Salt & Stone

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Tella Holloway has faced a dangerous trek through the jungle and a terrifying march across the desert - all to remain a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed for a chance at obtaining the Cure for her brother. She can't stop - and now, Tella will have to face the unseen dangers of the ocean, the breathless cold of a mountain and twisted new rules in the race. But what if the danger is deeper than that? How do you know who to trust when everyone's keeping secrets? What do you do when the person you relied on most suddenly isn't there for support? How do you weigh one life against another? The race is coming to an end and Tella is running out of time, resources and strength. At the beginning of the race there were one hundred and twenty-two Contenders. As Tella and her remaining friends start the fourth and final part of the race, just forty-one are left ... and only one can win.

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Fox tongue against my cheek. A grizzly bear on his feet, roaring a warning. An iguana flat on my stomach. I don't have much time before my thoughts are gone from me. So I fill my lungs, and I think of Caroline. And Dink. And of Ransom and Levi and all the friends who aren't here for one reason or another. I think of Harper, too, of whether she'll make good on her promise to return and help me win.I squeeze my hands into fists. I close my eyes. And I whisper my brother's name inside the folds of my mind: Cody.Cody on the last day I saw him well. He was drinking pickle juice from the jar and wincing from the sourness. Has he always liked pickle juice? I can't remember, but I want to see him drink it again. I want to see him drink anything without the use of a straw and small sips. I want to take back every bad thing I've ever said to him and replace it with this: I look up to you.The woman appears. She says something. She's holding something. She lifts her slender arm into the air to show the men her prize.I narrow and widen my gaze, trying to see past the drug's fog.And then I know exactly what she's holding.It's a life jacket. Excerpted from Salt and Stone 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

Booklist Review

The grueling competition called the Brimstone Bleed is only half over, but former powder puff Tella has become a strong contender. Her hard-won stamina and mental toughness are sorely tested as she and her team tackle the ocean and mountain legs of the race. Tella develops as a leader but maintains her compassion, especially toward the genetically engineered animals called Pandoras that accompany each contender. She keeps her sense of humor, too contemplating the shutdown superhunk Guy, she thinks, I can't imagine a world in which I'd hate him. Though I can certainly imagine one in which I tell him to bite me. Lots of fun.--Willey, Paula Copyright 2015 Booklist

Horn Book Review

This sequel to Fire & Flood finds Tella racing through oceans and mountains as a contestant in the Brimstone Bleed, hoping to win and save her brother's life. This volume does not stand alone, and it's as derivative as the first. Primary and secondary characters (including genetically engineered animal sidekicks) are well developed, though, and the tension escalates intensely until the end. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

The second half of the race started in Fire Flood (2014).Tella's made it through the jungle and desert, leaving ocean and mountain still to come in the four-ecosystem Brimstone Bleed. The winner will receive the Cure for the loved one infected by the race organizers to provide incentive for the selected Contenders to cooperate. Tella's secondary agenda is love interest Guy's plan to join, infiltrate and destroy the organizers after the race. Their romance hits major obstacles early on, primarily in the form of Guy's belief that Tella needs to be saved and protectedhe's OK with that, but Tella isn't. She resolves to stand up to him instead of blindly following, and she does so not just to gain his respect, but to respect herself. The next legs of the race lead to team-ups with familiar faces and newcomers of varying trustworthiness. The genetically engineered, intelligent companion animals with superpowersthe Pandorasdevelop further as individual characters, causing nail-biting moments as they face dangers that in some cases outstrip those of their Contenders. Readers will fear for side characters, as they should: The organizers have mined the course with dangerous traps. Aside from a few moments of repetitive exposition in the first act, the prose is so tense that even in the characters' few moments of rest, readers will twitch with anticipatory anxiety. The ending devastates. Mind-blowingly intense. (Science fiction. 12 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.