REVIEW: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

 

Author: Kristen Simmons

Series: Article 5
Pages: 384

Genre: Young Adult – Dystopian

Publisher: TOR Teen

Amazon: Article 5

Synopsis (Goodreads)

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The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.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

REVIEW: 4 out of 5 stars

Article 5 is the first book in the Article 5 series by Debut Author Kristen Simmons.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller’s life is as close to peaceful in war torn America as what is possible, she lives with her mother and gets by keeping a low profile and abiding by the rules, something her rebellious mother doesn’t tend to do.

Chase Jennings was Ember’s first love and has spent a year being inducted into the Federal Bureau of Reformation, he has returned a changed person and to assist in the arrest of Ember’s mother for an Article violation.

All of the Articles had one thing in common, violation permitted full prosecution by the FBR and the punishments widely varied from a citation to reform school or even in some cases execution. It was a terrifying way to live.

There was non stop action in Article 5, from Ember’s time in reform school up until they reached the carrier it was go go go. I never quite knew where Chase’s loyalties lay so was relieved when he finally opened up to what was going on.

I loved the world building, the writing and the well defined captivating characters; everything was well thought out and certainly held my interest.

The emotions and actions in Article 5 are believable and whilst I didn’t agree with some of the choices Ember made, her strength and determination certainly made up for it. She was extremely one minded when it came to decisions she had to make and her sole focus seemed to be on saving her mother rather than look out for those who were trying to help her out.

What I enjoyed were the flashback moments where Ember would remember her time with Chase pre-FBR; they shared some wonderful times and it was nice to see the close bond they shared, I wanted a glimpse of the person Chase was rather than what he had become through the horrors he had experienced.

Ms Simmons writing is truly wonderful, I was instantly pulled into the story she was telling from the very first page; the ongoing drama and action shows the imminent danger and fear of the characters perfectly and kept the pacing of the story flowing well.

There was never a dull moment, I was mesmerized by this book; it’s definitely a wonderful start to this amazing new series and I am looking forward to seeing how the ongoing conflicts are resolved and how the romance progresses.