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unknownbooks23's review against another edition
4.0
This book was amazing. It was moderately paced with complex characters and the backdrop of World War III added to the storyline. The plot is pretty straightforward and doesn't deviate, meaning that there weren't unnecessary threads to take away from the events as they unfolded. I recommend this book to everyone who loves reading young adult literature and dystopian literature as well.
lcspeers's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
elna17a9a's review against another edition
4.0
A fast-paced, exciting YA book. I'm thrilled this is a standalone rather than part of a series, so I could read through knowing all the plot points would be resolved rather than having to wait (and potentially forget what had even happened in the first book).
It IS a YA novel, so while I could guess almost immediately some of the twists (that Master Wren was leading some kind of cult, that Rolladin had some kind of connection to the girls and their mother), but getting there was exciting and quick, which is what really matters in a book like this.
I definitely thought there was going to be some kind of reveal that Phee and Sky weren't sisters, that Phee was just some orphan that their mom took in, since so much was made of how different the two girls were, emotionally and physically. But I'm glad it didn't happen. They didn't get along, but they were sisters, and they loved each other. The almost love triangle with Ryder was incredibly stupid, but, again, it makes sense that Phee would fall for basically the only new boy she's ever known (though I have a weird feeling that Phee and Sam are better for each other).
I'm not sure how I was supposed to feel about Sarah. She was a good (enough) mom, who took care of her girls and taught them resiliency, but there was absolutely no reason for her not to tell them about her past. I understand wanting to glass over the parts of her relationship with Mary, but to leave them completely in the dark when they were constantly asking?
I wish we had gotten more exploration of Mary/Rolladin. Knowing that she was going to turn into the Warden obviously colored my impressions of her, but the how is always the most fun part. If she had gone to the summit, saw Tom, realized she didn't want to lose Sarah, and THEN faked an attack to tell everyone about, I feel that would have bridged the gap between the Mary that we know and the Rolladin who was willing to lie to everyone that the war was still going. What was the point of that lie? So people would stay in Manhattan? Wouldn't they have anyway once they realized there was nothing out there for them?
I wish a lot more had been fleshed out, but it was already a long book, and honestly enjoyable enough that I'm not too bothered.
It IS a YA novel, so while I could guess almost immediately some of the twists (that Master Wren was leading some kind of cult, that Rolladin had some kind of connection to the girls and their mother), but getting there was exciting and quick, which is what really matters in a book like this.
I definitely thought there was going to be some kind of reveal that Phee and Sky weren't sisters, that Phee was just some orphan that their mom took in, since so much was made of how different the two girls were, emotionally and physically. But I'm glad it didn't happen. They didn't get along, but they were sisters, and they loved each other. The almost love triangle with Ryder was incredibly stupid, but, again, it makes sense that Phee would fall for basically the only new boy she's ever known (though I have a weird feeling that Phee and Sam are better for each other).
I'm not sure how I was supposed to feel about Sarah. She was a good (enough) mom, who took care of her girls and taught them resiliency, but there was absolutely no reason for her not to tell them about her past. I understand wanting to glass over the parts of her relationship with Mary, but to leave them completely in the dark when they were constantly asking?
I wish we had gotten more exploration of Mary/Rolladin. Knowing that she was going to turn into the Warden obviously colored my impressions of her, but the how is always the most fun part. If she had gone to the summit, saw Tom, realized she didn't want to lose Sarah, and THEN faked an attack to tell everyone about, I feel that would have bridged the gap between the Mary that we know and the Rolladin who was willing to lie to everyone that the war was still going. What was the point of that lie? So people would stay in Manhattan? Wouldn't they have anyway once they realized there was nothing out there for them?
I wish a lot more had been fleshed out, but it was already a long book, and honestly enjoyable enough that I'm not too bothered.
sunsoar25's review against another edition
5.0
About twenty years ago, the Red Allies first attacked New York City. Manhattan is now a POW camp ruled by Rolladin, the warden put in place by the enemy who is also a prisoner, and her brutal warlords. In Sky's opinion, the city is nothing but a vicious cage, but to Phee, her younger sister, it's the only place she can call home. After all, it is the only thing either of them have known, since their mother firmly believes that the past should stay in the past. Then, they discover their mother's old journal chronicling her life before the war began and the war's early days and the two sisters realize that there is a whole lot more to the city and their mother than they ever knew. When strangers from a country thought to have been destroyed by the Red Allies come to the POW camp's annual census, the sister's begin to actively uncover the island's long-kept secrets and Rolladin's lies to her fellow prisoners begin to fall apart at the seams.
City of Savages by Lee Kelly will probably go down as one of my favorite reads of 2015. It's a fantastic post-apocalyptic stand alone novel and I wish I could revisit the characters and find out what happens to them after the novel ends.
The novel, rather than being action-packed, is very much a psychological, character-driven story of two sisters as they fight to keep their family together and safe in the Park. The narration is split with alternating chapters between both Phee and Sky. Each have distinct and unique voices so it's easy to keep track of which sister is speaking. This dual perspective also allows the reader to get an inside look at each of their mindsets, which are sometimes quite different. I liked both characters equally as both are easy to relate to for a variety of reasons. The vivid characterizations and the way the author tells the story are my favorite aspects of the novel. Kelly's brilliant writing adds layers of realism, grit, and intensity that really make it standout from the crowd.
Although there isn't exactly a lot to go on, I would also like to mention how much I liked the world-building. To start off, we're essentially thrown right into the story with very little information to start with. We get enough to understand their landscape, but not much else. For me that really worked, I liked seeing the Park through their eyes, but then again another one of my favorite aspects of the novel is learning about the past. Sky and Phee's mother will not speak of the past, but then the girls come across her old journal documenting the fall of Manhattan to the Red Allies. I don't want to give anything away, but those sections were fascinating and could easily make a great pre-dystopian companion novel.
Lee Kelly's City of Savages is brilliant debeut and ranks as an absolute must-read for 2015. I will be keeping my eyes on this author's work.
City of Savages by Lee Kelly will probably go down as one of my favorite reads of 2015. It's a fantastic post-apocalyptic stand alone novel and I wish I could revisit the characters and find out what happens to them after the novel ends.
The novel, rather than being action-packed, is very much a psychological, character-driven story of two sisters as they fight to keep their family together and safe in the Park. The narration is split with alternating chapters between both Phee and Sky. Each have distinct and unique voices so it's easy to keep track of which sister is speaking. This dual perspective also allows the reader to get an inside look at each of their mindsets, which are sometimes quite different. I liked both characters equally as both are easy to relate to for a variety of reasons. The vivid characterizations and the way the author tells the story are my favorite aspects of the novel. Kelly's brilliant writing adds layers of realism, grit, and intensity that really make it standout from the crowd.
Although there isn't exactly a lot to go on, I would also like to mention how much I liked the world-building. To start off, we're essentially thrown right into the story with very little information to start with. We get enough to understand their landscape, but not much else. For me that really worked, I liked seeing the Park through their eyes, but then again another one of my favorite aspects of the novel is learning about the past. Sky and Phee's mother will not speak of the past, but then the girls come across her old journal documenting the fall of Manhattan to the Red Allies. I don't want to give anything away, but those sections were fascinating and could easily make a great pre-dystopian companion novel.
Lee Kelly's City of Savages is brilliant debeut and ranks as an absolute must-read for 2015. I will be keeping my eyes on this author's work.
littlekatlittle's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting premise, poorly executed. Mediocre world building; poorly drawn, unsympathetic characters; plodding "plot" ... 7th grade girls might like this and be willing to overlook these things.
hollowspine's review against another edition
3.0
After a war with the Red Allies sisters Sky and Phee (Skyler and Phoenix) are raised as POWs in a Central Park camp. They spend their summers wandering, but must return for the POW Census and winter in the Central Park camps, but when they miss the deadline to get counted a chain of events is set into motion that bring the two sisters to question everything they know and lead them to question each other as well.
A debut YA dystopian novel and not the worst I've read this year. Although I was occasionally annoyed by the romance of the book (why was Phee tough as nails whenever the dude wasn't present and as soon as he shows up, suddenly she's all tears and weakness?) overall I was interested in the story Kelly wove and the setting she described. I was pleased that this dystopian story focused more on character and story than just mindless fight scenes one after the other.
There were holes here and there in the plot and the final third of the book felt a bit rushed, but overall the mechanics of the story never brought me completely out of the telling of it. I was interested in the story of the two sisters and how they were so different, but sometimes I did feel like they were a bit flat and didn't always stay "in-character." While the mystery of their mum's diary was interesting it gave a lot of the plot away quickly. As soon as Mary's character was introduced I suspected who she was and it didn't take long for that suspicion to give way to me completely understanding the mystery.
The first third of the book, introducing the characters and the world, went well. I was interested in how this could turn out, how the two sisters would develop, why their mom hated the past etc., however, after we are introduced to the all male party of exploring Brits things start to fall apart. So many questions popped up that never had satisfactory (or any) answers.
Why was Rolladin so fixated on killing the Brits? Why was it so important for her to keep everyone living in fear of a war that had been over for years? The world was still a bombed out shell, so I doubt many people would have abandoned the settlement they'd invested years of their lives in for the unknown world (especially since they do know that there are "Feeders" (why can't we just call a cannibal a cannibal?) and raiders out there willing to kill them for the clothes off their backs or worse yet the meat off their faces.
While the book focused mainly on the two sisters, I felt that the development of the two brothers Sam and Ryder was lacking, Sam didn't seem to be overly attached to Ryder until the end where the only reason he survives is through his adoration of his bro, just wasn't quite believable. I also didn't find it believable that pair were British, they really could have been anything, there was nothing specifically British about them, even in Ryder's reading tastes which were nearly 80% American Literature. I also just hate the name Ryder, which to me spoke of an American cowboy rather than a British scholar.
Overall, it was an okay read. I'd recommend it to those who want to try a dystopian novel, but want something more mild and not quite as violent with more romance than action.
A debut YA dystopian novel and not the worst I've read this year. Although I was occasionally annoyed by the romance of the book (why was Phee tough as nails whenever the dude wasn't present and as soon as he shows up, suddenly she's all tears and weakness?) overall I was interested in the story Kelly wove and the setting she described. I was pleased that this dystopian story focused more on character and story than just mindless fight scenes one after the other.
There were holes here and there in the plot and the final third of the book felt a bit rushed, but overall the mechanics of the story never brought me completely out of the telling of it. I was interested in the story of the two sisters and how they were so different, but sometimes I did feel like they were a bit flat and didn't always stay "in-character." While the mystery of their mum's diary was interesting it gave a lot of the plot away quickly. As soon as Mary's character was introduced I suspected who she was and it didn't take long for that suspicion to give way to me completely understanding the mystery.
The first third of the book, introducing the characters and the world, went well. I was interested in how this could turn out, how the two sisters would develop, why their mom hated the past etc., however, after we are introduced to the all male party of exploring Brits things start to fall apart. So many questions popped up that never had satisfactory (or any) answers.
Why was Rolladin so fixated on killing the Brits? Why was it so important for her to keep everyone living in fear of a war that had been over for years? The world was still a bombed out shell, so I doubt many people would have abandoned the settlement they'd invested years of their lives in for the unknown world (especially since they do know that there are "Feeders" (why can't we just call a cannibal a cannibal?) and raiders out there willing to kill them for the clothes off their backs or worse yet the meat off their faces.
While the book focused mainly on the two sisters, I felt that the development of the two brothers Sam and Ryder was lacking, Sam didn't seem to be overly attached to Ryder until the end where the only reason he survives is through his adoration of his bro, just wasn't quite believable. I also didn't find it believable that pair were British, they really could have been anything, there was nothing specifically British about them, even in Ryder's reading tastes which were nearly 80% American Literature. I also just hate the name Ryder, which to me spoke of an American cowboy rather than a British scholar.
Overall, it was an okay read. I'd recommend it to those who want to try a dystopian novel, but want something more mild and not quite as violent with more romance than action.
thefox22's review against another edition
3.0
I'm conflicted. I really loved the first half of the book, but the second kind of turned me off. I didn't care for the direction the story took, though I did like how it ended. And there was too much telling and not enough showing. But the sibling relationship was the best part of it. That was wonderful!
Rating: 3.5 Paw Prints!
Rating: 3.5 Paw Prints!
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