3.5 stars.

This is an interesting dystopian with a creative premise and a very unique look at a future world. The story takes place several generations in the future after what I assume to be nuclear war. Remaining humans have divided themselves into small villages and there are aggressive human consuming trees populating the world outside of Koli's home of Mythen Rood. That's right...the trees will eat you. It's awesome. The world building is fantastic and though it consumes a lot of the first book in this trilogy, I still want to know more about this plant situation.

The first half of this book moves fairly slowly, doing a lot of set up and introducing the characters, the world, the power structure. It's all necessary information, but it's done in a way that feels a little heavy on the info dumping side and does bog down the pacing. The other struggle to getting immersed in this book is the writing style. Koli is fairly illiterate and the language has changed over the years. There is shortening of words and mixing of tenses that will make grammar sticklers cringe. It was a bit of a challenge to get used to, but it is actually an incredibly smart addition to the creation of the atmosphere as there would be some alterations in speech patterns over time and with community isolation.

The last third/half picked up the pace and finally took off with a run. Once Koli leaves the gates of the village, it's all systems go. This second half sucked me in and got me wrapped up in the action and Koli's journey quite well. I left the ending just itching to grab the second book in the series. It's worth the read and the series does pick up in pacing over time...hang in there if it feels a little dense at the start.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *