Author: Lisa M. Stasse
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: July 10, 2012
Source: Bought
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Summary: As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.
The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.
Review: The Forsaken is one of those books that I picked up on a whim. I had no idea what to expect but I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed this book very much.
Dystopians are a common books these days in YA so I'm always a little hesitant to try a new one. It gets so tiring to read different books with the same premise over and over again. The Forsaken is a rare gem though. It manages to be original without it seeming like the author was trying too hard.
The Forsaken took place in such a vivid world. I loved every odd, quirky thing about it. And trust me there were some crazy things going on in this book that I happened to love.
But my absolute favorite thing about this book was The Wheel, the place were kids who could turn into criminals go. The concept of this is so brilliant but what really got me was the actual execution of it. It was just done so well. Stasse did a phenomenal job with it.
Alenna isn't my favorite character of all time but I did enjoy watching her grow and change throughout the course of The Forsaken. I did like all of Alenna's friends on The Wheel. They could fight like no other, and I grew to like almost everyone.
The Forsaken is a read that I was able to devour in a single afternoon. The main character wasn't all that I had hoped for but the writing and creativity of this book made up for that 10 times over.
Rating: 4.5 stars
4 comments:
YAY!!! I have this book on my list for next week, I'm really excited to get to it and see what this Wheel is all about. I absolutely love when there's great world building, that and great characters are my favorite elements when reading. While Alenna may not have been your favorite character ever, I'm glad all the characters are likable overall!
EEP, I'm so glad you liked it so much! I adored this one. The only thing I didn't like was the love story, because I think it was really rushed. But I ignored that so I could focus on the plot.
I totally agree that this is original without being too try-hard!
I have seen this book around but I have not heard much about it. I'm glad to hear that the author puts a unique spin on Dystopian and gives it a unique approach.
Even though the MC wasn't your favorite, this plotline sounds fantastic. I want to know what the Wheel is and read all the descriptions!
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