Genre: YA Dystopian
Published: January 31, 2012 by Tor Teen
Series: #1 (Article 5)
Length: 362 Pages
Source: bought (at Barnes & Noble)
“New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.
The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.
There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don’t come back.
Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.
Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.
That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.”
Yes it’s your typical ya dystopian where a new set of rules exists and world is in chaos. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. Article 5 is about Ember, a 17 year old, who’s mother was taken by the MM (the soldiers) because she has violated an article. Which article you ask? Why, article 5 of course. What’s shocking though is the soldier who took her mother is none other than her best friend/lover/hot/sexy Chase Jennings. That’s what intrigued me and got me turning the pages. Why the heck did Chase do that to his own best friend’s mother?
This book is written in 1st person point of view of Ember. For me, the second half of the book was more intense and interesting compared to the first half. What I really loved about this book, other than Chase, is the love interest between him and Ember! Instead of the girl playing hard to get and mysterious, it was the guy! At the beginning you will be like “what the heck is this guy’s problem!” and then towards the middle you’ll be left “awww”-ing.
The writing style was good and I could picture everything easily. I had no problems with the characters and liked all of them. You could see how Ember’s and Chase’s character and relationship changed since the beginning which is really important in a book. I enjoyed the little flashbacks that the author threw in of when Chase haven’t joined the military. You could really tell how the military took effect on him.
The only thing I was kind of “ehh” about is that more twist and surprises could’ve been added. Two thumbs up to the romance though. Overall I recommend this book to everyone especially to those who love dystopian books.
