 

Guest Post by Evan Angler

Why Differ?

by Evan Angler

 

We live in a world where things can be easy. Tablet computers that fit in our pockets and make calls for us and tell us where we are. Globalized digital networks that connect us effortlessly, all the time. Modern medicine that works wonders. News that arrives the moment it happens. Food that stays fresh forever.

 

This isn’t science fiction. This is reality. And in the American Union, all you need—for any of it—is the Mark.

 

So what’s wrong with that? The Pledge unifies us, does it not? Just as its Mark protects us? No one could argue that it hasn’t brought us together, that it hasn’t created peace . . . that our allegiance to the Chancellor hasn’t bound us and given common ground from which all our ideas and ideologies may grow. Together. Compatibly.

 

After the years of slaughter, after the decades of political and environmental devastation that forced more and more of us to fight over less and less land, water, food . . . was this unity not a welcome change for all of us?

 

It isn’t even compulsory. No one has to Pledge. But who wouldn’t? In the years since its implementation, the Mark has rightfully become the capstone of a childhood well spent, the crowning achievement in a young man’s or woman’s life, the opened door to citizenship, adulthood, independence . . .

 

Every schoolchild knows that in the wake of the Total War, this Mark has become the very symbol of our commitment to patriotism and peace. It is the constant reminder of our loftiest intentions.

 

To be Markless is to reject these ideals. To be Markless is to be different.

 

So why would anyone choose to be different? In a world of absolutes, of black and white, of right and wrong, why would anyone choose “wrong”?

 

My name is Evan Angler. I may have answers to these questions. But I can’t risk writing them. Not here. Not on the Internet, for anyone to see.

 

And you wouldn’t risk reading them.

 

But if you are determined . . . if you are determined to learn the truth, no matter the cost, then what I can tell you is this: I’ve put what I know onto paper. Old-fashioned, obsolete—paper. Where it can’t be copied and pasted with the stroke of a stylus, where it can’t be sent around the world at the press of a button, where it can’t be recorded and stored forever in a million irretrievable pieces across cyberspace and time for any watchful eye to see. Paper is intimate. It is between you and me. It is fragile. It can be destroyed.

 

And when you find it, if you find it . . . once you’ve read it . . . I do encourage you to destroy it.

 

Swipe is the first volume in the chronicles of Logan Langly, Erin Arbitor, and the Dust. Their account is dangerous; the information within it is forbidden.

 

I wrote their story for everyone. But if you are not yet thirteen, if you have not yet Pledged to the Chancellor in exchange for his Mark of citizenship, if you have not yet made that choice to conform to given definitions of what may be easy and what may be “right” . . . then I have written this story especially for you.

 

For I’m not ashamed to tell you that I’m still afraid of the dark. And if you too have ever turned out the light only to feel that tinge of panic, that inkling that someone, somewhere, might possibly be watching . . . I’m here to tell you that they are.

 

At its heart, Swipe is a book about friendship against the odds. It’s a book about a group of boys and girls who stick together to stand up for one another and for what they believe in.

 

But why would they choose to be different? Why would they choose “wrong”?

 

Are you ready to learn the truth?

 

 

 

Evan Angler is the author of Swipe, which is a wonderful book!  I will be posting a review for it along with the Team Novel Teen blog tour group on June 25th, so stay tuned :)

Abigail

Making Your Idea Unique

Most writers run into this problem at one time or another.  Thousands of books and published each year, with their own plot, so sometimes it seems like every idea in the world is taken.

Even if you come up with a new idea, when you sit down to write it, it starts to follow book you've read.  Or the plot elements are the same.  Or setting is the same.  Or the characters act alike.  Or...


The question is:
What makes your story different?  And how can you make that evident in the story?

I've run into this problem before.  When I finished the rough draft of my book The Golden Pegasus, I sent it out to several people.  Almost everyone liked it, but one of the main responses was "this book is too much like ___".  I struggled for a while trying to think of how I could make it different. I knew my idea was different.  My main character was different and her challenges in life were different.  The setting was a different, but there were a few details that kept it from being completely my own story.

But before you can make a story different from what people think it is similar to, you need to do a few things.
 
1. Re-read the book that your story is being compared to.  Find how it is alike your story and why.

2. Identify what needs to be changed in order to make your book completely unique.  Then change it.

3. Don't be afraid to change the plot or setting or characters in order to make your book stand on its own, without others' ideas influencing it.

4. It's always good to have someone else (besides you) read over it and tell you what they think.  Truth is, you'll always find how your book is different.  Others reading it will probably find how it is similar.  Critique can be hard to handle, but it's always valuable.

Most of all, keep writing.  Some ideas might not be the best, but more ideas will come.  Comment and let me know how you try to make your idea original and unique :)

When to Pause

So I've finally done it.  I've hit the wall mid-way through the third book of the series.  Usually, I don't hit a wall this hard and fast, but this time it was dead on.

The plot was rising and falling perfectly, characters were developing and conflict was arising.  Basically, the entire book was coming alone perfectly and then, bam, the wall appeared and I ran right into it.  Usually I can tell when it's coming.  My progress will slow down or I'll write without plot.  This time, however, I thought it was doing great.  And it was- until now.

My point by all of this is that, as a writer, we need to know when to stop on a WIP (work in progress).  Yes, we should push ourselves and work hard to finish what we've started. But, if we push too hard, we burn out.  Burning out is much worse than pausing for a little while to catch your breath before you keep working.  So what do you do when you hit the wall?

1. Take a break from writing.  This sounds kind of lame and quitter-ish, but it helps sometimes.  When you do this, it helps to read a lot of good books, especially ones in the same genre.  They can help you think up new ideas to continue that WIP.

2. Start something else.  Sometimes getting new ideas from your head and into writing helps clear your head when you get back to writing that WIP.

There are a lot of other things you can do, but I think those work the best for stepping back and starting to climb the wall.  One thing that you don't want to do it go back and edit.  It just depresses you more, to see how bad the first draft of a book really is.

So what do you do when you hit a wall? Push through it? Take a break? Leave a comment and let me know :)

My World

I decided to make this blog because I love to write and I want to share that with the world.  No, I'm not published but I don't think it matters because I haven't given up. And I won't until I accomplish my dreams.

So who am I? Well, I like to play piano and guitar and write. And write. And write.  I usually don't suffer from writer's block.  My problem is not having enough time

I'll try to share some of my tips and ideas for writing on this blog, but it will mainly just be me, blogging about my journey through life and the writing world...

Thank you for taking time to read this post and remember- don't hesitate to write and share your ideas with the world :)