Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Article 5

by Kristen Simmons

Goodreads Summary:
New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

My Review:
I bought and read this book on the recommendation of Thomas, and was not disappointed. The difficult thing about the dystopian story is that can easily get overdone. The trick for the author is to make the story something different, add a twist. While Article 5 has some of the traditional dystopian elements (overbearing government, rebellious citizens, unrequited romance) it added more to this by twisting the story. Chase is not a new boy in Ember's life-she has always been in love with him. But he has changed and she has no idea why. Their personal back story adds to their relationship.  I wish there was more given about what happened with the government. Every time the Moral Statues are mentioned, they are so extreme that I want to know how we got there from where we are now. 

Overall, I would recommend this to people who enjoyed The Hunger Games, Legend, and Under the Never Sky.

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