The Quick Cut: A girl discovers that their perfect society isn't what it seems and ends up on the run with her BFF attempting to find the truth and escape.
A Real Review:
Thank you to Inkshares for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
All their lives, Patricia has felt safe and happy within the well confined walls of America. Having walled the whole country off from the rest of the world, it has claimed to rid itself of corruption, bad influences, and dealt with the problem of crime in the years since it has begun its isolation. This is the only reality she has ever known from the moment she was born and has enjoyed her life with her best friend Rexx. They work together in the Natural Resource Department to confirm the toxicity of the soil, water, and other environmental factors in the multiple areas around the country. Due to this work, they have plenty of access and freedom within the closely monitored system they live within. Its in one of these less monitored moments they discover a van from before America created the walls - and the truth of how their current society came to exist.
This story starts out strong and quickly turns into a very frightening tale of how protection can easily be distorted into complete control and manipulation of a people. The world created by the author is so real you can taste it as its painted as this lovely, equality based society where everyone has a place to be, health coverage, and a job. It doesn't take long before that mirage is twisted into what it really is: that these people are a select few from those who were originally here, the age of those who live is much shorter than it used to be, and the "rehabilitation" of those who don't follow the society's rules isn't nearly as heroic as they make it seem.
Patricia, known as Patch, starts out as a believer in the system. Her world was perfect and she loved her place in America until that van appeared and than Rexx spilled his guts on what he knew to be shortly after. Everything about what she believed in falls apart and all she can do is run forward or face the consequences of going against the Board in control of America now. Realizing that your entire life is a fabricated lie is huge and somehow she takes it entirely in stride in a way thats almost unbelievable.
I had a lot of nit picky issues the more I read this book. There are moments where I started to tune out because the story got a bit slow and the section at the end felt very rushed to me. WIthout giving away too much - I had an issue with that last interaction between Patch and Rexx. I don't get where Rexx comes to that conclusion and it bugs me that's what he would say. Really? I don't agree here and that's going to bother me awhile.
With a dark story that sheds light into what it would be like to live in a country with boundaries, this book successfully scares and delights readers by bringing them into the lives of Patch and Rexx.
My rating: 4 out of 5