As a Hunger Games fan, the YA dystopian aspect of this
novel enticed me. But since I am
definitely not a runner, I did not expect to find it more than mildly
amusing. I am happy to admit how wrong I
was! The author’s style was incredible,
drawing you into the story from the very beginning, and forcing on the reader
an emotional connection with the characters.
**WARNING: Intentionally vague but potentially major spoiler alerts!!**
I absolutely adored Silva!
But then I generally do admire strong female protagonists (à la Katniss). It is only as the
story progresses and we learn more about her that we come to realize just how
amazingly tough Silva really is.
Gus was
another clever personality who I really enjoyed getting to know. I was a bit confused by the entire fireworks
scene; at first I thought they were trying to blow up the incinerator or
something. And I was also somewhat
thrown by the entire episode with Edwina.
Other than exposing just how important it was that Gus keep his job and
showcasing his inordinate skill at gaming the system, the entire incident
seemed nothing more than a brief, unnecessary distraction from the real plots
that were unfolding.
I totally
loved Franco! He was perhaps the most
intriguing character of the entire book because we learn so little about him as
the story progresses, and don’t really come to know him at all until he is
basically out of the picture. His
feelings for Silva are so obvious to everyone but her, which makes them seem even
more profound. Their all-too-brief
interlude of shared emotions is far too short, and made me want to see more of
them together; especially when the very last scene begins to unfold and we
learn the extent of Franco’s feelings for Silva. I did find it hard to believe, however, that
he would let her go off alone, to go home and be captured by the bad guys so
easily.
I even came
to like Liam. Once a true friendship
developed between him and Silva, he became much more of a real person and not
just a cliché. His reaction at the race
celebration, while perfectly ordinary for the person we originally meet, seemed
very much out of character for the individual that he had come to be.
I had, at
least by the end, guessed at the motivations behind all of the pregnancy tests;
I clearly figured it out before Silva did anyway. But I was truly taken by surprise by the reasons
for it, not to mention the connection to the red-haired girl. That Silva ran into her as the story begins
becomes very auspicious. I was
completely astonished by what becomes of Liam.
Even seeing the old geezer hacking away on television, I did not see
that one coming. It was pretty apparent
early on that Gus was hiding something, and Franco as well; although I hadn’t
quite figured out how they fit together.
Nor did I anticipate the info we discover about Silva’s father. Basically, the author was just full of
unexpected plot twists and entertaining surprises.
I was so
happy to hear that this is the first of a series, not just a stand-alone
book. Because although there were so
many questions answered by the end, there were still so many left unanswered;
not to mention the fact that the action just did not seem in any way
complete! I definitely recommend this
book, and I personally can’t wait for the sequel!
I received
an eBook copy of this book free from Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for my honest
review.
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