Enclave

Title: Enclave
Author: Ann Aguirre
Year: 2011
Series?: Razorland #1
Format: Hardcover (Library checkout)
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction/Dystopia, Horror/Zombies, Adventure, Romance

What's it about?: Again, I cannot give a synopsis better than the one already given, so here is a link to a summary of what this book is about.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7137327-enclave

My opinion: This is yet another book I have been kicking myself for not having read it sooner. Enclave was recommended to me by a friend (shout out to Tim a la biblioteca!) and while I'm sad I didn't read it sooner, I'm glad I waited because I am already jonesing to read the rest of the series (book three out at the end of October). Enclave to me was a mix of 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead, with a heroine straight out of Graceling. The world building was astounding, Aguirre made it believable that in a post-apocalyptic world people would live underground in the ruins of the New York City subway system and find a way to survive against the dangers of the Freaks (which are zombies, but they are never referred to in that title). I liked the different ways the author would describe an object and later it would become clear that it was a car or a sofa; it added to the sense of loss that most of the characters experienced at the world around them. I loved that the book was set in the ruins of the civilization of what we all currently live in. The theme of survival was a strong presence throughout the book, but I liked that the author displayed the difference between ruthless survival and being able to survive while showing compassion for others.

The character development of Deuce is one of my favorite things about the book. Due to how she was raised and her way of life, survival was key and she would reject outside ideas. As the book goes on, Deuce begins to realize that the was she was living may not be what she wants, hell she begins to think it isn't right at all. Deuce's ability to show remorse for the mistakes she made was an aspect that made her human, even if she did not realize the wrongs she had been committing at the time. One of the most frustrating aspects of the book was Deuce's lack of understanding of how Fade felt about her and what he wanted from her. I do understand that her background supports this, being that she was always prepped for a life of being a Huntress and was never to consider the possibility of "breeding" as they called it, but it would have been nice for Fade to explain his feelings for her. Fade is an interesting hero, but remains a bit mysterious by the end of the book, I hope there is more development of his character in the rest of the series. The character of Stalker was difficult for me to accept or process, he let unspeakable things happen to women, but the flipside of that is he actually didn't know any better, it was survival in his world.

Overall, Enclave is an original and engaging read, I would recommend this to a variety of people, as it fits a variety of genres.

I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars!