Scan barcode
colossal's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent YA SF set in the aftermath of an alien invasion that has isolated the city where the action is set and changed the inhabitants.
The action picks up with 11-year old Bo escaping from a warehouse where the aliens are keeping children, all of who are implanted with a strange parasite. He's found by 16-year old Violet who's a member of a group of other escapee children calling themselves the Lost Boys. The Lost Boys are led by the charismatic Wyatt who has trained them in resisting the various disturbing alien forces occupying the city and surviving there when all the adults are sort-of benign zombies. As it turns out though, Bo is different from the other kids, and his difference signifies a new chapter of the alien invasion and the kids struggle for survival.
If I had to give an elevator pitch for this one I'd describe it as [b:Exo|26532931|Exo (Exo #1)|Fonda Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464719345s/26532931.jpg|46532697] by way of Falling Skies and [b:Peter Pan|34268|Peter Pan|J.M. Barrie|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1337714526s/34268.jpg|1358908]. The protagonists are Bo, the son of immigrants from Niger, and Violet, a transgender girl who's found her own way now that her non-supportive family are mainly out of the picture. Things get really interesting when they begin to interact with the aliens more, including the revelation of an unexpected and suspicious ally.
While clearly part of a series, this does come to a satisfactory conclusion which is refreshing considering the cliffhanger-prone YA genre.
The action picks up with 11-year old Bo escaping from a warehouse where the aliens are keeping children, all of who are implanted with a strange parasite. He's found by 16-year old Violet who's a member of a group of other escapee children calling themselves the Lost Boys. The Lost Boys are led by the charismatic Wyatt who has trained them in resisting the various disturbing alien forces occupying the city and surviving there when all the adults are sort-of benign zombies. As it turns out though, Bo is different from the other kids, and his difference signifies a new chapter of the alien invasion and the kids struggle for survival.
If I had to give an elevator pitch for this one I'd describe it as [b:Exo|26532931|Exo (Exo #1)|Fonda Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464719345s/26532931.jpg|46532697] by way of Falling Skies and [b:Peter Pan|34268|Peter Pan|J.M. Barrie|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1337714526s/34268.jpg|1358908]. The protagonists are Bo, the son of immigrants from Niger, and Violet, a transgender girl who's found her own way now that her non-supportive family are mainly out of the picture. Things get really interesting when they begin to interact with the aliens more, including the revelation of an unexpected and suspicious ally.
While clearly part of a series, this does come to a satisfactory conclusion which is refreshing considering the cliffhanger-prone YA genre.
jessgeekmom's review against another edition
3.0
This seemed like a pretty standard YA dystopia. I might have liked it better if the robot things weren’t ‘othermothers’. Other mother, for me will always be a person with button eyes.
jesnevertheless's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to Orbit books for a copy of Annex for review!
When I first started reading this book I wanted as little information on it as possible. I knew nothing about its plot and I was so pleasantly surprised!
Annex follows our two main characters Violet and Bo. It is a duel perspective sci-fi/fantasy book. I was really interested in the story the farther in it I read. Our story begins following Violet while she navigates their city following an alien invasion that has left everyone but the children vacant shells. Very soon in the story you start to piece together that Violet is transgender and I thought it was represented so well.
Another very interesting part of this book is that despite being an adult novel all of our characters are under 18 years old. Bo, the second half of the duel perspectives, is very young. Which is one thing I really struggled with with this book. I found it incredibly hard to imagine the children (seriously, some of them are under 8 years old) doing what they're doing in this book. But I very much so enjoyed the character growth they all go through. Namely Violet. Bo sort of lacked as a supporting character to me.
I thought the first half of this book was strong and interesting. I liked the Lost Boys (an obvious nod at Peter Pan) especially because of Violet being male to female transgender. I found the aftermath of the alien invasion to be something I wanted to keep reading about and I was thoroughly impressed with the world, but I must say I wouldn't have said no to a bit more development on the aliens. Although I imagine we'll see more of them further along in the series.
Overall the characters were interesting, albeit a little hard to imagine at their age. The story was both heart breaking and unsettling. I found the aliens a little lack luster, but I'm more than willing to continue the series to see what happens.
You may like this book if:
You're looking for transgender rep
You like young children left to fend for themselves trope
You enjoy duel perspective
You enjoy books with aliens
You may not like this book if
You're sensitive to bullying. There is quite a bit of it in this book.
You are not a fan of representation.
You find it hard to imagine young children doing adult things.
When I first started reading this book I wanted as little information on it as possible. I knew nothing about its plot and I was so pleasantly surprised!
Annex follows our two main characters Violet and Bo. It is a duel perspective sci-fi/fantasy book. I was really interested in the story the farther in it I read. Our story begins following Violet while she navigates their city following an alien invasion that has left everyone but the children vacant shells. Very soon in the story you start to piece together that Violet is transgender and I thought it was represented so well.
Another very interesting part of this book is that despite being an adult novel all of our characters are under 18 years old. Bo, the second half of the duel perspectives, is very young. Which is one thing I really struggled with with this book. I found it incredibly hard to imagine the children (seriously, some of them are under 8 years old) doing what they're doing in this book. But I very much so enjoyed the character growth they all go through. Namely Violet. Bo sort of lacked as a supporting character to me.
I thought the first half of this book was strong and interesting. I liked the Lost Boys (an obvious nod at Peter Pan) especially because of Violet being male to female transgender. I found the aftermath of the alien invasion to be something I wanted to keep reading about and I was thoroughly impressed with the world, but I must say I wouldn't have said no to a bit more development on the aliens. Although I imagine we'll see more of them further along in the series.
Overall the characters were interesting, albeit a little hard to imagine at their age. The story was both heart breaking and unsettling. I found the aliens a little lack luster, but I'm more than willing to continue the series to see what happens.
You may like this book if:
You're looking for transgender rep
You like young children left to fend for themselves trope
You enjoy duel perspective
You enjoy books with aliens
You may not like this book if
You're sensitive to bullying. There is quite a bit of it in this book.
You are not a fan of representation.
You find it hard to imagine young children doing adult things.
nitorisedai's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
makennahbristow's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
belowvaultedsky's review
4.0
Annex bucks my recent trend of reading books that have strong beginnings and lackluster endings, because I struggled hard with the beginning of this one. The book presents a city that's been overrun by aliens. The adults have been captured and turned into non-violent, still-breathing zombies, and the children are being rounded up and experimented on. In the midst of this chaos, we follow the lives of a surviving group of children known as the "Lost Boys" who are led by a teen named Wyatt.
I came into the book expecting a sprawling alien invasion epic set on Earth a la Independence Day, except starring children. The reality, however, was rather different. Let's count the ways, shall we?
From the beginning, I felt like I was thrown into the middle of a story that was already ongoing and my brain was a whirlwind of questions. Who are these aliens? What have they done with the adults? Is the whole world completely destroyed? Why are they experimenting on children? The book just gives you a coy wink and a smile in lieu of answers, and this drove me crazy.
I don't know why it took me nearly half the book to figure this out considering the kids literally call themselves the "Lost Boys." There's a lot of focus on the dynamics within this little makeshift family, especially between Wyatt and the two main characters, and much of the beginning is just a recounting of their daily lives as they dodge and fight aliens. The scope is very narrow-- because these children know very little about the aliens, we know very little about the aliens.
Once I'd finally made peace with these two points, things started to get a lot more enjoyable. And there is a lot to enjoy in this story. Lawson does action scenes very well-dynamic and exciting--and his descriptions of alien-related creations are fiendishly creepy and imaginative. I especially loved the "othermothers"--creatures made by the aliens to resemble the kids' mothers, if their mothers had metal insect legs. They gave me heavy Bioshock vibes--kind of like a mix of splicers and Big Sisters.
The characters are a colourful bunch. We have Bo, an eleven-year old boy who recently escaped from the warehouse where the aliens are performing experiments on kids. Unfortunately, he was my least favourite of the cast as I found him lacking in personality and far, far too old for his age. Then there's Violet, a fifteen year-old trans girl who's grappling with the fact that she's free to be whoever she wants for the first time in her life but still mourning the loss of her parents. Her desire for acceptance and love is is something you can't not empathize with, and her sassy attitude quickly won me over. There's also Wyatt, leader of the Lost Boys and a Machiavellian rendition of Peter Pan. He's charming, manipulative, despicable, campy--sometimes all at once--and wholly entertaining. Larson's eye for snappy dialogue really brings him to life.
Then around the halfway mark, we meet Gloom the saboteur alien, who is hands-down the best character in the book and one of the more interesting side characters I've had the pleasure of meeting this year. Picture slender man in a bowler hat with a facial expression that just looks off. Picture slender man in a bowler hat with the ability to shapeshift. Picture a shape-shifting slender man in a bowler hat with an unintentionally dry sense of humour and an overall endearing personality. That's Gloom in a nutshell. Is he as awesome as he sounds? You bet. He's a precious blend of creepy and lovable and he steals pretty much every scene that he's in.
All in all, Annex turned out to be a fun, fast-paced story that's very contained and at times claustrophobic. It just took me some time to get settled into it.
~
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
I came into the book expecting a sprawling alien invasion epic set on Earth a la Independence Day, except starring children. The reality, however, was rather different. Let's count the ways, shall we?
- 1. The story gives you zero introduction to the invasion situation.
From the beginning, I felt like I was thrown into the middle of a story that was already ongoing and my brain was a whirlwind of questions. Who are these aliens? What have they done with the adults? Is the whole world completely destroyed? Why are they experimenting on children? The book just gives you a coy wink and a smile in lieu of answers, and this drove me crazy.
2. The first half of the book is more like a Peter Pan/Lord of the Flies mashup against an alien invasion backdrop.
I don't know why it took me nearly half the book to figure this out considering the kids literally call themselves the "Lost Boys." There's a lot of focus on the dynamics within this little makeshift family, especially between Wyatt and the two main characters, and much of the beginning is just a recounting of their daily lives as they dodge and fight aliens. The scope is very narrow-- because these children know very little about the aliens, we know very little about the aliens.
Once I'd finally made peace with these two points, things started to get a lot more enjoyable. And there is a lot to enjoy in this story. Lawson does action scenes very well-dynamic and exciting--and his descriptions of alien-related creations are fiendishly creepy and imaginative. I especially loved the "othermothers"--creatures made by the aliens to resemble the kids' mothers, if their mothers had metal insect legs. They gave me heavy Bioshock vibes--kind of like a mix of splicers and Big Sisters.
The characters are a colourful bunch. We have Bo, an eleven-year old boy who recently escaped from the warehouse where the aliens are performing experiments on kids. Unfortunately, he was my least favourite of the cast as I found him lacking in personality and far, far too old for his age. Then there's Violet, a fifteen year-old trans girl who's grappling with the fact that she's free to be whoever she wants for the first time in her life but still mourning the loss of her parents. Her desire for acceptance and love is is something you can't not empathize with, and her sassy attitude quickly won me over. There's also Wyatt, leader of the Lost Boys and a Machiavellian rendition of Peter Pan. He's charming, manipulative, despicable, campy--sometimes all at once--and wholly entertaining. Larson's eye for snappy dialogue really brings him to life.
Then around the halfway mark, we meet Gloom the saboteur alien, who is hands-down the best character in the book and one of the more interesting side characters I've had the pleasure of meeting this year. Picture slender man in a bowler hat with a facial expression that just looks off. Picture slender man in a bowler hat with the ability to shapeshift. Picture a shape-shifting slender man in a bowler hat with an unintentionally dry sense of humour and an overall endearing personality. That's Gloom in a nutshell. Is he as awesome as he sounds? You bet. He's a precious blend of creepy and lovable and he steals pretty much every scene that he's in.
All in all, Annex turned out to be a fun, fast-paced story that's very contained and at times claustrophobic. It just took me some time to get settled into it.
~
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
bsparks2112's review
2.0
This one didn't do much for me, unfortunately. Something about the prose style or the story beats just didn't click, despite having a lot of elements that I would normally be all for. The setting and backstory is intriguing, and it was fun learning more details about what the aliens were capable of, but it could have benefited from some deeper exploration to give the story's events more context. Likewise with the characters: Violet and Bo are both intriguing protagonists, with the inclusive nature of their identities being a definite plus (having your two main characters in an alien invasion story be a trans girl and a Nigerian immigrant boy is a breath of fresh air, to say the least), but while there are hints of emotionally complex and engaging backstories for both of them, it felt like the book basically just skimmed the surface on their inner lives. Some of the ideas are fresh, but it falls into some sort of trope-y habits involving superpowered kid protagonists that struck me as kind of lackluster. I will say that if I had come across this as a younger reader, closer in age to the protagonists, I probably would have liked it a lot more; as it is, though, it wasn't my thing.
yuna's review
4.0
A well written book that's not really my thing. I'm not big on scifi dystopia or alien invasion. That said, I enjoyed the book. I liked the main characters, Bo and Violet, a lot. They're relatable, easy to get behind, and I always felt like I understood their reasoning behind making some rather terrible decisions. Violet in particularl has a period of (to me) being the textbook unlikable character--she's completely selfish and insecure, but given her past (both recent and old) and that, yea, she's sometimes an insecure teenager, I never had any doubt/misunderstanding of why she did what she did.
Seems like a good example of a book with young adult characters that is written for an adult audience. Doesn't really had YA themes, and some of the violence/torture is a bit intense.
Seems like a good example of a book with young adult characters that is written for an adult audience. Doesn't really had YA themes, and some of the violence/torture is a bit intense.
hollowspine's review
3.0
3.5
The book is about a boy who has just managed to escape an alien prison, where children like him are kept drugged and under surveillance by strange alien creatures. No one knows why they are being held prisoner, or what has happened to all the adults, who wander the streets, clamps on their heads turning them into wandering zombies. A strange fog envelops his city keeping everyone locked inside.
Bo meets Violet just as he escapes and she introduces him to a new family of sorts, the Lost Boys, a group of boys and girls who escaped the camps, led by the charismatic Wyatt. Bo wants to find his sister, taken from the camps before he escaped. Wyatt teaches Bo to use his power, a power all children have gotten after being implanted with alien parasites. Bo could be the most powerful of them all, but that means the aliens are very interested in capturing him. Violet has her own ideas of what she wants, which leads her to an awful choice, between the world as she wants it to be, and reality.
There are definitely scenes where the characters are put in terrible situations, and we often see into their pasts which include abuse, especially for Violet whose family hadn't accepted her trans identity. The characters are well written and the plot twists and action make it a fast paced read. Definitely not the typical plot driven science fiction, this one has social messages as well and ends with a twist that keeps readers wandering if the characters made the right choices, or if the story is over...
The book is about a boy who has just managed to escape an alien prison, where children like him are kept drugged and under surveillance by strange alien creatures. No one knows why they are being held prisoner, or what has happened to all the adults, who wander the streets, clamps on their heads turning them into wandering zombies. A strange fog envelops his city keeping everyone locked inside.
Bo meets Violet just as he escapes and she introduces him to a new family of sorts, the Lost Boys, a group of boys and girls who escaped the camps, led by the charismatic Wyatt. Bo wants to find his sister, taken from the camps before he escaped. Wyatt teaches Bo to use his power, a power all children have gotten after being implanted with alien parasites. Bo could be the most powerful of them all, but that means the aliens are very interested in capturing him. Violet has her own ideas of what she wants, which leads her to an awful choice, between the world as she wants it to be, and reality.
There are definitely scenes where the characters are put in terrible situations, and we often see into their pasts which include abuse, especially for Violet whose family hadn't accepted her trans identity. The characters are well written and the plot twists and action make it a fast paced read. Definitely not the typical plot driven science fiction, this one has social messages as well and ends with a twist that keeps readers wandering if the characters made the right choices, or if the story is over...
graculus's review
5.0
I've been a fan of Rich Larson's short stories for a while, so I was pleased to see he'd written a novel, even if it's always a bit uncertain whether writing the kind of shorter fiction I enjoy translates over to the longer form. Anyway, I'm pleased to report that I really enjoyed Annex and look forward to both the next in the series and whatever else this author puts out.
In some ways this was an even harder sell for me, since I'm not a massive fan of post-apocalyptic novels and that's the premise of Annex - in this case, it's not nuclear war or something home-grown that's the problem, it's alien invasion. This invasion is centred on one particular, unnamed city, home to our main protagonists, Violet and Bo. The aliens concerned have implanted technology in all the adults that makes them live in semi-dream states, unaware of what's going on around them, while the children were used as hosts for Parasites that allow the manipulation of energy.
We first meet Violet when she's raiding a pharmacy, while Bo is escaping from the warehouse where the majority of the children are being kept, desperately searching for his older sister. Both become part of a group of children led by the psychopathic Wyatt, encouraged by him to destroy any vestige of the aliens, with a special focus on the extremely creepy 'othermothers', simulacra of their parents designed to try and lure the children back into drug-addled captivity.
As the story unfolds, Violet learns from bitter experience that Wyatt is not as accepting of her as she wants him to be, while Bo and Violet also undertake an unsuccessful attempt to rescue Lia, Bo's sister. This brings them into contact with a different kind of alien, on the basis that the enemy of my enemy is my friend - while Gloom's motives are questionable, he's clearly much more trustworthy than at least one of their fellow Lost Boys.
I really enjoyed Annex, which kept my attention all the way through and avoided clichés along the way. I'm really looking forward to picking up the next book in the series ([b:Cypher|42779064|Cypher (The Violet Wars #2)|Rich Larson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1548604462s/42779064.jpg|66538281]), which has Violet and Bo on the run with their alien friend and is due out in December.
In some ways this was an even harder sell for me, since I'm not a massive fan of post-apocalyptic novels and that's the premise of Annex - in this case, it's not nuclear war or something home-grown that's the problem, it's alien invasion. This invasion is centred on one particular, unnamed city, home to our main protagonists, Violet and Bo. The aliens concerned have implanted technology in all the adults that makes them live in semi-dream states, unaware of what's going on around them, while the children were used as hosts for Parasites that allow the manipulation of energy.
We first meet Violet when she's raiding a pharmacy, while Bo is escaping from the warehouse where the majority of the children are being kept, desperately searching for his older sister. Both become part of a group of children led by the psychopathic Wyatt, encouraged by him to destroy any vestige of the aliens, with a special focus on the extremely creepy 'othermothers', simulacra of their parents designed to try and lure the children back into drug-addled captivity.
As the story unfolds, Violet learns from bitter experience that Wyatt is not as accepting of her as she wants him to be, while Bo and Violet also undertake an unsuccessful attempt to rescue Lia, Bo's sister. This brings them into contact with a different kind of alien, on the basis that the enemy of my enemy is my friend - while Gloom's motives are questionable, he's clearly much more trustworthy than at least one of their fellow Lost Boys.
I really enjoyed Annex, which kept my attention all the way through and avoided clichés along the way. I'm really looking forward to picking up the next book in the series ([b:Cypher|42779064|Cypher (The Violet Wars #2)|Rich Larson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1548604462s/42779064.jpg|66538281]), which has Violet and Bo on the run with their alien friend and is due out in December.