Article 5 (Article 5, #1) in And So It Begins Reading Challenge

Aug 09, 2011 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopian

Find more of my reviews on my blog, The Reader's Antidote

The uniqueness of Article 5 is in the heartbreaking romance. The fact that the romance occurs in a dystopian setting makes it that much harder. I don’t have much to say about this one. I enjoyed it. It was a surprisingly quick read and I didn’t want to put it down. But it also wasn’t on par with other amazing dystopians I’ve read. What made this one special was the romance.

Ember lives in a post-apocalyptic world with a LOT of rules. These Find more of my reviews on my blog, The Reader's Antidote

The uniqueness of Article 5 is in the heartbreaking romance. The fact that the romance occurs in a dystopian setting makes it that much harder. I don’t have much to say about this one. I enjoyed it. It was a surprisingly quick read and I didn’t want to put it down. But it also wasn’t on par with other amazing dystopians I’ve read. What made this one special was the romance.

Ember lives in a post-apocalyptic world with a LOT of rules. These are called articles, and Ember tries so hard to keep her and her mother under the radar. Sadly, it doesn’t work, and Ember’s mother is taken by soldiers. One of them is the boy that used to live next door. The boy that she was best friends with. The boy that she used to love. He barely acknowledges her as they take her mother away, and only steps in when it looks like another soldier is going to hit her. And then he disappears out of her life again. Ember is sent to a school for girl “orphans,” which isn’t the semi-pleasant place she was expecting. Girls get beaten, and the warden isn’t exactly the motherly type. Ember feels more trapped than ever, knowing that her mother is out there, without her to protect her.

The romance was sweet. And different. These two characters already loved each other before, but all Ember sees is a violent, empty soldier. Chase is nothing of the boy she used to know; the boy she used to love. And eventually she’s forced to be on the run with him without knowing why he’s trying to help her. Or if it’s part of some conspiracy plan to put her right in the hands of the authority. But while Ember doesn’t truly recognize Chase, he saves her life more than once and she knows that she has to trust him so that she can see her mother again. Sadly, nothing goes as planned.

As far as I can remember, there was no big cliffhanger ending besides the usual “our lives are forever in jeopardy, oh woe to me!” But I’m really excited to read the next one. While Simmon’s world isn’t all that different from any other YA dystopian book, I get the feeling that the romance between Ember and Chase is going to get far more complicated. Definitely add Article 5 to your debut list this year. ...more

Like · see review

May 18, 2012 Paula Phillips rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When I started reading Article 5 , I wasn't too sure what to expect but I can tell you if you are expecting a nice gentle dystopian novel , then this is not the book for you. Forget the themes of Delirium , Divergent , The Selection , Wither. Think more along the lines of The Hunger Games, The Hunt and The Maze Runner. The type of book where though the character has escaped , it's still gloom for them and they are on the run for survival and they better not stop for rest as if they do, they are ...more

Like · see review