ARC Review: Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1) by J.A. Souders

5 stars
Genres: young adult, science fiction, dystopia, romance, fantasy
Format: Ebook
352 pages
Published by Tor Teen
Expected publication: November 13th 2012 (first published August 20th 2012)
ISBN: 146680095X
ISBN13: 9781466800953
Where to Buy: amazon,Barnes and Noble
View on Goodreads

Note: I received this book from Netgalley.

Summary from Goodreads:
Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

My Review:
What did I think of the first couple chapters? Hello Little Mermaid, where is King Triton. That is exactly the impression I got, I even went back to Goodreads to read the synopsis again just to make sure this was not an alternative version of the Disney fairy tale. Once you get past the first couple chapters though it is nothing like what I was expecting. This is an amazing action packed story with twists and turns at every angle. This is definitely not the typical dystopian type of novel; it was a unique and intriguing story.

Evelyn was resilient against all odds; think of a Katniss character in Hunger Games. Her‘Mother’ was trying to create the perfect world in Elysium and used any means necessary to ensure her world was how she wanted it to be. Despite this fact Evelyn maintained a strong will and pure heart to overcome manipulation and make her own choices about right and wrong. She was constantly thinking of ways to get beyond the many changing obstacles that faced her and thought of only protecting the ones that she loved.

Gavin was a great hero, using his own instincts to guide him through and make the right decisions about whether or not to trust Evelyn. He was good on his word and a protector at heart. I loved him throughout the book and he grabbed my heart right away.

Overall, the author created a fascinating world that characters had to live in. The time frame was not exactly clear so the story is able to fit in any future time. The plot gives off a great lesson of right and wrong and standing for what you believe in and not just going with the flow.

About theAuthor:
J.A. Souders was born in the heartland with an overactive imagination and an over abundance of curiosity that was always getting her into trouble.

Because she never grew up, she decided she’d put her imaginary friends to work and started writing. She now lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and their two children and is an active member of the RWA, SFWA, YARWA and SCBWI.

Author’s website: http://www.jasouders.com