Liz Loves Books.Com.

Publication Date: 22nd July 2014 from St Martins Griffin.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy via netgalley.

Welcome to Extraction testing.”
Clementine has spent her whole life preparing for her sixteenth birthday, when she’ll be tested for Extraction in the hopes of being sent from the planet Kiel’s toxic Surface to the much safer Core, where people live without fear or starvation. When she proves promising enough to be “Extracted,” she must leave without Logan, the boy she loves. Torn apart from her only sense of family, Clem promises to come back and save him from brutal Surface life.

And here we are again with yet more awesome Young Adult fiction, another terrific start to what is going to be a series, and this was a fast and furiously addictive read with a heck of a lot of edge of the seat action alongside some quieter and more contemplative moments where the characters shine through. Brilliant.

Ok its true that I’m a bit of a sucker for this type of novel – my No 1 read of last year was “Red Rising” and I’m a huge Hunger Games fan, so this hit the spot very nicely for me and will definitely draw in its target audience and give them something to love. The author manages to walk the line between the “greatest hits” if you like of young adult dystopia and some new and improved idea’s then pulls it all together in a wonderful way. Well constructed and well written it was a pretty perfect start.

I was rather fond of Clem. She muddles through but always has one focus – Save Logan – and I liked that the author avoided the terrible cliche of a love triangle. There are some well known plot lines here – the test at a certain age to see where you fit if, the eden that is not as it first appears and the evil dictator who seems benevolent at first glance – but its all wrapped up in a tremendously clever premise, and I enjoyed it all thoroughly. Without giving too much away, I thought the set up was excellent to prepare us for what is to come, the ending leaves you wanting more but also completes the current tale and wraps up enough that you are satisfied. The heart of the story is intelligent and well drawn and it is a definite page turner.

Overall a great read and yep I’m on board for the whole of this series wherever it may go. There is much to discover…

Happy Reading Folks!