Review: One-of-a-kind (not necessarily in a good way)
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 05 16, 2011
This book really confused me. I was able to put most of my questions aside and enjoy the book for what it was- a Swiss Family Robinson story about teenagers.OK, now for my many quibbles:1) This book would be YA but there's lots of sexual innuendo and implied sex scenes.  Ok, so I guess I'm an old fogey and am forgetting that the young'uns are maturing way faster than before.  But this is what I really don't like about the book- the fact the "adults" in the story (defined pretty much as everybody over the age of 20) start pairing off with...the teenagers. Yup. The chief of teens instigates a rule that you cant have sex before age 16, and maybe a couple that is 16 and 20 or 21 is ok.  But what we have are, err, a mature mother of two (I think she's close to 30) and a 16 year old (she does joke about robbing the cradle but then follows up confessing she has erotic dreams about him).  Then there's a construction worker/handyman who has to be in his mid-20's at least, who gets in bed (but no sex! yeah right!) with a...14 year old girl.  I'm sure you will love the scenes where he fantasizes about her perky, err, bottom clothed in skinny jeans, and the day she wears a teeny tiny skirt.  Very uncomfortable reading this, to say the least.2) So, teens will be teens. Referring to my comment #1, the sex between the teens, though slightly unsavory, is realistic in the end.  Now, oddly enough, the premise for bringing them all together is the fact they were all attending an abstinence camp.  Whizz goes the irony! sorry, though, there were no religious connotations at all in the book. Nor did these seem like your bunch of bad behaving kids sent to labour camp. Is there really, really such a thing as an abstinence camp that is not related to the church? Did the author just choose this setting for the irony?3) Again, teens will be teens. I'm alright with some of them being more mature and taking charge, even if the Chief is a 15 year old. But what about the emotions? It really seemed the kids took one paragraph to get over the shock of being stuck atop the mountain...then boom, they are back to playing and chatting. No thoughts of mom or dad? Siblings? Friends back home? It's like these kids shrug at the fact life as they know it has changed drastically. Kids are resilient but to have none of them freak out and break down emotionally at the thought of being alone with no family is just really bizarre.4) The gender issue. Hey, I'm a girl and I once was a teenager. I will admit at one point, all I cared about was getting a phone in my room. I was extremely shallow with my clothing, makeup, friends. So no surprise at some of the girls' behavior in this book.  However, for ALL of them to be such sheep? The two girls who join the "inner circle" (the group in charge) admit that most of their acceptance by the guys  is because they're the "girlfriends." and then the Chief blurts that fact out loud. Reaction?  Nada. I think a few girls toss their hair and/or stomp off to pout. But that's really about it. Geez would it kill to have the girls actually gang up and retaliate a bit?5) The "science"...or lack thereof. There's a weird fog surrounding the mountain. there's creepy stuff in it that kills. According to the prologue the fog is alien in nature or something like that. Ooooh. But then that's the only mention of the fog in that context. Dang it, would it kill to have one or more of the teens try to investigate the fog? Or the "army specialists" do some research into the fog?  Everyone just seems to lie back and accept it all. Not one thought on how to escape. Ugh!Well there's more but I feel I've ranted enough. If this weren't a free ebook, i would be a lot more pissed but at least I didn't waste money on this.