Inland by Kate Risse

Rating:

3 Stars

Themes:

Dystopian

Thoughts:

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I found this book soo conflicting, while the premise itself was intriguing I found most of the characters insufferable. Juliet is so selfish and self-important which would rub me up the wrong way in most books but in an end of the world as we know it situation when she’s (internally) whining about having to help Martin’s friend with a severe snake bite or helping a toddler in the beginning even though she was supportive after they had already started helping the child. I understand the mothers need to get back to her child, especially when the world is upturned but the seemingly total overriding of compassion for anyone else, including Martin who is helping her stay alive, is irritating. Billy himself is also somewhat selfish but that is completely understandable considering he is only a teenager and they behave like that in normal circumstances nevermind a catastrophe and for most of the book he is pretty much alone in the world so it makes sense to be angry whenever Martin takes the phone to ask about his family as communication with his own mum is sooo scarce. I did think that Risse could have spent more time actually explaining why phones had been banned in her world as the beginning of the book stated that they were and how the rules had been broken by Juliet and Billy but there’s not much real explanation as to why and even though a few more details are splattered throughout it’s still not 100% clear why such a drastic action was taken. I also felt that the ending felt like there was something missing as we never really get any form of answers or resolution.

Comments

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