Deviants (The Dust Chronicles) [Kindle Edition]

Just this morning I picked up and starting reading Deviants by Maureen McGowan and kept turning the pages until I had devoured it in one fantastic reading binge. The dystopian setting with the kick-ass teenage heroine rebelling against the oppressive regime has been done before, but if you include good story-telling, fast action and likable characters, it is never a waste of a good experience.

Glory, all of sixteen and an orphan, lives in the futuristic and domed city of Haven. The enclosure prevents invasion from the toxic dust that has encircled the earth since the meteors hit and invasion from Shredders, cruel cannabalistic creatures that inhale the toxic dust to survive. No one leaves Haven unless they are "exed" by the government and thrown outside the dome at the mercy of Shredders while the public watches on big screen. Glory's father was exed after killing her mother and crippling her little brother, Drake. Glory's father was also a Deviant, a mutant, a creature with powers, a pariah almost worse than a Shredder. That leaves Glory with two secrets: she has hidden her crippled brother from the government, and she is also a Deviant. And with her Deviant power, she can kill.

Hiding her identity from everyone, including her best friend and her new boyfriend, is difficult when all Glory wants is to be Normal. Then one night, a stranger confronts her in a dark alley and turns her world upside down; she has been deceived about her father's death. This stranger, Burn, wants to take her and Drake out of Haven to save them from an inevitable discovery and exing by the government. A surprise visit from the compliance officers gives Glory no choice, she and Drake follow Burn out of Haven and...well, you just have to read the rest yourself because it just gets better.

There are some great plot twists and a few touching scenes and the usually expected teenage sexual tension. My favorite scenes are when Burn explains the sun, something hidden from the citizens of Haven, to Glory. When it starts to set, she asks why it is falling and is it catching on fire. She discovers that chicken tastes similiar to rat, but is more tender. And a forest is a group of huge plants with rough stems that smells wonderful.

The ending makes me ready for the next book because I am hooked.

3.5 stars

Three years ago Glory's father murdered her mother and paralyzed her younger brother Drake. Her father turned out to be a Deviant, which are humans with powerful and usually dangerous abilities. He was thrown out of the domed city of Haven and perished in the hands of the Shredders, psychotic creatures that enjoy torturing and killing humans. Since then, Glory has been taking care of her brother in secret. Because after the death of their parents, Glory and Drake have discovered that they are Deviants as well. And Deviants aren't welcomed in Haven.

With its fast pace and intriguing setting, Deviants was a book I found myself easily getting sucked into. The story was unique, yet familiar at the same time. For instance, the people in charge of Haven aren't that different from other authority figures found in most post-apocalyptic novels. They are strict, controlling, and keeping many secrets from the citizens. But I think that's to be expected in a world that was nearly destroyed. What stood out for me in this book was the world outside Haven. The Deviants and Shredders and how they came to be. I can't get into much detail, otherwise it would be a spoiler, but I wasn't expecting some of the things that happened and were revealed in this book. It made some moments pretty shocking and exciting.

Then there's the main character Glory. She's a determined girl who basically had to grow up quickly and become the parent to her younger brother. I like that she loves Drake and will do anything and everything to protect him. I did get frustrated with her a lot though. She had a tendency to not trust people and jump to conclusions quickly. It made sense that she would be that way, considering the betrayal she felt after what her father did, but there were instances where I felt she could have sought out answers first. There's also some romance in this book, a bit of a love-triangle involving Glory and two very different guys. I'm normally not a fan of love-triangles; however, while I think it's obvious who Glory will end up with, it doesn't seem like it's going to be easy. I'm actually really curious how this one is going to work out.

Deviants was an adventurous and thrilling start to a new series. As I mentioned before, it was a fast-paced read and very easy to become pulled into the story. I recommend it to those who can't get enough of the post-apocalyptic and dystopia genres.

Fans of the Hunger Games series, Delirium, Outpost and Legend have a new series to follow. This book is action-packed, the characters are vivid and realistic, and I like the post-apocalyptic backdrop that McGowan has created. I'll be keeping an eye out for the next book and will pass this along to the other YA addict in my house, who eats through books in this sub-genre as if they were Skittles.

I didn't think I would enjoy this book as much as I did (mostly I was just set off by the cover...and the whole YA love triangle thing that's getting a little old now), but it certainly surprised me just how much I really did enjoy it. Many elements of it are typical to YA books nowadays i.e. the love triangle, dangerous bad boy who treats the girl like a jerk but ends up kind of not too bad guy, total setup for a series, etc. And the fact that I just kept thinking about the Hulk didn't help much. But despite that, it was an interesting world the author has built up here. The main character drove me crazy sometimes considering how repetitive some of her thoughts got and how many dumb risks she took, but her dumb risks were fairly consistent, and it was really interesting seeing a certain part of her character slowly developing over the course of the plot. That's not to say that the book doesn't have flaws, but for a quick and interesting YA read to get me over the feels from another book I recently read, this fit the bill perfectly (except for the fact that the whole series isn't out yet--ugh!) The setup for the rest of the series is intriguing enough that I think I will have to keep an eager eye out for the next book!

Deviants is yet another entry into the YA dystopian genre that offers very little to distinguish itself from the crowd. It offers up nothing new for anyone who has read more than a few dystopian novels. I was never able to engage with the main character, whose inner dialogues became mind numbingly repetitive and who seemed unable to use her brain at any given moment. The world building often seemed forced, and while I think the author had many good ideas here, this novel tries too hard to fit them into a formulaic story that never inspired.

I struggled between a two and three star rating for this book, almost pushing the rating up to a three star. The novel is well paced, assuring that the action junkies will remain thoroughly engaged up to the final page. In the end, I just can't recommend this novel because of poor character development, a derivative plot, and dialogue that was often cringe worthy. There are many other dystopian choices out there that tell good stories, managing to examine key societal issues while delivering on edge of your seat action. This one had plenty of action, but too few people or worlds to care about.