I am so excited to share with you the Blog Tour for The Union, the first in a new YA series by T.H. Hernandez. Check out more about the book, as well as Tina’s Thoughts and a fabulous giveaway to celebrate!

The Union
The Union Series #1
T. H. Hernandez
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian/Futuristic
Release Date: November 18, 2014

After global warming and a second civil war devastated the former United States, two different societies rose from the ashes – the Union, a towering high-tech utopia, hugging the perimeter of the continent, and the devastated, untamed midsection known as the Ruins.

Seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor has an easy, privileged life in the Union. What she doesn’t have is any idea what to do with the rest of her life. She only knows she wants to do something meaningful, to make a difference in the lives of others.

When she’s kidnapped and taken into the Ruins as a pawn in a dispute involving her boyfriend, Bryce, her ideal world is turned upside down. What she learns while in the Ruins shakes her faith in everything she’s ever known, from Bryce, to her family, and even the Union itself.

Now Evan must choose whether to stay with Cyrus, the sexy, resourceful survivor who believes she’s in the Ruins for a reason, or return to the only life she’s ever known. But when she stumbles upon a dangerous plot that threatens both worlds, her decision could tear her apart.

You can purchase your copy today on Amazon!

The Union by TH Hernandez is a book that I am so glad I read! This Young Adult novel is packed with an incredible story and an even better start to a new series you need to keep an eye on!

Evan is the perfect heroine of this story. She is the understated beauty, kind, and intelligent, yet headstrong and always running head first into situations. She combines the innocence of youth with the responsibility and expectation of adulthood that will set the course of her future. As she takes steps to find out her purpose in life, she is plunged into a world of chaos and new life that she never expected to find. When we first meet Evan she is trying to make a decision about her future, determining if she wants to work for her step-father, which is expected, or to carve a new path for herself. After being a victim of extreme and brutal bullying, she decides to take a leap of faith and find something more that will make her heart come alive. She decides to the L Train with her two best friends for an adventure across the Union to visit her biological father. When she is on the train, she sees Bryce, her crush from school, and they begin a fast and furious relationship. Before she can decide what she truly wants with Bryce and how she feels about him, Evan is kidnapped and smuggled outside of the Union into the Ruins where everything changes. It is in the Ruins that she discovers the government was keeping secrets about the world outside the Union walls. Upon escaping from her captors, a gutsy yet ill-advised plan, she is left wandering the wastelands. Near death, she is found by a family in the Ruins and nursed back to health.  This family changes Evan’s life in more ways than she would have ever expected. She sees a true depiction of family, love, and something more.

Hernandez creates a world in the Union that is not too far off from our own and a very realistic and plausible future for our world. The second Civil War that created a new society, leaving the world in two parts, the Union and the Ruins, allows us a bit of introspection to wonder what would happen is the world ended up in this predicament. When the story begins, it appears to be just another story about a young girl trying to decide her own fate, yet as you continue to read you see things that hints to a different world allowing you to adjust to something new. As you continue reading through the first few chapters, you begin to see a new world unveiled before your eyes. It is not an overwhelming experience to try and understand foreign concepts but instead you are taken by the hand and guided through a new world that you can connect with, seeing something beautiful that you never would have expected to find.

One of the lessons that the reader learns from this story is that there is always two sides to the world you see. It is not always simple. There is truth within the Union but also many lies. Evan must take a step back and evaluate what she has been told and align it with what she is seeing and experiencing. There is value to both life in the Union and in the Ruins. The theme of family is a major element within this story. Family portrayals are one of my favorite things about different books and this one has multiple types. Evan comes from a broken home. Her father left her mother when she was pregnant, never making contact with Evan. Her mother claimed that her father was dead. When she remarried, she convinced her husband to play along. When Evan was 12 she learned the truth and it destroyed her young heart. She has step siblings she cannot connect with. There is strain on every relationship because of the lies and betrayal. Evan only wants somewhere to truly belong and her family does not feel like that place. When she is rescued by the family in the Ruins, she is given a glimpse into a healthy functioning family by choice. She sees the love of parental type figures, the love of siblings, and friends. It is a family that has chosen to be there for each other supportive in the harsh realities of life.

Young love is blooming in this book and it was lovely. Evan and Cyrus are the perfect match. They click in ways that are amazing considering their lives are so opposite. Their friendship becomes something more and their love grows deep and strong. It is a selfless love, one that puts others ahead of themselves. There is a constant uncertainty to their future. The sweet moments are precious and their love affair is the perfect combination hot and adorable. They must learn to navigate their new relationship when they are uncertain. Will Evan go or stay? But when shocking truths about life outside their control, they must sacrifice anything and everything to protect the ones they love.

I am already looking forward to the second book and cannot wait to see where TH Hernandez takes the adventure. This is a story of finding yourself and family; a story of love and doing what is right, following your heart no matter the cost.

It’s Friday and Friday is the best day to try you hand at winning! To celebrate the new release of The Union, T.H. Hernanedz is giving us a chance to win with this Rafflecopter giveaway You will have a chance to win a signed copy of The Union, a $5 Amazon giftcard, or a $15 Amazon giftcard! Talk about a fun giveaway! Make sure to enter today for your chance to win. Good luck!

When not visiting the imaginary worlds inside my head, I live in San Diego, California, with one husband, three children, two cats, and one dog. In addition to my day job as a technical writer and editor, I write young adult fiction. I love the intensity of teen emotions and the way they’re still figuring out life.

When I’m not writing, you can find me with my nose in a book, hanging out with family and friends, hiking, or knitting. I’m obsessed with Facebook, young adult novels, bad lip reading videos, pumpkin spice lattes, microbrewed beers, and the San Diego Chargers.

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