Sweet

TITLE: Sweet
AUTHOR: Emmy Laybourne
RELEASE DATE: June 2015
PUBLISHER: Feiwel and Friends
PAGES: 272 pages
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Paranormal
OVERALL RATING: 4/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 8-12

SUMMARY: On a cruise ship filled with celebrities, the rich and famous, Laurel feels out of place. But when best friend, Viv, convinces her parents that she wants two tickets for herself and her best friend as part of the collateral damage of their divorce, of course they agree. This cruise ship promises major weight loss for all the passengers through a tiny packet of SoLu. After a seven day cruise, the ship will come back thousands of pounds lighter due to the weight everyone has lost. But are a couple of pounds the only thing people lose? When the passengers become addicted to SoLu, they begin to lose their minds, attacking each other to get more of the weight-loss sweetener. Can Laurel and her friend Viv survive seven days?

WHAT I LIKED: I liked the total twist in the story. You think you're reading this sweet story of two best friends off on their own on this fabulous cruise. Then Laurel meets her crush, famous child star Tom Forelli, and immediately they click; two of the only people on the ship not taking the weight loss sweetener, SoLu. Then the plot twists, and all the passengers turn into these dangerous zombie-like vampires. While the beginning is great for my girl readers, all about best friends, love interests, clothes and weight-loss; my boy readers will love the second half with people attacking each other and drinking their blood. 

READALIKES: In the After by Demitria Lunetta, Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Mayberry

BOOK TRAILER: Not the official book trailer, but one created by the amazing Tobie Cattarin for the 2016-2017 TLA Lone Star Book Award