by Caitlin Lochner

YA Fantasy, 2019 by Swoon Reads, 352 Pages 

What I Didn’t Like:

• I didn’t feel an instant connection with any particular character. In fact, even as the book went on, I found it hard to connect with anyone. This left me feeling a little underwhelmed by the story. 
• Nothing in the story strikes me as overly original. Of course, I read a LOT in this genre. But every aspect reminds me of something I’ve read before. I wanted more originality. Something this story can offer me that I can’t get anywhere else. 
• Plot points are too similar to each other. This creates a book that feels like nothing really happens. 
• The ending is lackluster. You don’t get enough answers to feel like the journey was worth your time and you don’t have enough questions to propel you to book 2. Of course, if you connected with a character, this could be different for you. 

What I Did Like:

• The superpowers have potential. They’re interesting and they could all lend themselves well to the military, where these characters meet up. With exploration, this could be cool. 
• The ending seems to be ramping up to something that could be more promising for book 2. 
• The found family aspect tries to come together a bit more in the second half. It’s possible this could become that trope in the rest of the series.

Who Should Read This One:

• Fans of this genre (dystopian YA) may enjoy this one. Careful if you’re sensitive to storylines or things you’ve heard in other books though.

My Rating: 2 Stars

• For me, the similarities to other stories and the lack of characters I can connect to made this one problematic.