Dystopia / science fiction - teen / Teen

The Voting Game by Peter Gulgowski [BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY]

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Once again, I have had the amazing opportunity to work with Shealea @ That Bookshelf Bitch and be a part of a blog tour!

The Voting Game coverBOOK INFORMATION

Title: The Voting Game
Author: Peter Gulgowski
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: 06 March 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Synopsis:

In the year 2084, Every Interaction Counts.

Darrius Young’s sixteenth birthday brings a harsh reality: It’s time to join the Voting Game. Playing is mandatory and each day may be his last.

In this bleak future’s society, citizens rate their interactions with one another. Highest scorers are members of an elite upper class. An average score means you can keep playing.

Fall below average? You are taken and killed by the government entity known only as The Bureau.

Darrius has prepared his whole life for this challenge, knowing the reality he will soon face — especially after the death of his mother to the game.

But despite preparation, he’s losing — and not just the Game. Suddenly the people he loves are getting brutally downvoted and taken by the Bureau. It’s soon clear there’s a target on his back, drawn there by the Bureau itself. And Darrius has no idea why.

In a frantic race against time against a society that’s already sentenced him to death, can Darrius save himself and those around him before it’s too late?

Excerpt from the book: 

By the time we get home, dusk is beginning its shift for the day. The sun’s steadily fallen over our small city neighborhood. The shadows grow longer as daylight fades before us, with street lights illuminating; their glow a faint orange.

A few cars pass as dad and I walk home from our stop. Dad gave the driver a friendly four. The driver returned the gesture with the same and a nod of the head.

Among our type — our class — our group; whatever you want to call us, it’s an understood thing. We play the game together. No one gets ahead. No one falls below. We try to keep like with like, and of course, we try to keep our kind alive… At least this is what I’ve learned over sixteen years of being an outside viewer.

For sixteen years, I was a spectator on the most vicious game known to man. A game not of pure luck or chance, but of treachery and back-stabbing. It was worse at the beginning, or so I’ve been told. Dad said that as many as two-hundred-thousand lives were lost within the first year of implementation.

This was twenty-years ago. President Wright’s first year in office.

I guess this is what it took to create an ideal society. One where everyone played a part in putting their best foot forward. It’s sad it took this to make this the truth.

But here’s the truth.

It’s all for show.

No one gives a shit about anyone in your time, or in mine.

We just pretend.

We put on a smile, hold doors for people we hate, say compliments about ugly clothes or tasteless food, and in return, we hope for a four or a five.

No one does anything genuinely anymore, at least as far as I know. We do what we do for a reward, like dogs.

Hell, if someone threw a stick and yelled, ‘Go fetch,’ someone desperate enough would chase after it for a five.

Pathetic, I know. But mandatory.

The instinct to survive is strong.

It’ll make us do anything.

Believe me.

Anything.

Links to the Book

Goodreads — https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36952544-the-voting-game

Amazon — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078B84NJ1/

Be sure to check out all of the other amazing blogs participating in this blog tour:

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

09 April (Monday)

10 April (Tuesday)

11 April (Wednesday)

12 April (Thursday)

  • Review from The Little Miss Bookworm
  • Review from Wanders Between Pages
  • Review from Rambling of a Book Nerd

13 April (Friday)

14 April (Saturday)

 

And now…. here’s  a Rafflecopter giveaway

For the giveaway, multiple winners will be drawn. 1 winner will receive a paperback copy of The Voting Game (US residents only), and 5 winners will receive a digital copy of the book (international residents).

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