I was given an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of this book for an honest review and more publicity, because everyone knows my readers show everyone they know my posts. Because I'm so awesome.
WARNINGWARNINGWARNINGWARNINGWARNINGWARNINGWARNINGWARNING
CAPTIVES
Back of the cover:
One choice could destroy them all.
When eighteen-year-old Levi returned from Denver City with his latest
scavenged finds, he never imagined he’d find his village of Glenrock
decimated, loved ones killed, and many—including his fiancée, Jem–taken
captive. Levi is determined to rescue what remains of his people, even
if it means entering the Safe Lands, a walled city that seems anything
but safe.
Omar knows he betrayed his brother by sending him away, but helping
the enforcers was necessary. Living off the land and clinging to an
outdated religion holds his village back. The Safe Land has protected
people since the plague decimated the world generations ago … and its
rulers have promised power and wealth beyond Omar’s dreams.
Meanwhile, their brother Mason has been granted a position inside the
Safe Lands, and may be able to use his captivity to save not only his
people, but also find a cure for the virus that threatens everyone
inside the Safe Lands.
Can Mason uncover the truth hidden behind the Safe Land’s façade before it’s too late?
Book trailer:
Doesn't that just give you chills?
Anyway, this blog tour (I sure do a lot of blog tours lately, huh?) is for Captives by
Jill Williamson, if you haven't already figured that out.
I love her books. Replication is my absolute favorite. It's so
perfectly written and makes you think and just . . . helps you
understand. And Captives is no different. Eeeh . . . except maybe genre
and a few small details (such as character names and backstories and
themes and . . . yeah).
It's a YA Dystopian (much to my delight), and it's definitely a new genre from
Jill. Just let me start off by saying, it is absolutely AMAZING. The characters are delightful. And it's Christian! Perfect, right?
Okay, so it's based off of the book of Daniel (from the Bible, yes). There's a video (which you can find at the bottom of the post maybe, cuz I think I figured out how to embed videos) about where she got the idea from. And it's incredible. I mean, to take inspiration from one of the most famous stories in the Bible, set it in a future world that's like a cross from Uglies (by Scott Westserfeld) and Hunger Games (If you don't know who wrote this series, shame on you) is pure genius!
For me, this story made me think. How would I react to being snatched from my very home, forced to live with and around people who treated me as nothing more than their golden ticket to healthy humanity? Would I be as calm as these characters were? Would I have enough trust in God and the one or two guys that weren't taken to save me and what was left of my friends and family? The truth is, probably not.
I mean, think about it. These are teens and young adults. They were just captured by people who hadn't bothered them before, but still treated them as if
they were the ones who were sick. I'd be pulling a Naomi around those people. They call me shell and I pour sweet, acidy sarcasm all over their dried up corpses. "Well, excuse
you. I'm not the one who looks like dry desert dirt painted to portray an Easter egg, thankyouverymuch."
I'd also most likely be killed.
But, hey, at least I'd have told them, right?
This is getting off topic. I have too many good things to say about this and I'm about to just tell y'all what happens if I don't shut up. So, moving on.
I didn't like that there was so much from Omar's point of view. I mean, I get that it's what was needed. She had to show us what it was like in the Safe Lands, and not just . . . I wonder if that counts as spoilers. Meh. I just didn't like that there was a pretty big gap of Mason. I had a bond with Mason before I even opened the book, and it's totally not because
Bethany told me I would. I'm not sure why, because he's not the eldest (Levi is). But I'm not sure if he's the youngest or the middle child. I don't think it was ever specified. And if it was, I'll feel really stupid.
I felt bad for Omar, because he seemed to be really messed up in the head. But I didn't really care much for him. I just couldn't make myself like him much. I couldn't really like Levi much either. Or their father. He was emotionally abusive. I didn't feel bad at all when *Censored for spoilers*
So, yeah. It was great. There's even a bi-polar lady. Okay, so she's probably not bi-polar, but she acts like it sometimes. I ship her and Mason. *wink* I'm always shipping crazy people with sane people. It's a lot of fun.
Okay, this post is getting long. I've lost half of y'all, haven't I? I'M SORRY I RAMBLE.
Anywaaaaaaay . . .
I give this 4.5 stars. The only thing that really bothered me was the lack of more Mason. I'm going to end this here by saying you need to get it. And
Miss Jill has graciously offered a paperback copy of the book! Just fill out the rafflecopter form for a chance to win!
And if you don't win, or you're too lazy to do the rafflecopter (no judging here. I get ya), you can buy the book yourself!
Click
HERE for Amazon
Click
HERE for Barnes and Noble
Click
HERE for the video on how the author got her inspiration!
Sorry for all the links. I imagine this post looks like a Wikipedia page. Blah. But wait, there's more!
Check out all these other blogs while you're at it:
ADD Librarian
Blooming with Books
Bookworm Reading
Chris Kolmorgen
Christian Book Review Blog
Christian Bookshelf Reviews
CTF Devourer
Emily Rachelle Writes
Heavenward Reviews
Jessica Laurie
Labor Not in Vain
The Life of a Teenage Writer <--- You are here.
The Maniacal Bookworm
Mrs. Southern Bride
Oh, Restless Bird
Pages from My Journal
The Pen and Parchment
Rachelle Rea
The Ramblings of a Young Author
Realm of Hearts
Shadow Writer World
A Simple Life, Really?!
Surrendering All of Me
Terri Harr
Verbosity Book Reviews
Who YA Reading?
Worthy2Read
The Writings of Rosie
This has to be the messiest review I have ever done. Wow.
Thanks for reading!
About Team Novel Teen:
Team Novel Teen is a group of bloggers dedicated to spreading the word about clean teen fiction. Check out other posts about
Captives by Jill Williamson by clicking on the links above, and
click here for more information about Team Novel Teen.
***Sorry for any mistakes. I finished this at 3am today. Don't judge me***