ARC Review: Follow Me Through Darkness by Danielle Ellison

Title: Follow Me Through Darkness (The Boundless Trilogy #1)
Author: Danielle Ellison
Publication: October 21st 2014 by Spencer Hill Press
Genre: YA Dystopia
Source: Provided by the kind publisher...
Goodreads

The truth won't always set you free.

Less than a year ago, Neely Ambrose’s biggest worry was having the freedom to follow a path that wasn't chosen for her.

Less than a year ago, she believed she could trust the Elders who said they had everyone’s best interest at heart and who said they were keeping them safe from the outside.

Sixty days ago, she discovered what they had planned for everyone she loved—and that all of it centered around her.
Now she’s on the run through a dangerous wasteland full of killing machines, secret organizations, and people who want to sell her back to the Elders for their own safety. The whole world outside the Compound is living proof that everything in Neely’s life was a lie manufactured by the Elders, which may even include the boy she loves.

All Neely wants is the truth, but each new piece of it drives her further from what she thought she knew. With only forty days until everyone she loves falls under the Elders’ mind control, Neely must decipher who to trust, what questions to ask, and how to get one step ahead of the Elders, who will do anything to keep their secrets buried.

-- My Rating --

5/5 Oscars: LOVED it

-- My Thoughts --

      Okay, so I admit it; I thought this book was contemporary when I started it. I didn't read the blurb, so sue me :D Although I am SUPER glad that I didn't because diving into this book blindly was the best thing I did.
     Neely is on the way to the Old World. She has left everything she knew and loved behind to pursue something that's gonna save everyone she loves. She has been trusting the Elders for too long but now she knows what they are really after, and what plans they had for her.
     This book is YA dystopia and a great one at that. It's a futuristic world where the United States has been destroyed and some of the elite and rich people live in Compounds (kinda like closed domes) thinking that there is no life left outside their city. The plot was a bit slow at the beginning but that was needed to get the story started. But when it picked up, there was no slow moments. Everything was fast-paced and exhilarating and i loved it.
     I loved the way the author told her story. We get the book in first person POV from Neely, our protagonist, but some of the chapters are flashbacks and the flashbacks are absolutely MY favorite part of this book. I feel like they were essential to the story and leaving ONE of the flashbacks out would have ruined it.
     I love Neely. She's kick-ass, brave, kind, selfless, forgiving, and loving. I just adored her. She is everything girls wish they could be. But she wasn't without flaws. She made mistakes and did wrong things and she recovered from them. IN a nutshell, she was real. The other secondary characters also made this story come alive. Although they were constantly changing, most of the secondary characters were only there for a couple of chapters, they still left a huge impression.
     Then, we have the love interest(s). I just simply fell in love with two different guys at once. I am not going to give anything away but guys, this is not the kind of love triangle that you can hate. Because you fall in love with the three main characters and I rooted for both of the guys. Though I kinda do have a favorite that I hope Neely ends up with. They're both so brave and so loving and caring and just SO swoon-worthy. Oh, Danielle Ellison, you broke my heart so!
     The ending was PHENOMENAL, to put it mildly. I fell in love with everything this author has written and i literally cannot believe that this is her debut novel. She is already a pro. I cannot wait to read more and I am impatiently waiting for the second book in the series and to dive more into Neely's world.