Review: Well-written dystopian
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 2, 2013
If you like dystopian novels, read this engaging book. It follows Rosa, a rebellious schoolgirl living a bleak existence in a repressive society a century or two after the world as we know it has suffered some major war or cataclysm. Rosa's world is a narrow one lived within a compound within a compound. Her every move is scrutinized by the establishment which has the power to grant or deny her training and means to a livelihood. At the age of 18, all members of this society are torn from the family hovel and transported to a different compound where a new set of rules and circumstances further narrow their choices in life. Rosa meets a boy who lights up her life, and finds a niche in which she thinks she might find meaning in her oppressive world. Then she makes a mistake that costs her everything. She learns a bitter truth about her place in society, but is powerless to help herself or others until an event occurs that allows her to escape into the vast wilderness surrounding her prison. The author created highly imaginative settings rich in detail for each environment Rosa found herself in. Good character development. I did get irritated with Rosa's continuous crankiness and self-doubt. It got to be a bit much at times, especially in her interactions with her love interest in the latter part of the book. No need to hit us over the head with the fact that she's insecure and distrustful of love. You want us to like her, right? That is the reason for the four rather than five stars. Really good job for a first book.