Review: Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

Fire & Flood
(Fire & Flood #1)
by Victoria Scott
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Publication Date: February 25th 2014
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9780545537469
Genre: Young Adult | Dystopian
Source: Netgalley

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A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother's life—and her own.

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? (Goodreads)

I was super excited to start Fire & Flood, as I’ve heard nothing but good things about the author Victoria Scott. I know a book is pretty great read when I start working on the review for the book before I even finish the book! But I did because I needed to keep track of my feelings while reading the book. This book was an awesome, awesome read.

The main character in the story was Tella Holloway. I really loved Tella.  She was a great character. She’s snarky and sarcastic, my absolutely favorite type of main character. She was absolutely hilarious at times, which I adore. Not very kick-ass at first, and I was a bit worried about that, but she is definitely able to hold her own when she needs to. By the end of the book, she is pretty bad-ass who proves that she can take care of herself. Not saying that there aren’t some pretty awesome male characters in the story; especially Guy. I love how much he cares for Tella, and that he wants to protect her and keep her safe. I love even more that these feelings from him are not insta-love, but more of feelings grow through the situation that they have been forced into.

The storyline for the novel is quite fascinating. The contenders of the Brimstone Bleed must survive through four different ecosystems for the ultimate prize, to cure any illness that someone they love may have. For Tella, that is her brother. Not only do contenders have to survive the race, but they have to be the first to the end to win the cure to save their family member. Sounds almost impossible, right? The contenders are also equipped with ‘Pandora’s’ in the beginning of the race. Pandora’s are animals that were created to help keep the contenders safe during the race. So many interesting animals were made as Pandora’s, but Tella definitely had the best one, which she named Madox. Madox is pretty freaking awesome.  With such a fantastic storyline and which such great characters, this book makes for such a great read.

I’ve seen this novel described as The Hunger Games meets The Amazing Race.  I can see the book being compared to The Amazing Race, but it’s in no way comparable to The Hunger Games for me. Yes, there can only be one winner at the end of the game, but that’s about where the comparison ends, at least for me, anyways. This book really can’t be compared to any other book for me; it stands all on its own!

Overall; this book was so great. I am in need of the second books in my hand immediately! I’m dying to know what’s going to happen next, and more importantly, who is going to win the race.  If you haven’t already added this book to your to-read list, you must do so now. I’m also looking forward to reading all the other books that Scott has written as well. So excited to start them all!