Reviews

An incredible dystopian novel with an exciting premise. This book kept me hooked and invested. The trials that characters are put through are a plot point that I typically enjoy, and I did enjoy them immensely in this book. The characters were lovable and the found family is fantastic. All of the elements that I love in a dystopian novel were present in this one! Go read it!

readliftbooks's review against another edition

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5.0

I'm so glad my bookie-friend recommended this trilogy to me. I just finished Recruitment, and I'm rushing into book 2 "Render". This story might be reminiscent of other dystopian series' we've read, but where it differs most is the relationships between the characters. It's refreshing to see teenagers recognize their differences and work through tough challenges with level heads and maturity. I loved it.

jcborja85's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

redrose95's review against another edition

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DNF 36%

I love a dystopian book and the storyline intrigued me but I just couldn’t get into this. I didn’t feel connected to the characters or really care what was happening as the storyline is too slow.

Maybe I’m an impatient reader or this is to young for my age but I’d rather shelve it as DNF then give it low stars due to forcing my self to read it to the end.

chlocarriere's review

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adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

jenmat1197's review

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3.0

This is a story about Kress. In a dystopian future, Kress and all the other 16 year olds in her town are about to turn 17. Everyone has the same birthday, and on the day they all turn 17, the government comes for them to initiate them into the army. For most of Kress' life the government has been at war with the Eastern Order. Each year, they gather the new 17 year olds, take them away, and they are never heard from again.

This year Kress and her friends will get to see what happens once the government trains you to fight the enemy. They are subject to weeks of training - both physical and mental. They are forced to work together as a group and told they are the key to winning the war. However, the longer the training goes on, the less anything about the war and the situation their country is in make sense. Kress and her friends set out to figure out what is really going on.

This was an okay book. I love dystopian novels, so anytime one is brought to my attention, I want to give it a chance. This one was just okay. It left me with more questions than answers - and not in a good way. Not where you want to see where the next novel is going to answer those questions and continue a really thrilling interesting story. Instead it was more questions about the sense of the story itself and all the plot holes. The book moved slow. The characters weren't very evolved. It just wasn't a great start to a series.

I won't be reading the rest. I am going to let this one go.

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