Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Review: The Twenty by Claudia Carozza



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The Twenty is an interesting book that I decided to read because it takes place in a dystopian world where there had an epidemic that wiped out all the humans. Then comes along a new government where you are ranked by which ward you reside in. The farthest ward you are from First City the less and less power the government has control of you and if they even care at all. The Twenty is about a group of twenty women who are pregnant during a time where it's very rare, and crying babies would stir a whole ward. So then comes along Hazel DeSales and she finds a job working for the government which she knows is corrupt, but when her drunken father's paychecks are coming in smaller and longer amounts of time she has to give somethings up to live. Hazel becomes a nurse for one of the Twenty and hears things she shouldn't when Hazel is in the shadows. 
I really liked this idea when I first read the summary because it was different from all the other dystopian books that are out there. Claudia Carozza's writing was very simple, but what I really loved about the novel is because she keeps a good pace and makes me be on the edge of my seat, constantly. I also love how she built up the world. Having certain things that seem mundane to us, feel like an alien to the people in this world. I think, unlike most dystopian novels there isn't much technology advancement in The Twenty. In my mind when I think of the wards that people live in other than 8, I think of a ghost town, or a very unkempt town. I still what to know what First City and ward 8 really look like. 



Hazel DeSales is the female protagonist and she has some boy problems amongst many others. I could just feel the love triangle as soon as Shane came into the novel. Btw I'm on team Shane, if there is a team. I personally don't like Luka. My first impression of him was, "He's going to betray them." That was a very harsh thing to assume, but honestly I haven't warmed up to him and from the looks of where things going I feel like he's going to be the one. There were some characters that I have a lot of faith in. For example, Elisa Montgomery one of the Twenty whom Hazel nurses throughout her pregnancy. Elisa to me is a very strong character and I think if she wasn't pregnant and she had another role in the novel she'd kick butt. The "bad guys" didn't scare me honestly. They didn't make me think, "Well, this is going to be very very bad," or something along those lines. Yes, there are somethings that are kind of spoilers that are sins, but I don't see why they are doing the things that they are. The government is very secretive and I really want to know what they are going to do with the babies of the Twenty because it seems like something big is going to occur.

The Twenty for me, was a very quick summer read and if I had time probably could finish in a day or some hours. The novel has a very fast pace, and the scenery isn't too advance that I'm constantly wondering and daydreaming about the wards and the buildings.

I feel like this sort of story could happen in some way. I don't know how and why, but there seems to be a truth in it. I really love how Claudia Carozza didn't particularly shy away from unpleasing things because that's how the world that Hazel lives in is. Where the police don't care, and the crack heads are everywhere.

I am defo going to read the second book in the trilogy when it comes out and I want to check out Claudia Carozza's upcoming new series coming later this year. I'm very excited about the next The Twenty novel because this one leaves off with a huge cliff hanger, which I really wanted to be resolved in this novel because we all saw it coming. So, in conclusion I give Claudia Carozza's debut dystopian novel a head nods, thumbs up. (4 out of 5)


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