Blurb from Goodreads:In 2132, “We the people …” means nothing, and it hasn’t for a hundred years.
Like all the citizens of the American Union, eighteen-year-old Erianna Keating is not to ask questions. She is not to believe anything except what the A.U. tells her. More importantly, she’s not supposed to know what she doesn’t know, nor that she’s a pawn.
Like everyone else, though, she is, and like everyone else, she is a hundred percent oblivious to what’s going on.
Or is she? Are they?
Erianna thinks going to Perry Road and joining the national registration program is her next step toward adulthood; the 2132 candidates for adult-classification, though, are in for a big surprise. Especially Erianna.
Thanks to Zane Warren, an awkward but hot guy who won’t shut up about a history that doesn’t—or shouldn’t—matter anymore, Erianna will know. Will learn. That includes finding out what actually happens after registration and doing something, anything, about it.
Fixing what went wrong, what caused the U.S.A. to split into two countries, though, is not on Erianna’s bucket list, but as she faces her future, she must decide whether to fall in line with the American Union’s plan for her, or to consider that Zane might not be wrong, and the time for revolution begins now.
Title: Perry Road (Revolution #1)
Author: Emi Gayle
Publication Date: September 3, 2013
The Cover Contessa's Review:
I want to thank Emi Gayle for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review. Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or review.
I will let you know right off that I love Emi Gayle and her writing. Her triology, The 19th Year, is one of my all time favorite reads in the last year. So when she offered me a copy of this book to read and review, I was not only flattered but so excited to jump at the chance to read something else by her!
I absolutely adore the cover of this book. The wall that shows the separation of the American Union from the rest of the world. And the wire at the top of the wall just solidifies the idea that the citizens really don't have the control they have been led to believe they do.
So I will tell you right off this book is extremely political. It's wrapped around the concept that part of America has just gone bad, that the government has stepped in and taken total control of everyone and everything including jobs, ability to have children and anything else you can expect. Scary but eye opening at the same time because it is something that can truly happen!
Erianna (Anna) is a great character. At first she's totally accepting of everything the AU will tell her. She blindly accepts it because she has been taught that is her place. She's naive and a bit timid and totally accepting of her place in society. At the same time, she is strong and very strong willed, so it takes a lot to show her things are not exactly what she thinks they are. This is so real and believable. She is also very easy to relate to. She's got that teen angst, not sure where her life is going, scared to find out, wondering who she will be and who she will be with. Her life is kind of up in the air until she is told her place in society. And her family has been torn apart by tragedy, so she's a bit aloof, kind of keeps things to herself and doesn't want to let others in.
Zane perplexes me a bit. He's very secretive for much of the book, so he's hard to read. He certainly comes off as someone who is strong and believes in what he is fighting for. At the same time, you can see he has some past secrets that kind of get in the way of things with him. But he wants change and will do what he needs to make it happen. I can also tell he is fiercely loyal and once he lets someone in, and trusts them, he holds them to very high standards. I liked the pace of his relationship with Anna. It's not the typical YA insta-love or romance and I like how it progresses.
The secondary characters do not have huge roles in this book. We get a glimpse of Anna's mom and sister through her eyes. Her mother plays a background role in the plot, while her sister is certainly more at the forefront, but you don't really see this until later in the book.
I really enjoyed Gayle's world building in this book. The total control of the government, the separation of the "classes", the ability of the government to basically brain wash their citizens. It's very political. The thought that our country could possibly be split into two factions so easily is terrifying. Gayle does a great job explaining the history of how this happened, of the rift that occurred and why. She hits the nail on the head with a government given too much power. With a government who have forgotten what our Constitution says about free will and the people having a say in how things are run. It shows how unconcerned so many in society of have become with how things are progressing in our government and how it might lead to the downfall of our society. The corruption that is so rooted in our society is definitely seen in this book!
And Emi's writing is so easy to read. It flows right off the page and pulls you through the book so easily. There's nothing rough about it. There is not a book she writes that I will not read. Once I start reading things she writes, I just can't put it down. I will admit that it took me until about 30% to really get into this book, but once I got there, Gayle had me hooked! And thought it looks like it took me a long time to read this because I started it a while back, it really didn't as I stopped and restarted only a day before I finished it!
I think what I love most is that Gayle took the chance on creating something for the YA population that you often only see marketed to the adult population. It's so important for America's youth to understand the state their union is in and how it will affect them in the future. Gayle has hit it right on the head and done so in a way that will keep teens enthralled. If you've watched the show Revolution, you will find it reminiscent of this plot line. If you're looking for a politically gripping YA novel, then this is the book for you!
Review:
I want to thank Emi Gayle for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review. Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or review.
I will let you know right off that I love Emi Gayle and her writing. Her triology, The 19th Year, is one of my all time favorite reads in the last year. So when she offered me a copy of this book to read and review, I was not only flattered but so excited to jump at the chance to read something else by her!
I absolutely adore the cover of this book. The wall that shows the separation of the American Union from the rest of the world. And the wire at the top of the wall just solidifies the idea that the citizens really don't have the control they have been led to believe they do.
So I will tell you right off this book is extremely political. It's wrapped around the concept that part of America has just gone bad, that the government has stepped in and taken total control of everyone and everything including jobs, ability to have children and anything else you can expect. Scary but eye opening at the same time because it is something that can truly happen!
Erianna (Anna) is a great character. At first she's totally accepting of everything the AU will tell her. She blindly accepts it because she has been taught that is her place. She's naive and a bit timid and totally accepting of her place in society. At the same time, she is strong and very strong willed, so it takes a lot to show her things are not exactly what she thinks they are. This is so real and believable. She is also very easy to relate to. She's got that teen angst, not sure where her life is going, scared to find out, wondering who she will be and who she will be with. Her life is kind of up in the air until she is told her place in society. And her family has been torn apart by tragedy, so she's a bit aloof, kind of keeps things to herself and doesn't want to let others in.
Zane perplexes me a bit. He's very secretive for much of the book, so he's hard to read. He certainly comes off as someone who is strong and believes in what he is fighting for. At the same time, you can see he has some past secrets that kind of get in the way of things with him. But he wants change and will do what he needs to make it happen. I can also tell he is fiercely loyal and once he lets someone in, and trusts them, he holds them to very high standards. I liked the pace of his relationship with Anna. It's not the typical YA insta-love or romance and I like how it progresses.
The secondary characters do not have huge roles in this book. We get a glimpse of Anna's mom and sister through her eyes. Her mother plays a background role in the plot, while her sister is certainly more at the forefront, but you don't really see this until later in the book.
I really enjoyed Gayle's world building in this book. The total control of the government, the separation of the "classes", the ability of the government to basically brain wash their citizens. It's very political. The thought that our country could possibly be split into two factions so easily is terrifying. Gayle does a great job explaining the history of how this happened, of the rift that occurred and why. She hits the nail on the head with a government given too much power. With a government who have forgotten what our Constitution says about free will and the people having a say in how things are run. It shows how unconcerned so many in society of have become with how things are progressing in our government and how it might lead to the downfall of our society. The corruption that is so rooted in our society is definitely seen in this book!
And Emi's writing is so easy to read. It flows right off the page and pulls you through the book so easily. There's nothing rough about it. There is not a book she writes that I will not read. Once I start reading things she writes, I just can't put it down. I will admit that it took me until about 30% to really get into this book, but once I got there, Gayle had me hooked! And thought it looks like it took me a long time to read this because I started it a while back, it really didn't as I stopped and restarted only a day before I finished it!
I think what I love most is that Gayle took the chance on creating something for the YA population that you often only see marketed to the adult population. It's so important for America's youth to understand the state their union is in and how it will affect them in the future. Gayle has hit it right on the head and done so in a way that will keep teens enthralled. If you've watched the show Revolution, you will find it reminiscent of this plot line. If you're looking for a politically gripping YA novel, then this is the book for you!
Emi Gayle just wants to be young again. She lives vicariously through her youthful characters, while simultaneously acting as chief-Mom to her teenaged son and searching for a way to keep her two daughters from ever reaching the dreaded teen years. Ironically, those years were some of Emi's favorite times. She met the man of her dreams at 14, was engaged to him at 19, married him at 20 and she's still in love with him to this day. She'll never forget what it was like to fall in love at such a young age — emotions she wants everyone to feel.
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