Hope's Daughter

Hey everyone! I apologize for not posting in such a long time, but school will start in two weeks and I will be back to one book review every one-two days. My school library is full of exciting new reads, and I am most excited to read Ten by Gretchen McNeil. Also, Allegiant is coming out VERY soon, which you all know I am so excited for.... also United We Spy by Ally Carter and The One by Kiera Cass will be released within the next ten months. Anyway, enough of my blabbering.

This review, along with all my others, may be seen at: www.enchantedbyabook.blogspot.com

Book Title: Hope's Daughter
Author: Melanie Cusick-Jones
Number of Pages: 390
Genres: YA Fiction, Mystery-Romance, Dystopia
Books Like It: Uglies, Across the Universe
Favorite Quote:
“Oh! I know what I wanted to tell you – you’ll never guess who Thomas is chasing after now…”

Hmmm, never guess or can’t be bothered to guess – it was a hard call. I yawned again, glancing at the bed, which was inviting me to clamber back inside and pull the sheet over my head. So tempting, but not practical.”

Brief Synopsis from Goodreads:

For the small population of Earth survivors who live on the Space Station Hope everything they do is planned and scheduled, down to the cyclical food menus, their roles in the station, even how many children they have.

Despite rigid controls directing her life, Cassie feels more out of synch than ever and worries she won’t find a place for herself within the station community. Perhaps that’s because she’s hearing things inside her head that can’t possibly be real. Or maybe it’s the regular elopements of her peers, heading off to a romantic future in the Married Quarter of the space station, whilst she’s never even been attracted to a boy – no matter how hard her best friend Ami pushes them at her. Then there are the odd questions her work placement partner Balik keeps raising. His questions are just as troubling for her as his distracting smiles and eyes that seem to see inside her.

As Cassie draws closer to Balik she finds that everything else in her life begins to shift. He tells her things that call into question the system they live within. She can't believe he is right, but at the same time she finds it hard to deny the sincerity of his ideas. Could there be a connection between Cassie’s problems and Balik’s questions? The truth will drag them both to a terrifying and deadly conclusion beyond anything they could have imagined.

My Summary:

Hope's Daughter is yet another dystopian read, and I must thank the author and the Young Adult Dystopian Book Club on Goodreads for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review. And to be honest, this book did not excel my expectations. It was an average read but nothing to unique.

Cassie's world is a complete fake. As the human population began to decrease rapidly, society took action and put the rest of the human survivors on a spaceship called Space Station Hope. Everything is controlled, including the meals. Married couples and retired citizens may enjoy peace in other sections of the spaceship. The sky and grass and rocks might not be real, but it makes Cassie happy, and she has always trusted the world she has lived in.

Until she meets Balik, a shy but gorgeous boy she has grown up with who surprises her one day when he begins a friendly conversation. As Cassie spends more and more time with Balik, their relationship becomes something more than friendship. That is when Balik starts telling her things that make her begin to question the society she has been raised to believe.

Soon people Cassie knows start mysteriously disappearing, and her parents start acting strange. Not to mention the strange dream that has haunted her...... but the thing that Cassie should be mostly worried about is what is happening to her.

Cassie is hearing thoughts that are not her own.

This average YA read was quite intriguing, and I was constantly wondering what some of the creepy parts in the book meant and how the author was going to explain it. Some times I was surprised, however, that was not always the case. A lot of things in this book did just not work for me. I hope the series redeems itself in the second and third book. This is a book that I would recommend for readers who have a lot of time on their hands, because some parts required a lot of patience to push through. Although I was grateful for the copy of the book, I was not entirely pleased with it.

Pros: Although many readers of this book might beg to differ with my opinion, I found this book eerily creepy. I love creepy books, and especially found one of Cassie's nightmares to be bone chilling. Although it was not fully developed, the main idea of this book was brilliant and I enjoyed it.

Cons: The romance side to this story was completely predictable, which is not exciting for me. At times I felt the romance was moving too fast for the characters and I to keep up with. In fact, most of the romantic tension was built in Cassie's boy obsessed day dreams. Some parts of this book were very cheesy. However, every book has its flaws and as a book reviewer I will do my best to overlook them. :)

Cautions for parents: Mild language.

Review: 3 stars