i really liked this book even though I feel that the sickness wiping out most of the population is an over used concept, it was a very good book. I feel like the ending was rather sudden and didn't make much sense, i felt like the author dug himself into a hole he couldn't get out of, so he ended the book in a confusing way making little to know sense. I hope there's a sequel explaining the ending. I would definetly reccomend this book to a friend but I can't bring myself to givee it more than 3 stars. Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: This book had problems, certain ones that made me want to throttle one of the characters. However, the plot twists and turns kept me interested enough to read on and I ended up enjoying it.Opening Sentence: It’s another gorgeous Spring day after the fall of civilization.The Review:Meet the group of Washington Square, survivors of a disease that killed all but those in their teenage years. When you reach 18, though, you fall pray to it. When Jefferson and Donna, along with three other friends, find that the disease originated close by, they go on a mission to find a cure. Of course, people and things will get in their way. Some of their group will die. All of their group will kill to get to where they need to be. And possibly, they might save the world.The Young World has a plot that is generally very used up. Disease kills everything, only a few survivors left, trying to survive, the whole shabang. They even have, like in Partials, girls that are unable to produce children. For the first half of this book I was vaguely interested but not extremely invested because of how often this dystopia crops up. As more and more happens, I enjoyed it, but still felt some essential element missing. Maybe it was character development. Most of the characters, at the start of the book, are the same people they were at the end. Give or take a few. For those that did change, it wasn’t a gradual one; rather, it was like a switch was flicked. I’m his friend, I love him, at the slightest provocation — and then for the rest of the book it didn’t waver.Something that was unique about the story was the way it was narrated. Jefferson has a strong grasp on his values and beliefs, and had a voice that spoke them all. I have to say that I could relate to Jefferson more because, well… Donna talks like girls. You know how in this era girls will say “do you, like, want food?” Adding likes and whatnot? The likes are added into her part and you do not notice how annoying it is for a thousand likes on every page until you’re reading through it. If I sound like that then heaven help the people who aren’t used to it (though I hope that by reading my vocabulary is a little more advanced)! She even has a little speech at the beginning about why, like, it isn’t such a bad word, like, you know, it helps relate stuff and, like, yeah. I respected her more towards the end as her actions overpower how she narrates, but at the beginning, nada.The other characters were also interesting with original personalities. I really enjoyed Brainbox who managed to make me laugh once or twice with his awkward social skills. Brainbox is a super smart boy with a knack for building generators and understanding science that no one else begins to get. He’s the kind of guy who pieces together everything about fifty pages before everyone else and when he realizes they haven’t got it yet, helps to clue them in. The next is SeeThrough, a little ninja who is small but powerful. Her father used to run a karate business, so she might look puny but she knows how to defend herself. And then Peter. I really loved Peter. He’s gay and proud, and also made me giggle a few times. Donna is closest to him of the group.Altogether? The Young World was a pretty good book, worth a read if you can stand three million “likes” in a chapter. The plotline wasn’t very original, but twists and turns kept me guessing and interested enough to continue reading. The ending was sped up more than the rest, giving me a rushed feel that didn’t give me the closure I wanted. I even didn’t understand at first what was happening — then I reread. Yes, I liked this book. Yes, there are things that could have been changed. Things that were done super well was the complicated plot and world-building. Also, I could always tell which character was narrating. Improvement could have been added to character development (make it more gradual), and the ending. And of course, the likes.Notable Scene:I look down at the slice of roast in front of me.The roast is an oblong hunk of meat, browned at the edges, sweating pink juice onto a platter. The smell that rises from it is sublime.My mouth waters as I gag.“You could say that about other taboos,” says Alpha.Then, a moment before the part that I call “I” can say it, I realize I am looking at a cooked human thigh.FTC Advisory: Little Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette Book Group provided me with a copy of The Young World. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
What do You think about Overlevers (2014)?
This kind of reminds e of the TV series The Tribe...If it half as good I'm totally biting!
—ginge
