#Review - Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely #YALit #Dystopian

Series: Apparent Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 432 pages
Release Date: January 2, 2018
Publisher: jimmy patterson
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Dystopian

James Patterson presents a bold new heroine--a cross between Katniss Everdeen and Annie Oakley: Serendipity Jones, the fastest sharpshooter in tomorrow's West.

Seventeen-year-old Serendipity "Pity" Jones inherited two things from her mother: a pair of six shooters and perfect aim. She's been offered a life of fame and fortune in Cessation, a glittering city where lawlessness is a way of life. But the price she pays for her freedom may be too great....

In this extraordinary debut from Lyndsay Ely, the West is once again wild after a Second Civil War fractures the U.S. into a broken, dangerous land. Pity's struggle against the dark and twisted underbelly of a corrupt city will haunt you long after the final bullet is shot.

 

“Right and wrong isn’t so easy, is it? Sometimes the choices we make are a little bit of both.” 

Lyndsay Ely's Gunslinger Girl is a young adult dystopian with a western cross over feel starring 17-year old Serendipity Jones. It is also the authors debut novel. After a devastating Civil War that left the country in ruins, the Confederation of North America rose, trying to stabilize its rule using raw brutality against the United Patriot Front, Reapers, and a mix of propaganda and strict rules towards its supporters. 

Serendipity 'Pity' Jones, in a desperate need to escape from her cruel father and his attempt at selling her as a Bridal Bribe, flees from her commune taking with her only her mother's six-shooters and her best friend Finn. After an unfortunate occurrence, Pity is taken by a trio (Max, Santino, and Olivia) to Cessation, the last place on the Continent where you can do whatever you want. This is a place run by the curious Selene who seems to have an unlimited source of power.

Here in Cessation you will discover Halcyon Singh's Theater Vespertine which entertains the masses with mesmerizing and deadly performances. Death here is a spectacle. Pity, as the newest act in the theater, finds a home in this peculiar city. But, living in Cessation, performing in the Theater, and watching ones back, comes with terrible costs. Between ambitious politicians and cunning bounty hunters, Pity faces the dilemma whether Cessation is worth saving or it should be left to crumble.

Book was sold as Katniss Everdeen meets Annie Oakley. This genre-bending action-packed story unfolds in a post-Second Civil War setting, mixing elements of Western, Sci-Fi, Dystopian and Action-Adventure genres, perfect for fans of HBO's Westworld, Rae Carson's Walk on Earth a Stranger, Marie Lu's Legend, and Gail Carriger's Finishing School series. While some will agree that the ending wrapped up things nicely, I am of a different thought. 

There are way too many things that could happen after the final scene. Hell, I would be absolutely okay with another Pity adventure since it seems as though she has a long way to go before she has any intention of settling down. Especially when she takes up the mantle along with bounty hunter Siena Bond who knew Pity's mother back in the days. There's a combination of diverse characters, suspense, mind games, plots and action and betrayals, revelries, debauchery resulting in a sinful ambience, and along with the sweet and slightly angsty romance between Pity and Max, who has a secret all of his own.

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