Title: Sovereignty
Author: Anjenique Hughes
Source: For Review
RATING: 4.5 STARS
Under the totalitarian reign of the 23rd century's world's government- The Sovereign Regime- control is made possible by the identity chip implanted in every human being, recording everything that is seen, done, and experienced.
No more bank accounts.
No more smart phones.
No more secrets.
When Goro inadvertently overhears an exchange of sensitive information, causing him to confront the truth about his world and prompting him to choose his true loyalties, his dream of revolution kicks into high gear. Goro doesn't know he has covert intel in his possession both the SR and the resistance movement are desperate to acquire.
Determined to attempt the impossible task of bringing down the world government, he and his closest friends gain access to the key to ultimately deciding who has sovereignty.
But who will get to Goro first: The resistance or the Sovereign Regime?
~MY THOUGHTS~
Dystopian books are kind of my guilty pleasure reads. Its the type of genre, that no matter how many times it's done, I still love it. I don't know why, but I can't get enough this genre. And that is the main reason I signed up to review this book. The three sentence blurb above is enough to have made me go out and purchase the book. But even beyond that, I completely got sucked into this story.
The government system in this book is kind of typical dystopian fare. The government controls all, and basically monitors your every move. In this world, it's done through chips. Again, like usual, the main character, Goro, doesn't conform to what the government wants, and is fighting to find out what is being hidden from them. But for me, and I am sure a lot of people, this is the type of book that's just easy to get lost into. I find myself zoning out when reading books like this, and getting caught up in the world, imagining myself in the situation that is being portrayed on the page. I don't know what it is, but it's fascinating. And like I said, this book was no different. I followed Goro's story with complete attention, and didn't want to put the book down.
I felt that the world was expertly portrayed and wasn't just thrown in the readers face. It was a kind of slow burning journey through the world, and it was nice to see it through Goro's eyes. Most dystopians that I read feature female characters, which I enjoy, but it's nice to see it from a male's perspective. And I thought Goro was well fleshed out as a main character. Which is nice. Sometimes, with world building and future government setups, the actual characters get kind of lost in the mess, but the author didn't do that hear. Goro is front and center and his decisions in the book held true to what you see his character doing.
Goro has learned of some stuff he shouldn't, and this kind of sets the wheels in motion for the rest of the book.
I did find it a bit off putting being thrown in and out of perspectives. I saw that some people didn't necessarily mind it, but i kind of threw me out of the story. When it happened, I found myself almost forcing myself to not set the book down and think about the shift. That's why it lost the .5 stars. It was going to be 4 stars, but I really enjoyed this book, even sort of despite this "issue" I had.
I do think this book is a prime example of how dystopian novels can be done well, and I would recommend to fans of the genre. It was fast -paced, and kept my interest throughout the book.
Author's Bio:
With master's degrees in education, special education, and counseling, Anjenique "Jen" Hughes is a high school English and math teacher who loves teaching and mentoring young people. She enjoys traveling and has worked with youth on five continents. Saying she is "young at heart" is an understatement; she is fluent in sarcasm, breaks eardrums with her teacher voice (students have complained when they were within earshot), and cracks sarcastic jokes with the best of her students. Her work with ethnically and socioeconomically diverse youth has inspired her to write books that appeal to a broad variety of students seeking stories of bravery, perseverance, loyalty, and success.
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