Just so you know what this dystopian world is about, I've copied a bit of my review of The Prey:
This is a book about children after a radiation disaster. There are very few adults, at least that we know of. All the children are in camps for orphans. Some camps are nicer than others. Some camps aren't what they seem to be.
Hope and Faith are twins and they've been running and hiding for years with their father to keep away from the "brown shirts." After their father dies, they are captured and taken to a camp for girls. It soon becomes obvious that this camp is doing medical experiments on these children, and the prized children are twins.
Book is in a camp for boys. He thinks he's in training to be a soldier (they call them LTs, for Lieutenant, right?) He finds out that LT really stands for "less thans." All of the boys in the camp are deformed or deemed inferior in some way, and their future is far more bleak than they think.
Hope and Book end up escaping with a small group of other kids. So in The Capture, these two characters and their ragtag group are still running. Their goal is to save all the kids in both camps, the Sisters and the Less Thans. They will, of course, run into many obstacles on their way and face certain death more than once. They also continue to learn about this world and the plans of the devious people who are in charge. I'll just say -- it doesn't look good for the kids.
These books, part of The Prey Trilogy, are all about action. It's nonstop and it is constant danger for these characters. There is some relationship building and some shifting of positions within the group, but the action keeps you turning the page.
Which is why these are great books to recommend to reluctant readers. A girl and a boy as main characters, both smart and strong. Yes, there's a hint of romance but barely. Some of their narrow escapes, and there are several, are a bit too good to be true--but these are our main characters. And Mr. Isbell, I don't care what you do, but please don't kill them off!
I like how The Capture doesn't have a huge cliff hanger ending. We end with the kids in a relatively safe position. They aren't finished saving the world yet, but they've met some of their goals.
I will happily continue to recommend The Prey and The Capture to my students and look forward to the third book!
Published by HarperTeen, January 19. 2016
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
448 pages
Rating: 4/5
I haven't heard of this series before, but I'm always on the lookout for reads for reluctant readers. I will have to look these books up. Thanks for putting them on my radar.
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