OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Kiana Cruise: Apocalypse" by Jody Studdard.]

Kiana Cruise: Apocalypse by Jody Studdard is a young adult, spy novel. Amanda is an ordinary 16 year old girl who finds out that her father is a secret agent. When his identity is compromised, he and Amanda must begin a whole new life. They start with faking their own death and changing their names. Thus, ordinary Amanda becomes Kiana Cruise, secret agent. She is sent on several missions and loves the excitement of high speed chases and performing dangerous stunts, but what will she do when the lives of the entire world are at risk? What can she do to stop a dangerous mastermind from turning everyone into Zombies?

Overall, this is a fun and easy read. It does not have a lot going for it in originality or complexity, but it is enjoyable. It kept my interest while I read, even though the plot is very predictable. I think as a young teen I would have enjoyed it more. I probably would not have noticed some of the problems with the story that I do now.

From the title of the book, I was expecting the main story to be about Zombies, but it actually has very little to do with that. (This does not disappoint me because I am not into Zombies, but it may be misleading for others). The part with Zombies does not even come into play until the last fourth of the book. Kiana goes on missions before that, but they are unrelated to one another. If they had all related to the main plot in some way, it would have made it more interesting. As it is, it feels a bit disjointed. I kept wondering when they were going to fight against the real villain.

When I was reading the description for this book, I was especially interested in it because it mentions that they travel to Chiang Mai, Thailand. I live in Thailand, so I could not wait to see how it all played out in the book. The author does an excellent job describing Chiang Mai and some of the landmarks of that area. However, there is incorrect information regarding the word, “farang”. It means foreigner in Thai. The author says that it is usually a derogatory term, but that is not true. It simply means foreigner and does not carry a negative or positive connotation on its own.

There are a few style choices that struck me as odd. The first thing is that Kiana's father is referred to by his first name, even when the writing is coming from Kiana's point of view. I am glad Kiana refers to him as dad in the dialogue, but it sounds strange to me that he would be called by his first name when Kiana is narrating. There is also an overuse of parenthesis and the word, “really”. Other than those minor issues, the book is well-edited. I did not notice any misspellings or typographical errors.

I give Kiana Cruise: Apocalypse 3 out of 4 stars. Most of the things I mentioned above are not major issues and do not interfere with the overall enjoyment of the book. I think this story will especially appeal to young teens who are looking for a light read. Older readers might find it a bit simplistic and predictable, though.

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Kiana Cruise: Apocalypse
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I love that enter key on the cover that reads, "Top Secret!"

Great review; it gave me a good sense of this book.

@Rachaelamb1 I almost reviewed this book, so I'm glad to hear your thoughts on it. It sounds like an interesting light read. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and congrats to the author on a positive review!

Nice review! I am glad you enjoyed the book.

Thank you all!

I'm also not into zombies, though I can understand the appeal. Like you, I just got done reviewing a book that I knew I would have appreciated more when I was a teenager compared to now; but I was still able to enjoy it. Anyways, nice review. You pointed out a lot of important things that the author will hopefully take into consideration.

Tanaya wrote:I'm also not into zombies, though I can understand the appeal. Like you, I just got done reviewing a book that I knew I would have appreciated more when I was a teenager compared to now; but I was still able to enjoy it. Anyways, nice review. You pointed out a lot of important things that the author will hopefully take into consideration.

Thanks, I try not to be too nitpicky. I always want to help the author see ways they can improve their craft though, so I try to include the things I notice while reading.

This story sounds like a nice, light, interesting read. Sometimes I like to read young adult when I am looking for something that will hold my interest, but is a bit of a break after reading something long and intense. The plot sounds like it would make a good story. Thanks for all the information about this book included in your review. It seems like it would be a book that I would like to read.

Amheiser wrote:This story sounds like a nice, light, interesting read. Sometimes I like to read young adult when I am looking for something that will hold my interest, but is a bit of a break after reading something long and intense. The plot sounds like it would make a good story. Thanks for all the information about this book included in your review. It seems like it would be a book that I would like to read.

Yes, sometimes it's nice to have a break from books that make you think too much Glad my review was helpful!