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Thursday, July 17, 2014

Review: Some Fine Day by Kat Ross

Read from July 5 to July 10, 2014
Book: Some Fine Day by Kat Ross
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Number of Pages: 384
Genre/s: Young Adult, Dystopia
Source: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

Sixteen-year-old Jansin Nordqvist is on the verge of graduating from the black ops factory known as the Academy. She's smart and deadly, and knows three things with absolute certainty: 

1. When the world flooded and civilization retreated deep underground, there was no one left on the surface. 
2. The only species to thrive there are the toads, a primate/amphibian hybrid with a serious mean streak. 
3. There's no place on Earth where you can hide from the hypercanes, continent-sized storms that have raged for decades.

Jansin has been lied to. On all counts. - (source)

In this dystopian world, a deadly heat wave followed by devastating superstorms called hypercanes, and flooding forced humanity to live underground to survive. Not all was given the opportunity to evacuate and many were left to die on the surface. The surface of the Earth became a hostile place where hypercanes can ravaged at any moment and toadslethal, human-like amphibiansare a threat. No one should have survived. But they were proven wrong when a trip outside the surface went wrong. Jansin Nordqvist, our protagonist, was left stranded and captured by a clan. Not only was she to withstand the harshness of nature, but she also needs to survive living with people on the surface.

Dystopian novels are sprouting like mushrooms these days and while some barely clings to existence by their genre alone, Some Fine Day is a stand-outwildly kicking, and boasting a story that will enthrall even the most jaded dystopian reader.

I could tell that a lot of research has gone into creating this dystopian world, and I tip my hats off to Ross for handling deftly the story's plot. As a picky reader, I appreciated all the minute details that went into making this world as believable as possible. As mentioned, the plot has a lot going for it. It's so deliciously jam-packed and while I was reading, it was exciting to think about all the different possibilities Some Fine Day could explore. 

But without doubt, Some Fine Day brought to life some of the best characters I've ever read in the dystopian genre. I felt such a strong bond with Jansin. She's strong, brave, resourceful and intelligent. She also proved time and again that she can kick-ass and I have witness this so many times. Will is this character that I thought I could disregard but he grew on me like every other character we met on the surface. I'm tempted to describe him as Jansin's love interest, but that would do him a great disservice because he's clearly more than that. Jansin and Will together makes my heart sing. And as enemies became friends, it just fills me with so much affection for every people on the surface. I was so heartbroken to know what had happened to some of them and I'm scared to know what might have happened to the others.

The one thing that threw me off was the ending. I really wish it didn't end that way, so I could at least hope that Jansin and Will are in a better place for a while, as I wait to (hopefully) get my hands on the (still non-existing) next installment. It leaves the reader in a cliffhangerish ending, but I think it could also pass as a stand-alone ending. I am not sure what it is. I felt slightly cheated. I am so lost right now. 

Some Fine Day is a remarkable debut. It has all I want from a dystopian novel: substantial world-building, compelling characters, a pacing with a good build-up that leads into a thrilling, nonstop action. I implore you to read this outstanding novel as soon as you can. Some Fine Day deserves to be read, loved and devoured.

Cupid's Verdict:
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4.5 Cupids
A copy was provided by the publisher at no cost via Netgalley
in exchange for an honest review.

20 comments:

  1. Ooh, this sounds so good! It's so exciting to pick up a dystopian and to find that it's so well done! And heart-singing romance? That's all I ever ask for! :) I'm curious to see what happens with all of Strange Chemistry's books now, too. Great review! :)

    Rachel @ Paper Cuts

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    1. Thanks, Rachel! I am curious too! This book needs a sequel so I really hope the book/series will find a new good home.

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  2. I'll admit, the cover's a huge turn-off for me. ;P And the title doesn't really match the cover for me, so that led this to my TBR's "odd" section.

    Jasin sounds like a fantastic heroine. Strong and intelligent heroines are much needed in more YA books today. I'd definitely love to read about her. I also really love it when authors put so much work into making their stories realistic. I'll definitely be looking out for this one, Sarah!

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    1. I think the cover will work once you read the book because it clicked for me. :) Jansin is fantastic! I hope you'll love this as well, Aimee! :)

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  3. I haven't read a dystopian for awhile to honest with you, and I agree that right now there are just way too many books out there that uses the dystopian genre very loosely. I'm glad that this book can actually be called a proper dystopian with it's world-building and characters. I really don't mind the open ending, I'm more forgiving about this with this genre. I will definitely check this out Sarah, maybe I'll check if it's still available in NetGalley even. Lovely review! :)

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    1. Thanks Amir! :) I am so glad that this showcases a dystopian done well. I must say that no matter how many "bad" dystopian I read, I always have this urge to read another because what if it's the next best thing? :D

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  4. Well, this is very encouraging to hear! I would say I am one of those jaded dystopian people. I just seems like we've seen everything at this point and it's pretty rare that any dystopian WOWs me. This one - minus the ending - sounds pretty fantastic! But oh, what does it mean for this series anyway that Angry Robot put the kibosh on Strange Chemistry and all of its authors? Hopefully this series will get picked up by another publisher because it really does sound like it has a lot to offer.

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    1. This needs to be picked up by another publisher, Aylee, because I just can't with that ending. *wails*

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  5. I completely agree! I felt that this one was a great dystopian that would surely stand out from many others!
    I'm seriously crossing my fingers so this book will be published and we'll get a sequel!!

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  6. I just love the idea behind this book -- and the cover's awesome, too, though a bit too generic in my opinion (seriously, an eye is all they can come up with?). But I'm glad that here is FINALLY a book that was an awesome as the blurb advertised. Like you said, with all the dystopian novels popping up these days, it takes a lot more to impress.

    I always feel like dystopians that are realistic are much more impactful because it shows that THIS could actually happen. So I love that the author put so much research and effort into this -- sounds like it lived up to a lot of the potential the world presented. And yay for good characters, too! I'm so happy that Jansin wasn't one of those kickass but emotionless heroines we're seeing so often nowadays.

    "I'm tempted to describe him as Jansin's love interest, but that would do him a great disservice because he's clearly more than that." -- Is it bad that I'm actually kind of glad that the "love interest" wasn't actually a love interest? It's great that this book doesn't only focus on the romance, and yes to a boy who isn't there to create romantic drama. I'm really curious about this big role of his!

    The only thing is that ending. Kind of reminds me of Requiem by Lauren Oliver -- the ending was really open-ended, but after hearing why Lauren left it that way, it kind of made sense. Doesn't mean I was happy with it, though. I really don't like cliffies/open endings. But endings aside, I'm definitely interested in checking this out now! It didn't interest me before because of the cover, but hopefully I'll get the chance to read it.

    Fab review, Sarah! :)

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    1. It think it's not actually generic, Meg. It actually tells a lot about the story once you read the book. I also think it's a refreshing change to have a white-washed cover. I think it would stand-out on my nonexisting shelf. See how much I liked this book, I'm defending it. Hehe!

      And yes to everything! It's not bad to think of the love interest that way. I think he would love to be separated from that description. XD

      I hope with all hopes that you'll read this Meg and thank you so much. You know I always love your comments.

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  7. Its so awesome that you got to love this book! I'm having a hard time reading some dystopian novels lately tho, I wonder if this will be something that would change that! :D

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    1. I guess we'll find out once you read this Jules! :)

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  8. While dystopian books are sprouting like mushrooms, only a few have been given love by me. In 2012, all I've ever really read were books from this genré. I'm glad this worked out for you, even though the ending wasn't satisfactory. At least overall, it was good. And the fact that the author did some research to make the book work is something that she can be proud of. Fantastic review!

    ~ Dre @ Sporadic Reads

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    1. Thanks Dre. I think this is the best dystopian I've read this year. :)

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  9. Best characters you've read in the dystopian genre? Wow, that's really high praise! It's been a long while since I've read a dystopian that would really get the wheels in my head turning, so I think I'll give this one the attention it deserves. I have it as an eARC, but I'm afraid I've been rather... slacking, lately... so I haven't gotten to it yet *hides*. BUT THAT WILL CHANGE, I PROMISE! Also, it's a dystopia about the environment! I don't think I've read anything about that before.

    Faye at The Social Potato Reviews

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    1. Yes, Faye. I hope you read it and like it as much as I did. :)

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  10. Ahh! I'm so glad that you highly praised the characters in this book. It's always awesome to have fantastic badass characters in a dystopia! Everyone has been raving about this book for a long time, and I think that it's my turn to join in! Awesome review! The world building sounds awesome.

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    1. Every thing is awesome in this dystopia, so I hope you'll try to read this as soon as you can, Michelle! :)

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