Review: Dark Parties by Sara Grant

Title: Dark Parties

Author: Sara Grant

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 8.3.2011

Pages: 320

Genre: Dystopian

Series: No

Copy: Finished copy sent from publisher for review

Rating: B

Summary (from Goodreads):

Sixteen-year-old Neva has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield "protects" them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But there's nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Or so the government says...

Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a "dark party" to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she's ever known, including the people she loves the most.

Review:

I found myself in a bit of a quandary at the end of this book. I found that while I love Sara Grant’s world, I wasn’t all that crazy about her main character, Neva. That doesn’t usually happen to me—typically if I dislike the lead, I can’t get into the book, but there’s something about Dark Parties that just attracted me, even if Neva fell short.

I found Neva to be annoying at times, sometimes to the point I had to put the novel down and take a break so I didn’t slap the girl myself. There was something about here that just set me on edge and kept me from connecting fully with her. It wasn’t one big character flaw, but a few different things she did (or how she reacted to a situation) that bothered me.

Despite my own feelings for Neva, I can’t help but applaud Grant for creating such an intense world. Dystopians are such a tricky genre—a new world must be created with new ideals, beliefs, cities, and groups of people. But at the same time, that world has to be on the scale of believable or it simply becomes fantasy. Grant’s Protectosphere was very well done. I would have a liked a bit more detail, but I think that would have hindered in the fast-paced ride she put me on. Sometimes it’s better to leave a bit to the imagination to keep the momentum of the story.

I’ve read several other reviews for Dark Parties, ranging from glowing to glowering, and here’s what I have to say: If you love dystopians you have absolutely nothing to lose by grabbing this book. Sara Grant is a gifted storyteller, and I think you’ll genuinely enjoy this novel.