Burn Out

Burn Out by Kristi Helvig 5 STARS

Synopsis-

Most people want to save the world; seventeen-year-old Tora Reynolds just wants to get the hell off of it. One of the last survivors in Earth's final years, Tora yearns to escape the wasteland her planet has become after the sun turns "red giant," but discovers her fellow survivors are even more deadly than the hostile environment.

Holed up in an underground shelter, Tora is alone--her brilliant scientist father murdered, her mother and sister burned to death. She dreams of living on a planet with oceans, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, the oceans dried out ages ago, the only plants are giant cacti with deadly spines, and her pet, Trigger, is a gun--one of the bio-energetic weapons her father created for the government before his conscience kicked in. 
When family friend, Markus, arrives with mercenaries to take the weapons by force, Tora's fury turns to fear when government ships descend in an attempt to kill them all. She forges an unlikely alliance with Markus and his rag-tag group of raiders, including a smart but quiet soldier named James. Tora must quickly figure out who she can trust, as she must choose between saving herself by giving up the guns or honoring her father's request to save humanity from the most lethal weapons in existence.

*I was provided an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Overall-

Jessica Stroup as Tora

Holy cow! I DEVOURED this book. And now Im upset. Not only is it over. But theres another book, that is not coming out any time soon.  This is one of the best books of the year. Debut author Kristi Helvig did a spectacular job of intertwining dystopian and sic-fi. The twists and turns in the novel really kept me going. Even though the book is told over the course of only a few days, a great deal occurs during this time. I absolutely LOVE the main character Tora. She is so feisty, sarcastic and one tough girl. It was a mix of Almost Girl (tough) and ? (sarcasm and humor). 

James- Aaron Tveit

I also really enjoyed the chemistry she had with the different characters and the ever changing dynamics. The author really did a good job of keeping Tora in character, and keeping everything genuine (obviously we're 300 years in the future so realistic isn't the right word, though given the timing its possible, but genuine in the sense where it never felt like Tora was being random or not herself, she remained her sarcastic un-trusting self throughout regardless of emotions and the ever changing nature of the world she was surviving.

Candice Accola as Britta

The author did a fantastic job of world building, I could truly picture this burnt out world. The author merged current issues with the foreseable issues and created quite the landscape and background plot. I was inspired and in awe of how natural this book felt and how easy it was to follow Tora on her journey.

Marcua- Grey Damon 

I absolutely loved Tora. She is one kick ass girl. I loved her narration, it was completely on point. A lot of authors get this part wrong, putting too much emphasis on the hormonal emotions which "takeover" and never mentioning the issue. Instead, Tora recognizes her hormones and frequently chastises herself for those feelings, constantly reminding herself whats at stake, but in such a manner that it feels completely normal, and natural. I also love her quirky, sarcastic and tough girl attitude. I appreciate that she at least has quite a few reasons to feel so pessimistic and to be untrusting of others. I felt connected to Tora as the main character, which is often hard to do. She was smarty and witty, but had to make so pretty tough decisions. I honestly am mad at myself for reading this because the next book is not even close to being out yet and Im dying to finish!!!!

Dustin Milligan as Alec

I also really enjoyed James, the way that Tora gets close to him and then struggles with her thoughts, knowledge, emotions, hormones and the end of the world as she knows it! A lot for one girl to deal with. But I like that her and James build a quasi relationship but that she doesnt just throw all her eggs into one basket, she is still weary and doubtful, she is still cautious which I think is important, that makes the book more about the journey than the love story.

Mike Colter- Kale 

The supporting characters were also really amazing. I loved each of them in a different way! I couldnt get enough of the sarcasm and banter between all the different characters. Each one had their own personality. The author manages to create very distinct pictures of these characters and remain true to the world they live in, providing background as well as current story lines so that the reader can really connect with each one. Every moment had such purpose, and drive for moving the book and story forward.
Im so sad to be finished with this book! And I seriously cant wait till the next. Its a mixture of Hunger Games with an element of science fiction that really grabs you and you dont want it to end!

FINAL VERDICT --- LOVE IT.