*My Thoughts*
Eighteen-year old Lily Atwood lives in a time where the US was ravaged by war, and those that survived, fled eastward. The current country calls itself the North America Sector and reflects the original 13 colonies plus states bordering east of the Mississippi River. The rest of the country is supposedly a barren land, and not inhabited by any human.
It is a time of great hope for the country Six years after the ground came alive and the sky fell, and pushed the country back in time 100 years where only the rich have access to technology like computers, and cars, and the middle class no longer exists. It is a time where two individuals are running for the office of the Presidency, each with very different visions for what they see for the countries future, and its relationships with the rest of the world. One of those individuals just happen to be Lily's father Mark Atwood.
Ever since Lily turned Eighteen, her parents placed her under constant surveillance because of a little known group calling themselves the Revealed. The Revealed, who are as mysterious as the powers they wield, have targeted Lily for kidnapping like they have hundreds of others teens who have not yet reached the age of Nineteen. The Revealed, are "revealed" but I am not sure if I am ready to jump aboard their crazy train where kids are "changed" in order to help fight so called evil in the world, while also doing good in places that need it.
As for the characters, Lily annoyed me to the point where I had hoped she was a secondary character, and not the one telling the story. There is a much, much stronger, and awesome character named Rory who picks up and carries Lily throughout the story. I would definitely read a novel that focusing on Rory, instead of Lily. Lily is a Mary Sue character that ends up putting herself into so many silly situations, that you can't help but to roll your eyes at her immaturity, and righteous indignation she throws out towards her parents, and others. One can only hope her maturity grows leaps and bounds in any sequel.
Of course, there is the love interest Kai, who used to be a family friend, but turned into a playboy, and now returns as the conquering hero whose father is challenging Atwood to the presidency. I would say that their relationship runs hot and cold, and then hot again. You can't help but to wonder what the attraction is when Kai treated her like cold chili, and didn't care about her feelings and went along with the crowd in calling her cold, and a spoiled brat. People can change, I guess, and one can only wonder if Kai will return in any sequel.
As I reached the end of this story, it was revealed to me that this story was NOT a standalone, and that there apparently will be a sequel called The Enraged. I am obviously hoping that any sequel to be written would further dive in to and explain this so called war that hit the country. I am a person who needs facts. What's the facts, Jack? You only get a sense of what truly happened to the country by reading the synopsis, but not the story itself. This is Jessica's first published book, so, here's hoping that the follow up installment grows on top of the characters she's already introduced.
Author - Jessica Hickam
Title - The Revealed (The Revealed # 1)
Published by SparkPress
Released: June 17, 2014
Genre: Dystopia
Format: E-Book 314 pages
I just read and finished this one not too long ago. And while I enjoyed it, there were definitely some bad points. Lily was a character who was hard to like at times, and I wasn't totally convinced of hers and Kai's relationship. And I also wanted more facts about this devastating war and how it came to be! But alas, I did like it and want to read the sequel.
ReplyDeleteHolly @ Part of that World
I'll probably continue as well. I hate starting series and then stopping them without seeing whether or not the characters actually grow up some. Thank you Holly for commenting on my review!
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