Friday, March 9, 2012

Review: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Article 5
(Article 5 #1)
by Kristen Simmons

Publication Date: January 31st, 2012
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 364
ISBN: 9780765329585

Where to Buy:
B&N | Amazon | The Book Depository

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved. (Goodreads)
Article 5 had been sitting on my shelf for a couple of weeks now. After discussing it with a fellow blogger, I decided to move it up on my to-read list. I am SO glad that I did!

Imagine a world where you lived by a code of morals instead of the rights we have now. There is only one religion. Immoral literature and media has been banned. Families must consist of one man, one woman, and child(ren). A child can only be a valid citizen if he/she has been conceived by a married couple. This is the frightening world in which Ember Miller lives in Article 5.

I must start off by staying, that whenever I read a dystopian novel, I always find it shocking that stuff happening in the book could totally happen in real life. I absolutely cannot imagine living in a world where we don’t have freedom and rights. That definitely makes it easy to sympathize with the main characters in the story.

I was a little worried about the main character, Ember, in the beginning of the book. At first, she gave the impression of being very docile. However, she does grow more determined through the book. I was very glad to see what. All the poor girl wants is to save herself and her mother. Chase, who Ember has known since her childhood, does whatever he has to do to help Ember with her search. I love Chase. He’s dark and mysterious, and you just want to know what his story is. He definitely earned a spot on my favorite hero list.

The plot for the story is definitely interesting. I’ve read a lot of dystopian’s lately, and I was a little bit worried that this wouldn’t hold my attention. It certainly did, I shouldn’t have worried at all. The book was well paced as well; I was flying through the paces just to see what was going to happen next!

Overall, this was a really great read. I can’t believe I waited so long to get started on it. I can’t wait check out the next book in the series, so I can see what’s going to happen next with Ember, Chase and the crew.

Happy Reading!

16 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed this one! I've heard some mixed things, and am a bit turned off by what I've heard about Ember and Chase's relationship. But I have this on my Kindle and have decided to give it a go. Great review! :)

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  2. I've heard sooo many good things about this one and your review just made my need to buy a copy worse. :D It sounds like a really intriguing read, even though I have to agree that dystopians can be a little bit scary - most of the time their world is not that far away from ours and I really don't like that thought. :D

    Thanks a lot for your review, Christy!

    Carina

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  3. Like you, I've read so many dystopians lately that I'm always wary of them. So, it's good to hear that this one is good! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

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  4. This was truly a scary future. Just look at what our government's trying to do to women at the moment--it's a completely feasible dystopian world in Article 5! *shudder* Looking forward to seeing what happens next in this series, though.

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  5. I have this one on my wish list. I reall do enjoy a good dystopian. I'm glad that you enjoyed this one.

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  6. So happy you liked this one too! I also get really terrified that most of these dystopians could totally come true! It's scary and makes them really fun to read. Great review!

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  7. I've been wanting to read this one ever since I heard about it !! I haven't read a lot of reviews on this one but the few I've read were really positive, just like yours !! I really look forward to visit this word even if it seems a little frightning as I could definitely see some of the things you talked about happen .. Thanks for the awesome review Christy !!

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  8. I just finished this one too and ADORED it! That world terrified me, and I was so angry when she was in "rehab" I could barely turn the pages without tearing them. Loved all the tension in Chase and Ember's relationship too, I can't wait to see how things with them progress! Have a great weekend Christy!

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  9. Yay! I'm really glad you liked it! :-)

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  10. This make me want to move it to the top of my TBR pile. Great review!

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  11. Don't you just love how main characters do a 360 on you and you're happily surprised by how much you like them? I love that! This book is such an AMAZING, wrenching read that I couldn't put down, nor did I ever want to. So good, the romance so delicious. So glad you liked this one!

    Asher

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  12. I'm glad this one is fantastic! I have it on my shelves but haven't got around to it yet. Chase has definitely piqued my interest! :) Great review, Christy!

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  13. I've read some conflicting reviews for this one, so I'm glad to hear you liked it! It's always good to hear that the main character goes through character growth and that the pacing kept your interest. Definitely one I'll read in the future!

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  14. I found the concept of this story frighteningly probable but the characters themselves didn't work for me. I found Ember inconsistent and Chase not swoonworthy so they spoiled the story for me.

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  15. I'm really glad you liked it!
    i loved it

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  16. This was the book that got me off a reading slump. It's definitely a fantastic addition to the dystopian oeuvre. I particularly appreciated how it felt complete enoug as a first book that, while I'm looking forward to book two, I'm not banging my head against the wall waiting for it.

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Thanks for stopping by! :)