Review: The Moon Dwellers by David Estes

Name of book: The Moon Dwellers (The Dwellers #1)
Author: David Estes
Publication: June 30th 2012
Genre: YA Dystopian
Source: Provided by the kind author...
Goodreads

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms. 

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.

In their world, someone must die.



-- My Rating --
3.5 Oscars: Liked it

-- My Thoughts --


    Wow. I read the anthology, Furthermore (my review here) and there were two contributions from David Estes and they were both my favorites. I was SO happy that after I finished the book, I had the Moon Dwellers right on my digital shelf, waiting to be reviewed. So, I dived right in, and I am so glad I did.
     Adele has been taken away to the Pen, the prison for the teenagers, and 
she has a life sentence. Her parents are gone, her sister is in an orphanage and there is no hope left. Until the day she catches Tristan's eyes and meets her two new friends, Tawni and Cole. With them, everything changes. Tristan is the son of the president, but he is not like his father and he cannot help but be captivated by Adele's bravery and strength,
     The first thing that I loved about this book was the plot. The dystopian 
genre has been raiding the book world for years now, but David  Estes brought something new to the field. Although I would have appreciated it if he added a bit more detail to his descriptions, they were perfect, really, but I 
still wanted to know more about this cruel, dark world.
     Another thing I praise David Estes for, is his characters. They are 
superbly-crafted with believable motives. Adele and Tristan have claimed the spotlight. Though, I have to admit that I didn't like Tristan that much. He is the typical "book" guy, for now. There was a lot of character development in both Adele and Tristan and I loved watching (reading about, actually) them grow up.
     David Estes has started one captivating series and I am looking forward to reuniting with Adele in The Star Dwellers!

16 comments:

  1. This sounds like it has a lot going for it great characters, a great plot and it's a dystopian so WIN! I am really into dystopians lately and I am loving how they were kind of lulling for a while and all seeming the same but now there is so much unique stuff coming out. Fabulous review, Soma!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by, Jenni!
      You gotta check this series out!

      Delete
  2. Thank you so much Soma! I'm so glad you enjoyed it :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh what a lovely new design you have! I'm currently very busy with my exams so I can't visit other blogs...but really it looks lovely :)
    For this book - it's new to me. I love how the characters sounds! I hope I'll get a chance to read this book one day. Great review :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, I absolutely LOVE that book cover! A lot of dystopian books are very similar so it's nice that you found this one to be unique! Thanks for sharing =)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ooh yay I'm glad you liked this! I'm glad the dystopian aspect of this is really unique and undone before! I'll have to check this one out I hadn't heard of David Estes before your review!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, prison for teens and a life sentence? Well, that's a new one! I love the sound of this, and although it obviously wasn't perfect, it still seems to eb worth my time. I love the cover too.
    Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow this sounds so good! Prisons for teens caught my interest right away lol. No but for real this sounds really captivating, especially that he was able to bring something new to an overfilled genre--which is still my fav so I'll def. have to look this one up!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great Review Soma! I really enjoyed this series. Just like you i would've liked more details and world building, because I love world building that much. And indeed the characters are really likeable, although Tristan seems a bit too normal at first.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yape. Agree with you.
      GREAT having you stop by, Lola!

      Delete

Jot down your feels, your thoughts, your musings
I Listen!