Review: Solid YA Dystopian
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2013
Contributor is a solid YA dystopian that fortunately does NOT feature a soppy romance. While the book is decently written and easy to follow, it really could have used more world building and mise en scene to ground the strong character work.Dara Morrow has a good life. She is a valuable contributor to her domed dystopian US society (where people went when the resources of an overly-tapped Earth were depleted). Several corporations (Job Creators - or just Creators for short) set up the domed societies but everyone in the dome must work due to its limited resources. When she is flagged for a position as assistant to the head of engineering, she is thrilled.  She is one of three, and they will all compete together to gain the respect of the head engineer and be chosen as his new assistant.  Working with another established assistant (their 'master'), each of the three potentials work toward making the best presentations and products. But what Dara finds is that business politics prevail: backstabbing, sabotage, mind games, and more.  The position is highly sought after and each of the candidates is expected to be ruthless and talented enough to seize the opportunity. Dara soon finds herself in over her head - and all that she has been taught about the Creator corporations, many of the employees, the Head of Engineering, and even her own master, Letizia, will change dramatically with an industrial accident that seriously injures her mother.While the above synopsis may sound a lot like Under the Never Sky or Divergent with their hermetically sealed societies, this book really does differ.  It's not about violent factioned societies (Divergent) or rebellion/getting out of the dome (Under the Never Sky).  Rather, it's about an intelligent, determined, but grounded young woman who has it all and then begins to question what she's been taught.  Although her Engineering Head master is pretty much an evil moustache twirler, he doesn't play a large part of the series.  Rather, it's more about the relationship of Dara to her family, world, and most especially with her Master Letitia.Since there is very little worldbuilding, the book is a bit confusing at times. But the plot unfolds at a good pace, with a good mystery that doesn't try to get tricky, and a solid focus on the character and character building of Dara. She won't fall out of the dome into a hunky guy's arms and even finds herself ending a long term relationship as she begins to 'wake up' and grow beyond the confines of the Contributor society.There are some interesting things to be said about both communism and capitalism here, this society being a melange of both.  I look forward to seeing where the author takes the next book.Received as an ARC from the publisher.