First of all, I want to thank the publisher for giving me an advanced reader copy of this awesome book! I am very grateful to all the advanced copies I have gotten to read lately many of which won’t be reviewed here but you can check out my shorter reviews on Goodreads where lately I have been trying to review all the books I read, if only in a couple paragraphs or so. Apocalypse Five by Stacey Rourke comes out next month so if this review convinces you to give it some of your time, be on the look out!
Secondly, take a second to appreciate the awesome cover of this novel! I mean come on! Cover beauty aside, let me get into the grit of the novel.
Apocalypse Five is about a team of young heroes. And when I say young I mean that their age ranges from thirteen to sixteen. No, they don’t have super powers. They are trained weapons fighting to save Earth. The five teenagers, along with thousands of other kids are trained from an early age and taught that the end of the world is coming. Because of this fact, they must go through strenuous simulations in which they truly risk their lives to prepare for every possible doomsday scenario. That is what they are taught. It is what they believe. The leader of the team, Detroit, goes on a solo mission and comes to the realization that the world isn’t what she thought it was up in the fortress in the sky, the only home she’s ever known. The world isn’t full of bustling cities and smiling faces. In fact, from what she can tell the apocalypse has already happened. When she brings this up to her commanding officer, with her team members beside her for support, he kills an innocent worker, throws her the gun and sends up an alarm. I am sure you can imagine what comes next.
Photo Courtesy of Fantastic Fiction
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Perhaps it was because of the characterization, or maybe it was because there was an actual plot and not just a series of action sequences. Detroit, the protagonist, is a perfect “toy soldier” in the beginning of the novel. One criticism would be that her character doesn’t develop very much. She grows, don’t get me wrong but there isn’t a lot of internal work on her part, she changes because of her circumstances. Rourke does a magnificent job when it comes to truly engaging the reader and making you feel like a participant instead of an observer.
I rate this novel a good 4/5. I really enjoyed the plot and Auggie was an awesome character that was very well developed.
So, do you think this is a novel you may want to check out? Have you previously read any of Rourke’s work? Let me know in the comments. Also, I would love it if you followed this blog and checked out my Instagram for more bookish content. You will find there more about some of the amazing books I read throughout the week. One of my goals this year is to read 150 books so you’ll get a sense of the craziness that ensues as well.
Do you have any book recommendations to add to my TBR? I really want to know what my followers are reading so drop a comment below!
Happy reading!