Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott
5/5 STARS
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopia
Author: Victoria Scott
Published: March 2014
Publisher: Chicken House
Pages: 366 {paperback}
Originally posted on Goodreads
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Initial Thoughts Upon Finishing
Um, oh my god that was amazing? This is like The Hunger Games but better. I adored this book and now I have to buy the sequel because I NEED to know what happens next. Madox and Guy are possibly the two best things created in literature, *collapses under mountain of feels*.
Fire & Flood
This book was absolutely insane. I can’t tell you enough how much I enjoyed it. But just quickly, I can’t remember if this was officially dubbed by someone as the love child of The Hunger Games and The Fault in Our Stars (or if that was just in my mind) but I’d like to interject and say ABSOLUTELY NO. There is exactly 0% of TFIOS in this sans the presence of cancer and just dismiss all thought of THG – okay? Good. Ahem. Having bought this a couple of years back and staring at it on my shelf thinking I really should read that I finally picked it up and GAH. I am kicking myself for not having picked it up sooner (I knew this would happen).
Apart from having one of the most gorgeous covers of ever, the story was more addictive than chocolate and the characters are my new best friends (I’ve decided). I loved how unique the story was – and before you go, uh, this is practically the Hunger Games, allow me to convince you otherwise.
So, it’s not The Hunger Games?
Damn straight it’s not. This book follows the story of a girl named Tella whose brother is dying from cancer. There’s a competition (one that no-one and everyone seems to know about) called The Brimstone Bleed and one family member from families with someone who’s sick in them are invited to compete. The prize is The Cure – the cure to any disease. Who wouldn’t take that, right? I would.
So Tella ends up joining this competition, knowing next to nothing about it. And it’s awesome. The competition takes place over four terrains and we get to see two of them in this book – the jungle and the desert. Tella doesn’t know what she’s gotten herself into and isn’t really sure what to expect. She’s quite literally the funniest and most relatable character that I’ve ever read too.
At the start of the race each contender takes an egg and from it hatches a Pandora. A Pandora is a creature created by the people running the race and is a biologically altered animal of sorts intended to help their master, if you will. AND YES IT IS AS COOL AS IT SOUNDS.
I cannot get over how much I love the Pandoras because they’re each so unique and have special abilities (invisibility, breathing fire, that sort of thing). Rest assured, I have had a serious conversation with my cat just to make sure he’s not secretly a Pandora and keeping flying abilities or special tea-making skills hidden from me.
Tella & Guy
These two, unf. They were amazing. Tella is hilarious and sassy and has so many beautiful lines that made me double up with stitches from laughing. She is such a brave character for diving head-long into this crazy competition to save her brother – even though she has doubts about the actuality of there really being a Cure. I love that she’s nothing like Katniss, who seems the obvious comparison here.
“I create a mental list of where to check first: the coat closet, the hallway bathroom, maybe the kitchen. The kitchen. I wonder if there’s any cherry cheesecake left in the fridge. No. Find device. Then cheesecake.”
~ Tella
Tella likes her comforts and she likes the company of other people. But she doesn’t let this hold her back and is ready to sacrifice life and limb (quite literally) for the life of her brother. Because this is one hell of a serious competition. People die at every stage and there’s a time limit to get from the starting point to base camp. It’s rough and whilst they team up with each other, we all know that they’re probably going to have to gauge each others eyes out at some point, or something.
“My shoes are loud against the steps. So loud, I imagine they are intentionally trying to get me killed.”
~ Tella
Speaking of teams. Guy is someone that Tella finds herself with. And yes, he has joined my list of fictional hotties. I recommend keeping a fan on you at all times so that you can cool down when he pins you Tella with those brilliant eyes. I am going to collapse with excitement because I’m so keen to see what happens next with his character.
“When I first saw the sand, I thought it was beautiful. Like maybe it’d be fun to just roll around in and make sand angels. Now I know the truth, that sand is actually the love child of proud parents Marie Antoinette and Joseph Stalin.”
~ Tella
The Other Characters
I was really surprised at how well the team situation worked. Considering that we know, and they know, that they can’t stick together the whole way, Tella, Guy and some others (who I’ll let you discover for yourself) make such a badass team it’s unbelievable.
I found it interesting how well and quickly Scott gets us involved with these characters who at one moment seem as much a stranger to us as they do to Tella but the next feel like family that we can never be separated from. Of course it makes for many a wonderful heart-breaking moment.
I cannot express how terrified I am at the thought of Titus and his bear. His mental instability throughout the story was truly horrifying so good luck to ye and try not to wet yourself.
Summary
My final thoughts are simply that if ever there was a book that was the perfect embodiment of YA dystopian fiction with a cherry on top, this is it. I loved the story, I’m completely hooked, I can’t get enough of the characters, and I positively need book two. Like right now.
You might also like . . .
Well, I mean if you like this you’ll like The Hunger Games – but you’ve probably already read it. #UsefulRecommendations
If you like books that make characters do crazy things on a time limit to save their lives, Nil is for you.
If you like Dystopia that tries to kill its characters in the jungle, Planet Urth is for you.
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