Prized
Caragh M. O'Brien
Gaia has left Enclave. She is a criminal there, for trying to save a pregnant woman from the death penalty, in this dystopian trilogy. Gaia, while trying to find a new place to live in a futuristic world where little is left, must also take care of her newborn sister. But Gaia cannot provide for Maya, and when the two are found by a mysterious stranger and taken to his village, Sylum, Gaia meet the Matrarc, the woman in charge and the way the world works becomes new territory for Gaia. In Sylum, the women rule the city of 2,000 souls. Women are rare finds; only boys tend to be born. Gaia must submit to the restrictive rules of Sylum if she wants her sister to survive, but when Leon returns to find her, Gaia must decide where her heart and values lie.
I read this book in 2 days. It's one of those. I want to kick myself because I read the first book 2 years ago and just now decided to read the second one. This story is VERY problematic for readers and challenges the readers to rethink and reevaluate opinions on very pertinent issues that we face today.
Abortion is a prevalent piece of this story--Gaia helps a young woman miscarry in order to save her family from complete ruin. The reader has both sides of the story for abortion in this narrative, and the discussion from both sides might make some readers squirm.
Another issue is equality between genders. Currently, we live in a very patriarchal society, but O'Brien flips the switch and gives a look at when women rule. The strict matriarchal society doesn't seem to work out much, either. It is when you combine the two, and give equality to all that the society begins to function, thus, O'Brien is able to make a political statement between the lines.
All in all, however, the storyline is incredible. Multiple love interests, where Gaia must find the person that truly makes her heart sing and encourages her to be the strong, independent woman she knows she is.
This series is making it up the list of my top book series for YA. We have the whole trilogy at MCPL. Come and get it!
Book #3 is on my list next:
No comments:
Post a Comment