12/15/2021 - I originally rated this 3 starts back in 2013. I think 15-year-old me had just read a lot of dystopian and was still heading into more. As such, I just didn't find the characters or plot super unique or engaging. I think when you've read enough books marketed as "You like Hunger Games? Try this!" it can be hard to surprise or entertain readers with certain tropes. All that said, as a reread, I found it very fun and grappling with surprisingly serious topics and struggles. I don't think it really made the fullest use of any of the themes and the characters acted a little oddly for their circumstances and age... but overall it was a fun read. That combined with the effort Lu makes to very intentionally make POC characters who cannot have their POC identity disregarded, made this almost a 4-star read for me. I wish more books (especially dystopian/real-world set books) made clear racial identification instead of just alluding to the idea that a character is POC. 

2013 - Interesting, although its not the most unique plot, or style-wise. Still very good, and was worthwhile.