*There may be spoilers in the discussion
Summary:
Sawyer’s a Watcher. The world is broken. Watchers protect the last scraps of humanity in this part of the world.
Additional Comments:
– Dystopia isn’t a genre I typically gravitate to. Keep that in mind as you move forward because that might be the underpinning reason behind why the book was just meh to me.
– I heard the audiobook, which flipped back and forth between first person sections by Sawyer (Chelsea Stephens did these sections) and third person sections Kensey (Steve Campbell). Bouncing between perspectives is a viable way to write a book, but there’s no reason to change perspective from first to third for the guy’s sections. Just struck me as odd. I also think the female narrator could have read the whole book no problem. It didn’t add anything to have a guy do Kensey’s sections. (Don’t get me wrong, the male narrator did a nice job with the performance.)
– World-building (5/5 stars) – The first sections were slower but way more interesting than the end sections. It’s a rather grim world, but it’s very well described.
– Characters (3/5 stars) – Sawyer’s a strong female lead, but she’s not very likable. (It’s a thing that she tries not to form attachments because this is the sort of world where one shouldn’t get attached to anybody.) Kensey’s supposed to be the perfect guy (strong, handsome, available). Everybody else is forgettable. Coleman’s motives aren’t very clear unless “world domination” counts. He’s more of a superhero story villain, but the problem is that this isn’t a superhero type story.
– Plot (3/5 stars) – The progression of the story goes from try to survive to rescue random people several times. There’s a romance subplot thrown in the mix cause that’s what happens in all YA dystopia books. There are a few interesting twists about who’s who.
– End (2.5/5 stars) – So predictable it hurts. There’s not much sense of closure because it’s clearly set up to make you buy book two.
– I’ll include some more specifics in a spoiler section after the ads.
Conclusion:
This is one person’s opinion. If you read the reviews, you’ll find a lot of happy people. There’s a lot of action and some great world-building in here. If you really love YA Dystopia, it’s a good series to try.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
OR
Spoiler Section:
– The idea of Carbons is cool, but it kind of takes away any sense of suspense. The epilogue bears this out. The ch before ends with Sawyer lamenting the fact that Kensey’s really gone. But is he? Epilogue – nope, Kensey’s very much alive. Well, at least there’s a copy of him running around fit and hale.
– When one kills off this many characters, it’s hard to get attached to any of them.
– Sawyer’s father or a copy of him or whatever forces Kensey to torture her to find out information about the Watchers, but since Kensey couldn’t really control the torment, he apologizes and it’s all good. Kissy scene to follow.
