Review: Push by Eve Silver

Push (The Game, Book #2)
by Eve Silver
Release Date: June 10th 2014
2014 Katherine Tegen Books
Ebook Edition; 341 Pages
ISBN: 978-0062192219
ASIN: B00FJ32Y5C
Genre: Fiction / YA / Fantasy
Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
It’s either break the rules or die.

Miki Jones lives her life by her own strict set of rules, to keep control, to keep the gray fog of grief at bay. Then she’s pulled into the Game, where she - and her team - will die unless she follows a new set of rules: those set by the mysterious Committee.

But rules don’t mean answers, and without answers, it’s hard to trust. People are dying. The rules are unraveling. And Miki knows she’s being watched, uncertain if it’s the Drau or someone - something - else. Forced to make impossible choices and battling to save those she loves, Miki begins to see the Committee in a glaring new light.

And then the Game crosses a new boundary, pushes harder into Miki’s and her friends’ lives, and there’s nothing in the rules that can save them now.

My Thoughts
Push was a great follow-up to Rush, the first book in the series.  Even though there are a couple of things I am still confused about, things that I am hoping will be clarified in the conclusion, the concept of this series is quite fascinating, and I continue to enjoy reading about the different reasons for why Miki and the others keep getting pulled and are thrust into a war they don't necessarily understand, in a parallel dimension, and why it's suddenly spilled into their world.  

I love Miki as a character; she is tough, disciplined, funny, self-confident, and strong, but at the same time quite vulnerable, especially in the scenes where she has to deal with her dad's drinking.  It is so easy to relate to her, and to the other characters, and they seem so down to earth and real.  While the scenes with the Drau were interesting, I actually enjoyed the times when Miki got to be a teenager and do normal things with her friends and deal with normal issues rather than these huge confusing issues where the rules were always changing.  I have to admit that I tended to race through the chapters dealing with the Drau, as at first they seemed a bit repetitive of the first book, and took my time through the scenes where Miki and her friends were back on Earth dealing with the repercussions of their 'visits'.  

I also have to admit the romance is more up my alley than some of the other books I've read.  I really like Jackson, and although I'm not a big fan of the secret, silent type, it seems to work in this book; Miki is a tough cookie and doesn't put up with Jackson's behaviour so the chemistry and the tension between them just oozes off the pages, with both of them respecting each other for their strength, courage, and determination.  At first I thought we'd be caught up in one of those love triangles, but the author didn't go down that road, and I'm so grateful for that as it would have created unnecessary drama that I think would have ruined the book for me.  

Verdict
Push continues an interesting series, and I'm glad the second book was just as fascinating as the first. The concept is quite unique, with teams of young people being pulled out of one dimension and being sent to another in a war they don't quite understand, being controlled by a group of 'people' whom few have met, with rules that constantly change.  I enjoyed the development of the characters and like how the information is revealed slowly, piece by tantalizing piece, and I am still trying to figure out exactly what is going on.  However, I was satisfied with the ending of the book, even if it was done in such a way that makes you really wonder what is going on; it just makes you want to read the conclusion even more.