This book was amazing! There was so much about it that was original, and yet so much of it that reminded me of other stories. Some things, like the clothing and also the interactions between the rich and poor, reminded me of Little House on the Prairie for some reason. And then there were parts with the competition that made me think of The Maze Runner. The romance was great, and the science was great, and all of the characters were interesting. So much of this fits into the type of climate of society and the world right now. There was even one scene where Rhen and her cousin Seleni, disguised as boys, hear the other boys discuss them, not knowing they're there since they think they are boys. And that bit reminded me somewhat of a scene in Twilight, from Rose's back story. There was also the one male character that as a reader I was unsure how much to trust them or if they would turn out to be good in the end. So I was surprised by one that turned out to not be good, to have double-crossed everyone, including his own partners in crime. And then the part at the end about they don't want a girl taking a test at the same place as the boys taking the test, because she would distract them? Wow, I totally rolled my eyes along with the girl character in that scene.

A great book, I'll look forward to reading more by this author in the future, or going back to pick up the ones I missed.

This review first appeared on Lisa Loves Literature.