Seeing as mostly everyone’s reviewed Fire & Flood, I’m going to do some lists (I love lists). But I want to discuss this beauty, so there will be a SPOILER section. (It’ll be all covered up, though, so you won’t see it unless you wish it.) Comment section is free to be spoilery, though, so avert your delicate eyes if you have not read it!
Thank you Scholastic Australia for the review copy! Fire And Flood by Victoria Scott hit shelves in March, 2014.
Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can’t determine what’s wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She’s lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she’s helpless to change anything.
Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It’s an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother’s illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there’s no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.
The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can’t trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?
Victoria Scott is a teen fiction writer represented by Sara Crowe. She’s the author of the FIRE & FLOOD series published by Scholastic, and the DANTE WALKER trilogy published by Entangled Teen. Her books have been bought and translated in eleven foreign markets including the UK, Turkey, China, Poland, Germany, Australia, Israel, Taiwan, Brazil, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.
Victoria lives in Dallas with her husband and hearts cotton candy something fierce.
The Characters!
Bless my jungle loving heart, I adored these characters to pieces. They were incredibly well written. Tella is a mess of zany and bubble personality. Do you know how refreshing it is to read about a girl who likes GIRLY things?! I’m not sneering out our kick-butt female friends (I love them as much as the next assassin). But I do get worried that nail-polish-loving-girls are underrepresented in YA. Just because you think about makeup and the size of your butt, does NOT mean you’re a snotty or (please don’t say it) “shallow” person. Tella had wit and quirk and I loved her to bits.
Guy was our love interest. And I don’t know about you, but the minute a character is named “Guy” this is what I think of:
Plus, I would like to point out, that Guy from the Croods has sort-of-Pandora-thingy called Belt. I am suspicious of this similarity. But moving on, shall we?!
I liked Guy’s mysteriousness and serial-killer eyeballs. I liked the slow attraction between Tella and Guy and how they fit well together.
The Pandoras!
Who didn’t read this book and think: “I really desperately extremely need a Pandora.” They’re genetically engineered animals that help the contestants through the race. I thought they were going to talk. I WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT THEY DID NOT. (What? Don’t judge me. Talking animals are cool.) And when Tella’s egg finally hatched as a baby fox, all I could think of was:
And then I got all disappointed again, because THE FOX DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING. Yes, yes, I’m finished now.
The Writing!
Love love love. It was fresh. It was quirky. Tella was prone to say redundant things, but I’ll forgive her because she made me laugh so much.
The Plot!
I’m going to outright say it: I didn’t “get” the race. Tella takes off to do this thing without really knowing what it is…or talking it through? Um, no. And no one explains the race. Except for the fact there “is a cure”. Um, no. A little more info upfront would have been awesome. I was not once sold on this plot — not the reasons or the climax or the middle goop.
The Survival Stuff!
There’s plenty of extremities to survive in this race, which, frankly, I LOVE. But in this case I found extremely unrealistic. Even with magical Pandoras trotting at their side. Deserts. Jungles. Look, it’s all well and good to go on a 2 week trek, but if you’re not in condition to walk? Then you’ll have more then exhaustion. You’ll have I-need-to-lay-down-and-die-because-my-body-hates-me feelings. While they were tired, they didn’t exactly collapse at any point. And food? They barely ate! THAT IS AN ISSUE TO ME.
The Time Frame!
It can’t possibly be dystopian…it doesn’t have all of the dystopian criteria. Buuut, what is it? Soft sci-fi? It really bugged me that I didn’t actually KNOW what it was. It felt absolutely modern, but no one freaked out over genetically engineered animals, sooo…sci-fi with cool but normalised technology?
Highlight to read:
Dink The Pandora
I saw this coming from kilometres away…which mildly worries me. Was it just that obvious or have I read too much? I was frustrated at how completely idiotic it was to have an eight-year-old on this race. I smelt a rat fast. The question is, why didn’t anyone else?? Where they THAT polite they didn’t need to talk about it? It was very un-Tella to just let it drop.
Harper’s Stomach Map
HOW ABOUT NO. Not only did this make zero sense, it was kind of terrifying. And useless. Sure she had an eagle scratch out a map on her stomach…but how exactly did that help them? Why didn’t they have real maps…or better yet, have that earpiece give them frequent directions. They didn’t even use the gory stomach map in the end, so why was it there?!
The Survival Stuff
Look, this bothered me extremely. You can’t just pop into serious survival situations and be fine! Particularly the desert scene. You need water in a desert and you need a lot all. the. time. If you want to feel the desert, read Stolen by Lucy Christopher, because that is the extremities written realistically. If you take a desert stroll you need a) heaps of water ALL the time, b) food! you absolutely need to eat, and c) something to stop your skin frying off. If they walked in the day they should have collapsed from heat stroke. The minute Guy said, “Ditch your supplies”, I died a little.
Also the complete lack of food made me twitchy. Don’t eat it’ll make you sleepy…bah HUMBUG. Eat and it’ll give you energy to do that whole, you know, walking-for-two-weeks-on-end thing.
You know…I struggled with this. Is it a 3-star or is it a 4-star? While the characters and writing rocked my socks off, I couldn’t get onboard with the plot at all. I did too much disbelieving head-shaking to give this a 4.
Cait would like a Pandora and she would call him Squishy. He would be her Squishy and she would feed him all the day long and he would protect her from library fines and telephones. Besides fantasying about her Pandora, Cait is deciding which of her bazillion book ideas to write next.
I'm not even going to read the other comments because EEK! spoilers everywhere! Great review though, Cait. I need to get around to reading this book. And when you pick an new novel idea, can you tell us about it? I love the creativity!
YES STAY AWAY FROM THE SPOILERY COMMENTS. x) I hope you do like this book when you get to it. I was so torn on what to think! haha. Ahh…yes. I've finally settled on which idea to write next. So I PROBABLY will post about it when I've finished a draft. x) Eeep…that's sort of extremely exciting to be asked about it!
As soon as I heard about the pandoras I knew that I MUST READ THIS BOOK ASAP. Because it reminds me of His Dark Materials, which is just one of my favourite series ever. Disappointing that they don't talk. Oh well. Also, I love The Croods. That was a fantastic movie. Excellent GIF usage. A ++. I may need to find myself a copy of this book.
I STILL NEED TO READ HIS DARK MATERIALS. But! I did score the Golden Compass for $1 at a second-hand-store and eeep. Excited. :)) Since my endless TBR is actually at a manageable size, I MIGHT be reading it soon! Aren't the Croods the best?!! I love that movie.
Love the new look! So fun! I gave this one a three too I think. I really struggled with the writing though, Tella seemed like a snot!Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
I do understand why a lot of readers didn't get along with Tella, but I personally loved her. 😉 Hehe! Awesome how subjective reading is, right?!
First, I just visited your blog again (had a rough week) and I just saw your new design and WHOA, I love it, girl. It's so simple and minimalistic and it makes me even more motivated to read.Second, I loved this review. One of the more balanced ones out there. I think I've seen a lot of reviews where they're dismissing Tella's character, and for a while, even I immediately assumed she might not be the heroine for me. Being more occupied of your nails than the situation at hand doesn't really entice me, but perhaps that was a hasty judgement on my part, and I'm more willing to give her a chance now.Third, I want to read this for the Pandoras. They remind me so much of Pokemon and Digimon, sans talking. Haha. Not even a Pika Pika then? :(Fourth, those flaws. I'm not sure but I have a feeling I'll be having the same complaints. Hopefully I'll be able to still enjoy it immensely. Great review!Faye at The Social Potato Reviews
Aw…*offers copious amounts of chocolate* BUT I AM SO GLAD YOU LIKE THE DESIGN. That is epically good to hear. I'm kind of sad at the amount of character-dismissing Tella got. I'm actually considering drafting up a post about it. Because I think a lot of readers are more serious people…(I mean not ALWAYS but I think maybe a lot of us are? I am) and therefore we don't usually get along with someone as sparky and flimsy as Tella. BUT that doesn't mean she's badly written! *ahem* As you can see, whoooole other post there. 😉
I completely agree with you about loving a girly MC (while still liking the hardcore ones too). I haven't actually read this yet, but I have it, and will eventually, and like Faye ^^^^^ I appreciate your balanced approach in reviewing this. I like it ;)Jessica @ Rabid Reads
Aw, thank you!! That makes me feel all goopy and nice and n'awww. I'm blushing. 😉 I love balanced books! And I LOVE it when the MC is a bit different, you know? It's quite refreshing to read about someone who actually cares about their nails and hair, because just because a character does — doesn't mean there not awesome!!
It is great that you were entirely honest about the race aspect not working for you. I completely just rolled with it. It was far feteched but then so much in YA is and I still grealy enjoyed it. Talking animals would have been cool
It WAS pretty far-fetched, eh? Probably the most far-fetched I've read for a while. I had to quiet my really logical brain. But I mean, because it WAS so out-there, I really think the animals could have talked… 😉 hehe.
Yay! I'm glad you liked Fire and Flood! 🙂 I've seen so may people slashing it on Goodreads so it's nice to see someone give a review about the good sides as well as the bad sides 🙂 I read it last week (only took me three hours to read – shows how much I enjoyed it!) and while it definitely had flaws and things that annoyed me, I loved the writing, and the characters were SO funny O.O *laughs hysterically* Like you, I enjoyed having a 'girly' MC. Although I love assassins and bad ass girls (think: Cealena ;)), it's nice to read about a normal girl who can't kill a man in 3 seconds flat, or do any assassiny things and is slightly more normal, you know? And MAN. Tella was so FUNNY! I spent most of the book giggling and my brother kept asking me what was so funny 😉 *bangs head on desk* Uh, uh, I didn't see the Dink being a ******* at all! Which shows that my sleuthing skills are going down the drain, haha.I kind of liked Guy, and mostly didn't. At the beginning he was like, "Don't follow me! Don't follow me!" to, "Can I follow YOU? Can I follow YOU? and then to, "I don't like you, stay away from me!" to, "I really like you, come kiss me!" *shakes head* Confusing much? Not the best communication skills I've ever seen. I also thought he was a bit like Gale and Peeta mixed into one.THE PANDORAS WERE SO CUTE!! GIMMEE MADOX NOW XDThe whole survival map on Harper's stomach was confusing and in my eyes: stupid. There was no point to it but to show how cool she was having a map engraved on her stomach. *shakes head* Not cool, Harper. And, anyway, why didn't it get infected?? That Bald Eagle of hers had bee doing who knows what in a JUNGLE (where goodness knows WHAT is bad) and Harper walked away without a single drop of pus????Also: WATER. How is it during the 'quest' that NO ONE drank water that had bad stuff in it??? While it is never going to be a great 'classic' YA book (like Divergent or The Hunger Games) I think it's definitely a book to pick up when you're feeling down or you want something lighter to read. I read this while having one of those, "THERE ARE NO MORE GOOD YA LEFT IN THIS WORLD" reading slumps (I'm sure everyone's had them at sometime or the other ;)) and Fire and Flood just pulled me up from my corner of dark procrastination (everyone has one) and made the world of YA look sunnier XD
YES: CELEANA!! Oh gosh…she is so amazing and wonderful and breaking my poor heart with her BAD decisions. *ahem* Okay, sorry, YES, Fire & Flood…that's what we're talking about. But I totally agree with you! And it's sooo refreshing to have some "different" MCs out there. I just felt very happy reading Tella!I'm REALLY glad you're with me on the stomach map. It was soooo random. And ew? I mean, I'm all for weird and creepy things — but I need them to have a point. Otherwise it just sounds like the book is trying desperately to be creepy (or something) and failing. Oh, YES, I just love how you summed it up with the 'not-going-to-be-a-classic'. I own it and I totally think it's worthwhile being on my shelf, even though I only gave it a critical 3-stars. It was FUNNY. I still recommend it! And I read it in a few hours too. 😉
This one was a pretty fun read for me but wasn't nearly as epic as I wanted. I didn't love the characters as much as you did but I do like Scott's writing style and the fast paced nature of her books. I will read the follow up for sure because I've still got so many unanswered questions. Glad that you found it entertaining as well!
The ending was kind of….WOAH. I was a bit befuddled and I'm not 100% sure if that's in a good way or not! lol But I'll be picking up the next book too. 😉 I want to read Victoria Scott's other series now!
Oh Cait I love the gifs. Tella and Guy sound wonderful and I feel disappointed the plot didn't hold water for you. Thanks for making me giggle.
Gifs are my favourite. 😉 And you know it's the BEST THING OF EVER to make someone laugh. WOOT!
This one was like a 3.75 / 4 star for me, so I'm glad your twin-ness strikes again! 😉 As for the characters, I absolutely agree. They're all so fresh and original, and I loved that! Some reviews have claimed that Tella is a bit of a Mary Sue because of how much she cares about her makeup, etc, but I'm glad we both feel that she's a strong female protagonist. I mean, really, what teenager isn't at least a little bit vain at some points? And yes! Her romance with Guy (don't get me started on the name…) was absolutely amazing! And, yes, if there was one thing where I felt could have had some improvements, it is absolutely – like you said – the world-building. I know the point of the race was revealed at the end, but I think we can both agree that it was kind of a … "WHAT?!?!" moment. Hopefully it's better in Book 2!WE ALL NEED PANDORAS. 'NUFF SAID. (Although I found your What Does the Fox Say GIF absolutely hilarious!) As always, fabulous review Cait and thanks for sharing! <3
Haha! WE ROCK.I'm not really sure how Tella could be a Mary Sue, quite frankly! She felt MORE realistic to me then a lot of the kick-butt protagonists going around these days. Gah, I'm so tired of all of these emotionless girls. We CAN have emotions and still be cool! And exactly. I mean, I sure care about my looks…sometimes. Frankly, I'm mostly too lazy too. But I still DO. Guy was kind of adorable, but I'm not sure if I think THAT Guy was adorable or the Guy from the Croods..they've kind of mixed in my mind. o.ODefinitely hoping BK 2 clears stuff up. Because…SAY WHAT.
I still haven't read this one yet. It's on my TBR though.Oooo girl I have a secret for you [; My discussion on ya midnight reads actually very much ties in with Tella. Basically I'm gonna discuss strong characters in YA and how they get so much love and now it's almost expected that every character is strong/badass. It's like these qualities are the only things that can make a character great anymore >.< I just finished Rebel Belle and Harper, the main character, was totally girly and fun c: I think some people need to understand that a character doesn't have to be badass to be amazing. ANYWAY. Back to your review, Tella sounds awesome and I think reading from her POV would be a joy. Pandoras also seem awesome c: I wonder what my own would be???The plot does sound like the weaker element of this story however. And the survival bits, I very much dislike when I can tell that a book isn't being realistic.Lovely review <33
I CAN'T WAIT TO READ YOUR REVIEW THEN. Ohhh, but you took the idea right out of my mouth!! haha!! I have one partially drafted on that exact topic, but I never got around to finishing it, so I'll probably just can it and let you guys go wild with the awesome. But EXACTLY. That's what I was going to talk about too. Spot on. ;)Ahh…yes. Survival is pretty important to me because I find it SUPER interesting and I've read a lot of real-life-experiences, so I can tell when it's off. NOT that I'm saying the author didn't know! I'm SURE she researched greatly. I just…gah. Just imo it was a bit off. x)
I skipped past the comments because I have yet to read mine yet. I am interested in seeing what I make of it though, especially since there were aspects you really loved but the plot was lacking. I am very curious about this one, I will keep my expectations lowered and hope that I'll be pleasantly surprised that way.I'll be back after I have read it so we can properly discuss! 🙂
Skipping the comments as well because I still have yet to read this sometime. And also this has nothing to do with the review (but I read it and liked it) but I'm just commenting because WOULD SQUISHY (your Pandora) BE A JELLYFISH? YES? idk I just wanted to know. Plus I'm not paying attention in class now. I'm a good student
This book is relatively cheap on Amazon, so I may just buy it to see what it's about. I also read Jeann's review and she rated it similarly to you. It's worth a try. Great review 😀
Totally agree that this was a super fun read. I did like how different Tella was and girly, because that's something we don't see a lot, but thought that maybe she shouldn't be so focused on material stuff when she is fighting for her life/a cure for her brother so I was harsh on her in my review :/ But I see what you are saying now. I think I would have loved her in a contemporary or where the situation was different. Anyway, I always laugh whenever someone says they thought the pandoras would talk because that's what I thought too! 😀 The stomach map was seriously hardcore O.O
Yes, I do want a Pandora, and a great pickup with the desert survival and no food! How is that supposed to be realistic? I'm glad you liked Tella cos she wasn't my type of gal, but she was funny. The stomach map and everything were unusually gory and gross too! The whole thing about everyone needing a cure, I just didn't buy it. Great review as always, Cait!
*diverts eyes from comments* I haven't read this yet, but I really want to. And I think talking animals are cool, so I agree it would have been amazing if they talked 🙂 I'm glad Tella is girly, we do need more girly girls in YA, you can be girly and strong. Thanks for the review 🙂