Monday, September 3, 2012

The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse


Series: The Forsaken trilogy (bk. 1)

Genera: Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: Survival, islands, resistance to government, fascism, prisons

Length: 375 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $16.99

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Summary/ product description: “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.”

My Rating: êêêê

My Review: This book turned out to be better than expected. I’ve seen some bad reviews, and I was starting to think I was going to be disappointed. The Forsaken is kind of like Catching Fire, Lord of The Flies, and The Maze Runner put together, with a little bit of Lost. And also reminds me is Witch & Wizard, Harka reminds me of the One Who Is The One.

This story is very much a survival story. There’s not much romance, but there is a lot of friendship. And there are lots of trust issues between the village people. They think David’s a spy, Alenna was sure he wasn’t. There the Monk, who the drones worship. The Wheel is a totally crazy island either somewhere in the Caribbean, or maybe Hawaii.

There’s a lot of mystery about the island’s true intentions and why they were sent there. There’s a place called the Gray Zone, and they find some pecular things there. The Wheel is a very dangerous place, and bad surprises lurk everywhere. If you’re looking for a thrilling survival story/mystery/dystopian, then check out the Forsaken.

Cover Art Review: Somebody called this a “dust cover.” It is pretty interesting. Looks like it was done in charcoal. Makes me think of a math or science text book from the 70s or 80s. Does anyone else get the retro-text book vibe? Or record album cover. It also reminds me on the covers from The Chemical Garden Trilogy. All the connections and stuff. I’m not sure what design era it’s mimicking. Art Deco is geometric, but in the late 60s, and 70s there was a lot of art like this.



~Haley G

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