The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

Goodreads Blurb

A thought-provoking and exciting start to a riveting new dystopian trilogy.
As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.

The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

The Forsaken is like the Hunger Games. A really, really epic Hunger Games. Way better than the Hunger Games actually. Wow. Just WOW.

While the synopsis makes you think that Alenna is in the UNA for quite a while in the book and that it’s near the end that she makes her decision (or was it just me?), that’s completely false. The first two chapters ready the setting, giving us a bit of history on Alenna’s past, but immediately after(I meant it, Chapter 3) she’s thrown into Island Alpha, the most savage and primitive prison island there is with no escape. About ten minutes after waking up in that strange land, she’s attacked. Then rescued. Then attacked again. And rescued again. And attacked, then rescued. Exactly that many times, and all within a few hours. She’s taken to a village in the blue sector, the only sector untouched by the Monk, an unknown person who’s taken over each sector, one by one, a person who thousands of kids follow and worship. When she gets to the village she’s injected with  a “vaccine” which is, in actuality, a truth serum. After her interrogation, she meets a few villagers and immediately makes a group of friends to rely on. And in that, I’ve summarized about 2% of the book.

To say that it has a fast-action plot is probably the understatement of the year. You never really knew who you could trust (despite your friendships) and when you were safe. The attacks were epic and barbaric, fitting the story well. The feelers? Creepy! The drones? They’re so stupid! But that’s the point, I guess. Remember in my review of Black City where it was a true dystopian? Well The Forsaken fits that category as well! It had a twisted society and mixed primal ingredients with modern (or, future-modern) elements in, creating this incredible setting. The only difference is, that I felt like the things in Forsaken could actually happen. I mean, it’s not entirely probable, but the way things connected to the  “Old World” made me feel a bit..sick. Everything just fit so perfectly and made this prison island worlda place to be truly feared.

I felt as if Alenna was just too trusting sometimes, though. While she was a strong and independent character, she had this habit of seeing the best of others, even when her life depended on her trust. Of course eventually I became used to it and didn’t find it as annoying, but be warned. Otherwise Alenna’s the kind of character we love: independent, willing to risk anything, stubborn.

The romance was the one thing I had a problem with and I think it could’ve been better without. The romance seemed forced and too quick I guess. Alenna and Liam had met about what? Four times? And Liam risks his life for her when he’s always been indifferent to girls. It just seemed to far-fetched with me and I couldn’t buy it. But the relationships between all these other characters were amazing, definitely! This point was stressed but entirely true, teamwork was the key, as cheesy as it sounds. Without their teamwork, all of them would’ve died, from twenty warriors to nada. Zlich. Zero. But they fought for each other and that’s what kept them alive (For as long as they lived, at least).

Lisa M. Stasse makes a grand entrance with her debut, the Forsaken and I can’t wait for the sequel or anything else she throws at us. With an amazing setting, wonderful characters, and the strong bonds that kept them alive, The Forsaken is definitely a must read for all Hunger Games fans and even for those who aren’t, like me (I know, I know. Yell at me later.). It’s definitely something I’d recommend to anyone and everyone. Who doesn’t mind a few (a lot) of deaths, of course.

Pages: 375

Genre: Dystopian/romance

Series: The Forsaken #1

Publisher: Simon and Schuster BFYR

Release Date: Kuly 10

Rating: 4 stars!

"Sticking out of _____ chest, at the level of his heart, is a silver dagger. And Jump's hand is wrapped around the other end of it. "I sure got the jump...on you!" he says, cackling madly, bloddy saliva dribbling from his lips."