** spoiler alert ** I’m conflicted about this book. Part of me is wondering “Where the hell was this when I was 16!” and part of me keeps thinking “How old is this damn author, sixteen?” Some of the imagery is beautiful and inventive, particularly when it comes to blushing—which the character does often, very often. And every time it’s another description, and sometimes the only way the picture that she describes is at all related to blushing is the color red making an appearance. This hammering repetition also appears when it comes to her and “the boy who might be her only hope.” The first few times, the unbelievable innocence and excitement is believable, thrilling, and reminiscent of the reader’s own first experiences. However, by the 10th time that her hands “fumble down his abs,” it feels a little old. The tension between them is no longer really being built, but rather just restated.

While I understand that touch is such an important thing to this character, just as important as sexual urges are to a 17 year old, the book started to feel a little too much like a harlequin novel. There was so much touching, and the focus was purely on the touching, so that the sort of soul-mate romance is lost under floods of hormones and muscle. For a girl that’s never been touched before, for a girl that’s been completely cut off from society, she’s awfully hungry for this boy, awfully aware of what she wants him to do to her.

Another issue is that I was hoping, what with the synopsis on the back and the first few chapters, that this would be a really strong female character. That she’d come into her own and stop being so damn nervous every second. However, she stays the same frightened girl and appears to draw her strength from this boy, this muscle-bound military man. There’s a surprising lack of character development.

But it is still a dystopian novel, and fairly decent in that aspect. Its terrors are just grounded enough in our current political climate to make them truly worrisome. The author is clearly trying to warn any members of the target generation. She clearly has more plans for her Juliette, as well.