We are constantly told by the narrator of the dangers and obstacles to come, but then the characters get to it and simply succeed with little to no consequence. I never felt tension or suspense or felt worried about whether the characters would succeed. I never felt a real struggle or conflict happen in this book. I notice that I tend to let a lot of things slide when I'm reading a YA novel, that I wouldn't forgive otherwise.įor example, the fact that everything is oddly convenient. This brings me to what I've said about cutting YA too much slack. The inciting incident especially is extremely basic and predictable from like page two! I could tell from the opening chapter how things were going to generally play out. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I kept waiting for this book to surprise me, and it never quite managed that. Then again, most books, especially in the YA genre, are all fairly similar in structure. The first thing to know is that this book is nothing new. I've thought about it and I've had to lower my rating. Is he a spy from the Federation? Or could he be the weapon that will save them all? When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front, Talin senses there’s more to him than meets the eye. She finds comfort only with a handful of fellow Strikers who have pledged their lives to one another and who are determined to push Karensa back at all costs. Their cruelty forced her and her mother to seek asylum in a country that considers their people repugnant. Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation. Still, one Striker refuses to give up hope. But as the number of Ghosts grows and Karensa closes in, defeat seems inevitable. The legendary Strikers, Mara's elite fighting force, are trained to stop them.

Refugees flee to its borders to escape a fate worse than death-transformation into mutant war beasts known as Ghosts, creatures the Federation then sends to attack Mara. The Karensa Federation has conquered a dozen countries, leaving Mara as one of the last free nations in the world. In a world broken by war, a team of young warriors is willing to sacrifice everything to save what they love.

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