Book Review: Birthmarked Trilogy

I currently have several book reviews on my old blog. I want to get rid of completely (since it's been nearly two years since I've used it), but many of my links are still to that blog. To transition completely away, I am going to be re-sharing some of my book reviews here once or twice a week. If you love reading, this is for you! If not... I'm sorry, and I promise to keep the words "book review" in all of the titles so you know!

Today's review features Birthmarked, Prized, and Promised by Caragh M. O'Brien.

Birthmarked is yet another trilogy set in a dystopian future (are you surprised?), yet it has many differences from the others that are popular right now. 16 year old Gaia Stone is a midwife in her community outside the wall of the Enclave. It is Gaia's duty (as well as her mother's) to advance a certain quota of babies born each month into the Enclave so that more suitable parents may raise them and they will have a better life. 

Gaia's family, never ones to cause problems and always ones to agree with everything the Enclave demands, is arrested while Gaia is not home, so when she returns, she has to inquire from a family friend about what happened to her parents. Gaia, determined to get her parents out alive, heads into the Enclave to rescue them, and that is where the fun begins. She sees things she does not want to, and she becomes a pawn in the life going on inside the Enclave. 

Gaia befriends one of the guards from the Enclave, and together, they must escape to save themselves when they don't think anyone else can be saved. Gaia is a strong female character, and she challenges the beliefs of others.

THE REST OF THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM THE FIRST BOOK, BIRTHMARKED.

When Gaia escapes from the Enclave without Leon, she doesn't know what to do. She has her baby sister, Maya, with her, and together they make it most of the way through the Wasteland. One day, when they probably wouldn't have made it much farther on their own, a man on a horse helps them reach their unknown destination, a place he calls home. That home is known as Sylum, and the rules are strict. Gaia must submit to the authorities, which she finds difficult. There is no hugging/kissing because it is a crime unless you are married to that person. 

Gaia finds the entire place to be a struggle, and then she finds out that Leon has made the trek as well. What does Gaia need to do in order to make things go her way? It turns out that everyone else recognizes her as a strong leader, and they want her to be the Matriarch of the society. Does Gaia want it, though? What happens when she is forced into something she doesn't know if she is ready for? Are her feelings for Leon strong enough, or will she waver and fall for someone else? 

Overall, these books were fun to read. I read them while I was still teaching 8th grade, and that made it easier to read so many dystopian novels. I needed to be "caught up" so I could talk about them. I'm kind of over the dystopian scene now... at least for a while. I need some fresh air! 

• Have you read these books?
• Do you like dystopian fiction?
• What's your favorite book right now?

Book Review: Promised (Birthmarked #3)

In true fashion of keeping up with blogging about books in a series, this is the final review of Caragh M. O'Brien's Birthmarked series. The book is called Promised. You can find the review for book one (Birthmarked) HERE and for book two (Prized) HERE.

As expected, this book was adventurous. I enjoyed it just as much as the first two and could not put it down. Gaia is a narrator that I cannot relate to very much, yet she still captivates me and keeps me reading. It takes a strong character to do that, and I will say that I felt like I WAS Gaia by the end, despite our drastic differences in lifestyles. Promised delivers. 

This book tells of Gaia, the new leader of a community called Sylum, and her adventures getting her people to the Enclave safely. She thinks the long journey to the Enclave will be the tough part, but when they all arrive, that's when things really get rough. Will Gaia be able to protect the people who trust her and look up to her? Will the people of her past allow her to come back in, along with so many new people? 

I don't want to spoil anything from the first two books, but this one is spectacular. I highly recommend this series to all of my reader friends. You will not be disappointed.