Kass Morgan | Books: The Cheapest Vacation You Can Buy

{September 16, 2014} {ARC Review} The 100: 21 Days by Kass Moran (The 100 #2)

From Goodreads: No one has set foot on Earth in centuries — until now.

It’s been 21 days since the hundred landed on Earth. They’re the only humans to set foot on the planet in centuries…or so they thought. Facing an unknown enemy, Wells attempts to keep the group together. Clarke strikes out for Mount Weather, in search of other Colonists, while Bellamy is determined to rescue his sister, no matter the cost. And back on the ship, Glass faces an unthinkable choice between the love of her life and life itself.

In this pulse-pounding sequel to Kass Morgan’s The 100, secrets are revealed, beliefs are challenged, and relationships are tested. And the hundred will struggle to survive the only way they can — together.

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This sequel to The 100 is much more action packed than its predecessor, in my opinion, and I found that I was drawn into the story much more than I was with the first novel. Now that introductions to the characters are aside, the plot really thickens as the threat of another people group surrounds the 100—those sent down from Space as an alternate resort to execution, those meant to show their Space community whether or not Earth is still plagued by radiation.

This novel again follows Bellamy, Glass, Clarke, and Wells, giving us a much deeper look into their lives as they trudge along, looking to survive the ever-present, new dangers that crop up in this novel. While Glass is still in space, her story intertwines seamlessly with those of her counterparts, and seeing just how truly connected this group is, through past and present circumstances, made this novel extremely exciting, especially with the addition of some new characters and the inner turmoil amongst the 100 as they strive to decide what to do next. Throw in the added danger of a people group intent on murdering the 100 as quickly as possible, and you can see why this series was optioned and chosen for a TV series.

I feel like I finally know the characters extremely well now, and thought Morgan again ends with a cliffhanger of sorts, it’s not necessarily as dire as the first novel’s cliffhanger. I am excited to see where the series goes from here, and I can’t wait to actually start watching this series on Netflix—when it finally releases. Four stars.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. This title releases today.

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{September 15, 2014} {Review} The 100 by Kass Morgan

From Goodreads: In the future, humans live in city-like spaceships orbiting far above Earth’s toxic atmosphere. No one knows when, or even if, the long-abandoned planet will be habitable again. But faced with dwindling resources and a growing populace, government leaders know they must reclaim their homeland… before it’s too late.

Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent on a high-stakes mission to recolonize Earth. After a brutal crash landing, the teens arrive on a savagely beautiful planet they’ve only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. But they’re haunted by their past and uncertain about the future. To survive, they must learn to trust – and even love – again.

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Originally I picked up this novel when I recently heard that the CW had turned it into a TV series. I generally like the CW’s shows, and I was extremely excited and interested in the premise. And while this is indeed a good story, it reminded me very much of These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. In both, the Earth is no longer inhabitable and an elite group of people have been living in space for years. In both, people from space find themselves sent to Earth against their will, and a battle for survival ensues. So, while I found the premise to by extremely interesting, I couldn’t help but continually feel like I’d read this before…

Now, there are a lot more characters in The 100 than in These Broken Stars, and having insight into the lives of characters both on Earth and in space was intriguing as well. I can totally see why the CW picked up the series, and I’m dying to watch it as I enjoyed seeing how people reacted in Space as well as learning about their culture—one that, even though removed from Earth, has not changed much in terms of hierarchy, though punishment for crimes certainly has.

Thrusting 100 “guilty” teens on Earth as an alternative to death was a nice plot twist, and learning about each main character’s individual “crime” definitely kept me glued to the pages because in reality, they’re all intertwined with one another, another awesome aspect of the story. But because we follow the story of four distinct characters—Wells, Glass, Bellamy, and Clarke—I didn’t feel like I really got to know the characters as well as I wanted to. There were a lot of questions left unresolved for me, and I did, in truth, find the character’s first few days on earth to be a bit boring. However, there is a fairly big cliffhanger at the end that turns everything on its head, so I can’t wait to read the next novel; I’m hoping that I get to know the characters even more as their stories continue, because while I don’t feel like I know them very well, I want to. The characters are very well written and I have a feeling that a lot more bombshells are going to be dropped in the sequel. Three stars.

I received this novel from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.