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July 04, 2012

Review: Surrender by Elana Johnson - Farah



Title: Surrender 
Author: Elana Johnson 
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: June 5th, 2012
Genre(s): Young Adult (Sci-Fi/Dystopia)
Challenges: A-Z 
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC
Pages: 480
Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…

Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque...
After I finished reading Possession, which is the first book of the series, I was so very excited to see what happens next. I loved Vi and Jag, and I just wanted MORE of them. When I read the synopsis and found out that the main characters are different, I'm going to have to admit that I was kind of upset. I loved Vi and Jag! I know they had a tiny part and were still characters in the book, but I really wanted the story to be about them again. Even though I was upset and all, I was still excited about starting this book.
When I started Surrender. It was good. I know a lot of people said this book was much better than the first one, but I have to disagree. I also admit it wasn't that much of a page turner, and I don't know if that was because of the book or because I was in a reading slump, but it didn't grab my attention like Possession. The main protagonist, Raine, was not as unique as Vi. If I had to compare both characters, I would choose Vi. I felt like Raine was a bit weak, and she just annoyed me a bit at some parts. The main male protagonist, Gunner, wasn't that bad. I don't know if I was constantly comparing them to Vi and Jag, but Raine and Gunner aren't high on my favorite characters list, but they were enjoyable to read about in the end.
What was really different about Surrender in comparison to Possession was how the book dragged in the middle. While I enjoyed the first part of the book, the middle felt really long and boring. There were many unnecessary parts that didn't really grab my attention. All the tech details were very confusing to me, and hard as well to picture. I felt there was nothing major happening in the story. Thinking about it now, I feel like I can summarize it pretty easily.
With all that talk, you probably think I didn't enjoy Surrender, but honestly it was good. Did I tell you about the ending? Now that was one hell of an ending. I just love all of Elana's endings. They always make me hungry for more, and now I really cannot wait for the third book of the trilogy. I hope it's going to be as amazing as the first book. 
3 musical notes - it was good

2 comments:

  1. It's too bad this one dragged for you. I had really high hopes for this one. I'm still excited to read it though.

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  2. I'm disappointed to hear this one doesn't live up to the first! I was bummed to hear that the main characters are different, I hate when series do that. I still plan on reading this one but maybe not so soon.

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