Published: February 24, 2015
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 336
Source: First to Read Program
Synopsis:
Phaet Theta has lived her whole life in a colony on the Moon. She’s barely spoken since her father died in an accident nine years ago. She cultivates the plants in Greenhouse 22, lets her best friend talk for her, and stays off the government’s radar.
Then her mother is arrested.
The only way to save her younger siblings from the degrading Shelter is by enlisting in the Militia, the faceless army that polices the Lunar bases and protects them from attacks by desperate Earth-dwellers. Training is brutal, but it’s where Phaet forms an uneasy but meaningful alliance with the preternaturally accomplished Wes, a fellow outsider.
Rank high, save her siblings, free her mom: that’s the plan. Until Phaet’s logically ordered world begins to crumble...
Suspenseful, intelligent, and hauntingly prescient, Dove Arising stands on the shoulders of our greatest tales of the future to tell a story that is all too relevant today.
My Rating:
★★★★★
Review:
I received a galley of this book from the First to Reads program in exchange for an honest review. This is a young adult book where dystopian meets science fiction.
I loved this book! At first I wasn't sure I was going to like this because the main character Phaet, she is also known as Stripes, doesn't talk much. Because she didn't talk I thought she would either be a really weak character where others would have to carry her throughout the book or the plot was going to fall through and be boring because she doesn't talk very much. This book surprised me and blew my expectations out of the water. She goes through a lot of character development through out this entire book, first she has to enlist in the Militia alone so she can't rely on anyone to talk for her and second she has no friends when she first starts so she is really out on her own. It makes her figure out things for herself and learn to rely on herself more.
I did not like Phaet's mother. Only because I seriously believe that once you have children your life is about them and if there isn't another parent to help with things than you better make sure they are cared for if you are not around or you have a back up way to take care of them. I see this to many times in real life where parents don't take care of their children properly. I can understand why Phaet's mother did what she did because she wanted to make it all a better place for everyone but still. Maybe if the mother would have told Phaet something about her plan or kept her in the loop some way it could have been different but she didn't tell Phaet anything.
The world building in this book was wonderful, very spot on. I recently have read a few books that the world development wasn't explained very well and it brought the whole book down, this did not happen for this book. It was done very well, I wasn't confused about anything dealing with the politics or how life on the moon was.
I don't usually compare books to others but this one really reminded me of some other ones. Phaet at first reminded me of Tris from Divergent when she was training and fighting in the Militia, and since this all takes place on the moon it reminded me of Ender's Game, except done a whole lot better and not just filled with mostly guys. This is definitely it's own book though and very different from both of the books I mentioned just little things reminded me of those other books I have read.
I was surprised at the ending and how it kind of left off on a cliff hanger I am definitely interested in what comes next and how they will end up getting back to base IV on the moon to help Phaet's family. I am so glad I got the chance to read and review this book early, I love the simple cover design as well and hope to see many more stories from this author.
This is Karen Bao's first book and if you would like to know more about her or her books you can visit her website at: http://www.karenbaobooks.com/.
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