Article 5 Review

Title: Article 5
Author: Kristen Simmons
Publisher: Tor Teen
Genre: Dystopian, Sci-fi

Blurb: (from goodreads) New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Me: A fast-paced Dystopian with frightfully real aspects.

The Ups: I think that the most important concept of the book, and what made it stand out from other dystopians, is that the government, the society in this book had the prospect of being real. I mean, anything can happen, but this book felt like it was more realistic than other dystopians I've read. The Moral Militia, the different Articles, the Sisters of Salvation, all targeted concepts that are still concerns today. It made me really think throughout the book of not only how this is something that people around the world might be facing right now, but also how to prevent this from getting so extreme. 

It was also decently easy to get through. I had a hard time getting through the beginning, only because I didn't have much time to read, but I then read the rest of the book in one sitting. I liked Ember, and I think that by connecting to her and watching her make her journey is what really kept me going. It was fast-paced.

I also enjoyed the romance, because it wasn't overpowering. It was nicely embedded into the story and the book didn't revolve around just the romance. 

The Downs: That being said, I felt like the plot was a bit unoriginal and drab. There were no cliffhangers, no moments that I really loved. Chase also got annoying after a while, and sometimes I couldn't quite understand the relationship between him and Ember. Also, besides Ember, I didn't really connect to any of the other characters, which made me feel a bit disconnected from this world they were living in. 

Overall: A good dystopian that made me think. 

Rating: 4 kisses!

Independent Study (The Testing #2) Review

Title: Independent Study
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Publisher: HMH Books
Genre: Sci-fi, Dystopian 

Spoilers in white. Highlight to read. 

Blurb: (from goodreads) In the series debut The Testing, sixteen-year-old Cia Vale was chosen by the United Commonwealth government as one of the best and brightest graduates of all the colonies . . . a promising leader in the effort to revitalize postwar civilization. In Independent Study, Cia is a freshman at the University in Tosu City with her hometown sweetheart, Tomas—and though the government has tried to erase her memory of the brutal horrors of The Testing, Cia remembers. Her attempts to expose the ugly truth behind the government’s murderous programs put her—and her loved ones—in a world of danger. But the future of the Commonwealth depends on her.


Me: Again, same thing. Unoriginal. Unmemorable. Stuff we've already heard before.

The Ups: I really liked the ending. And that was basically it. The idea of a staged rebellion to eliminate troublemakers was really original and I had not seen it coming. I also loved how it cut off right there, but tied it together quite nicely. The ending made me reach for the third one right away.

The Downs: But it ends there. Every other aspect of the book was repetitive and unoriginal. 
First off, I am so sick of perfect heroines. SO DONE. I felt it with Katniss in The Hunger Games, and now I'm feeling the same with this character, Cia. She seems to be able to do no wrong. She cares for all these people dying in The Testing and afterward, even if she didn't know them or didn't care for them. She is way too sympathetic, and is also way too smart. It's impossible for her to be so extraordinary that she passes the tests that were made for the smartest people in the nation so easily. I just wanted to say, "Do you have flaws? Or are you a freaking goddess?" 

Also, why is the University basically identical to the Testing? Why do people still get "Redirected?" Was the author just too lazy to actually creatively think of a different setting and a different society that she just took the easy way out? You would think there would be a bit more interesting way of the school to work after they've gone through so much just to get to the University. 

I also felt like Tomas wasn't too interesting. I couldn't feel the security and the comfort that Cia felt around him. I couldn't really see what was so special about him. I feel like that made the romance less strong, and I didn't feel the trust and the importance between the characters. 

Overall: There just wasn't anything special, and I didn't feel connected to the story. 

Rating: 2 kisses! 

The Testing Review

Title: The Testing
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Genre: Sci-fi, Dystopian 

Blurb: (from goodreads) Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same? 

The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career. 

Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one. 

But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.

Me: I think for this review to work, I'll have to do the downs of the book first, and then tie it all together with the ups. So here we go...

The Downs: This book was nothing special. It wasn't unique. I think that with all the dystopian/sci-fi books being released these days, it's hard to write one that has it's own special quality to it. However, I think that that is what really proves a great sci-fi author, and a great sci-fi novel. The Testing was the weirdest mash up of Legend, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, The Program, and Divergent. Seriously. It was major cray-cray.

"Graduation day. I can hardly stand still as my mother straightens my celebratory red tunic..."

Isn't that familiar? Oh right, DIVERGENT. 

"The Testing-their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career." 

Mhmm...Remember Legend and the tests? Oh yeah and when they don't pass they get "Redirected"...wonder what that means.

"A maze. We are in a maze." SERIOUSLY.

And so on and so forth. Also they go into the fourth testing in a place where they basically have to kill other contestants. (Ahem. Hunger Games.) They also are injected with a medicine that erases their memories. (The Program.) WHAT THE HECK. 

The entire book, the plot, the characters, the writing, was just...average. I feel like sometimes that's worse than a completely horrendous book because I just have no opinion on it. It was extremely bland.

The Ups: That being said, it was decent. I got through the book considerably fast, and the writing did keep me going through the book.  I could depict what was happening and what scenario it was, but again, maybe that was because it was kind of a copy of different images from other books. 

The only part that I absolutely loved though, was the ending. It wasn't a cliffhanger or anything, but it brought chills to my arms and I feel like it really brought the book together nicely.

Overall: Not anything new, or special, but not a bad book either. 

Rating: 3 kisses! 

The Giver Review

Title: The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Publisher: Ember
Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction

Blurb: (from goodreads) Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Me: I'm astounded at how ahead of her time Lois Lowry is. This book was written 20 years ago, yet it has assets in it that authors today would envy.


The Ups: The Giver is not a bad book. It has a fascinating setting that is very well woven and interpreted, and I can very well imagine the world that Jonas lives in. Lois Lowry did a fantastic job at really creating this world, really making the culture, the horrific normality of the entire thing stand out. I think that it is so interesting because it is written so bluntly that these people do not experience memories, or color, or music, or love. And to think about that is scary and unreal, yet The Giver portrays it in an eerie form of reality.
The Giver was a very interesting character as well, and his quietness even after knowing the truth showed just how impossible the prospect of change looked in this community. 
I was constantly amazed at how modern the book seemed, and how it kind of pioneered a real genre of dystopia.

The Downs: However, I think that this book was nothing special. It didn't cause chilling emotions, or any sympathy and love for Jonas himself. I was not emotionally connected to Jonas, and throughout the story, didn't really feel his confusion and his pain and his wonder. 
It didn't make me think about how our idea of paradise and perfection might be monstrously contorted or anything eye-opening like that. It was just a decent book. 
I especially didn't like the ending. I found myself getting really bored at the ending, and I didn't like how it seemed to abruptly cut off. It wasn't a smooth end to the story.
Maybe if I took the time someday to really analyze it, and to really think about it, and possibly reread it I may find a new connection to the book I didn't before. But this first time through it, I didn't get much out of it.

Overall: Not bad, but not stellar either.

Rating: 3 kisses!

Love Minus Eighty Review

Title: Love Minus Eighty 
Author: Will McIntosh
Publisher: Orbit
Genre: Sci-fi, Romance, Dystopian 

Blurb: (from goodreads) Years in the future, dead women in cryogenic dating farms await rich, lonely suitors to resurrect them and take them home. LOVE MINUS EIGHTY follows interconnected lives touched by these dating farms. There's Rob, who accidentally kills a jogger, then sells everything to visit her, seeking her forgiveness but instead falling in love. Veronika, a socially-awkward dating coach, finds herself responsible for the happiness of a man whose life she saved against his will. And Mira, a gay woman accidentally placed in the heterosexual dating center near its inception, desperately seeks a way to reunite with her frozen partner as the centuries pass. In this daring and big-hearted novel based on the Hugo-winning short story, the lovelorn navigate a world in which technology has reached the outer limits of morality and romance. 

Me: I. Am. Mindblown. Most futuristic novels share the same high technology and advanced systems and whatnot. But this view on future romance is something really new.

The Ups: First of all, this cover is sheer beauty. Not that you can see it or anything, but if you get the book, you'll see what I mean. And that's what made me pick up the book. The cover. 
How can you not be mesmerized by the idea of dead women literally "frozen" and desperate for dates to keep them from being "thawed"? It's such a crazy, messed-up, yet somehow pretty possible idea. I just really enjoyed imagining this world. Will McIntosh really described it so well, and it was crazily fun to figuratively create the world inside my head. The thing is, his predictions are not so far-fetched. We, as humans, naturally have a fear of death. Or maybe not a fear, but a certain want to keep living, to fight with everything. And when a loved one dies, there are people desperate to bring them back to life. And that's what this book does. It shows how desperate people can be, how far we go for it. 
I loved the romance. Love's hard. It takes a certain amount of effort, of...love. Love Minus Eighty really shows those struggles and yet the beauty of it in a masterly crafted futuristic world. Rob and Veronika and Winter and Mira, they were willing to fight through it, to showcase their flaws.
The ending wasn't perfect. Nathan and Veronika weren't perfectly happy, the romance between Rob and Winter worked out, but didn't come to a complete resolution. Mira hadn't quite been revived. There was a conclusion, but it also left me questioning, wanting answers.

The Downs: I feel like Mira didn't get enough time in the story. I think that she had the potential to display her pain, to showcase the desperateness of any bridesicle, and especially her struggle being gay but hiding it to stay "alive."
I get the entire concept of her getting "turned off" and then coming back to life, but I think that her story fascinated me and I would have wanted to see more of her character.

Rating: 4 kisses!

Prodigy Review

Title: Prodigy

Author: Marie Lu

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Genre: Sci-fi, Dystopian

Blurb: June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long. 

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

In this highly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller Legend, Lu delivers a breathtaking thriller with high stakes and cinematic action.

Me: This was so much better than the first. Which is startling, because usually the second book in the series is the worst. 

The Ups: I think that so much more was revealed in this book than the other one. One of the reasons that sci-fi appeals to lots of people is because we find a connection in the worlds that the authors create. We realize that those worlds aren't very different from ours. I think that a lot of that sort of vulnerability of the government and of the situation the world is in is shown through Prodigy. I think it also shows a lot of misunderstanding, bias, and different thoughts that happen in our lives every day. 

Government is a really complicated concept and I think that Prodigy shows that too. How things can seem to be perfect, but there always will be flaws. How family doesn't always determine how a person thinks and wants. How your bias or support for something doesn't easily change. 

The plot twisters were awesome. They had me reading more and more and more. The secret planning, the sudden ending of their plan, and especially the end was gripping and mind reeling. 

I think that Prodigy incorporated lots of emotion into it too, making me feel like I was really part of this world they were in, the Republic, and it devastated me even more when truths were revealed. 

The Downs: Again, the same problem with Legend as with this one. It slips through your mind. I wish it would last a little more. 

Overall: Beautiful. Champion, here I come!

Rating: 4 kisses! 

The Program Review

Title: The Program

Author: Suzanne Young

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Genre: Sci-fi, Dystopian 
Blurb: In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

Me: I've always wondered and fantasized about the possibility of everyone committing suicide, and the domino effect it would have. (Think about it, if all your friends died, wouldn't you want to, too?) This is such an emotional book set on this idea.

The Downs: The only down I could find about this book was that the cause of the depression was said to be unknown, which just really annoyed throughout the entire book. I thought the truth might've become uncovered during the course of the book but it never was. I think that if the cause is not shown, then it just seems like the author was too lazy to think of one and make it tie in. There is a sequel though, so hopefully the history will reveal itself then.

The Ups: Everything else. Like I said, the entire idea had fascinated me, so I think to imagine the depression setting in and change the people was very saddening and real. This was such an emotional book. Most science fiction stories are more action/thriller style, but this book (being based on depression) was very evoking emotionally and I think I went a little crazy reading it. It makes the reader struggle along with the characters, who are going through depression, and it made my heart ache when James and Sloane were losing themselves to what they had so defiantly denied. After that, when their memories are erased, it makes a reader go nuts while screaming at the characters to remember. 

The characters were amazing. Realm was my personal favorite, being the bad guy who wasn't all that bad. He was selfish enough to fight for his own life at the cost of others, but human enough to give in for love. James and Sloane were both very strong and I think that made it all the more heartbreaking when they finally lost themselves to it.

The Program was a very interesting idea, and I could tell Suzanne Young had thought out the scientific side of it as well, which made it more believable. 

The romance was not overboard, but just enough to make it more excruciating for the reader when they got so weak they couldn't hold it in even for each other, and to make it more touching at the end.

Overall: Sequel. Now. Loved it!

Rating: 5 kisses!!

The Maze Runner Review

Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian 

Blurb: "If you ain't scared, you ain't human." 

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's surrounded by strangers--boys whose memories are also gone.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It's the only way out--and no one's ever made it through alive.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Me: Well, the blurb is definitely short and sweet. Okay, I had to read this because the movie is coming out in September and James Dashner is coming to Austin so...I think there was a lot of controversy about this book and so I decided to tell you what I thought about it. 

The Ups: The energy of this book really kept me going, wanting more, always curious as to what happened next and what they might found out. At first, it slightly angered me that they wouldn't answer his questions, but then I realized that that was a major part of their characters. 

I think that the best part of this book was the characters. All of them were so touching and real, but with their own uniqueness. One of my favorites was Alby, who had to keep it together and be like a tough adult when he was only a teenage boy. I personally have a huge fictional character crush on Minho. I mean, hot Korean guy who had huge muscles and has the perfect amount of vulnerability? YES. Thomas was such a wonderful protagonist. I feel like his courage and curiosity and sort of stupidity when it came to thinking about others was very lovable, as a character. I didn't get annoyed with him once during the entire thing.

Another thing I really enjoyed was how they didn't seem to know anything, and yet after a while they had all learned to cope. Most dystopian books the journey is already told and so the readers know everything that happens, but this one was a fresh read compared to knowing the intense history.

The Downs: I think that not knowing anything was nice, but when it came to the end, everything crashed down on me and completely overwhelmed me as a reader. I had no idea what was happening by the end because I was trying to compute it all. I still don't really understand what's happened, and although that makes me want t read the sequel, it doesn't tie the first book in nicely.

By the end when I kind of got what the purpose was, I realized that that was a really illogical and stupid reason for putting the kids in the Glade. And the kids didn't sound like the fittest, smartest kids. They sounded normal. So that got me very confused too. I think that the ending in general was very loose and that I didn't understand what James Dashner's point was for making the plot, and the maze. 

Overall: I want to read the sequel, but only because I didn't understand this one.

Rating: 3 kisses! 

Legend Review

Title: Legend
Author: Marie Lu
Publisher: 
Genre: Sci-fi, Dystopian 

Blurb: (from goodreads) What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. 

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Me: My 2nd time reading this book, and there's a bit of controversy in my brain. 

The Ups: Who doesn't love a bad government who's secretly planning against the people, an uprising, and a gorgeous street boy? I loved the government trying to win the war and being so desperate they're willing to use their own citizens as lab rats. The plague,the cures, the Trials, I really liked this world that Marie Lu created. 

I think she did a fantastic job of giving Day and June their unique voices because since their voices change chapter by chapter, sometimes it's easy to get confused. But I think both of the characters had very distinct voices that made each of their stories stand out. 

This book was literally like an action movie. And I devoured every second of it. The suspense and the romance and everything, never was I bored in this book.  

I just really loved both characters so much. Their intelligence and their personal ties with their families was admirable and relatable. Day, well I definitely have a crush on this fictional character. June, I kind of wish I was more like her. Both of them are wonderful, which I think made me as a reader sympathize for them and really feel the action. 

The Downs: Not many action movies linger in our minds. I think the real powerful books are the ones I can most relate to and feel for and when I'm done, feel like a ball of 1,000 emotions. Action books don't usually give that to me. Since I read about 4 books a week, this book is quick to disappear from my mind, and I think I might have forgotten it by the time I get to Prodigy. Understandable, it being an action novel, but not preferable. 

Overall: Such a great read to skim through and enjoy, but not a lasting memory.

Rating: 3 kisses!  

Solstice Review

Title: Solstice
Author: P.J. Hoover
Publisher: Tor Teen
Genre: Mythology, Dystopian

Blurb: (from goodreads) Piper's world is dying. 

Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom.

Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed—a sphere of gods and monsters—and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis. While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper’s life spirals out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that has been kept from her since birth.

An imaginative melding of mythology and dystopia, Solstice is the first YA novel by talented newcomer P. J. Hoover.

Me: Such a different take on the normal dystopian genre...

The Ups: Go look back up at the Genre section again. Yup. You're reading it right. Mythology and dystopia. Is that not amazing or what? Dystopia is something we regard as extremely sci-fi, and churning mythology into that was fascinating. Personally, I am not a fan of mythology. I don't not like it or anything, it's just not one of my favorites. But when I read this book, I felt compelled to indulge deeper into mythology. 

A more personal view on normal reviews, P.J. Hoover is my schoolmate's mom. I've admired her since her first book, The Emerald Tablet, was published, and know her personally and as an author. I have two books signed by her, and have seen her at multiple book festivals. I really enjoyed Solstice because it was her first YA book, and I thought that it was very well woven together. I felt like her writing had progressed, and that was very interesting too. 

As a character, Piper was extremely relatable when she wanted to rebel against her mom and be free from limitations. I really liked how when she discovered her identity, the entire story seemed to piece together. I could see the red herrings planted throughout the book. 

I loved the visual descriptions of the setting. Especially because it was Austin, Texas, I could completely see the heat bubbles, and the domes to keep them out as well.

The romance was wonderful. At first, when she talked about how Shayne felt familiar and how she wanted to be by him forever I thought it was going overboard, but in the end I understood why she felt like that. 

The Downs: I loved every aspect except I feel like it was kind of slow paced in the beginning and too fast at the end. At the beginning, I was kind of confused and slightly wishing for the pace to speed up a bit, but at the end it was like a huge storm of words and ideas and plot twists and sometimes I could literally hear my head clicking and having an "OH so that was it" moment and other times I was just lost in the huge jumble.
I don't know. I think that the general plot could have only been done this way, for her to understand everything at the ending, but I wish it could have been packed together a little better.

Rating: 3 kisses! 

Blood Red Road Review

Title: Blood Red Road
Author: Moira Young
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Genre: Dystopian, Sci-Fi

Blurb:(from goodreads) Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when four cloaked horsemen capture Lugh, Saba's world is shattered, and she embarks on a quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the outside world, Saba discovers she is a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba's unrelenting search for Lugh stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization. 

Me: A world of sand, dirt, and fights to the death. That is the world Saba lives in. Everything's fine as long as she has her twin brother Lugh. Then when strange men kill her father and capture her brother, she is launched into a world where she must use her stubbornness and determination. 

The Ups: Maybe everything? This book was just gorgeous. It was such a interesting way of looking at the future world. Not a bunch of weirdo technology and laser guns along with everyone fighting each other, but more of a plain world with new crowd-gathering sports and strange creatures. I loved the strong bond that developed between Saba and Emmi, and the tense almost-romance between Saba and Jack. The Free Hawks are probably my favorite gang of characters ever; a bunch of no-nonsense girls who have a lot of strength and power. Just this world sucked me in and I absolutely loved the ride.

The Downs: The only thing I think that really annoyed me was the bond between Lugh and Saba or more like the way she almost worshiped him. It just didn't seem very realistic between siblings. Also the dialect(?) in which the book was written took some getting used to but once you got familiar with it it was perfect!

Rating:   5 kisses out of 5!

The Farm Review

Title: The Farm 
Author: Emily McKay
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Genre: Dystopian 

Blurb:(from goodreads) Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...
Me: Vampires. Ticks. Suspense. That's what I was thinking when I saw this at a book festival and was instantly hooked. I am not a person for the dystopian craze that is going around, but this is a really different take on the whole thing. It is not sparkling vampires falling in love with people they want to drink from, but a surprisingly real and touching story. 
Lily is the usual sacrificial main character; it was her sister Mel that really interested me. The book was told from three POVs. Carter's, Lily's and Mel's. But the idea of a girl having autism in a situation like this was so different and refreshing. Carter, on the other hand, annoyed me. He was, in a way, a love interest, but that never developed. He also had too many conflicting emotions, making it hard for him to be believable. 
The ending was so perfect and so bad in many ways. But in a general view, I think that it was a really nice read that I would pick up again. 

Rating: 4 kisses out of 5!