Author: Erin Bow
Series: Prisoners of Peace #1
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Format: ARC
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Source: ARC received from publisher at BEA
Rating: 5 Stars
Add to Goodreads
Buy the Book
***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***
Synopsis
from Goodreads:
The world is at peace, said
the Utterances. And really, if the odd princess has a hard day, is that
too much to ask?
Greta is a duchess and crown princess—and a hostage to peace. This is how the game is played: if you want to rule, you must give one of your children as a hostage. Go to war and your hostage dies.
Greta will be free if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday. Until then she lives in the Precepture school with the daughters and sons of the world’s leaders. Like them, she is taught to obey the machines that control their lives. Like them, she is prepared to die with dignity, if she must. But everything changes when a new hostage arrives. Elián is a boy who refuses to play by the rules, a boy who defies everything Greta has ever been taught. And he opens Greta’s eyes to the brutality of the system they live under—and to her own power.
As Greta and Elián watch their nations tip closer to war, Greta becomes a target in a new kind of game. A game that will end up killing them both—unless she can find a way to break all the rules.
Greta is a duchess and crown princess—and a hostage to peace. This is how the game is played: if you want to rule, you must give one of your children as a hostage. Go to war and your hostage dies.
Greta will be free if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday. Until then she lives in the Precepture school with the daughters and sons of the world’s leaders. Like them, she is taught to obey the machines that control their lives. Like them, she is prepared to die with dignity, if she must. But everything changes when a new hostage arrives. Elián is a boy who refuses to play by the rules, a boy who defies everything Greta has ever been taught. And he opens Greta’s eyes to the brutality of the system they live under—and to her own power.
As Greta and Elián watch their nations tip closer to war, Greta becomes a target in a new kind of game. A game that will end up killing them both—unless she can find a way to break all the rules.
My
Review:
Looking at Goodreads,
it’s clear that people either love this book or hate it. There doesn’t seem to
be any middle ground. I’m in the former category. I thought this book was
amazing. Cleverly woven, full of political intrigue and a great cast of
characters, I was glued to the pages.
The world has been
taken over by an all-powerful AI named Talis. Talis is really just trying to
save the world. He’s trying to stop people from polluting and destroying the
world and he’s trying to keep world peace an everyday reality. He does this by
taking the children of all the world leaders and putting them in his
Preceptures. If a nation declares war on another, they do so knowing that they
just condemned their child to death. Well that’s motivating. It may sound
cruel, but I truly think that Talis is trying to help. And I’m very interested
to learn more about him in the next book.
One of my favorite
things about this book was the politics. Erin Bow does a fantastic job of
giving us an overview of the world and how the political game is played. Water
is a really big issue in this world. There’s not enough of it and it’s the
number one reason why nations sacrifice their children and go to war. I loved
all the political talk. There’s not a lot of action in this book and if that’s
what you’re looking for, then this may not be for you. I can see how some
people would find it slow, but I was so engrossed in all the tiny details that
were going on, I didn’t care about the lack of high action. The politics kept
me hooked.
Our main character,
Greta, is a princess. A smart, beautiful, brilliant princess. She’s the leader
of her little group of friends. People look up to her. And I could see why. She
carries herself with such a regal air. She’s calm in the face of death and she
looks out for the best interests of the group. But all that changes when Elian
shows up. Elian isn’t like the others. He doesn’t take his fate quietly with a
cup of tea. He fights, he talks back to the AI’s that run their school. He’s
not going to go down quietly. Greta is drawn to this boy and his radical ideas,
but their nations are at the brink of war, which means both of them will likely
die soon.
There’s a little bit of
a love triangle here, but it became clear who the winner was. And it wasn’t
really a love triangle because I believe that Greta loves both of them, but
loves one in a different way. The main romance was incredible though. Unexpected
and perfect, it gave me all the feels.
And the ending was
epic. The decision that Greta has to make is so intense and literally brought
me to tears. Tears were running down my face during the last 50 pages of the
book. There’s a lot of self-sacrifice and themes of humanity throughout and it
really begs the question, what makes someone human? This book will definitely
stick with me for a long time. If you’re looking for a really unique science
fiction/dystopian novel, then I highly recommend this book. I can’t wait to see
where Erin Bow takes the story next!
Have you read this one yet? What did you think? Did you fall into the love it or hate it category?
Oh man!!! I LOVE this premise! I feel like I saw a Star Trek episode that was almost sort of like this when I was a kid, but this is just a fantastic set up for revolution and man vs. machine...not to mention royalty gone rogue. So glad to hear that you loved it...it does seem to be a polarizing book XD
ReplyDeleteYes, the man vs. machine aspect is really interesting and I'm really curious to learn more about the all-powerful Talis in the next book!
DeleteThere was a lot I liked about the book, the concept, the politics, how quiet and introspective it was, but the characters fell a bit flat for me for some reason. I looked back at my review and I wrote that I wasn't sure how I felt about the ending, and sadly, now I don't remember what the ending was. Contact me and remind me?? Also, I think there's a companion novel coming so I'll be curious to read it. I did like it, I just wasn't feeling all the feels if you know what I mean. Have you read Never Let Me Go? It's not dystopian or anything but it's got kids living together and sort of just accepting their horrible fate. A book that makes you think, which is what this book did for me too. Great review! ~Pam
ReplyDeleteOh it's not a sequel? Goodreads calls it #1 in the series so I just assumed it would be a sequel. I'll text you about the ending. I've never even heard of Never Let Me Go. I'll have to check it out!
DeleteYou have me convinced that I need to read this! sci fi and political intrigue -- I'm in! You have me a bit worried about the tears running down your face... but I'm still excited!
ReplyDeleteYeah, but the tears were worth it. I just got so many feels! I hope you fall on the side of loving it.
Delete