Overall people felt the timing was appropriate, the premise for the book is good, however the writing lacks sophistication and the characters needed to be developed further. The group also felt the torture and brutality could have been toned down and did not add to the book.





The book is timely with the current political upheaval in the US. The parallel to the current political environment and election can be found in chapter 17, page 148, “I know what happened, but I don’t understand how it happened,” Jamilla said. Carol’s voice rose, “It happened because of fear: people were afraid of terrorism, disgusted with ineffective government, and didn’t want to be involved in the process. They let the Christian fundamentalists worm themselves into power, first at local county levels, then state and finally the national level. Everyone laughed at them, thinking that if, by some fluke, they did win the elections, they wouldn’t carry through, and even if they did gain control, our lives wouldn’t be affected. And we woke up to this nightmare!

The connections to Margaret Atwood’s book, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and George Orwell’s, 1984 is evident.

The first half of the book is somewhat more interesting than the back half as you are introduced to and become familiar with the characters and theme. The second half seems to lose purpose and instead is filled with unbelievable brutality such as the public hanging and stoning, that is preceded by horrific torturing of those imprisoned.

The writing is simplistic characteristic of young adult style, and fragmented. The characters are only partially developed, making it difficult to understand their lives, thoughts and motivations. Felix is the most developed as a character with a strong sense of obligation, compassion, values long lasting friendships and has an understanding between right and wrong, even though her life lacked love, and was filled with brutality from an early age.