Review: Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Enclave

Author: Ann Aguirre
Series: Razorland, Book One
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Genre: YA Paranormal
Format: Hardcover, 259 pages
Release Date: April 12, 2011
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries
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Synopsis from Goodreads:

WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE

In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first Deuce thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known.

My Review:

Enclave has been compared to Hunger Games which is one of the reasons I picked it up, but after finishing the book, I'm not sure why the two were compared at all. Enclave falls into the paranormal genre whereas Hunger Games is purely dystopian. I usually enjoy paranormal and fantasy, but Enclave failed to impress me.

Part of the reason I didn't like this book was the zombie nature of it. Apparently there was some kind of plague that changed people into creatures called Freaks, which are essentially zombies. They smell of rotting flesh and they try to eat people. I am not a fan of zombies. There is just something boring about them to me. I enjoy reading about heroines fighting against intelligent life forms that force the characters to think and not just use brute force. Sheer fighting gets boring for me after a while, which is probably why I'm not a big gamer. But of course, that's just me and I know that many people love zombie books, movies, TV shows, and games.

The first thing that seriously bothered me about this book was the lack of character development. Enclave was very much plot driven. I prefer character driven books. None of these characters were very well-developed and I didn't feel connected to any of them.

The Enclave is an underground settlement where humans have taken refuge from the Freaks and other things that we don’t really find out about. The main character Deuce and her partner Fade are exiled from the community and forced to go Topside. When they exit the underground tunnel system, they discover that gangs rule the cities, kidnapping stragglers and either forcing them to join their gangs, hunting them for sport, or taking the girls and raping them. This is a dark world with many dystopian elements.

Deuce, our main character, started off with a lot of potential. She's a badass, fierce fighter that isn't afraid to run into a group of Freaks and start killing. But her character fell flat. She has zero people skills whatsoever. Perhaps this was due to how the Enclave was run. People are assigned to three different groups: Breeders, Builders, and Hunters. The Breeders seem to be the only ones who hold any emotional capacity. Still, I didn't understand how Deuce could possibly be quite so clueless when it came to relationships. She acts as if she has never interacted with other people, which made her character unbelievable and difficult to relate to. She is ignorant and pretentious. At one point, after rescuing a girl, Tegan, from a gang called the Wolves, Deuce wonders why Tegan didn’t fight back against her rapists. What? Are you kidding me? I was so angry by this. The author turned rape into something cavalier and I was and still am completely disgusted by it. As if Deuce’s attitude towards rape isn’t bad enough, Stalker, the leader of the Wolves, joins their group and becomes a love interest to her!!!! I just…I can’t. I can’t even. I have no words for how disgusted I am by this whole situation.

When we started getting to know Fade, Deuce's partner, I was hopeful that I would at least like one character. He was intriguing. He had lived Topside before coming to the Enclave and, therefore, saw the world differently. He had compassion, but was also a fierce and graceful fighter. I had high hopes for the progression of his relationship with Deuce, but once again, he and their relationship fell flat.

I've talked about second book syndrome before, where two characters who clearly like one another pull away from each other and sulk over their own misfortunes. I see this happen often in the second book in a series, but somehow it worked its way into this one. After reading the synopsis for the second book, Outpost, it's not looking like it will get any better. Deuce and Fade clearly want to be together, but neither of them will admit their feelings to the other. Very annoying.

The other thing about this book that I didn't like was the utter lack of world building. We know that there are humans living underground. They were driven there after some kind of plague struck the world. Yet we don't know what the plague is. We also don't know why people went underground. At first I thought it was due to some kind of environmental cause, but then we realize that there are people living Topside, and environmentally speaking, it is perfectly safe. There were so many unanswered questions. The lack of world building combined with the lack of character development left a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, I did not enjoy this book. At first I thought that maybe it just wasn't for me, which could still be true, but now I feel it has more to do with the mechanics of it. I am still so upset about the way the author handled rape that I will not be reading the rest of this series.

Have any of you read this? What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below! Happy reading all!