Some Fine Day by Kat Ross (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Published by Strange Chemistry on July 2nd 2014
Pages: 319
Format: eARC
Sixteen-year-old Jansin Nordqvist is on the verge of graduating from the black ops factory known as the Academy. She's smart and deadly, and knows three things with absolute certainty:1. When the world flooded and civilization retreated deep underground, there was no one left on the surface.2. The only species to thrive there are the toads, a primate/amphibian hybrid with a serious mean streak.3. There's no place on Earth where you can hide from the hypercanes, continent-sized storms that have raged for decades.Jansin has been lied to. On all counts. About the AuthorKAT ROSS grew up in New York City and worked as a bike messenger, legal secretary, coat check girl and iguana-brander before settling on a career as a reporter and editor. Kat Ross is a pseudonym for Kitty Stapp, who is an editor for Inter Press Service based out of the UN Headquarters in New York.
Some Fine Day by Kat Ross was an unexpected find for me and I was unable to put this book down. I loved every minute of it and thought Ross created some interesting characters and an even more interesting world(s) for them to live in.
Jansin is part of a population of people who moved below the surface when the world was overrun by storms called hypercanes. As part of a generation who has only known life underground, Jansin is excited to hear that her parents have booked a trip to the surface as part of her vacation from the academy, a place where she has basically lived (and trained to be in the military) for the last eight years.
When they break the surface Jansin is excited and glad to see the sun and experience the fresh air but things quickly go wrong when their retreat is attacked. As Jansin evaluates the situation, she realizes her boyfriend, Jake, is right in the middle of most of the danger. She quickly decides to help him out and in the effort, things turn south for her. While Jake gets to the mole, where Jansin’s parents are, Jansin is grabbed from behind and hauled away with the group that attacked. As she wakes up on a ship headed to who knows where, Jansin realizes how much danger she is in. As she learns more about what is going on and where the group is headed, Jansin finds that she will have to fight for her right to stay alive and aboard the ship.
Jansin is a great character. She is only sixteen but smart and tough. She has had to basically live on her own for the last eight years and when she is in a dangerous situation she is able to rely on the skills she has developed over the last few years – not just in military training but also those that have helped her survive the academy. The one thing that didn’t really make sense to me was the abrupt change in her feelings for Jake. It seemed like she really liked him when they were on the train headed to her house but the second they got above ground, she changed toward him completely. Although she explained her feelings as the story moved forward, it seemed very unexpected how it came about.
Will was a solid character although I felt like I needed to know more about him. We got glimpses of his background but they felt like bits and pieces. I would have liked to understand more of his story but with that said, I get it – it wasn’t necessarily his story. With that said, Will is smart and he is kind and he tries to do what is right…definitely not a bad guy to have feelings for.
The story itself was interesting and I found the idea of this whole world existing beneath the surface an intriguing one. In addition to that, we learn more about the government and what they are willing to do whether it is torture to get what they want or conducting testing on people to prevent something that may or may not happen. Their “ends justify the means” approach to things was what Jansin opposed most and having recently been on the receiving end of it, she wasn’t willing to stand by and see it happen to anyone else.
In a sea of dystopians out there I would say that this one easily stands out. Ross developed a unique story that kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next not only for these characters but also for the world above and below the surface. This book could easily stand alone or be part of a series based on the ending but I admit, I kind of hope Ross continues this story as I would be interested to see what happens next. Definitely check this one out!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.
Grand Prize: Kindle Paperwhite with custom cover, preloaded with Some Fine Day
Second Prize (2): Signed copy of Some Fine Day
Third Prize (2): CD audiobook of Some Fine Day
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