Danielle Ellison
Series: The Boundless Trilogy
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Very Original
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I picked up Follow Me Through Darkness at BEA and was instantly intrigued by the premise -- Elders choosing paths of life for members of society? Sign me up. Neely, the main character, figures out that basically all of the government is a lie -- as usual -- and her search for the truth snowballs into something huge.
The concept was not only something I found to be very original (my description doesn't do it justice, read the blurb and you'll see what I mean) but carried out very well and I commend Danielle Ellison for not turning this book into something very typical and generic as it would have been easy to do in this style of writing.
I enjoyed the story a lot and thought it was done well. I wish there had been more focus on world-building because I feel like at some points things were kinda vague or not really explained and I really hope they're elaborated on in the next book. There were also a few instances where there would be info-dumping about a particular subject before they were about to encounter it -- not a lot but enough where the world-building aspect is one I hope to see improved on in the next book.
The characters were definitely well-developed. I liked Neely a lot and the way we get to know her. I honestly really enjoyed her personality, especially that she didn't really like to deal with other people's bullshit and wasn't exactly the most sensitive person. I think that might be off-putting to some people and I can totally understand why people would have problems with her character but I think my own ways of thinking just made me appreciate her a lot. Also, she faced some tough choices and was pretty indecisive and I can feel that because making decisions is really hard whether it's what kind of chocolate you want to purchase or life or death decisions that could bring down a government (I think they're on the same level tbh) so I think Neely is pretty rad. Other characters include Thorne and Xenith. I liked the way they were both done as well and hope to see them expanded upon in the second book. There was definitely the beginning of a love triangle here but it wasn't heavily focused on here and while it'll probably become more apparent later on, I was appreciative of the way it was introduced.
The plot itself was also very compelling and I was really entertained by the whole story and was kept interested by everything that went on. The beginning a little show but once it picked up the pace it didn't slow down and was definitely a good read. The story alternated in between flashbacks and the present and as it went on we learned a lot about Neely, which was cool, and also about their world and the Elders and everything. Some of it involves a countdown which builds suspense. Overall, it was just a good story and definitely worth reading, and I'm hopeful that the second book will be even better and I can't wait to see what happens after the cliffhanger this book left the readers with!
- Noor
What's a refreshing dystopian novel you've read lately?
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