I wasn’t expecting this novel to stir up my old nostalgia from the early 2000s and 2010s. It’s been compared to The Hunger Games, Vicious, and magic schools, but my brain still didn’t ever consider the fact that it would feel nostalgic.

Now don’t get it twisted- AOUV is a dark YA. I was expecting some moderate gore and violence because it’s young adults fighting and killing for their lives. Although, I wasn’t expecting the first few pages to contain desperate teens, willing to do absolutely ANYTHING to survive. When I say anything, I mean ANYTHING.

It’s brutal. It’s honest. All of the characters grow on your with time, and even the supporting characters are fleshed out with lots of detail. Some of them were just as fun to read about as the narrators. I did favor certain narrators at times, but all of them succeed at stealing my attention.

My favorites are specifically Isobel and Alistair; I’m hooked, lined, and sunk for their storylines. Briony is super interesting to read about because of her… plans, and Gavin is just… Gavin. He is the prickliest of the narrators, in my opinion, which doesn’t make him a bad POV. I just couldn’t get a proper interpretation of my feelings for him until halfway.

Honestly, everyone is a chaotic champion in this book.

Overall, if you’re looking for tropes like: forbidden romance (one bed even haha), “I can save them all,” making family proud, and proving the status quo wrong, then you’ll love this story. It’s a blast to the past with modern flare, and I couldn’t love it more!