Review By Rach: PHOENIX ISLAND by John Dixon

This is a bit of a different and special review for me. Technically, this book is a YA and has no business being on the Divas blog amid all this sexiness, but John Dixon is a good friend (and fellow Troublemaker) of mine, so I really wanted to share my thoughts about this book with you all. 

Rach's Review: 5 Out Of 5 Divas

For those who don't know, Phoenix Island is the inspiration for the new hit show, Intelligence on CBS starring Josh Holloway (Yum) & Megan Ory (Also, YUM) 

This book centers around Carl, a young head-strong, kid with a temper and fists of fury. After several run-ins with the legal system, Carl is sentenced to Phoenix Island until his 18th birthday. It's a boot-camp style island of terrors. Some people have said Phoenix Island is like Lord of the Flies meets The Hunger Games, and I can see both of those things in this book, but it's also so much more! Dixon brings to life the island as a character, lets us deep inside Carl's psyche and doesn't shy away from any of the most gruesome and terrifying parts of the island, and worse, the people who call it home. 

This is not a book for the faint of heart and while Carl meets some friends along the way worth fighting for, Dixon shows us early on that no one is safe in this land of atrocities. And I loved every horrifying moment of it! I highly, highly recommend this book to you all, even if it's not normally one you would pick up off the shelves. 









Here's a bit more info: 


The judge told Carl that one day he’d have to decide exactly what kind of person he would become. But on Phoenix Island, the choice will be made for him.

A champion boxer with a sharp hook and a short temper, sixteen-year-old Carl Freeman has been shuffled from foster home to foster home. He can’t seem to stay out of trouble—using his fists to defend weaker classmates from bullies. His latest incident sends his opponent to the emergency room, and now the court is sending Carl to the worst place on earth: Phoenix Island.

Classified as a “terminal facility,” it’s the end of the line for delinquents who have no home, no family, and no future. Located somewhere far off the coast of the United States—and immune to its laws—the island is a grueling Spartan-style boot camp run by sadistic drill sergeants who show no mercy to their young, orphan trainees. Sentenced to stay until his eighteenth birthday, Carl plans to play by the rules, so he makes friends with his wisecracking bunkmate, Ross, and a mysterious gray-eyed girl named Octavia. But he makes enemies, too, and after a few rough scrapes, he earns himself the nickname “Hollywood” as well as a string of punishments, including a brutal night in the “sweatbox.” But that’s nothing compared to what awaits him in the “Chop Shop”—a secret government lab where Carl is given something he never dreamed of. 

A new life...

A new body. A new brain. 

Gifts from the fatherly Old Man, who wants to transform Carl into something he’s not sure he wants to become. 

For this is no ordinary government project. Phoenix Island is ground zero for the future of combat intelligence. 
And for Carl, it’s just the beginning....  


Check out John's site for even more goodies - http://www.johndixonbooks.com/ 



And here's where you can find this delicious book: 

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Island-John-Dixon/dp/1476738637 
Barnes & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/phoenix-island-john-dixon/1115884735?ean=9781476738635 


And also in stores wherever awesome books are sold! :-)