3/29/12 Stop by The Nocturnal Library to read our interview with Ann Aguirre and enter for a chance to win one of 3 books: Enclave, Grimspace or Blue Diablo.


I am happy. I am shocked. I still can’t believe this. Ann Aguirre just got promoted to my favorite author. Ok, maybe not favorite, but close enough. I mean, come on! She writes this fantastic SF series, starting with Grimspace, a very good (if not great) and very unusual UF series with elements of horror (the Corine Solomon series), and now she does YA dystopian as well?!?!?

I was born during the second holocaust.

That’s all it took for me to fall in love with this book, and it’s only the first sentence. I have to admit I rolled my eyes when I first read the blurb. I was rightfully afraid of another Delirium or something equally forced. I’m so glad Aguirre proved me wrong. Her story is strong if not fresh (because, let’s face it, fresh is a long way gone in this genre). Her characters are very much alive and unusually smart. But the real magic lies in Aguirre’s perfect writing. She doesn’t make mistakes. She’s even added an author’s note explaining how she did her research and what led her to those conclusions. Everything she described is quite possible. (view spoiler)[Except maybe Freaks, but come on! They’re zombies. Who doesn't love zombies?!. (hide spoiler)]

We start following our heroine on the day of her naming ceremony – the day she stops being Girl15 and becomes Deuce, a Huntress trained to protect her Enclave and bring food for Breeders, Builders and Elders. She has spent the first 15 years of her life training incredibly hard just to be allowed to go into the tunnels with other Hunters and fight Freaks – terrible, mindless flesh-eating creatures with claws and sharp, pointy teeth. Deuce doesn’t mind risking her life every day for others – it’s a matter of pride and acceptance. But on her first day she gets partnered up with Fade, a strange and silent boy, the only outsider in the Enclave. Together they get into trouble and end up exiled with nowhere to go but Topside – where Deuce will see the sun for the very first time.

*edit: It's been a long time since I finished it, and it's still my favorite dystopia. Sometimes I get very excited about a book, but forget all about it as soon as it leaves my sight. This is not one of those books.