Review: Acid by Emma Pass

Exciting new dystopia for the YA market 

This is a thrill ride of a book, which hooks the reader quickly and fully delivers on its promise of excitement.

I'm sure some of you who are YA readers are going "I've done the dystopian thing; I'm over it now" but I would urge you to give this one a go. Yes, there are elements which you'll have read before (but I would strongly argue that any story which works is constructed using familiar elements) - the main character against the system, dark forces moving against her, mystery and uncertainty about characters' motivations - but it's also tightly written and refreshingly different in some (to me) indefinable way. Perhaps it's in the way it's put together, perhaps it's the UK setting; I'm not sure, but it is an excellent novel, recommended even to the dystopia-weary. Those of you concerned about sameness in YA novels will definitely want to know that Acid is love-triangle-free.

Our protagonist, Jenna, is tough and smart - as the only female prisoner in a high-security facility for murderers, she's had to be. It's clear from the start that the crime which saw her incarcerated here is problematic, but we are drip-fed these details adding to the tension. The story starts on its feet, all action and  no pulled punches, and this is the pitch we operate at pretty much throughout. It helps that Emma Pass knows her world intimately and leads us through it effectively. We learn exactly what we need to, precisely when we need to with her perfectly judged world-building. I hate things being over-explained or the dreaded info-dump - there isn't a whiff of that here.

I warmed to Jenna quite quickly and found it easy to be on her side. The swift-moving first person present tense narration helps this along, of course - we're right in her perspective, so can't help but understand how she sees things. There are points in the story where things are clearer to the reader than they are to Jenna, which further adds to the tension as those twists and turns keep coming. She's established quickly as someone to admire and not as a victim, holding her own against male inmates.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this one as a pacy, tense read which is extremely difficult to put down.

From the Back Cover

ACID - the most brutal police force in history.
They rule with an iron fist.
They see everything. They know everything.
They locked me away for life.

My crime?
They say I murdered my parents. I was fifteen years old.
My name is Jenna Strong.

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Published 14 May by Corgi Children's/Random House

Visit the author's website for more information

My grateful thanks to the publisher for a review e-arc via Netgalley 

Review: Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Engaging and exciting dystopian YA set in an oxygen-deprived world

I was excited to read this, despite there being so many dystopias around now, and I wasn't disappointed. Controlling oxygen seems such an absolute way to keep control of the people and, as with all good dystopias, there is a clear hierarchy and social control through people knowing their place and being unable to break out of it. There is also clear danger at all times, ensuring that we are gripped and committed to finding out where it will all end.

The novel is told through three different and converging perspectives: Alina, a rebel, who opens the novel with "Breathing is a right, not a privilege, so I'm stealing it back". Her voice is lively and strong from the outset, as she prepares to take action. Bea comes next, an Auxiliary (i.e. second-class citizen) who is bold and clever. The final voice we follow is Quinn's - a Premium who has a lot of privilege in the novel's world and isn't always aware of this. The narration is all first person present tense, which works well for this kind of novel, creating uncertainty and tension and removing the possibility of hindsight. We are pulled along with the characters on their adventure and it's never quite certain who will survive or succeed.

Having two female and one male protagonists is effective in offering different perspectives and likely to widen the novel's appeal. There is a degree of romance but never as more than a sub-plot - survival and rebellion are far more important ideas here, which feels realistic despite the novel's extreme scenario. Sarah Crossan writes with an emotional and psychological realism which makes the story compelling, and allowing the novel to effectively combine being an entertaining read and raising questions about commitment, bravery and privilege.

The pace of the novel is a key strength. Although Sarah Crossan has created a world that is in many ways entirely unfamiliar, she succeeds in conveying the oddities of this world without heavy exposition or backstory. In some cases, we find out the society's history along with the characters, but always in a way that works with the plot and feels natural. This is book one in a trilogy, and I will definitely be taking the first opportunity to read the next book, as the ending of this one raises the stakes even higher and leaves you wondering what on earth can happen next (yet without leaving you unsatisfied and feeling cheated, as series books can sometimes).

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this to YA readers (who don't have to actually be young adults, of course) who enjoy dystopian novels and/or thrillers. I think those who aren't necessarily keen dystopian fans will enjoy this too, as it is such a good example of the genre.

From the Back Cover:

Years after the Switch, life inside the Pod has moved on. A poor Auxiliary class cannot afford the oxygen tax which supplies extra air for running, dancing and sports. The rich Premiums, by contrast, are healthy and strong. Anyone who opposes the regime is labelled a terrorist and ejected from the Pod to die.

Sixteen-year-old Alina is part of the secret resistance, but when a mission goes wrong she is forced to escape from the Pod. With only two days of oxygen in her tank, she too faces the terrifying prospect of death by suffocation. Her only hope is to find the mythical Grove, a small enclave of trees protected by a hardcore band of rebels. Does it even exist, and if so, what or who are they protecting the trees from?

A dystopian thriller about courage and freedom, with a love story at its heart.

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Published in October by Bloomsbury

My grateful thanks to the publishers for providing a review copy

Check out the Breathe page at Bloomsbury for more information or go to Amazon UK

Breathe by Sarah Crossan - the Trailer

Breathe is a dystopian YA novel (published this month) set in a treeless world where oxygen has become a commodity and a form of control. I'll be reviewing this one properly next week, but suffice to say for now that I definitely recommend it. If the trailer has whetted your appetite, you may want to check out some of Sarah Crossan's blogtour posts for more info. 

Review: The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers

Emotionally intense dystopian focused on fertility and childbirth

Comparisons are being made to The Handmaid's Tale (which I love) and Children of Men (which I haven't read), largely because this is a near-future dystopia in which fertility and childbearing is the focus (as well as it winning the Arthur C Clarke, which Handmaid's Tale also did). The difference here is in the voice, as Jessie Lamb is a 16 yr old girl sharing her story with us in the hope of being understood. She writes in an audience-conscious way (as can be inferred from the title) and her thoughts and feelings are utterly convincing as those of a 16 yr old girl under considerable pressure.

In Jessie's world, women die if they conceive. Everyone carries the illness MDS (maternal death syndrome), which activates in pregnancy, creating a form of CJD (or mad cow disease) and ultimately killing both mother and child. Society is trying desperately to find a way to prevent humanity dying out, allowing the author to raise questions about scientific research, genetic modification, the treatment of women and how teens become involved in politics. For me, a large part of Jane Roger's theme is about the involvement of young people in politics and how relatively easy it is for people to manipulate a cause, although I know from the Amazon reviews that some feel her portrayal of the various political camps in the novel is too one-dimensional. I would argue that this is necessary, as she features several different causes in the novel, all of whom want to make use of Jessie in some way (and would you really want that much of the novel taken up by rounding out the secondary cast?), and also that there is accuracy in this representation, as those who are fanatical make themselves one-dimensional. There is also, I feel, something of the allegory to this novel, and simplified characters are part of this tradition.

I greatly enjoyed this novel and found myself gripped to see how Jessie's tale would end. Again, I would take issue with those who claim the novel is predictable and would suggest that it has an inevitability to it, in the same way that classical tragedy does, but this isn't really the same thing. Any other ending wouldn't be as satisfying, but that for me says that a different ending would be a failure. The various obstacles that Jessie faces, together with the many opportunities for her to take a different course, are what make up the plot.

Overall, I would recommend this novel, although I find categorising it very difficult (it seems to be marketed as literary fiction). Again, a debate exists about whether it is YA or not (although some irritating reviewers on Amazon are using this as a criticism of the book - it's YA because it lacks depth/weight, they feel). For me, I would recommend it to a YA audience: the narrator is 16 and is facing issues centred on what she believes and who she is. I would also recommend it to adults (although that's often true of the sold-as-YA novels I review...) and feel that it offers plenty to think about in an accessible package.

[deleted rant here on how wrong it is that inaccessible 'should' = literary.... :) ]

From the back cover:

Winner of the Arthur C Clarke Award 2012
Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2011

Women are dying in their millions. Some blame scientists, some see the hand of God. As she watches her world collapsing, Jessie Lamb decides she wants to make her life count. Would you let your daughter die if it would save the human race?

The Testament of Jessie Lamb is the story of one daughter's heroism and one father's love.

*****************************

Published July 2012 by Canongate books

My grateful thanks for the review copy via Netgalley

Check out The Testament of Jessie Lamb at Amazon UK

Review: The Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Atmospheric and lyrical dystopian steampunk YA

This is a book to savour, if you can bear to hold yourself back enough. Bethany Griffin's writing is tight and often beautiful; rich and evocative without self-indulgence. Araby's plague-infested world is easy to picture and enter into, despite its otherworldliness.

This plague-infested world, in which the rich are free to move around thanks to anonymising porcelain masks, was inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's short story of the same name. In Poe's tale, short enough to be effectively just a couple of scenes, the Prince has locked himself and all the nobles away to dance and indulge themselves while the plague ravages those outside the palace walls. This image of decadence amongst the chaos is central to this new tale, which develops the core idea into a complex plot asking questions about morality, identity, progress and risk.

Araby's place in this world is as one of the privileged - in the first chapter we see her attending the Debauchery Club with her friend April - and yet, as she is aware, she has not always been wealthy and has far more comprehension of the big picture than those she parties with. Araby's consciousness is as easy to enter as her world, thanks to the first-person-present-tense narration, which lends immediacy to the story. We get a clear view of Araby as somewhat detached from the world around her, at least at the novel's opening, which makes her a great observer. Her past is also intriguing, drip-fed through the book at just the right pace to keep us guessing and reward reading.

The plot is twisty and involved, and sets us up well for the next book. Generally, I prefer series books which have a clear plot arc (which is resolved) in each volume, so each is like a complete episode of the story, with a kind of over-arching story to continue through the series, but the writing here was so gorgeous that I forgave it pretty quickly. I will certainly be looking out for book two, and I would definitely recommend this gorgeous, involving read to YA readers, particularly those who enjoy steampunk, dystopian, historical and/or romance novels!

From the back cover:

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

**************************

Published August 2012 by Indigo

My grateful thanks go to the publisher for sending a review copy

Check out Masque of the Red Death at Amazon UK

Thrilling Thursday: Review of Dark Parties by Sara Grant

I really enjoyed this and will absolutely be looking out for Sara Grant's future books.

Author: Sara Grant

Title: Dark Parties

Genre: Dystopian YA

Series: standalone

Publisher: Indigo

Published: Jan 2012

Source: kindly provided for review by the publisher

Find it at Goodreads

Goodreads description:
Sixteen-year-old Neva has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield "protects" them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But there's nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Or so the government says...

Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a "dark party" to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she's ever known, including the people she loves the most.

My Verdict: Fab dystopian with excellent world building and realistic characters.
Bleak though Neva's world is, being lost in it was a thrilling experience. Grant has the knack of sharing information concisely through tiny details and light touches. It's great to read something set in such an intriguing and different world without a ton of 'essential' information being offered via the handy outsider or history lesson. There are plenty of things I still don't know about this world, and I would love to read a sequel or companion novel set in the same context, but I'm intrigued rather than frustrated.

The characters are beautifully drawn and engaging. Neva has our sympathies from the start, with her torn loyalties and desire to rebel. There are many interesting characters in the novel, many of whom impact on Neva's growing unease and isolation at some point. The question of who can be trusted is raised multiple times in this story and the plot offers more than one twist which I didn't see coming. Ultimately, it's a classic dystopian tale of the clash between totalitarianism and the individual. Neva's position as that individual is precarious and her resolve is clear, but so is her fear - particularly her fear for others. Although Neva's strength and determination are admirable, it is her weaker moments and her uncertainty due to possible effects on others that endear her to us.

This is a pacy thriller, speeding us along Neva's seemingly inevitable journey into rebellion, largely due to the immediacy of the present tense narration and the text's efficiency. There isn't a single wasted word and Grant is therefore able to compel Neva on in her twisting quest while also fleshing out characters and setting enough to make this an involving read.

Overall, I'd recommend this as a thrilling and engaging story above all, with great world building and characterisation. It's instructive for those of us seeking to write speculatively, and is likely to be thought-provoking, especially for teens, on the tension between government protection and control. I'll certainly be recommending it to my students.