Spare Time Book Blog: Concealed in Shadows Blog Tour!

Welcome to my blog for the Concealed in Shadows blog tour!! There are a lot of great things on the blog today. My review, an excerpt from the book!! It's very exciting. This book was simply amazing. I hope you enjoy this stop on the tour!

Summary: Sydney Harter has long awaited September 12th, 2033, her eighteenth birthday. She can finally apply for guardianship of her sister Evvie, her only family and entire world. Sydney holds a sliver of hope that they will be lawfully reunited, and that light will return to her desolate life, but she is prepared to defy authority and risk everything to escape Miles County so that she and Evvie can live full lives together.
Escaping will be difficult and dangerous. Citizens are bound to their county by sophisticated chip implants that deliver shocks to anyone who crosses the county's electric barrier. Sydney is very clever, but her trickery is limited against the all-seeing eyes of county technology. It seems impossible to escape into the forgotten forests and cities of the past, but Sydney is determined to find a way if she is denied guardianship of her sister. For years she has longed to break free from the government's experimental Petri Dish and the hallowed drones that inhabit it.
What Sydney doesn't know is that the county has particular interest in her. Her place in this complex dystopia is about to change. Deceit, fear, and warfare, will come to characterize her life, yet her love for Evvie will always prevail. She must protect her sister, but at what cost?
My Review: I am so glad that I was able to be part of this blog tour. I was introduced to a great book. Concealed in the Shadows is a dystopian based book with some futuristic tendencies. Sydney has been part of a "country" her whole life. The remaining parts of the country have been sectioned off into these countries. Wherever you were at the time the countries were created is where you had to stay. Families were split up. Sydney has put up with the way things are for a long time. Her childhood was not the best. Her father died when she was young and her mother had some psych issues and died at a young age as well. Her sister Evvie is finally going to be old enough to live with her sister now. Sydney loves her sister so much. She will do anything for her. Before, Sydney was able to get Evvie she spent a lot of time outside the wall. She had it down to a science to get out over the wall. They have to be so careful because they are always being watched. Their chips tracking their every movement.
Sydney takes Evvie over the wall once. What they don't know is that they are also being watched. And not by the people inside the wall but, those who are outside of it. There are things going on that the people living inside the wall don't know about. There may be alternatives way to live. Where you are truly free to live your life with your family. When Sydney goes out for her daily run outside the wall she is taken. She is taken by people that actually turn out to be great. They have removed their chips and are actually living freely outside the wall. She quickly realizes that her sister, left alone behind the wall, may try to cross since Sydney didn't return home. Her and her now kind of friends go to try to rescue Evvie. They find it odd that they met no resistance. There is more going on behind the scenes then the sisters are in for. There is a conspiracy brewing that involves people they knew to be dead.
There are of course some cute boys in this book too! I was more into Crewe then his brother Cy. The Davids brothers are a double threat. There is romance in this book but, it is subtle. There are serious things happening. It is more like real life then your typical teen love story. I don't want to get into to much about these two other then they are both like super hero's. Willing to do anything for the ones they love and their community to keep them safe.
Concealed in the Shadows is an amazing dystopian full of mystery and secrets. It is not the typical YA book that you see out there. It is an amazing book and I would highly recommended it!

Excerpts!

Chapter 1 (pgs.1-2). Significance: Revelation of government corruption and oppression. This passage displays Sydney’s fear of being caught yet her bravery to escape into a freer place.

I suspect the government has used this rationale to veil their chief intent, to institute ever-watchful eyes guarding against attempts from citizens to flee their experimental Petri dish.

It took me at least ten attempts to scale this wall the first time I tried. Today, I execute the undertaking without thought or sweat. My movements from one hold to the next are now so ingrained that I easily accomplish the climb despite the predawn darkness.

The only detail that perpetually needs attention is my timing under the rotation of the camera mounted on the corner of EPA 7-8. I can’t risk that my clothing, pack, or even a wisp of hair be detected by surveillance when I propel myself atop the building. I don’t know whether it’s environmental protection agents or some government-created task force who are the observers on the other side of the camera’s lens. Whoever they are, I know that they don’t have to distinguish a face to determine whom it was that breached. They can locate an escapee’s position the very instant that they glimpse an oddity by cataloging all nearby chips. Depending on how many miles a runaway has attained, they may earn at most five minutes of freedom before they’re captured, held, and interrogated in a manner I assume to be sinister.

I safely slink on top of the roof and continue to study the camera’s position. The first time I foolishly jumped just over two years ago, I was extremely lucky. The next time, and every time thereafter, I’ve calculated. I have precisely twenty-two seconds to disappear before the camera scans the landscape, which must appear undisturbed.

I methodically count down the seconds as I jog toward the far side of the roof and double-check the vacant street. Ten seconds until optimal jump time. I focus on the dim ledge opposite me. Five. Four. I bolt from my line and instantaneously push off of the ledge at one.

Chapter 3 (pgs. 19-21). Significance: Sydney dreams of the day that her grandmother, her caregiver, explains to her that her time has come and that she will inherit the responsibility of raising her sister and hiding her mother’s mental illness.

“But now, our nation has decided it would be better if people didn’t live so long.”

“So that they wouldn’t have to hurt?”

“Something like that, sweetie.”

“Well what did they do, grandma?” asks the concerned child, already predicting a worrisome answer.

“Well sweetie, the people who make the laws worked together with doctors to find a way for the old people to leave the world very peacefully, before most of them are old enough to get very sick or have much hurt.”

Suddenly the little girl isn’t so brave. Tears overtake her small face as she buries herself in her grandmother’s lap. “You’re not going to let them take you away, are you grandma? You can’t leave us!” The desperate pleas of the helpless child prove to be too much for her grandmother. The tears escape her too, but she fights to hold in the anger and the revulsion in order to be strong for the sake of the child.

“I wish I could stay forever, sweetheart. I wish I could see you and your sister grow into the strong, beautiful women that I know you will become. I wish I could see your mother get healthy again.” The tears try to choke off her words, but she forces them out. “But, you see, last night was my last Friday night sleepover with you and your sister, and sweetheart,” she places her hand on the shoulder of the little girl and smiles, “it was one of the best days of my life. I get to leave this world with warm memories of baking cookies and painting flowers with my two favorite people in the world.”

“I don’t want you to go!” the child protests as her heart boils and her face floods. She pulls her grandma’s arms around her and buries her head into her chest as she begs, “Just tell them you don’t feel sick. Tell them you want to stay a little longer.” She closes her eyes tightly and wishes that it were a nightmare. But already the little girl knows better than hoping for happiness in her life. She knows there are no exceptions to the unchallengeable laws.

“I know, sweetheart, I know.” The woman strokes and kisses the distraught and fragile girl’s hair as the child clings to her tightly. A few more tears slide from her weary eyes before she finds the strength to make a final request of her beloved grandchild.

“Sydney?” She looks down to where I’m still clinging to her, not ready to come away and meet the eyes I love so much as she tells me that this is the last time I will see her. “Sydney,” she tries again, this time gently pulling my chin from her chest. “I need you to do me one last favor, okay?” My grandma can see that I can’t handle this. How can she ask me, a mere child, to let go of the one I love most, the unyielding presence in my life? Her next words seem sharper than the rest in the memory, and I never let them go.

“Sydney Harter, I know it will be hard, but you have no choice other than to be the bravest girl there ever was. You have to be brave so that you and Evvie can grow up strong. Grandpa and I, your dad, and grandma and grandpa Harter, want to look down on you and smile because of how proud you’ve made us.” She waits. My wails have subsided to sobs, but the pain hasn’t lessened any. “You want to make all of us proud, right honey?”

“Yes,” I reply shakily. It took so much to utter that single word because with it came the acknowledgement that I had only begun learning hardship.

“Good, sweetheart. Good girl,” she soothes. “What I need you to do is try your very hardest to take care of your sister. Be good all of the time and try to help your mom when she seems sick.” Grandma’s eyes enlarge and she squeezes my hand more tightly. “Never ever tell anyone about your mom’s sickness, even if it seems like they are trying to help. Can you be a big girl and do those things for me, sweetheart?” I nod that I can, although I don’t believe it, and empty my heart in her lap for the last time.

Author Bio

GABRIELLE ARROWSMITH enjoyed writing her debut novel, Concealed in the Shadows, during a lovely Minnesota summer that she had off from her primary profession, teaching. She looks forward to continuing the story. Acting, playing and coaching soccer, reading, playing piano, and spending time with family and friends are among her other interests.

Book Links: Amazon | Createspace | Goodreads |

Author Links: Blog

Other Blogs taking part in the hop:

February 18 - Curling Up with a Good Book *Review and excerpt

* - Blood, Sweat and Books *Review

February 19 - Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews *Excerpt

February 20 - Spare Time Book Blog *Review

* - Howling Turtle *Excerpt

* - A Dream Within a Dream *Excerpt

February 21 - izz "pingle" bookish place *Excerpt

February 22 - Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf *Review

* - Bookwyrming Thoughts *Excerpt