See Michelle Read: alexander gordon smith

As always with a sequel, read the following review at your own risk of spoilers!!

After putting down Furnace: Lockdown - which effectively ended right on a monumentally massive cliff-hanger ending - wondering if Alex Sawyer actually, really and truly escaped from the underground prison Furnace, I simply took a deep breath, cracked open Solitary and plowed on ahead. You see, Alex has witnessed horror upon horror during his stay in Furnace and just when the possibility of escape is dangled right in front of him, he's brought back to grim reality by the evil Warden and his soulless blacksuit minions. That's right, Alex and Zee are caught and placed in solitary confinement - underneath the main prison - leaving the boys wishing for the relative comforts of their old shared cells.

Solitary confinement leaves Alex questioning his own sanity and he quickly begins to once again dream of that elusive hope of escape. When a monstrous creature who used to be a boy just like Alex opens up his cell filling his head with horrible tales of experimentation and savagery, Alex is once again determined to get out of Furnace - no matter what. He just has to figure out a way past the blacksuits, the killer dogs, the wheezers, the panic-inducing Warden, and miles of solid rock.

It's safe to say after having already read Lockdown, I was ready for the horror that can be categorized as Alex's time in prison. Like it's predecessor, Solitary follows Alex and his friends as they face death and agony time and again only to be pushed deeper into the nightmare of Furnace. Alexander Gordon Smith's intense writing effectively grabs you immediately; dragging you along in the wake of Alex's desperate flight through the depths of that horrible prison. I barely had time to catch my breath between each new harrowing discovery - but that's what makes Alex's story just so compelling. Heck, if I were a teenage boy I'd be eating this stuff up with a fork. And asking for seconds.

And once again, we are back with that same clip-art obsessed cringe-worthy cover artist. But wait you say! It's different! They used blue! And there are targets! Ohhhh... that changes everything. Sadly there is no alternate cover to soften the blow to my eyes.

Read the first two chapters of Solitary here.

series reading order:
~ Lockdown - my review

~ Solitary

~ Death Sentence

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
The Book Bag review

book source: The Book Smugglers giveaway

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Since I haven't hosted a giveaway in quite a while (bad bloggy!) I'm going to be giving away a signed copy of both Furnace: Lockdown (my review) and Furnace: Solitary to one lucky commenter who tells me what scares you the most. That's right two signed books to one lucky commenter!

Giveaway Guidelines:

Open to US residents only
Must be a follower
Leave a comment answering the question: what scares you the most?
Include your email
Entries must be received by midnight on January 31st

When Lockdown came for me in the mail I might have experienced a slight panic attack. You see, ever since the ninth grade when my friend lent me her copy of Stephen King's Misery and I ended up alternating between wide-eyed panic and downright terror anytime I got near a car or was left alone, I vowed to steer clear of the horror genre henceforth. I've remained steadfast in my resolve for many years now, only to be tempted to crumble in the face of Alexander Gordon Smith's horrific view of a teenage prison, Furnace. I reasoned with myself that one, Furnace is actually labeled YA fiction, so really it can't be that bad and two, seeing as I am an adult, I could probably get through this one just fine.

Riiiiight.

There's probably a good reason why I haven't stepped foot near a haunted house in over six years.*

Alex Sawyer has been condemned to life behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. Although he's not looking forward to time spent in a sparse juvy institution - no, after murderous teenagers killed innocent victims on the streets of England, Alex has been sent to the imposing prison Furnace. A prison constructed to hold any and all dangerous youth and the only sentence at Furnace is a life-sentence, basically a death-sentence. As Alex tries to navigate his way through the harsh reality of his new life - fear, hide, fear, work, fear - he begins to dream of the unthinkable: escape.

When asked about his inspiration for the horrific conditions of Furnace in an interview with The Discriminating Fangirl, Smith explained:

I was thinking less about the news and more about my own worst fears. The thought of being convicted of a crime you didn't commit, and spending your life in jail, is absolutely terrifying.

And terrifying it is. From the heartless jailers to the complete lack of parental control or contact with the inmates on the inside, Furnace is a place directly out of anyone's nightmares (including this reviewer). That said, I was surprised to find Alex's story was full of heart. I know, cliche right? But I have to admit Alex's buff and gruff cell-mate Donovan and his fellow newbie Zee were bright spots in an otherwise red haze.

And for all of you who are scratching their heads with me over the cover? Please, please someone help that clip-art happy cover artist. Dogs! Barb-wire! Guns! Red strobe lights! I feel like I'm looking at some 10th grader's collage on nightmares and frankly it just gives me a headache. The UK cover is much better.

Let's just say after diving deep into the terrifying underbelly of Furnace, I think I'm going back to my original policy of no horror. Although it didn't exactly leave me with nightmares, I'll be the first to admit that I at least like the possibility of rainbows and a happy ever after. Which will never feature in a Furnace book. Never. Smith does a good job of dangling the possibility just out of reach, but it doesn't happen. That's not to say I'm not totally rooting for Alex to figure his way out of Furnace. I am. I'm just not crossing my fingers that it'll happen any time soon.

* You guessed it: It's because I'm a wuss.

series reading order:

~ Lockdown

~ Solitary

~ Death Sentence

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:

The Book Smugglers review

The Discriminating Fangirl review

Fantasy Book Critic review

Squeaky Books review

book source: The Book Smugglers giveaway