Fire and Flood

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Time is slipping away... 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 the middle of nowhere 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?

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

From Fire & Flood If you're hearing this message, you are invited to be a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. All Contenders must report within forty-eight hours to select their Pandora companions. If you do not appear within forty-eight hours, your invitation will be eliminated. The Brimstone Bleed will last three months and will take place across four ecosystems: desert, sea, mountains, jungle. The winning prize will be the Cure -- a remedy for any illness, for any single person. There can be only one champion. Excerpted from Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Tella Holloway's older brother is dying, and if anyone knows why, they're not saying. In the desperate hope that fresh air and quiet will help him, Tella's parents have left Boston for an isolated Montana farmhouse: no neighbors, no school, no electronic devices. Suffice it to say, Tella is going nuts. The mysterious delivery of an earpiece-which her father tries and fails to destroy-offers Tella escape and hope. Its message is that if she can make it to a rendezvous point in Nebraska, she can compete for the chance to cure her brother. Scott (the Dante Walker trilogy) isn't hiding her influences-this novel reads like a mashup of The Hunger Games and The Amazing Race. But Scott holds her own in attitude and taut action, and Tella's voice is feminine, smart, and sassy. Importantly, although male-female chemistry is definitely present, the emotional drive of the novel doesn't rely on romance. Family, camaraderie, and Tella's bond with her furry Pandora companion matter just as much in getting her through the first part of her life-and-death race. Ages 12-up. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up-Tella's family has moved from Boston to Montana, hoping the wide-open spaces will help her older brother Cody fight the wasting illness that has plagued him for the past year. Tella receives a mysterious package with a tiny listening device, which tells her that she has been selected as a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed-a three-month, four-ecosystem race in which the winner is guaranteed a cure for any illness. After a stop at an old museum, there is a mad dash among the Contenders to select Pandoras-eggs of various sizes that will assist them in the race. The Pandoras prove invaluable here: there's a fire-breathing lion, a cheetah that shoots out twin beams of red light, and an elephant with the ability to tunnel through sand to find water. Tella learns that her newly-hatched Pandora, a small black fox she calls Maddox, has the ability to mirror the other Pandoras. She and the others are transported to a remote rainforest, where they'll have two weeks to complete the first leg of the race. When the race begins, Tella attempts to follow fellow contestant Guy, but after losing him, she struggles through the rainforest on her own before stumbling onto a small group: gorgeous Harper, motherly Caroline, little Dink, and twins Levi and Ransom. Although Tella is determined to win the cure for Cody, she is easily distracted by Guy's rippling muscles. His pattern of saving her from various demises-just in the nick of time-undermines the author's efforts to convince readers that Tella is a strong and independent protagonist. Characters are two-dimensional, and some, especially Titus and his rogue Triggers, are downright cartoonish. In this trilogy opener, the backstory for the Brimstone Bleed's origins stretches credulity. Perhaps the sequels will provide a more solid foundation and a less cliched story arc, but if the first installment is any indication, take a pass on this series.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

City-kid Tella loves purple, Greek food, and mani-pedis. So what is she doing living in rural Montana with her parents and sick brother? What's wrong with him, anyway? And what's with the mysterious earbud-like device that shows up in her room one day? That earbud tells Tella that she has been chosen to compete in the Brimstone Bleed, a fierce survival contest that recalls both The Hunger Games (2008) and James Dashner's Maze Runner series. The prize is the Cure a remedy for any illness for one person and the key to saving her brother's life. After beginning the competition on her own, she eventually joins a group of other contenders, including the tall, gruff, very buff Guy and a ruthless blond boy named Titus. As Tella grows closer to Guy, he reveals the sadistic reasons for the game and the secret behind the hybrid animal companions that accompany each contender. There are some derivative story elements, but Tella is an especially strong and likable character, which makes this gripping adventure all the more enjoyable.--Willey, Paula Copyright 2014 Booklist

Horn Book Review

Tella's family has moved to fresh-aired Montana in a last-ditch attempt to save Tella's brother, who suffers from a mysterious disease. When Tella receives an invitation to become a Contender and compete for a Cure, she hopes that this no-holds-barred contest can succeed where dozens of doctors have failed. Clearly indebted to The Hunger Games but lacking its moral complexity and urgency, this sci-fi novel falls flat. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

The Hunger Games meets The Amazing Race. When a mysterious blue box arrives for Tella, a small audio device invites her to compete in the Brimstone Bleed. She has less than 48 hours to report to the competition, select a Pandora companion and enter in a three-month race across four separate ecosystemsfirst to the finish line gets a cure for any illness. Tella seizes the chance to save her deathly ill brother's life and is tossed into a ruthless survivalist competition. While the overall worldbuilding is light, the more immediate competition settings are ably exploited for dangers. The Pandoras are eggs that hatch genetically engineered, superpowered animalsnot terribly realistic but so much fun that nobody will care. Everyone has a loved one to save so stakes are high, but survival necessitates teaming up, yielding hilarious dialogue. Of course, one of Tella's teammates is a handsome, broody, uber-competent love interest. The female supporting characters are less stock. Tella herself is awkward, doofy and self-consciously superficialthe combination makes her easy to root for. It's hard to believe how trusting and accepting Tella is regarding the lack of information about the raceaside from the occasional small hints, most background comes in a large expository passage late in the novel that will leave readers excited for the next installment. Great for readers needing a fix in between Hunger Games movie releases. (Science fiction. 12 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.