3.5 stars

Interesting premise and protagonist. My biggest issue was that the climax felt a little rushed and easy. I wish the stakes had been a bit higher. It never felt like any of the main characters were in any real danger.

That said, it was a quick read that I enjoyed. The dystopian world is interesting, if not fully fleshed out. This takes place in a future Texas where only five cities still remain. What happened to cause so much destruction? What is happening in the rest of the world? I wish it hadn’t been so myopic in that way. But as I write that, I suppose it makes a certain kind of sense. After all, we’re digesting this story from the perspective of a girl who has been basically enslaved and controlled her whole life by this oppressive group. Perhaps she had no idea what life was like elsewhere in the world. But it would be nice to get some answers in the next book.

Overall I liked this well enough. I would recommend to someone who enjoys dystopian books with a sci-fi bent.