Colony East Blog Tour: Review

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Scott Cramer's Colony East, organized by CBB Book Promotions! I have a review of the novel for you today, and don't forget to enter the giveaway below for your chance to win an Amazon gift card and eBooks of Colony East and the first book in the series, Night of the Purple Moon. You can follow the rest of the tour by checking out the schedule.

Colony East (The Toucan Trilogy #2)
By Scott Cramer
Publication Date: October 2013
Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo | Goodreads

* A copy was provided for review for the blog tour.

Synopsis: In a terrifying world where an epidemic has killed off most of the world's adults, fifteen-year-old Abby struggles to keep her brother and sister safe.

When a new, deadly disease spreads among the survivors, Abby must make the dangerous journey to Colony East, an enclave of hidden scientists caring for a small group of children for reasons unknown.

Abby fears that time is running short for the victims, but she's soon to learn that time is running out for everyone outside Colony East.

Review: Wow—what an impressive follow-up Scott Cramer has written to Night of the Purple Moon! Colony East handily casts aside any doubts about Second Book Syndrome, hitting all the right notes in terms of plot and character development. The best part is, the novel accomplishes both of these things without falling back on dystopian tropes, which I’ve seen happen once too often with series in the genre.

Colony East literally ventures into new territory, with parts of the story taking place a distance away from Castine Island. I thought changing up the setting was absolutely brilliant; it allowed us to see how other survivors were coping with the fallout of the comet that decimated the adult population in Night of the Purple Moon. Being a former New Yorker, I was thrilled to discover that New York City was one of the new locales, though the book’s depiction of the city is quite startling. The Navy and the CDC have teamed up to build a future for the children left behind in the comet’s wake. To this end, New York has been turned into Colony East, a highly organized operations hub that selectively chooses who is allowed within its walls. The kids are sorted into companies and put on a daily regimen, as if they were soldiers. While the living conditions in Colony East may be better than those outside of it, trusting its leaders without question poses its own kind of danger, something that Abby learns all too harshly.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget how young Abby and Jordan are, given how quickly they’ve had to basically become adults, or at least act like adults and make adult decisions. Sister and brother continue to demonstrate a remarkable amount of maturity here; even little Toucan is growing up fast. Once again, the Leigh siblings are tested by extreme circumstances, and once again, they more than meet the challenges. I really have to admire Abby’s determination to help everyone and anyone; she’s just this incredibly good young lady with a huge heart. That’s not to say that Jordan is some sort of bad guy because he definitely isn’t. I think he has a more pragmatic perspective on life whereas Abby tends to look for the positive aspects in a situation first. All personality differences between the two are forgotten, of course, during times of adversity, and at this point in the trilogy, the Leighs have become experts at getting through them.

I applaud Scott Cramer for so skillfully broadening the scope of the story that began in Night of the Purple Moon. Colony East not only expands the world, but it also turns up the intensity and action a few good notches. Considering how fantastic this sequel was, I can’t wait to see what the next book, Generation M, has in store for its readers.

All in All: I’ve been very picky about the dystopians I’ve read this year, but this one was a must-read, and I was not disappointed in the least.

About Scott Cramer

Scott Cramer has written feature articles for national magazines, covered school committee meetings for a local newspaper, published haiku and poetry, optioned a screenplay, and produced customer reference accounts for a big computer company. His pursuit of a good story has put him behind the stick of an F-18, flying a Navy Blue Angels’ fighter jet, and he has trekked through the Peruvian mountains in search of an ancient Quechua festival featuring a condor. He is the author of Night of the Purple Moon and Colony East. Scott and his wife have two daughters and reside outside Lowell, Massachusetts (birthplace of Jack Kerouac) in an empty nest/zoo/suburban farm/art studio with too many surfboards in the garage.

Find Scott Cramer:

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Author Interview with Scott Cramer

Today I'm excited to welcome Scott Cramer, author of Night of the Purple Moon, to the blog. You can read my review of this young adult dystopian novel here. The Kindle edition of Night of the Purple Moon is available for free download from Amazon today! US readers can click here, and UK readers can click here.

Welcome to Rally The Readers, Scott! Thanks for answering a few questions today. First, what inspired you to write Night of the Purple Moon?

I wanted to write a story that people of all ages would enjoy and in the end would inspire them.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and Homecoming by Cynthia Voight are two novels I really like. In each book the young main characters faced incredible odds and took dangerous journeys.

In thinking about NOPM, I wanted to increase the odds and raise the stakes. Rather than have one or both parents die, what if all parents die? What if the electricity stops and there is no more running water? What if all the survivors have a ticking bomb inside them, the act of growing up; puberty becomes a death sentence.

That is a gut-wrenching, perilous situation for young teens and children to find themselves in, and that is the germ of the idea that led to my writing Night of the Purple Moon.

Did you base any of the characters on people you know in real life?

Every character starts out with elements of people I know, and perhaps even elements of my personality.

But that’s just to get me started. Perhaps like an artist doing a rough sketch with a pencil.

The more I explore the characters the more they take on lives of their own. You know you have succeeded in creating a strong, three-dimensional character when as a writer you start to guide them, rather than dictate what they should do. They take over and very often surprise you with their decision making.

What is your favorite scene in the novel?

I don’t want to give anything away, but I am very proud of a tender scene I wrote with Jordan and his mom that takes place toward the end. There is also a 20-page sequence that involves Toucan. I spent a long time working on it and I think it came out really well. Many people have reported they needed a box of tissues for that part of the book.

Which character did you find easiest to write about? Most difficult?

Actually, they were one in the same: Abby Leigh, my main character. It was difficult because I am not a 13-year old girl, but it was easy because I have two daughters.

In the early stages of writing about Abby, I asked my two daughters lots of questions about puberty and growing up. It wasn’t long before they got used to my questions.

And then, as so often happens when creating characters, Abby took on a life of her own. I no longer needed to ask people questions or do Google research. Abby told me what she wanted to do, how she would act . . . .

If you were one of the kids on Castine Island, what would your survival plan have been?

There is an equal chance I would have done one of these two things.

A) I would have panicked and found a boat, sail or motor, and ventured immediately to the mainland. Knowing what I know, though, that would have been a big mistake, because as difficult as things were on Castine Island, life on the mainland was even more chaotic.
B) I would have tried to plan ahead, way ahead. The catastrophic epidemic took place in April. On the island, there would have been plenty of food during the summer. I would have looked ahead to the winter and thought, what do we need to store for the lean months.

The ending of Night of the Purple Moon perfectly sets up a sequel. Will there be one, and if so, can you divulge any details about it?

I can divulge that I am diligently at work on a sequel and that the title is ‘Colony East.’ More than that? Hmmm, I better follow my instincts and say the story will have to speak for itself.

And now for the obligatory random questions:

Favorite color?

My favorite color is turquoise. But I have an admission to make. I am definitely not color blind, but I have what I would describe as “color amnesia.” If you asked me right now, “Scott, what is the color of your living room wall?” I couldn’t tell you. I would have to guess.

But it’s not as bad as it might seem. Whatever energy/molecules missing in the part of my brain that deals with color, all went to increase my sense of smell. I have an incredible, almost genius ability to detect subtle odors. Sight to the eagle is like an olfactory ability to me.

Once in a while I see on television a person who works for a perfume maker whose job is to smell perfume. I could do that, I think. In fact, I would love to do that, make money with my nose.

One time a woman stepped out of a car 30 yards away. A gentle breeze was blowing my way. I said, “excuse me, but are you wearing L’air du Temps?” She was!

Favorite ice cream flavor?

Mocha chip.

Favorite place to write?

Holed up in my small office in my house, shades drawn, with Misty-Duck (our cat) and a cup of cold black coffee by my side.

Book you’d take with you to a desert island?

One of those 1000-page plus Russian novels by Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky.

Thanks again for your time today, Scott! I really appreciate it!

Find Scott Cramer:
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Review: Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer

Night of the Purple Moon (The Toucan Trilogy #1)
By Scott Cramer
Publisher: Train Renoir Publishing

* A copy was provided by the author for review.

To Sum It Up:

Like everyone else on Castine Island, a small community in Maine, thirteen-year-old Abby Leigh is anticipating the comet that is supposed to turn the moon purple. The comet’s space dust does indeed create a violet moon and sky, but it also produces unforeseen, and devastating, consequences. Germs in the space dust attack the hormones of anyone who has gone through puberty, decimating Earth’s adult population. Abby and her brother Jordan must band together with the other remaining kids on the island and find a way to survive without the grown-ups. They can only hope that a cure becomes available before they enter adolescence themselves and fall victim to the pathogens, too.

Review:

Night of the Purple Moon is a harrowing dystopian novel that is both inspiring and heartbreaking. It’s hard to imagine waking up the morning after watching a comet streak through the sky and finding out that all of the adults have died. This is exactly what happens to Abby Leigh and her siblings, twelve-year-old Jordan and two-year-old Toucan (real name: Lisette), though, and the ensuing story of survival kept me glued to the page. The pacing was spot-on, and I became engrossed in the Castine Island survivors’ efforts to stay alive as they waited for a cure.

The way in which the kids form an organized society is very impressive without seeming implausible. In fact, the novel maintains its sense of realism throughout. Scenes involving the burial of the dead at sea are balanced with lighter scenes, like the surprise party that’s arranged for those sharing the same birthday month. There’s even an ice cream machine that the group’s resident genius, Kevin Patel, manages to get working; I couldn’t help but love geeky Kevin. This picture of a bunch of kids enjoying a day at the bowling alley eating ice cream and cake reminds you that they are still kids, even though the rest of the time they’re working a farm, taking care of the younger children, and disposing of the adult bodies. Everyone on this island has to grow up fast, but it happens at a rate that is convincing.

I thought that the characters were well-developed, and Cramer did an excellent job making the dialogue sound authentic for twelve and thirteen-year-olds. Abby is a selfless, natural leader and a big reason why the Castine Island survivors work together and avoid the chaos on the mainland that is seen later in the book. Her brother Jordan possesses some fine leadership skills of his own, and when the Leigh siblings embark on a dangerous mission together, they must continue to tap into the courage and resolve that they’ve demonstrated all along. Just when you think these two can’t possibly give anymore than they already have, they somehow find the strength to press on. The last few chapters were absolutely riveting, and I couldn’t read them fast enough.

There are a lot of dystopians to choose from these days, but Night of the Purple Moon distinguishes itself with its unique premise and strong, determined characters. I think that middle grade readers would easily connect with Abby, Jordan, Kevin, and the others. Dystopian fans of any age will want to check this one out. The ending hints strongly at a sequel, which I’ll definitely read.

All in All:

How much I enjoy a dystopian novel depends a lot on how believable the world is. The world of Night of the Purple Moon is well thought-out, and I completely bought into it. This was a quick but absorbing read that is also a good introduction to the genre for anyone who hasn’t tried it before.

The Kindle edition of Night of the Purple Moon is available for free download until September 12! Click here to get your copy now!

Check out the blog tomorrow for my interview with author Scott Cramer!