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The Grounded Trilogy #1
Grounded
Faith kept me plain. Science made me complicated.
Book 1 in the Grounded Trilogy
My name is Lydia Troyer. Growing up in Hemlock Hollow, my life has always been simple. Things in my community haven’t changed much in over three hundred years, since the time my Amish ancestors came to what is now the Green Republic. I milk my cow by hand, make fresh bread every morning, and hope to be courted by Jeremiah, a boy I’ve known since childhood.
When my father falls ill, the English doctor says a hospital outside the wall can heal him. Jeremiah convinces me to go on rumspringa, to experience the outside world as an Englisher in order to be closer to my father during his recovery. Others have gone before me. They claim it’s an adventure. But adventure turns to horror as an ordinary light switch thrusts me into a new world, and revelations about my personal history make me question everything I believe.
All my life I’ve worked to be simple. I can’t pretend anymore. Nothing about me is simple.
Book 1 in the Grounded Trilogy
My name is Lydia Troyer. Growing up in Hemlock Hollow, my life has always been simple. Things in my community haven’t changed much in over three hundred years, since the time my Amish ancestors came to what is now the Green Republic. I milk my cow by hand, make fresh bread every morning, and hope to be courted by Jeremiah, a boy I’ve known since childhood.
When my father falls ill, the English doctor says a hospital outside the wall can heal him. Jeremiah convinces me to go on rumspringa, to experience the outside world as an Englisher in order to be closer to my father during his recovery. Others have gone before me. They claim it’s an adventure. But adventure turns to horror as an ordinary light switch thrusts me into a new world, and revelations about my personal history make me question everything I believe.
All my life I’ve worked to be simple. I can’t pretend anymore. Nothing about me is simple.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2012
640 people are currently reading
2922 people want to read
About the author
G.P. Ching
26 books984 followersG.P. Ching is a USA Today bestselling author of fantasy novels for young adults and not-so-young adults. She bakes wicked cookies, is commonly believed to be raised by wolves, and thinks both the ocean and the North Woods hold magical healing powers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews
October 23, 2021
This was an excellent start to a dystopian thriller that had it's share of heart stopping excitement as well as slow background devel0pment of the characters, the world order and the plot.
Lydia is a 17 year old Amish woman, who ventures out into the Englisher world for the first time with her best friend Jerimiah after her father is taken there in a medical emergency. Lydia has been protected from the real world and who she really is for her entire life, and does she ever get a wake up call. Ironically the seemingly evil rulers of the new world are Greens, so I'll leave it there for anyone to discover.
Lydia is an engaging and strong character learning as she goes, not everyone is who they seem to be, so buckle up, but the action is well spaced so we all get a chance to breathe. I enjoyed this one and will be on number two asap.
Lydia is a 17 year old Amish woman, who ventures out into the Englisher world for the first time with her best friend Jerimiah after her father is taken there in a medical emergency. Lydia has been protected from the real world and who she really is for her entire life, and does she ever get a wake up call. Ironically the seemingly evil rulers of the new world are Greens, so I'll leave it there for anyone to discover.
Lydia is an engaging and strong character learning as she goes, not everyone is who they seem to be, so buckle up, but the action is well spaced so we all get a chance to breathe. I enjoyed this one and will be on number two asap.
July 28, 2015
I don't read much of reviews ahead of getting a book. I read the first chapter only for this one and it certainly didn't give away nor did the description on this page that this is a YA book. I'm so over books hiding this instead of making it clear.
Whilst this book had an unusual concept it was so simplistic, the god fearing girl with a super power. She goes from "I won't hurt an ant" to blowing people out of her way...but it's all in god's plan. Added to that, how it was written - it just wasn't good.
Not recommended and I won't waste my time with the rest.
Whilst this book had an unusual concept it was so simplistic, the god fearing girl with a super power. She goes from "I won't hurt an ant" to blowing people out of her way...but it's all in god's plan. Added to that, how it was written - it just wasn't good.
Not recommended and I won't waste my time with the rest.
June 4, 2015
This book started off okay, with an interesting premise and halfway decent writing, but the quality of everything rolled steadily downhill and by the end my brain was balking and I was having to read each sentence multiple times because my synapses were shutting down as some sort of protective mechanism against the crap I was forcing myself to read. I'm so glad I got this book for free; if I'd paid money for it, I would be even more annoyed than I already am.
Please, dear author, I want some more...
I thought the premise of this book sounded pretty interesting, with the genetic modification of people to produce electricity, and I hoped the inclusion of the Amish element would add a unique dimension to the story. The pace at the beginning was good, so I got sucked in. And... that's about all I can say that's positive.
It's all a matter of taste...
Where do I begin to describe what's wrong with Grounded? There's just too much...
Lydia's world makes little sense. Basically, the world has been taken over by the Green Republic. Imagine if Monsanto, Enbridge, and Greenpeace joined forces to form a fascist government (without any apparent leader), and that's pretty much what you've got with the Green Republic. This makes no sense, of course. That was just the beginning of the ridiculousness. We've got people running around with octagonal red blood cells (which somehow don't shred their blood vessels), electricity mixing with water without consequences (except near the end), a group of people living in a nuclear exclusion zone with zero ill effects, engineered meat that somehow smells delicious but has no flavour, a bias against organic gardening because it taints the groundwater with chemicals (wait... what?), scientists who operate on assumption rather than facts... If you like the science in the novels you read to at least be plausible, it's probably best you stay away from this book.
The problem with making half your characters Amish is that, if it's not done exactly right, it can come off as really wrong. Lydia and her friend Jeremiah both start out in the Amish world, and it's all fine at first... but when they get to the English world, they (especially Lydia) lose most aspects of their Amish-ness. Lydia seems to know an awful lot about the English world, even before she's told certain things (which leads to awkward passages where she names certain unfamiliar objects before being told what they're called). She also doesn't speak like an Amish person, and uses phrases that I highly doubt a real Amish person would use (including ones that seem to border on blasphemy)... and then, at other times, she'll fall into this pious, submissive, self-deprecating mindset that I guess is supposed to show her Amish background. I also just didn't like Lydia as a character. She's a special little snowflake who turns out to be more powerful than everyone else... and so, naturally, she has to be kept out of the loop and constantly protected by the men in her life.
Which brings me to the sexism. It was subtle and possibly unconscious, but it really made me uncomfortable. Apparently the main trait of the Amish is rampant sexism (leading to a ridiculous scene where Jeremiah refuses Lydia's help during an escape attempt and leaps from a window shouting, "Let a man be a man!"). Throughout the book, Lydia is treated as incapable and fragile, though that doesn't stop the males from using physical force against her when they want to get her attention; whether it's punching her in the face (her trainer), grabbing her shoulders and shaking her (her father), or kicking her (her love interest), it's made to seem like Lydia is such an airhead that she can't focus without a man slapping her around.
So... these men. None of them are all that interesting, either. There's Jeremiah, Lydia's childhood friend, who everyone thought she'd eventually marry. But that doesn't happen because she's too busy being coy, stringing him along, and flirting with the new guy she just met... right in front of him! There's Korwin, the stupendously bland love interest who's continually latching himself on to the heroine's hand. When Lydia and Korwin kiss, they blow out circuits. They're warned that if they ever have sex, the result could be equivalent to a nuclear blast. (But at the end of the book, Lydia feels she knows better and thinks they can probably contain their power and not have anything go boom. Judging by the way the book ends, I suspect she's wrong. So I kind of wish they'd gotten down to business and put a neat end to the trilogy right then and there: "So we consummated our marriage and blew up the village. Whoops! My bad.")
The other thing that really drove me to distraction was the pacing. The first part starts out strong and moves along well... but at a certain point, things grind to a halt. It might've been when Lydia kept wandering around the Stuart mansion for no good reason. It might've been when her trainer offered up backstory in dribs and drabs, making me more frustrated than Lydia herself when we found out we'd have to wait until the next training session to find out more. Things picked up again near the end, but then a lot was glossed over with a whole bunch of telling.
Let's get technical...
This book definitely could have used some more editing. The writing wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great, either. Especially by the end, it was getting a little rough. And I can't look past it when an author misspells their own character's name; how can you not remember how your own character's name is spelled? Plus, it's confusing when you give characters names starting with the same letter: Konrad and Korwin, Jameson and Jeremiah and Jonas... A little more variety would have been nice.
The verdict...
Grounded is offensive to women, to men, and to the Amish. A spark of a good idea was ruined by a poor execution. I have no desire to read the sequels. I'm just relieved that I'm done with this one... and that it was free.
Quotable moment:
http://theladybugreads.blogspot.ca/20...
Please, dear author, I want some more...
I thought the premise of this book sounded pretty interesting, with the genetic modification of people to produce electricity, and I hoped the inclusion of the Amish element would add a unique dimension to the story. The pace at the beginning was good, so I got sucked in. And... that's about all I can say that's positive.
It's all a matter of taste...
Where do I begin to describe what's wrong with Grounded? There's just too much...
Lydia's world makes little sense. Basically, the world has been taken over by the Green Republic. Imagine if Monsanto, Enbridge, and Greenpeace joined forces to form a fascist government (without any apparent leader), and that's pretty much what you've got with the Green Republic. This makes no sense, of course. That was just the beginning of the ridiculousness. We've got people running around with octagonal red blood cells (which somehow don't shred their blood vessels), electricity mixing with water without consequences (except near the end), a group of people living in a nuclear exclusion zone with zero ill effects, engineered meat that somehow smells delicious but has no flavour, a bias against organic gardening because it taints the groundwater with chemicals (wait... what?), scientists who operate on assumption rather than facts... If you like the science in the novels you read to at least be plausible, it's probably best you stay away from this book.
The problem with making half your characters Amish is that, if it's not done exactly right, it can come off as really wrong. Lydia and her friend Jeremiah both start out in the Amish world, and it's all fine at first... but when they get to the English world, they (especially Lydia) lose most aspects of their Amish-ness. Lydia seems to know an awful lot about the English world, even before she's told certain things (which leads to awkward passages where she names certain unfamiliar objects before being told what they're called). She also doesn't speak like an Amish person, and uses phrases that I highly doubt a real Amish person would use (including ones that seem to border on blasphemy)... and then, at other times, she'll fall into this pious, submissive, self-deprecating mindset that I guess is supposed to show her Amish background. I also just didn't like Lydia as a character. She's a special little snowflake who turns out to be more powerful than everyone else... and so, naturally, she has to be kept out of the loop and constantly protected by the men in her life.
Which brings me to the sexism. It was subtle and possibly unconscious, but it really made me uncomfortable. Apparently the main trait of the Amish is rampant sexism (leading to a ridiculous scene where Jeremiah refuses Lydia's help during an escape attempt and leaps from a window shouting, "Let a man be a man!"). Throughout the book, Lydia is treated as incapable and fragile, though that doesn't stop the males from using physical force against her when they want to get her attention; whether it's punching her in the face (her trainer), grabbing her shoulders and shaking her (her father), or kicking her (her love interest), it's made to seem like Lydia is such an airhead that she can't focus without a man slapping her around.
So... these men. None of them are all that interesting, either. There's Jeremiah, Lydia's childhood friend, who everyone thought she'd eventually marry. But that doesn't happen because she's too busy being coy, stringing him along, and flirting with the new guy she just met... right in front of him! There's Korwin, the stupendously bland love interest who's continually latching himself on to the heroine's hand. When Lydia and Korwin kiss, they blow out circuits. They're warned that if they ever have sex, the result could be equivalent to a nuclear blast. (But at the end of the book, Lydia feels she knows better and thinks they can probably contain their power and not have anything go boom. Judging by the way the book ends, I suspect she's wrong. So I kind of wish they'd gotten down to business and put a neat end to the trilogy right then and there: "So we consummated our marriage and blew up the village. Whoops! My bad.")
The other thing that really drove me to distraction was the pacing. The first part starts out strong and moves along well... but at a certain point, things grind to a halt. It might've been when Lydia kept wandering around the Stuart mansion for no good reason. It might've been when her trainer offered up backstory in dribs and drabs, making me more frustrated than Lydia herself when we found out we'd have to wait until the next training session to find out more. Things picked up again near the end, but then a lot was glossed over with a whole bunch of telling.
Let's get technical...
This book definitely could have used some more editing. The writing wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great, either. Especially by the end, it was getting a little rough. And I can't look past it when an author misspells their own character's name; how can you not remember how your own character's name is spelled? Plus, it's confusing when you give characters names starting with the same letter: Konrad and Korwin, Jameson and Jeremiah and Jonas... A little more variety would have been nice.
The verdict...
Grounded is offensive to women, to men, and to the Amish. A spark of a good idea was ruined by a poor execution. I have no desire to read the sequels. I'm just relieved that I'm done with this one... and that it was free.
Quotable moment:
I cup his face and my blue glow bathes him in light. As I lower my lips to his, the draw I've felt to Korwin from the very beginning takes hold. My energy flows into him freely, in one direction at first, but then just as Maxwell explained, the flip comes and the power between us morphs into something else, dividing and multiplying. He is empty, so it takes some time before the power returns to me. But when it does, it almost knocks me off the bed. Our cells feed each other, revolving faster and faster. Atoms in a perpetual dance of motion heat the air around us. Energy pours out and in until my muscles twitch and the paint on the wall behind Korwin begins to peel and singe.
http://theladybugreads.blogspot.ca/20...
July 26, 2017
I selected this book because it sounded interesting and frankly the price was right: free. At the time, I did not realize that it was a young adult science fiction. Still, unlike many reviewers, I did not find this first book of the Grounded Trilogy overly simplistic. Yes, the idea of an Amish girl discovering that she has unusual powers which at first she assumes are God-given and later learns are man-made is rather trite. And yes the love triangle that develops between the three main characters is certainly yawning material. However, I viewed these admittedly simplistic elements of the story as mere vehicles for the more complex question the book raises about how good ideas, i.e. energy conservation and living green, can become corrupted. In short, the bad guys in this story began with a vision of the future that most of us today would support. And yet that vision became corrupted and led to the formation of an authoritarian state. Thus at least this first book in the series raises complex questions about the nature of power and the fact that even good ideas wrongly implemented can lead to disaster.
February 23, 2013
Grounded is an unputdownable multi-layered Dystopian read. Filled with adventure, mystery and a bait of romance, this book drew me in from the first page. I loved this book and have already have list of people who I know will NEED to read it.
Here are some of the things I love about this book:
*The premise for this story is very unique. Not only does this book have the nonscientific elements and Dystopian elements, but it also has the tie to our world through Lydia's Amish community.
*I was sucked into the book from the first page of the prologue and the book did not let me go until the very last page. My husband would argue that it did not even let me go then because I keep telling him about the book.
*The whole back story of how this world came to be is, while I hope not probable, very believable. I can see society making those decision. I will not get all spoilery and give those decisions away, but they are not out of the realm of possibility given the right circumstances.
*The characters were so well written that I felt like I knew them. Lydia stayed true to who she was and her personality even when she had to make decisions that were not at all what an Amish would have ever imagine anyone would have to make. Korwin grew up in a much less loving, supportive, and peaceful fashion, yet has this innate goodness that just makes you immediately signing up to be his number one cheerleader.
*Unlike most Dystopian books, the heroine from this book is not really an "insider" or someone from within the society who realizes that things are not how they could be. Instead, because of her Amish home, she is the outsider and that made this story really different. I love how it did not take the standard path.
*I have read that this is planned to be a trilogy and I will for certain sure be reading them all, but it did not feel like one. What I mean by that is that it felt like a complete story in and of itself. If it ended with this book, I would feel quite content. There are some loose ends, but it felt done. This was quite a relief since the other books are not out yet.
*While this book is YA in nature, it is "deep" enough that it had completely enthralled at almost *cough40cough*. I would feel comfortable recommending this book to a mature 14 plus audience. Some of the topics in this book were intense, as is the case with Dystopia. There was some violence (nothing was graphic). There were no sexual situations (kissing and sexual tension...yes).
I simply loved this novel and highly recommend it to anyone who loves dystopia, science fiction, Amish novels, or simply loves great YA. I would not, however, recommend starting this book if you only have 15 minutes before you need to go somewhere because it will make you late. It takes a special kind of will power to put this book down.
Here are some of the things I love about this book:
*The premise for this story is very unique. Not only does this book have the nonscientific elements and Dystopian elements, but it also has the tie to our world through Lydia's Amish community.
*I was sucked into the book from the first page of the prologue and the book did not let me go until the very last page. My husband would argue that it did not even let me go then because I keep telling him about the book.
*The whole back story of how this world came to be is, while I hope not probable, very believable. I can see society making those decision. I will not get all spoilery and give those decisions away, but they are not out of the realm of possibility given the right circumstances.
*The characters were so well written that I felt like I knew them. Lydia stayed true to who she was and her personality even when she had to make decisions that were not at all what an Amish would have ever imagine anyone would have to make. Korwin grew up in a much less loving, supportive, and peaceful fashion, yet has this innate goodness that just makes you immediately signing up to be his number one cheerleader.
*Unlike most Dystopian books, the heroine from this book is not really an "insider" or someone from within the society who realizes that things are not how they could be. Instead, because of her Amish home, she is the outsider and that made this story really different. I love how it did not take the standard path.
*I have read that this is planned to be a trilogy and I will for certain sure be reading them all, but it did not feel like one. What I mean by that is that it felt like a complete story in and of itself. If it ended with this book, I would feel quite content. There are some loose ends, but it felt done. This was quite a relief since the other books are not out yet.
*While this book is YA in nature, it is "deep" enough that it had completely enthralled at almost *cough40cough*. I would feel comfortable recommending this book to a mature 14 plus audience. Some of the topics in this book were intense, as is the case with Dystopia. There was some violence (nothing was graphic). There were no sexual situations (kissing and sexual tension...yes).
I simply loved this novel and highly recommend it to anyone who loves dystopia, science fiction, Amish novels, or simply loves great YA. I would not, however, recommend starting this book if you only have 15 minutes before you need to go somewhere because it will make you late. It takes a special kind of will power to put this book down.
July 14, 2013
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
I was a bit wary of reading this book as only ONE of my "friends" marked it as to-read, and no one else from my friends list knows about this book.
So with great trepidation I started this book.
I was pleasantly surprised.
In a dystopian future, the world has been taken over by the Greens. Obsessed with energy and animal cruelty, they have taken over people's lives. Away from this world is the Amish community that thrives on farming and the simple way of life. Refusing to give into the Greens' command, they live separated by a wall...
Lydia is the result of an experiment. Secluded in the Amish community, the Greens don't know about her, until one day they do.
This book had tasteful dystopia setting, a love triangle and a good action plot. And the best thing is that it is a stand-alone. I can't remember the last time I read a standalone dystopian YA.
ARC Courtesy of NetGalley and All Night Reads.
I was a bit wary of reading this book as only ONE of my "friends" marked it as to-read, and no one else from my friends list knows about this book.
So with great trepidation I started this book.
I was pleasantly surprised.
In a dystopian future, the world has been taken over by the Greens. Obsessed with energy and animal cruelty, they have taken over people's lives. Away from this world is the Amish community that thrives on farming and the simple way of life. Refusing to give into the Greens' command, they live separated by a wall...
Lydia is the result of an experiment. Secluded in the Amish community, the Greens don't know about her, until one day they do.
This book had tasteful dystopia setting, a love triangle and a good action plot. And the best thing is that it is a stand-alone. I can't remember the last time I read a standalone dystopian YA.
ARC Courtesy of NetGalley and All Night Reads.
May 23, 2022
No, I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore. I'm DNFing this book at 62% and I feel so much better about life now.
This had such a great premise and an incredibly strong opening, but I have been bored for the last 20%.
I'm not forcing myself to finish this when there are books out there I actually want to read.
It's such a shame because it started off so good and then reached the middle point and sagged so badly.
I pushed on but there's just something incredibly unengaging about it now and I just don't care. I don't care what choices Lydia makes. I don't care which boy she picks (or if she refuses to choose at all). I don't care if she gets a HEA. I don't care if the world explodes and everyone dies. I wish I did, because I was rooting for her so badly in the opening pages.
2022 was supposed to be my year of reading what I wanted and I forgot that for a minute.
This had such a great premise and an incredibly strong opening, but I have been bored for the last 20%.
I'm not forcing myself to finish this when there are books out there I actually want to read.
It's such a shame because it started off so good and then reached the middle point and sagged so badly.
I pushed on but there's just something incredibly unengaging about it now and I just don't care. I don't care what choices Lydia makes. I don't care which boy she picks (or if she refuses to choose at all). I don't care if she gets a HEA. I don't care if the world explodes and everyone dies. I wish I did, because I was rooting for her so badly in the opening pages.
2022 was supposed to be my year of reading what I wanted and I forgot that for a minute.
January 17, 2018
May 2016
3.5 stars
It was good. A little too plot driven for the first three quarters of the book. And the romance was somewhat cheesy.
Definitely the most unique setting for a dystopian. Props for uniqueness.
3.5 stars
It was good. A little too plot driven for the first three quarters of the book. And the romance was somewhat cheesy.
Definitely the most unique setting for a dystopian. Props for uniqueness.
October 22, 2013
***Copy received through Netgalley***
Hemlock Hollow was a safe place where Lydia couldn't be discovered by the authority. She had no idea of what she is capable of, of how powerful she is or even of her real identity until she has to cross the gates of her place to go to the hospital where her father is. She discovers then the English life where the electricity is everything. But all of a sudden, the situation gets ugly and she's arrested by the government who shows up immediately at her friend's house.
They transfer her in a laboratory where they intent to use her. And she's not the only one trapped in here, there is another guy named Korwin who's life is in danger. They broke him but Lydia has every intention of saving the both of them.
Her life was already written in advance and she accepted it. Lydia was expected to marry her childhood best friend Jeremiah, grow old and stay in her community. But then, that was before. Before she met Korwin and before her feelings for him couldn't be denied any longer.
They have such a connection it could become a danger and a weapon against everything and everyone standing around them. They're perfect for each other, just like magnets. I felt their chemistry and thought that they were beautiful when together even if I have still a soft spot for Jeremiah who doesn't deserve to be disappointed like that.
"Grounded" is the first book I've read with Amish characters and I wasn't disappointed. I really enjoyed reading this book, especially with all the actions. It is an enjoyable YA, mixed also with paranormal, dystopia and romance. It is definitely a win for me!
Hemlock Hollow was a safe place where Lydia couldn't be discovered by the authority. She had no idea of what she is capable of, of how powerful she is or even of her real identity until she has to cross the gates of her place to go to the hospital where her father is. She discovers then the English life where the electricity is everything. But all of a sudden, the situation gets ugly and she's arrested by the government who shows up immediately at her friend's house.
They transfer her in a laboratory where they intent to use her. And she's not the only one trapped in here, there is another guy named Korwin who's life is in danger. They broke him but Lydia has every intention of saving the both of them.
Her life was already written in advance and she accepted it. Lydia was expected to marry her childhood best friend Jeremiah, grow old and stay in her community. But then, that was before. Before she met Korwin and before her feelings for him couldn't be denied any longer.
They have such a connection it could become a danger and a weapon against everything and everyone standing around them. They're perfect for each other, just like magnets. I felt their chemistry and thought that they were beautiful when together even if I have still a soft spot for Jeremiah who doesn't deserve to be disappointed like that.
"Grounded" is the first book I've read with Amish characters and I wasn't disappointed. I really enjoyed reading this book, especially with all the actions. It is an enjoyable YA, mixed also with paranormal, dystopia and romance. It is definitely a win for me!
September 18, 2017
What a different concept. It's a dystopia, it's paranormal, and it has Amish people in the story! I wasn't expecting that! Love the audiobook, and the narrator does make a story even better. The narrator act not just narrates the book, so it kept me pretty engaged in the story. I dread to stop my chores so I could keep listening. Great story, with fascinating characters. Can't wait to listen book 2!
August 15, 2021
Grounded follows our main character Lydia, an Amish girl with a secret coursing through her body. Come the rumspringa (a journey from the Amish village into the Englishers world), her world gets turned upside from sitting next to a lamp and lightening being emitted from her body. The concept is very interesting, involving an organisation with good intentions in the beginning, of cleaner energy, turned somewhat evil after the Sparks emerge - Lydia being one of them.
This book, whilst I appreciate that it was written by an indie author, lacked some of the refined techniques and attention to detail. At one point in the story, our MC mentioned that if her father didn’t trust his coworker enough to mention he was her father, then she wouldn’t. Literally in the next page, she says the phrase “my father” to this same coworker with no explanation as to the change of mind or consequences of this. It was clearly a mistake in the writing.
There was also a lot of ‘instalove’ from a love triangle, so I guess it wasn’t much of a love triangle but oh well. I loved the male counterparts, as individual characters, but the instant attraction component (while it was somewhat explained) was kind of off putting.
Within a section of the book, there is also a highly scientific explanation of what happens in their bodies as Sparks. While I understand and enjoy science, I can see how it would be confusing to those who haven’t an interest in it, or haven’t studied it like I have.
Overall, I settled with a 3 star review. I enjoyed the concept and characters, but there were components that dampened my reading experience of it.
This book, whilst I appreciate that it was written by an indie author, lacked some of the refined techniques and attention to detail. At one point in the story, our MC mentioned that if her father didn’t trust his coworker enough to mention he was her father, then she wouldn’t. Literally in the next page, she says the phrase “my father” to this same coworker with no explanation as to the change of mind or consequences of this. It was clearly a mistake in the writing.
There was also a lot of ‘instalove’ from a love triangle, so I guess it wasn’t much of a love triangle but oh well. I loved the male counterparts, as individual characters, but the instant attraction component (while it was somewhat explained) was kind of off putting.
Within a section of the book, there is also a highly scientific explanation of what happens in their bodies as Sparks. While I understand and enjoy science, I can see how it would be confusing to those who haven’t an interest in it, or haven’t studied it like I have.
Overall, I settled with a 3 star review. I enjoyed the concept and characters, but there were components that dampened my reading experience of it.
February 6, 2013
The story unfolds rather quickly, and tosses you into a dystopian future. I think the scariest part in this world is that it is not impossible. As a human race, we are already half way there. That right there hooks me before we even get to really understand or meet Lydia, the main character.
Lydia is coming of age in her Amish village. Much like they do now, they live on the outskirts, and tend to keep to themselves. The difference is that they are not allowed, read barred by a giant erected wall from stepping foot into the futuristic world of the Green Congress.
Years of war killed many; it scorched the dying earth, and made food scarce. Then the nuclear reactor blew. The humans rebuilt, electricity becoming scarce. The people fed into the bureaucratic @#$, believed the lies, and paid the outrageous sums to survive. If you could not afford it, you began or found a scamper to steal it.
Underneath in the dark shadows the government sanctioned a program. They needed more power, and they needed it now. Thus Operation Source Code birthed into fruition with the help of eight military volunteers.
They Split them into four teams, each husband and wife. They were injected with a retrovirus, giving them power at their fingertips. It was not perfect, and there were many problems with the alpha teams. One of them was inevitable: pregnancy. The child would come to be known as a spark.
Lydia, even with her spark power would not manifest until much later. Not until she celebrated a rite of passage in the Amish world. Hemlock Hollow doesn’t have electricity. Anything that requires power uses methane from the animals raised. So when the light switch is flipped for the first time, Lydia’s spark comes to life and thus really begins the adventure.
Opinion:
SN: I will try to give as much info as possible, but I tend to never give away more than you’ll find in the blurb. I mean what’s the point of reading if I tell you all the good stuff ;)
I love dystopian reads. They are up there in the fantasy/sci-fi genre, but they are their own breed of reading. They typically span both genres equally. With Grounded, we see the dystopian everywhere with the exception of Hemlock Hollow, which essentially is like a taboo place for those who have never been, but heaven on earth for those that live there.
People who have never been there are grilled that it is a place of filth. To summarize it, “They eat real meat, don’t vaccinate, and they don’t use electricity or cars.” Their life is simple and devoted to their religion as much as it is to God.
Now sticking with the Amish culture, I enjoyed how it was presented throughout the whole story. Both Lydia and Jeremiah embark on this adventure together. They are best friends, and without really knowing love, they both feel they are deep in it. The whole community believes it too, and expects them to court after they return.
During the story, we see Lydia struggle between being English and being Amish. It pulls and tugs at her heart as she compares the ways of life. The internal battles she has over her feelings, and those of the newcomers in her life make her ask the tough questions. She realizes that there are no easy answers. You can’t make everyone happy if you want to be happy is really the bottom line that I grasped.
Koran…Where to begin with him, eh? Essentially, he is just like Lydia, but they do not share parentage (I was waiting for that to be the reason, so kudos for fooling me). Up until he meets Lydia, he thought he was the only one. Both of them feel this magnetic pull to each other. Resisting is physically and emotionally painful, but when they kiss the world around them goes to @#$%.
Then there is action. It is descriptive, edgy, and not your average boring stuff. It captivates and grips you. It’s like you’re a third wheel and along for the ride. It pushed me to stay awake until 3 am to finish the story. Only great books can accomplish that.
Ok I am going to stop here because If I go any further I know I’ll just ruin it for everyone. This is a perfect; clean YA dystopian read that adults and teens will love. It begins with the perfect bang, and lights up your mind in ways you may not have thought. As much as it is dystopian it is speculative, and I am all for challenging the minds of the human race. I loved the story, but I would hate for this to be our future.
Lydia is coming of age in her Amish village. Much like they do now, they live on the outskirts, and tend to keep to themselves. The difference is that they are not allowed, read barred by a giant erected wall from stepping foot into the futuristic world of the Green Congress.
Years of war killed many; it scorched the dying earth, and made food scarce. Then the nuclear reactor blew. The humans rebuilt, electricity becoming scarce. The people fed into the bureaucratic @#$, believed the lies, and paid the outrageous sums to survive. If you could not afford it, you began or found a scamper to steal it.
Underneath in the dark shadows the government sanctioned a program. They needed more power, and they needed it now. Thus Operation Source Code birthed into fruition with the help of eight military volunteers.
They Split them into four teams, each husband and wife. They were injected with a retrovirus, giving them power at their fingertips. It was not perfect, and there were many problems with the alpha teams. One of them was inevitable: pregnancy. The child would come to be known as a spark.
Lydia, even with her spark power would not manifest until much later. Not until she celebrated a rite of passage in the Amish world. Hemlock Hollow doesn’t have electricity. Anything that requires power uses methane from the animals raised. So when the light switch is flipped for the first time, Lydia’s spark comes to life and thus really begins the adventure.
Opinion:
SN: I will try to give as much info as possible, but I tend to never give away more than you’ll find in the blurb. I mean what’s the point of reading if I tell you all the good stuff ;)
I love dystopian reads. They are up there in the fantasy/sci-fi genre, but they are their own breed of reading. They typically span both genres equally. With Grounded, we see the dystopian everywhere with the exception of Hemlock Hollow, which essentially is like a taboo place for those who have never been, but heaven on earth for those that live there.
People who have never been there are grilled that it is a place of filth. To summarize it, “They eat real meat, don’t vaccinate, and they don’t use electricity or cars.” Their life is simple and devoted to their religion as much as it is to God.
Now sticking with the Amish culture, I enjoyed how it was presented throughout the whole story. Both Lydia and Jeremiah embark on this adventure together. They are best friends, and without really knowing love, they both feel they are deep in it. The whole community believes it too, and expects them to court after they return.
During the story, we see Lydia struggle between being English and being Amish. It pulls and tugs at her heart as she compares the ways of life. The internal battles she has over her feelings, and those of the newcomers in her life make her ask the tough questions. She realizes that there are no easy answers. You can’t make everyone happy if you want to be happy is really the bottom line that I grasped.
Koran…Where to begin with him, eh? Essentially, he is just like Lydia, but they do not share parentage (I was waiting for that to be the reason, so kudos for fooling me). Up until he meets Lydia, he thought he was the only one. Both of them feel this magnetic pull to each other. Resisting is physically and emotionally painful, but when they kiss the world around them goes to @#$%.
Then there is action. It is descriptive, edgy, and not your average boring stuff. It captivates and grips you. It’s like you’re a third wheel and along for the ride. It pushed me to stay awake until 3 am to finish the story. Only great books can accomplish that.
Ok I am going to stop here because If I go any further I know I’ll just ruin it for everyone. This is a perfect; clean YA dystopian read that adults and teens will love. It begins with the perfect bang, and lights up your mind in ways you may not have thought. As much as it is dystopian it is speculative, and I am all for challenging the minds of the human race. I loved the story, but I would hate for this to be our future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2013
Hmm. If you enjoyed this book, surely check out The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle, there are a lot of similarities (Amish chick, worldwide crises, guy she always thought she'd marry vs guy she met via said crises). Of course, this book has a lower body count and the bad guys aren't nearly as scary, so really it's a 3.5 for me. Still, there are 500 pages and they freaking flew by, so I rounded up. Lydia is a great, strong character and there are some awesome girl-power moments where she just owns people. It's nice to see, I get tired of the damsel in distress, too emo to wreak havoc heroines. The only thing that irked me slightly is how Jeremiah turns out to be such a dick. I know he wanted to marry her but he was her best friend...couldn't he have had some redeeming qualities? I don't know. It's a small problem, he's pretty useless mostly, the book moves on without him.
April 9, 2017
Good, not great... the electropower stuff felt a bit much. I liked it enough to buy the sequel tho.
March 20, 2017
This was such an awesome read!! I thoroughly enjoyed it even though it had some of the pet peeves I have.
So we have Lydia, who lives in an Amish community with her father. Her best friend, and future husband, is Jeremiah. Lydia is quite happy to stay in her community and live life the simple way, until her father gets ill and has to go to the hospital in the outside world. Lydia and Jeremiah decide to go on Rumspringa, a year away from the community to find themselves. It's the only way Lydia can see her father. While out there, Lydia finds out the world isn't the way she thought it was, and that she isn't who she thought she was!!
Character wise, I mostly liked Lydia.She is content with her life till her father gets sick but once in the outside world, she gets a taste of freedom and likes it. She was a nice, kind and strong and she came across as a no nonsense girl. I just didn't like the way she was around a person she only met, and how quickly she forgot about Jeremiah!
A big pet peeve of mine is insta love or insta connection, and this had it. I know that she had a connection with Korwin because of who they are, but still. I just felt meh about their relationship and wasn't impressed with it. I wanted a little more time getting to know them both before they fall for each other!!
A big plus for this is the dystopian feel of the plot. The world outside the Amish community is run with an iron fist. People have to earn the use of electricity and only one group control it. There is an underground resistance intent on overthrowing this company and giving the power back to the people. Lydia is thrown into this fight by accident and now is fighting for her life. I loved this aspect of the plot and can't wait to see what happens next.
I also loved seeing Lydia come into her powers and figure out how to use them. I loved how she saw her "gift" at first, before finding out the truth.
In all, apart from some elements of this, it was an awesome read and I'm excited to see what happens next!!
Valerie Gilbert was amazing!! This is the first book that I've listened to narrated by her and she nailed it. She told this story perfectly and gave each character their own tone and personality. She made for effortless listening!!
I was voluntarily provided this free copy by the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.
So we have Lydia, who lives in an Amish community with her father. Her best friend, and future husband, is Jeremiah. Lydia is quite happy to stay in her community and live life the simple way, until her father gets ill and has to go to the hospital in the outside world. Lydia and Jeremiah decide to go on Rumspringa, a year away from the community to find themselves. It's the only way Lydia can see her father. While out there, Lydia finds out the world isn't the way she thought it was, and that she isn't who she thought she was!!
Character wise, I mostly liked Lydia.She is content with her life till her father gets sick but once in the outside world, she gets a taste of freedom and likes it. She was a nice, kind and strong and she came across as a no nonsense girl. I just didn't like the way she was around a person she only met, and how quickly she forgot about Jeremiah!
A big pet peeve of mine is insta love or insta connection, and this had it. I know that she had a connection with Korwin because of who they are, but still. I just felt meh about their relationship and wasn't impressed with it. I wanted a little more time getting to know them both before they fall for each other!!
A big plus for this is the dystopian feel of the plot. The world outside the Amish community is run with an iron fist. People have to earn the use of electricity and only one group control it. There is an underground resistance intent on overthrowing this company and giving the power back to the people. Lydia is thrown into this fight by accident and now is fighting for her life. I loved this aspect of the plot and can't wait to see what happens next.
I also loved seeing Lydia come into her powers and figure out how to use them. I loved how she saw her "gift" at first, before finding out the truth.
In all, apart from some elements of this, it was an awesome read and I'm excited to see what happens next!!
Valerie Gilbert was amazing!! This is the first book that I've listened to narrated by her and she nailed it. She told this story perfectly and gave each character their own tone and personality. She made for effortless listening!!
I was voluntarily provided this free copy by the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.
September 14, 2017
Absolutely loved it!
I loved this book. Loved the characters, the story, the plot, everything about it.
Loved the narrator. She 100% captured these character's essence and infused the story with the emotion it needed.
I could NOT put this book down. I was actually looking for stuff to clean around the house, so I could listen to it while doing chores. I know! I couldn't believe it myself.
There was action, a bit of romance, and a story that even though is dystopian in nature and deals with things that are "not possible" in our reality, is so well constructed and filled with real facts, that not for a second I doubted any of it could happen. As a reader, that's what I look for. A story that sucks me in and makes me forget that it is fiction. This book did this.
The narrator made a great story, even better.
I need the next 2 books. Like right now.
Highly recommend it.
I loved this book. Loved the characters, the story, the plot, everything about it.
Loved the narrator. She 100% captured these character's essence and infused the story with the emotion it needed.
I could NOT put this book down. I was actually looking for stuff to clean around the house, so I could listen to it while doing chores. I know! I couldn't believe it myself.
There was action, a bit of romance, and a story that even though is dystopian in nature and deals with things that are "not possible" in our reality, is so well constructed and filled with real facts, that not for a second I doubted any of it could happen. As a reader, that's what I look for. A story that sucks me in and makes me forget that it is fiction. This book did this.
The narrator made a great story, even better.
I need the next 2 books. Like right now.
Highly recommend it.
October 8, 2021
An amazing story of finding yourself when you think you've found all that there is to find. Lydia is a girl with a power inside her that's well hidden on an Amish Community. So well hidden in fact, that she doesn't even know she has it. That is, until she ventures off on her own into the world beyond their little slice of heaven, into a post apocalyptic, futuristic world. I knew immediately that it had potential to be one of my new favourite books.
Check out my full review here!
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Check out my full review here!
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August 13, 2017Kindle Freebie on Amazon 6/28/17
December 26, 2018
This book is a blend of Amish and Science Fiction. A very unusual combination. Lydia and Jeremiah have been friends since forever - 17 years. When her father has a stroke and is taken to the Englisher’s hospital they decide to use their Rumspringa to visit him and make sure he is okay. From there the plot turns decidedly sci-fi. A very enjoyable read. Rated PG13 for violence.
July 3, 2017
Brilliant!
Living in a world that is not satisfied that you might simply fail, but that is also determined to take you down screaming, it's important that we present the truth of what it takes to live for the Lord. While I am not a fan of the ever present (and non-biblical) dead parent waiting in heaven, I believe entire trilogy should be recommended group reading/discussion for the late tween to early college set in churches. This one is a PG13 for war, violence and mature situations, but makes for excellent open discourse of what it truly is to "be in the world not of the world" and covers the gamut of faith from war/pacifism to sexual situations/marriage readiness and from clean eating to drugs, including sensitive topics like abuse, exploitation & rape.
Living in a world that is not satisfied that you might simply fail, but that is also determined to take you down screaming, it's important that we present the truth of what it takes to live for the Lord. While I am not a fan of the ever present (and non-biblical) dead parent waiting in heaven, I believe entire trilogy should be recommended group reading/discussion for the late tween to early college set in churches. This one is a PG13 for war, violence and mature situations, but makes for excellent open discourse of what it truly is to "be in the world not of the world" and covers the gamut of faith from war/pacifism to sexual situations/marriage readiness and from clean eating to drugs, including sensitive topics like abuse, exploitation & rape.
June 1, 2015
Before I had read Grounded, I was in a kind of reading slump. The last ten or so books I had read were good, but not great. I liked them, but I didn’t love them. I decided to read Grounded because it sounded unique and awesome, and it is also currently a standalone novel. I’m happy to say that Grounded pulled me out of my reading slump with its awesomeness.
Grounded tells the story of Lydia, a seventeen year old Amish girl who ventures outside her preservation to help her father in hospital. Her first encounter with electricity results in an electrical surge, and her being arrested. And that’s where the story of Grounded really begins.
I think the thing I loved most about Grounded was the complete and utter uniqueness of the story. An Amish girl with amazing superpowers; a dystopian society hell-bent on using her. It was just so unlike anything I had ever read before, and I think that’s why this book managed to finally grab my attention and pull me out of that reading slump.
Lydia was a likeable character. I think the way in which she dealt with the changes in her body, and her situation were written really well, as were her feelings for the love interest(s). I think that she held on to her Amish moralities and teachings well, even though everything around her was changing, as well as herself. She did what was required of her, but she didn’t just suddenly turn away from her Amish heritage. In fact, she yearned to return to the preservation. I liked this very much. I was so glad that Ching didn’t make Lydia obsessed with the Englisher world, and desperately want to stay. It really wasn’t that nice of a place, and I am pretty sure I would want to return to Hemlock Hollow, as well.
I thought that all the characters in Grounded were well developed. Especially the love boys. On the one hand, we have Jeremiah. A nice Amish boy who is, well, nice. I liked him enough. And then we have Korwin. *cue swooning* Korwin is powerful, and protective, and sweet. And yep. I liked Korwin. Very much. Whilst the love triangle in this book was pronounced – I mean, it was pretty clear who Lydia wanted – I think that Lydia experienced an adequate amount of regret regarding her situation with Jeremiah. I think Ching wrote the triangle really well. It wasn’t boring, or laborious. It was just really good. Other characters that I liked included Jameson, and Lydia’s father.
I loved the explanation of the world in Ching’s 2050, and the explanation of Lydia’s powers. They were clear, believable, and easy to picture. I do not like it when the world that an author creates is hard to picture, but I pictured everything very easily and clearly in my mind whilst reading Grounded.
When I researched the book before reading it, Ching mentioned that Grounded was written as a standalone, with the possibility of furthering the story to a trilogy. I DID love Grounded as a standalone. I thought that things were tied up pretty nicely, but I would absolutely LOVE to see it furthered into a three book series! There is so much room for exploration of Lydia’s powers, the corrupt government, the Amish community – everything. The sales for Grounded need to go up in order for Ching to write the next books, so I implore you to buy Grounded! It’s an awesome novel, and anyone who is keen on a new and fresh story, as well as sci-fi and superpowers will enjoy reading it. I know I did.
© 2014, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity . All rights reserved.
Grounded tells the story of Lydia, a seventeen year old Amish girl who ventures outside her preservation to help her father in hospital. Her first encounter with electricity results in an electrical surge, and her being arrested. And that’s where the story of Grounded really begins.
I think the thing I loved most about Grounded was the complete and utter uniqueness of the story. An Amish girl with amazing superpowers; a dystopian society hell-bent on using her. It was just so unlike anything I had ever read before, and I think that’s why this book managed to finally grab my attention and pull me out of that reading slump.
Lydia was a likeable character. I think the way in which she dealt with the changes in her body, and her situation were written really well, as were her feelings for the love interest(s). I think that she held on to her Amish moralities and teachings well, even though everything around her was changing, as well as herself. She did what was required of her, but she didn’t just suddenly turn away from her Amish heritage. In fact, she yearned to return to the preservation. I liked this very much. I was so glad that Ching didn’t make Lydia obsessed with the Englisher world, and desperately want to stay. It really wasn’t that nice of a place, and I am pretty sure I would want to return to Hemlock Hollow, as well.
I thought that all the characters in Grounded were well developed. Especially the love boys. On the one hand, we have Jeremiah. A nice Amish boy who is, well, nice. I liked him enough. And then we have Korwin. *cue swooning* Korwin is powerful, and protective, and sweet. And yep. I liked Korwin. Very much. Whilst the love triangle in this book was pronounced – I mean, it was pretty clear who Lydia wanted – I think that Lydia experienced an adequate amount of regret regarding her situation with Jeremiah. I think Ching wrote the triangle really well. It wasn’t boring, or laborious. It was just really good. Other characters that I liked included Jameson, and Lydia’s father.
I loved the explanation of the world in Ching’s 2050, and the explanation of Lydia’s powers. They were clear, believable, and easy to picture. I do not like it when the world that an author creates is hard to picture, but I pictured everything very easily and clearly in my mind whilst reading Grounded.
When I researched the book before reading it, Ching mentioned that Grounded was written as a standalone, with the possibility of furthering the story to a trilogy. I DID love Grounded as a standalone. I thought that things were tied up pretty nicely, but I would absolutely LOVE to see it furthered into a three book series! There is so much room for exploration of Lydia’s powers, the corrupt government, the Amish community – everything. The sales for Grounded need to go up in order for Ching to write the next books, so I implore you to buy Grounded! It’s an awesome novel, and anyone who is keen on a new and fresh story, as well as sci-fi and superpowers will enjoy reading it. I know I did.
© 2014, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity . All rights reserved.
December 14, 2019
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to author G. P. Ching and Netgalley.)
17-year-old Lydia is Amish, and intends to get married and have kids without ever seeing the English way of life, until her father suffers a stroke and is taken to an English hospital for treatment.
Talked into partaking in rumspringa in order to leave her community and visit her father in hospital, Lydia and her best friend Jeremiah leave their sheltered way of life, and venture into the city.
Once in the electrical world things start going wrong for Lydia, and she soon finds herself arrested for being a ‘scamper’ – someone who steals electricity. It seems that Lydia is instead an energy source herself though, and she is able to create electricity and use it as she wills.
Why can Lydia produce electricity? What do the government want with her? And will she ever see home again?
This was an entertaining YA sci-fi/romance, and I liked the action.
Lydia was a girl who had been raised Amish and had no problems with her life. She wasn’t interested in being anyone other than who she felt she was, and would have never have even taken part in rumspringa had her father not fallen ill.
I liked the storyline in this book, although it did seem like a bit of an odd idea to turn human beings into batteries. While it would be very useful to be your own source of electricity, I can’t even begin to image what havoc that amount of excess electrical energy would do to the body on a cellular basis, and can only hope that this idea is indeed only ever found in fiction.
There was some romance in this one which I liked, although I could see why Lydia was a little confused when she found herself in a bit of a love triangle! Especially considering her Amish background. Thankfully this love triangle was of the ‘unrequited friend that likes her’ sort of variety, so wasn’t really all that bad at all.
There was also quite a bit of action in this one, and I liked that something was constantly happening. I liked the threat and the chase, and the special effects and explosions were also pretty good.
I liked the ending to this one, although I really think that the author could maybe develop this story into a series. I thought that the ideas were quite unique, and the story flowed really well, and I would certainly be interested in reading a sequel.
Overall; a good YA sci-fi romance.
7 out of 10.
17-year-old Lydia is Amish, and intends to get married and have kids without ever seeing the English way of life, until her father suffers a stroke and is taken to an English hospital for treatment.
Talked into partaking in rumspringa in order to leave her community and visit her father in hospital, Lydia and her best friend Jeremiah leave their sheltered way of life, and venture into the city.
Once in the electrical world things start going wrong for Lydia, and she soon finds herself arrested for being a ‘scamper’ – someone who steals electricity. It seems that Lydia is instead an energy source herself though, and she is able to create electricity and use it as she wills.
Why can Lydia produce electricity? What do the government want with her? And will she ever see home again?
This was an entertaining YA sci-fi/romance, and I liked the action.
Lydia was a girl who had been raised Amish and had no problems with her life. She wasn’t interested in being anyone other than who she felt she was, and would have never have even taken part in rumspringa had her father not fallen ill.
I liked the storyline in this book, although it did seem like a bit of an odd idea to turn human beings into batteries. While it would be very useful to be your own source of electricity, I can’t even begin to image what havoc that amount of excess electrical energy would do to the body on a cellular basis, and can only hope that this idea is indeed only ever found in fiction.
There was some romance in this one which I liked, although I could see why Lydia was a little confused when she found herself in a bit of a love triangle! Especially considering her Amish background. Thankfully this love triangle was of the ‘unrequited friend that likes her’ sort of variety, so wasn’t really all that bad at all.
There was also quite a bit of action in this one, and I liked that something was constantly happening. I liked the threat and the chase, and the special effects and explosions were also pretty good.
I liked the ending to this one, although I really think that the author could maybe develop this story into a series. I thought that the ideas were quite unique, and the story flowed really well, and I would certainly be interested in reading a sequel.
Overall; a good YA sci-fi romance.
7 out of 10.
July 9, 2013
Grounded opens with dramatic flair, a baby found abandoned, an explosion, and I’m hooked! Add to the mix, a leap in time, an isolated Amish community, and a young woman who leaves the haven of her simple life to find her father, who has been taken to an Englisher hospital. Completely naïve to the modern world filled with electricity, tall buildings and the cold environment of distrust and power-hungry villains, Lydia is thrown into the vortex of a scientific experiment gone bad. She discovers she is part of ground zero, one of two children born to soldiers who were part of a top secret experiment in creating human electrical producers/conductors. She is discovered by accident and the action and suspense rockets from there! She meets Korwin, also a child of the experiments, who is now the son of the leader of a rebellion against those who wish to abuse and use these children. As they run from danger, Lydia uses her strengths from her beliefs to stay alive. When all is said and done, will they be alive and trapped in this dystopian world? Will she be satisfied with the simple life?
Author G. P. Ching has gone outside the boundaries of a simple genre and has dared to blend the simple life of the Amish with a paranormal, sci-fi thriller! Her characters run deep, ring true, and the light touch of romance between two unique individuals from worlds as different as night and day is the perfect polish on this fast-reading gem!
My thanks to NetGalley and All Night Reads for providing me a copy of Grounded in exchange for my honest review.
Published by All Night Reads, November 11, 2012
Genre: Paranormal YA
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Available at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
For more reviews check out Tome Tender's Book Blog or find us on Facebook.
Author G. P. Ching has gone outside the boundaries of a simple genre and has dared to blend the simple life of the Amish with a paranormal, sci-fi thriller! Her characters run deep, ring true, and the light touch of romance between two unique individuals from worlds as different as night and day is the perfect polish on this fast-reading gem!
My thanks to NetGalley and All Night Reads for providing me a copy of Grounded in exchange for my honest review.
Published by All Night Reads, November 11, 2012
Genre: Paranormal YA
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Available at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
For more reviews check out Tome Tender's Book Blog or find us on Facebook.
July 8, 2013
I was really excited to read Grounded after having read so many of the positive reviews. The premise was definitely original. I've never read a paranormal book with an Amish protagonist, and it was refreshing. I also enjoyed the story and concept of how the characters manipulate energy. Ching doesn't shy away from trying to explain how it works, either, which is great. The one issue I did take from this particular aspect of the book, however, was the main character constantly saying she didn't understand the science but would just believe what she was told. This is sort of in character as she is Amish, and she only has an 8th grade level education, but as a scientist, this is one of my pet peeves.
Actually, this is a good example of the aspects of the main character's personality that I both didn't like and didn't completely buy. Sometimes she is very curious and asks questions, but she is also very quick to believe everything she is told. Overall, the characterization of all the characters is fairly simple, and it made for a lot of eye rolling on my part.
Perhaps it is because I read a really well-crafted, complex book just prior to reading this one, but everything about Grounded just seemed too...simple, easy. Things just happen to the characters and they have to roll with it as opposed to sometimes being the makers of their own existence.
There were several parts where I questioned the motivations of the characters and actions taking place. There seemed to be no reason for certain things to have occurred, as the story would have progressed in exactly the same way without them.
Overall, Grounded was a quick, fun read with a good premise, but it really fell short in the overall complexity of the story (or lack thereof), which made the story much less believable.
Source: The ARC of this title was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
Actually, this is a good example of the aspects of the main character's personality that I both didn't like and didn't completely buy. Sometimes she is very curious and asks questions, but she is also very quick to believe everything she is told. Overall, the characterization of all the characters is fairly simple, and it made for a lot of eye rolling on my part.
Perhaps it is because I read a really well-crafted, complex book just prior to reading this one, but everything about Grounded just seemed too...simple, easy. Things just happen to the characters and they have to roll with it as opposed to sometimes being the makers of their own existence.
There were several parts where I questioned the motivations of the characters and actions taking place. There seemed to be no reason for certain things to have occurred, as the story would have progressed in exactly the same way without them.
Overall, Grounded was a quick, fun read with a good premise, but it really fell short in the overall complexity of the story (or lack thereof), which made the story much less believable.
Source: The ARC of this title was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
August 31, 2015
Grounded is the first book in the Grounded trilogy by G.P. Ching. It was a little confusing at first, but the author’s strong and descriptive writing made this an excellent book. The plot was creative and unpredictable, which will keep you interested for the entire story. And Linda, the main character, has emotions which perfectly match the situations she faces on her thrilling and scary adventure. She and all other characters are very believable, different and brave, and most characters were very relatable, especially for me. The only thing I didn’t really like a lot was the love triangle, but all other details this book features were exciting and important. I would highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a young adult book with a little sci-fi, a love story going on and a setting in a dystopic world.
September 18, 2016
The first 20% of this book FLEW by. It was so compelling, I had to know what was going to happen. I loved the Amish flavor, spiced up by the rumspringa into the “English” world and endangered by the dystopian elements and the struggle for power. As I read on, it started to feel more like X-Men or Heroes and thus not so unique, but it was still enjoyable. The way Lydia’s faith was woven into the science was satisfying, how the core part of her that came from how she grew up gave her the grounding she needed to control the science inside her. I liked how the book wrapped up enough at the end to feel finished (my preference), but how it also contained enough potential ongoing threads for series-loving readers who are eager to snatch up the next book.
The tagline is great: Faith kept me Plain. Science made me complicated.
The tagline is great: Faith kept me Plain. Science made me complicated.
January 29, 2013
This book was not without flaws but it certainly grabbed my attention and kept hold of it. I started this book yesterday afternoon and despite having to pick someone up at the airport I managed to finish it before falling asleep. The ending really could have used some fleshing out, as well as some of the characterizations. I would also like another book just about the futuristic Amish lifestyles as well as a entire book just about life for the average citizen during this time. I think that the world has a lot of potential for additional stories. Solid ideas and good writing, even with my stingy nature I still give it four stars.
January 4, 2013
I really loved the concept of this book, it was very cool. The Amish aspect just added another interesting angle. Of course there did turn out to be a love triangle. I liked Jeremiah at the start, but then there were a few times he annoyed me. I feel bad for him though because it's obvious he is in love with Lydia. Korwin was great too, but I thought the "connection" between them was kind of weird. There was a lot of action in the book & I loved seeing Lydia completely change & become pretty BA! I didn't really know what to expect from this book & I was pleasantly surprised.
January 27, 2015
I read this book thanks to NetGalley. It sounded like a unique take on the dystopian YA novel.
First, if this book is self-published, it was refreshingly hard to tell. Second, Ching has created a nice collection of sympathetic and internally consistent characters.
On the other hand, the story doesn't take place in a well and thoroughly built world. Whether the author imagines a dystopian world based on future science or disaster, I have to believe it or be so entranced I am willing to suspend belief and immerse myself. This book does neither. That and a rushed ending made it just ok.
First, if this book is self-published, it was refreshingly hard to tell. Second, Ching has created a nice collection of sympathetic and internally consistent characters.
On the other hand, the story doesn't take place in a well and thoroughly built world. Whether the author imagines a dystopian world based on future science or disaster, I have to believe it or be so entranced I am willing to suspend belief and immerse myself. This book does neither. That and a rushed ending made it just ok.
August 2, 2013
Recommended for: 11 and up
Ms. Ching has written a wonderful story of three young people on a journey to discovery who they really are and how they fit into the world. While dodging a corrupt government and the opposing rebels, they work together and fight each other in their quest to each find where they belong.
I loved this story. There are the first, tender stirrings of love, entwined in an edge of your seat fight to find and claim what is right. In my research, I found that this is to be a trilogy. I, for one, will be watching for the other books in this series.
Ms. Ching has written a wonderful story of three young people on a journey to discovery who they really are and how they fit into the world. While dodging a corrupt government and the opposing rebels, they work together and fight each other in their quest to each find where they belong.
I loved this story. There are the first, tender stirrings of love, entwined in an edge of your seat fight to find and claim what is right. In my research, I found that this is to be a trilogy. I, for one, will be watching for the other books in this series.
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