Book Review: Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Title: Enclave
Series: Razorland, Book 1
Author: Ann Aguirre
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Source: review copy provided by publisher
Published:  April 12, 2011 by Feiwel & Friends

New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters—or Freaks—who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight, in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs. As the two are guided by Fade’s long-ago memories, they face dangers, and feelings, unlike any they’ve ever known.

Why I Read this Book: As soon as I heard Ann Aguirre had a YA novel coming out, a dystopian one at that, I knew I had to read it. True, I’ve only read one of her books so far but that one book got me hooked!

What I Liked: The world building was a-maz-ing. Enclave had a cinematic feel to it; it read like a movie playing in my mind. It’s told in 1st person narrative from Deuce's POV yet I wasn’t overwhelmed with over-processed thoughts. She’s a strong, fierce and loyal young woman trying to survive in a dark, gritty and bleak post-apocalyptic world. And although romance isn’t a big factor in Enclave, there is a bit of a love triangle. I love the tension that comes along with most love triangles.

At first, when I first found out there was a title change and a cover change, I wasn’t 100% on board. Razorland sounded so cool and I loved the cover with Deuce and Fade. But after reading the book, I totally get how Enclave is a more suitable title. I’m glad Razorland was kept as the title of the series. I still prefer the original cover but I understand wanting it to be a gender neutral cover. And the final cover is creepy!

What I Didn’t Like: I’m sad that I don’t have the next book in my hands right this very second. Seriously, what’s not to like?

Overall Impression: I welcome Ann Aguirre to the world of YA with open arms. If Enclave turns out to be your first read by this author, you’ll have found yourself a new author. If you are an ‘adult’ reader, you should check out her novels, including the ones under the pseudonym Ava Gray and Ellen Conner. Cancel any plans because you’ll be staying up all night, if need be, to finish Enclave. It definitely earned a spot on my top ten reads of this year. I see that some people have compared Enclave to The Hunger Games (which I have not read yet). I truly believe that this book, Enclave, will be the one people will start comparing other YA dystopian novels to. It’s going to be a hard one to beat.

Side note: The ARC came with an audio sample, which I thought was really neat. It contained the first 2 chapters of the book in audio format (I thought the narrator’s voice was too bubbly) and there’s also a phone interview with Ann Aguirre.

 

Brianna’s Rating:

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