And here we are, another blog tour. I have only been doing these about once every two months or so because I am super busy, so a book has to REALLY grab my attention for me to want to sign up! Floor 21 did as soon as I saw the cover!
FLOOR 21
by Jason Luthor
Release Date: OUT NOW
Summary from Goodreads:
As humanity lives out the remainder of its existence at the top of an isolated apartment tower, young Jackie dares to question Tower Authority and their ban on travelling into the tower’s depths. Intelligent and unyielding, Jackie ventures into the shadows of the floors below. But will her strong will and refusal to be quiet—in a society whose gr
eatest pride is hiding the past—bring understanding of how humanity became trapped in the tower she has always called home, or will it simply be her undoing?
MY REVIEW OF FLOOR 21
I’m not sure what appeals to me so much about the YA dystopian genre! I have read quite a few of them lately. Some were good, and some didn’t quite hit the mark. Thankfully Floor 21 was a win for me!
What’s left of humanity lives in a high rise tower, unable to get into the lower levels because of “the creep” a black growth of tissue, muscle and sludge that causes hallucinations when touched and is taking over the tower. Jackie is a 17 year old girl who lives with her parents on floor 4, the forth highest level of the tower. Although they are not supposed to be inquisitive, and asking questions of what happened to the world before and what is outside the tower is forbidden, Jackie finds herself wanting to know what is down in the lower levels of the tower and beyond.
I really enjoyed the complex layers of this story. Despite the usual dystopian “what happened to the world before, are we the only ones out there?” vibe, I found the storyline to be extremely original. It does have a vibe similar to the silo series, although aimed at a younger audience. It also had the feel of novels such as the hunger games and the divergent series, being that the residents of the tower didn’t have much freedom and were oppressed by those of the higher levels. However I found the creep and the set up of the tower itself made it stand out differently for me. It was not particularly better than the above series, but I was surprised how original it felt and it was certainly extremely enjoyable.
The format was refreshing, the voice recording transcripts from the characters. At times I felt it didn’t quite work as it seemed a little too unbelievable that they would be recording their voices after certain events of the novel. However
it worked really well overall.
I enjoyed the switch in character halfway through the book. It was where I really began to get into the story. And I LOVED the creep! I thought it was really original and I am super excited to find out more about it and the tower and what happened to the world in the next books!
There was one thing that brought it down from a 5 to 4 star rating for me. And unfortunately that was the main character Jackie. I understand that she is only young, but she annoyed me SO MUCH. She was supposed to be beyond her years in intelligence and inquisitiveness, but her immature dialogue annoyed me so much that the book took me much longer to get through than it usually would have. I love a strong young female leading character, but I really disliked Jackie. I’m hoping that she will grow up and grow on me in the next book.
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely for any YA dystopian fan! It was a mix of the silo series and the hunger games, with a touch of Snowpiercer. A solidly enjoyable read and I will not hesitate to pick up the sequel.
(4 / 5)
Many thanks to Jason Luthor via YA Bound Book Tours for a copy of Floor 21 to read in exchange for my honest review.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
About the Author
Jason Luthor has spent a long life writing for sports outlets, media companies and universities. His earliest writing years came during his coverage of the San Antonio Spurs as an affiliate with the Spurs Report and its media partner, WOAI Radio. He would later enjoy a moderate relationship with Blizzard Entertainment, writing lore and stories for potential use in future games. At the academic level he has spent several years pursuing a PhD in American History at the University of Houston, with a special emphasis on Native American history.
His inspirations include some of the obvious; The Lord of the Rings and Chronciles of Narnia are some of the most cited fantasy series in history. However, his favorite reads include the Earthsea Cycle, the Chronicles of Prydain, as well as science fiction hits such as Starship Troopers and Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?
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