Three by Kristen Simmons

Series: Article 5 (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi/Romance

Subjects: resistance to government, fugitives, survival, totalitarian dictatorships, near future

Setting: The east coast

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, past tense, Ember Miller

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 380 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: MacMillan: Tor

Summary/ product description: “Ember Miller and Chase Jennings are ready to stop running. After weeks spent in hiding as two of the Bureau of Reformation’s most wanted criminals, they have finally arrived at the safe house, where they hope to live a safe and quiet existence.

And all that’s left is smoking ruins.

Devastated by the demolition of their last hope, Ember and Chase follow the only thing left to them—tracks leading away from the wreckage. The only sign that there may have been survivors.

With their high profile, they know they can’t stay out in the open for long. They take shelter in the wilderness and amidst the ruins of abandoned cities as they follow the tracks down the coast, eventually finding refugees from the destroyed safe house. Among them is someone from Chase’s past—someone he never thought he’d see again.

Banding together, they search for a place to hide, aiming for a settlement a few of them have heard about…a settlement that is rumored to house the nebulous organization known as Three. The very group that has provided Ember with a tiny ray of hope ever since she was first forced on the run.

Three is responsible for the huge network of underground safe houses and resistance groups across the country. And they may offer Ember her only chance at telling the world her story.

At fighting back.”

My Review:  Three is the final book in the Article 5 trilogy. The second book was Breaking Point. This series is near-future dystopian, set after a war caused our government to switch to a totalitarian dictatorship. There are strict laws about marriage and having children. Article 5 is specifically about any child born out of wedlock. Since Ember had a single mom, Ember is considered an Article 5 violation. Her mother was killed in the previous book for this and this set Ember out on her journey.

This series also has some hot romance. I loved Chase, Ember’s love interest. He reminds me of Tobias/Four from Divergent. He’s tough, protective and care so much about Ember. He treats her right and respects her. He used to be a solider, but he’s a fugitive like Ember. In this book they take their relationship further. No love triangles, no break-ups & make-ups.

I like some of the side characters too. Sean was really funny. He liked to joke around. He and Rebecca were together. I liked Tucker, despite his issues. In the previous book I liked him too. I think he really redeemed himself in the end.

This book had its bad points too. I got bored a lot because it was moving kind of slow. It didn’t really speed up till around page 150. There was action and adventure. They went to different state in the eastern US. They went in disguise. They met new people. They stayed in a town called Endurance. That part was pretty interesting. I just had a hard time ready everything. Some pages I skimmed. I feel like I’ve been in such a reading slump. Maybe I should have refreshed myself on what happened in the previous book first.

I recommend this series to fans of Divergent, Shatter Me, Delirium, Eve, and other dystopian series. This series in much more realistic and believable that other dystopian books. It has very little sci-fi, no advanced tech or paranormal stuff. No environmental changes. It’s just war stuff.

Cover Art Review: Looks like a window and Ember and Chase are looking at what’s going on outside. It fits with the previous covers. Also, Nekro is an awesome cover illustrator.  

Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Series: Article 5 (bk. 2)

Genera: Sci-fi Dystopian

Subjects: resistance to government, fugitives, orphans

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 398 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: TorTeen

Summary/ product description: “The second installment in Kristen Simmons's fast-paced, gripping YA dystopian series.
After faking their deaths to escape from prison, Ember Miller and Chase Jennings have only one goal: to lay low until the Federal Bureau of Reformation forgets they ever existed.

Near-celebrities now for the increasingly sensationalized tales of their struggles with the government, Ember and Chase are recognized and taken in by the Resistance—an underground organization working to systematically take down the government. At headquarters, all eyes are on the sniper, an anonymous assassin taking out FBR soldiers one by one. Rumors are flying about the sniper’s true identity, and Ember and Chase welcome the diversion….
Until the government posts its most-wanted list, and their number one suspect is Ember herself.
Orders are shoot to kill, and soldiers are cleared to fire on suspicion alone. Suddenly Ember can’t even step onto the street without fear of being recognized, and “laying low” is a joke. Even members of the Resistance are starting to look at her sideways.
With Chase urging her to run, Ember must decide: Go into hiding…or fight back?”

My Rating: êêê1/2

My Review: I don’t know why I didn’t enjoy this book as much as Article 5. Probably because I was in the wrong mood for dystopian, or stressed about school work. It’s just hard to get into a book when there’s so much on your mind. I finished it anyways. It’s kind of hard to review a book when you can’t remember everything that happen or how it felt, but I’ll try.

It was well written, and has great characters. The second half of the book was more exciting. And they go to Chicago! So, maybe the sequel was not as good as the 1^st book, but it’s probably pretty close. There’s no love triangle and Chase is awesome as ever. Tucker’s back, and Ember hates him. He kind of grew on me though. He’s done bad things, but he deserves a chance to help.

So, Ember is being framed as the Sniper. She can’t really shoot a gun, so she clearly isn’t. She gets a disguise, though. Changes her hair, dresses up. It’s a smart idea. And Chase puts on the soldier uniform again. They go on a mission to pick up a “package” and don’t get recognized!  They’re in Knoxville, still. There’s a safe house in a motel. There’s some new and old characters. Cara’s there and she’s so funny and sassy. Something happens to the motel, and Chase, Ember and Sean go to Chicago to find Rebecca. The Chicago part was the most interesting because I actually am from Chicagoland.

So, even if the book seems to drag on in parts, there’s still a lot of action and romance. There’s some gruesome scenes too, and sad parts. I recommend this series if you like resistance and survival dystopias like Legend, Delirium, Divergent, Shatter Me, or Eve.

Cover Art Review: I love the illustrations that Nekro does! This cover it amazing. It took a lot of work to make the city look ruined and deserted. I’m pretty sure the city is supposed to be Chicago because all the sky-scrapers and that bridge looks vaguely familiar. (Does it go over the Chicago River, maybe?) And the back cover with the wanted poster is awesome.

 

~Haley G

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Publisher: Tor Teen

Series: Article 5 (bk. 1)

Genera: Sci-fi Dystopian

Subjects: Resistance to Government, dictatorships

Length: 362 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

Summary/ product description: “New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police — instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior — instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested don’t usually come back.

17-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. That life in the United States used to be different.

In the three years since the war ended, Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the Federal Bureau of Reformation. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what’s worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings… the only boy Ember has ever loved.”

My Rating: ê ê ê ê

My Review: This book was a fast-paced, action-packed, gripping read. Totally not what I expected from a book I just found out about. It had adventure too. Ember and Chase did a lot of traveling. I love it when the characters are on the road. You never know what to expect. There’s always a twist and turn where ever the go. A lot happened in this book, and I wanted to savor it, so it took a few days. The chapters are kind of long, but the pages fly by once you get into it. And Chase…he is just an amazing complex character! He is like Alex from Angelburn or Alex from Delirium (haha Alexes). I can’t explain it, so read it!

Cover Art Review: I really thing the photoshopping here is excellent. I does look like a bombed out city. A the reversed-out title is pretty cool.


~Haley G

The Fire by James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown

Series: Witch & Wizard (bk. 3)

Genera: Fantasy, dystopian, sci-fi, paranormal

Subjects: Brothers and sisters, magic, plagues, abilities, totalitarian dictatorships

Length: 328 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

Summary/ product description: “YOU WANT A FAIRY TALE, DON'T YOU?
Whit and Wisty Allgood have sacrificed everything to lead the resistance against the merciless totalitarian regime that governs their world. Its supreme leader, The One Who Is The One, has banned everything they hold dear: books, music, art, and imagination. But the growing strength of the siblings' magic hasn't been enough to stop the One's evil rampage, and now he's executed the only family they had left.

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FIND ONE HERE.
Wisty knows that the time has finally come for her to face The One. But her fight and her fire only channel more power to this already invincible being. How can she and Whit possibly prepare for their imminent showdown with the ruthless villain that devastated their world-before he can truly become all-powerful?

THERE IS NO HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
In this stunning third installment of the epic Witch & Wizard series, the stakes have never been higher—and the consequences will change everything.”

My Rating: ê ê ê ê ê

My Review: James Patterson certainly know how to mix humor, fast-paced action, and magic with a horrible evil, and a scary society. This dystopian story has some thing in common with other ones, but is still vastly different in how it’s executed. This 3^rd book it just as good as the 1^st two. It’s in present tense, so how feel like it’s happening and you don’t want to stop because you got to find out what happens next. I’m a huge fan off James’ Maximum Ride series, and this series seems to pull some of the best stuff out of both MR and Daniel X, but with a dystopian twist and magic.

I love how JP changes the names of book series, TV shows, Celebs and other stuff in pop culture just slightly that it’s easy to guess who or what he means. In the back of the book they have all the banned thing and It’s fun to read those. It’s scary to think one guy could just take over the country and take away everything we ever loved. I doubt that could really happen, but you never know. This guy is worse than Communism or Hitler. This guy is against art and culture, not just one people, but all.

Read this series. You won’t regret it. Especially if you love dystopian fiction.

Cover Art Review: Not to fond of the big letters, but like the fire and the girl even if the are on a big F for failure. lol

~Haley G