by Chris Babu
Genre: YA,Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian
Pages: 320
ISBN: 978-1682615935
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook (Kindle & Kobo)
Publication date: February 27th, 2018
Publisher: Permuted Press
Type: Novel (1st in a trilogy)
*A special thanks to Chris Babu and Permuted Press for providing me with an eCopy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.*
The Blurb:
Everyone is equal. But no one is safe.
In a ruined world, Manhattan is now New America, a walled-in society based on equality. But the perfect facade hides a dark truth.
A timid math geek, sixteen-year-old Drayden watches his life crumble when his beloved mother is exiled. The mystery of her banishment leads him to a sinister secret: New America is in trouble, and every one of its citizens is in jeopardy.
With time running out, he enters the Initiation. It’s a test within the empty subway tunnels—a perilous journey of puzzles and deadly physical trials. Winners join the ruling Bureau and move to its safe haven. But failure means death. Can Drayden conquer the Initiation, or is salvation out of his grasp?
Introduction:
I was offered the opportunity to review the first two books in Chris Babu’s dystopian trilogy by Permuted Press. I jumped on it because, as you lads and lasses know, I’m a big lover of dystopian. The blurb appealed to me. It seemed to have anything I love: logic, realism, courage, quests, trials, a dystopian setting… and I could go on! So, here’s my review of the first book, The Initiation. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for this pleasant opportunity, Chris Babu and Permuted Press!
The Positive Sides:
There are many things I liked and even loved about this book so hold tight. The book starts with a heartbreaking moment, Drayden’s mother’s exile from the Dorms into the wilderness that New York has become. This moment is crucial in establishing the stakes, the plot, and the characters. It was also pretty sad and I loved it! It didn’t wait and wait… until something happened. No, it did right upon opening the book! Speaking of writing, Babu, the author, knows how the describe the emotions and events in poignant manner. Kudos to him! I often found myself affected emotionally, so that’s a very good thing. I kept hoping and feeling torn with the protagonist.
Okay, hang on even tighter here because I have A LOT to say about the protagonist, Drayden. Here goes:
Drayden is LOVELY. He’s kind, considerate, affectionate, AND very clever. I don’t know how someone could even dislike him. He’s mine, okay? Mine! His origins makes me so happy: he’s biracial, with a Korean mother and a Caucasian father. It’s so original because authors usually write about the most widely used ethnic groups such as Chinese or Afro-American communities. So, reading about a Korean protagonist is inspiring and a much needed fresh air to the YA category. Moreover, the actual display of Drayden’s intelligence and logic process. It is so well done! I rarely saw this before, except in the Sherlock Holmes books, which is an important point (I’m a huge Sherlock Holmes fan). It shows and feels that he is intelligent. Most of the times, authors claim their main character is clever but seldom show it. It’s one of the things I love most about “The Initiation” : the truth of Drayden’s intelligence.
Last point about Drayden: he’s oblivious about his own courage. He thinks he’s a coward, but really he keeps facing the challenges and being brave despite the terrible situations he’s in. All in order to find the answer as to why his mom was exiled. He’s also quite helpful to others. He always calls himself a coward, but he’ll do anything that is required of him to either help others or achieve his goals. It’s beautiful to see his actions and words are two different things, in the most positive of ways. In my opinion, he’s quite brave. I particularly love how we see him slowly acknowledge this side of him that was there all along. It’s character discovery at its finest.
Now, what about the other characters? Well, the most distinctive trait is how diverse they are! I mean, their personalities pop from one another and they even clash. It’s refreshing to read such characters; they really seem alive to me and I can never wait jumping back into my reading to join them again. It’s like they became my friends! And that’s so amazing. Usually, characters share a few traits and all sound very similar. Not here, nuh huh.
Let’s talk about “The Initiation”, or more precisely, the challenges it involves. They’re so intense I shuddered here and there and was genuinely relieved when no one was hurt, and so on. There are the physical challenges which are seriously hard and made me shiver with disgust and fear. Then, there are my favorites: the intelligence trials. I love, love, love love love the puzzles! They’re not easy and they’re highly entertaining AND stressful. Wonderful! As I’m not one for math, I was quite surprised to find myself actively working to decipher the puzzles! Seriously, that’s exactly what I’m looking for in book challenges.
I’ve got the tackle the New America’s swear words and vocabulary. They’re so amusing and funny! It goes like: shkat, chotch, wetchop, etc. They sound and look funny and I just love it. It’s varied, it sounds good, and they replace our own swear words. Thinking of it, it just makes sense that they’d have their own lingo because they’ve been living secluded from the rest of the world, or what is left of it. So, bonus points for this creative vocabulary!
Also, the division between the Dorms and the Palace (and other districts) in New America is painfully realistic. It features the never-ending inequality issue and you can see it worsens as you read on. A big issue reflected well and exaggerated (or is it?) in the story. I love this side of it, even though it’s not “positive” per say, but I think it really helps in setting the world up.
Speaking of the world, the Confluence (the confluence of four major issues such as hacked communications and superbugs, etc.) sounds way too realistic to me. It’s a very good but scary thing. Because it could totally happen! And another thing I particularly enjoyed: it’s that FINALLY there’s a YA dystopian story that EXPLAINS what happened before that led to this crappy state of the world now like New America. Bravo! It made it all better, I swear. Much more understandable, too.
The Negative Sides:
It took me a while (the good half of the book) to get accustomed to the writing. It is straight-to-the-point, though emotional (which is good!), and it doesn’t use flowery sentences nor the beauty of language. The writing is practical and functional. It has its own style. It’s not bad, but it’s quite different. So it takes a bit of getting used to. Nevertheless, I ended up rolling with it and liking it for its straightforwardness.
But that’s really the only bad side and it’s not so bad.
Give it a try. Not everyone likes the same things, so you might enjoy it right away.
In Conclusion:
I’m SO glad of having read this book! It’s right next to the Hunger Games and the Maze Runner in my favorite dystopians. All the positive sides definitely beat the semi-negative point. I’m giving “The Initiation” a rating of 5 out of 5 for all the fun I had reading this book and living the actual Initiation with the characters. I was finally shown great puzzles in a book AND explanations as to why the world was dystopian now. And Drayden… I just love him, okay? He’s such a sweetie. And a courageous (though oblivious) one at that!
What’s not to love?
If you want to learn more about the author, you can visit his Web site, you can also follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. You can visit his publisher, Permuted Press, https://permutedpress.com/. You can also add “The Initiation” to your bookshelves on Goodreads and LibraryThing.
Ad Librum Aeternam 