Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan 28th, 2016
I decided to pick this book up because I was finally in the mood for a dystopian, after not feeling like reading one for…well, basically a year, and this was not a disappointment!
The plot was really interesting and unique, which added greatly to my enjoyment of the novel. It was quite fast-paced and action-packed, making this almost 500-page book a lot easier to get through.
Our main protagonist is Ruby, she annoyed me a couple times throughout the novel because 1) she was knocked out half the time 2) she didn’t really speak for a fair bit of the start, but I guess that’s not really her fault. Although I warmed up to her over the course of the book.
Liam, the main male character/love interest was so fun to read about, I loved his humour and also just his personality as a whole.
Chubs, oh Chubs, he was such an enjoyable character, and honestly, the book wouldn’t have been what it was without him.
Zu also added an interesting dynamic to the story, and I love the relationship she created with Ruby throughout the book.
I absolutely loved the aspect of both Ruby and Liam in which they weren’t particularly strong but also weren’t weak, they were realistic teenagers (I mean, apart from the superpowers buuut you get my point.) Evident by the continual mention that Liam would surely lose in a fight, it was so refreshing to have a male love-interest not be what is often considered the ‘whole package’ or to be unreasonably ‘tough’, and just be a scared young boy as anyone would be in that situation. Also the fact that Liam can break down and be upset is such a refreshing trope and I commend Bracken on all of this.
The writing was really intricate and gave the whole novel a really dystopian feel, which is good considering it is a dystopian book, but anyway…at times I skimmed over Ruby’s internal monologue because I felt it dragged on for too long with no real purpose sometimes.
Also I feel like when they got to ‘East River’, most of it was simply Ruby and Clancy bantering back-and-forth, and more could’ve potentially happened there instead. Oh and while I’m on the topic of Clancy… he was so annoying! What an aggravating, manipulative antagonist, I wonder what he evolves to be in the next instalments.
I predicted most of the twists and turns that took place in the novel, but was still angry at how it ended even having guessed it. I don’t own the other books in the trilogy and I’m not sure whether or not to continue on but who knows, I probably will eventually. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book and it definitely satisfied my dystopian craving!
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