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bookph1le's review
4.0
An interestingly literary take on the YA dystopian genre, but I'd have liked to see a little more development of certain aspects of the book.
bewitchedandbewildered's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing!!! OMG there were so many plot twists that i never saw coming and OMG characters were changing... intentions were changing. The last couple of chapters were super surprising and im praying for a sequel even though i have no idea how thats going to happen. Could not put it down because it was that AMAZING!!! This is a dystopian story following Becca who is the daughter of one of the top names in processing. Her mom's job is to capture dissidents (people who threaten the government) and most of the time kill them. Throughout the novel Becca challenges her initial principles and learns to fight for what she believes in.
mapally's review against another edition
4.0
This is a story of a dystopian society that has created a dictatorship in that only if you go with the status quo and pose no resistance to the government, are are allowed to live. The main character is Becca, a teenage girl in high school, who suddenly has her eyes opened as to what is really happening and the constant undercurrents in her life that can change everything she knows overnight.
I was enthralled with the story and it kept me very engaged to read the next line and find out what happen's next. I must say that some parts of the book felt like I was reading a history book from WWII. The expected blind allegiance to whatever propaganda the government disperses, has certainly occurred in our world's history. Becca's desire to ask questions and think for herself has caused her to question if maybe she is a "dissident" as well. There are multiple layers of deception and coersive behavior demonstrated throughout the book.
The bottom line is who do you trust and is it worth losing yourself and those you love in the process?
I received this book as a DRC from the author for an honest review.
I was enthralled with the story and it kept me very engaged to read the next line and find out what happen's next. I must say that some parts of the book felt like I was reading a history book from WWII. The expected blind allegiance to whatever propaganda the government disperses, has certainly occurred in our world's history. Becca's desire to ask questions and think for herself has caused her to question if maybe she is a "dissident" as well. There are multiple layers of deception and coersive behavior demonstrated throughout the book.
The bottom line is who do you trust and is it worth losing yourself and those you love in the process?
I received this book as a DRC from the author for an honest review.
vikingwolf's review against another edition
3.0
*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*
Becca's mother is the top state interrogator and hopes her daughter will also want to work for Internal. But when Becca's best friend Heather begs her to help prove that her parents are not enemies of the State, Becca starts to spy on her mother, suspecting her of arranging false confessions which cause innocent people to be tortured.
Becca is a good character. She is honest and loyal, refusing to believe that Heather and her parents are the enemy, even when the whole school is against them. You can imagine how you would feel if your best friends parents were in this kind of trouble and you would want to help or believe it was all a mistake. Becca's snooping and her unguarded comments to her mother and friends is showing dissident traits which could see her executed if she is reported but she won't abandon her principles for an easier life, even if it is safer. I found Heather to be frustrating and a bit too changable to like but her character again is well written. When Jake comes on the scene, you are never too sure about him or his motivations which adds a bit of interest. The character that interested me the most was Becca's mother as we see different sides to her through the book that I liked. She is afraid of her daughter's behaviour and has to juggle loyalty to her with the demands of her job. She was complex and fun to read about and I think Becca's view of her mother is a bit unfair at times.
The book flows nicely with no big info dumps or pointless descriptions. It is simple and effective character based storytelling which I like to see in a book. I also felt that the length of the book was just right. Adding more to it may have made the book feel too slow and having less would have resulted in missing out on the complex evolving of each character. It is good to see the author get the balance right.
Plot wise, I liked the twists and turns as you are never quite sure what is going to be coming next. It gives you a real idea of what it would be like to live in this suspicious world where everyone is watching you to see that you conform to the government way of thinking. At the same time, the setting for the book is very much like the present day which lets the reader imagine that this could actually happen to them and lets them relate to the characters and their struggles. I like that the characters are flawed and make bad decisions.
Overall this was a good novella/short book for YA and adult fans of dystopian books. No sexual scenes or f bombs every page.
Becca's mother is the top state interrogator and hopes her daughter will also want to work for Internal. But when Becca's best friend Heather begs her to help prove that her parents are not enemies of the State, Becca starts to spy on her mother, suspecting her of arranging false confessions which cause innocent people to be tortured.
Becca is a good character. She is honest and loyal, refusing to believe that Heather and her parents are the enemy, even when the whole school is against them. You can imagine how you would feel if your best friends parents were in this kind of trouble and you would want to help or believe it was all a mistake. Becca's snooping and her unguarded comments to her mother and friends is showing dissident traits which could see her executed if she is reported but she won't abandon her principles for an easier life, even if it is safer. I found Heather to be frustrating and a bit too changable to like but her character again is well written. When Jake comes on the scene, you are never too sure about him or his motivations which adds a bit of interest. The character that interested me the most was Becca's mother as we see different sides to her through the book that I liked. She is afraid of her daughter's behaviour and has to juggle loyalty to her with the demands of her job. She was complex and fun to read about and I think Becca's view of her mother is a bit unfair at times.
The book flows nicely with no big info dumps or pointless descriptions. It is simple and effective character based storytelling which I like to see in a book. I also felt that the length of the book was just right. Adding more to it may have made the book feel too slow and having less would have resulted in missing out on the complex evolving of each character. It is good to see the author get the balance right.
Plot wise, I liked the twists and turns as you are never quite sure what is going to be coming next. It gives you a real idea of what it would be like to live in this suspicious world where everyone is watching you to see that you conform to the government way of thinking. At the same time, the setting for the book is very much like the present day which lets the reader imagine that this could actually happen to them and lets them relate to the characters and their struggles. I like that the characters are flawed and make bad decisions.
Overall this was a good novella/short book for YA and adult fans of dystopian books. No sexual scenes or f bombs every page.
jen286's review against another edition
2.0
This book was just okay. It wasn't bad and I didn't really have anything I hated about it or would complain about it, but I didn't really like it either and I am not sure why. I did enjoy that there wasn't really a love story, and I did find the subject interesting, yet it did not hold my attention very well. I read it on a long flight and I kept putting it aside as I would get distracted. I have been thinking about it for a few days trying to figure out what it is that made it so unremarkable for me and I cannot pinpoint what it is. Really when I try and think of what actually happened in the story it takes me a while even though I didn't read it very long ago. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Becca also was a little...I just didn't really care what happened to her. Yeah it was just an okay book.
emjay24's review against another edition
3.0
This was the third book that came in an anthology I'm reading. This one is set in a kind of big brother is watching type figure. The main girl is the daughter of one of the head torturers at the government. Any person can report on anyone else if they say or even seem to think something wrong. These people are called dissidents, then tortured for confessions and publicly executed. TV has executions running basically all the time. When our main girl's best friend's parents are executed by her mom as dissidents, she starts to question her whole world view. The main problem with this book is how rash she is. She's supposed to have lived in a world like this her whole life yet she runs around like no one can see her, doing things that obviously put her and others in danger. This is the first in a series but I doubt I'll continue it. It works pretty well as a stand alone book anyway. Even though the mom wasn't focused on much as an individual character, she was my favorite since you could catch a glimpse of some complicated thoughts and what she must be going through inside.
turtleonmars's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, this was a good book. But I'm a little concern on how flat Heather seemed. Sure, her parents were killed, but
amysoup's review against another edition
4.0
Becca lives in a dystopian society that takes disagreement with the regime very seriously. Her mother works in an information gathering center where dissidents are processed and confessions are gathered to uncover conspiracies that might threaten the fabric of their society. Everything is fine until Becca's friend Heather's parents are revealed to be dissidents who end up with Becca's mom in processing.
I thought this was a well written and well edited book. I didn't find any annoying typos or grammatical problems. I thought the characters were well described and remained true to their personalities the whole book. I particularly liked the conflict with Becca's mom in that she was likeable as Becca's mom but her personality as a processor was warped and you could tell she could be a very terrible person at work.
I wanted to know more about why the society and the regime was the way it was. What happened? Was there a war? A terrorist attack? What brought our world as we know it to the one in which Becca lives? I wanted to know where Becca lived. America? Canada? The cliff hanger ending left me confused as well. I couldn't be sure what Becca was up to.
I thought this was a well written and well edited book. I didn't find any annoying typos or grammatical problems. I thought the characters were well described and remained true to their personalities the whole book. I particularly liked the conflict with Becca's mom in that she was likeable as Becca's mom but her personality as a processor was warped and you could tell she could be a very terrible person at work.
I wanted to know more about why the society and the regime was the way it was. What happened? Was there a war? A terrorist attack? What brought our world as we know it to the one in which Becca lives? I wanted to know where Becca lived. America? Canada? The cliff hanger ending left me confused as well. I couldn't be sure what Becca was up to.
mariegrim's review against another edition
2.0
This story had potential, but... The characters were flat, naive and unconvincing. The world that should have been a dystopia, felt like normal day USA except every now and then some people would disappear. The story didn't come close to live up to it's dark title. But I might still read the next book. It was quick and easy entertainment, and I'm a bit curious if there might be more to the world, though probably not.