The Farm (The Farm, #1)

Feb 09, 2013 Maja rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-2012, debut-author, dystopia, favorites, just-another-book-crush, ya, open-ending, own-a-dtb, so-many-vampires, multiple-povs, post-apocalyptic, reviewed-in-2013

Well, well. Color me impressed. If you would have told me, three months ago, that someone could still offer an original take on vampires, I’d probably have laughed in your face. So far we’ve seen nightwalkers, daywalkers, vegetarian vampires, vampires with magical powers, sparkly vampires, bloodthirsty monsters, gorgeous vampires, hairless ugly vampires, and just about everything else you can possibly think of. But Ticks? Trust me, they’re new.

They’re not quite vampires, true, but genetically al...more Well, well. Color me impressed. If you would have told me, three months ago, that someone could still offer an original take on vampires, I’d probably have laughed in your face. So far we’ve seen nightwalkers, daywalkers, vegetarian vampires, vampires with magical powers, sparkly vampires, bloodthirsty monsters, gorgeous vampires, hairless ugly vampires, and just about everything else you can possibly think of. But Ticks? Trust me, they’re new.

They’re not quite vampires, true, but genetically altered humans, even more frightening because of their mindlessness. They drink blood, but they take it straight from your heart after they rip it out with their bare hands. The one real vampire in this book is still a far scarier monster, true, but the very thing that makes him more dangerous, his ability to blend in, is the same thing that makes him easier to accept.

Their frames were too bulky and broad, their arms too long, but it was their faces that churned my stomach. The almost human quality to their features. Their eyes darting fervently under hair that was shaggy and unkempt. Their heavy jaws and bulging leonine teeth.

Ever since The Farm’s US release, I’ve been dutifully reading reviews and I’ve noticed that people tend to point one (or all) of three things: their surprise over the originality of Ticks, their love for all things Carter-related, and their disappointment with Lily’s character. I agree with the first, tentatively agree with the second, but I absolutely can’t agree with the third. As someone who is extremely socially awkward, but also fiercely protective of those few people I consider my own, I found it very easy to sympathize with Lily and her willingness to do anything to save her autistic sister. Yes, there were times when she seemed almost prejudiced, but there’s no way to know how any of us would react after six months on a Farm, being used as a cow. Lily understood herself very well and she was willing to change when circumstances required it, or when she realized she was being unfair. Some of my favorite heroines started out as mildly unlikeable only to become fascinating and admirable later on, and I have a feeling Lily will find her place among them soon enough.

Including a few short chapters from Mel’s point of view was a risky move, and one that didn’t pan out in my opinion. We can’t possibly know what goes on in an autistic mind, and while McKay approached it in an original way, there were still a few problems; the most important being that her narrative was barely understandable. Mel’s thoughts made very little sense, and while I appreciated both the original attempt and the fact that they were supposed to be messy, I still didn’t see the point of those chapters at all.

Another thing that stood out was a pretty big plot hole someone should have noticed and pointed out in time. Carter came on the Farm looking for Lily specifically, because he thought she was an abductura, a powerful individual able to influence the emotions of others. I didn’t like his reasons, and I thought the entire thing was incredibly insulting to Lily, but I understood him to a point. What I didn’t understand was how he was able to convince others with such a weak argument, especially a four thousand year old vampire who should have demanded more proof. Whether Carter was right or wrong isn’t really important, you’ll have to read the book to find out. All I’m trying to point out is that a lot of people followed him in a pretty wide search, risking their lives daily, all because he couldn’t believe his attraction to Lily was natural.

Despite a few problems, I’d recommend The Farm to all those who enjoy reading about vampires, but not the romanticized kind. I am very much looking forward to the next book.

(less)

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Mar 02, 2013 JennyJen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: and-it-all-falls-down, oy, apparently-everybody-loves-a-jerk, ayfkm, barely-finished, blah, books-i-want-to-drop-kick, booooring, cheesefest, corny, dafuq-did-i-just-read, douchebag-alert, expected-so-much-more, eye-strain-from-copious-rolling, facepalm, gimme-a-break, hero-doesnt-do-it-for-me, i-m-over-it, idgaf, lackluster-series-start, mc-sucks-ass, meh, my-most-hated-heroines-evaar, no-soup-for-you, not-what-i-expected, potential-went-down-shitter, read-2013, somebody-slap-that-protagonist-pls, too-far-fetched-contrived, tstl-heroine, wanna-kick-hero-in-the-balls, unimpressed, vamps, wtf, dual-pov

*Spoilers clearly marked.

Read that synopsis. Read it. Sounds awesome, no? Killer humanoid ticks. Humans herded like livestock. Vampires. Harrowing escape. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Unfortunately, the execution was mehrp. Awful. Awful. Awful. Awful. Another creative, super-cool, and unique idea bites the dust. Boo.

See, I wanted some of this:

tick photo TickHead_zpse22add00.jpg

some of this:

vampire photo vampire_zps2984e040.jpg

and a lot of this:

terror photo terror2_zps9cac4795.gif

Instead, I got a very boring and angst-y clusterfuck of bad. I can’t say it was too predictable, but that isn’t nece...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Mitch rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really liked The Farm... until I didn't. I guess this is another case of me getting the wrong impression from the description; that's happened a lot to me lately, but, most of the time, it's the teaser giving away too much. In this case, just the opposite, because the minute I got to what Carter's secret was, my enthusiasm for this book instantly went to zero. Let's just say it's not a good sign when your own characters are making fun of how stupid the plot twists are.

From the description, I'm...more I really liked The Farm... until I didn't. I guess this is another case of me getting the wrong impression from the description; that's happened a lot to me lately, but, most of the time, it's the teaser giving away too much. In this case, just the opposite, because the minute I got to what Carter's secret was, my enthusiasm for this book instantly went to zero. Let's just say it's not a good sign when your own characters are making fun of how stupid the plot twists are.

From the description, I'm thinking this is going to be a book about humans being farmed for food to feed vampires and two sisters having to escape from 'The Farm'. And it is, at least at first. A bit predictable, but one of the sisters, Mel, is mentally handicapped and her point of view is rather good - I have to hand it to Emily Mckay, she did a really good job making sure Mel's story comes across despite how she's telling it. I didn't like Lily as much, she's really on edge and her frustration with her sister even frustrated me, but it's easy to tell her heart's in the right place nonetheless. So Lily and Mel go about describing their predicament and making plans to escape, and then, as promised, new kid Carter comes into the picture with a hidden agenda and the girls' plans go straight to hell. So far so good, right?

Not really, because that's exactly when the problems started popping up left and right for me. First of all, Carter obviously knows exactly what's going on, so it's kind of weird that McKay would write from his point of view at all when the first few chapters hinge on the girls and the reader being in the dark about his secret. Even worse, she writes his point of view as 'I know what's going on, I feel real guilty about not telling Lily, but I'm gonna keep the whole thing to myself'. Wow, what a useless point of view that tells me nothing, especially with how ambiguous his reasons for not telling Lily are. But as it turns out, Carter should've kept his secret a secret, because knowing that secret ruined the rest of the book for me.

Why? It turns what was a plot about escaping a facility where kids are farmed for their blood to feed mutant vampire like creatures called Ticks into a plot about vampire (real ones, not Ticks) conspiracies and people with mass mind control powers. WTF?!! McKay obviously recognized how unbelievable this is because Lily calls Carter out on it every time he opens his mouth and says something even more ridiculous than the previous 'bombshell' he drops. (Actual line from Lily: I don’t need to think about it to know that this is the stupidest, most ridiculous fantasy I’ve ever heard. My reaction: I don’t need to think about it to know that this is the stupidest, most ridiculous fantasy I’ve ever read.) And it's not like these plot twists are even necessary to the story, the only thing they do is turn Lily from an average if annoyingly stubborn character who may not always know what's good for her into a lame savior type with a massive hero complex. Oh, and the massive number of inconsistencies that result: the Ticks are nocturnal, nope they attack during the day, the Ticks can’t enter consecrated ground (looool), nope they attack a church because it doesn’t look like a church even though Lily and Co. hid in another church that didn't look like a church a few chapters earlier, the Ticks are dumb brutes, nope they implanted Lily’s tracking chip (I’m sure this last one is just an author slipup, but it all goes to show the premise is just convoluted).

I’m not saying the book stops making sense once Lily, Mel, and Carter (plus their friends Joe and McKenna) escape the Farm. Most of the time, the gang’s fending off Ticks or trying to avoid recapture and I'm actually having a good time reading about it, Mel and McKenna as the stereotypical cheerleader turned tough survivor in particular, although Lily and Carter are so generic I couldn’t remember their names while writing this review and had to leave them blank before going back to look in the book and filling them in mad lib style. But, somebody (usually Carter) always has to bring up the stupid premise this book doesn't even need and the only thing it's good for is a lame ~~Twilight~~ Vampire Diaries reference before I'm reminded that even the most well conceived books can go bad on the way to crazyville.

I think Emily McKay should’ve quit while she was ahead. The book’s fine as it is without the need for the ridiculous backstory slash explanation for the Ticks, all it does is add a dose of crazy to a perfectly good book that didn’t need it. Maybe she’s doing it to set up a sequel, but I don’t think I’ll be back.(less)

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Nov 20, 2012 Kelly Hashway rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow! Just wow! This book grabbed me from the first page and didn't let go. The story is told in multiple POV. Lily dominates the story, but Carter and Mel both have some chapters along the way. While I gravitated toward Lily and her protective nature, always worrying more about her sister, Mel, than anything else, I really loved the chapters told by Mel. She's autistic and boy does the girl have an interesting mind. She really adds depth to the story.

Lily is only concerned about Mel and her own...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bea12, distopian, spring-2012, ya

I liked that this book was on the border of YA and Adult, it dealt with the age range of Young Adult, but at the same time, it didn't skirt around issues that teenagers face normally. I've noticed that most YA won't curse or really address the issue of sex, but this book managed to cover what it really was like for teenagers before their world exploded and then what it was like after.

I really liked that this book could double as a YA for more mature readers within the genre. While there isn't se...more I liked that this book was on the border of YA and Adult, it dealt with the age range of Young Adult, but at the same time, it didn't skirt around issues that teenagers face normally. I've noticed that most YA won't curse or really address the issue of sex, but this book managed to cover what it really was like for teenagers before their world exploded and then what it was like after.

I really liked that this book could double as a YA for more mature readers within the genre. While there isn't sex all over this book it is a topic that comes up a few times when talking about Lily and Carter. There is also the constant mention of "Breeders", young women who chose to have babies and therefore are used like tissues by the Collabs, jock like young boys who choose to work with the Dean of The Farm.

All of these terms are a little confusing when trying to explain it to you right now. I thought it was interesting that all of these Farms (yes, human Farms) were set up on college campuses. It reminded me a little bit of The Loners, the way that the jocks and sporty guys joined the collaborators and the girls (its insinuated the ones that have looser ethics) join the breeders which means that Collabs can sleep with them whenever.

I loved the devotion that Lily and Mel had to each other and how Carter pushed to help them both even though it was for his own reasons. I liked that Carter didn't talk to Mel like she was autistic, but rather like she was a normal person. When you look at how they got from point A to point B, its really shocking to realize that this book only took place during a span of 4 days or so.

Of Note: I saw Jenn from Crazy For Books with it on the first day of BEA. I asked her what it was about and her response was "I'm not sure, something about ticks and bugs." which being the girly girl that I am, made me go, 'ick.' When I saw that my mom has snagged a copy, I asked her to read it and let me know if it was a good read, and when my mom handed it to me and was like "OMG. This book was great!" I knew I had to read it even though the publication wasn't until December and I read it in June.

So if you're unsure about this book because the description mentions Ticks, know that its about vampires and their twisted monster cousins and not the bugs, because if it were killer bugs, there would be no surviving. Anyway, give this book a chance if you're looking to explore outside of YA, but you're not sure where to go. There was no love triangle which was great, and you get a little bit more maturity.(less)

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Sep 02, 2012 Merve Özcan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vampire, immortal, science-fiction, more-than-one-narrrator, post-apocalytpic

http://kitabisevda.blogspot.com/2012/...
(Spoiler içerir)
Sihirli Kitap ve Kitap Sayfaları blog sahipleri ile ufak bir okuma etkinliğimiz vardı. Çiftliği okuyorduk ve kitap bitti.
Uzun bir süredir beklediğim kitaptı Çiftlik. Amerikadan öncede okuyoruz, bunun büyük etkisi oldu tabi.
Hayal kırıklığıda beraberinde geldi. Kurgu açısından güzel bir kitap ama ben daha farklı bir şey bekliyordum. Özellikle bu kızların ikiz olduğu ve ikisinin de Abduktura olabileceği kimsenin aklına nedense gelmedi. Sonr...more
http://kitabisevda.blogspot.com/2012/...
(Spoiler içerir)
Sihirli Kitap ve Kitap Sayfaları blog sahipleri ile ufak bir okuma etkinliğimiz vardı. Çiftliği okuyorduk ve kitap bitti.
Uzun bir süredir beklediğim kitaptı Çiftlik. Amerikadan öncede okuyoruz, bunun büyük etkisi oldu tabi.
Hayal kırıklığıda beraberinde geldi. Kurgu açısından güzel bir kitap ama ben daha farklı bir şey bekliyordum. Özellikle bu kızların ikiz olduğu ve ikisinin de Abduktura olabileceği kimsenin aklına nedense gelmedi. Sonraki kitaplara saklanan bir habermi bilemiyorum. Lily'nin ise çocuksu tavırları gerçekten yorucuydu. Lily Hem kardeşinin korumaktan başka bir şey istemiyor, hemde düşmanına saçma bir güvenle arkasını dönüyor. Olduk olmadık yerdeki sinir krizleri ise beni yordu.
Lily, Carter'a güvenmemekte çok haklıydı. Aniden çıkıp gelen eski bir tanıdık... Dünya tehlikeli bir yer.
Ama yaralarını gösterince hemen inandı. Saf bir kız yani.

Carter ile aralarında geçen -kitabın sonuna doğru- "o sana öyle aşığım" sahneleri beni çığırımdan çıkardı. Dur daha iki gün önce adamı tanımıyordun (Yeni Carter'ı). Bu sahnede Carter'ı suçluyorum.
Kitapta okumaktan zevk aldığım tek karakter Sebastian'dı. Tam bir vampirdi. En azından sırıtmıyordu. Güneşe çıkması ve ilk başta giremeyeceği ima edilsede kliseye girip haç falan alması biraz garip geldi. Belkide yanık kokusu onu ima ediyordu, bilmiyorum.Yani pekde Dracula tarzı bir vampir değil.
Kitabın 6 kişi arasında geçmesi biraz bunaltıcı bir hava verdi. Tik ad verilen mutasyona uğramış insanlara pek yakından bakamadık. Görünüşlerini biliyoruz ama... İkinci kitaba sanırım.

Kitap kendini okutan bir kitap. Arada şöyle "Aman" diyip kapattığım yerler oldu. Lily'nin dövüş sahneleri çok hoştu. Yer yer verilen Mel'in gözünden anlatılan sahneler içimi açtı. Lily'nin odaklandığı konu bunaltabiliyor.
Carter'ın gözünden anlatılan bölümler ise teknik açıdan hoş değildi çünkü kafa karışıklığı yaratıyordu. Kitabın geneli 1. kişi tarafından anlatılıyor ama Carter 3. kişi tarafında. Bu kitapta geri dönmeme neden oluyordu.
En çok hoşuma giden şey ise yer yer yapılan Alacakaranlık göndermeleriydi. Gülememek elde değil. Ama sonunda biyoloji dersinde olan bakışmalara gelince bunu yapmamalıydın dedim :D(less)

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Dec 11, 2012 Skyla rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: need-to-read-asap, pre-ordered, ya, vampires, creepy, apocalypse, twins

When I first heard about The Farm I got super duper excited. I really loved the premise and though it did sound a lot like Julie Kawaga’s The Immortal Rules, a book I haven’t read yet but I won in a giveaway and should be here any day now, from the synopsis I know that they are infinitely different.

I got a little bit worried when I found out that the author is a writer of crappy romance books but my fears were unfounded so =)

The book opens with Lily mentioning that she and her autistic identical...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Amandaw rated it 3 of 5 stars

I wanted this to be so much better...the idea of a disease that attacks and turns humans into a zombie/ vampire hybrid...a disease that devastates the US and forces people into apocalyptic scenarios...a disease that focuses on teenagers so they round them all up and imprison them onto old university campuses. All the pieces were there, and it is a good read. But it could have been a great read if the author hadn't focused on how much the main character Lily was in love (but of course wouldn't ad...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Liane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: could-have-been-better, got-bored-halfway-through, horror, high-expectations, plot-moves-so-slowly, this-disappointed-me

What the blurb led me to believe I was getting:

What I actually got:

My Reaction: :

(C'mon where's the awesome book I was promised in the blurb?)

What my disappointment eventually led me to:

You know it's bad when I substitute grinding for reading. I normally like reading over playing video games.

It's not that this is a BAD book, it's just that it was just so...different from the one in the blurb. This book is not really any different from any of the generic YA books that's populating the mar...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Shainna rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: autism-asperger-s, mythology, urban-fantasy, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Insipid, ridiculous, aggravating to the nth degree.

If there's a character who encompasses the whole of the allistics out there, it would be Lily. She has to protect her twin sister, her autistic sister. It's such a tragedy that Lily has an autistic sibling and she has to protect them from the vampires and vampire like "Ticks." It must be so hard to be Neurotypical.

Excuse me while I vomit.

According to the book's website, in a FAQ with the author, Mel (the autistic sister) was "In my earliest draf...more Insipid, ridiculous, aggravating to the nth degree.

If there's a character who encompasses the whole of the allistics out there, it would be Lily. She has to protect her twin sister, her autistic sister. It's such a tragedy that Lily has an autistic sibling and she has to protect them from the vampires and vampire like "Ticks." It must be so hard to be Neurotypical.

Excuse me while I vomit.

According to the book's website, in a FAQ with the author, Mel (the autistic sister) was "In my earliest drafts of the book, Lily was alone at the Farm and Mel didn’t exist at all. That version of Lily was very isolated and in turn, unsympathetic. She needed a sibling. She needed someone to protect. I knew right away that I wanted Mel to be dependent on her, but to also bring a lot to the table also." (see http://www.escapethefarm.com/about/) Mel was brought along to be a sympathy card!!

Mel is really good at math (a stereotype, we are not all math prodigies - lots of us are terrible at math.) She likes gum, rocks which Lily basically calls a hallmark of autism - NTs rock as well, it's not a universal stim for autistics. She has a slinky, which evidently annoys everyone and she speaks in nursery rhymes.

The mother and father desperately want a cure for Mel's autism but no one consults Mel - ever for any part of the book for anything.

At the end, Mel dies and then is turned into a vampire and as she's dying, Lily fights off feelings of being happy with Mel's death. It's supposed to be because Mel wanted the silence and peace of death and was an abductura, but c'mon. We live in a world where people kill off their autistic relations and other people say stuff like, "Oh, yeah...it would be hard to take care of someone like that."

In addition, if Mel really was the abductura, then that makes her guilty of forcing her emotions onto other people! That makes Lily's moral dilemma of having Carter like her Mel's moral dilemma - and it makes Mel a villain! You can't force someone to feel the same way you do, that's taking away their free will!

As a member of the autistic community, this book offended me on so many levels.

Lily was annoying and I've never met a more unlikeable character I was supposed to like. She was also extremely bigoted.

The science and plot had a lot of holes (if they don't like testosterone loaded blood, why do they go after any males as food? And why are teenagers so appealing when males pretty much have testosterone spikes the most because of puberty? Highest times are around early twenties, but still.) And for being "so smart", Lily was pretty dumb most of the time.(less)

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Mar 05, 2013 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

The Farm is a YA dystopian/vampire/survival novel. It is a fast read and enjoyable.

The Ticks are vampire-like creatures resulting from genetic experiments gone wrong; they were human, but now they are not. Deadly killing machines, the monsters are devouring towns and states. There is less and less indication that anyone out there is still battling the the Ticks.

But...there are "real," old-fashioned kinds of vampires, too, and one of the bad ones is marshalling the genetically altered vampires fo...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Pooh Bear rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Farm kind of reminds me of the Hunger Games in some sense. You're probably thinking "But Pooh, there are no districts or the overall Hunger Games." No, not exactly. However, in place of the Districts there's the 'Farms'. And the whole part of escaping, the younger sister who the older sister is always trying to protect. However, in some way I think this book was better.

Lily and Mel are twins, who are stuck in this one Farm. The whole purpose of the Farms is for the teens, whose teenage hormo...more The Farm kind of reminds me of the Hunger Games in some sense. You're probably thinking "But Pooh, there are no districts or the overall Hunger Games." No, not exactly. However, in place of the Districts there's the 'Farms'. And the whole part of escaping, the younger sister who the older sister is always trying to protect. However, in some way I think this book was better.

Lily and Mel are twins, who are stuck in this one Farm. The whole purpose of the Farms is for the teens, whose teenage hormones must be tasty to the Vampires, 'donate' their blood. However once their hormones go down, they kind of just disappear. So Lily and Mel are turning 18 which is when most of the teens go missing. Lily is packing and trading stuff, things they'll need for when they get outside the Farm. However, a boy, Carter, someone from the Before, which is basically the life everyone had before the Vampires and Ticks(getting there in a moment) shows up. She takes pity for him and lets Carter stay with them.

However, the more you read you find out Carter is working for someone, and it doesn't take long before he appears to be a Collab. Basically he knocks her out, takes her to the Dean's office, where his 'partner' who you might want to know is a Vampire is waiting.

The Ticks are basically lower forms of Vampires, though they were once human. They these awkward things to me. With long legs and limbs, kind of reminds me of Ryuk from Death Note, tall limbs and all.

This book wasn't bad, but it wasn't phenominal as well. It was mediocre. I felt annoyed half the time reading this book, and it was Lily mainly pissing me off. I liked Mel, she seemed more keen than everyone else, and kind of reminded me of myself. If they would try and listen to her riddles, than they wouldn't be dead half the time.

The love thing was just once more annoying. She doesn't want to love Carter because they think she made him love her because she was an Abductura, which to me seems like a hidden form of Dictatorship.

Overall this book is a 3.5/5(less)

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Feb 05, 2013 Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, fantasy, dystopia

You will find that this story does have teenage characters, a possible love interest and vampires not all in the same context and is told successfully and proved to be an enjoyable read for me.
It starts with the narratives of two sisters told in different chapters in a dystopia setting, there is a need to survive, a care and love for each for other, a possible plan to break free, a journey out of to freedom from The Farm.
The story grabs you from the start you have a feeling of the moment and the...more You will find that this story does have teenage characters, a possible love interest and vampires not all in the same context and is told successfully and proved to be an enjoyable read for me.
It starts with the narratives of two sisters told in different chapters in a dystopia setting, there is a need to survive, a care and love for each for other, a possible plan to break free, a journey out of to freedom from The Farm.
The story grabs you from the start you have a feeling of the moment and the dilemma of the twin sisters, from then on the author has you and keeps you successfully in the story in a visceral fashion at times emotional and others thrilling.
Delivered with a well paced momentum in different narratives, first person p.o.v mostly three mainly Lily and her twin sister Mel and Carter the male character who tries to aid and has possible love for one. I found Mel a very interesting character to read of there is only very short narratives from Mel poetic at times shes talks in unconventional ways, she communicates with nursery rhymes and expresses feelings with certain sounds and music.
This novel leaves you with something at the end and definitely wanting more and I feel she’s careful left a lot more to come in the continuation in the next book.

"Four times a day, all the Greens shuffled out from their various hiding places and ambled over to the dining hall, where we were scanned, prodded, and fed. Yeah, we were treated like cows, except cows lived in the blissful oblivion of not knowing their future. We Greens couldn't escape the reminders of what was to come. Not when Collabs took weekly "donations" at the mobile blood bank. Calling it that was their way of making it seem voluntary. It wasn't. And every time we donated blood, they tested it to see how "clean" it was, whether or not it would make good food for the Ticks or if it had too many of the hormones the Ticks seemed to crave. On the Farm, we weren't raising food; we were the food."

Mel
"Places have music, too.
Home always sounded like Beethoven's Ninth. School, like skate punk.
Only holy ground is quiet. "

Also review @ http://more2read.com/review/the-farm-by-emily-mckay/(less)

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Feb 05, 2013 PhoenixFantasy rated it 3 of 5 stars

As you know, YA isn't my usual thing (although I've been getting more of a taste for it lately), but a post-apocalyptic Vampire novel? I couldn't resist!

The Farm is more Twilight than Double Dead, but its pretty cool in its own right. Conceptually there's a massive amount of potential here, and I'm not convinced that it was anywhere near realised. But I suspect this is more down to the limitations of YA and the expectations I carried over from a lot of adult horror novels. The Farm is nowhere ne...more As you know, YA isn't my usual thing (although I've been getting more of a taste for it lately), but a post-apocalyptic Vampire novel? I couldn't resist!

The Farm is more Twilight than Double Dead, but its pretty cool in its own right. Conceptually there's a massive amount of potential here, and I'm not convinced that it was anywhere near realised. But I suspect this is more down to the limitations of YA and the expectations I carried over from a lot of adult horror novels. The Farm is nowhere near as dark, or as tense as it could've been, and from my own reading perspective, that was a shame.

There's an odd switch of perspective between first and third person between the two main characters. It actually works quite nicely it's just something that wrong-footed me a bit, and in fact I don't think I've seen it in a novel to date. I'm trying to figure what it brings to the table..and can't really! but it does no harm once you've got over the "hang on a minute" moment..

I really liked the notion of the "ticks" here, and while I completely get where the name comes from, I can't help but wonder how many people get the wrong end of the stick from the blurb! Visions of giant, swollen bugs running around outside..was actually scarier than the reality. For me at least. The idea of humans as a corralled food source was good too, but I've seen it done better. Again there was just that lack of tension and darkness that made it hard for me to feel on edge. It felt very tame. The collabs were more moronic than intimidating, and the attempted rape scene read as bizarrely light hearted..which was disconcerting.

The Big Twist...well, there are two of them I suppose. One was glaringly obvious, and one slightly less so. Don't go expecting any real surprises, but you might get an "Ooo.." moment at the very end.

Honestly I think the best way I can sum this one up is a guilty pleasure. It's a bit daft, the notion of the 'rebels' searching for one schoolgirl that one of them remembered as being strangely influential...I don't want to go deep into spoiler territory but it's hard to express the silliness without touching on it. Regardless, McKay's writing is massively engaging and hugely readable, and I had fun with this one in spite of it not being really my thing.

One thing that I did think was genuinely unnecessary though, were the overt digs at Twilight. For a Vampire novel with elements of angsty teen romance, I think that's dangerous ground. Mckay clearly feels she's a step above Meyer, but really, how many Twilight fans are going to be picking this up? shooting yourself in the foot if you ask me. There are more than enough parallels for anyone to call her out on it. And even if there weren't, is it really necessary? it read as obnoxious.

All of that aside, it's a fast-paced read, and engaging from the first page. It's the kind of novel I could see going down a storm as a film adaptation, and I have no doubt that teenage girls, especially the more precocious ones who think they're a cut above Bella, will adore it.

...and honestly? if there's a sequel..I'd read it. But I most likely wouldn't tell anyone I know ;)

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Jan 29, 2013 Kenneth Hursh rated it 2 of 5 stars

Conflict is a good thing in a novel, but The Farm is an example of too much of a good thing. It starts out with a cool dystopian setting, teenagers held captive to give blood to feed vampires who have taken over the U.S.

Lily is one such captive who yearns to free herself and her autistic sister, Mel, from their particular blood farm. Lily loves Mel and wants to protect her, but also feels burdened by her (conflict # 1). Suddenly, Lily’s old high school crush, Carter, appears at the farm and sho...more Conflict is a good thing in a novel, but The Farm is an example of too much of a good thing. It starts out with a cool dystopian setting, teenagers held captive to give blood to feed vampires who have taken over the U.S.

Lily is one such captive who yearns to free herself and her autistic sister, Mel, from their particular blood farm. Lily loves Mel and wants to protect her, but also feels burdened by her (conflict # 1). Suddenly, Lily’s old high school crush, Carter, appears at the farm and shows a romantic interest in her, but might not be as friendly as he seems (conflict # 2).

There are all sorts of conflicting evil forces—two different types of traditional vampires who don’t get along, a third modern type of vampire with which neither type of traditional vampire gets along, and humans who imprison and bleed teenagers for the various types of vampires, yet who still don’t get along with the vampires (conflicts # 3, 4, and 5).

Lily perhaps has a superpower that will perhaps rescue humanity from all of this dystopia, although she doesn’t want the power (conflict # 6). So, Lily, Mel, Carter, and, among others, a girl Lily doesn’t like (conflict # 7) escape the farm together, bound for vampire-free Canada. Evil forces follow them, of course (conflict # 8), either hoping to kill Lily or kidnap her for her powers, depending on the evil force.

All these conflicts made for a terrific read for about 100 pages. Unfortunately, by page 300, each conflict was still going strong, and I needed the story to boil down. It didn’t happen till page 400 (of 417) when some of the conflicts resolved in hasty “telling” fashion. By then I had grown tired of the unchanging relationships and wasn’t caring much for the characters involved in them. The conflict about which evil force (if any of them) was the true enemy and whether/how Lily could defeat them was never resolved, and this was a major problem with The Farm.

The most compelling conflict was between Carter and Lily—whether he really loved her or was only interested in her power. McKay would have been better off focusing on this storyline from beginning to end and letting other conflicts flare up and die more quickly along the way. The autistic sister part should have been left out completely.
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Jan 15, 2013 Katie added it

Shelves: books-i-own, for-review

I love that scary vampires are making a comeback. Julie Kagawa terrified me with The Immortal Rules and now Emily McKay is doing the same thing with The Farm.

I love Lily and Mel. And I loved Lily's dedication to keep her sister safe. There were times that she seemed to latch on to bad ideas out of desperation and I wanted to just shake some sense into her but luckily, that's where Carter comes in. I absolutely loved Carter as well. Lily is fierce and snarky and he seems to compliment her person...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Don Braun rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Farm is in the same vein with Divergent, Blood Red Road and the Hunger Games. A strong female lead in a time of danger with a romantic distraction. But in the Farm, Lily our heroine, has taken on the burden of protecting her autistic twin sister from the dangers of a teen concentration camp and a world filled with blood drinking mutants.
I know that it sounds really sci-fi but with all the zombie and vampire movies this story seems to come along at the right time where this scenario is accept...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Layla rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. I'm known for reading anything, but this one I read all in one day. I loved how the story was written in multiple POV, I find that it added to our understanding of the characters. It is mostly told from Lily's perspective, but I found the chapters written my Mel very interesting because we got to see how she sees the world.

The story revolves around Lily and her trying to protect her twin sister Mel by trying to get them off of the Farm before they turn 18. It is unknown what...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, guy-reads, horror, multiple-pov, paranormal, relationships, ya

In the future, vampires have emerged and teenagers have been shipped off to "farms" to become food for the vampires while also escaping a disease that morphs people into "ticks," these zombie-like monsters that want to eat human flesh. Lily and her autistic sister Mel are being held on one of these farms and attempt to escape because their 18th birthday is coming up and once kids reach their 18th, they disappear forever.

Okay, really interesting premise, but really vague. Why do vampires suddenly...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Chelsey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lily and Melanie Price are sisters, twins actually, who have been living on the Farm for months now and they are faced with the fear of death and punishment every day. No one really has the answers for what happens outside the wall of the Farm, but Lily Price only knows one thing – she wants out. Things were always like they are now for the Price sisters and Lily knows that with their eighteenth birthday approaching, they must act fast. Lily suspects that when you turn eighteen you are fed to th...more Lily and Melanie Price are sisters, twins actually, who have been living on the Farm for months now and they are faced with the fear of death and punishment every day. No one really has the answers for what happens outside the wall of the Farm, but Lily Price only knows one thing – she wants out. Things were always like they are now for the Price sisters and Lily knows that with their eighteenth birthday approaching, they must act fast. Lily suspects that when you turn eighteen you are fed to the Ticks, even though they have always been told they will be released when they come of age. Lily devises a well thought out plan to help them escape and everything is running smoothly, until Carter, a boy that Lily remembers from the Before, shows up and puts a dagger in her plans.

What I loved most about this book was the point of view switch. While reading, you will be given Carter, Melanie, and Lily’s point of views. I like being inside of each of these character’s minds because they are all thinking things that they are too scared to share with the others. And the best part is that they don’t share all of their secrets all at once, you really have to keep reading to get all the juicy details. Carter’s character was probably my favorite just because of how mysterious and mischievous he was. I am not going to give all Carter’s secrets away, but I will tell you that they are worth reading about.

Melanie’s character was written perfectly, just like someone with an autism spectrum disorder would be. Her chapters were usually short and almost lyrical because of her tendency to speak only in nursery rhymes. This small detail made Melanie real for me. She was extremely dependent on Lily, which I completely expected. Her character was intriguing and I almost wanted to see more and hear more from her. Lily was everything that I expected her to be. She was the alpha and would do anything to get herself and her sister out of the Farm and away from the Ticks. She was the protective one and she almost reminded me of Katniss. No, actually she did remind me of Katniss. A lot! I love that role and I think Lily’s character was executed perfectly as well.

The last thing that I am going to comment on will have to be the world building. Emily McKay took vampires, which I am starting to tire of but only if they are written in the light of Edward Cullen, and made them freaking fascinating. The Farm and the Before were written so that I could feel them and see them. I felt like I had stepped into an extremely dark underworld while reading about the Farm, and at times chills journeyed up my back. I mean, honestly, this is not a place you want to be. She also explored the Ticks without writing them too terrifying. For example, when Lily sees the Collabs tying a young girl to a post outside the Farm, she knows what will happen to her; however, the way she talks about it is almost nonchalant and expectant. After awhile you just get used to things.

***Thank you to the publishers at Berkley Trade for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review***
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Dec 18, 2012 Misty Baker rated it 5 of 5 stars

The other day, while I was surrounded by hordes of rabid book fans, I was asked a question. A question that was rather elementary when it came right down to it, but still incredibly intriguing. One that (if I’m being honest) I’m surprised is being asked now; 3 years into my reviewing journey. It was:

“What are you tired of?”

My first thought (naturally) was laundry. I have no idea how my children manage to wear everything they own in a single week, but alas…they do, therefore I’m up to my elbows i...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

SPOILERS*******************

I ADORED this book. It was very well-written. The plot was exciting and interesting with appropriate pacing. The characters were likable, relate-able, and believable.

The alternate POV of Lily, Mel, and Carter was well-executed. Lily was a strong and likable character. She was self-sacrificial, but largely only towards Mel and a bit toward Carter, so it wasn't annoying or overdone.

Mel's POV was AMAZINGLY written. It was very characteristic of autism spectrum disorders...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Pretty in Fiction rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews-by-jesse

The Farm by Emily McKay is one of those books that drags you in and doesn't let up until the last page. There's action, romance, zombie-esque vampire creatures, and full-on vampires who are scary smart. Some of the scary smart vampires also happen to have an amazing sarcastic streak that will make you fall head over heels for him even though he'd basically rip you in half in a heart beat. Yeah. Maybe I'm the only one who would fall for that guy... Oh well!

The Farm was told between three separate...more The Farm by Emily McKay is one of those books that drags you in and doesn't let up until the last page. There's action, romance, zombie-esque vampire creatures, and full-on vampires who are scary smart. Some of the scary smart vampires also happen to have an amazing sarcastic streak that will make you fall head over heels for him even though he'd basically rip you in half in a heart beat. Yeah. Maybe I'm the only one who would fall for that guy... Oh well!

The Farm was told between three separate points of view. Lily, a girl who is desperate to save her sister from a life as a blood bag to the Ticks, Mel, the autistic sister who is much more in tune to what's going on then Lily gives her credit for, and Carter, Lily's bad-boy crush from the Before who happens to show up with promises of escape. At first, when I realized that each POV was written in a different tense I feared it would make reading choppy, but by the second time the characters were popping up I had already learned the tone of their voices. Even if the chapters weren't labeled by character I'd still be able to tell who was narrating.

Oh, for once, a love interest who actually thinks the heroine is kick-ass instead of just a damsel in distress! Actually his exact description if her is, "...you're kick-ass. You can build bombs and beat the crap out of a guy." (page 185) Yes! Carter is not only tough as nails and swoony, but he's actually supportive. Plus the whole mysterious thing doesn't hurt his case either.

The romance, believe it or not, reminded me a lot of Pride and Prejudice. One side of the relationship claiming to have fallen in love despite their original disinterest. And, well, any romance that reminds me of Elizabeth and Darcy just can't go wrong in my book. In fact, there's like an entire scene that's basically... well, THE SCENE. You know, the one with the fighting and the emotions and me getting all worked up and almost crying every time I read it. Yeah. That scene. So, to say I loved Carter and Lily's romance isn't nearly enough. I adored it.

But the best part was that the romance wasn't played up. It was always there, fluttering around behind the scenes, laced between the lines, but not overwhelming the rest of the story. The Ticks and the evil things that happened because of them were always the main focus of The Farm and I appreciated the romance all the more for it.

If you're a lover of vampire books, the real kind, not the sparkly, animal eating kind, than The Farm is for you. It can be gruesome at times, sweet at others, and will keep you on the edge of your seat.(less)

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Dec 11, 2012 Hannah (The Irish Banana Review) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-horror, ya-dystopian, ya-paranormal-vampires

Breathtaking, pulse-pounding, and relentless, The Farm grabs you from page one and doesn’t let up. Emily McKay masterfully redefines the vampire genre in this stunning debut. Instead of keeping vampires hidden in the shadows, they surge to the forefront, toppling society and taking over everything.

There could be a few similarities drawn between The Farm and Julie Kagawa’s The Immortal Rules. Yes, both take place in a dystopian society where vampires have taken over and regularly use humans for...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Sarah May rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was an awesome book! With a brother and nephews with autism the author nailed the mannerisms down very well. The plot was good and I hope the author will continue with the storyline.

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Dec 04, 2012 Liviania rated it 4 of 5 stars

THE FARM starts on the campus of The University of North Texas*, but it's no longer a college. It's, well, a farm. Teenagers are divided into three groups: Greens, Breeders, and Collabs. They're all trying to survive the Ticks, who live outside the electrified fence surrounding the school. The Ticks feed on human blood, and they like teenagers best. Lily and her twin sister are about to age out.

Thus, Lily and Mel plan to escape. There are two major complications. Lily's old crush Carter shows up...more THE FARM starts on the campus of The University of North Texas*, but it's no longer a college. It's, well, a farm. Teenagers are divided into three groups: Greens, Breeders, and Collabs. They're all trying to survive the Ticks, who live outside the electrified fence surrounding the school. The Ticks feed on human blood, and they like teenagers best. Lily and her twin sister are about to age out.

Thus, Lily and Mel plan to escape. There are two major complications. Lily's old crush Carter shows up out of the blue, eager to reconnect, and Mel's barely functioning in the farm, whereas before the Ticks she could communicate fairly well despite her autism. And even more unfortunately for the girls, their lives will only get more complicated after they escape.

Lily tended to rub me the wrong way. She's sometimes good with tactics and strategy, other times horrible with them. She'll create a very smart, well-reasoned plan one moment and then stupidly charge into danger the next. Oftentimes things would've gone much more smoothly if she trusted other people's skills. And I didn't like the way she treated Mel. Wanting to protect your sister is noble. Referring to her as your burden, not so much. I loved when one of the supposed-to-be-less-sympathetic characters tried to convince Lily that Mel was her own person and responsible for her own decisions. And I really hated the ending, where Lily overrides a very important decision that Mel makes. Yes, Mel has autism, but she's not incompetent.

But aside from never really getting into Lily's journey, I enjoyed THE FARM. (I take it back - I also didn't like that Carter's sections are written in third person while Lily and Mel's are written in first. It served no purpose and I found it distracting.) The adventure plot is excellent, with lots of suspense and occasional gruesomeness. The take on vampire lore was very original. I'd been getting kind of bored of vampire books, but THE FARM and BLACK CITY prove that there are many interesting interpretations of the genre still to be written.

I suspect many readers will love THE FARM. It's got romance and horror, a road trip, and it blends fantasy and post-apocalyptic elements in an intriguing way. (And fantastic post-apocalyptic definitely seems like a growing genre to me. I've reviewed several books that fit that description lately.) And I would've loved it if Lily didn't annoy me so much. I don't think we were supposed to entirely agree with her treatment of Mel, considering Emily McKay does have a character say something about it, but it really bugged me instead of seeming like a loving sisterly relationship. While I'd also dislike her being perfect all the time, I found it hard to believe that a person whose goal is getting herself and her sister to safety kept putting herself in unnecessarily dangerous situations. But I need to stop talking about that because you probably don't believe me when I say I though the book was fun now.

*I assume. A university in North Texas associated with green? It's not a liberal arts university as described, but a research university; however, everything else fits. (less)

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Dec 04, 2012 Paranormal Haven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews-by-beth-guest-reviewer

In this post-apocalyptic near future world, a scientific screw up has turned people into ‘Ticks.’ Yes, ‘Ticks’ drink blood, but they aren’t Vampires. They are monsters, and look like Monsters. When the outbreak happened Lily and her autistic twin sister Mel went, like most teens, to a Farm. At the time they were told it was for their own protection, but as time went on it was clear they were being farmed for their blood. When teens turn eighteen they disappear. They are told they leave the Farm,...more In this post-apocalyptic near future world, a scientific screw up has turned people into ‘Ticks.’ Yes, ‘Ticks’ drink blood, but they aren’t Vampires. They are monsters, and look like Monsters. When the outbreak happened Lily and her autistic twin sister Mel went, like most teens, to a Farm. At the time they were told it was for their own protection, but as time went on it was clear they were being farmed for their blood. When teens turn eighteen they disappear. They are told they leave the Farm, but Lily isn’t waiting around to find out. She makes an escape plan, but when she starts to put the stages in place a boy from her past, Carter, shows up.

The Farm is romance writer Emily Mckay’s first YA novel. It’s told in Lily’s and Mel’s first person perspective, and in part Carter in third person. Lily has the main stage when it comes to voice. She is a strong, fierce and easy to like. The voice throughout the novel never comes off as dense. Mel’s perspective chapters were never long, but always interesting. On the other hand Carter’s felt a little unsure at first, but the switch between Lily’s first person and his third quickly became seamless.

Carter shows up, not only to find Lily, but more importantly to find an abductura. He believes that is what Lily is, and finding her means mankind can fight back. Save humanity! This makes Carter my kind of guy. What’s better than a rebellion for a good cause? He keeps a lot of information from Lily because her main focus is keeping Mel safe. There is also a side romantic plot blooming between Carter and Lily. It has a little angst to it, but not that much. I was impressed with both characters throughout the novel.

There are also side characters, Joe, McKeena and Sebastian. Sebastian comes into the Farm with Carter. He is a big mystery until about halfway through the novel. Even after his secrets are exposed he still fits in as a dangerous-mysterious guy. Joe and McKeena go through a lot with the other characters. One of my favorite things was the character growth throughout the novel.

Enough about the bright shining characters, I need to discuss this Tick infested world. The novel starts out on The Farm. It seems, at first like a horrible dystopian, where teens are treated in awful ways. There is a lot of gruesome behavior going on. The world is also where readers need to suspend belief. McKay gives a lot of great explanations as to why the teens are farmed, or rather, why they believe they are farmed. The world on the other hand is not near as detailed as the characters, and in many ways it doesn’t need to be. The characters are so believable and likeable. They might turn addictive when later books come out. There are a few things I wondered about, but I can’t share those without giving a spoiler.

The bottom line, at least for me, is that McKay writes great characters. I am sorry if a lot of this review pushed that fact, but it’s true. The YA genre, in my opinion, sometimes suffers from dense heroines and tired writing. This isn’t the case with The Farm. It is easy to read, with an adventurous/survival plot line that serves the novel well. I am dearly hoping that the second novel is not too long in the making. It has the potential to be a great series!
- Beth(less)

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Dec 02, 2012 CuteBadger rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lily and her twin sister Mel, who is on the autism spectrum, live behind electrified fences on The Farm, along with other young people. The world has changed and monsters roam the countryside. Lily has prepared herself for their escape, but when a familiar face from the past turns up, her plans change dramatically.

I'm probably not the intended audience for this book (i.e. not a teenage girl) so this may explain why I didn't warm to it. My preferred explanation, however, is that its highly deriva...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Penelope rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-books

This book came out of nowhere!

I had never heard of The Farm, when it appeared on my doorstep one day. To be honest, I wasn't all that interested in yet another story about vampires. Yet I still found myself slipping it into my bag to take to work, in case A Clash of Kings (Game of Thrones book 2) got too heavy for me. It did...and that's how three hours into my shift, I picked up The Farm and couldn't put it back down until I was finished. I was blindsided by this book!

The first thing that caugh...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Craig Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you're at all worried, let me reassure you that there are no sparkly vampires in this book.
There is a bit of angsty teen romance, and there are vampires, of a sort, but that's where the similarity to those other books ends, and that's a good thing.

The Farm is a much darker and much more original take on vampires set in a bleak dystopian near-future. Teens are rounded up "for their own safety" into compounds away from the general population, because their hormones make them much more attractiv...more

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