Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

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 Summary

I literally couldn't put this book down.  I stayed up all night rereading this book twice.  I loved Tella, the main character, for maintaining and respecting her humanity and fellow creatures throughout the novel.  She was one of the few who played this version of the "hunger games" without losing pieces of her humanity and treating those that would help badly.  The reason Tella is in this game is unraveled by her throughout the novel.  I loved discovering what was going on with Tella and I did not feel left out.  

The characters Tella meets are varied and diverse.  I loved getting to know all of them and learning how they react in a very unusual circumstance.  When the author threw in Pandoras, aids to the people participating in the Brimstone Bleed, I loved it!  I couldn't get enough of the Pandoras and am dying to continue reading about them and Tella's particular Pandora, Madox.  
This book did remind me a tad of the Hunger Games, but I think it stood on its own two feet.  The ending was to die for and all of the characters developed throughout the book.  I loved the plot twists and I did not anticipate them.  This book is highly recommended to young adult/teen readers.

5 Stars


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