Book Review: Wasteland

By: Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan
Pages: 352
Release Date: March 26, 2013

Welcome to the Wasteland. Where all the adults are long gone, and now no one lives past the age of nineteen. Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan’s post-apocalyptic debut is the first of a trilogy in which everyone is forced to live under the looming threat of rampant disease and brutal attacks by the Variants —- hermaphroditic outcasts that live on the outskirts of Prin. Esther thinks there’s more to life than toiling at harvesting, gleaning, and excavating, day after day under the relentless sun, just hoping to make it to the next day. But then Caleb, a mysterious stranger, arrives in town, and Esther begins to question who she can trust. As shady pasts unravel into the present and new romances develop, Caleb and Esther realize that they must team together to fight for their lives and for the freedom of Prin.

Rating: 3

Review: I'm not sure weather this book is a full fledged dystopia or if it is only considered post-apocalyptic. I liked this book but it wasn't my favourite. I usually really like dystopia (I don't really understand the difference between post-apocalyptic and dystopia), but this one was meh. Like all books I am sure some people will love it but it just wasn't for me.

I found parts of it confusing. It is written in third person and Ester is the main character. It kept jumping to other characters and we knew what they were thinking and it was hard to follow. In the beginning I was never sure which character we were following. I might just be me who was confused.

Ester became a stronger character as the book progress, she became more mature and brave. This all happened relatively quickly. I not sure why I didn't like the book as much, I don't know maybe it just that I couldn't relate to the characters or something.

I didn't like it as much but I'm sure some people will love it.


DFTBA
-Jane