Robin South South itibaren Shefer, Israel itibaren Shefer, Israel

Cute book. I like the characters.

This was my first venture into YA fiction since I was a teen and I was beyond surprised. The writing style was smooth and beautifully descriptive; evocative in and of itself on many levels. It certainly didn’t feel as if it was geared toward teens. The emotional depth of this book also blew me away. The character development and the intricacy of the relationships within the book were amazing. And in my estimation, character development is 8/10ths of the battle in good storytelling. In no time at all one is drawn into the Rhine’s story and into her world. The sister wives and Linden serve as strong secondary characters and are all easily believable. I had a hard time putting this one down…it flowed so smoothly and had me so entranced that I just needed to read and read and read. My only criticism would be that the setting, the world itself was not really fully explained to my satisfaction. I am hoping that now that Rhine and Gabriel are out of the compound and in the “real world” that we’ll learn a lot more about it in the sequel Fever. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those who read YA and Adult fiction alike. It’s a great mix of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and a very small smattering of Romance. My only caveat would be not to expect a Dystopia despite the hype to the contrary. DeStefano in no way paints a picture of a controlled society masked as a Utopia. This world is real and gritty and far from perfect in reality or image.