Kimberly's Novel Notes: Forsaken; by Lisa M. Stasse

Grade: 4 Butterflies

Name: The Forsaken (The Forsaken #1)
Author: Lisa M. Stasse
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Pages: Hardcover, 375

Goodreads summary

As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.

The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

I have wanted to read this book since it came out in hardcover. Sadly for me my library didn't have it and I wouldn't buy the hardcover. And since I heard some good things about this book It was a really anxious wait for it to release in paperback. But when It finally did I snatched it up and ran home and read it. And it was really good!! This plot was outstanding! There was a few things that made me bump it down to 4 Butterflies, but overall it was great.

First off this plot was so amazing!! It's a captivating and haunting tail that never lets you not think about it. It is so addicting that you stay up way to late just to finish it. It was so good! At first you think it's a normal dystopian, in that dystopian mold that we all know. And than BAM!! Everybody starts dying and your on the edge of your seat prying that character won't die next. And it's not just a action story. The author flawlessly adds this mystery in it that adds to the plot even more and if possible makes it better.

My favorite part was towards the end when it started getting this creepy eerie like a mix of Lost and the Cube movies. And when it's 1:00 at night it freaks you out. That part was amazing and amazingly written! It was a little freaky to read, but still so good!!

I can go on and on about the greatness of this plot, but to not bore you guys lets go on with the things I didn't like. One of the downsides for this book where the characters. They where good, but they weren't anything that blew me away. And half the time I didn't know if I liked or if I was annoyed by them. This is mostly with the Main Character. In the end I don't think it was her I was annoyed at, it was how every chance the author got she made sure to highlight how far Alenna has grown. How what a strong character she now is. It was a little annoying, especially since I didn't really see all much development in her character. However, the author did this in a subtle way and I didn't really noticed it until I finished the book and looked back.

The thing that was most annoying was the Insta-Love in this book. I always have good tolerance for Insta-love in books. Sometimes I even like them. But not even two weeks passed when they where in the village together, but they are suppose to love each other. She was alone with him for about 3 scenes. We, as a reader, never really got to know him. It was like the author just wanted her to have a love interest, so she threw in Liam at the last minute.

I think if there was more depth to the romance & characters in this book it would have been so great!! Even without that the plot pulled it's weight and made me still love the book. I mean this plot was gold! It was outstanding! This plot was one of the bests I have ever read! It's that good. I would recommend this to any dyestopian fan or paranormal fan.

This book got...

4 Butterflies

Beloved, This is a really good book.