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A review by a_j_torres0
Reactive by Becky Moynihan
4.0
This is a Young Adult/New Adult Dystopian/Romance novel book 1.
Book Cover: 4* - I like seeing the main character on book covers. Full bodied or half bodied, nothing less, showing me who they are or might become. I'm giving this category 4 stars because setting wise it didn't really tell me anything about the story. It's just a green sky with a silhouette of a forest behind her. It's still a cool, well done, and bad ass cover none the less.
Summary/Tagline: 4* - I REALLY like the tagline for this book. "You always have a choice." To me it's like a punch in the face to all the fictional characters who say, "I didn't have a choice.", and the main character tries to live by that for the most part. Now as for the summary, I like it, but it didn't grab me like the tagline did. I was curious about why the main character wants out of the city she lives in. I also figured that the boy mentioned in the summary was going to become a love interest, regardless of whatever he may have done in the past. You'll find out what I mean in the next category.
Characters: 3.5* - The character we follow throughout the book is Lune Tatum/Avery, adoptive daughter to the Supreme Elite/leader/caretaker of Tatum city where she lives. I do like Lune, but there are a few issues I have with her character. I like that she is determined and dedicated, but largely flawed(in a good way). Because of this society, she doesn't trust anyone, finds weakness to be a problem, has no friends(except for Asher, which I wish I got to see more of to better form an opinion on, because he was a sweet character). Sadly, like myself, she keeps everything bottled up inside until it explodes out like a raging inferno, which I don't like. Lune's other problem for me is when things don't go her way, she blames everyone else but herself, Brendan especially. She also has a bad habit of reminding the reader of how tall and handsome her love interest is, which started to grind on me really fast. I really hope Lune gets better with expressing herself more healthily and will be capable of trusting people in future books. Brendan Bearon, her trainee, her past kidnapper, and love interest, actually wants to and tries to be her friend, asks her to open up to him so he can help her, even though it seems he doesn't/hasn't fully grasped what kind of society he is in. Brendan is also my fave character in this book. He's sweet, caring, and the s*** that comes out of his mouth, *MUAH!* is pure gold. He has a lot of great quotes that I wrote down lol. Now for Antagonists, we have Lune's adoptive father, Renold Tatum, and his blood daughter, Rose Tatum. Both are horrendous people. We don't actually see much of them in this book, but when we do I just want Lune to take her gold daggers and stick the blades right in their necks(Intended hate for antagonists achieved) . . . too graphic? Lol, anyway, I don't fully understand these 2 and their motives towards Lune. Renold has an obsession of loyalty and controlling people and Rose just seems to hate Lune. I'm sure we will get more of Renold's motives in later books, but I was just getting frustrated at the many questions I kept asking when Lune is alone with the a** but never got answers. Why Lune? Why only be strict and punish her in torturing manners? Why not also treat your daughter the same way? I have a guess that Renold actually doesn't pay that much attention to Rose and I feel like he only sees her as a nuisance, though this is never stated, at least from what I read. I think his negligence of Rose goats her into taking out her jealousy on Lune, which causes Lune to attack her. Rose then happily reports Lune's aggression to Renold which causes Lune to be punished, violently. Again, I'm sure it will be explained more in later books, but I wanted those answers sooner than later. There are other characters, some vile and one curious case, but nothing noteworthy enough to mention at the moment.
World Building: 2* - Now this is a dystopian novel, so something big must've happened to bring down society to what Lune is living in now. What is it? I have no idea. All I know is that something silent and deadly swept over the world, which I believe was 3+ generations ago. There are now monstrous creatures and/or mutated version of normal animals in the world. One I never thought I'd want one of my own is a charger, which is a carnivorous horse. Yeah, you read that right, carnivorous horses, how cool is that? Tatum City history is not well established in my opinion. There is no religion, yet words like Hell, God, Angels, and Demons are thrown around as if Christianity/Catholicism is a thing, which I don't think it is. My other issue is that books are banned/illegal in this society. Why? It does insinuate that it will spark inspiration, dream, and rebellion, which, yeah okay I can get behind that logic, problem is, NO books are allowed. So I can’t help but wonder how this society knows how to make paper for contracts or how people know how to read and write. There also exists crazy high-tech stuff like a massive electric wall and machines that imitate the mutated monsters residing outside of Tatum city. Without books I don’t see how they are able to build and maintain such tech, but I figured this sort of thing is a staple of Dystopian stories, so I went with it. Many things are purposely kept buried by the Supreme Elite so that people will obey and never question their way of life. This is fine, but I feel like it would have made more sense if specific books were approved by the Supreme Elite and made available to the people, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Lune is supposed to be in the same boat as everyone else in regard to knowledge, but she knows what outside things like mermaids and pirates are with no explanation? She could have heard these things from her mom, but it just wasn’t clarified. There is a thing called the Elite Trials, which are 3 different trials that, if won, will place you in great standing in society, which is something people strive to achieve. Attempting to win at least one of these trials will earn you a title and the status of Elite. Basically, Elites are the rich and the poor are the village people. I like the idea and all, but it feels a little reminiscent of The Hunger Games. It seems like the only purpose in life is to either serve the Elites or train for years until you are ready to attempt to win the trials. It just feels a little unrealistic or black and white. I’d like to think humans wouldn’t be that easy to subjugate.
Story: 3.5* - The story is very focused. Light spoilers for the first few chapters follow. Lune is basically forced by her adoptive father to become an Instructor, instead of earning the position properly by winning a Trial. She trains a man, Brendan, for the Elite Trials who she suspects aided in her kidnapping 11 years ago, before the story starts. The trials will take place in 4 to 6 months(Time flies). Brendan is contracted to do all 3 trials like her, making him her competition. Lune starts out hating/despising him, but as time goes by, she ends up liking him, begrudgingly lol. A slow romance ensues, but there were times it really wore on me. “I can't do this, I shouldn't. I won't trust him, I can't.” Lune repeats this process a lot, and I get it to an extent. With this society and what she suspects him of doing, she shouldn't like nor trust him. My problem is that aside from her suspicion, Brendan shows her no cause not to trust him, and clearly wants to tell her things, but something prevents him from doing so. Lune refuses to see it which grated on me at times. The two training together was some of my favorite scenes throughout the entire book. They are corny, witty, and just down right funny, until they get deep which caused really sweet moments. Throughout this story we also learn that the other trainees alongside Lune hate her, vehemently, and it’s made worse by Renold when he makes her an instructor prematurely. We come to learn why, in a way, I just found it weird that she never gains a SINGLE friend in the Training Facility, not one. Lune, throughout this story has a massive target on her back because of her adoptive father.
Over All: 4* - All in all, I give this 4 stars. I like the characters and the story, I just want answers and Lune to be a better person in the next book, I think I really need her to be. There is also something else I left out in the story category, but that is because I wasn't sure if it should go in there. I think, like with the animals, that humans are also evolving with powers? Why? How? That is purposely left a mystery I'm sure. To know what I mean, just pick up the book. I'm sure we aren't meant to know until a later book, probably(hopefully) the 2nd one I'm assuming. I look forward to finding out that part. Also, this is probably the cleanest dystopian story I have ever read. Yes there is blood in this book, but it isn't gory, and the closest we ever get to cursing is Lune replacing every curse word with the word “stars”. I think that is weird but cute lol. Well, although the main character is 18 years old, I think teenagers will have fun reading this book and enjoy it. I suggest picking this up and giving it a try, especially if you are a fan of The Hunger Games.
Book Cover: 4* - I like seeing the main character on book covers. Full bodied or half bodied, nothing less, showing me who they are or might become. I'm giving this category 4 stars because setting wise it didn't really tell me anything about the story. It's just a green sky with a silhouette of a forest behind her. It's still a cool, well done, and bad ass cover none the less.
Summary/Tagline: 4* - I REALLY like the tagline for this book. "You always have a choice." To me it's like a punch in the face to all the fictional characters who say, "I didn't have a choice.", and the main character tries to live by that for the most part. Now as for the summary, I like it, but it didn't grab me like the tagline did. I was curious about why the main character wants out of the city she lives in. I also figured that the boy mentioned in the summary was going to become a love interest, regardless of whatever he may have done in the past. You'll find out what I mean in the next category.
Characters: 3.5* - The character we follow throughout the book is Lune Tatum/Avery, adoptive daughter to the Supreme Elite/leader/caretaker of Tatum city where she lives. I do like Lune, but there are a few issues I have with her character. I like that she is determined and dedicated, but largely flawed(in a good way). Because of this society, she doesn't trust anyone, finds weakness to be a problem, has no friends(except for Asher, which I wish I got to see more of to better form an opinion on, because he was a sweet character). Sadly, like myself, she keeps everything bottled up inside until it explodes out like a raging inferno, which I don't like. Lune's other problem for me is when things don't go her way, she blames everyone else but herself, Brendan especially. She also has a bad habit of reminding the reader of how tall and handsome her love interest is, which started to grind on me really fast. I really hope Lune gets better with expressing herself more healthily and will be capable of trusting people in future books. Brendan Bearon, her trainee, her past kidnapper, and love interest, actually wants to and tries to be her friend, asks her to open up to him so he can help her, even though it seems he doesn't/hasn't fully grasped what kind of society he is in. Brendan is also my fave character in this book. He's sweet, caring, and the s*** that comes out of his mouth, *MUAH!* is pure gold. He has a lot of great quotes that I wrote down lol. Now for Antagonists, we have Lune's adoptive father, Renold Tatum, and his blood daughter, Rose Tatum. Both are horrendous people. We don't actually see much of them in this book, but when we do I just want Lune to take her gold daggers and stick the blades right in their necks(Intended hate for antagonists achieved) . . . too graphic? Lol, anyway, I don't fully understand these 2 and their motives towards Lune. Renold has an obsession of loyalty and controlling people and Rose just seems to hate Lune. I'm sure we will get more of Renold's motives in later books, but I was just getting frustrated at the many questions I kept asking when Lune is alone with the a** but never got answers. Why Lune? Why only be strict and punish her in torturing manners? Why not also treat your daughter the same way? I have a guess that Renold actually doesn't pay that much attention to Rose and I feel like he only sees her as a nuisance, though this is never stated, at least from what I read. I think his negligence of Rose goats her into taking out her jealousy on Lune, which causes Lune to attack her. Rose then happily reports Lune's aggression to Renold which causes Lune to be punished, violently. Again, I'm sure it will be explained more in later books, but I wanted those answers sooner than later. There are other characters, some vile and one curious case, but nothing noteworthy enough to mention at the moment.
World Building: 2* - Now this is a dystopian novel, so something big must've happened to bring down society to what Lune is living in now. What is it? I have no idea. All I know is that something silent and deadly swept over the world, which I believe was 3+ generations ago. There are now monstrous creatures and/or mutated version of normal animals in the world. One I never thought I'd want one of my own is a charger, which is a carnivorous horse. Yeah, you read that right, carnivorous horses, how cool is that? Tatum City history is not well established in my opinion. There is no religion, yet words like Hell, God, Angels, and Demons are thrown around as if Christianity/Catholicism is a thing, which I don't think it is. My other issue is that books are banned/illegal in this society. Why? It does insinuate that it will spark inspiration, dream, and rebellion, which, yeah okay I can get behind that logic, problem is, NO books are allowed. So I can’t help but wonder how this society knows how to make paper for contracts or how people know how to read and write. There also exists crazy high-tech stuff like a massive electric wall and machines that imitate the mutated monsters residing outside of Tatum city. Without books I don’t see how they are able to build and maintain such tech, but I figured this sort of thing is a staple of Dystopian stories, so I went with it. Many things are purposely kept buried by the Supreme Elite so that people will obey and never question their way of life. This is fine, but I feel like it would have made more sense if specific books were approved by the Supreme Elite and made available to the people, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Lune is supposed to be in the same boat as everyone else in regard to knowledge, but she knows what outside things like mermaids and pirates are with no explanation? She could have heard these things from her mom, but it just wasn’t clarified. There is a thing called the Elite Trials, which are 3 different trials that, if won, will place you in great standing in society, which is something people strive to achieve. Attempting to win at least one of these trials will earn you a title and the status of Elite. Basically, Elites are the rich and the poor are the village people. I like the idea and all, but it feels a little reminiscent of The Hunger Games. It seems like the only purpose in life is to either serve the Elites or train for years until you are ready to attempt to win the trials. It just feels a little unrealistic or black and white. I’d like to think humans wouldn’t be that easy to subjugate.
Story: 3.5* - The story is very focused. Light spoilers for the first few chapters follow. Lune is basically forced by her adoptive father to become an Instructor, instead of earning the position properly by winning a Trial. She trains a man, Brendan, for the Elite Trials who she suspects aided in her kidnapping 11 years ago, before the story starts. The trials will take place in 4 to 6 months(Time flies). Brendan is contracted to do all 3 trials like her, making him her competition. Lune starts out hating/despising him, but as time goes by, she ends up liking him, begrudgingly lol. A slow romance ensues, but there were times it really wore on me. “I can't do this, I shouldn't. I won't trust him, I can't.” Lune repeats this process a lot, and I get it to an extent. With this society and what she suspects him of doing, she shouldn't like nor trust him. My problem is that aside from her suspicion, Brendan shows her no cause not to trust him, and clearly wants to tell her things, but something prevents him from doing so. Lune refuses to see it which grated on me at times. The two training together was some of my favorite scenes throughout the entire book. They are corny, witty, and just down right funny, until they get deep which caused really sweet moments. Throughout this story we also learn that the other trainees alongside Lune hate her, vehemently, and it’s made worse by Renold when he makes her an instructor prematurely. We come to learn why, in a way, I just found it weird that she never gains a SINGLE friend in the Training Facility, not one. Lune, throughout this story has a massive target on her back because of her adoptive father.
Over All: 4* - All in all, I give this 4 stars. I like the characters and the story, I just want answers and Lune to be a better person in the next book, I think I really need her to be. There is also something else I left out in the story category, but that is because I wasn't sure if it should go in there. I think, like with the animals, that humans are also evolving with powers? Why? How? That is purposely left a mystery I'm sure. To know what I mean, just pick up the book. I'm sure we aren't meant to know until a later book, probably(hopefully) the 2nd one I'm assuming. I look forward to finding out that part. Also, this is probably the cleanest dystopian story I have ever read. Yes there is blood in this book, but it isn't gory, and the closest we ever get to cursing is Lune replacing every curse word with the word “stars”. I think that is weird but cute lol. Well, although the main character is 18 years old, I think teenagers will have fun reading this book and enjoy it. I suggest picking this up and giving it a try, especially if you are a fan of The Hunger Games.