Helpful Score: 8
Words fail to adequately describe how astonishingly completely Caragh O'Brien drew me into Gaia's dystopian world in this debut YA novel. Holy cow! BIRTHMARKED is a layered and action-packed dystopian treat that just might satisfy readers eagerly awaiting the third and final installment of The Hunger Games series.
I am absolutely bowled over by how well-written this book is. Caragh O'Brien presents us with interesting characters that we want to follow through all their suspenseful adventures and encounters. From Gaia, the determined "everywoman" protagonist, to the alluring and quietly troubled Captain Gray, to everyone who helps or harms Gaia along the way...all are engaging and three-dimensional to capture our attention from the start and hold on throughout.
A dystopian novel is nothing without a well executed and faithfully imagined world-gone-wrong. Luckily, Gaia's world is one of the best I've read about in a long time, high up there with Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games and Maria Snyder's Poison Study. BIRTHMARKED starts with a bang in the first chapter and never lets up. There's plenty of mystery, code-breaking, narrow escapes, and running to satisfy fans of action and adventure, and it's all wrapped within a fully realized dystopia.
I don't think my review was enough to express my admiration of and love for this book, but rest assured that if this sounds even mildly interesting to you, then you will NOT be able to put it down!
I am absolutely bowled over by how well-written this book is. Caragh O'Brien presents us with interesting characters that we want to follow through all their suspenseful adventures and encounters. From Gaia, the determined "everywoman" protagonist, to the alluring and quietly troubled Captain Gray, to everyone who helps or harms Gaia along the way...all are engaging and three-dimensional to capture our attention from the start and hold on throughout.
A dystopian novel is nothing without a well executed and faithfully imagined world-gone-wrong. Luckily, Gaia's world is one of the best I've read about in a long time, high up there with Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games and Maria Snyder's Poison Study. BIRTHMARKED starts with a bang in the first chapter and never lets up. There's plenty of mystery, code-breaking, narrow escapes, and running to satisfy fans of action and adventure, and it's all wrapped within a fully realized dystopia.
I don't think my review was enough to express my admiration of and love for this book, but rest assured that if this sounds even mildly interesting to you, then you will NOT be able to put it down!
Helpful Score: 4
I went into this book with a bad attitude. I seriously did not want to like it (yeah, I know why the heck did I have the book and why was I reading it if I had a bad attitude...long story). Anyways, I was ready and willing to compare every part of this book to The Hunger Games, which I did. I couldn't help it. I automatically assume that O'Brien wrote this book due to the success of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Even if O'Brien wrote the book without thinking of The Hunger Games, in my narrow-minded brain, I believed that was the reason.
So, here I am ready to hate this book, comparing it to one of my all time favorite books (The Hunger Games) and to my utter shock, I find myself completely engrossed in Birthmarked. Ok, I still had issues with the beginning and the end but the "meat" of the book, the story, was wonderful.
My problems with the book-
In the beginning of the book Gaia is very ignorant of what is really going on around her. Not just ignorant, but painfully ignorant. There is trust, and then there is dumb blind trust and Gaia was ignorant and blindly trusting. She annoyed me because she didn't question what was around her. At some point she makes a switch but it almost was a case of too little too late for me.
At the end, we have stuff that isn't making sense. I can't really explain without spoiling the book and frankly, I don't want to do that. There just seemed to be missing pieces of information that either I missed or the author failed to put in.
Will I read the next book ?-
I will, I won't pre-order it but when it comes out, I'll try to get my hands on it. Overall, I found the story interesting, and entertaining.
So, here I am ready to hate this book, comparing it to one of my all time favorite books (The Hunger Games) and to my utter shock, I find myself completely engrossed in Birthmarked. Ok, I still had issues with the beginning and the end but the "meat" of the book, the story, was wonderful.
My problems with the book-
In the beginning of the book Gaia is very ignorant of what is really going on around her. Not just ignorant, but painfully ignorant. There is trust, and then there is dumb blind trust and Gaia was ignorant and blindly trusting. She annoyed me because she didn't question what was around her. At some point she makes a switch but it almost was a case of too little too late for me.
At the end, we have stuff that isn't making sense. I can't really explain without spoiling the book and frankly, I don't want to do that. There just seemed to be missing pieces of information that either I missed or the author failed to put in.
Will I read the next book ?-
I will, I won't pre-order it but when it comes out, I'll try to get my hands on it. Overall, I found the story interesting, and entertaining.
Helpful Score: 3
Reviewed by Karin Librarian for TeensReadToo.com
Gaia (Guy-ya) Stone is following in her mother's footsteps. She has been training to be a midwife for years and is ready to accept her role in the community. For as long as she can remember, life on the outside of the wall has been this way.
The first three babies of the month are advanced to the Enclave to be adopted and live their life inside the wall. While the pain of losing a child is great, the mothers know that their baby will be living in a community with conveniences not available to the people living in Wharfton, like electricity and running water.
Gaia doesn't know what to do when her parents are arrested and taken by the Guard of the Protectorat. She finds it hard to believe that her parents know anything the Enclave would want to know, but by the questions they ask her when she comes home to find them gone, they think her parents have important information. Gaia is completely in the dark. The only thing she has to go on is the long piece of ribbon with a strange code sewn in it that her mother's assistant gave her and told her to keep secret at all cost.
Gaia's life becomes a complicated game of cat and mouse as she attempts to get inside the wall, find her parents, and solve the mystery of the coded ribbon.
Caragh M. O'Brien has written a wonderful addition to the dystopian genre. Readers get a glimpse of life in the 2400's after a drastic weather change has dramatically reduced the human population. Even though the world is completely different than the one we live in, the problems Gaia encounters are very similar - she enjoys time with her family, likes socializing with friends, and is insecure when it comes to love.
BIRTHMARKED is fantastic. I loved it and stayed up much too late because I couldn't put it down. It definitely deserves the Gold Star Award. The author leaves the ending open for a sequel, and I for one can't wait to see what happens next.
Gaia (Guy-ya) Stone is following in her mother's footsteps. She has been training to be a midwife for years and is ready to accept her role in the community. For as long as she can remember, life on the outside of the wall has been this way.
The first three babies of the month are advanced to the Enclave to be adopted and live their life inside the wall. While the pain of losing a child is great, the mothers know that their baby will be living in a community with conveniences not available to the people living in Wharfton, like electricity and running water.
Gaia doesn't know what to do when her parents are arrested and taken by the Guard of the Protectorat. She finds it hard to believe that her parents know anything the Enclave would want to know, but by the questions they ask her when she comes home to find them gone, they think her parents have important information. Gaia is completely in the dark. The only thing she has to go on is the long piece of ribbon with a strange code sewn in it that her mother's assistant gave her and told her to keep secret at all cost.
Gaia's life becomes a complicated game of cat and mouse as she attempts to get inside the wall, find her parents, and solve the mystery of the coded ribbon.
Caragh M. O'Brien has written a wonderful addition to the dystopian genre. Readers get a glimpse of life in the 2400's after a drastic weather change has dramatically reduced the human population. Even though the world is completely different than the one we live in, the problems Gaia encounters are very similar - she enjoys time with her family, likes socializing with friends, and is insecure when it comes to love.
BIRTHMARKED is fantastic. I loved it and stayed up much too late because I couldn't put it down. It definitely deserves the Gold Star Award. The author leaves the ending open for a sequel, and I for one can't wait to see what happens next.
Helpful Score: 3
At first I wasn't sure about Gaia, she seemed very naive about the world around her and she trusted completely in the Enclave, and she's not the only one who does. The servitude of the Wharfton citizens to the Enclave was a bit creepy, as was the plausible futuristic society. However, as the story unfolds Gaia becomes a much stronger character and she finds the courage to do things she never thought she would have to think about much less act on. By the end of the book I loved Gaia, she became such a worthy heroine.
Caragh M. O'Brien's writing is really great and this story was never dull. My attention was caught and I was anxious to learn all I could about Gaia and the tragic journey she must travel to save her parents from an unjust incarceration. With so many twists and turns and just a little romance you can't go wrong reading Birthmarked. Shari myneuroticbookaffair.blogspot.com
Caragh M. O'Brien's writing is really great and this story was never dull. My attention was caught and I was anxious to learn all I could about Gaia and the tragic journey she must travel to save her parents from an unjust incarceration. With so many twists and turns and just a little romance you can't go wrong reading Birthmarked. Shari myneuroticbookaffair.blogspot.com
Helpful Score: 2
I got an advanced reading copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program. I enjoy dystopian novels and thought that this young adult take on a dystopian future sounded interesting. It was a pretty good book with some interesting ideas. The author mentions on her website that she is currently writing a sequel to this book, which makes sense because many issues are left unresolved.
Gaia is training to be a midwife just like her mother. Her family lives outside the Wall. Inside the Wall lives the Enclave, a group of privileged individuals who help run the world outside the Wall. The only thing that the Outsiders need to do is meet a baby quota. The first three babies born each month get sent to the Enclave to be raised in privileged positions. It is supposed to be an honor to have your baby sent Inside. Then at Gaia's first solo birth the mother pleads to keep her baby. It starts Gaia thinking...this is followed by the mysterious arrest of her parents. It is up to Gaia to find a way Inside to save her parents; on her journey there she finds that life on the Inside may not be all it appears to be.
This is a pretty good dystopian young adult book. I was a little surprised at how secluded the story was. The whole story takes place in a small area with a limited amount of people. There isn't a lot of mention about how the world became how it is, although Gaia mentions something about a climate change at one point. Gaia was an okay character but I didn't find her to be especially engaging.
The ideas presented in this novel were interesting but not all that unique. Many dystopians are set up so that there are a privileged few and the masses provide for those privileged few. Where this book differs is in the requirement that babies get sent to the privileged few. Even more interesting is the idea that this baby donation is actually serving a vital role in keeping the gene pool of the privileged from becoming inbred.
There are a number of moral questions thrown at the reader. The whole concept of giving up your child at birth for the better good is huge; this leads into the questions of whether or not children separated from parents at birth should be able to contact their parents later. Also the age old moral questions of separating humans into separate classes to have them function better. The book also touches on things such as forced breeding and planned matches for marriage based on genetic screening...of course this has been a big topic in lots of sci-fi literature.
A big deal was made about the "birth-marking" that Gaia and her mother performed on the babies. While this definitely plays into the story, the idea of it having the huge influence that it did, didn't work well in the story for me. While the writing is engaging, I thought the plot was a bit choppy. It was almost like the writer was trying to throw too many ideas at the reader and didn't work through any ideas completely.
The story is pretty serious in nature and there is not a ton of action. Gaia's love interest is an okay character, but we don't get to know him all that well and his actions towards Gaia are very inconsistent.
Overall I enjoyed the book but I thought there were a lot of unresolved things. I liked that a lot of interesting moral issues were raised, but was disappointed that they weren't built upon or resolved. If you like dystopian books this is a pretty good read. Not nearly as good as The Hunger Games or the Tripods series. The author does state on her website that she is writing a sequel to this book; at this point I am not sure if I will read that one or not.
Gaia is training to be a midwife just like her mother. Her family lives outside the Wall. Inside the Wall lives the Enclave, a group of privileged individuals who help run the world outside the Wall. The only thing that the Outsiders need to do is meet a baby quota. The first three babies born each month get sent to the Enclave to be raised in privileged positions. It is supposed to be an honor to have your baby sent Inside. Then at Gaia's first solo birth the mother pleads to keep her baby. It starts Gaia thinking...this is followed by the mysterious arrest of her parents. It is up to Gaia to find a way Inside to save her parents; on her journey there she finds that life on the Inside may not be all it appears to be.
This is a pretty good dystopian young adult book. I was a little surprised at how secluded the story was. The whole story takes place in a small area with a limited amount of people. There isn't a lot of mention about how the world became how it is, although Gaia mentions something about a climate change at one point. Gaia was an okay character but I didn't find her to be especially engaging.
The ideas presented in this novel were interesting but not all that unique. Many dystopians are set up so that there are a privileged few and the masses provide for those privileged few. Where this book differs is in the requirement that babies get sent to the privileged few. Even more interesting is the idea that this baby donation is actually serving a vital role in keeping the gene pool of the privileged from becoming inbred.
There are a number of moral questions thrown at the reader. The whole concept of giving up your child at birth for the better good is huge; this leads into the questions of whether or not children separated from parents at birth should be able to contact their parents later. Also the age old moral questions of separating humans into separate classes to have them function better. The book also touches on things such as forced breeding and planned matches for marriage based on genetic screening...of course this has been a big topic in lots of sci-fi literature.
A big deal was made about the "birth-marking" that Gaia and her mother performed on the babies. While this definitely plays into the story, the idea of it having the huge influence that it did, didn't work well in the story for me. While the writing is engaging, I thought the plot was a bit choppy. It was almost like the writer was trying to throw too many ideas at the reader and didn't work through any ideas completely.
The story is pretty serious in nature and there is not a ton of action. Gaia's love interest is an okay character, but we don't get to know him all that well and his actions towards Gaia are very inconsistent.
Overall I enjoyed the book but I thought there were a lot of unresolved things. I liked that a lot of interesting moral issues were raised, but was disappointed that they weren't built upon or resolved. If you like dystopian books this is a pretty good read. Not nearly as good as The Hunger Games or the Tripods series. The author does state on her website that she is writing a sequel to this book; at this point I am not sure if I will read that one or not.
Helpful Score: 1
Loved this book. Got sucked in really quickly and enjoyed the entire book. Has a "Hunger Games"/"Uglies" feel to it. I enjoy books that deal with the dystopian/utopian societies. This book did not disappoint. Looking forward to the next book!
Helpful Score: 1
One of the best post-apocalyptic YA books I have read in a long time. It definitely, definitely needs a sequel!! The ending was too open ended for my insatiable tastes. The reader doesn't know, for sure, what happens to the heroine at the end. We can only speculate whether or not she makes it to .... well, I won't give any spoilers away.
Otherwise, I really liked all the characters and the way in which we learn about this world, its secrets. I wasn't a huge fan of the heroine's love interest, but happily this resolved itself to my liking. An all around excellent book.
Otherwise, I really liked all the characters and the way in which we learn about this world, its secrets. I wasn't a huge fan of the heroine's love interest, but happily this resolved itself to my liking. An all around excellent book.
Helpful Score: 1
When I finished this book the first thing I thought of was that I was glad I waited so long before starting it. Why? Because I was able to get all 3 books and wouldn't have to wait. I don't know if I could have waited! Yeah... I thought it was that good. I loved the setting, story, characters, romance, action. Everything!
The story central character is Gaia. She's a smart, happy girl with wonderful parents. She might live outside the wall where the "commoners" live while those inside the wall really have the life. That's where her 2 brothers live. How lucky they are to live a life of privilege. But lots of things change in Gaia's life which also changes her way of thinking and acting. Maybe inside the wall isn't so great after all.
Highly entertaining and well written. Can't wait to read the 2nd book!
The story central character is Gaia. She's a smart, happy girl with wonderful parents. She might live outside the wall where the "commoners" live while those inside the wall really have the life. That's where her 2 brothers live. How lucky they are to live a life of privilege. But lots of things change in Gaia's life which also changes her way of thinking and acting. Maybe inside the wall isn't so great after all.
Highly entertaining and well written. Can't wait to read the 2nd book!
Helpful Score: 1
Birthmarked is a must read! The intricate plot and subplots are fantastic. When reading many dystopian novels, sometimes you see a pattern. Not with Birthmarked. The author attacks ideas that you may have not yet seen. In a twisted way, you struggle with the ideas that society would ever evolve in such a way. Its beautiful and frightening at the same time. The connections between characters are well developed and thankfully unexpected. If you have a love of dystopian novels, your list isn't complete without this one.
One of the best YA books I"ve read in a long time. If you're a fan of dystopian YA fiction, this is a must read!
It was good, but I wasn't gripped to it.
It was a great book. I started reading it before passing it along to my 14 year old and had to finish it. I look forward to reading the 2nd book.
