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Title: Terra
Author: Gretchen Powell
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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Synopsis: In the distant wake of a plague that has decimated the Earth's population, humanity is split in two. The rich and powerful live in skycities that float overhead, while those who remain on the ground have gathered in settlements strewn across a dying planet. Eighteen-year-old Terra Rhodon makes her living as a scav, scouting the earth for discarded scraps and metals to recycle for profit. While on a routine scavenging run, she discovers something that shocks her home settlement of Genesis X-16.
Terra suddenly finds herself asking questions no one will answer. Fueled by curiosity, her search for the truth ultimately leads her to Adam--a beguiling boy with a secret that has the power to change humanity's existence forever.
Terra suddenly finds herself asking questions no one will answer. Fueled by curiosity, her search for the truth ultimately leads her to Adam--a beguiling boy with a secret that has the power to change humanity's existence forever.
Excerpt:
The crunch of multiple footsteps sounds in my ears, and I know the unseen speaker is not alone. With achingly slow speed, I bend my knees to pick up my bag and pivot in the direction of the voice.
Three huge men stand about a yard in front of me, lined up in a row. All three of them sport shaved heads, making them almost indistinguishable from one another, save for their differing skin tones. Their long brown coats hang open, revealing bare chests covered with tattoos that creep from below their waistlines all the way up to their chins.
Raiders.
The man in the middle has a chain of thick golden links hanging around his throat. As I watch it bounce against his dark chest, I realize I’ve never actually seen raiders up close before. All that time spent thinking about Lee’s final moments, what his murderers had looked like. Turns out I had it pictured all wrong.
How did I not hear them coming? I always hear them coming.
The crunch of multiple footsteps sounds in my ears, and I know the unseen speaker is not alone. With achingly slow speed, I bend my knees to pick up my bag and pivot in the direction of the voice.
Three huge men stand about a yard in front of me, lined up in a row. All three of them sport shaved heads, making them almost indistinguishable from one another, save for their differing skin tones. Their long brown coats hang open, revealing bare chests covered with tattoos that creep from below their waistlines all the way up to their chins.
Raiders.
The man in the middle has a chain of thick golden links hanging around his throat. As I watch it bounce against his dark chest, I realize I’ve never actually seen raiders up close before. All that time spent thinking about Lee’s final moments, what his murderers had looked like. Turns out I had it pictured all wrong.
How did I not hear them coming? I always hear them coming.
You can also read the first two chapters here.
Review:
"Cause if you don't need anybody, it won't hurt if they leave you, right?"
When I first read the synopsis of the book, I actually didn't expect it to be this good. It sounded like a typical post-apocalyptic novels but the weird, new name of where they got me. Well, good thing it did because I really enjoyed this one.
It has a really interesting and promising premise. The history of how and why they lived in Genesis X-16 was immediately presented at the first part of the book, which helped not to make me feel lost while reading some random facts Terra keeps on mentioning. It also has a good world building that kinda reminded me of The Maze Runner.
The characters were interesting. There weren't much because it mainly focused on Terra, her brother and Adam but it wasn't boring reading all about them at all. The banters Terra and Adam was cute and made me like their relationship despite the sort-of fast pace on that part. Or maybe weeks passed after they met and I just didn't noticed. But it didn't feel insta-love though. It wasn't even cheesy until they sort-of told each other their feelings.
The twist about Adam's identity and his revelation in the end added more questions and made it more unique. At this point, it feels like there's more than one antagonist group in this story. I mean, there's terrestrials, skydwellers and now there's Adam's people; [spoiler]which made me feel like they were the ones who were really humans because of what Adam said at the end of the book. I mean, their coming back, right?[spoiler]
It seems like it's the same as other books at first glance, but definitely different. Oh and I love the kissing scene! I'm a sucker for well-established kissing scenes and the one here was definitely good. It was felt, not just shown, through words. I've read some really good debuts recently and this is definitely one of those. I'll definitely look out for the release of the next book.
It has a really interesting and promising premise. The history of how and why they lived in Genesis X-16 was immediately presented at the first part of the book, which helped not to make me feel lost while reading some random facts Terra keeps on mentioning. It also has a good world building that kinda reminded me of The Maze Runner.
The characters were interesting. There weren't much because it mainly focused on Terra, her brother and Adam but it wasn't boring reading all about them at all. The banters Terra and Adam was cute and made me like their relationship despite the sort-of fast pace on that part. Or maybe weeks passed after they met and I just didn't noticed. But it didn't feel insta-love though. It wasn't even cheesy until they sort-of told each other their feelings.
The twist about Adam's identity and his revelation in the end added more questions and made it more unique. At this point, it feels like there's more than one antagonist group in this story. I mean, there's terrestrials, skydwellers and now there's Adam's people; [spoiler]which made me feel like they were the ones who were really humans because of what Adam said at the end of the book. I mean, their coming back, right?[spoiler]
It seems like it's the same as other books at first glance, but definitely different. Oh and I love the kissing scene! I'm a sucker for well-established kissing scenes and the one here was definitely good. It was felt, not just shown, through words. I've read some really good debuts recently and this is definitely one of those. I'll definitely look out for the release of the next book.
About the Author:
By day, she types and types (and types and types) for personal, professional, and cathartic purposes.
By night, she binges on episodes of Doctor Who and sleeps fitfully.
Sometime in the mid-afternoon, she writes a blog, called "Honey, I Shrunk the Gretchen!" about food, fitness, and her life.
She loves words. And Harry Potter. And especially the words IN Harry Potter.
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Now you got me wondering about Adam's people ;-)
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