Did Not Finish Gravity (Taking book 1) by Melissa West.
It is the Year 2133. World War IV has led to genocide of the human species. Planet Earth has been destroyed. Only the Aliens aka Ancients possess the ability to terraform Earth and nurse it back to health. In exchange for their help, the humans provide the Ancients with antibodies during the Taking so that they can acclimate to and survive life on Earth.
Here's what we know of the Taking:
(1) It commmences the moment a child hits ten years old, a mark of reaching adulthood.
(2) Everyone must wear the patch which acts as a blindfold as well as an immobilizer during the Taking.
(3) It takes place at exactly twelve midnight.
(4) No one is allowed to sleep during the Taking which means the humans are totally conscious of it happening.
(5) No one is allowed to miss the Taking.
(6) No one talks about the Taking.
(7) Failure to comply leads to either death or memory alteration by human punishment.
For the past 7 years, Ari Alexander, the future commander has participated in the Taking and complied with the rules laid down by the Ancients. That is until one fateful night, her patch goes missing from its silvery case. Without the patch, the temptation to take a look is too great to deny. Ari steals a peek. The Pandora's box opens. However, what she sees is only the start to a series of cover-ups, conspiracies and lies.
While I love the title and book cover, book 1 Gravity of the Taking series certainly does not take off for me. Call me jaded or otherwise, I find it really difficult to enjoy a story totally meant for Young Adults what with their attempts to take matters into their own hands to save the world from war and self-destruction amid conflicting feelings for one another. At halfway mark, I decide that enough is enough and close the book for good.
Then again, to be fair, the author does a great job with the writing which is smooth and flows pretty well. Efforts have been made to throw readers off guard through unexpected twists and turns. Though these surprises may be well received and well-liked by young adult readers, to me, they are anything but. I think it is more likely for me to enjoy this science fiction novel if I have been 20 turns younger.
Last of all, if you have intention to read this book, by all means avoid reading the blurb, which l am glad I did, not that it serves me so well in the end. The blurb really is a spoiler and an awfully bad one at that.
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Publication date: 30 Oct 2012
@}--->>--->>-----
In the future, only one rule will matter:
Don’t. Ever. Peek.
Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed—arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.
Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know—especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.
*Blurb from author's website*
Add to:
Links to purchase:
No comments:
Post a Comment