Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Book Review: Revolution 19


Title: Revolution 19
Author: Gregg Rosenblum
Teen Reviewer: Kinsey Manchester
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars




 Nick, his brother Kevin, and his adopted sister Cass have all lived in a community in the wilderness their whole lives, while keeping hidden and safe from the robots that now control the remainder of the world. One day, the robots find their civilization and attack it, killing some and capturing others. Nick, Cass, and Kevin barely manage to escape, but their parents are nowhere to be found. With no other options, the three teens decide that they must enter one of the dangerous, infamous Cities to search for their parents. The City has always been depicted as a place where robots ruthlessly rule over the human slaves. It is not a place where any human would journey to of their own free will. However, when the three arrive, they find that what they have been told is not exactly the truth. The siblings meet a pair of girls who decide to help them find their parents and hopefully save them from being assimilated into the City. The entire City is aware that they are on the loose so any person they see could turn them in to the authorities. Once their parents are assimilated, they could forget everything about themselves and worse, their children. As the three fight against time, robots, and even some other humans who are out to get them, they realize that it is not just about saving their family. There is a bigger goal- saving the human race from the control of the drones. Can Nick, Cass, and Kevin save their family and safely escape the dangerous City before the robots capture them? Or will all hope be crushed with the ruthlessness of the robots?

Revolution 19 was a science-fiction type novel with action, mystery, and even a little love interest on the side. Nick was my favorite character because he was the older brother and he always put the safety of Kevin and Cass above his own. He did a few stupid things, but to him, they made sense to keep his brother and sister safe, and that was his top priority. Nick was smart and clever, which was necessary in the dangerous situations that the children often found themselves in. Cass, who was the middle child, was also fun to read about. She could beat any guy at any athletic competition, and I admired her for that. Overall, I enjoyed all of the characters for their bravery and perseverance at remaining true to their mission of saving their parents. However, one thing stuck out as strange to me. The three siblings were relentlessly detected and discovered but never injured or killed. They witnessed other humans being murdered or hurt, but the real threat wasn’t until the end of the book. Their continuous good luck was a little too unrealistic for me. Don’t get me wrong, I was satisfied with the ending, and I definitely enjoyed the book. I liked the quick pace of the book. I found most of the characters very relatable and some of them even surprised me with their compassion in such scary predicaments. I would recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi, dystopian, or action books. It was a good, quick read and I think most teen readers would enjoy it, too.