Slip (Slip #1)By David Estes
Genre: Dystopia
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: 1 December, 2014
Blurb:
Someone must die before another can be born...
As sea levels rise and livable landmasses shrink, the Reorganized United States of America has instituted population control measures to ensure there are sufficient resources and food to sustain the growing population. Birth authorization must be paid for and obtained prior to having a child. Someone must die before another can be born, keeping the country in a population neutral position at what experts consider to be the optimal population. The new laws are enforced by a ruthless government organization known as Pop Con, responsible for terminating any children resulting from unauthorized births, and any illegals who manage to survive past their second birthday, at which point they are designated a national security threat and given the name Slip.
But what if one child slipped through the cracks? What if someone knew all the loopholes and how to exploit them? Would it change anything? Would the delicate resource balance be thrown into a tailspin, threatening the lives of everyone?
And how far would the government go to find and terminate the Slip?
In a gripping story of a family torn apart by a single choice, Slip is a reminder of the sanctity of a single life and the value of the lives we so often take for granted.
You can find Slip on Goodreads and Amazon.
Grip (Slip #2)
By David Estes
Genre: Dystopia
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: 1 December, 2014
Blurb:
In a tumultuous world of population control, one illegal child has slipped through the cracks. Now, as a teenager, Benson Kelly has escaped certain deaths at the hands of the Department of Population Control, only to find himself the symbol of a rebellion, something he never intended.
While trying to survive one day at a time, Benson seeks to unravel the tangled knot of secrets left behind when his father died, the key to which has something to do with his mother, Janice Kelly, recently escaped from the insane asylum.
As the rebel group known as the Lifers continue to use brute force to send a message to the government, Benson's twin, Harrison Kelly, seeks to exploit a loophole that could be the key to freedom for his brother. All that's required is a simple act of murder.
Meanwhile, Population Control's attack dog, a sadistic cyborg known as The Destroyer, closes in on Benson and his family. His directive: Kill them all.
Faith, family and love will be pushed to the limits in the GRIPping sequel to Slip.
Guest Post :
The Dystopian World of SLIP by David Estes
Thanks so much for having me on this awesome blog to talk about how I created the dystopian world for my newest YA novel, SLIP!
After building the world that I did in the combined Dwellers/Country Saga books, which sold tens of thousands of copies, I felt A TON of pressure to build another exciting and captivating world in SLIP for my readers. I wanted to take a very different approach, focusing a lot less on natural environment, and more on the technological advancements and the changes to laws and government.
I’ll start with the changes to laws and government, which end up driving the plot of the book. In SLIP, rising sea levels have caused continental landmasses to shrink, forcing the population into tighter clusters. Due to declining natural and food resources, the U.S. government has passed laws to control the population. Essentially someone has to die before someone can be born, which creates population neutrality. That principle is at the heart of this book, and drives much of the conflict and action. From that core idea, I considered what kind of a department the government would need to create to enforce such a controversial law. What I came up with is an organization called The Department of Population Control, or Pop Con, which is essentially a law enforcement agency that focuses on illegally born children. Because population neutrality is the government’s ultimate goal, I decided to take the most extreme route in terms of punishment: all offenders are killed.
Throughout the course of the story, I explore many questions, including what if an illegal child slipped through the cracks in the system? At what lengths would his family go to to protect him? And what measures would the government take to find him and bring him to justice?
In terms of the technology aspect of the world I’ve created, I wanted to set it far into the future, where anything could be possible. Kids play hoverball, rather than soccer, football, or lacrosse. People don’t drive, commuting via cars that drive themselves using sensors and cameras. People are tracked via their retinal signatures. Floating holographic ads patrol the city, tailoring promotional messages to each consumer they come in contact with. Robots and cyborgs are part of daily life. In short, I was able to let my imagination take the very real technology of today and morph it into something that may one day be possible.
All in all, I had to stretch the limits of my imagination to consider the population control issues faced by my characters, while building a technologically advanced world around the political climate. I really hope you and your members enjoy what I’ve come up with and get the chance to read SLIP! Thanks again for having me on your blog, and happy reading!
David Estes
About the Author:
Author of popular YA dystopian series, the Dwellers Saga and the Country Saga. Voted books to read if you enjoyed the Hunger Games on Buzzfeed and Listopia.
David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. David grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife. They now live together in their dream location, Hawaii. A reader all his life, he began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010, and started writing full time in June 2012. Now he travels the world writing with his wife, Adele. David's a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table.
Join 2,400+ David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite in David Estes' official fan group at: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/70863-david-estes-fans-and-ya-book-lovers-unite
You can find and contact David here:
- Website
- Goodreads
There is a tour wide giveaway for the book blitz of Slip. These are the prizes you can win:
1) Winners choice of book to the value of $15.00 U.S. from The Book Depository
2) A signed copy of SLIP plus bonus swag- U.S. entrants only
3) A signed copy of BREW plus bonus swag- U.S. entrants only
4) 3 ebook packs with three David Estes ebooks of your choice
5) 4 signed packs of bookmarksYou can enter the blitz wide giveaway here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I loved the world in Slip! It was scarily realistic, and I thought a very plausible future!
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