Review: Mercy is not always what you hope for.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 5, 2013
Read from October 02 to 03, 2013Book InfoKindle Edition, 220 pagesPublished July 29th 2012 by Timbercreek Pressedition languageEnglishseriesThe Mercy Series #1Source:Personal copyBook Buy LinksAMAZONB&N;BOOK SYNOPSISCharlie hides her true identity, but her very presence places everyone around her in danger. With no other choice but to remain where she is, she stays with a community that might not be as benevolent as it appears. In this new and dangerous version of the world, where a friend might be an enemy and an enemy might be a friend, seventeen-year-old Charlie protects her baby sister and herself from grotesque monsters outside the community as well as human ones inside. Will the truth she discovers about her protectors save her or ultimately doom her to a fate worse than death?This is the first full book of the series.My ThoughtsIn the Zombie genre this one stands out for the fact that it builds suspense without using gore to make the action scenes work. The 17 year old Charlie Little is one of the newest inhabitants of an abandoned institution that is overseen by a group of men who call themselves The Council and whose strict rules mean swift punishment for the smallest infraction committed by anyone under their control.The author reveals stunning secrets about past events that open Charlie's eyes to the danger that she is in if her true gender is ever discovered. Before Charlie manages to take her baby sister Star and escape her worst nightmare comes true as the last person she ever expected to do so is the one to disclose her true gender to the council members. For Charlie the sentence that they in turn decide will be her fate is nightmare inducing and when they send her to the lower chambers of their abode she finds an even worse nightmare is waiting for her.The author sets up the next book neatly with the end of this one so hopefully book 2Heart of Mercy (Young Adult Dystopian) (The Mercy Series)(Volume 2)will find Charlie's situation to be resolved but from it's synopsis am not counting on that just yet!This was easy to read, fast paced and made quite a few points for readers that touched on the vulnerability of being female in a world where your gender makes you a target for more than the "inhuman monsters" that inhabit it.Sobering tale about fighting the lesser of two evils while trying to survive in a world where you can trust no one.[Personal copy]