A review by kittlyn
Captives by Jill Williamson
4.0
It's a YA Dystopian (much to my delight), and it's definitely a new genre from Jill. Just let me start off by saying, it is absolutely AMAZING. The characters are delightful. And it's Christian! Perfect, right?
Okay, so it's based off of the book of Daniel (from the Bible, yes). There's a video about where she got the idea from. And it's incredible. I mean, to take inspiration from one of the most famous stories in the Bible, set it in a future world that's like a cross from Uglies (by Scott Westserfeld) and Hunger Games (If you don't know who wrote this series, shame on you) is pure genius!
For me, this story made me think. How would I react to being snatched from my very home, forced to live with and around people who treated me as nothing more than their golden ticket to healthy humanity? Would I be as calm as these characters were? Would I have enough trust in God and the one or two guys that weren't taken to save me and what was left of my friends and family? The truth is, probably not.
I mean, think about it. These are teens and young adults. They were just captured by people who hadn't bothered them before, but still treated them as if they were the ones who were sick. I'd be pulling a Naomi around those people. They call me shell and I pour sweet, acidy sarcasm all over their dried up corpses. "Well, excuse you. I'm not the one who looks like dry desert dirt painted to portray an Easter egg, thankyouverymuch."
I'd also most likely be killed.
But, hey, at least I'd have told them, right?
This is getting off topic. I have too many good things to say about this and I'm about to just tell y'all what happens if I don't shut up. So, moving on.
I didn't like that there was so much from Omar's point of view. I mean, I get that it's what was needed. She had to show us what it was like in the Safe Lands, and not just . . . I wonder if that counts as spoilers. Meh. I just didn't like that there was a pretty big gap of Mason. I had a bond with Mason before I even opened the book, and it's totally not because Bethany told me I would. I'm not sure why, because he's not the eldest (Levi is). But I'm not sure if he's the youngest or the middle child. I don't think it was ever specified. And if it was, I'll feel really stupid.
I felt bad for Omar, because he seemed to be really messed up in the head. But I didn't really care much for him. I just couldn't make myself like him much. I couldn't really like Levi much either. Or their father. He was emotionally abusive. I didn't feel bad at all when *Censored for spoilers*
So, yeah. It was great. There's even a bi-polar lady. Okay, so she's probably not bi-polar, but she acts like it sometimes. I ship her and Mason. *wink* I'm always shipping crazy people with sane people. It's a lot of fun.
Okay, this post is getting long. I've lost half of y'all, haven't I? I'M SORRY I RAMBLE.
Anywaaaaaaay . . .
I give this 4.5 stars. The only thing that really bothered me was the lack of more Mason. I'm going to end this here by saying you need to get it.
Okay, so it's based off of the book of Daniel (from the Bible, yes). There's a video about where she got the idea from. And it's incredible. I mean, to take inspiration from one of the most famous stories in the Bible, set it in a future world that's like a cross from Uglies (by Scott Westserfeld) and Hunger Games (If you don't know who wrote this series, shame on you) is pure genius!
For me, this story made me think. How would I react to being snatched from my very home, forced to live with and around people who treated me as nothing more than their golden ticket to healthy humanity? Would I be as calm as these characters were? Would I have enough trust in God and the one or two guys that weren't taken to save me and what was left of my friends and family? The truth is, probably not.
I mean, think about it. These are teens and young adults. They were just captured by people who hadn't bothered them before, but still treated them as if they were the ones who were sick. I'd be pulling a Naomi around those people. They call me shell and I pour sweet, acidy sarcasm all over their dried up corpses. "Well, excuse you. I'm not the one who looks like dry desert dirt painted to portray an Easter egg, thankyouverymuch."
I'd also most likely be killed.
But, hey, at least I'd have told them, right?
This is getting off topic. I have too many good things to say about this and I'm about to just tell y'all what happens if I don't shut up. So, moving on.
I didn't like that there was so much from Omar's point of view. I mean, I get that it's what was needed. She had to show us what it was like in the Safe Lands, and not just . . . I wonder if that counts as spoilers. Meh. I just didn't like that there was a pretty big gap of Mason. I had a bond with Mason before I even opened the book, and it's totally not because Bethany told me I would. I'm not sure why, because he's not the eldest (Levi is). But I'm not sure if he's the youngest or the middle child. I don't think it was ever specified. And if it was, I'll feel really stupid.
I felt bad for Omar, because he seemed to be really messed up in the head. But I didn't really care much for him. I just couldn't make myself like him much. I couldn't really like Levi much either. Or their father. He was emotionally abusive. I didn't feel bad at all when *Censored for spoilers*
So, yeah. It was great. There's even a bi-polar lady. Okay, so she's probably not bi-polar, but she acts like it sometimes. I ship her and Mason. *wink* I'm always shipping crazy people with sane people. It's a lot of fun.
Okay, this post is getting long. I've lost half of y'all, haven't I? I'M SORRY I RAMBLE.
Anywaaaaaaay . . .
I give this 4.5 stars. The only thing that really bothered me was the lack of more Mason. I'm going to end this here by saying you need to get it.