Promised by Caragh M. O'Brien

Summary:
After defying the ruthless Enclave, surviving the wasteland, and upending the rigid matriarchy of Sylum, Gaia Stone now faces her biggest challenge ever. She must lead the people of Sylum back to the Enclave and persuade the Protectorat to grant them refuge from the wasteland. In Gaia's absence, the Enclave has grown more cruel, more desperate to experiment on mothers from outside the wall, and now the stakes of cooperating or rebelling have never been higher. Is Gaia ready, as a leader, to sacrifice what--or whom--she loves most? (from GoodReads)

Review:
After reading and enjoying both Birthmarked and Prized, I was very much looking forward to the conclusion, Promised. While I like this trilogy overall, I think Promised was the weakest of the three books.

I had trouble getting into Promised, which never happened with the first two books. First, I couldn't remember what had happened or even who certain characters were. Apparently, this book skipped ahead a year, but I'm not exactly sure. It's also been awhile since I've read the sequel, so I'm probably rusty. But Gaia is the Matrarc, meaning she is the leader of New Sylum. I thought it was neat that she had so much authority, but it went to waste when many of her subjects didn't listen to her and she wasn't the best at decision-making. I shouldn't be too hard no Gaia because she is only seventeen, but I can't deny that she's pretty immature.

Much of Promised is Gaia trying to convince the Protectorat to give her people water, and this involves her sneaking in and out of the Enclave several times with no results. There was a lot of back and forth - will he give them water? Will Gaia be killed if she enters the Enclave another time? I started getting tired of it and just wanted something to happen! Luckily at the end there is a lot of action which makes up for the rest of the novel.

Two points I wanted to make that I didn't like about Promised: one, I couldn't stand how there was a love quadrangle. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Gaia has no less than THREE male suitors. Love triangles are bad enough but three men vying for Gaia's affections?!? What was even worse was that she hardly interacted with Will or Peter, so what was the point? I love Leon so I didn't really mind but I couldn't help rolling my eyes every time it was brought up.

Another thing I disliked was how preachy Gaia would get whenever discussing babies. There's a subplot where a group of women become surrogate mothers, and Gaia could not understand how a women could give up a baby she carried, even though it's genetically not hers. I totally get if that's not your thing, but you don't have to insult a person who decides to do that.

So it probably sounds like I didn't enjoy Promised at all, which isn't the case. I still think Caragh M. O'Brien is a good writer and that definitely made me enjoy this novel more. I still like this world-building and wanted to know what was going to happen at the end. I would also definitely read more by this author. There were just a few things I didn't like in Promised that weren't really in the other books.

Rating: 7 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from the library.

2012/Roaring Brook Press/304 pages.

Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien

Summary:
Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone survives only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime. In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole? (from GoodReads)

Review:
I loved Birthmarked and I've been waiting a long time to read this. I'm very glad to say that I enjoyed it a lot, even though it was very different from its predecessor.

In Birthmarked, the reader is introduced to a new, dystopian society and the same thing occurs in Prized. Obviously, it's the same world, but the society is extremely different. In Sylum, the women are the rulers and the only ones allowed to vote, which is especially important because men outnumber women nine to one. Propriety is taken very seriously and men and women are not allowed to touch. Even though I don't like the harsh rules in Sylum, I do understand why they have them. With so few women to go around, I can see how things might get crazy.

Like the readers, Gaia is very confused in Sylum, since it's so drastically difference than the Enclave. She has to make certain decisions regarding her behavior and do things she might not agree with to achieve her ultimate goal, which is to fit in and have a life in Sylum. It was interesting to see Gaia's struggle because I think I would have the same issues as she does.

Most novels these days have a love triangle, but Prized goes the next step and employs a love square. Yes, three men are vying for Gaia's attentions, which is a little ridiculous if you ask me. Because there is so much going on, one of the men is only a minor romantic interest, so Prized had more of a love triangle. I did like the romance in this book, especially because the characters were so different. I pretty much knew who Gaia was going to choose but it was still nice to see the other characters anyway.

The only thing that I didn't like (and this also occurred often in Birthmarked) was that Gaia figured things out so easily. Letters written in code? Decoded within a day. Male infertility in Sylum? Gaia finds the cause. The acclimation sickness? Gaia also finds the cause and the cure. Besides attracting the entire male population, she also is a genius. Obviously, the book moves faster when characters aren't dwelling on solving all these little mysteries, but it would be nice to allow some issues to develop more before Gaia pulls the answer out of thin air.

Besides my issue with problems being solved so quickly, I still enjoyed Prized a lot. It was very different than Birthmarked, but in a good way. I'm definitely excited to complete to the trilogy and can't wait to read the next book.

Rating: 9 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from library.

2011/Roaring Brook Press/368 pages.

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the wall and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone, who live outside. Gaia has always believed it is her duty, with her mother, to hand over a small quota of babies to the Enclave. But when Gaia's mother and father are arrested by the very people they so dutifully serve, Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught to believe. Gaia's choice is now simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying. (Taken from the inside flap)

Birthmarked is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It's a dystopian novel, and we all know that futuristic dystopias have a small place in my heart. I really don't know why, but I love these types of books, and Birthmarked is no exception. Since this is an ARC, there an editor's note in the front of the book, and she states that Birthmarked is like "The Handmaid's Tale meets The Hunger Games," with which I heartily agree. As in The Handmaid's Tale, there elements of the caste system found in Birthmarked (the people who live inside the wall vs. those who live outside) but also the disbelief of having to turn children over to a totalitarian government (Gaia has to give three babies a month that she delivers to the Enclave).

There are parts of popular dystopian novels found in the book, but it is still original and fresh. Speaking of characters, Gaia was a great protagonist: she's brave, smart, resourceful and will do anything to save her parents, nothing short of breaking into the Enclave to find them. There is also a love interest, Leon, and he was also an interesting character. At first, it's almost a forbidden love, because he's a soldier employed by the Enclave, but there's some mystery because Leon has a past that he refuses to speak of. There's also mystery as to what the Enclave wants with Gaia's parents, but I felt that aspect of the story fell short of my expectations. What the Enclave wants isn't that unrealistic or evil and almost makes sense in context. So I thought that part could have been written differently. However, I thought that Birthmarked was a brilliant novel that could not be put down and will be greatly enjoyed by all readers.

9 out of 10.

Release Date: March 30, 2010

FTC: I received this ARC from Henry Holt's InGroup Review Program.