Review: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Title: Article 5

Author: Kristen Simmons

Series: Article 5 #1

Release Date: January 31th, 2012

Number of Pages: 384

Publisher: TorTeen

Source: From Raincoast

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned. 

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Wow. I was already super excited about reading this book. I love the premises. It sounded so amazing. So when I got an ARC from Raincoast, I couldn’t wait to read it. I simply couldn’t stop once I started. It was simply captivating! I had to know what would happen to Ember. It is so hard for me to find the right words to describe how much I enjoyed this book!

The world Kristen Simmons was brutally real. It’s the kind of world I would hate to live in, because the population has lost all control over their life. That for me is scary. All the rules Simmons created, the military, the rehabilitation centers, those are horribly scary. That’s one of the things I adore of this. I love a dystopian novel that is able to create a world that seems so real, yet so scary.

Through the novel, there is no dull moment. There is always something happening, something to keep you on the edge of your chair. It keeps you addicted to the characters, to the story. From the moment Ember’s mother is arrested, Ember has never a second of real freedom. She is fighting for herself, for her hope of seeing her mother and for the memory of her Chase. I love how Kristen Simmons has introduced some of the happy memories she has with Chase, those lived before he left her. That showed that there was ways to be happy, there were people who still could love. It reminds us that there is still hope, even in this kind of dystopian world.

Now the main characters were really amazing to me. I love Ember. She was strong, and she was ready to fight for those she loves, even if it can kill her. That’s one of her side that I really liked. Now, there is also Chase that really got me interested in what went on behind the door of the MM. In a way, I was reminded, as a history geek, of the Nazi (Am I the only one?)  Some were doing what they thought was right, others were fueled by their need of power, and others were doing what they were told, scared of what could happen to those they care about. That’s one of the reasons that it was easy for me to like Chase. I knew which kind of those he was.

Kristen Simmons really got me hooked from page one. Her debut novel really set a series that is sure to keep me hooked until the end, really a must read for any dystopian lover.