HUSK
by a “collapse,” and the city of Epsilon, which was once a university. Isaac proves to be an engaging protagonist who rolls with the punches, enduring physical threats, betrayals, and his world being thrown into a tailspin. The supporting cast is equally compelling\u003B with the exception of Sophie, the characters sow doubt as Isaac questions whether he can trust people he’s long known and any number of individuals he encounters for the first time. There are a few action scenes, but much of this opening installment is devoted to exposition as Isaac uncovers information along with the reader (there are copious secrets tied to Meru). This leads to a string of wonderfully staggering revelations all the way to the cliffhanger ending. "
Based on 96 Goodreads ratings
Book Details
Reading Info
About This Book
A mysterious blight has already wrecked the world by the time Husk opens, and the teenagers caught in it are left figuring out how to stay human once nearly everything else has been stripped away. At...
Our Review
A mysterious blight has already wrecked the world by the time Husk opens, and the teenagers caught in it are left figuring out how to stay human once nearly everything else has been stripped away. At 410 pages, there's room for the survival plot to slow down and sit with the harder choices between self-preservation and loyalty instead of rushing past them, and the setting stays bleak and specific rather than generic wasteland dressing.
The characters here are written morally gray on purpose, and their choices under pressure are where the book's real interest lies rather than in the blight itself as a puzzle to solve. This is a dystopian novel willing to leave hard questions open instead of resolving them neatly, which makes it a better match for older, more mature teen readers already comfortable with dark material than for a reader looking for an easy dystopian adventure. What lingers isn't the danger so much as what the danger reveals about who these characters actually are.
You Might Also Like
Looking for more books?
Visit our sister site BooksbyOrder.com