Review: Fantastic!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 16, 2014
Whoa! This book completely captured my interest and attention right from the first page and kept me flipping the pages until the very end. Carrier is a fast-paced book that is emotional, gritty, raw, and action packed!This book takes place in the future and has a dystopian feel to it. Society has basically gone to hell and nothing is as we know it. Auberge is a place that is divided up into different geographical regions and has a wall encompassing it – not only to keep its inhabitants inside, but also to keep the outsiders out. There is poverty everywhere and jobs are difficult to come by. There is a curfew, garbage piled up throughout the streets, and Auberge controls everything.Naya has been living at The Line for nine years. The Line is a government institution that buys young pubescent girls and keeps them as sex slaves. They are kept naked, fed minimally, and they live in small confined spaces. They have appointments throughout the day, which consist of men buying an hour of their time to satisfy their own sexual urges. Of course, the girls do not see any of the money that they earn.When Naya is suddenly released from her contract with The Line, she is relieved, but suspicious of their intentions. Nobody just leaves The Line. They advise Naya that she has been impregnated and can be released from her contract early, but that she must find a replacement or else be forced to return.Being free is a relief and a fear for Naya. No one is ever truly free, Auberge keeps their hand prints scanned and in their files so that they can keep tabs on the population. Naya was sold by her father when she was just a young girl and she has no idea where her family is now. She is only 22 years old, pregnant with twins, has limited life skills, and nowhere to go.When Naya goes to find some prenatal care, she is introduced to the handsome young doctor, Ric Bennett. He is helpful, gentle, and very kind, but Naya is naturally untrusting and on edge around strange men. He wants to help her escape and start a new life, erasing all of the ways that Auberge can track her. This is not the first young woman that he has helped. He has a small group of renegades that help in this cause – a computer hacker and a former escapee from The Line.I don’t want to get into too many of the details of the story and spoil it for anyone. This book has interesting characters and I was immediately drawn in and invested in their lives. I cared about them, wanted the best outcome for them, and rooted for them throughout the book. In my opinion, when an author can create characters that make you” feel “for them, then that is the sign of a fantastic book!Carrier is a bit different from the books that I normally read, but I am completely hooked. There isn’t a dull moment in this book. There is drama, action, twists and turns, and a bit of romance. Who can you trust? What is Auberge’s ultimate plan? What is going to become of Naya and Ric? I am so anxious to read the second book…I need to find out what is going to happen next!