The Dysasters by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

(Review may contain spoilers)



"When she looks at me like that she makes me feel as if I could do anything; I will do anything, to keep her looking at me like that."



How do I even write this review? I loved this book, I loved that it is the first book in a four book series. P.C Cast & Kristin Cast are back! *insert music*



BLURB (from Good reads)



Foster Stewart knows she's different. Her life has never been "normal." Talking to plants and controlling cloud formations aren't things most seventeen year olds are into. Tate "Nighthawk" Taylor is perfect. Star quarterback and all around dreamy boy next door he never thought about his "extra" abilities. What quarterback wouldn't want night vision? That's not weird, right? It's cool!

But on the night of their first meeting a deadly tornado brings them together and awakens their true abilities - the power to control the element air. Unbeknown to Tate and Foster, they are the first in a group of teens that were genetically manipulated before birth to bond with the elements. Which truly sucks for Foster, as she has to face the fact that Dr. Rick Stewart, her beloved scientist father, betrayed her and now wants to use her and the others for his own nefarious world domination plot.

Foster and Tate must stop Dr. Stewart and his minions before he destroys their lives and the world.





THIS BOOK!

THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC!

5/5 stars!



What I Enjoyed about this story is that it is for all ages, whether you are a young adult, a full adult which ever age you are this is perfect for everyone.



Okay, here's the list of things to remember.



Water, Fire, Earth and Air.



Four couples, that's 8 young adults.

Foster & Tate (Air)

Charlotte & Bastien (Water)

?? We do NOT know who the other couples are.



The Core 4 (Fucktastic Four)

Mark (Water)

Eve (Earth)

Luke (Fire)

Matthew (Air)



Dr Stewart, the crazy scientist! Who created them all and has a really bad addiction to Eve.



Cora (deceased)



and G-Pa, a wealthy old man, who is fit as a fiddle and who his Tate's grandparent.



I know that is a lot to remember but it the first book to a series, and I think the authors did us a solid and didn't really make it that confusing. I must be in the minority of reviewers who loved this book.



The main Characters in this first book are Foster who controls air, and Tate who also controls air so this makes them a pair. We start this adventure with Foster and her adopted mother Cora, who has taken her to Missouri (Misery) to find someone, but we don't know who. They end up at a high school football game, and that is where we meet Tate. A storm begins, and this storm turns out to be a full blown tornado, while this is happening Cora's heart gives out, and leaves Foster with little information to get out of there, but with Tate. Who is the person they were looking for. They are immediately drawn together, and he also watches his parents die in the storm that has being going on around them. Obviously more happens here but what you think is true is not, I really appreciate the story moving as fast as it did.



Now they are on the run, and know they are in danger. Before Cora died, she told Foster to take Tate and go to Sauvie Island. This is where they find out what they really are and that Cora had a safe place made for them all to live and hide of the grid.



To be honest I took so many notes reading this book, like 6 pages of notes to remind me when I wrote this review what is what and how I felt. Now looking at my notes, I can tell you thing... I LOVED this book. and that I have messy writing and can not even decipher some of my own writing to save my life.



Dr Stewart is bad, and so are some of the core four who are doing to old mans dirty work for him and trying to catch all the couples. I love that they are all going to be pairs, this is for such an important reason. So you see the good old doctor had "fertility clinics" where rich men paid him and he continued his experiments and research, until he faked his own death. Cora was his wife and he kept all this a secret from her. Until she figured things out and took Foster and went into hiding. The Dr mutated and changed the DNA in all the children.And they the core fucktastic four came out wrong or turned out wrong, they all have issues because they can not control there elements properly. But the pairs like Foster and Tate who will work together they have complete control.Although when the Dr made them all he knew then what he had done wrong I guess and did it this way. He is literally a sick SOB! He says he cares but he does not.



When they all turn 18, that is when the manifest with full blown powers. But what Cora didn't know and also the rest of the core four (her brothers) is that she is actually the bio daughter of the Dr and Cora! because he store her eggs and grew a child !!!



Straight up, I thought Foster was a bitch and it took me a little while to like her, she has some issues. I loved Tate, hes just so confused until they both learn to trust each other and learn more about there powers. I really love the dynamics with all the couples and characters, I really believe this is going to be such a fun series to re visit all the time. Maybe for me because of the nostalgic feeling. This was all my own thoughts and feelings, even with being given gifted arcs.



Which can I just say how much I really loved all the CAPTAIN PLANET vibes! That show was my life when I was growing up in the 90's. Even like just Xmen, Super powers with comic like art work... just was giving me life!



I loved everything about this book, the characters, the art art work that is throughout the book. Man the art work is visually stunning and brings so much more to the story.









So much more happens in this book, that I highly recommend. When they arrive at the Island and meet Finn and his girlfriend Sabine. I love that they are forming there own family, could they be the other couple? I am not sure. But it would be awesome.



I loved Tate and Foster together, the friendship and romance was too cute. The sinning moments, and them floating flying together... All the feels!



"The most important thing a women can give is her trust. Earn that first and then you'll earn a love that will last. Trust is based on respect. And if you don't treat her with respect, you have no business being with her."



OMG and the coolest thing is the rep we have in this new series is a young male, transitioning from male to female. I am so excited to see more of this throughout the series. Yes the book is told in alternating POV but it tells you who is who and you don't get lost, so not only do we get Tate and Fosters voices we get Eve, Mark and some of Charlotte and Bastien.



Key characters that I don't like a lot is Eve she is a nasty as her father and her brothers, I reckon Mark is the nicest and just so confused. I hope we see him come to the captain planet team. lol Seriously the core four are all in there 30's and don't give a shit about anything or anyone apart from themselves and maybe each other.



I do not like Luke, and obliviously the Dr. Now back to him, he is literally a druggy, Eve can manifest crystals on her body of all kinds and with them each having a certain quality to them, and the fine old doctor siphoned's them into his body while getting off on it. I was shook when I read them scenes. Sometimes I would think Eve is nice, but she really isn't and I that I don't like her. She is the keeper of earth.



100 pages in and I knew at this point it would be close to a 5 star read for me, and it was. I loved the writing and the setting it was in. The characters were fantastic, I think this mother and daughter due are back doing what they love doing together.



Yes this ends with a cliff hanger, but come on how could it not. This is going to be one EPIC new series and I am here for it all. I can not wait for book 2!



I cannot wait to meet the rest of the cast, I can definitely see this becoming a favourite new series for me to love and love. The one thing I did find odd though, is how quick or lack of grieving the two kids had for there parents all dying at the beginning. But in saying that they book moved so quickly, they really didn't have time to with all the danger they are facing or faced throughout the book.



Can we just say again, Captain Planet and the Planeteers VIBES!!! I squealed when there was an actual reference!

The Dysasters is the first novel in a new series by P.C. Cast and her daughter, Kristin Cast. Together they have created a world that’s full of wonder and more than its fair share of chaos.
The series has a lot to offer, a scientist is playing god, teenagers with special abilities, drama, arguments, and even some fantasy elements as well. Oh, and did I mention the music references? There’s more of that that you might expect.
The novel also includes a fair number of drawings to go along with some of the events occurring. A lot of them include drawings of the characters, which people will probably either love or hate, depending on their preference for picturing the characters on their own. I enjoyed seeing the characters as the authors pictured them, though I’ll confess I continued to picture them differently in my head. I couldn’t help it.
The Dysasters wasn’t the novel I was expecting, but I still found it to be a fascinating read. It was the cover that originally caught my attention for the series and my fondness for P.C. Cast’s works that convinced me that it would be worth reading.
The novel wasted no time throwing us right into the thick of things. I personally enjoy that, because I’m usually pretty anxious to see what the plot is about. Some fans may not enjoy that element quite as much though.
It took me a while to start getting to know the characters in any real way. Yes, of course, I felt for the characters as their worst nightmares occurred, but I didn’t feel it in the same way I would have, had it happened later in the novel. I did grow to like the two main perspectives, in their own way. They’re stubborn and don’t listen well to anybody, but then again, teenagers aren’t exactly well known for that.
The musical scenes in this novel are both highly amusing, and maybe just a touch bit embarrassing. You know when you’re reading, and you cringe when the character you love is about to do something silly, and you’re actively embarrassed for them? That’s how I felt during these scenes. But they were also kind of cute, and I have to give the kids credit for their music choices.
I absolutely loved the concept behind their abilities. It had this real mad scientist vibe to it, which I loved. In this case, the mad scientist also had a bunch of thugs willing to do his bidding, but that worked too. It gave the main characters something to interact with directly while saving the true antagonist for another time. It was clever.
There was something about this novel that really reminded me of I Am Number Four. Perhaps it was the tone? Or maybe it was the fact that the main characters were forced to learn about themselves and their abilities, in the same way, that the main character in I Am Number Four was forced to do. Still, I think if you loved the movie, you’ll enjoy this novel.
I’ll confess that I didn’t like this novel quite as much as I would have expected, though I still maintain that I’m glad I read it. The core concept has so much potential, and I honestly can’t wait to see more about the antagonist himself. I wonder if the next novel will have the same four perspectives? I imagine we will.

Blog tour post running on my blog 2/26/19:

The Dysasters is the first book in a new paranormal fantasy series by P.C. and Kristin Cast, authors of the popular House of Night series.

Foster Stewart and Tate Taylor are not typical teenagers. Foster's adoptive father, a scientist, genetically modified the teens before birth giving them special powers to bond with elements. Foster discovers that her father plans to use them, and other modified teens, as part of a plot to take over the world. Foster and Tate have to learn to harness their powers to manipulate air to defeat Dr. Stewart before he can fulfill his evil plans.

THE DYSASTERS
P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Wednesday Books
On Sale: February 26, 2019
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio formats

Buy Links:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes & Noble
Books-A-Million
Google Play
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(Review coming soon....)

________________________________________________________________________________________________
Separate review posted to Goodreads. Not posting review to my blog, as I DNF'd the book about halfway through..

Text of review:

I really wanted to like this book. I love superheroes, action stories, good vs evil....I had high expectations for this story about teens with the ability to manipulate the elements.

But I'm going to be honest -- I didn't like this book. I DNF'd this story about halfway through. For me, the book seemed like a failed attempt by adults to write a book for teenagers. It tries too hard and comes off as contrived.

Teenagers can be angsty, whiny, and disrespectful. So this story overuses those traits, making the main characters almost completely unlikable. Teenagers curse. So, this book overuses curse words, sprinkling them in at the wrong time and not using them at the right time. For example, the main characters call each other names or tell each other to shut the F up constantly, but when Foster accidentally calls up a tornado and realizes she can manipulate weather, she says...."thank you"?? If I accidentally called up a tornado, you can bet your sweet bippy I would be saying WTF and most likely several other choice curse words out of complete shock and surprise. Other terms like Fucktastic Four, douchehawk, nightdouche, etc can be a great joke...once. Maybe even twice. But after multiple uses, it just gets old. Just too much....bleck.

I asked my 14 year old to read a couple chapters of this book to see what he thought. He said the same thing....adults trying too hard to write teenage characters and failing.

I struggled through half of this story, and stopped. This book is not for me.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from St. Martins Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

DNF I couldn't get past the first chapter because the dialogue felt so strained and the characters so stereotypical. Also I had a hard time figuring out what was supposed to be going on. So basically, it completely failed to convince me it was worth continuing, unfortunately.

***ARC received through NetGalley for review, much appreciated***



1. 5 out of 5 stars

This book has the possibilities to be good. There is an interesting backstory regarding messing with genetics of embryos that create people that have control of the elements. It just never pans out into what it has the potential to be and that happens for a variety of reasons, in fact at the beginning of the book I thought I may have picked up the second book in a series in error.

This comes down mainly to the characters. We are introduced to Foster and her adopted mother Cora as they show up in a small town in Missouri or Misery as Foster so cleverly refers to it, cause thats what Foster is. That clever special above everything cause everything is beneath her. She is rude, selfish and no, shes not an introvert shes a jerk. Especially to Tate, she constantly belittles him laughing at his public education and his compassionate attitude. He witnesses so much and when he expresses pain or wants to go back and help Foster blows up at him. . She gets moderately better as the book goes along but only moderately and not by much.

For all the possibilities there isn't much creativity in this. Although it is a diverse set of characters even if they are the secondary characters are a little one noted or straight up stereotypes. Suspend your believes cause what you think should happen, doesn't. This is common throughout the entire book and it is so frustrating how frustratingly stupid all the characters.

A solid pass from start to finish and I have no interest in seeing where the characters go.

The Dysasters was a really cool mix of YA fantasy & superheroes. I gave this book 3.5 stars as I enjoyed many elements of it (no pun intended) and did not like other elements at all. Overall it was engaging, really easy to read and had a very cool premise behind it. It’s a little bit like a mix between X-Men and Avatar: The Last Airbender, both of which I love immensely. This book is interesting too because it has written text and has illustrations of certain scenes throughout.

We follow quite a few characters in this book, the main ones are Foster and Tate. They have just turned 18 and are linked with the ability to control air. After a devastating event at a football game, Foster and Tate are forced on the run from men and women who want to control their abilities and experiment on them. Foster and Tate spend time learning to control their abilities and they also try to unravel the mystery behind it all, as they did not know until their birthdays that they could control an element.

I know this book is to be one of many in a series, so I can understand that a majority of this book was spent setting up the plot and getting the history of the characters. It was good to get this history and plot building as it helped my understanding of the characters and the overarching storyline. At times I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the characters. They made me laugh with witty one liners, but then also said really stupid and mean things to each other which made me dislike them a lot. Tate’s grandpa was hilarious and the real hero of this book. The one thing I really disliked was him getting called ‘g-pa’. It was very distracting.

Towards the end we meet some new characters that will play a big role in the story and it was really nice to see them so differently to Foster and Tate. All of the characters in this book were quite unique and I loved that they all had their own quirks.

The Dysasters was fast paced and I was never bored. I could imagine myself in their world and I felt like I understood the characters. This book is good for those who enjoy a fast paced superhero story with coming of age themes. If you like X-Men and YA you’ll most likely enjoy this book. I will pick up the next book to see how the story continues.

(Side note: note sure this book can be called YA with some scenes with serious adult content in it)

Years ago, I remember reading and enjoying PC and Kristin Cast's first few books in their House of Night series. When I saw they had a new book coming out I was intrigued by its X-Men-type concept of genetically engineered teens who can control fire, air, water and earth. Kinda cool, right?

The book starts with an energetic opening scene but soon becomes muddled with most scenes feeling rushed and having an overly dramatic flair. While the premise is cool, the plot is underdeveloped, and the dialogue was hokey giving the feel that the authors were trying too hard (and unsuccessfully) to sound like teens. Which is surprising since their earlier series had such a different, more polished feel.

While I liked the racially and gender diverse cast, I didn't enjoy the Quick Silver-like speed of the Insta-Love between two characters who, when they met the previous day, were calling each other a D-bag and B***ch. Jumping between the multiple POVs and the sporadic addition of graphic novel art added to the confusing feel.

Overall, this YA supernatural/kind of graphic novel had a great premise but, in the end, was a tedious read causing me to skim much of the last half of the book. As a mom of three older teens myself, I know I'm not within the age range of the Teen genre, but I have been known to enjoy the occasional YA read. But YA doesn't have to mean excessive use of F-bombs, weak writing and Insta-love. Teens (and us older-than-teens) readers expect more from this genre.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I had read some books written by Those authors and I liked them generally. Now those two women come back with The New Series - The Dysasters! It's completely different from The others I had read.
The authors put readers in The middle of something - what is going on There? What will happen? Why those things are happening? This thing will be slowly revealed all The way thru The book. So no Easy answer here.
As characters are only eighteen more or less I have forgiven them some unusual behavior due to their age. Some things were repetitive and I got a Little bored with them but the plot overall was intriguing enough to continue reading.
Sci-fi elements were developed in intriguing was - I'm still wondering what will come out of it. As powers over elements, villain did for are something that I always liked.
There are also picture on The book. This is nice, but in The end, I would also do Great without them.
I will make sure to read book 2 as this Series caught my eye at The First Glance.

This was….just wow. I honestly don’t know where to even begin with this review. It was definitely not what I expected. And I went into this ARC with high hopes.

I’m a fan of the House of Night series, great books. That’s the whole reason why I requested this one for review. I sincerely thought it would be just as good.

I was wrong.

So my reasoning for the DNF as well as the pore rating is as follows:

The idea is extremely interesting, and it has promise. I don’t know, maybe the other books in the series will be better, but I just could not follow through with this story. I tried so hard to. I desperately want to know what happens at the end, but the book is just so bad imo that I just couldn’t continue to force myself to read the rest.

The idea, as I said, is cool. I think they just wrote it poorly. The authors didn’t put a lot of time into the story, it felt rushed. I mean, there are not a lot of pages in this book; it’s a short novel. Not short enough to be a short story, but not exactly long enough to be a fully fledged novel. I don’t know, it just wan’t executed greatly.

There’s a lot going on when you first dive in. There’s a tornado tearing about a town, people are dying. To be honest, the first couple chapters left me winded and confused because I hadn’t the slightest clue of what was going on.

My biggest issue is with our main characters, Tate and Foster. Yeah, they’re young, eighteen I think, and they met in a what one could call chaotic circumstances. but I didn’t enjoy their interacting at all.

Foster treated Tate like a dick, called him a douche whenever she got a chance. Tate thus took upon himself to call her a bitch every time she lashed out at him. As I was eighteen only a couple years ago, I don’t remember acting so childish. And perhaps it has to due with their power altering their attitude, but let’s at least try to act like our age, and not a bunch of potty mouthed five year olds.

And why, after all this drama between the two, do they find themselves falling in love??? Is it like some peoples attraction to hate sex? There’s no reason given for their “coupling” besides the fact that they’re forced together, and have to live in a house out in the middle of nowhere.

There was something else I want to be noted. The villain is a black male “drug” addict who is supposed to be this brilliant scientist. The first person to die in this book is a black woman who is supposed to be revered. There was also a stereotype made on a white man from the south. He was treated like a sex crazed man who hits on a women when she walks into a room. Not all southerners/men are like that, so I did not appreciate the stereotyping.

Another displeasure of mine were the drawings. What the hell was up with that? I get it’s a superhero tribute since we’re living in the Marvel era, but the illustrations were….yikes. That’s all I can come up with, lol!

Going back to the MCs, who else calls their grandpa “G-Pa???” I sure as hell don’t. Please tell me I’m not alone in this. Not to bash anyone who does, but the nickname just seemed….weird and unnecessary.

Another thing: what’s with the swearing? This is YA. At least in my book, I admit it’s Adult Fantasy so swearing is allowed. The Dysasters is Y O U N G A D U L T. Little kids will be reading this, and the last thing they need is to read about the “Fucktastic Four.”

To be frank, this book almost makes me want to not reread the House of Night series in fear of my adult self bashing my teenage self’s interests.

The only good thing about this book were the Pop Culture references.

I hate it when I DNF a book as well as rating as low as I did, but I’ve never read a book that was….like this one. I don’t want to say “as bad,” but I can’t think of anything else….

If you’re thinking of picking up this book, by all means do so. But don’t expect me to be recommending this one out. And it’s a shame because I’ve been wanting a good superhero book for a long while now.

1.5 stars - Wow. Where do I start? It’s been a while since I’ve had such negative feelings towards a book. It was a promising idea but I felt it heavily lacked the execution and actual sustenance of the intriguing story I was expecting.

An 11 or 12-year-old girl would probably love this. It’s written too casually for my taste - casual dialogue that tries to come off as playful and effortless is anything but that. In fact, it actually is quite annoying at times because it totally took me out of my reading zone/mood. There are so many cringe and eye-roll worthy moments throughout, it’s probably easier to count the non-cringe worthy moments in the book. I also heard myself saying "oh no" so many times, whether it was at the cheesiness of the dialogue or the endless cyclone of drama that happened to fall upon our heroes.

First, we’re introduced to Foster and her adoptive mother Cora who have a “we’re too cool to be mother and daughter” relationship and constantly throw some “smart” banter back and forth. Of course, shortly after, we’re introduced to Mr. Perfect and Foster has all the symptoms of instalove - first comes the denial which entails “he’s so gross”, “you’re so annoying” behavior of course. All this in just the very first chapter! She really does say “He was, of course, perfect” when she first lays her eyes on him. And then soon after, our Mr. Perfect repeatedly calls our heroine a "bitch" and it's played off like it's a totally normal thing. I was already pretty disconnected to the story before this point, and him just calling her a bitch (like there was no creative or better way to express his frustration?!), had me pretty much tuned out. I thought we were past the mid 00’s - early 10’s fascination with “perfect” characters. Where’s the depth? What’s up with the one-dimensional characters and teen angst? But that was only my first impression and so I thought I’d give them a chance and hope they had some substantial character growth. I was wrong in my hopes. They never turn into anything admirable or even compelling enough to warrant any feelings in me besides utter annoyance and a regret of getting myself into this situation.

There was so much drama - Renting a motel room? Drama. Meeting someone? Drama. Driving? Drama. Walking into a store? Drama. Learning about powers? Drama. Talking to people? Drama. Oh, there’s a horse on your property? Drama. Going dancing? Drama. Everything was dramatic. Yet somehow, it was slow and boring and it seemed like there was no movement in this book. In fact, the only thing with the movement were the storms that were brewing.

I couldn’t help myself - I started hating the characters because they were just so insufferable. I somehow got halfway through this and because I’m the type of person who must finish a book, I had to force myself to read the second half, skimming my way through the pages just to find something with some sustenance.

I was a teen in the prime age of the Vampire craze and I LOVED P.C. Cast’s The House of Night series. I stumbled across this new adventure on NetGalley and I was intrigued by the plot line but to be honest, initially worried that it may be too juvenile for my taste. But I decided to request it anyway against my better judgment and now, here I am. At least it’s over.

I'd like to thank the author and publisher for giving an ARC of this book in exchange for being a part of the book tour as well as an honest review.

Normally I give a book a bit more time before DNFing, but I realized pretty quickly that this book wasn't for me at all.

Pretty quickly on I had some major issues with this book, so I'll outline those quickly.

1. The first 15% was already tropey as hell. We had a "girl who was not like other girls", the standard jock love interest who is secretly a nice guy, important person dies early on as a way to reveal important information to MC, etc etc

2. I couldn't stand the writing. Something about the dialogue was extremely cringy, and it made it hard to actually get into the book, even when I found the concept itself fascinating.

3. The book is almost entirely dialogue? In the 15% I read, almost 80% of it was filled with dialogue, and that was just way too much for me. I don't need lots of descriptions, but I need some to support the world and what the character is seeing. I need even more description when I'm not a fan of the characters yet, as something besides them to read, so that made it even more detrimental to this book.

4. Some descriptions of characters felt really weird. Specifically that of Cora, Foster's black adoptive mother. In one page alone they referred to her henna-brown eyes and a spicy calm voice that was creamy and smooth like Mexican hot chocolate. It just felt... off?

5. The beginning 5% made me dislike Foster way too quickly. She's 18, but she's shown to be pretty whiny and demanding, and even kind of throws a tantrum? That, and her endless talking at first, annoyed both the side characters and me.

This, and some other, smaller things, put me off of this book very quickly, and from there I wasn't able to find my way back to it. If you're a fan of P. C. Cast's writing and other books though, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one as well, since the world and concept itself seem interesting enough.

Liked but didn’t love

I would like to thank P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast, and Michelle Cashman at St. Martin’s Press for inviting me to participate in the blog tour. I received a free ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an abridged non-spoiler version. The full review with spoilers can be found on noapologybookreviews.com on February 25th.

Jumping right in—the illustrations were my biggest problem with the book. One, my imagination needs the exercise. Two, they interrupted my reading and pulled me out of scenes. Three, they weren’t good illustrations. Four, they weren’t even accurate! Drove me nuts! Save the graphics for the graphic novel, please.

I liked the premise, though I’d rather it have skewed toward fantasy and magic than science fiction, but it was interesting, nevertheless, and the Casts didn’t make it complicated. I thought what the protags could do with their powers was cool, if a bit corny. I appreciated that the elements were somewhat sentient, and that each of the elemental powers came with a major weakness.

I related to Foster because I’m just like her—a sarcastic introvert who generally doesn’t like people or want to be around them, and whose honest opinions, practical nature, and blunt, straightforward approach to conversation comes across as bitchy and rude when that’s not how it’s meant. Yeah, sometimes she was just plain mean to Tate, but you’d probably be kinda snappy and on edge, too, if you’d just watched a natural disaster kill your family along with dozens of other people and found out that you can create tornadoes and that you’re suddenly neck-deep in a conspiracy you don’t understand or know what to do about.

I didn’t like Tate. A lot of reviewers seem to dislike Foster because she wasn’t perky and friendly and optimistic and liked Tate because he was. I’m the opposite. I thought he was an airhead and didn’t buy for second that he was into books like he said he was. He was a good person, sure, and had heaps of good intention, but he wasn’t serious enough for me to take seriously. He played into the glass-half-full thing a little too much; the gravity of the situation and consequences didn’t seem to weigh on him. All of the above trauma happened to him, too, but he was over it, like, a couple days later. While Foster was trying to figure things out and come to grips, he was off grocery shopping, playing with the horses, and hanging out with Finn.

The Casts made a solid effort to give the antagonists motivations and personalities that didn’t just amount to “bad guy because evil,” but Dr. Stewart is still a cliche in that he ultimately wants to rule the world and make everyone bow before him. Eve, however, was a very well-developed and three-dimensional character; an impossible, damned-if-you-do damned-if-you-don’t conflict always gains my sympathy. I liked Mark, too, and can’t wait to see what they do with his character. He was caught between a rock and hard place as well.

There are a lot of expletives; the Casts aren’t afraid to toss the F word around, but I didn’t mind at all. In fact, I enjoyed it, because I like to swear myself. Also, there’s a lot of humor in the novel, and I found myself laughing out loud several times. “May the power of Christ compel you!” *snorts*

Overall, I liked The Dysasters, but I didn’t love it. I’m super excited for Book 2, though, because I want to see what happens with Bastien and Charlotte, the water kids. The Casts have a House of Night Otherworlds book coming in October, and they seem to typically publish two books a year, so I don’t expect book two of The Dysasters until early next year. Until then, I think I’ll borrow the House of Night audiobooks from the library and see if they’re any good. I LOVED P. C.’s Goddess Summoning series, so I’m prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt.

The thing that I hate most about this book is this- I have absolutely no idea how long I'm gonna have to wait for the next one!

So this is an ensemble story with a revolving cast of characters but the main focus is on Foster and Tate. These two teen protagonists are being tested out from pretty much the beginning of the book. They can't seem to catch a break from all the bad being thrown at them. And yet, in all that they can't escape that inexplicable draw they feel toward each other. Real talk- the romance angle isn't my super favorite, but I appreciate that they're so busy saving the world that that part doesn't take over the story.

This has the makings of a fun story, a new kind of Captain Planet with way more interesting villains. Can't wait to see what's next!

I was a huge - HUGE - fan of the utterly addictive House of Night series. So, when I had the opportunity to give this one a try? I jumped on it. The premise of this sounds so amazing and I was so beyond excited to invest in another series by these authors.

Unfortunately, this was a miss for me practically right out the gate. I felt like I was plopped into a the middle of a story that was halfway finished. There's a lot of action, but it came on fast and furious and well before I had any chance to invest in the characters or really care what happened to them (or why).

Additionally, I wasn't aware that there were graphic novel components to this going in. This does not seem like something that should bother me, but I found them distracting and they kept pulling me out of the story. Clearly not a storytelling technique that works for me!

In the end, while I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to read it, it's a disappointing DNF for me.

During the years of The Vampire Craze, P.C. and Kristin Cast’s The House of Night-series was one of my absolute favourite. They were witty, adventurous and magical (with swoon-worthy romances). I have also read other books my the mother-daughter duo, which I have genuinely enjoyed; even if not all of them have been the height of literature, at least they were entertaining. So naturally, when receiving this book as an ARC, I had high hopes.

The idea behind the story is great, and I can appreciate that the Casts are trying a new genre while still keeping true to their favoured themes. The two main characters in this book are connected to the element air, and their powers are a result of genetic manipulation done to them before they were born. That I can buy. But the way that they interact with the element is still very much in a magical sense, not even trying for scientific. So while it tries it best to be a science fiction it reads more like a fantasy novel, which makes it feel a bit conflicted. The dialogue and some of the writing also feels a bit forced at some points, making it a bit awkward, especially coming from two such experienced writers as the Casts.

Throughout the book there were also drawings thrown in, in a comic-book-like manner illustrating scenes described in the book. This seems to be somewhat “in” at the moment, with books like Cassandra Clare’s The Queen of Darkness also applying this artistic method of enriching the story. Except I’m not sure it enriched anything except my annoyance as I was reading. I really disliked the style of the drawings, and they made the characters very unlikable.

Some elements in the book were fresh and modern, while some still felt underdeveloped. There were characters introduced that I think I would have liked to get to know better, but also others that just felt flat. The drawings were a drawback (sorry, not trying to be witty), since I didn’t like their style, and they made me dislike the characters that I otherwise at least would have tried to understand. The plot was unsurprising, but there were no major faults either. The ending was a bit dramatic, opening up for a continuation in the next book, but at the moment I don’t think I will continue with the series. I give The Dysasters two and a half stars, rounded up.

Foster Stewart is tired of life on the road. It's her 18th Birthday and she is spending it in a cheap motel in Homer Missouri with her stepmother Cora. She hopes that after Cora finds the guy she is looking for life can get back to normal. Cora's contact is at the football game where Foster bumps into the star quarterback Tate the "Nighthawk" Taylor who just happens to be their contact. When a strange tornado destroys the small town, killing those they love, Tate and Foster find themselves on the run together. The soon discover that they both have unusual abilities that are linked to the element of air and that there are others like them with affinities for water, earth, and fire. They find themselves on the run from four dangerous elementals who are working for Foster's father, they scientist who gave them their abilities and he has a diabolical plan for them. Foster and Tate must work together to hone their powers before it’s too late.

The Dysasters is a new YA fantasy that involves a scientific experiment that involved binding elements to pairs of children on a genetic level, giving them abilities similar to superhero's. This first book in the series primarily focuses on Foster and Tate (air elements). I have read several books by P.C. Cast, and enjoyed the House of Night Series, so I was excited to get the chance to read her new novel. I loved the cover and the plot synopsis sounded really interesting. The novel includes illustrations that give it a comic book/graphic novel feel but it’s written in the style of a traditional novel. I had a hard time getting through it because I didn't like any of the characters. The plot felt really juvenile even for the younger YA audience and honestly felt a bit melodramatic. The novel does include a diverse cast of characters but their personalities felt forced and less authentic. I do think there are many YA readers who will enjoy this series but it just wasn't what I was expecting.

This story starts on a storm and ends with the beginnings of love and a new type of family! The ones we choose and not the ones chosen for us are just as much family if not more so as they accept us as we are. I cannot wait to see where this leads!

Foster has issues with a capital I! She has trust issues which are understandable, she cannot relate to, nor does she like people and if that wasn’t enough she has lost the only person who understands her and she’s running for her life.

Enter Tate who is the exact opposite. He is compassionate, considerate and a southern gentleman. He is shoved into Foster’s path and gets hit by devastating loss and forced to run with Foster. While most people would give up on Foster he understands that she has not had a normal, loving upbringing and he intends on getting past her harsh exterior and releasing the truth he knows lies beneath.

All the while Foster and Tate are dealing with their new discovery, the element of air and how to find the missing six with who are thought to hold the rest of the elements. Of course, the core four are also hot on their tails.

The characters are unique and quirky and peppered throughout, the Cast girls touch on very real, very important social issues in a seamless and loving way.

This story is full of action, has great world building and things should only heat up from here on out.

I had a hard time with this book. I wanted to like it, I really really did. Everything about it seemed promising as you have a mad scientist, genetic experiments, super powers, and kids running around amok. These ideas should have led to a fun action packed sci fi romp. Instead of a fun Captain Planet-esque read, it fell flat.

The Dysasters is a young adult book centering around a group of teens with remarkable talents. This book was well written and has some undertones of navigating tricky family relationships which I appreciated. Very creative!

3 stars
Well I am caught between a rock and a hard place here.

I love PC Cast’s books.
I have read her House of Night series, her Moon Chosen as well as her Goddess Summoning series and really loved them.
When I learned that she was writing a new series with her daughter I requested the first book as fast as I could open my browser and click “request”.

Yet now that I have read I must sadly admit that this may be the one book that was not for me.

Let me explain my reasoning…

The concept of the story is really promising as you have a scientist playing god and messing with the AND of embryos. As result you get kids able to manipulated elements like air, water, fire, earth.
Of course the first experiments are not flawless and you have kids who are adults now suffering from side effects of their powers. Said side effects could make them go mad.
The scientist changed his experiments and created others but I won’t give details as I don’t want to spoil anything.

This idea is very interesting and leads to many action scenes, another asset of the book as you have the first kids trying to get ahold of the younger kids.
The very opening of the book was puzzling as you jump into a very intense scene with a tornado wreaking havoc on a stadium and a whole town. People flee, others die. It was action packed but also deeply puzzling because you feel that Foster and maybe Tate have something to do with the disaster but not knowing what exactly. Snippets of information are thrown here and there but you have to wait to entangled the facts and get a coherent picture of what is happening.

When things went wrong for me was with the main characters Foster and Tate.
I know they both are very young adults as they barely turned eighteen and that they met in dramatic circumstances
BUT
I did not like the way they interacted at all.
Foster looked down on Tate considering he was a D-bag when honestly I could not see what he had said when they met to deserve that title. Tate reacted of course and called her the “B” word. Not endearing at all!
I get that they are big teenagers and they can have attitude because I have some at home yet it was not really pleasant to read. Maybe their element was the source of the mood swings but it was hard to follow and I needed something more to really grasp who they were. Sadly I must say that I could not really connect with them and this put a damper on my pleasure of reading.

I must also mention the drawings in the book. If on the one hand as an amateur of art I thought they were beautiful, on the other hand as a novel reader and not a comics reader it annoyed me as it “forced” me to pictures the characters a certain way while one of the best parts of reading novels is creating the characters in your head. I loved it in Moon Chosen but the drawings were mostly of plants and animals, not herding me in one direction to picture the main characters.

Will I read the second book of this series? Probably not as it does not seem to be the books for me.
Will I read other books from these authors? Of course as they have proven that they are excellent writers and no one can love every books a favorite author writes.
Thank you to St Martin’s Press for gifting this book!