Review: Red River by Kelly Van Hull

Title: Red River
Tent City #2
Author: Kelly Van Hull
Publisher: Self
Publish Date: Nov 18, 2014

Amazon ($3.99)

I am excited as I usually do not care for the second book in a series more than the first as the first paints a world I have never seen before and the second reviews and expands on the initial eye opening experience. But Red River gave me so much more to the imagination that it really had me captivated. Again.

Dani's character is much more developed and less distraught by the world's situation, so she is able to make a bigger impact. Her love situation is still in tatters, but we get to see her make an honest choice between the two interests.

Hannah, who turned into my favorite character is new in this book. She has a natural ability to heal people and her story to how to came to have this debilitating power is heart-breaking. Her love of life and willingness to hurt herself to save others is simply stunning.

Brody, Dani's younger brother, and Dani's parents become bigger figures in this book as well.

I am really looking forward to where this series is headed. It is one of the few I cannot garner an idea of what will happen, so reading it is has been quite enlightening.

Goodreads Description:
No one knows Brody’s secret and Dani plans to keep it that way.

It's been seven years since the first plague. Things seem safe - until the river runs red and the blood-filled waters set off a series of catastrophic events. Seeking refuge once again, Dani and her group make their way back to Tent City, unsure of what the future holds.

Can Dani keep Brody safe long enough to fulfill the prophecy? Who can she trust? Will she be able to bring down The Council before they destroy what she holds most dear? With the plagues looming, is there a bigger threat than just The Council?

In the midst of chaos, Dani finds love, but is forced to choose between two brothers - the one who can’t live without her and the one she has promised herself to – knowing the decision could destroy their relationship forever.

Red River is the second book in the Tent City series. It is a young adult dystopian novel of biblical proportions set in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Review: Tent City by Kelly Van Hull

Title: Tent City
Tent City #1
Author: Kelly Van Hull
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publish Date: March 27, 2013
ebook 252 pages

Amazon

This book had excitement all over the internet when it was published so I was really looking forward to reading it. And I was not disappointed!

Dani is a young adult thrust into adulthood when the state moves children to safety camps. Dani's parents have another idea. Send her off to live in their family cabins til it all blows over. Thankfully she will have her best friend and younger brother in tow to cope with the loneliness. She runs in to a few odd fellows on the way, but when she reaches the cabins she is shocked to find they are already taken by a large group of runaways. They seem to be just like her but things are not always what they seem.

I really liked Dani's character as she was much more real than many characters her age. She needs to run to keep herself awake and active. She cares for her brother but is able to rely on her best friend to help out. She makes bad choices and good choices, all of which effect her, her brother and friend's situation. She still tries to be a fighter in this world gone awry, but it can be devastating when she doesn't have all the facts. There are a couple good hunky teens in this book, one of which I was a bigger fan of then the other, but I won't tell.

Extremely looking forward to Book 2 to see where Kelly Van Hull takes the characters next.
Link to Book 1: Red River

Goodreads Description:
After a devastating plague, introverted 17-year-old Dani Campbell and her family find themselves living in a very different America, one run by a cult-like leader, who forces children to move to "safety camps" designed to protect the human race. Encouraged to flee by her parents, Dani and her five-year-old brother seek refuge in the Black Hills of South Dakota. On the run with danger around every corner, Dani must fight to ensure their survival in this new world while trying to unmask the mystery of how it all came to be.