Friday 28 November 2014

REVIEW - THE SUPREMACY BY MEGAN WHITE

Title: The Supremacy
Series: The Supremacy Series
Author: Megan White
Release Date: 7th May 2013

BLURB from Goodreads
What would you be willing to sacrifice for a perfect life?
We had lost everything. We were desperate and all looked to our officials to help us, to save us from ourselves.
The Supremacy stepped in, seemingly coming out of nowhere. They were a government constructed task force set up to rebuild life and prosperity. They gave us homes, they gave us food, but they wanted something priceless in return.
We were the beginning, the first batch. We were the testers.


PURCHASE LINKS

INITIAL THOUGHTS
I really liked the sound of the blurb. The question right at the beginning "What would you be willing to sacrifice for a perfect life? certainly caught my attention. I do enjoy reading about all the different dystopic societies that authors create.

MY THOUGHTS
I purchased this one from Amazon UK, as I was hunting online for more dystopian books to get lined up to read.
The cover features a possibly sinister looking figure in a long black cloak. The building on the cover reminds me of an old factory or of pictures I have seen of old workhouse buildings. So the cover definitely gives you a spooky kind of feeling, makes the hairs on the back of your neck. The sky on the cover also looks overcast and oppressive, which adds to setting the atmosphere of the book well.
So would the cover make me pick it up from a bookstore shelf? I would if it was on a dystopian shelf. Though I'd be worried that this great book may get overlooked, which is a shame.
The book is set in dystopian/post apocalyptic world. Society has literally fallen apart, food is scarce, criminals run riot, citizens are struggling to stay alive. The Supremacy arrive and send in their Keepers to uphold new rules and regulations that the Supremacy have come up with to rescue everyone from their current state. Initially life seems great, the Keepers make sure everyone has food, a job and healthcare but life is about to take a sinister turn for Erin. Erin is the main female character in the book. Erin lost her mother at a young age, and her father remarries a woman called Corina, who seems to hate Erin and this feeling only increases when Erin's dad dies whilst protesting against the Supremacy, the Keepers and their laws. Corina believes in everything the Supremacy and Keepers say and do. Corina believes her husband a fool for speaking out against them and being executed for doing so. Naturally her feelings toward Erin just deteriorate even more as she believes she is stuck taking care of her.  Erin has tried to stay out of the step mother and classes her only family to be Trent her little brother, the product of her father and Corina's relationship. Erin and her father have always talked about her mother and that is probably why Corina resents Erin so much. The only other true friend whom Erin treats more like family is John. They have grown up together and survived together during the hardships of the new government. Food etc is scarce, the Keeper's give just enough to stave off starvation but not enough to be strong and healthy. As if the citizens were stronger and healthier they may rebel. Anyone that commits a crime or speaks out against the Keepers is either killed on the spot or is subjected to a slow long painful death of starvation. Erin witnessed her fist public execution at the age of 7 so life under the Keepers is a harsh and at times cruel world. The Keepers are wanting to bring in some new rules which say once a child reaches the age of 5 years old that they are taken away to be tested to determine what their career path will be. Before this new initiative can be implemented it is decided that all the tests will first be tested out on older children. They decide to target teenagers. Orders are given from the government/ head of the Keepers that all teenagers are to report to the main square and they are to be taken away, tested and "trained". Obviously as her father was a defector against the government, or Keepers as they are called, Erin is highly suspicious. It turns out she has every right to feel this way, as there is no choice about going to be tested. Once all the teens are in the square they are told to board the transport bus to take them to their new home. Erin notices the icy blue stare that one of the Keepers has, he seems to have singled her out for "special treatment" and she wonders if that is a good of bad thing. Upon arrival at the new testing establishment all the teenagers are fitted with a tracking device. So even if they could escape over the high walls and fences, they wouldn't get far due to the tracking device. The teenagers are then split into smaller groups and held in cold, dark, damp cells.
I don't want to go into much more detail as I think it would spoil the way the plot unfurls as you read it.
The conditions the teens are kept in are even harsher, with restricted access to water and food than before. The Keepers are basically "testing" different things on them. It seems the teenagers have something quite valuable that the Keepers want. The numbers in Erin's cell get rapidly dwindle. The initial "we are all in this together attitude soon changes to everyone just looking out for themselves. The only person to be taken out of the cell and then returned is Erin. I liked that even in the depths of despair Erin thought about the other teens around her and tried to help despite the punishment she would have to endure when the Keepers found out. Erin makes friends with a younger child that has somehow ended up in the same cell as her. Erin cannot resist comforting the child even though those around her insist doing so will get them all into to trouble. Erin becomes so weak and is almost beginning to think she is going to die when a very unlikely rescuer removes her from the cell. She is told she holds the very key within her that can bring down the Keepers and the government. Erin is eager to bring down the government and put an end to their harsh rules and regulations, but can she trust the Keeper with the icy blue eyes?
Just when Erin feels like she has a role to play and is beginning to think everything that has happened to her has been for a reason and a greater good her world is once again turned upside down. Is this the final straw for her fragile mind and body?
So did I enjoy the book? Yes, I was certainly drawn in and hooked on the plot. There's plenty of twists, turns things you don't expect.
Would I recommend the book? Yes, its an interesting read.
Would I want to read another book in this series? There is so much more to learn about the Keepers, and we need to know if Erin is successful or even survives. So yes please!
Would I want to read other books written by this author? The descriptions within the book are detailed, and the plot is engrossing. It's really "different". It's not a "normal dystopian/post apocalyptic" read. Some parts of the book reminded me a little of Emily McKays's The Farm.

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