Strikers

De: Ann Christy

Narrado por: Teri Schnaubelt

One hundred and twelve years after the fall, the Republic of Texas is built on two foundations: total freedom and total responsibility. A law broken means a strike against the lawbreaker. Five strikes means execution. The only hope for the law breaker is to escape Texas - to go Striker - before justice comes for them.

Sixteen-year-old Karas Quick has never had it easy. The daughter of a Striker and an alcoholic mother, she's gotten everything she has the hard way; even the strike on her neck. Yet try as Karas might to stay above-board with the authorities, there are some things you just can't plan for.

Like seeing the face of her long-lost father paraded through the town square in chains.

In the blink of an eye, Karas' life changes forever. Potential strikes be damned, she has to see her father one last time. What she discovers propels her upon an unimaginable journey, one she can only hope she'll survive.

Age 14 and up.

©2014, 2015 Ann Christy (P)2015 Ann Christy

An enjoyable listen.

In this world that the author has created, Texas is ruled with an iron fist. Each act of defiance or law breaking gets you one tattoo, or strike, on you neck for all to see. It's a case of 5 strikes and you're out!! You are sentenced to death! One day while Kara is watching the parade of wrong doers, she sees someone she knows can't be real. How did her father end up here after he disappeared years ago. He is considered a Striker because he escaped Texas. Why is he there?? She soon finds out the answer and along with her friends Cassi and Jovan, Kara sets out to discover the truth behind what her father said and who she is.

This was a pleasant surprise. I hadn't heard of this prior to it coming up for review so went in with no expectations. Well, I'm glad to say that I really enjoyed it. The author brings you into the story right from the start and keeps you gripped throughout. Her world building is flawless and her characters were all well developed. She explained the whole world and the back story thoroughly so I was not left hanging.

Kara was a strong willed, capable and likable character. She has a lot to deal with but does it admirably. Along with her friends, they make a great team and I loved their dynamics.

In all, this is a fast paced and entertaining read. It's the type of book where it doesn't feel like you actually reading a book, you start and next thing you know, an hour has passed in the blink of an eye. I can't wait to jump back into this world again!!

This isn't the first book I've listened to by Teri Schnaubelt and, as always, she does an amazing job. She has such an easy voice to listen to, that it will make you get lost in the book. I haven't failed to enjoy a book narrated by her yet.

Good listen even for the younger set!

What made the experience of listening to Strikers the most enjoyable?

It is so enjoyable when an author describes the different towns and cultures in towns and how hard the people have to work.

What other book might you compare Strikers to and why?

This book is as good if not better than Divergent.

Which character – as performed by Teri Schnaubelt – was your favorite?

Teri Schnaubelt did all the characters well but I loved how she read Cassie.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Does Karas make it???? Or does she find freedom????.

Any additional comments?

This is a good book for teen readers also. Just as Divergent was, adults loved that book too.

This audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge in exchange for an unbiased review.

DECENT STORY...VERY WELL NARRATED!

Would you listen to Strikers again? Why?

Ehhh maybe...its kind of long....it was interesting...and I was never bored...but its written more in the 3rd person...and I like 1st person narrative better...

What did you like best about this story?

The way these friends came together....

Have you listened to any of Teri Schnaubelt’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, and I love Teri...she is such a pleasure to listen to!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

hate this question....moving on...

Any additional comments?

** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

Karas lives in a dystopic society where your crimes are made known by marks on your neck...the laws are not straight across the board for everyone and it is basically an unfair society....One day her long lost father shows up as a prisoner, after hearing how cruel Karas's mother is to her...and Karas's life changes in the blink of an eye....

Interesting story, very well narrated and I think this is going to be a good series!

Not my cup of tea but I can see why others love it

This book was fun and I can see why a lot of people loved it but it just wasn't for me. There were a lot of parts I enjoyed, but in the end it was a bit of a let down. Let me start this review though by telling you what I did think was good in this book.

The narrator was fantastic. She did an incredible job with the story. She has a wonderful voice to listen to and delivers the narration really well. I liked her differentiation for the various characters too. Spot on narration performance.

The first person narration and the characters worked well. You really get to know the main character Karas and the author did a good job of describing how she felt in every scene. So you got a good take on that character. The other characters were fleshed out pretty well and they came across as believable. So she did a good job with her characters which could be argued is the most or one of the most important things for a fiction book.

The story world was cool and I liked seeing how different it was from our own in a sort of post-apocalyptic way, but there was much left unexplained. Part of this could be that you discover the world through the eyes of the main character and she still has a lot to learn about the world, but it left me wanting a bit more information on the world and how it worked. Still I enjoyed experiencing this story world through the main character's point of view.

The book starts out really well. I was really impressed with it. The writing was great, the emotion, the world. It was exciting and a lot of crazy things and action take place. Then when the characters set off on their adventure it's kind of one long slog until they get to a certain place. Then some great action happens, and then it's another kind of boring journey where not much happens.

This was a cool book but I feel that a lot more could have been done to make it an amazing book. There was a lot of show don't tell, or where you as a reader miss an event happening and it's explained later in dialog. Those things were a letdown to me. Also I felt like the ending did have tension, but was over way too fast and it was way too easy for them to defeat the bad guy. After he's been chasing them for pretty much the whole book you wanted a really big hard final showdown where it seems like the characters weren't going to win - but they do and it was very easy for them. They didn't have to really struggle to beat the bad guy in the final showdown scene. That was kind of the last straw for me. I was kind of bored through the book, though I did enjoy many details and little scenes and interactions between characters, and I was kind of holding out for the end of the book to wow me and sadly it did not.

It should be said that I'm a male in his thirties who loves reading action and adventure stories. While this story didn't have as much of that stuff as I would have liked it did have romance that I'm sure a lot of readers will appreciate. Like I said the author nailed the characters and their interactions between each other on their journey was done well. I just wish it would have been harder for them and that more would have happened. I think a lot of female readers will love this book, and I'm sure even a lot of male readers.

Ann Christy is a good writer and we can only expect better and better books to come from her so - would I read her next book? Yes I would. She has talent, hopefully she just works a little harder on the "dark night of the soul," "all is lost" moment in her next book.

Still a pretty good read - I think I'm just not the target audience for this one.