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Author: Chris Weitz [ Twitter ]
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian
Release Date: July 29, 2014
Source: Review copy provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.
The tribe exchanges gunfire with enemy gangs, escapes cults and militias, braves the wilds of the subway and Central Park...and discovers truths they could never have imagined. - via Goodreads
In a NYC run by teenagers left after a mysterious Sickness, Weitz uses his movie know-how to create a plot driven, fast-paced novel through the voices of childhood friends. Jefferson and Donna offer two perspectives of life after the Sickness and members of the Washington Square tribe.
Skipping a beat, The Young World kicks off a series with a journey across Manhattan in search of answers to the Sickness and a cure. With an uneven foundation the action and societal constructs keep things interesting and form a realistically frightening post-apocalyptic NYC. Teens are king, living in fear of the Sickness, each other and the wild, while introducing various survival techniques, some which are more disturbing than others.
Setting up both a familiar world and story line, it's the tribes and secondary characters that make the journey well worth the ride. Diversity and action scenes playing to Weitz's Hollywood strengths, character and story development is haunting the reader as the cliffhanger for book two sits in the last sentence.
What I'm looking for in the series moving forward...
More science... there's some explaining to be done. The explanation for the Sickness is hormonal imbalances and since teenagers are going through puberty so they're immune. Okay, let's say I buy this puberty thing... it would create major age gaps between the sexes. Some women begin puberty as young as 10 years old and some don't start until 17/18 years of age. Men typically hit puberty later in life and can begin as late as their early 20s. Additionally, women typically have a hormone imbalance every 28 days so yeah... I'm looking for a lot more science as we venture into book two. Fortunately, it looks we're set up for a lot more world building and information with the cliffhanger ending that is presented in the last sentence.
Better writing for Donna. I want to like her for a multitude of reasons but the maturity levels in her actions versus her speech are not compatible. Her voice comes across forced and unauthentic.
Why I'll be reading book two...
I love the tribes! Unlike other post-apoc/dystopian reads the groups are not pre-determined or fated. These tribes have formed for survival purposes and are very realistic portrayals of what could happen if society broke down.
I like the world that has become of New York City because it's not too much of a stretch. There are plenty of pop culture references so this isn't too long after today. While the science maybe a little muddled the aftermath is not. The desire to create communities for safety in numbers, the struggle for weapons, food, gas, electricity... it's all real. Even some things that occur are a more sobering reminder of what humanity is capable and privileges a developed world has afforded us.
I like the crew... there are some feels moments just because they're kids! I really like Jefferson, Peter, Brainbox and SeeThrough. They each have histories and reasons for being. While being diverse they also dispel some stereotypes and bring light to the fact that in super diverse areas like NYC there's a "peak" and it becomes homogenous.
3.5 Stars
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