Tonight I wanna talk about two books I haven’t read yet. I’m really excited about these two books and they both have had good/great reviews on both Twitter and Goodreads. One of the books is brand new, the other one is a bit older.
I’m gonna start with the newest book: Aberrant by Ruth Silver. The book is a YA dystopian book. It’s the first book in a series that (hopefully) will be bigger in the future! Aberrant was released on April 17th this year and has 240 pages.
Synopsis:
In the future Dystopian society of Cabal, the government instills equality for all and offers its citizens the perfect system. There is food, shelter and jobs for everyone. The one requirement is to follow the rules without question, including the government’s match in marriage and “The Day of the Chosen”, a lottery that randomly selects families to conceive children as natural means hasn’t existed in generations. Following her eighteenth birthday, Olivia Parker accepts her requirement to marry her childhood best friend, Joshua Warren, and is eager to start her work assignment and new life when it all comes abruptly to an end as she’s arrested and thrown in prison. The only crime committed, her existence. Olivia is unlike the rest of the world born not from “The Day of the Chosen.” The truth haunts the government and puts her life in grave danger as one simple fact would destroy the perfect system.
With Joshua’s help, Olivia breaks free of prison and is forced on the run. Together they set out to find the promised rebel town in search of a new home and new life together. Their situation seems less than promising as they reach the town of Haven. New rules and customs must be adhered to in order to stay. Leaving would mean most certain death in the large expanse of the Gravelands. Time is running out as the government mounts an attack to destroy Olivia and bury her secret with her. Thrown into a world unlike their own, they must quickly adapt to survive.
First impression:
When I read the synopsis, I kept thinking about the book Matched by Ally Condle. I haven’t read Matched (nor did I read Aberrant) but both books are about a perfect world in which people are forced to be matched with somebody else (either to marry or get kids with). That’s also where the comparison ends. The part where Olivia is put in prison because of her ‘ existence’, made me think of Divergent by Veronica Roth. In Divergent, Tris is in danger because she is divergent (also something she can’t help). And the part that Olivia is looking for rebels, is also seen in books as The Hunger Games (mostly Catching Fire, The Hunger Games #2 and Mockingjay, The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins and also in Legend (mostly Prodigy, Legend #2) by Marie Lu.
So, as far as I can tell, the storyline includes everything we, as YA readers, need in a book! I have no idea how Ruth Silver writes: I’ve never read anything from her. But I think this book will rock! I’m really eager to read this book and I can’t wait until the moment I have time enough to read this!
The second book I wanna talk about, is The Academie by Amy Joy. I only found out about this book today, but I was totally surprised I’d never heard of this book before, since it was released in 2011, exactly today! (Happy 2 years anniversary!). Amy Joy actually followed me on Twitter, so I searched her up on Goodreads and was instantly interested and followed her back. I also promised her to write about The Academie on my website, which I will gladly do!
Synopsis:
When Allie Thompson graduated, she thought she’d put high school behind her. But when a series of violent outbreaks by teens sends panic surging through the nation, high school is right where Allie finds herself again. Now remolded into what the government calls The Academie, what was once the public school system is now the permanent home of everyone 22 and under.
After a year away at college and a lifetime as a model student, Allie doesn’t take well to The Academie’s militaristic nature or its 16 foot perimeter fences. Remembering all she’s left behind, including the boyfriend she’s now years away from seeing again, Allie plummets into depression. But when strange things begin to happen and her brother disappears, Allie realizes she must unravel the mystery that is The Academie–before it’s too late.
First impression:
Lets start with the fact that I’ve never heard of Amy Joy or her book: how is this even possible? I’m a YA dystopian addict and I have never seen this book anywhere. This book deserves more publicity! As you can read in the synopsis, the book is way more realistic than all the other dystopian books I’ve ever read – I didn’t read The Academie YET – which is something this genre might be needing 🙂 A cool fact is that the main character, Allie, is older than other main characters in the normal dystopian books. Those girls are usually 15, 16 or sometimes 17 years old. This girl, Allie, has already finished high school and has already finished one year of college. I’m not sure how old people are in the US when they have finished their first year of college, but in the Netherlands that about 18 or 19. I think the cover is really cool: it gave me chills and made me feel sorry for Allie the instant I saw the gate. I would hate it to be locked up. I think every teen / young adult would feel that way. I think that because Allie’s brother disappears, the story will go deep with emotions. I’m not sure; it’s just a feeling.
Concluded: the synopsis keeps the book vague, but also illustrates how real this book is gonna be. I’m really looking forward to the book, even though the cover still scares me. I hope more people will find out about this book, not only because it probably rock, but also because Amy Joy sounds like the sweetest author ever and totally deserves it!
So, I hope you guys like my thoughts (and if not, that’s okay, it’s just MY opinion)! If you have read one of those books, please comment in the section below whether my thoughts about the books were truth! I LOVE to hear about what YOU guys think about these book! 🙂
Dutch Book Chick 