Title: Avalon
Author: Mindee Arnett
Series: Avalon #1
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Release Date: January 21, 2014
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Source: eARC received from publisher in exchange for an honest review

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A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy in this fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi adventure from author Mindee Arnett.

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

Avalon is the perfect fit for teens new to sci-fi as well as seasoned sci-fi readers looking for more books in the YA space-and a great match for fans of Joss Whedon's cult hit show Firefly.


Avalon was on my TBR pile since I saw the cover and read the synopsis. These last few months I have been loving science fiction, and for good reason. There have been many amazing YA Sci-Fi books releases in the past year and I was really hoping that Avalon would be added to that list of books. But unforgettably this one fell a little short for me.

What I did love about this book was that the protagonist was a teenage boy, which is something we DESPERATELY need in YA right now. I know a lot of bookseller and librarians are looking for books that will appeal to boys, and I honestly think this one is perfect because it has action, mystery, betrayal, and a little bit of romance (but not too much). And of course that cover is Ah.Mah.Zing, and would definitely appeal to boys. 

There are many things that I need to love a book, every reader has them and if a books doesn't have some of these things then a book usually falls short. For me I have to be pulled into the story right away, and honestly in this book that fell short. I started this book a bit confused for the first few chapters, because I did not really know what was going on, and I really wish there was more information.

Another thing I need in a book is characters that I can relate to, and honestly I did not get that in this book. I wanted to like Jeth, his sister Lizzie and his crew but because the story itself took up most of the time, I did not get enough of him as a character to really care what was going on. And I really wish I liked him more because I honestly think that I would have enjoyed the book more of that had happened.

Overall I did enjoy the later half of the book. The mystery picked up and some secrets were revealed which was nice. There was a betrayal, and then another one and another one so it was a nice change of pace from the beginning of the novel. I honestly do not know if i will continue this series, we will have to see come next year!