I was totally "meh" about Kristen Simmon's Article 5. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't overly amazing either.

In Kristen Simmon's dystopian world, the Bill of Rights have been taken down and replaced by the Moral Statutes. People who disobey these rules get arrested...and usually fail to come back...

 I personally felt that the plot lacked originality and the execution left something to be desired. The original premise of Article 5 sounded extremely interesting (our protagonist, Ember's, mom gets arrested for noncompliance of "Article 5," and Ember goes on a long journey to save her.) It's not exactly the most original dystopia, but it does justice. Somewhat.         

And in terms of the actual writing? Well let's just say that...  There are some authors (cough * Suzanne Collins * cough) that just have natural eloquence. Let's just say that Kristen Simmons is note one of those authors! Article 5 is written in short, choppy sentences with a simple vocabulary. However, I do like how Simmomns chose to have Chase and Ember's romance written partially in occasional flashbacks.         

I spy with my little eye...a backstory! Wait...there isn't one! Kirsten Simmons explains to readers that the world changed so drastically because of a War. Okay...I buy it - but I need more information! What was the war fought over? What different sides fought? How did it start / end? I need information to make the novel seem more plausible and less confusing! The characters were another source of my dislike for the book. Our main character, Ember, was so 2D and annoyed me throughout the book. Ember makes multiple utterly stupid unintelligent choices - which really bothers me as a reader, and this just makes me get annoyed with her even more! Other characters - such as Chase and any other supporting characters - seemed so underdeveloped and, thus, it felt hard for me to emotionally connect - or even care about them! I feel one's personal opinion rests on the romance. I, personally, enjoyed the romance in Article 5 because it doesn't overpower the story as a whole. However, the only critique I have about the romance is Ember as a whole. :D With all these critiques, it may seem that I despised Article 5. However, I really did enjoy the story as a whole; it's just not on my Top 10 list of dystopian stories. I would highly recommend Article 5 to fans of dystopian literature - specifically Divergent and The Hunger Games. Happy reading!