Review: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons (28 Days of Review #12)

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Series: Article5, #1
Release Date: January 31^st 2012
Publisher:  TornTeen
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 362
Genre: Young Adult – Dystopia, Sci-fi
Source: My Collection
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
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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The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.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.

After a war rages through America everything is changed with a new President promises safety with conformity and traditional family values. There is no more Bill of Rights, no more police, just soldiers, and a new branch of the government called the Federal Bureau of Reformation. They are also known as the FBR or Moral Militia and once you are drafted or chose to join them it is all or nothing. You only serve them and must give up everything else in your life. In place of the Bill of rights is the Moral Statues of America. This is what runs the country.

Ember Miller is a 17 year old senior and she lives with her mother in Louisville, KY. Her mom volunteers at a soup kitchen so they don’t make any money besides what they get from the government. Ember has had to go without food and has to sell stuff just to make it for the rest of the month. She doesn’t know who her father is and according to Article 5 this is illegal.

One day a group of soldiers show up to arrest her mom and take her away. One of these soldiers is Chase, a boy who used to be her next door neighbor and her crush. He is not the same person that he used to be. Ember’s mom is taken away to an unknown location while Ember is taking to the equivalent of a girl’s school. This place tries to break all the girls that come in there. You try to escape and you will be shot. If you are taken away then you won’t come back the same. Ember’s main goal is to escape and find her mom.

I really loved the writing in this book. There are also flashbacks that are italicized throughout the book, some are dreams or some are just flashbacks that she is having. Most have to do with Chase. I enjoyed the sort of breakup in the story that this caused but it still tied in without being completely random. I really loved Chase’s character too. There was just enough resistance in him that I was rooting for them throughout the story. The backup story/world building was pretty good too. I always have problems with these dramatic dystopians because I like ones that are believable. I couldn’t see this actually happening but it still made for a good story.

I definitely recommend picking this up and I will be going on to the next book in the trilogy!

My Rating: