Review: Promised by Caragh M. O'Brien

Promised
(Birthmarked #3)

Author: Caragh M. O'Brien

Publication Date: October 2nd, 2012

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Genre: Dystopia

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Synopsis:

After defying the ruthless Enclave, surviving the wasteland, and upending the rigid matriarchy of Sylum, Gaia Stone now faces her biggest challenge ever. She must lead the people of Sylum back to the Enclave and persuade the Protectorat to grant them refuge from the wasteland. In Gaia's absence, the Enclave has grown more cruel, more desperate to experiment on mothers from outside the wall, and now the stakes of cooperating or rebelling have never been higher. Is Gaia ready, as a leader, to sacrifice what--or whom--she loves most?

My Thoughts: The end of a series is always a somewhat sad event for me, especially when it's a series that I've enjoyed so much! I have to say, there are some events that happened in Promised that were slightly disturbing for me. Yes, I realize that it's a dystopia and that kind of thing generally happens, but there was just one thing that happened to Gaia forcibly that shocked me so much. I couldn't even believe it. I felt so bad for her and still do!! So what happened to her? You'll have to read the book to find out ;)

Promised starts off about a year after Prized leaves off. As the new leader of Sylum, Gaia is leading her people out of the death trap that was their home and across the wastelands to the Enclave. Their arrival is less than inviting and Gaia is actually arrested immediately for treason. After a bit of negotiation, the Protectorat and Gaia come to an agreement and she is released. Of course, the Protectorat doesn't follow through on his end of the bargain, which was to provide water for New Sylum, so you can only imagine what will happen when people start to get desperate.

Promised shows us a new side to a lot of characters when they become desperate. Leon completely changes again and Gaia struggles to come to a balance between what she feels is right and what has to be done to survive. It's a harsh reality for her when she realises that they're going to need to do some horrible things to get results. She once again grows as a character and it's nice to see her adapt to her leadership role.

I really enjoyed this series overall. Caragh M. O'Brien has created a very interesting world, which is completely believable.  The characters are ones that you come to care for (seriously horrified about what happened to Gaia! Omgosh!) and it's hard to see them suffer the way they do. I will be definitely recommending this series to anyone who enjoys the dystopian genre and to those that are looking to give it a try. It's a wonderful story and original in it's own way. It keeps the reader engaged, which is always a good sign. I'm defnitely a new fan of Caragh M. O'Brien and this was a great end to the series. I'll be watching for more from her!

Review: Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien

Prized
(Birthmarked #2)

Author: Caragh M. O'Brien

Publication Date: November 8th 2011

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Genre: Dystopia

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Synopsis:

Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone survives only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime. In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole?

My Thoughts: I think Prizedwas even better than Birthmarked. I feel like a lot more seemed to happen and Gaia grew up a bit. It's an extremely enjoyable story that I can't seem to get enough of. Caragh M. O'Brien has mad a new fan out of me!

It pretty much started off where Birthmarked left off, with Gaia in the wastelands. She's been out there for about two weeks and has run out of formula for her baby sister, who is now dying. They are saved by a man on horseback and he takes them to Sylum. They are saved, but they take Maya away from Gaia and lock her up for endangering her sister. Eventually, they realized that Gaia is a midwife and a talented one at that. Since they have no midwife, they decide that Gaia can take over the job IF she follows their customs. The women in the society are dying out. For some reason none are being born, therefore there are strict rules about showing affection in public, especially if you're not married, there is NO touching allowed between girls and boys. Oh, did I mention that if Gaia leaves she will die? For some reason, anytime someone tries to leave Sylum, they get sick and die. So she might as well get used to it and make herself fit in. She struggles to adapt to the strict rules of the society, even more so when she discovers Leon is being held in the prison there. Will Gaia be able to adapt to the society? Or will she cause everything to change?

I just cannot get over the ideas and creativity of Caragh M. O'Brien. The world she creates in this series is amazing and I just can't get enough of it. It's safe to say that I'm eagerly looking forward to reading the third book in this amazing dystopian series, Promised. There were a lot of things that happened toward the end of Prized that makes me want to read more. The writing just pulls you in and makes you want more. There was a bit more romance in this one because the ratio of men to women in Sylum is 9:1, so Gaia is the new girl in town, making her the most desired, even with her scar because no one seems to notice it as much.With all of the attention Gaia recieves, Gaia and Leon struggle in this new place and their relationship basically dies off.

I still have to say that if you like dystopia, you should definitely read this series. It's a great story and I find it a little bit different from other dystopians. It's an original story for sure, and well writen. I'd give it 4.5 owls if I used that as a rating, but it will have to take the 4 for now.

Review: Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

Birthmarked
(Birthmarked #1)

Author: Caragh M. O'Brien

Publication Date: March 30th 2010

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Genre: Dystopia

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Synopsis:

In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the walled Enclave and those, like sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside. Following in her mother’s footsteps Gaia has become a midwife, delivering babies in the world outside the wall and handing a quota over to be "advanced" into the privileged society of the Enclave. Gaia has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested by the very people they so loyally serve.

Now Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught, but her choice is simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying.

My Thoughts: I know, I  read entirely too much dystopia sometimes, but it's been awhile at least!! I was a bit skeptical going into this one, but I ended up really enjoying it! I guess I just enjoy dystopias too much. My husband doesn't understand at all, every time I'm reading a book and say that it's a dystopia he tells me that I should stop reading them because they are probably causing my depression. Nope, sorry but no good book will cause depression for me! It actually takes it away because I have something to look forward to!

Birthmarked is a really good dystopia. I'm always interested in seeing how the author has decided to shape the world. In this one, people are separated by a wall. There is the Enclave inside of the wall, this is where the wealthy and well off live. There are still some servants, but the quality of life is much better than on the outside of the wall. Outside of the wall is where Gaia lives. She has a somewhat happy life. Her parents love her and she loves helping bring new babies into the world. She is only 16 but there is a lot of promise for her future. Her family is a bit better off than most of the families outside of the wall. There's not enough food or water and there is no medicine or doctors, so people do suffer. But everyone loyally serves the Enclave and Gaia does what she thinks is right.

I've decided that Gaia has the WORST job in the world. Yes, she's a midwife, which would be an excellent job, IF she didn't have to advance babies. Which is essentially taking them away from their mothers to be adopted by the wealthier families inside of the wall. These children are never told who their birth parents are, and the never come back. This also causes trouble in the Enclave because they don't bother to track the babies birth parents, so they have to do genetic screening to make sure they're not related to other advanced babies. This way they won't say, marry their brother or sister and have children because there is a problem from inbreeding in the Enclave. They are struggling with hemophilia, a disorder that causes your blood not to clot, so children are dying from small cuts and getting sick easily. Clearly, the Enclave wants to eradicate the hemophilia, so they decide they need more children from outside of the wall to increase the gene pool. They also need to find out if any of the midwives from the outside kept any sort of record, so they can figure out who's related since the outside doesn't have the same problems with hemophilia. Gaia's mother is rumored to have a record, so they arrest Gaia's parents. Gaia thinks her parents will just be questioned and returned, but after a few weeks, she hears they are to be executed and she decides that she has to save them. 

I really liked Gaia as a character. considering everything she's  had to go through, she is extremely strong. She's had to be. Everyone looks at her like she's a freak because her face is scarred from a burn she got when learning how to walk. It's this disfigurement that kept her from being chosen to be an advanced baby. If  she was advanced though, she wouldn't know her parents, so I think she was better off. She is a bit naive, but that is mostly because she has a fairly sheltered life. But she is an extremely strong willed character and makes the decision to rescue her parents and go against the Enclave, the only authority she knows. I think that took a lot of guts. Of course, she gets arrested, so it didn't work out to well for her. So she has to figure out a way to escape and save her parent. 

There is a bit of romance in Birthmarked as well. Gaia feels like she is ugly because of her scar, and most of the boys/men treat her like she is. So she begins crushing on one of the soldiers, and she can't help it. Leon is the son of the leader of the Enclave, but he was adopted and is from outside of the wall. He treats Gaia nicely and he's pretty good looking, so she can't help but to fall for him. I definitely liked him as a character! He is so swoon worthy!

Overall, Birthmarked is a great dystopia and I'm really looking forward to reading Prized the second book. I've actually just started it, so look out for a review for that one soon! If you are at all a dystopia fan, I definitely recommend that you check out these books by Caragh M. O'Brien, she creates an amazing story!