Review: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Title: Article 5

Author: Kristen Simmons

Publisher: Tor Teen

Publication Date: 1.31.2012

Pages: 362

Genre: Dystopian (Article 5 #1)

Series: Yes

Source: Finished copy from publisher

Rating: A-

Summary (from Goodreads):

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Review:

This is one of those books I really want to build a time machine, go back a year, and punch myself for not reading sooner. Article 5 is almost everything I crave in a book—it has this insanely cool plot that had me hooked from inception, characters I can relate to and care about, and enough tension to keep me riveted the whole time.

Ember is a character I was immediately attracted to. She has this inner strength that resonates through the pages of Article 5. I rooted for her and cheered for her, and I loved her scenes with Chase. Chase complements Ember wonderfully. If there was any drawback to this book it’s that I just didn’t get enough of these two, but maybe that’s my own greed talking.

There is a fair amount of violence, but it was never done in a gratuitous fashion. Simmons takes care to make sure there is a point to it, and it really helps enhance the overall story because it adds another layer of intensity. She constantly ups the stakes in this book.

This is very much book one of a series and I had several questions when it drew to a close. The only plus about waiting so long to read this is that I don’t have to wait more than a few weeks to get my hands on the sequel, Breaking Point. I can assure you I won’t wait as long to read the sequel as I did book ones, and I hope you guys don’t either!

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