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heraddledbrain's review
5.0
What a fantastic new dystopian series! I've read a lot of them and this one had a whole new take. The Juniper "world" was intriguing and believable. The secrets had me hanging on and turning pages faster, especially at the end.
I love the dynamic between the three sisters. They are all so different, and yet, their family ties are honest. I found myself loving every character in this book, even the minor characters. They are all so unique and well fleshed out. They each had their own realistic flaws that made them relatable.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone who has read and loved books like The Hunger Games and Divergent. It has a similar dark, gritty feel with similar sociopathic villains, but with a truly fresh perspective. Can't wait to get the second one!
I love the dynamic between the three sisters. They are all so different, and yet, their family ties are honest. I found myself loving every character in this book, even the minor characters. They are all so unique and well fleshed out. They each had their own realistic flaws that made them relatable.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone who has read and loved books like The Hunger Games and Divergent. It has a similar dark, gritty feel with similar sociopathic villains, but with a truly fresh perspective. Can't wait to get the second one!
marsenault13's review
5.0
I loved this book so much! I love the world Aaron has created here, the characters are relatable, I want to know what happens next. I am SO mad at myself for not buying all the books at ECCC 17. I should have known when it was pitched to me as 'Little House on the Prairie' meets 'Mad Max Fury Road'. I can't wait to find the next book. Fellow authors, he has invited you to write in this world, get to it!!
christalbotheindl's review
2.0
I bought this book because it was suggested to me at a SciFi Con when I requested a dystopian novel with female protagonists - my drug of choice. While it is both of those things, it didn't quite hit the mark for me. It was quite evident that the author was male and has never been a teenage girl, and possibly did not consult with any prior to writing the main character, Cavatica. In times when Cavatica should have had a million things on her mind (what was happening, the death of her mother, the loss of control of her life, what her future should look like, etc.), she was reduced entirely to thoughts about her weird, sex-shaming religion and boys. Which is not uncommon in books about teenage girls written by men, but a bit disappointing to read in a contemporary book.
While the book is almost entirely composed of female characters (as a war and a sterility epidemic has killed off 90% of the men of the world), it would barely pass the Bechdel test. In 257 pages, there weren't too many conversations between characters (with the exception of Tech and Sketchy, who both disappear from the narrative suddenly) or thoughts from Cavatica that weren't entirely based around boys or men.
The action parts were pretty action-packed in the typical way with impossible scenarios scattered throughout in a predictable pattern and cadence - David v. Goliath style battles - that all ended in "oh no, someone in the party may be seriously hurt!" followed directly by "just kidding, everyone's fine."
It was also incredibly repetitive with a multitude of references to some weird religion we don't really understand, mentions of a catastrophic event that is hinted at but never fully explained, lots of made-up jargon and Western cowgirl slang that make it harder to read, and just tons and tons of teenage hormonal crush moments at highly improbable times.
All in all, I was not entirely pleased with my purchase and wish I had held out for a female author who could write a less predictable, more true to life, fully-fleshed out female character with depth and substance. 2.5/5
While the book is almost entirely composed of female characters (as a war and a sterility epidemic has killed off 90% of the men of the world), it would barely pass the Bechdel test. In 257 pages, there weren't too many conversations between characters (with the exception of Tech and Sketchy, who both disappear from the narrative suddenly) or thoughts from Cavatica that weren't entirely based around boys or men.
The action parts were pretty action-packed in the typical way with impossible scenarios scattered throughout in a predictable pattern and cadence - David v. Goliath style battles - that all ended in "oh no, someone in the party may be seriously hurt!" followed directly by "just kidding, everyone's fine."
It was also incredibly repetitive with a multitude of references to some weird religion we don't really understand, mentions of a catastrophic event that is hinted at but never fully explained, lots of made-up jargon and Western cowgirl slang that make it harder to read, and just tons and tons of teenage hormonal crush moments at highly improbable times.
All in all, I was not entirely pleased with my purchase and wish I had held out for a female author who could write a less predictable, more true to life, fully-fleshed out female character with depth and substance. 2.5/5
nnecatrix's review
5.0
Book # 46 for 2016
Habitica's Legendary Book Club Modest Reading Challenge Task: A book you've been meaning to read.
PopSugar Challenge Prompt (part 1 of 2): A book and its prequel.
Kudos to Ritchey for this highly imaginative tale featuring kick-ass female characters and an awesome voice in the first-person narrator, 16-year-old Cavatica Weller. She is very much a 16-year-old girl that anybody who has ever been a 16-year-old girl will be able to identify with on some level, but she's also an effective guide through both "the World" and "the Juniper" as well as her own personal conflicts.
I don't claim to understand all of the world-building here, but I didn't need to in order to enjoy the book. It's sort of like Firefly meets a flipped [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473094781s/38447.jpg|1119185], with a few dashes of [b:As I Lay Dying|77013|As I Lay Dying|William Faulkner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451810782s/77013.jpg|481854] and [b:Little House on the Prairie|77767|Little House on the Prairie (Little House, #2)|Laura Ingalls Wilder|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441903581s/77767.jpg|2884161] (though more the TV show than the books). But post-apocalyptic steampunk in the weird and wild west. And all without ripping off these influences. I also read one of the prequels, [b:Armageddon Dimes|32708129|Armageddon Dimes (The Juniper Wars, #0.5)|Aaron Michael Ritchey|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|53286125], which I recommend for another perspective on the Weller girls and the world-building.
Oh, and I loved the horse's names. They always made me giggle, and the book is full of these fun little nods to our current era. There is also some fairly serious examination of politics, religion, and social structures. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. This volume did end on a cliffhanger, but I'm hooked and will definitely be reading the next volume, and I felt there was sufficient resolution of the obstacles encountered thus far in the adventure.
Habitica's Legendary Book Club Modest Reading Challenge Task: A book you've been meaning to read.
PopSugar Challenge Prompt (part 1 of 2): A book and its prequel.
Kudos to Ritchey for this highly imaginative tale featuring kick-ass female characters and an awesome voice in the first-person narrator, 16-year-old Cavatica Weller. She is very much a 16-year-old girl that anybody who has ever been a 16-year-old girl will be able to identify with on some level, but she's also an effective guide through both "the World" and "the Juniper" as well as her own personal conflicts.
I don't claim to understand all of the world-building here, but I didn't need to in order to enjoy the book. It's sort of like Firefly meets a flipped [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473094781s/38447.jpg|1119185], with a few dashes of [b:As I Lay Dying|77013|As I Lay Dying|William Faulkner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451810782s/77013.jpg|481854] and [b:Little House on the Prairie|77767|Little House on the Prairie (Little House, #2)|Laura Ingalls Wilder|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441903581s/77767.jpg|2884161] (though more the TV show than the books). But post-apocalyptic steampunk in the weird and wild west. And all without ripping off these influences. I also read one of the prequels, [b:Armageddon Dimes|32708129|Armageddon Dimes (The Juniper Wars, #0.5)|Aaron Michael Ritchey|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|53286125], which I recommend for another perspective on the Weller girls and the world-building.
Oh, and I loved the horse's names. They always made me giggle, and the book is full of these fun little nods to our current era. There is also some fairly serious examination of politics, religion, and social structures. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. This volume did end on a cliffhanger, but I'm hooked and will definitely be reading the next volume, and I felt there was sufficient resolution of the obstacles encountered thus far in the adventure.
avoraciousreader68's review
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