Summary:
In a future world, there has been a great flood that has wiped everything out and then frozen over. The new world, The Healing, is in the North and has an old fashioned feel to it. Girls are Maiden's that are trained to run a household and be good wives in arranged marriages for social standing. Eva is one of these Maidens. She is current set to marry Jasper, a man in the ruling class who is as proper as men can come. She has no issues with this until her twin brother, Eamon, dies. In order to cherish her brother's memory, Eva changes her plans and decides to compete in The Testing, a dangerous journey to the wilderness to find an old relic. While women are not forbidden from participating, it is unusual. Eva is the first to compete in 150 years, but she takes over her brother's training from Lukas, a servant. Lukas attempts to prepare her for the perils she will face, but once in the Testing, nothing will help her. When she finds a relic, her whole world changes and things no longer seem to be what she thought.
My thoughts:
While this book delivered what I expected, it is not a bad thing. It's a good book. I enjoyed the adventure immensely. Honestly, the last 1/4 of the book is amazing and flies by. Everything before that is needed to build up the world and the characters in it. While I would like a little bit more explanation to why the Testing is necessary in the format that it takes, I did enjoy the overall world and premise of the book. Eva is also a fantastic character. She is immediately likeable. She grows immensely throughout the book and she is a very strong teen. If you like dystopian or survivalist literature, then this is a good read. You will not be disappointed. If you are not a big fan of that literature, then this will not be the book to pull you in. It meets the genre and my expectations.
In a future world, there has been a great flood that has wiped everything out and then frozen over. The new world, The Healing, is in the North and has an old fashioned feel to it. Girls are Maiden's that are trained to run a household and be good wives in arranged marriages for social standing. Eva is one of these Maidens. She is current set to marry Jasper, a man in the ruling class who is as proper as men can come. She has no issues with this until her twin brother, Eamon, dies. In order to cherish her brother's memory, Eva changes her plans and decides to compete in The Testing, a dangerous journey to the wilderness to find an old relic. While women are not forbidden from participating, it is unusual. Eva is the first to compete in 150 years, but she takes over her brother's training from Lukas, a servant. Lukas attempts to prepare her for the perils she will face, but once in the Testing, nothing will help her. When she finds a relic, her whole world changes and things no longer seem to be what she thought.
My thoughts:
While this book delivered what I expected, it is not a bad thing. It's a good book. I enjoyed the adventure immensely. Honestly, the last 1/4 of the book is amazing and flies by. Everything before that is needed to build up the world and the characters in it. While I would like a little bit more explanation to why the Testing is necessary in the format that it takes, I did enjoy the overall world and premise of the book. Eva is also a fantastic character. She is immediately likeable. She grows immensely throughout the book and she is a very strong teen. If you like dystopian or survivalist literature, then this is a good read. You will not be disappointed. If you are not a big fan of that literature, then this will not be the book to pull you in. It meets the genre and my expectations.
