Self-Published Saturday: Juche Boxed Set #dystopian #youngadult

Self-Published Saturday is my effort to help Self-Published/Indie authors with marketing. These authors have to do it all, from cover design to editing to marketing. If I can help even a little bit with marketing, I’m happy to do it. This week’s feature is the Juche series, which is being released in a boxed set. Books 1 – 4 are all included.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

A highly addictive Young Adult Dystopian Survival Saga that will keep you glued to the page.

Just when Areum, daughter of a privileged family in the totalitarian state of Choson, thought she was free from her personal prison, her world collapses around her as her family is taken away in the middle of the night to a hell-like camp in the mountains where people who have strayed from the righteous path are brutally re-educated through blood, sweat, tears and starvation.

There she has to fight for survival together with the family she hates and is forced to re-evaluate every aspect of her life until then: her deep resentment toward her twin sister; her view of her father in the face of mounting evidence that he is a traitor with the blood of millions of fellow countrymen on his hands; and even her love and affection for the Great General – the eternal savior and protector of Choson, whom she had always considered her true father.

“The Demon of Yodok” is the introduction to the four-part Juche Saga (Not standalone).

BOOK REVIEW

This series is set in the country of Choson, which is easily recognizable as the one country on this earth that can most be called a real-life dystopian society–North Korea. It is a fascinating tale of a privileged family that falls from grace and ends up in a horrible, hell-on-earth camp where they are subjected to the most inhumane of treatment. We follow Areum as she starts on top of society and ends up at the very bottom, and then begins to fight for survival. This is as much a coming-of-age story as it is a dystopian novel. Areum’s journey begins as a privileged, indoctrinated teen, and after she topples, we see her growth over these four books, although it is slow to come.

Sometimes Areum’s growth is slow, and sometimes the reader might not understand her behavior, but in the end the reader will cheer on her fight for survival. This is also a horrifying look at what people will do when placed in a situation where they sometimes have to hurt others in order to survive. This dystopian novel is about indoctrination, evil, cruelty, and murder, but it is just as much about love, family, sacrifice, grit, and determination to stay alive. By the time I came to the end of book four, I saw sacrifice as the biggest theme. This is a heartbreaking, gripping, and sometimes infuriating coming-of-age dystopian novel set in the darkness of a concentration camp. It will keep your heart racing, and you will be riveted until the end.

For those who may be triggered, there are scenes that include imprisonment, rape, murder, manipulation, and starvation.

These novels are not standalone. In order to get the most out of this series, the books must be read in order.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adria Carmichael is a writer of dystopian fiction with a twist. When she is not devouring dystopian and post-apocalyptic content in any format – books, movies, TV-series and PlayStation games – she is crafting the epic and highly-addictive Juche saga, her 2020 debut novel series that takes place in the brutal, totalitarian nation of Choson. When the limit of doom and gloom is reached, a 10K run on a sunny day or bingeing a silly sitcom on a rainy day is her go-to way to unwind.

Personal Note from the Author:

Have you ever wondered what the world looks like when seen through an indoctrinated mind?

This is a topic that has intrigued me for as long as I can remember, so when I came up with the idea to write a book many years ago, I decided to create it from the viewpoint of a victim of indoctrination… which in the end became Areum (the protagonist of the story).

What I try to explore in this story is how deep the indoctrination of a 14-year old girl can run and how much “reality” it can be exposed to before breaking… if it will break at all. As a comparison, the defectors from North Korea who arrive in South Korea are isolated for three months in a de-programming facility called Hanawon where they go through this process in a more controlled (and less brutal) way before they are allowed to rejoin society.

I hope you will enjoy this slightly different take on the dystopian genre!

BUY THIS BOXED SET ON AMAZON

BUY THIS BOXED SET ON AMAZON UK

*Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read this book for free.

*If you buy the book(s), please leave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, as well as anywhere else you review books.  Some people feel very daunted by writing a review. Don’t worry. You do not have to write a masterpiece. Just a couple of lines about how the book made you feel will make the author’s day and help the book succeed. The more reviews a book has, the more Amazon will promote it.

*Please click on the “share” buttons below and share these books with your Twitter, Facebook, and WordPress followers. A little bit of help from all of us will help self-published authors go a long way!