«Divergent», «The Hunger Games», «The 5th Wave», «Maze Runner» there was this period of time when authors were coming up with surprising dystopian settings. I’m always on the lookout for more interesting books set in the dystopian world, be it current or futuristic.
I was immediately intrigued by the world without children. The world tyrannized by the president that took pregnant women and their new-born babies away. My questions were: What is the reason for such anger? Or is it protectiveness of some sort? What stands behind her reasoning?
Whisperer family were good friends with President Esther a long time ago. Before she became this radical president. And it so happened that Emma, their younger daughter, is the last child in Craigluy. Every baby born after her has been murdered. What makes her special?
goodreads blurb:
Emma Whisperer was born in 2080, in the small futuristic world of Craigluy. President Esther, in charge for the last twenty-two years, has divided their world into three territories, separated by classes—the rich, the working class, and the poor—because she believes the poor should not mingle with the others. And, the poor are no longer allowed to have children, since they do not have the means to take care of them.
Any babies born, accidentally or willfully, are killed. Emma is the last eighteen-year-old in her territory; every baby born after her has died. Somehow, she survived this fate.
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Thank you Netgalley and L.J. Epps for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own and not influenced by the company or its affiliates in any way.
L. J. Apps had this appealing idea of creating a futuristic society on the brim of extinction of all children, talking about important subjects like poverty, population control, human rights – whose choice is it, after all, to have or do not have a baby? Divided into three territories – Territory L, Territory M, and Territory U, people are grouped together depending on their economic status (lower class, medium class, and upper class).
As interesting as the idea sounds, I can’t say that it was executed well. It is not a bad book by any means, but it didn’t leave me wanting more.
It reads very quickly and easily (sometimes too easily), has these elements that most teenagers will probably enjoy, like:
- getting ready for the event in Emma’s honor. That Cinderella moment of choosing a dress for someone whose family is barely scraping by;
- the chosen one trope and all male attention;
- romance and jealousy;
- cheesy lines;
- training and fighting.
The classic tropes of a classic YA dystopian.
The book has a feeling of a manuscript that requires more editing to polish it out. Editing when it comes to the repetitiveness of some words. Editing of the plot lines and events.
Everyone liked Emma and wanted to be Emma, but she hasn’t really done anything. Or at least the way the events were presented, I didn’t feel like she has done enough to deserve the attention.
My rating:
★★☆☆☆
As interesting as the plot sounds, it was one of those books that I forgot immediately after reading, and have no interest to continue with the rest of the series.
HAVE YOU READ ANY DYSTOPIAN NOVELS RECENTLY? LEAVE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!
OTHER BOOKS BY L.J. EPPS:
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