Monday, July 15, 2013

Book Review: Ravenous (Ancestor #1)

Monday, July 15, 2013
Title: Ravenous (Ancestor #1)
Author: Heidi Loney
Genre/s: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian,

Synopsis:

Overpopulation throttles the world’s food supply. In 2050, the government of the Americas introduces the Food Crisis Act—new measures that create a system for growing and rationing food.

Calla Ryan is pretty much your average teen, except for enduring hunger every day of her life. One morning, new sensors at her high school determine that she exceeds the weight limit of the State, and they send her north to a “fat camp” or re-education centre.

Calla begins to realize the centre holds many secrets. Her counsellor dies mysteriously, and new shipments of recruits are the picture of health. Finally, Calla becomes a guinea pig for a dangerous lab experiment.

On the outside, a virus that began overseas has now made its way to the Americas with deadly consequences.

Calla must run from her captors, escaping to the far north with help from the facility’s chef and fellow inmates Billy and Madge. And to complicate things, the infected are very hungry.


My Thoughts:

Resident Evil meets Abduction, in this fast-paced dystopian novel full of mystery and government conspiracy. It's a very exciting sci-fi thriller that is worth checking out.

The world's population has doubled and was threatening the supply for food and the health of the citizens of Americas. That's why Food Crisis Act of 2050 was created to monitor the production, ration and consumption of every citizen. But it still doesn't solve the overpopulation. And a few people decided that they needed to take the matters into their own hands. They secretly created a virus called Vorax mortuus, which turned people into living zombies or what Madge called Lombies. Now the world is at stake for the virus has mutated and spreading like wildfire.

Enter Calla Ryan, a picture of health. But when a new sensor was put into their school, it detected that she's somewhat overweight and she was sent to a facility for health and wellness up north. After a few days of stay, she and her other two companion, Madge and Billy, figured out that there's something strange going on. And Calla soon found out what it was, the hard way.

This was a really pleasant surprise! I didn't expect to love it this much. The story was intriguing and I love how the author started the book with a bang (or should I say, BOOM!). That first chapter really captured my full-attention and I got to tell you, only a few books could do that to me. The romance was okay, still has a lot more of room for improvement. But the action and mystery was really entertaining.

The characters were simple, normal and uncomplicated yet they were not one-dimensional. Calla was easy to relate with. She's not a strong girl but she learned how to be strong in order for her to save her parents and for her to survived. She was rational and not annoying that's why I like her.

Overall, this was a good read. I would definitely recommend it to all dystopian and zombie lovers out there.


My Rating 

Books for YA! © 2015