I read this book years ago when the ARC was provided but wasn’t an avid NetGalley user then and never reviewed this. I appreciate NetGalley having provided me with an ARC! *SIGH* I was so bored reading this book that I almost wanted to DNF it. There’s a love triangle in here but still, this whole book was just boring.

Read this one a while ago and just realized I never sent feedback, so I'm turning back to my original review. I was the wrong reader for this one and couldn't connect to the characters and found the story a bit plodding.

I have mixed feelings about this book. There were things that I liked and some that didn’t do a whole lot for me. I thought that the world that this was set in and the premise was incredibly interesting and well-done. I do wonder why there was such a big focus on goats during parts of the story. I like goats but it was weird how much there were talked about in this book. I was not a fan of some of the decisions the characters made which took me out of the story a bit.

Greta lives with other kids like her at the Precepture school. In a world controlled by Artificial Intelligence, each of the world leaders must send their children to this school. All is well if there is peace but if war breaks out the children of the leaders involved are killed. I thought that this was a pretty original set-up and was curious how things might change when a new student, Elián, arrives. As it looks like Greta and Elián may be at risk, they have some big decisions to make.

Madeleine Maby did a wonderful job with this book. I thought that she did a great job bringing this group of characters to life. She added enough emotion to her voice to really take the story to the next level. I have not listened to her work before but hope to again in the future.

I have a feeling that many readers will enjoy this one quite a bit. It didn’t completely click with me but I still found a lot to appreciate in the story. I don’t think that I will continue with this series but am glad that I gave this one a try.

I received a review copy of this book from Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

This was a great concept and I'm hoping the author can improve on the writing style in the follow up book. This has promise, but needs more delivery on the dialogue.

My interests have changed since I requested this book as I no longer primarily read YA. At this time, I won't be reading or reviewing this title as it does not fit my current interests or the interests of followers of my blog/Instagram. Thank you.

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow was a favorite within my classroom library. My students devoured the world of Greta and Elian. The Scorpion Rules was a fantastic book to include in our Dystopian Book Club unit to discuss power structures and and government. I would recommend The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow be included in middle and high school classroom libraries and be included in book club units.

Interests have changed - no longer going to review this book as its bo my cup of tea any longer - sorry

The book did not really work for me. I DNF'ed it. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the many characters in the book and I found myself putting down the book a lot because it was never really catching my attention.

I received this book free from Netgalley for an honest review.

I’m sorry, I no longer have access to this title to read and review it for you.

Artificial Intelligence rules the world and each of the world's leaders must send a child to be held hostage. Greta has been hostage most of her life and is prepared to die if she must, but after meeting Elian, the newest hostage, she wonders if things must continue as they have been. Elian bucks the machines that control their lives, and consequences abound.

Bow sets up nicely for a sequel with people warring against machines to regain control of the earth.

Truly one of the creepiest and thought provoking books on artificial intelligence I've ever read---an interesting examination of humanity.

Lo! Behold! Yet another book that it says I downloaded but *gasp* isn't on my kindle. Not sure what that's all about, but I'm becoming very familiar with the kindle store's samples at this point. Man, this book sounded so good. But I just don't have time for books that don't grab me right off the bat anymore and this one just didn't. Character's are my favorite thing about any book, and from the beginning I just couldn't connect to Greta. I was bored to tears by the story and pacing, and will not be continuing with this one.

Did not finish. I had a very hard time connecting with this book. While I was intrigued by the premise of this book, I couldn't get into it. My rating is based on the portion I did read.

Three stars: A dystopian novel that tries to be original, but it’s plodding plot holds it back.

The Children of Peace are sitting through another boring lesson delivered by their AI teacher, when a tell tale dust column appears on the horizon. The children try to hide their panic, but they know that a Swan Rider is coming for one of them. War has been declared somewhere in the world, against the edict of Talis, the AI who took control of the shattered world. In order to keep the peace, Talis holds a child from each of the ruling countries leaders. If one of those countries declares war on another, their child is sacrificed. Greta is stunned when the Swan Rider doesn’t select her, she was certain her country had gone to war. Things then take another dramatic turn when another outsider, Elian, arrives. Elian is recalcitrant and he refuses to accept his fate like a calm cow. Another disaster soon follows, and it is up to Greta to save them all. Can she outwit Talis?
What I Liked:
*The Scorpion Rules is a YA dystopian novel that manages to be somewhat original. I enjoyed the unique concepts, the interesting characters and the surprising developments. This one indeed is a bit different as it takes many of the well worn tropes you are used to in the YA genre and shakes them up.
*I liked that diversity of the characters. Considering that the core characters are children from ruling countries across the world, you get ethnic diversity, which I enjoyed. It was refreshing to have a diverse cast of characters.
*The bad guy, Talis, is not what you expect. Talis is the Artificial Intelligence that took control of the world when it was ripped apart by war and chaos. If you are expecting Talis to be a plotting, maniacal and unreasonable robot type being, you are wrong. He is funny, intelligent and entertaining. I found myself liking this would be villain.
*The romance ended up being a surprise. I was totally expecting something to develop between Greta and the rabble rouser, but I was shocked when the romance takes and unexpected turn. Let’s just say it was kind of a love triangle with a f/f relationship taking center stage. However, the one thing I appreciated was that the romance was a side story, it never took over the plot.
*The ending was also unexpected. There is a shocking turn of events, that caught me off guard. I was stunned. Big props to the author for thinking outside the box.
And The Not So Much:
*No big surprise, the books ends with a cliffhanger. Ugh. When will the cliffhanger trope die?
*The biggest problem I had with this book was the plodding pace. The book dragged and dragged. There is far too much focus on the every day, mundane activities such as wrangling goats. I just didn’t care. The book needed more action and danger.
*I never believed that whole Children of Peace concept. I think that if a child is held hostage far away from their parents, it would be easy for the parents to sacrifice their child.

The Scorpion Rules is an interesting YA dystopian novel that is creative and unique, but it fails with a ridiculously slow plot. I was bored with all the discussion on farming and goats. Still the AI, Talis, made the book interesting, and I did like some of the developments that went against the YA norm. If you want a YA dystopian that attempts to think outside the genre, give this a go.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

I was so looking forward to this book when I saw it and read the blurb. I am sorry to say though that this one was not for me. I would definitely say give it a chance for yourself to see if it is for you. I was more confused than anything though and it was sort of boring to me.

Sorry Erin Bow, this one was just not my cup of tea.

I immediately devoured this book: the story is compelling, gripping, catalytic. Bow's poetic skills empower a wondrous range of characters, from the mercurial and cryptic AI, Talis, to the many hostages who share Greta's uneasy situation. I adored that this was not the conventional "girl meets boy who helps her save the world and save her" set-up. Indeed, Greta is part of a much more complex situation, beautifully imagined - both personally and politically.

This book won't be to everyone's taste. (I have a visceral reaction to apple presses now. Thanks, Erin!) It's brutal with people and with hearts. For me, it was pretty near to perfect.

I tried to like this one. I was intrigued by the concept and fond of the thoughtful and pastoral presentation of the characters. No matter how long I read, though, I just couldn't connect with it.

Absolutely incredible. It started out as what I thought the 'typical' YA dystopian would be...and then went down an entirely different avenue and was amazing. I loved this. I cried.

A great new dystopian world and completely compelling romance. It was heartbreaking and haunting, as well as completely complex and different than expected.