Freaking Fast by David Pereda (Spotlight, excerpt, review, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

Freaking Fast

by David Pereda

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GENRE: futuristic YA action/adventure

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BLURB:

The city is Asheville, North Carolina, and the year is 2066. As renowned mathematician Alexandra Martin travels in her self-driving car to assassinate the love of her life, she reminisces about how they met and fell in love fifty years earlier in middle school when she was a thirteen year old poor math whiz and he a wealthy teenager. Alex recounts her struggles to be admitted to the best private school in the county, her happy teenage years running track, and her close relationship with three handsome and charming boys: Xavier, the intellectual; Andrew, the golden boy; and Vitali, the suave foreigner. One by one, she visits the three boys of her youth, now successful professionals in their sixties, one of whom is her intended victim.

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EXCERPT

13-14 Girls 200m Race, Raleigh, North Carolina

2016 State Championships

I turn for home and here I am, behind the KK twins again, like a piece of bologna in a sandwich. Katosha is two meters ahead to my right, and Kashandra is half a step behind her to my left. I don’t notice any of the other runners; I figure they are all eating our dust.

My heart sinks. I prepared so hard for this moment, eating the right foods, controlling my weight, forcing myself to train every day, giving up all sweets, even my favorite raspberry-filled chocolates, and for what? I’m going to lose.

My stride slows, caused by my despair, and the KK twins gain a little more on me. My dad’s voice booms inside my head. ‘Keep those legs pumping, Alexandra! Don’t decelerate. You’re still in the race!’ My dad only calls me Alexandra when he’s angry with me. His

words give me a new surge of energy, and I pick up maybe a foot on the twins. We are about ninety meters from the end. People in the stands are waving and screaming. The sun is a ball of fire overhead, and the temperature is close to one hundred degrees in Raleigh, but I don’t care. The three of us are breathing hard. Katosha sounds like a tractor, full of energy and power.

My father’s voice screams inside my head again. ‘Stride length and turnover rate, Alex. Your stride is good. Your turnover rate is not. Move those legs faster!’

I make a superhuman effort and try to move my legs faster. Kashandra and Katosha do the same. I can hear the click-click-click of our spikes beating on the steaming orange track like machine gun fire.

Down we go: click-click-click. The finish line looms ahead. I can’t lose this race. I will not lose this race. My immediate future depends on me crossing the finish line ahead of everyone else, and that means Katosha and Kashandra, my arch-enemies. They are also

competing for the same prize I am.

Seventy meters, sixty-five meters, sixty meters, the click-clickclick is even.

My thighs are numb. I can’t move my legs any faster. I’ve reached my limit. I have a stitch on my side, and my ribcage hurts…

Amazon buy link

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

David Pereda is the award-winning author of nine novels, including Havana Blues and However Long the Night, as well as the Havana Series of thrillers featuring the dashing Doctor Raymond Peters and the beautiful but deadly Cuban assassin Marcela. He has traveled to more than thirty countries and speaks four languages. Before devoting his time solely to writing and teaching, David had a successful international consulting career with global giant Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked with the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Qatar, among others.

A member of MENSA, David earned his MBA from Pepperdine University in California. He earned bachelor degrees in English literature and mathematics at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

He lives in artistic Asheville, North Carolina, with his youngest daughter Sophia, where he teaches mathematics and English at the Asheville-Buncombe Community College. He loves sports and is an accomplished competitor in track and show-jumping equestrian events.

Author’s Amazon page 

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GIVEAWAY


a Rafflecopter giveaway


The tour dates can be found here

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3.75 stars

Freaking Fast by David Pereda is a combination of futuristic science fiction and young adult fiction, centering around Alexandra Martin (Alex). The story shifts from a vendetta set in 2066 to the genesis of a relationship in 2016, complete with teen angst and the challenges of sports competitions. Alex is a determined individual, as is demonstrated by her actions in both decades. It is a characteristic that all of her opponents should keep in mind.

This was an intriguing story that can be read as an allegory with commentary on our current society, a young adult story (with warnings about violence), or a speculation on life in the future. I thought it was a little ponderous at first and wondered what I had gotten myself into, but I persisted and enjoyed the wry voice of the young heroine as she struggles through the expectations imposed on her that lead her to challenge a pair of athletes who are remarkably similar to a famous tennis duo. The author captures the awkwardness and joy of teen life while laying the foundation for Alex’s character and describing her approach to challenges.

There are fun twists to the story and it is important to pay attention to the clues being sprinkled in order to appreciate the elegance of Alex’s decisions. I’m not convinced that this is totally appropriate for young adults, given that a murder is being planned, but the obstacles that Alex encounters as she takes up a new sport provide an opportunity to reflect on racial and social issues. I like several of the secondary characters and wish they were a little more developed even as I enjoyed getting glimpses of their capabilities, and I’m still a little puzzled about some of the hostility that develops so abruptly. This is a creative story with a thought-provoking ending.

A copy of this title was provided for review

 

Havana Blues by David Pereda (VBB, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

Happy birthday to my beloved best friend, and hugs for your recent loss!

Havana Blues 

by 

David Pereda

Blurb:

The year is 1952 and Ramon Rodriguez’s life as a teenager in fun-loving Havana is filled with typical activities and concerns: girls, education, religion, baseball, parties, and hanging out with friends. The country is enjoying a period of prosperity and happiness--until General Batista stages a coup that topples the government and Ramon’s life is flung into chaos.

In a few short years, the carefree fifties morph into a vicious and repressive dictatorship highlighted by corruption, organized gambling, school closures, student demonstrations, police brutality, and assassinations.

As Ramon experiences the thrills of his first romantic relationship, graduates from school, and struggles to plan for an uncertain future, he is forced to make important decisions that may be dangerous to him, his family, his friends, and his girlfriend – the beautiful Sonia -- and could turn deadly.

Excerpt

A car turned the corner with a screeching of tires. With mechanical harmony, another creeching echoed from the opposite direction.

Siren noises combined to wreck the peacefulness and drown my father’s voice as two cars skidded face to face in front of my house. I recognized the blue and white stripes. Car doors opened and slammed. A stream of policemen armed with rifles and machine guns crashed through the garden door and spilled over our garden like insects.

My mother shrieked once. My father stood paralyzed.

I stared in growing disbelief at the bulk who loped into the garden and stopped just outside the bright range of the porch lights. The clean-shaven face, the brittle smile, were familiar to me. So was the voice.

‘Buenas noches,’ Santana said. ‘Lovely night, isn’t it?’

Even with a veneer of politeness, Santana’s voice made the hair in the back of my neck stand on end.

‘What's the meaning of this?’ my father asked, surprising me. ‘Crashing into our house, as if we were common criminals.’

Santana’s stare was cold. ‘Just doing my duty, Señor Rodriguez.’

He turned to me, smoothing out the front of my dinner jacket with his hand. ‘You're very elegant tonight,’ he said. ‘Don’t tell me, let me guess. You were at the Club Profesionales, weren’t you?’

‘Yes, we were,’ my mother said sharply, ‘and we had to leave because of some terrorists. Disgusting. And on his graduation dance night too.’ She glared at Santana.

He gave her a polite smile, more of a smirk, and turned to me.

‘Being in the building as you were, you could have planted that bomb very easily, couldn’t you?’

‘What? You think I…? No!’

‘No what?’

‘No, I couldn’t.’ My heart pounded in my chest. ‘My mother can testify to that.’

My mother had turned a chalky white and her lips were open and round like an O. She seemed at a loss for words.


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About the Author:

David Pereda was born in Havana, Cuba. The award-winning author of seven previous novels, he enjoys crafting political thrillers and edgy mainstream novels with unique characters placed in exotic settings. He has traveled to more than thirty countries and speaks four languages. Before devoting his time solely to writing and teaching, David had a successful international consulting career with global giant Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked with the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Qatar, among others.

A member of MENSA, David earned his MBA from Pepperdine University in California. He earned bachelor degrees in English literature and mathematics at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

He lives in artistic Asheville, North Carolina, with his youngest daughter Sophia, where he teaches mathematics and English at the Asheville-Buncombe Community College. He loves sports and is an accomplished competitor in track and show-jumping equestrian events.

Website
Facebook
Twitter



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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. David Pereda will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.



GIVEAWAY

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The tour dates can be found here