The Sowing is the first book in The SEEDS trilogy written by a mother and her two daughters (Kristy, Amira K., and Elena K. Makansi). It's a young adult/new adult dystopian novel with healthy doses of science fiction.
THE BLURB:
The Resistance Has Begun.
Remy Alexander wants vengeance. When she and her friends discover a clue that could help reveal the truth behind the massacre that claimed her sister's life, she may finally get her chance.
Valerian Orlean wants answers. Why the girl he was in love with disappeared three years ago. Why she joined the Resistance - a covert organization sworn to destroy everything he believes in. When he is appointed to lead a government program whose mission is to hunt and destroy the Resistance, he may finally find his answers - and Remy.
In a world where the powerful kill to keep their secrets, and the food you eat can change who you are, Remy and Vale are set on a collision course that could bring everyone together - or tear everything apart.
In this science-fiction dystopia, the mother-daughter writing team of Kristina, Amira, and Elena Makansi immerse readers in the post-apocalyptic world of the Okarian Sector, where romance, friendship, adventure, and betrayal will decide the fate of a budding nation.
MY THOUGHTS:
This book started out promising, but as a standalone book it didn't do enough for me. There were many things to like here, including decent writing, but I don't think this installment took us far enough in some areas In the end I think this entire book only serves as a setup for a story with potential.
Before I realized this book alone was going to sort of fall flat for me, I did find many things to enjoy about it. It tells the story of a rebellion against an organization that seeks to shape and thereby control its citizens through modifying their food in ways that affect their behavior and abilities. We follow the viewpoints of two main characters, one in the Resistance and one in the Sector. Both are fairly likable.
A few things I had trouble with were as follows: when we first meet Soren, he's a jerkface and I immediately learned to dislike him. Then all of a sudden we're supposed like him, and I couldn't. Remy frustrated me by the end when she was stubborn in her rage against someone who she now knows had nothing to do with her sister's death, and who in fact has saved her life multiple times. But the most irritating thing to me was when Soren and Remy, who otherwise seemed like intelligent people, happen upon a Sector airship and decide it's a good idea to just take off in it, never stopping to think that it could be tracked.
I guess I'm most interested in the people in the book. I want to see Vale and Remy interact now that the truth is revealed, I want to see more of Linnea, and I really like the supporting character of Eli and would like to see more of him. Soren plays a big role, but as I said, I have a hard time liking him after he was such a jerk when we first meet him and I wasn't talked into believing he had reason to change so much.
Hopefully we will see more of those character interactions and development in the second book, as well as what happens next between the Resistance and the Sector. Until then, I feel a little let down that The Sowing introduced some great ideas and then didn't really take them anywhere yet. The authors certainly do bear watching, though!
MY RATING:
3.5 booksies
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The sequel, The Reaping, is due out Fall 2014
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