Welcome to the Wasteland. Where all the adults are long gone, and now no one lives past the age of nineteen...Everyone is forced to live under the looming threat of rampant disease and brutal attacks by the Variants-- hermaphroditic outcasts that live onthe outskirts of Prin. Esther thinks there's more to life than toiling at harvesting, gleaning, and excavating, day after day under the relentless sun, just hoping to make it to the next day. But then Caleb, a mysterious stranger, arrives in town, and Esther begins to question who she can trust. As shady pasts unravel into the present and new romances develop, Caleb and Esther realize that they must team together to fight for their lives and for the freedom of Prin. --Goodreads
First impression: I'm torn about this book. While the premise was great, and the writing was strong, it didn't leave me wanting more as soon as the book ended (unlike Taken or Throne of Glass). This isn't a book I feel compelled to rave about but I would still recommend it.
As you can tell just by looking at the cover and title, this book is set in a post apocalyptic world where only the children survive and anyone over the age of nineteen dies a terrible death. In other words, my kind of story.
The cover is ominous which immediately made me curious as to how depressing this book has the potential to be. It wasn't clear when I started reading, and it took a good fourth of the book before I figured that out.
The Good: The writing, as I mentioned above, is strong. You can't tell that the book has two authors because it flows smoothly (unlike the stories I wrote when I was in middle school with a girl friend). The world the children/young adults live in is terrible and appears to be hopeless. However, they've worked out a system.
The book is split into three parts. I absolutely love it when books are arranged that way. It helps me put the story into perspective and keeps the timeline in focus. Skar is a variant who has a part in this story, a somewhat substantial to the story though she was hardly the focus. I was very happy with this, none too often do the misunderstood "other" characters have a considerable part in the novel. While she didn't have her own chapters, she was, as the "other," seen and represented.
The Bad: It just didn't grab me, or make me want to keep reading. The only reason I finished this book was because I was trying to see how many books I could read in two weeks. (Don't judge me, any reason to read is a legit reason.) Of course I wanted to see Esther be successful but halfway through I just didn't care. I could have lived with out finishing it and been quite all right, thank you very much.
While this wasn't the longest book I've read, 328 pages is still pretty substantial. However, with each new chapter the authors (or publishers, who decides how to organize the book?) left 2/3 of the page blank, which makes me wonder if they were trying to make the book longer and were too lazy to write a few more pages.
The character of Esther and Caleb were very well developed, which meant that the ending was of no surprise whatsoever. I like twists to my reading and there were none.
Final Verdict: I wasn't a huge fan of this book. Although my review has more "The Good" than "The Bad" I think the weight of the two tips the scale in favor of "The Bad." This won't be a story I read again, however, I did also get the second book in the series, Wanderers, so I will continue to read this series. (I'm not going to let any book from my Book Outlet Haul go to waste.)
I'm giving Wasteland two stars because it wasn't a book that will forever hold a dear place in my heart but it was decent and there are many people who would certainly enjoy reading this. If you decide you want to give this book a spin you can click on the image and I'd get a very small portion of the affiliate sale, FYizzle.
As you can tell just by looking at the cover and title, this book is set in a post apocalyptic world where only the children survive and anyone over the age of nineteen dies a terrible death. In other words, my kind of story.
The cover is ominous which immediately made me curious as to how depressing this book has the potential to be. It wasn't clear when I started reading, and it took a good fourth of the book before I figured that out.
The Good: The writing, as I mentioned above, is strong. You can't tell that the book has two authors because it flows smoothly (unlike the stories I wrote when I was in middle school with a girl friend). The world the children/young adults live in is terrible and appears to be hopeless. However, they've worked out a system.
At fifteen, they marry. At seventeen, they reproduce, and at nineteen, they die.I love that the children/young adults found a way to thrive without adults. Stories about strong young people fill me with hope. Too often adults do not take children seriously. This book portrayed tough young people, people that can take care of themselves. As a Teen Library Assistant, this gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, knowing that there's another book out there that young people can aspire to be like the characters.
The book is split into three parts. I absolutely love it when books are arranged that way. It helps me put the story into perspective and keeps the timeline in focus. Skar is a variant who has a part in this story, a somewhat substantial to the story though she was hardly the focus. I was very happy with this, none too often do the misunderstood "other" characters have a considerable part in the novel. While she didn't have her own chapters, she was, as the "other," seen and represented.
The Bad: It just didn't grab me, or make me want to keep reading. The only reason I finished this book was because I was trying to see how many books I could read in two weeks. (Don't judge me, any reason to read is a legit reason.) Of course I wanted to see Esther be successful but halfway through I just didn't care. I could have lived with out finishing it and been quite all right, thank you very much.
While this wasn't the longest book I've read, 328 pages is still pretty substantial. However, with each new chapter the authors (or publishers, who decides how to organize the book?) left 2/3 of the page blank, which makes me wonder if they were trying to make the book longer and were too lazy to write a few more pages.
The character of Esther and Caleb were very well developed, which meant that the ending was of no surprise whatsoever. I like twists to my reading and there were none.
Final Verdict: I wasn't a huge fan of this book. Although my review has more "The Good" than "The Bad" I think the weight of the two tips the scale in favor of "The Bad." This won't be a story I read again, however, I did also get the second book in the series, Wanderers, so I will continue to read this series. (I'm not going to let any book from my Book Outlet Haul go to waste.)
I'm giving Wasteland two stars because it wasn't a book that will forever hold a dear place in my heart but it was decent and there are many people who would certainly enjoy reading this. If you decide you want to give this book a spin you can click on the image and I'd get a very small portion of the affiliate sale, FYizzle.
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