At first I think the hammering sound is the noise of waves crashing down on white sand.
Alenna has "failed" her GPPT (Government Personality Profile Test) and has been sent to Prison Island Alpha. She's heard about the island, obviously, in the past few years, everyone has. She's even seen some of the violence from the island on screen, with the image of one boy, in particular, staying with her in the day or so leading up to her own "test." She never thought she'd be one to fail the test, she never thought she'd test positive for being violent, out of control, a potential danger to others. But she woke up on the island, and though she knows it has to be a mistake, how, do you survive long enough to prove that?
Soon after she wakes up on the island, she meets David, another "mistake" of sorts. He seems so very sane! The two work together--especially at first--trying to survive their first day or two. But they're just beginning to trust one another when they are claimed by different factions on the island. David is taken by the Drones on the "Monk" side of the island, Alenna is taken by the other side. She's given a truth serum, and trained to be a warrior. She makes a couple of friends and finds her place. Liam and Gadya are perhaps the two closest to her.
The book is obviously a thriller with plenty of secrets, secrets, and more secrets.
I enjoyed this one. Is it the best dystopian ever? No. But for those wanting another series like James Dashner's Maze Runner, for those that don't mind more-of-the-same from their dystopias, then this one could satisfy. The world-building isn't amazing. The characters aren't that well-developed. The relationships between the characters aren't fully explored. Is there a love triangle? I don't think so. Not really. True, the main character TALKS to two guys. (She talks to more than two guys.) But the fact that she talks to David and tries to listen and understand him does not mean that she sees him in that way, and there is not proof that he has those kinds of feelings for her either.
Read for Presenting Lenore's Dystopian August.
Read The Forsaken
- If you're in the mood for a YA dystopia
- If you don't mind a familiar feel to your dystopia
- If you are looking for something fast-paced and action-driven
© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
1 comment:
I love dystopian world books but even from the review I could tell it might be difficult to read.
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