AUTHOR: Anna North
INFO: Paperback, Fiction, 294 pages
PUBLISHED: Little Brown and Company, 2011
SOURCE: Received from Publisher for Review
FROM GOODREADS: Eighteen-year-old Darcy lives on the island of America Pacifica—one of the last places on earth that is still habitable, after North America has succumbed to a second ice age. Education, food, and basic means of survival are the province of a chosen few, while the majority of the island residents must struggle to stay alive. The rich live in "Manhattanville" mansions made from the last pieces of wood and stone, while the poor cower in the shantytown slums of "Hell City" and "Little Los Angeles," places built out of heaped up trash that is slowly crumbling into the sea. The island is ruled by a mysterious dictator named Tyson, whose regime is plagued by charges of corruption and conspiracy.
But to Darcy, America Pacifica is simply home—the only one she's ever known. In spite of their poverty she lives contentedly with her mother, who works as a pearl diver. It's only when her mother doesn't come home one night that Darcy begins to learn about her past as a former "Mainlander," and her mother's role in the flight from frozen California to America Pacifica. Darcy embarks on a quest to find her mother, navigating the dark underbelly of the island, learning along the way the disturbing truth of Pacifica's early history, the far-reaching influence of its egomaniacal leader, and the possible plot to murder some of the island's first inhabitants—including her mother.
MY TAKE: Dystopian books have captured my attention lately and I have been enjoying delving into them. America Pacifica was no exception. It was an interesting story that I read quickly in an afternoon.
The book starts just a bit slow with the reader becoming familiar with America Pacifica and how it came to be. We get some of Darcy and her mother Sarah's history but with a lot of holes to be filled in as the book progresses. The heavier action doesn't really start until the latter half of the book. It does quickly pick up then.
Darcy is really the only character that we get to know more than just in passing. Because she is very contained both in her mind and her actions, she also stays a bit of mystery at times. The rest of the people are pretty much there to further Darcy's adventure and quest to find her mother. Most of them are not what they seem and some are exactly the opposite. This uncertainty keeps you turning the pages as you try to figure out exactly what is going on.
Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it:
~~~~~ Disclaimer: All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own. I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links. I may receive books in order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one. Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.
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