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“We all knew things were difficult, conditions harsh. But if we pulled together, we were told, we would survive. We could thrive in a world which had become difficult to live in. But it was clearly made more difficult for some citizens than for others. The thought of it made me sick.”
In The Beck, survival is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Children are raised by the government and instead of families, individuals are part of sections – agriculture, patrol, sustenance, medical or the government in charge. In Flow, Quin starts out as part of the agriculture team. She works all day in the fields or greenhouses growing the food that the walled-in community eats. Food is rationed and the two small meals a day are barely enough to sustain her and her friends. Their luck may change, though, when they go through the biannual Assessment Day. Quin thinks about being reassigned to patrol and another friend wants a job in charge of others, but they both want to protect their sick friend from getting sent to Clearance – a place no one returns from.
I was asked to review this book by the author through a request on my blog. I was given a free copy in exchange for a fair review. I enjoy reading young adult dystopian novels, so I quickly agreed.
Quin and her friends all end up being reassigned and Quin is determined to find out while on patrol what happens at Clearance. She learns a lot about The Beck that she didn’t know before – that food rations are different in different sections, that there are outside threats, that the power is generated from the flow of a river and that there are others like her who think the system is unfair. She struggles to help others, but keep herself from being sent to Clearance, especially after she finds out what truly happens to those sent there.
Flow is the first book in a series and I am interested in finding out what happens next. The plot was very interesting and it was a different scenario than other dystopian books I have read, like Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It would be for high school readers or older as there are life and death scenarios. I did notice a little redundancy in the writing – Quin talks about the small food rations several times throughout the book as one example. However, the plot flowed rather well and kept me interested as to what would happen next.
Do you enjoy dystopian novels? If so, what is your favorite? Comment below!