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A review by thebooknerdscorner
Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid
4.0
A dystopian lesbian romance that showcases the lengths we go to survive, to retain hope, and fall in love in the unlikeliest of situations.
Caerus is an elite cooperation that controls pretty much every aspect of citizens' rights. Inesa lives in the outskirts where the world is half-flooded and the people do everything they can to stay out of Caerus' debt. Inesa scrapes by as a taxidermist of the few nonmutated animals that remain in the world. Melinoë is an assassin raised by Caerus that they have dubbed Angels. As an Angel, she is a living killing machine that has been hardwired to compete in the competition known as the Gauntlet. Every few months, a person that is buried in debt is chosen as the Lamb who is forced to be broadcast on live television as an Angel tries to kill them for thirteen days. This time, Inesa is the Lamb and Melinoë is the Angel. As the two find themselves forced to hunt each other in the wastelands, both girls discover things about themselves that they have never dared think of before.
I've never read a book by Ava Reid, but I thought that this one was interesting. It has been a bit since I've read a dystopian novel, and I think the way that this society is ruled by Caerus isn't exactly unique, but interesting in its own regard. It always shocks me that people are willing to live in these crazy government conditions, but I also realize it would be near impossible to escape them. This book is obviously based in part on "The Hunger Games", which Reid doesn't shy away from. The stakes in this book aren't nearly as high, but I still found myself curious to see what kind of ending this book would take.
I found myself finding draw to both Inesa and Melinoë as characters. They both have been forced to do what it takes to survive their entire lives and have been contained in the boxes that others want them to live in. The way the government treats young girls such as Melinoë is utterly disgusting, and I found myself hoping that Melinoë would be able to escape from her captors throughout the course of this novel. I'm glad that the author didn't take the easy way out on this one, but it did make some scenes toward the end hard to swallow.
I must admit that some of the middle portions of this book drug on a bit for me. I've never been much for survival stories, so the section where the two girls were trying to survive in the wastelands wasn't exactly my cup of tea.
The romance wasn't the strongest element of this book, but I understand where the two girls are coming from. Both Inesa and Melinoë have both been mistreated their entire lives, and the Gauntlet was the first time they could truly be free. It makes sense that the two would turn to each other as soon as they were finally freed from what has been holding them captive.
Overall, I found "Fable for the End of the World" to be an interesting read that reads straight out of the classic dystopian era with a lesbian romance at its forefront. I found this book raised many moral questions that had me considering many different aspects of society (past and present), as well as how far I would be able to push myself if I ever found myself in a situation like this. I'm glad that I was given a chance to check out Reid's work and be exposed to this author that has taken the reading world by storm the last couple of years.
Caerus is an elite cooperation that controls pretty much every aspect of citizens' rights. Inesa lives in the outskirts where the world is half-flooded and the people do everything they can to stay out of Caerus' debt. Inesa scrapes by as a taxidermist of the few nonmutated animals that remain in the world. Melinoë is an assassin raised by Caerus that they have dubbed Angels. As an Angel, she is a living killing machine that has been hardwired to compete in the competition known as the Gauntlet. Every few months, a person that is buried in debt is chosen as the Lamb who is forced to be broadcast on live television as an Angel tries to kill them for thirteen days. This time, Inesa is the Lamb and Melinoë is the Angel. As the two find themselves forced to hunt each other in the wastelands, both girls discover things about themselves that they have never dared think of before.
I've never read a book by Ava Reid, but I thought that this one was interesting. It has been a bit since I've read a dystopian novel, and I think the way that this society is ruled by Caerus isn't exactly unique, but interesting in its own regard. It always shocks me that people are willing to live in these crazy government conditions, but I also realize it would be near impossible to escape them. This book is obviously based in part on "The Hunger Games", which Reid doesn't shy away from. The stakes in this book aren't nearly as high, but I still found myself curious to see what kind of ending this book would take.
I found myself finding draw to both Inesa and Melinoë as characters. They both have been forced to do what it takes to survive their entire lives and have been contained in the boxes that others want them to live in. The way the government treats young girls such as Melinoë is utterly disgusting, and I found myself hoping that Melinoë would be able to escape from her captors throughout the course of this novel. I'm glad that the author didn't take the easy way out on this one, but it did make some scenes toward the end hard to swallow.
I must admit that some of the middle portions of this book drug on a bit for me. I've never been much for survival stories, so the section where the two girls were trying to survive in the wastelands wasn't exactly my cup of tea.
The romance wasn't the strongest element of this book, but I understand where the two girls are coming from. Both Inesa and Melinoë have both been mistreated their entire lives, and the Gauntlet was the first time they could truly be free. It makes sense that the two would turn to each other as soon as they were finally freed from what has been holding them captive.
Overall, I found "Fable for the End of the World" to be an interesting read that reads straight out of the classic dystopian era with a lesbian romance at its forefront. I found this book raised many moral questions that had me considering many different aspects of society (past and present), as well as how far I would be able to push myself if I ever found myself in a situation like this. I'm glad that I was given a chance to check out Reid's work and be exposed to this author that has taken the reading world by storm the last couple of years.