From Goodreads: Manhattan, 2147

Seventeen-year-old Sera Fisk gleefully celebrates the death of her 114-year-old great-grandmother, the last Atraxian alive who still remembers what New York was like before Felicity.

There is only one principle of Felicity: Suffering is optional. Those who disagree or forget this principle, as Sera’s father did, are detained and “purified”. Through the use of the Darklandia virtual reality and mandatory water rations, the Department of Felicity has transformed metropolises all over the country into happy, obedient communities.

Inspired by her great-grandmother’s last words, Sera stops drinking the water rations and is soon recruited by Nyx into a rebel organization in the midst of planning a full-scale attack on Darklandia. When Nyx attempts to override the Darklandia system, he stumbles upon shocking information about Sera and her family. After years of living in a haze of virtual reality and drugs, Sera finds herself running from a powerful surge of raw emotions and a government agency intent on keeping reality a secret.

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This was a very intriguing dystopian read.  I’ve always wondered what life would be like if I didn’t feel emotional pain—I’ve wished for it on more than one occasion, to be honest, but in truth, I think life would be quite bland.  And, according to Welti’s novel, Darklandia, it would be worse than bland, so I guess I’ll thank my lucky stars I can feel emotional pain, because for Sera Fisk, that’s something she must fight to experience.  Without it, there is no truth to her life—no real feelings towards anything, and life is lived in a bubble, as it were.

I really enjoyed watching Sera’s story unfold, and though I occasionally thought the story was pushed, or that the romance moved much too quickly, etc., the ending completely knocked my sox off and solidified the reason for the quick succession of relationships and adventure throughout the novel. I can’t tell you any more than that, as it’d give away the epic conclusion, the “aha” moment, as it were, but just know that there is a rhyme and reason behind everything Welti does within her novel, including hurrying along the plot, action sequences, and romance.  And it just fits.

Let me tell you, the novel’s ending really did blow me away.  I’ve only read a few novels that left my jaw on the floor due to a conclusion I never saw coming, one being 1984 (I’ve got my theories on that one), and the other, The Catcher in the Rye (which I actually hated, but the ending made it redeemable, in my eyes).  If you’ve read those novels, then you know there’s a big twist at the end that somewhat blindsides readers, and that’s exactly what Welti does with her own novel, and I loved it.  I completely explained everything that I hadn’t understood before, and it made this novel jump in status, for me, from good, to really good.  Honestly, I highly recommend this novel—it’s not too long, and the ending I think it’ll leave many readers shocked.  Four stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.