Sequel to the 2018 Best Indie Book Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction and a terrifying vision of a possible future.I thought I understood the truth.I thought I knew the whole story.But no one really did. In a country defined by scarcity and control, Enora Byrnes leaves the watchful eyes and secret agendas of the powerful and enters a society living on the fringes. Life beneath the surface brings … enters a society living on the fringes. Life beneath the surface brings her face to face with a world struggling to survive. Armed with knowledge and honed into a weapon for the resistance, she fights alongside those whom society deems rebels and uses her skills to steal a secret kept hidden from humanity. Enora becomes what she has hunted: a traitor.
As Enora embarks on a fateful quest, will she find the one thing that could give her world hope or a truth that is far worse than she ever imagined?
What readers are saying about Burden of Truth:
“It’s a heartbreaking tale that gives drops of hope before they are almost pulled away. An amazing story with a cautionary ending.” – Author, Joey Paul
“Well-planned and researched, Burden of Truth, is the sequel to an eye-opening story of a dystopian future on earth, when water and food are scarce, and a battle to create an evolved life form occurs. The book is captivating, and I stayed up late reading the final chapters. I really like the writing and character development, and my heart ached for Ander. The ending is thought-provoking and suggests a completely conceivable outcome. Given Enora’s choices, I wonder what I would do.” – Author, Donna Elliott
”I am equally in love with and completely terrified by this sequel. The first book was frightening but the revelations of the second book made it so much scarier.” – Amazon Review
“Burden of Truth is the second in this series and Kristin Ward did not disappoint as she shows the reader a completely different side to the story. Very well written, well thought out and well researched, the book compels the reader to reflect, think and perhaps wake up and realize that it is not the future mentioned, but it is also the present slowly getting there.” – Amazon Review
“In a word-Amazing! This was quite the ride! Just when I thought I had the plot figured out, there was another twist!” – Amazon Review
“With The Burden of Truth, Ms. Ward has fully come into her own as a writer…The reader is drawn into Enora’s plight and the difficult moral decisions she must grapple with as she dives deeper into the resistance and uncovering the secrets within her world. The action is vivid and quick-paced, this book is definitely a page-turner!” – Amazon Review
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PLEASE NOTE: THIS BOOK IS NOT A STAND A LONE BOOK AND MUST BE READ AFTER YOU READ THE FIRST BOOK “After the Green Withered” BY KRISTIN WARD.
So what did I think of the book? I thought the book was interesting, intriguing, powerful, Action packed, suspenseful, kept you on the edge of your seat, easy to read and was a page turner. Just when I thought I knew what would happen next something totally different happened. I love that this book had plot twists and turns and kept you guessing. The realism that this could happen in our world today with worst case scenario was absolutely incredible.
Does Enora finally find the real truth? Guess you’ll have to read the book and see.
I highly recommend you buy, read and review this book.
While I was reading this book, I analyzed it too. I find analyzing is fun and helps me rate a book.
FOOTNOTE BOOK WARNING: THIS BOOK DOES HAVE SOME VIOLENCE SO PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, LEGAL GUARDIANS AND ETC… YOU MAY WANT TO READ THIS BOOK BEFORE LETTING YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN READ THIS BOOK. AS ALWAYS, ANYTIME YOU QUESTION A BOOK OR BOOK SERIES PLEASE READ THE BOOK(S) YOURSELF BEFORE LETTING YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN READ THE BOOK. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!!
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BUYING AND/OR READING THE BOOKS “After the Green Withered” and its sequel “BURDEN OF TRUTH:SEQUEL TO After the Green Withered”. AMAZON LINKS ARE BELOW
PAPERBACK VERSION OF “BURDEN OF TRUTH:A SEQUEL TO After the Green Withered” is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1731253176/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3
THE LINK FOR THE PAPERBACK VERSION OF “After the Green Withered” IS: https://www.amazon.com/After-Green-Withered-Kristin-Ward/dp/1982900733/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
THE LINK FOR KINDLE VERSION OF THIS BOOK IS: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D2X7YSY/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
KRISTIN WARD’S AMAZON AUTHOR LINK FOR THESE BOOKS AND HER OTHER BOOKS IS: https://www.amazon.com/Kristin-Ward/e/B07D5LC4CR/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
KRISTIN WARD HAS A WEBSITE. THE LINK IS: https://www.kristinwardauthor.com/
HER GOODREADS AUTHOR PROFILE PAGE LINK IS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18149425.Kristin_Ward
TO JOIN HER NEWSLETTER GO TO HER WEBSITE LINK WHICH IS ABOVE AND SCROLL TO THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE PAGE AND PUT YOUR EMAIL IN THE BOX WHERE IT SAYS JOIN MY NEWSLETTER MAILING LIST. IT’S BELOW THE IMAGES OF HER BOOKS ON HER WEBSITE.
HAPPY READING EVERYONE!!
Book source ~ Review copy. My review is voluntary and honest.
Enora Byrnes has lived her whole life under the control of the DMC. Water is scarce and the resource must be carefully guarded. But the resistance believes the DMC has more than they are sharing. Enora and Springer were soldiers for the DMC once. Now they are with the resistance and with each day that passes, things get worse. Stories are told on both sides, but they both can’t be right. Can they?
This is a bleak look into a future we don’t want. Ever. I can’t imagine this world as a real world and yet I know it could happen. If we aren’t much more careful with this planet we live on, that supports us, we will be staring right into the face of this tale. And it is not pretty. Enora is such a conflicted character. At times it’s hard to like her because she has a tendency to be an idiot, but for the most part I feel for her. Springer is her one constant and he’s still a bit of a mystery. One thing that’s unquestionable is his devotion to Enora. He always has her back. They are in this together, all the way to the end. And then there’s Ander. What are they going to do with him? If you like YA Dystopian stories then you should really pick up After the Green Withered and this one. They will wring your heart out until you’re left with a dried out husk. Fitting for this desolate world.
In Book 1, After the Green Withered, Enora and her partner, Springer, discovered that the Company was conducting experiments with human genetics to create a new human race – to replace the current one. Building from here, Book 2, Burden of Truth, Enora comes to realize that her childhood friend (and now, her commander), Bram, has sent her on specific missions to open her eyes and mind to what the Company has been going to the barely surviving population of what was once the United States: keeping resources back and giving the best to the privileged few.
When she and Springer are uncovered as assisting the resistance, they flee to the nearest group’s underground headquarters hoping to aid the cause all they can. In retaliation, everyone that Enora loves, her parents, her friend Safa, even Bram, are killed by the Company or members of the resistance who never forgave her for things that happened when she was on the other side. Then Enora and Springer discover that the motives are not as pure on the side of the Resistance as they believed.
Exciting twists and turns lead up to a devastatingly climactic ending. I liked the dark nature of the story and the characters were portrayed realistically. There is a growing romance between Enora and Springer that developed slowly and in a natural fashion in my opinion. And other thoughts and reactions by the main characters seemed in line. I thought the ending was perfect…. I didn’t like that that was how it was but I thought it couldn’t realistically end any other way!
Recommended for YA readers that enjoy dystopian tales.
An Edgy & Powerful Dystopian Thriller!
Overview: Armed with knowledge and honed into a weapon for the resistance, Enora Bynes leaves the watchful eyes of the all-powerful Company and enters a society barely surviving on the fringes. Life beneath the surface brings her face to face with a world struggling to survive, and it is that revelation that causes her to make a fateful choice—to fight alongside the rebels and become what she had been trained to hunt—A traitor.
Kristin Ward pens an edgy and powerful dystopian thriller in the second chapter of her After the Green Withered series, “Burden of Truth”. With bleak hopes for the future of humankind, a world teetering on the edge, and oppositional forces trying hard to overcome the current regime, Ward leads readers on a dire quest to save humanity as seen through the eyes of a young woman fated to be a leader, but who still struggles with her own internal demons.
Ward’s main protagonist, Enora, is the type of heroine most of us can identify with—She is caring, trustworthy, and hopeful. Yet, in a world where families are pulled apart and children are trained to kill other children, Enora is a regretful fighter but a stolid survivor. After witnessing a horrific scene involving genocide (in Book 1 of “After the Green Withered”), Enora escapes the Company, the ruling elite responsible for the degradation and denigration of society, and joins an underworld of freedom fighters. All she knows from her prior life as a recruit is how to kill, and compared to the wealthy Company that honed her skills as a Pathfinder, the rebels are a sorry lot. Still, there is leadership within these ranks and she hopes for a better way of life. When her primary assignment for the rebels-to protect a genetically engineered child—goes awry, she must make an impossible decision between life and death.
In Enora, Author Ward presents a strong and admirable, risk-taking female lead who is, at the same time, vulnerable to her thoughts and emotions. Although Enora has been brainwashed and trained to be a killer operative for the Company, she retains that part of her that is still very much human and fights against her programming to become a warrior of hope for the 99%. Ward provides a view into Enora’s mind, heart, and soul as she leads her character into danger time and again, only to escape the depths of despair like a phoenix rising from the ashes. In the end, like every great heroine, Enora must admit the reality of her situation and face her demons as Author Ward places her in an impossible situation in which her decisions will have major consequences on whether humankind will survive or not.
Ward’s tale is rather macabre in depicting the descent of humankind and the rise of human hybrids, but science is already moving forward with new discoveries such as genetic engineering, biological implants, and drugs that modify behavior. These very methods (gene therapy, body enhancement and reconstruction, etc.) are already employed by today’s medical professionals and militaries across the globe. The problem Ward so eloquently points out in her series is whether these medical marvels will prove to be a benefit or harm to our future world.
In the end, “Burden of Truth” provides a cautionary tale of what could happen to our own world if we allow privilege, political and corporate corruption, bigotry, and hatred to go unchecked. This book series appeals to a specific audience, and I highly recommend this read for dystopian fantasy lovers above the age of 17, and for those who dabble in speculations about the future of the human race.
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
In “Burden of Truth” Ward provides us a cautionary tale of what may happen if we as a species do not shape up our act.
The author continues their superb world building and character development in this “What if” story.
The twist at the end of this action packed tale will definitely surprise the reader.
In the interest of transparency: I was given a free review copy of this book and I am voluntarily sharing this review which is my own honest opinion.
This is the second in this series and Kristin Ward did not disappoint.
Very well written, well thought out and very well researched, the book compels the reader to reflect, think and perhaps wake up and realize that it is not the future mentioned, but is also the present slowly getting there.
There are various points to consider, as in: -Do the ‘Good Guys’ merit the word ‘good’ even with the eventual explanation given to their actions?
What are the actual motives of everyone concerned?
Is this the scenario that we as humanity deserve?
No one really knows the whole truth and the whole story, History, no matter how watered down has shown this. Much is hidden before our very eyes and it is just a partial truth and a partial story for every event that occurs. What has always saved humanity is hope. Highly recommended!
Gifted with a copy which I voluntarily reviewed.