Hi everyone! I’m so pleased to be able to participate in
the Zac & Mia by A.J. Betts blog
tour through Text Publishing.
Zac & Mia was the winner of the 2012 Text Prize for
Young Adult and Children’s writing.
Zac and Mia
Author: A.J. Betts
Pages: 272
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Text Publishing
Synopsis.
The last person Zac
expects in the room next door is a girl like Mia, angry and feisty with
questionable taste in music. In the real world, he wouldn’t—couldn’t—be friends
with her. In hospital different rules apply, and what begins as a knock on the
wall leads to a note—then a friendship neither of them sees coming.
You need courage to be in hospital; different courage to be back in the real world. In one of these worlds Zac needs Mia. And in the other Mia needs Zac. Or maybe they both need each other, always.
You need courage to be in hospital; different courage to be back in the real world. In one of these worlds Zac needs Mia. And in the other Mia needs Zac. Or maybe they both need each other, always.
Review: 4 out of 5 stars
I was quite hesitant
about reading Zac & Mia, I
recently found out a very close family
member has cancer so I was a little wary about how the book would make me feel;
although there is sadness, it also showed optimism and made me think about life and how we experience it.
Zac Meier and Mia Phillips are our main characters and meet
during hospitalisation for cancer, both complete opposites in personality and
the only thing really connecting them is their disease; Zac is more accepting
of what he has and has researched it extensively so is aware of his odds but Mia is
full of rage and is trying to hold on to what her life was.
At the beginning of the book (Part 1) we see how Zac
copes with the isolation, the mundane repetitive routines and his feelings
about his life and the chances he has of surviving, it was evenly paced and
kept me interested; he was an easy character to like. The middle portion (Part 2) of the
book showed Mia and Zac’s time together and how
the illness united them and the bond they came to form, sickness is the
overall subject matter but it certainly wasn't all gloom and the bulk of the story, the last portion (Part 3) of the book is more or less Mia
and I feel this is where we see the most character growth for her but I still
didn’t find her to have the most endearing personality. I admired both of these
characters but more so Zac for his kindness, strength and understanding, he seemed to
want to support and help Mia who was adamant she was broken and couldn't seem to lose the anger.
One thing I absolutely loved was Zac’s
relationship with his mother who I thought was amazing! She was wonderful and so supportive, not
only with him but also to Mia who didn’t have the same family life.
Zac
& Mia
touched very close to home, it is emotionally intense and confronting but the way
in which the author wove in family, humour and a sweet friendship to romance which all
began through a tap on the hospital walls gave the overall book a sense of
balance. Ms. Betts writing is wonderfully engaging, she bought out the
characters emotions, hopes and courage beautifully in a way which was realistic
and we get both POV’s which I felt worked well in this story.
Overall, if you are after a book filled with hope and heart I recommend
Zac & Mia, it doesn’t come
without teary moments and sorrow but it does show that positivity and courage
can get us through anything, as difficult as they may be.
Thank-you kindly to Text Publishing for the opportunity to read
and review Zac & Mia.
About the author: A. J. Betts is an author,
teacher, speaker and cyclist. Zac & Mia, the
winner of the Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing, is her third
novel for young adults. Her others are ShutterSpeed andWavelength. She lives in Perth, and writes when she’s not
pedalling.
Giveaway: Text
Publishing is kindly offering one (1) copy of Zac & Mia to an Australian
or New Zealand resident
- No responsibility will be taken for lost or
stolen books
- The winner will have 48 hours to respond
- Not all rafflecopter options are mandatory
- Australian or New Zealand residents only.
- Ends 10th August 2013
Text Prize Winner
Blog Tour
Zac
& Mia
by A. J. Betts
Wednesday 24 (Pub date!)
Q&A with ALPHAReader
Thursday 25
Review at First
Impressions
Friday 26
Guest Post on Kids’ Book Review
Saturday 27
Review at The Tales Compendium
Sunday 28
Review at Writing for Children
Monday 29
Review at YA Midnight Reads
Tuesday 30
Review at VeganYANerds
Wednesday 31
Review at Obsession with Books
Thursday 01 August
Reviewat inkcrush
Oh how nice to come across a Aus/NZ giveaway. Love that. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Kathryn :) good luck!
DeleteVery good luck! Thanks Sharon, looking forward to it!
DeleteI recently saw another review for this, it sounds great! It's good we see reviews like this, then we know we need to order it from AUS or NZ. :) (Us book bloggers don't care where it's published, if it sounds good we'll do whatever it takes to get it in our hands!)
ReplyDeleteIt was really good Candace! I agree, i'll buy a book from anywhere as long as its good :)
DeleteI am glad the author offset the cancer with light, hope and strong relationships, this sounds quite good. My thoughts are with your friend.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kimba! Cancer is so sucky, especially if its someone close to us, in my case my mum :(
DeleteI've been hearing good this about this book. Is it weird that I feel kind of proud that AJ Betts is from my state?
ReplyDeleteMarlene Detierro (SEO Austin)
It's alway wonderful when an author is from the same place as us :) it has received a lot of praise (very much deserved).
DeleteI'm glad you liked this too, Sharon! I thought it was well done and I agree, Zac's mum was amazing!
ReplyDeleteShe was such a strong support character, I really enjoyed this one.
DeleteIndeed a nice post! I am also from the SEO background and love to enjoy reading fresh posts on this subject. I would like to thank you for writing this post and now I am your regular reader as I have subscribed your blog in my RSS reader.
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