Release Date: May 6, 2015 | St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 368
Genre(s): Young Adult, Dystopian
Edition: ARC Paperback
Source: Publisher
Rating:
Avie Reveare has the normal life of a privileged teen growing up in L.A., at least as normal as any girl's life is these days. After a synthetic hormone in beef killed fifty million American women ten years ago, only young girls, old women, men, and boys are left to pick up the pieces. The death threat is past, but fathers still fear for their daughters' safety, and the Paternalist Movement, begun to "protect" young women, is taking over the choices they make.
Like all her friends, Avie still mourns the loss of her mother, but she's also dreaming about college and love and what she'll make of her life. When her dad "contracts" her to marry a rich, older man to raise money to save his struggling company, her life suddenly narrows to two choices: Be trapped in a marriage with a controlling politician, or run. Her lifelong friend, student revolutionary Yates, urges her to run to freedom across the border to Canada. As their friendship turns to passion, the decision to leave becomes harder and harder. Running away is incredibly dangerous, and it's possible Avie will never see Yates again. But staying could mean death.
I received a review copy courtesy of the author/publisher. This does not affect my opinion or views regarding the book whatsoever.
See, the thing between Dystopian and I, is that we don't have the best friendship. We started off the best of friends actually, then Dysto (his real name, and yes he's a GUY) began acting a bit shady. He became distant, our once interesting conversations turned mediocre, boring, and predictable. Oh and let's not forget his " tape-recorder disorder " where everything he said or did, was so gosh darn repetitive. I was soooo sick of his half-assness, that I cut him off, and swore that I would never reach out to him again.
See, the thing between Dystopian and I, is that we don't have the best friendship. We started off the best of friends actually, then Dysto (his real name, and yes he's a GUY) began acting a bit shady. He became distant, our once interesting conversations turned mediocre, boring, and predictable. Oh and let's not forget his " tape-recorder disorder " where everything he said or did, was so gosh darn repetitive. I was soooo sick of his half-assness, that I cut him off, and swore that I would never reach out to him again.
Well, I miss my good friend Dysto, and I wanted to see if we could actually work out, ya know? Give it one LAST shot to be the friends we were truly meant to be. So when I received an email offering to kick off our " amendment " with A Girl Called Fearless, I couldn't help but to accept.
Do you think we're friends now? Or did I flush his ass down the toilet?
To be honest, A Girl Called Fearless wasn't the best book to ignite the friendship flame between Dysto and I. It's not a horrible story, but it wasn't the greatest either, and if I were to give an example of my experience, the word " flat-line " would be the perfect representation. The problem is, this book suffered severely from the " dope concept -- poor execution " syndrome. Of course with EVERY dystopian, the concept, plot or however you want to phrase it, is always based on the same factor: A Controlling Government. What saved this novel, was the semi cool way the author (Linka) chose to deliver it.
10 years before the story begins, 50 million women were killed. The cause: Scarponal, a hormone that was injected into American beef. Slowing but surely, the hormone twisted itself into women's estrogen causing Ovarian Cancer that eventually killed mothers, wives, and sisters. Long story short, if you were a young girl that went through puberty, or an older woman that didn't have an hysterectomy, you were affected.
Now fast forward to the present day. A government called The Paternalist Movement has taken over to " ensure the safety of women. " Since girls aren't allowed to drive, they're escorted everywhere by body guards. No mothers are alive to teach their daughters the basics of motherhood and domestic living, so their school curriculum has changed. The basic subjects of math and science are now replaced by cooking and sewing. College is a thing of the past as the PM put in a motion for girls to have " contracts, " which in a less fancy word means " re-arranged marriages. " They're basically sold to the highest bidder, usually to some old buzzard which is pretty damn gross. And let's not forget the weird rule that girls aren't allowed to associate themselves with boys. No talking, no touching, no contact, no NOTHING. Sprinkle the aspect of revolution ontop, and you've got yourself the ultimate dystopian right? Not exactly.
When I think about it, the concept definitely kept me from DNF'ing, but there were just too many things that didn't work for me. First of all, our main character Avie was nothing but a selfish brat. I had such a hard time connecting with her, shit with ANY of the characters while we're on the subject. Avie was given the nickname " Fearless " by her male bestfriend Yates, and I swear I couldn't see why. She was pushed to do most of her actions, and she literally didn't want to take matters into her own hands until THE LAST DAMN PAGE. The title and the way the story was set up, fooled me into thinking I was getting a kickass clone of Katniss Everdeen but no ma'm, this child was nothing but Kat-Nip!
I was irritated even further when my enemy insta-love showed up, and formed this completely pathetic relationship between the " besties. " Top all of this with the fact that NOTHING WAS EXPLAINED! Why can't the girls mingle with boys? Why does all these young girls have to be married to all these old baffoons? Other than keeping these girls from having rights, what purpose does the " contracts " serve? I had so many questions, screw waiting for the sequel, I want to know now!
A Girl Called Fearless wasn't completely a horrible read, but it was pretty disappointing. It had the bones to be pretty damn great, but with no clear direction, (trust me this concept goes from arranged marriages, to a secret underground hideout that served as a escort service, to farmers, a potential love-triangle, to politics, revolutions and some more ish) that the book just sort of bounced around.
You won't be totally blown away by A Girl Called Fearless, and as I mentioned earlier, the concept is what made this book. But if you're looking for a quick " filler " to read in between other titles, something stuffed with an incredibly intriguing plot that would definitely hold you over,
then maybe this one is for you.
10 years before the story begins, 50 million women were killed. The cause: Scarponal, a hormone that was injected into American beef. Slowing but surely, the hormone twisted itself into women's estrogen causing Ovarian Cancer that eventually killed mothers, wives, and sisters. Long story short, if you were a young girl that went through puberty, or an older woman that didn't have an hysterectomy, you were affected.
Now fast forward to the present day. A government called The Paternalist Movement has taken over to " ensure the safety of women. " Since girls aren't allowed to drive, they're escorted everywhere by body guards. No mothers are alive to teach their daughters the basics of motherhood and domestic living, so their school curriculum has changed. The basic subjects of math and science are now replaced by cooking and sewing. College is a thing of the past as the PM put in a motion for girls to have " contracts, " which in a less fancy word means " re-arranged marriages. " They're basically sold to the highest bidder, usually to some old buzzard which is pretty damn gross. And let's not forget the weird rule that girls aren't allowed to associate themselves with boys. No talking, no touching, no contact, no NOTHING. Sprinkle the aspect of revolution ontop, and you've got yourself the ultimate dystopian right? Not exactly.
When I think about it, the concept definitely kept me from DNF'ing, but there were just too many things that didn't work for me. First of all, our main character Avie was nothing but a selfish brat. I had such a hard time connecting with her, shit with ANY of the characters while we're on the subject. Avie was given the nickname " Fearless " by her male bestfriend Yates, and I swear I couldn't see why. She was pushed to do most of her actions, and she literally didn't want to take matters into her own hands until THE LAST DAMN PAGE. The title and the way the story was set up, fooled me into thinking I was getting a kickass clone of Katniss Everdeen but no ma'm, this child was nothing but Kat-Nip!
I was irritated even further when my enemy insta-love showed up, and formed this completely pathetic relationship between the " besties. " Top all of this with the fact that NOTHING WAS EXPLAINED! Why can't the girls mingle with boys? Why does all these young girls have to be married to all these old baffoons? Other than keeping these girls from having rights, what purpose does the " contracts " serve? I had so many questions, screw waiting for the sequel, I want to know now!
A Girl Called Fearless wasn't completely a horrible read, but it was pretty disappointing. It had the bones to be pretty damn great, but with no clear direction, (trust me this concept goes from arranged marriages, to a secret underground hideout that served as a escort service, to farmers, a potential love-triangle, to politics, revolutions and some more ish) that the book just sort of bounced around.
You won't be totally blown away by A Girl Called Fearless, and as I mentioned earlier, the concept is what made this book. But if you're looking for a quick " filler " to read in between other titles, something stuffed with an incredibly intriguing plot that would definitely hold you over,
then maybe this one is for you.
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