12399857Sixteen-year-old Ren is a daredevil mobile racer who will risk everything to survive in the Ward, what remains of a water-logged Manhattan. To save her sister, who is suffering from a deadly illness thought to be caused by years of pollution, Ren accepts a secret mission from the government: to search for a freshwater source in the Ward, with the hope of it leading to a cure.

However, she never expects that her search will lead to dangerous encounters with a passionate young scientist; a web of deceit and lies; and an earth-shattering mystery that’s lurking deep beneath the water’s rippling surface.

Jordana Frankel’s ambitious debut novel and the first in a two-book series, The Ward is arresting, cinematic, and thrilling—perfect for fans of Scott Westerfeld or Ann Aguirre.

 

The Ward revolves around a sixteen-year-old girl, Ren, who loves to live life dangerously. Ren and her sister, Aven, live in The Ward, which is pretty much where the poor and the sick live. To help provide for her little family, Ren races each month to get money. But that’s not all. Ren also works for the government as a spy. Her job is to constantly be on the lookout for a fresh water source.

This dystopian novel is placed several years in the future. There is a deadly illness that passes from person to person known as the HBNC virus, or the Blight. There is no cure for the HBNC virus. What it does is it creates a bunch of tumors on various parts of the body, and then it slowly kills off the carrier. Ren’s little sister, Aven, eventually catched the HBNC virus, and Ren must find a way to help her.

 

The Ward started off a little confusing during the first 2-3 chapters, but it picked up soon after that. Once the book picks up, you’re placed in a racing zone, watching Ren and her competitors fight to be the champion. That part of the book was really awesome and exciting to read about. I wish that more of the book had actually been about the racers and the competitions. The whole experience has let me know what kind of book I want to see published and read about. The racing aspect of the book was a definite plus.

I wish that the book hadn’t been centered around finding a cure for Aven and this whole disease taking over New York. I love dystopia novels. I think that there is something special and wicked cool about creating a world unlike our own, and I dig reading them. But it bogged me down a bit in this book. The main character, Ren, was constantly upset and whining. Obviously she had a good reason to be upset. Her sister was dying and she was stuck working for the government and lying to her friends, but when I’m reading about a main character who is always upset or depressed, then that also weighs down on me. Not to mention that I didn’t really like Aven’s character. I know that we don’t get to see much of her in the book, but she bugged me whenever she made an appearance. So I got the concept of the book, and I knew what was happening, but it was just really weighing down on me.

Almost every girl who reads knows that it is all about the boys. If an author creates an amazing male character, that can really amp up how amazing the book is going to be. But if an author creates a male character that’s unattractive and unappealing, that can really bring the book down a few notches. Unfortunately, I hated both of the main male characters. I found Callum to be overly sensitive, annoying and weak, and I found Derek to be rude, stupid and also annoying. When you add in the fact that I wasn’t an overly huge fan of the main character, Ren, you’re in for a disaster. There was not one character that I really liked in this 465 page book and that killed me.

Fans of lots of love and romance in books will also be disappointed. Sure, Ren had a crush on Derek and paid more attenion to Callum later in the book, but there really was no romance. I expect to see maybe a little bit more of it in the second book, but that department was a little bland.

When reading dystopian novels, one must understand that there are going to be some things that are just totally unrealistic. However, there has to be some semblance of reality when you’re not looking at a world full of paranormal activity. There was a lot of detail in this book that either made absolutely no sense or just didn’t add up as time progressed. I also found myself reading sections and not really understanding what was happening. Things were jumping around a little too fast and things would happen without the right support. Like my creative writing teacher said. If there is a gun introduced at the beginning of the story, that gun needs to be used before the ending. Some things were not clarified. Other things jumped without having something to balance it out.

The Ward was a great start for a 2013 debut novel, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. I have been dying for this book, and I really expected a lot more from it. The last 20 pages, I was just dying to put the book down. I don’t want to feel that way with books. I will say, though, that my copy is an ARC. I received this book several months before you guys will be able to read it, so some of the stuff that I have complained about really might be better executed in the final copy. However, I do think that dystopian fans will be a little let down.

 

Pages: 465

Source: ARC provided by publisher

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: April 30th, 2013

Rating: : ★★★☆☆

 

Teaser Quote: I’m pounding against the glass, now wishing it would crack. Water splashes inside the mobile, all around me. Grimy, icy slush finds my mouth. I close my eyes, struggling to get out through the roof, pushing against it. My Rimbo drops into the sunken city. I open my eyes despite the cold and the water. Beyond the roof, giant-sized buildings loom, towers of brick with the windows crashed in. I can’t stop looking- I can’t stop trying.

It takes less than a minute for the water to reach my neck. (51.)