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Desert #1
Inside the Wall
Senior year is hard enough for Alysse Simms with looming Global Union assessment exams, a harpy teacher who hungers for her humiliation, and a long time crush falling for her best friend.
Only, Alysse has bigger problems—like the enemy preparing for another civil war, a seismic bomb, super—human guerrillas, disappearances, and a plot to wipe out the population of an entire community by a man whose ambitions have no limit.
As Alysse digs to learn more than what she’s taught at the Academy, she must choose who to trust, including Pete, a guy who walks his own path. Together, they ask questions everyone else avoids.
Probably because everyone else is scared of the truth. And they should be . . .
Only, Alysse has bigger problems—like the enemy preparing for another civil war, a seismic bomb, super—human guerrillas, disappearances, and a plot to wipe out the population of an entire community by a man whose ambitions have no limit.
As Alysse digs to learn more than what she’s taught at the Academy, she must choose who to trust, including Pete, a guy who walks his own path. Together, they ask questions everyone else avoids.
Probably because everyone else is scared of the truth. And they should be . . .
304 pages, Paperback
First published July 4, 2017
13 people are currently reading
427 people want to read
About the author
A. Tebbs
2 books18 followersIn High School, I had an English teacher who drilled into us the power of words. He told us to spend time writing everyday.
I started sharing stories with friends, but as I graduated and went to college, the writing I did became pure academic--no fiction.
After marrying and having several children, writing seemed impossible, especially helping with the family business.
But then I saw it--the poster that made me sit down at a computer and get to work, creating a heroine who defended the truth with a kind heart. After all, I enjoy writing--how hard could it be?
It took me five years to figure out the industry. Five years of numerous drafts, tons of feedback, and edit after edit, but Desert is "finally ready".
I started sharing stories with friends, but as I graduated and went to college, the writing I did became pure academic--no fiction.
After marrying and having several children, writing seemed impossible, especially helping with the family business.
But then I saw it--the poster that made me sit down at a computer and get to work, creating a heroine who defended the truth with a kind heart. After all, I enjoy writing--how hard could it be?
It took me five years to figure out the industry. Five years of numerous drafts, tons of feedback, and edit after edit, but Desert is "finally ready".
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 17, 2018
I received an ARC of this novel courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.
This is my first ARC review and I’m excited. At the same time I realized I’m probably a terrible ARC reviewer because I tend to be critical.
For the most part I really enjoyed the story but this feels like it is still a bit rough around the edges. I had many questions that went unanswered over the course of the story. Some I understand will likely be explained in later books but I feel some of the missing information is crucial to the plot.
The basic plot is 17 year old high school student, Alysse, lives in city completely surrounded by a wall, Oasis. Outside the wall live the Dissentors, a group of traitors, from the last civil war 15 years ago. Alysse accidentally discovers a plot to eliminate the Dissentors once and for all. As she and her friends dig further it appears the government is not as innocent as they seem. Lots of action, car chases, and narrow escapes from bad guys.
My biggest complaint with this book is the world building. I have so many questions that went unanswered. I believe we are in the US -What has happened? How did we get to a walled city? How far in the future? What was the 2nd civil war exactly? Was this just Oasis’s problem? What about the rest of the world? Are other towns having this issue too? Is there no higher government controlling this town? What is the Global Union? What is their purpose? We see other statesmen, where are they from? If the Dissentors have this entire 3 state size lost territory why are they living like hobos outside the walls? Why are the Dissentors “traitors”? What did they do? Why did they start a civil war? What was the catalyst?
Another big distraction from the main plot was simply the character overload. Between just the prologue and the first chapter (18 pages). We have 14 named characters introduced with descriptions of all of them. As well as for the students what their parents do for a living. It really was information overload. I kept having to go back the the beginning and look up characters names again to try to remember who they all are. I felt many of the characters especially in the school were unnecessary. (More characters are listed in other chapters). Some of the characters behaviors are never explained. Why does Dr. Harden treat Alysse so terribly? It later says she is an elitist and doesn’t like Alysse. (Who you don’t learn until 200 pages into the book is on a scholarship). Dr Harden’s behaviors go above and beyond a simple dislike. Clearly Alysse’s parent’s have some secret past but we never get to dive into that. Why is Alysse’s mom so insistent on delivering supplies to the compound? They tell her it is dangerous. A person just recently died and she bullies her way out of the wall? Why? What is her motivation?
I was so lost with most of the abbreviations. The story would talk about the Global Union on one page and then 6 pages later talk about the GU. I was constantly trying to flip pages back to figure out what they were talking about. In one instance I know and abbreviation was used for several pages and it wasn’t explained until 5 pages after what it stood for. I would remove all abbreviations. Even the obvious ones like BF for best friend.
I was confused by all the emoji symbols that appeared throughout the book. I later learned if you subscribe to the mailing list you get additional information or scenes related to the symbols, but without that information listed anywhere beforehand in the book it was confusing.
Another complaint is midway trough the book our main character starts having visions of the future when she is in danger. These are NEVER explained. The main character goes oh that was weird and goes on with her day like nothing has happened. Why is she getting visions? What is going on? This feels pretty major here.
There are also several chapters devoted to Alysse and Peter’s health and weight loss journey. I mean we get examples of meals and exercises, it really is a lecture in the middle of the dystopian novel. I don’t know it broke up the flow of the plot to me and felt like extra fluff that could be removed to make way for more world building.
What is the significance of potted irises?
The dialogue gets a bit cheesy at times. (Especially the beginning) however it does improve as the novel goes on. I feel that is a theme throughout the book it gets better as you move along. The beginning is so slow. The plot is interesting and you are siding with the characters as they are trying to uncover the truth.
Overall this book is easy to read and I found the plot enjoyable. I would say it needs a bit of fine tuning on the world building and some purging of characters.
This is a debut novel for the author and I know she intends to continue this as a series. If you would like to read this the ARC is on amazon for only $0.99 or you can contact the author on her website for an ARC www.Desert-Books.com
This is my first ARC review and I’m excited. At the same time I realized I’m probably a terrible ARC reviewer because I tend to be critical.
For the most part I really enjoyed the story but this feels like it is still a bit rough around the edges. I had many questions that went unanswered over the course of the story. Some I understand will likely be explained in later books but I feel some of the missing information is crucial to the plot.
The basic plot is 17 year old high school student, Alysse, lives in city completely surrounded by a wall, Oasis. Outside the wall live the Dissentors, a group of traitors, from the last civil war 15 years ago. Alysse accidentally discovers a plot to eliminate the Dissentors once and for all. As she and her friends dig further it appears the government is not as innocent as they seem. Lots of action, car chases, and narrow escapes from bad guys.
My biggest complaint with this book is the world building. I have so many questions that went unanswered. I believe we are in the US -What has happened? How did we get to a walled city? How far in the future? What was the 2nd civil war exactly? Was this just Oasis’s problem? What about the rest of the world? Are other towns having this issue too? Is there no higher government controlling this town? What is the Global Union? What is their purpose? We see other statesmen, where are they from? If the Dissentors have this entire 3 state size lost territory why are they living like hobos outside the walls? Why are the Dissentors “traitors”? What did they do? Why did they start a civil war? What was the catalyst?
Another big distraction from the main plot was simply the character overload. Between just the prologue and the first chapter (18 pages). We have 14 named characters introduced with descriptions of all of them. As well as for the students what their parents do for a living. It really was information overload. I kept having to go back the the beginning and look up characters names again to try to remember who they all are. I felt many of the characters especially in the school were unnecessary. (More characters are listed in other chapters). Some of the characters behaviors are never explained. Why does Dr. Harden treat Alysse so terribly? It later says she is an elitist and doesn’t like Alysse. (Who you don’t learn until 200 pages into the book is on a scholarship). Dr Harden’s behaviors go above and beyond a simple dislike. Clearly Alysse’s parent’s have some secret past but we never get to dive into that. Why is Alysse’s mom so insistent on delivering supplies to the compound? They tell her it is dangerous. A person just recently died and she bullies her way out of the wall? Why? What is her motivation?
I was so lost with most of the abbreviations. The story would talk about the Global Union on one page and then 6 pages later talk about the GU. I was constantly trying to flip pages back to figure out what they were talking about. In one instance I know and abbreviation was used for several pages and it wasn’t explained until 5 pages after what it stood for. I would remove all abbreviations. Even the obvious ones like BF for best friend.
I was confused by all the emoji symbols that appeared throughout the book. I later learned if you subscribe to the mailing list you get additional information or scenes related to the symbols, but without that information listed anywhere beforehand in the book it was confusing.
Another complaint is midway trough the book our main character starts having visions of the future when she is in danger. These are NEVER explained. The main character goes oh that was weird and goes on with her day like nothing has happened. Why is she getting visions? What is going on? This feels pretty major here.
There are also several chapters devoted to Alysse and Peter’s health and weight loss journey. I mean we get examples of meals and exercises, it really is a lecture in the middle of the dystopian novel. I don’t know it broke up the flow of the plot to me and felt like extra fluff that could be removed to make way for more world building.
What is the significance of potted irises?
The dialogue gets a bit cheesy at times. (Especially the beginning) however it does improve as the novel goes on. I feel that is a theme throughout the book it gets better as you move along. The beginning is so slow. The plot is interesting and you are siding with the characters as they are trying to uncover the truth.
Overall this book is easy to read and I found the plot enjoyable. I would say it needs a bit of fine tuning on the world building and some purging of characters.
This is a debut novel for the author and I know she intends to continue this as a series. If you would like to read this the ARC is on amazon for only $0.99 or you can contact the author on her website for an ARC www.Desert-Books.com
September 15, 2017
Made the mistake of starting this book in the middle of the day and was unable to accomplish anything because I couldn't put it down! I'll admit that it did take a few chapters before I started to get into it but before I realized it I was hooked. It's not often that a book comes along that I'm happily surprised by, but this one did it. I truly enjoyed the main character and appreciated the uplifting and hopeful spirit she portrayed and inspires. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE!!
January 9, 2018
Inside the Wall by A. Tebbs is a fun and action-filled dystopian YA novel that really packs a punch! If you enjoyed The Hunger Games or The Divergent Series, you will love this one!
Note: This is the first book in the Desert series.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
The prologue was awesome! It was short, but it really got me interested, even though I didn't really understand what the deal was... Thankfully, the world building came later.
However, after the prologue, the book slowed way down for me for awhile. I just wasn't really interested in a fair chunk of it simply because it revolved around the typical high school scene, complete with ridiculous bullies, teachers that would single out that one student, and drama about teenage crushes... Of course this allowed readers to get to know both the characters and the history of the world they were living in. But because of my lack of interest, it just seemed really slow.
That all being said, once I was hooked, I was totally captivated until the very last page! The storyline hit a point where things took a turn and I couldn't read fast enough! Turns out, the short prologue had actually set the tone for the rest of the book! Unfortunately, that is where I will have to leave that thought in order to prevent spoilers... But trust me, you need to pick this one up on a day off so you can read straight through!
Onto the characters! Right away I really enjoyed the main character, Alysse. It was clear that she was a teen that had a great head on her shoulders. And she worked really hard in both school and with her jobs outside of school. I really enjoyed that she didn't let the fact that her friends were rich affect her. Though the bit about her J system was quite the bummer! Pete was a riot, but a bit rude, so I was very happy to see his storyline move along. Chris was also one that I enjoyed. I'd be interested to see where his storyline goes in the next book, if at all.
Beware, the negatives:
Right from the start, one thing that I have to note as a negative is the use of an online platform to access more content. On one of the title pages it reads: "Exclusive behind-the-scenes are marked by symbols. Join us online to learn more about Alysse and her friends." This has the potential to be really neat! I would just love to actually see it... I went onto the website to search and couldn't figure out where to go. I found one page (here) that asked you to sign up for a newsletter. The page said that once you sign up, that you will be emailed a code. This code is to be entered on the website to access the extra information. Well... I signed up for the email but never received anything. So that was quite the let down. As I was reading, I made sure to put sticky notes in for each symbol I came across. I'll make sure to update this if/when I get access.
My other issue was that I found the timeline and the pacing to be a bit confusing from time to time. I wish there had been clearer indication there.
My final thoughts:
Even though the beginning of this book was a bit slow for me, the second half totally made up for it! I just couldn't put the book down after it took a turn! Gah! I need to know what happens next!
Immediately after finishing this book, I went to the authors website to see if there were more books from the series out yet. I see in the footer of the page that there are two more listed, but the links are not live. I'm assuming this means they're not published yet. Darn! I need to get my hands on them as soon as they are available!
I would highly recommend this book to readers that enjoy YA dystopian stories!
Note: This is the first book in the Desert series.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
The prologue was awesome! It was short, but it really got me interested, even though I didn't really understand what the deal was... Thankfully, the world building came later.
However, after the prologue, the book slowed way down for me for awhile. I just wasn't really interested in a fair chunk of it simply because it revolved around the typical high school scene, complete with ridiculous bullies, teachers that would single out that one student, and drama about teenage crushes... Of course this allowed readers to get to know both the characters and the history of the world they were living in. But because of my lack of interest, it just seemed really slow.
That all being said, once I was hooked, I was totally captivated until the very last page! The storyline hit a point where things took a turn and I couldn't read fast enough! Turns out, the short prologue had actually set the tone for the rest of the book! Unfortunately, that is where I will have to leave that thought in order to prevent spoilers... But trust me, you need to pick this one up on a day off so you can read straight through!
Onto the characters! Right away I really enjoyed the main character, Alysse. It was clear that she was a teen that had a great head on her shoulders. And she worked really hard in both school and with her jobs outside of school. I really enjoyed that she didn't let the fact that her friends were rich affect her. Though the bit about her J system was quite the bummer! Pete was a riot, but a bit rude, so I was very happy to see his storyline move along. Chris was also one that I enjoyed. I'd be interested to see where his storyline goes in the next book, if at all.
Beware, the negatives:
Right from the start, one thing that I have to note as a negative is the use of an online platform to access more content. On one of the title pages it reads: "Exclusive behind-the-scenes are marked by symbols. Join us online to learn more about Alysse and her friends." This has the potential to be really neat! I would just love to actually see it... I went onto the website to search and couldn't figure out where to go. I found one page (here) that asked you to sign up for a newsletter. The page said that once you sign up, that you will be emailed a code. This code is to be entered on the website to access the extra information. Well... I signed up for the email but never received anything. So that was quite the let down. As I was reading, I made sure to put sticky notes in for each symbol I came across. I'll make sure to update this if/when I get access.
My other issue was that I found the timeline and the pacing to be a bit confusing from time to time. I wish there had been clearer indication there.
My final thoughts:
Even though the beginning of this book was a bit slow for me, the second half totally made up for it! I just couldn't put the book down after it took a turn! Gah! I need to know what happens next!
Immediately after finishing this book, I went to the authors website to see if there were more books from the series out yet. I see in the footer of the page that there are two more listed, but the links are not live. I'm assuming this means they're not published yet. Darn! I need to get my hands on them as soon as they are available!
I would highly recommend this book to readers that enjoy YA dystopian stories!
March 11, 2018
Loved it! Great characters good storyline and it didnt drag anywhere, a very good read. Waiting for #2!
December 11, 2022
good read
Well written, and interesting story. Believable and consistent storyline. Although this is a story about teens, it is readable by adults.
Well written, and interesting story. Believable and consistent storyline. Although this is a story about teens, it is readable by adults.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews