BOOK REVIEW: PRIZED by CARAGH O'BRIEN

Title:   PRIZED (Birthmarked #2)
Author:   CARAGH O'BRIEN
Publisher:   Simon Schuster
Pages: Paperback, 356 pages
Acquired: Review Copy received from Simon & Schuster


RATING:   4 out of 5 SINISTER SYLUM STARS!!

Goodreads Description:

Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone survives only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime.  In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole?

REVIEW:

I absolutely LOVED Birthmarked.....so I was very anxious to gets my hands on Prized to continue the saga that became Gaia Stone's life - and of course a bit a Leon!!

Though Prized wasn't as fresh and fast paced as Birthmarked, I certainly enjoyed it. 

Gaia grew further as a woman in Prized.  She became strong willed and definitely a force to be reckoned with. Her stubborn side was very evident!  

At times it felt a little slow within the story - though this can be attributed to the story being set wholly and solely in Sylum.  With Birthmarked we were on a constant run with Gaia and Leon. 

In Prized, Gaia was having to adjust to life under a fairly strict rule that was very different to life belonging to the Enclave (or outside the Enclave walls!).   A guy could barely look in your direction without it being a punishable offence in Sylum. You see, the men outnumber the women by a huge percentage - and "breeding" seemed to be producing more and more boys than girls. 

With this issue of guys to girls ratio......we are given not just a love triangle - but a love square/box...did it work??  Well, to me Leon is the only one for Gaia.  With the introduction of Peter and his brother Will I am not too sure if it was pulled off correctly.  Out of the brothers I felt Gaia had more a connection with Will, though all briefs on the story had Peter as the possible new love interest.

Overall, I enjoyed Prized - I look forward to Promised (Birthmarked #3).

ENJOY!

MARISSA

4.5 Stars BOOK REVIEW: BIRTHMARKED by CARAGH O'BRIEN

Title:   BIRTHMARKED
Author:  CARAGH O'BRIEN
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Australia
Pages: 361 pages Paperback
Cost: $16.99 (AUD)


RATING:  4.5 out of 5 "Advanced" Stars!!

Description by Goodreads:

After climate change, on the north shore of Unlake Superior, a dystopian world is divided between those who live inside the wall, and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone, who live outside. It’s Gaia’s job to “advance” a quota of infants from poverty into the walled Enclave, until the night one agonized mother objects, and Gaia’s parents are arrested.
          Badly scarred since childhood, Gaia is a strong, resourceful loner who begins to question her society. As Gaia’s efforts to save her parents take her within the wall, she herself is arrested and imprisoned.
          Fraught with difficult moral choices and rich with intricate layers of codes, BIRTHMARKED explores a colorful, cruel, eerily familiar world where one girl can make all the difference, and a real hero makes her own moral code.

REVIEW:

What a FANTASTIC read Birthmarked is!  I highly recommend grabbing a copy, sinking into your comfy sofa and be drawn into a fairly fast paced ride of ambition, love, turmoil and deception.  The speed of the story reminded me a bit of reading The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (my favourite series).

Gaia Stone is a great character that has her eyes opened to the split world she lives in....the only life she has known outside "the wall" and "inside the wall" that people on the outside are curious and at times jealous of.  To this I say....."The grass isn't always greener"!

Gaia is scarred on her face - and as a result she was purposely overlooked by those controlling the other side of the wall - she just didnt fit into their idyllic physical and genetic image.  So she has been left with her family to live a life of struggle. She continues in her mothers' footsteps as that of a "midwife".  To deliver the babies outside the wall - and "advance" the first 3 born to the insiders.

One night her parents are taken - arrested by authorities on the inside and taken inside the wall. From here Gaia is thrown into a tornado of decisions, emotions and personal growth in a very short time. She becomes strong and determined - though at times  she clearly questions her physical ability to cope. 

Whilst "inside" searching to rescue her parents, Gaia teams up with Leon and they forge a unique bond of trust and love with each other.  the likes of which are sure to be tested time and again in the sequel "Prized".

Birthmarked has some fantastic POW's - one of which had me crying out "What the???" !

We are left with a great ending that totally succeeds in leaving the reader wanting more - and wanting it NOW!

ENJOY!

MARISSA

BOOK REVIEW - BIRTHMARKED by CARAGH O'BRIEN - BIRTHMARKED SERIES # 1

By: Caragh O'Brien
Published By : Simon and Schuster
Released : Available Now
Details : Paperback, 361 Pages ( Given for review by Simon and Schuster)

RATING : 4.5 LEON STARS!!!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

After climate change, on the north shore of Unlake Superior, a dystopian world is divided between those who live inside the wall, and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone, who live outside. It’s Gaia’s job to “advance” a quota of infants from poverty into the walled Enclave, until the night one agonized mother objects, and Gaia’s parents are arrested.  

Badly scarred since childhood, Gaia is a strong, resourceful loner who begins to question her society. As Gaia’s efforts to save her parents take her within the wall, she herself is arrested and imprisoned.
Fraught with difficult moral choices and rich with intricate layers of codes, Birthmarked explores a colorful, cruel, eerily familiar world where one girl can make all the difference, and a real hero makes her own moral code.
 

BOOK REVIEW:


A big thankyou to Simon & Schuster for sending ‘Birthmarked’, to me for review. I love dystopian genre and this book did not hesitate to please me. ‘Birthmarked’ is a genuine page turner.


Gaia Stone is one determined, tough young girl. At only 16 she had me holding my breath with her fierceness, she is a midwife, parentless and determined to tough it out by herself until she realises that her parents need her.


Where there is a will, there is a way and Gaia will stop at nothing to discover the truth about her parents. She is incredibly selfless and brave for her age.


Being a mother of 3 kidlets, I can’t fathom having to give birth under those conditions and then have to agree to have my baby taken from me and delivered to the guards at The Enclave within 90 minutes from the babes birth.


Rather a frightening society that allows these poor , kind people to live outside the walls of The Enclave, left to fend for themselves, with a little help/payment/compensation for receiving the first 3 babies of the month.


The allure of life inside The Enclave is not all it seems. Who actually are the lucky ones, the people of Wharfton , who live with little outside the walls of The Enclave or the well looked after people within the walls ?


Sgt Grey..soon to be Captain Leon Grey is intriguing at first . What is his deal?


I was quite surprised that within the walls there were computers, telephones, electricity, I don’t know why ..considering it’s into the year 2400.


Within the walls is a mixture of ye olden times with hangings/executions and computers and phones. It is the world that Caragh has built for the reader.


I am rather intrigued by Danni O...... there’s another story there , I think ‘Prized ‘, book #2 will unfold that story.


The Tvaltar, is it like a big tv screen that they can view, hence the name Tv...altar? Those precious tickets that allow them to see into The Enclave way of life, it felt like they were waving their so called good life in front of the people of Wharfton’s faces. “Hey come earn a ticket to come see us, but you can’t be us”.


Mabrother Iris, oooo, I could wringe his neck, he is a creep and needs to be dispatched of.


Families of Wharfton are being torn apart by a society that is dying, does everyone within the walls agree with The Enclave and it’s rules? Is there a rebellion underfoot?


I’m looking forward to ‘Prized’, due for release 8th November 2011. Caragh has me intrigued to know more about Leon Grey , will he be a part of ‘Prized’, I do hope so:D

Caragh has built a world where love is tested, punished, left to die, but most of all it is worth fighting for.

Michelle