"In the three years since the war ended Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs-like food stamps and hand me down clothes and how to pass the random home inspections by the Federal Bureau of Reformation. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And whats worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings..the only boy Ember has ever loved."
What a wonderful ride this was. Imagine a world where stringent religious codes change on a day to day basis; such as not being able to hold hands with the opposite sex are enough to get you arrested or even worse killed. This is the world we enter in Kristen Simmons debut novel. Our heroine and her mother get arrested when the Federal Bureau of Reformation of "religious police" come and arrest her mother for not being married and having a child out of wedlock. Although, their family was originally safeguarded. Thanks to the changing whims of the powers that be, Ember gets sent off to a Religious camp of sorts where girls are "reprogrammed" to live and breathe the puritanical ideals of the State until she escapes in search of her mother and the belief that they will be reunited again. Ember is our heroine and although she starts off as a naive and somewhat whiny teen, you see her grow and mature in her will to not be captured and in her dream to survive in this religious oppression in order to reunite with her mother, and have their family once again become whole. Enter the love interest, or former neighbor, Chase Jennings, broken by the militia he represents and slowly but surely protect his former crush, and help her survive against all odds in a corrupted system that is oppressive. I love the rocky relationship they have and the barriers they need to fight against together in order to come to some sort of understanding. The book is action packed, and you really buy into the police state atmosphere. I really liked the characters and their flaws. I found myself tossed about with plot twists that were so unexpected that my interest was captured from beginning to end. You really do not know where our characters will end up and the ending is so unexpected that you feel for our heroine. Grab a copy of this dystopian gem, I promise you will really find a worthy book that will take you on a never-ending thrill ride.
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