Review of The Loop by Ben Oliver

Oliver, Ben.  The Loop.  Chicken House, 2020.

The Third World War, also known as “Futile War”, ended with the dropping of twenty-nine nuclear bombs and the deaths of nine-hundred million civilians.  Even more people died afterwards when the temperature of the Earth dropped.  A coalition of rebels from both sides of every country ended the war, but  it was billionaires who caused it in order to stay rich and in power.  This resulted in only one governing system called The World Government and the birth of Happy, their computer operating system, which controls life all over the globe.  Citizens are divided by caste, with the Elite being the highest. 

 

Sixteen-year-old Luka “Luke” Kane is living in The Loop, a death row prison for teens, for a crime he did not commit.  Life in The Loop is no picnic; inmates are in solitary confinement and get only one hour of exercise per day.  Their energy is harvested nightly in order to power the prison, and they receive chemical-laced showers immediately afterward.  Prisoners can extend their lives every six months by agreeing to Delays, scientific experiments which benefit the Elite of society.  The only pleasure Luke receives is reading books brought to him by the Warden of the prison.

 

After a cataclysmic event, Luke and some of his friends are able to escape from The Loop.  However, they discover that the outside world is even more dangerous than inside the prison.  Citizens have become vicious and are maiming and killing each other.  The former prisoners must defend themselves, run for their lives, and avoid being captured.

 

This debut novel, the first in a planned series, by Ben Oliver is a terrifying journey into a dystopian society created out of a planned, devastating war.  The world that the author has created, both inside and outside of the prison, is both eye-opening and terrifying.  The prisoners are treated brutally, and the caste system is set up to be mandatory and discriminatory.  The book is packed with gripping action and surprises.

 

Billed as a “mashup of The Matrix and The Maze Runner”, this class-warfare novel is a political and social commentary on what might happen to our world if these events were to become reality.  There is an ethnically diverse group of characters which are well-developed and fleshed-out.  The futuristic world-building is well-thought out and presented.

 

The Loop is the first in a planned trilogy by this Scottish author.  Hand it to fans who enjoy dystopian and science fiction novels.  I recommend it for upper middle school, high school, and public libraries and give it four out of five stars!

 

Thank you to Edelweiss and Chicken House for allowing me to read and review this book.

Review of Access Restricted by Gregory Scott Katsoulis

Katsoulis, Gregory Scott.  Access Restricted.  Harlequin Teen, 2018.

Speth Jime ends the tyrant Rogs’ oppressive hold over Portland with a resounding boom.  As a result, in a futuristic, dystopian United States, where all forms of communication is owned, Portland’s citizens are hoping the “Silent Girl” will guide them in their quest to be free from word and gesture oppression.  Speth and her friends make a getaway from the dome on the “Outer Ring” while the government is trying to restore Portland’s Wi-Fi and bring order.   Unfortunately, Silas Rog’s sister, Lucretia, and her lawyers are close behind the escapees.

Speth is not sure what to do next, but she wants to locate her parents, who are “Indentured”, working as legalized slaves, in Crab Creek in the Carolina dome.  To find them, she and her friends must cross the country outside of the regional domes.  On their journey, they face challenges, adversity, and danger but learn that Speth has helpful supporters in other domes. 

Once reunited with her parents in Tejico, formerly Mexico, Speth and her sister, Saretha, face a grueling, prejudicial trial back in Portland, where they will try to prove that the Rogs stole Saretha’s likeness for use as a famous movie star.   Even though she dreads and fears returning to Portland, Speth realizes that the trial is about more than her family—it is about freedom.

Access Restricted, the second and final book in the Word$ duology, begins moments after the first book, All Rights Reserved, ends.  The chapters are titled with words and phrases, many of which are trademarked, listed with their costs, which get increasingly larger as the story continues.  The reader learns that many names, especially those of foreign origin, have been shortened, both because they cost less and also so that people will not learn about their ancestry.

The characters are fascinating and multi-layered.  Speth, the main character, is a strong, reluctant heroine, not expecting to cause a rebellion, or even be a part of one.    The minor characters have distinct personalities and play a large part in the plot.  The Rog family members are evil, manipulative villains--cold, calculating, and controlling.  The author is especially gifted at world building, creating a vivid technology-enhanced world, where advertisements play constantly on screens in citizens’ homes and inside the domes.

The plot is mesmerizing and engrossing, filled with nail-biting action, thrilling chase scenes, and spy drones flying around.  This series is very timely because it is certainly something that could eventually happen.  Although some backstory is given, it is my recommendation that readers read the first book before reading this installment.

I highly recommend Access Restricted and the Word$ series for middle school, high school, and public libraries, and especially for collections where libraries have purchased All Rights Reserved.  It is a real page-turner, and I give it five out of five fleur de lis!

Review of Crazy House by James Patterson

Patterson, James.  Crazy House.  Hanchette, 2017.

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The United States has been split up into cells which are totally controlled by the new government, “The United”.  Citizens have jobs chosen for them, and it is forbidden to leave the cell’s boundaries.  Seventeen-year-old twins Cassie and Becca are trying to keep their family’s farm going after their mom was sent away to have a “mood adjustment” and their dad was hospitalized after trying to commit suicide. 

There have been a number of child kidnappings, and Becca becomes the ninth victim.  She is thrown into a secret prison full of teens and tweens who are now on “Death Row”.  These “prisoners” are tortured, forced to fight one another, and, overall, treated brutally.  Occasionally, one of them is murdered in front of the others.  Cassie ends up as a kidnap victim, joining her sister in prison, and experiences what has happened to her twin.  

Becca and Cassie work together with fellow prisoners to escape and figure out the prison’s secrets, many dealing with cells, the general masses, and the elite, but unknown, population.

This is the second young adult collaboration between James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet.  Although James Patterson is well known for his adult novels, he has been making the foray into the YA world for a number of years now.  Gabrielle Charbonnet also writes under the pen name, Cate Tiernan.  She has written books for both children and young adults.

This dystopian novel has all the surprises, twists, and turns that readers have come to expect from Mr. Patterson.  The prison scenes are, at times, horrific and quite gory--add to that, the experience of having a child murdered right in front of an audience full of kids!  There are reasons behind all of the plot devices, but I do not want to spoil any of the suspense for those who have not yet read the book.

Readers will be sucked into this fast-paced novel.  The ending is a real cliffhanger, so I am hoping this is the first in a planned series of books.  I recommend the book for upper middle, high school, and public libraries, and I give it four out of five fleur de lis!

Review of The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig

Haig, Francesca.  The Fire Sermon.  Gallery Books, 2015.

In the distant future, the world has been ravaged by an atomic blast and radiation, supposedly caused by technology.  Twins, one boy and one girl, are now always born to couples.  One twin, the Alpha, is perfect, while the other twin, the Omega, is flawed in some way.  Either a limb is missing, or the baby is blind or deaf, or the Omega is a Seer and has no obvious physical deformities.

Alphas and Omegas are split as soon as possible, with Omegas being branded, banished, and persecuted.  Alphas are the Golden Children, born into privilege and opportunity.  But there is a fatal element to the twin relationship; the twins are linked.  No matter how far apart the siblings live, when one twin dies, so does the other.

Zach and Cass aren’t split until they are thirteen years old.  Cass does her best to hide the fact that she is a Seer, but Zach waits patiently until he can expose her, and she is ultimately branded and exiled.  Years later, Zach has become a leader on the Alpha Council and has Cass kidnapped.  She is imprisoned in The Keeping Rooms, where she is interrogated by The Confessor, an Omega Seer working for the Alpha Council.

After several years, Cass manages to escape and frees another prisoner from a situation worse than hers.  With Council soldiers chasing them, She and “Kip” flee, searching for a supposedly mythical island—a haven where Omegas can live safe and free.  But both Alphas and Omegas need Cass, not just because she is a Seer, but because she sees things differently and hopes for a world where Alphas and Omegas can coexist.

This is the debut novel and the first installment in a new series by Francesca Haig.  The prose the author uses is beautifully written, testifying to her poetry background.  Haig’s world building is amazing and unique, with vivid descriptions of the island, the Omega settlements, and the ocean.  Her characters are strong and well developed.  My favorite character is Kip, who has been through so much, but still manages to remain positive and strong for Cass.

The twin concept in The Fire Sermon offers a fresh and interesting twist in the currently popular dystopian genre.  The action scenes in the book will keep the reader turning the pages!  The movie rights for novel have been optioned by Dreamworks, and the sequel will come out in January, 2016, first in the UK and then in the US.  Haig is already working on the third volume. 

The Fire Sermon will be enjoyed by The Hunger Games and Divergent fans.  I highly recommend it for middle school, high school, and public libraries and give it four out of five fleur de lis!

 *Reviewer’s note:  The copy reviewed was an e-ARC received from Net Galley.

Review of The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Ewing, Amy.  The Jewel.  HarperTeen, 2014.

Once they reach puberty, all girls in The Marsh must have a blood test to determine if they have certain characteristics, which will qualify them to become surrogates to the royal families who live in The Jewel.  Due to a genetic quirk, royalty are unable to give birth to their own children. A Girl who “passes” the blood test is removed from her family and taken to live in one of four holding facilities in The Lone City, where she is trained to use her special powers, or auguries.  The auguries include the ability to change the color of an item, the ability to change the shape of an item, and the ability to make things grow.  Eventually, after several years, the girl is sold at auction to the highest royal bidder and becomes the surrogate for that family.

Violet Lasting, now sixteen years old, has spent her last four years in the   Southgate Holding Facility, preparing for her life as a surrogate.  She has wanted for nothing while living in the facility, has achieved extremely high scores on her augury tests, and is an accomplished cellist.  However, she has missed her family and home in The Marsh deeply.

At auction she is sold to The Duchess of the Lake as Lot #197 for an enormous sum and goes to spend her days in a lovely palace, where she has beautiful clothes, wonderful meals, enjoys lavish parties, and has her own suite of rooms.

However, there is a dark side to being a surrogate. Violet is a nameless “pet” to The Duchess of the Lake, forced to wear a leash and collar when they go out, as do all surrogates.  She is at The Duchess’s beck and call twenty-four hours a day.  Her body is not hers; it belongs to the doctor who performs experiments on her and to The Duchess, who wants Violet to use her abilities to grow a baby in three months as opposed to nine.

When Violet is secretly offered a way to leave The Jewel and her life of surrogacy, she has to decide if freedom is also worth leaving forbidden love and her best friend behind, as well.  Some decisions are hard, especially when they involve trust, promises, and love.

This terrific debut novel by Amy Ewing is the first in her new series, “The Lone City”, and is filled with excitement, surprises, and intrigue.  The world building is exquisite.  In The Jewel, which is painted as a fairytale-like place, everyone lives in castles, and all lifestyles are extravagant!  The city is decorated like it is Christmas all the time! There are headstrong royal women and power plays to see who can produce the first daughter, who can shun whom, and who has the most talented and beautiful surrogate.  All the royal women are conniving and mean-spirited!

Ms. Ewing has included such strong characters in her book—Violet, Garnet—The Duchess of the Lake’s unruly son; Ash—companion to Carnelian Silver, The Lady’s niece; and Lucien, the Lady-in-Waiting who prepares Violet for the Auction.  I am really looking forward to their continuing story in the next installment!

This dystopian/fantasy/romance will be enjoyed by readers who liked The Selection series by Kiera Cass.  However, be prepared, because it is much more sinister!  I recommend it for grades eight and up and for public libraries.  I give it five out of five fleur de lis!!!!

Review of Monsters by Ilsa J. Bick

Bick, Ilsa J.  Monsters.  Egmont, 2013.

As Monsters begins, Alex is frantically trying to climb out of a mineshaft that is flooding due to an explosion in the mine. Peter is still stuck in one of Finn’s cages and is having hallucinations and acting like one of the Changed.  Chris is unconscious, lying underneath a spiked tiger cage.    Rule’s Spared are considered “Golden Children”—untouchable and entitled.

But Rule is running out of food, ammunition, and medicine.  The Awakened have grown tired of the Spared—Aiden, Greg, Lucian, Sam, Tori, and others—getting extra food and special treatment.  The Rule Elders are planning a mutiny against the Council and the Spared.  Kincaid, who is back in town, is keeping Jess in hospice, away from everyone.

Kids hiding in Oren—Hannah, Ellie, Jayden, and Eli--have discovered Chris underneath the tiger trap.  Hannah thinks he has too many injuries to save and gives him water containing a lethal poison to put him out of his misery.  This upsets Ellie, who wants to help him.

Alex, who was saved from the mine by Wolf and his gang of Changed, is now buried underneath the avalanche caused by the explosion.  Tom has gone out to look for her, hoping to find some indication that she is still alive.  However, he ends up fighting for his life against a Changed girl who has a strange look in her eyes.  While they are fighting, he notices someone watching from a distance in the trees.

Finn is still running experiments on the Changed.  He is giving them mind-altering drugs so he can control them.  He plans to attack and take over Rule.  Others are secretly working with him because everyone has a grudge to settle.  Weller and Mellie are keeping secrets from Tom and “his kids”.

Wolf finds Alex underneath the avalanche and is keeping her alive.  Even though there is not much "food” to go around to his gang members, he is keeping her safe while they travel.  She doesn’t know where they are going, but he has her carrying a medical pack.

All these plots weave together in an exciting climax in Monsters, the final book in the Ashes series.

Ilsa Bick has again given readers a riveting thriller of a novel!  Though there are a large number of characters, readers who have followed the other two books may remember them.  However, she has also put a refresher chapter at the end of the book to bring readers up to speed on characters and what was going on as Shadows ended.

The book is extremely character driven and nearly every character has a point of view in this installment.  At times, I had to put the book down and walk away due to the enormous amount of characters.  I needed time to absorb and mull over all the plot threads and their implications.

The novel is terrifying, gory, and dark, as are the other two volumes.  It seems like the characters have to overcome obstacle after obstacle, as more and more horrifying situations are thrown at them.  There is violence, and shock and awe, with twists and turns, as our three main characters—Alex, Tom, and Ellie—eventually make their way back together.

Fans of the series will not want to miss this ending!  I highly recommend it for high school, public, and middle school libraries that already have Ashes and Shadows.  I give it five out of five fleur de lis!