The Rift Uprising is the first book I’ve read by Amy Foster and when I read the summary, I was immediately interested. The focus is on a group of teenagers who were developed to be stronger and smarter so that they can help protect their world from whatever might come through the Rift, a portal that leads to alternate Earths and something they can’t close.

Ryn is the main character and she is also the leader of her group so when it is her team’s turn to be on the front line of the Rift the day that a boy she is immediately drawn to comes through, she makes the decision to go against protocol and this changes everything for her.

Ryn is interesting. It is clear she is a leader and she definitely doesn’t react well to those who don’t agree with her. I found that to be somewhat frustrating but I get it…she is in a role where it isn’t a good idea to question those in charge. As a Citadel, she is tasked with protecting her Earth from things that come through the Rift and that means there is potential that her family and friends could be in danger if anything would happen. As she pushes through the story and finds out more than she thought she would, she begins to understand just how much danger she and those she cares about are potentially in. Her biggest concern is always her family and friends and I liked that about her.

When Ezra comes through the portal, Ryn is immediately drawn to him and she finds herself promising things she never would have promised to anyone else. What I liked about Ezra was that he challenged her at every turn and he wasn’t someone to just take things at face value. He made Ryn think about what was really going on which leads everyone to the situation they are in.

One of the things I thought was well done was the friendships that Ryn had with her crew. It was clear to see how close they were and how supportive they were of each other. I do wish we would have gotten a better picture of the relationship that Ryn had with her parents. It was clear this was a tough situation for her and she hated lying to them but it was really only conveyed through Ryn’s thoughts and I kind of wanted to see more of her interactions with them because she clearly cared for them.

As Ryn and Ezra begin to challenge the things Ryn has been told and she digs deeper into her training, she finds out some pretty disturbing things and decides she won’t just sit by and let those in charge use her and her friends. There are very few people she trusts and the ones she has been working with day in and day out (outside of her team) are definitely not to be trusted. I won't say much about this only because I don't want to ruin anything for anyone but there are a lot of people in charge that Ryn has to

Overall I thought this was an interesting book one and the start to a solid series. The characters have been well developed and Foster has laid the groundwork for the upcoming books which will hopefully include some jumping to other versions of Earth. If you are looking for a YA science fiction story that has solid characters and an interesting story you should consider checking this one out. There was plenty of action, definitely some secrets and deception, and Foster even through in some swoony bits which I always appreciate. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series and encourage you to check this one out if any of those things interest you.