The Living (The Living Series)

Newbery Award-winning author Matt de la Peña's The Living is "a rare thing: a plot-driven YA with characters worthy of a John Green novel.” [Entertainment Weekly, A-]
Shy takes the summer job to make some money. A few months on a luxury cruise liner--how bad can it be? Bikinis, free food, maybe even a girl or two . . . every cruise has a fresh crop of passengers, after all. He'll rake in the tips and be able to help his mom and sister out with the bills.
But then, an earthquake more massive than any ever recorded hits California and Shy's life is changed forever.
The earthquake is only the beginning. Twenty-four hours and a catastrophic chain of events later, Shy is lost at sea, fighting to survive--and stuck with her.
She's blond and she's rich, and never in her life would she have dreamed she'd be adrift in the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by death and completely dependent on a guy like Shy.
And Shy hasn't even faced the worst yet.
Look for the thrilling sequel, The Hunted, in bookstores now!
Praise for The Living:
“De la Peña has created a rare thing: a plot-driven YA with characters worthy of a John Green novel.”-Entertainment Weekly, A-
“Action is first and foremost. . . . De la Peña can uncork delicate but vivid scenes.” —The New York Times
“[The Living] is special because of its extraordinary protagonist, Shy, who I haven’t been able to shake from my mind in the weeks since I read the book.”-John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars
"There's no way to classify The Living. It's everything I love mixed into one fantastic, relentless, action-packed story. As always with Matt, the characters are the best part. So real. I loved this book."-James Dashner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series
[STAR] "An addictive page-turner and character-driven literary novel with broad appeal for fans of both."-Kirkus Reviews, Starred
[STAR] "An excellent, enthralling ride...a great read for those looking for adventure and survival stories."-VOYA, Starred
A Pura Belpré Author Honor Award Winner
An ALSC Notable Children's Book Pick
Shy takes the summer job to make some money. A few months on a luxury cruise liner--how bad can it be? Bikinis, free food, maybe even a girl or two . . . every cruise has a fresh crop of passengers, after all. He'll rake in the tips and be able to help his mom and sister out with the bills.
But then, an earthquake more massive than any ever recorded hits California and Shy's life is changed forever.
The earthquake is only the beginning. Twenty-four hours and a catastrophic chain of events later, Shy is lost at sea, fighting to survive--and stuck with her.
She's blond and she's rich, and never in her life would she have dreamed she'd be adrift in the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by death and completely dependent on a guy like Shy.
And Shy hasn't even faced the worst yet.
Look for the thrilling sequel, The Hunted, in bookstores now!
Praise for The Living:
“De la Peña has created a rare thing: a plot-driven YA with characters worthy of a John Green novel.”-Entertainment Weekly, A-
“Action is first and foremost. . . . De la Peña can uncork delicate but vivid scenes.” —The New York Times
“[The Living] is special because of its extraordinary protagonist, Shy, who I haven’t been able to shake from my mind in the weeks since I read the book.”-John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars
"There's no way to classify The Living. It's everything I love mixed into one fantastic, relentless, action-packed story. As always with Matt, the characters are the best part. So real. I loved this book."-James Dashner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series
[STAR] "An addictive page-turner and character-driven literary novel with broad appeal for fans of both."-Kirkus Reviews, Starred
[STAR] "An excellent, enthralling ride...a great read for those looking for adventure and survival stories."-VOYA, Starred
A Pura Belpré Author Honor Award Winner
An ALSC Notable Children's Book Pick
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
I read this one to fulfill a prompt on my Popsugar Reading Challenge for this year: two books with the same title. And since I'm trying my hardest to use only books I own this year, this was my only option. (I read Isaac Marion's The Living for the other part of the prompt.) This novel was ok. I liked the main character, Shy. I felt like he was well-developed, for the most part. However, the plot was a bit confusing in the beginning, something a good editing might fix. The middle part of the book was my favorite part, when the action finally picked up. But overall it was too formulaic and predictable. And I had no desire to pick up the next installment at the end of this one. I've read a short story by Matt de la Pena that I really liked, which I believe prompted me to download this one on my kindle years ago, so I know he's a good writer, but this one just wasn't for me.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2019 (prompt #48)
#popsugarreadingchallenge2019 (prompt #48)
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