In a not too distant future, a nuclear war has decimated mankind. Three centuries later, survivors live barricaded in cities controlled by the Human Empire, while the inhabitants of the countryside have been mutated by radiation and live in the forests surrounding urban settlements, waging war on the humans. When both her parents die in a fire, Julia is left to cope alone with a highly … bureaucratic and regulated system, with very few select allies. As her loyalty undergoes increasingly harder tests, Julia draws attention to herself with her cold blood and fierce resolve in battle.Constantly on the edge between independent spirit and military discipline, Julia will have to decide how to use the power that has been granted her.
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I loved the way that this book focused on Julia and her character development. I know the genre of the book is dystopia/science fiction but that felt more like the world she was living in rather than the point of the story. This book showed just how changed Julia became from the war that she was put in, going from a gentle innocent girl into a dangerous thing shaped by and made for battle.
Julia is determined to keep her sister, Cleo, safe and to do this, she avoids saying no to her supervisors at all costs. This eventually gets her into some interesting situations, all of which I wasn’t sure she would emerge from. The world building in this book was amazing, being post nuclear war, there were some definitely interesting concepts such as synthesized food pills which makes even eating solid food a challenge that Julia has to face.
This is a recommended read to fans of books like the Hunger Games and Divergent.
A grabbing beginning, an exciting tale
The story of BioMec unit Mayne took me on a journey into a not too distant future although the past is the background of the story.
“Problems?”
“A war just broke out.”
With her skillfully crafted narrative, the author made me care about the main character, be excited about her will and determination. I looked forward to her rebellion at the end, wishing it with all my heart. I stop here to avoid a spoiler.
There are a clearly recognizable message and a hint in this labeled ‘futuristic sci-fi’ or ‘dystopian’ or ‘YA’ novel. Indeed, it’s a thought-provoking book, in which the reader finds numerous details detectable in our every-day life, making it almost feel like non-fiction.
I enjoyed the flawless writing, a clear agenda, a fast-moved pace. Definitely a book I would recommend to the broad readership.
Ooh – compelling, intriguing, grim – all the things you hope for in a dystopian sci-fi novel. The author clearly has a strong vision of this future world, making for a well-crafted story. More please…
Highly recommended!
This book was a nice surprise. The world that the author has created is plausible and could easily be Earth in the future. The characters are interesting and the storyline gripping. It’s the little things that really sets this book above others in this genre; the spiders, for example. The author has gone to a lot of trouble to make you feel part of the world by adding in small details that a lot of other authors miss. It has left me with a lot of questions, as all good books should if they are going to continue on.
I really hope that book 2 is in progress and will be released soon.
I like reading head strong woman who goes through hell to get where she needs to be and will do anything for her sister. Julia has a long journey but she will keep fighting. Great YA read.
Great conflict and self-discovery!
The author did a fantastic job building Julia’s world—and Julia’s character—for the reader. We really felt a part of the battles that were going on both in the new world and inside Julia, who shows amazing strength and resilience in a most difficult time. I really felt for her as she battled forward to make the best of things and improve life, particularly for her sister, who is her only family member.
A little bit 1984 and a little bit Hunger Games, but also neither of those things. We follow Julia, who is obedient to the rules of the Empire above all, be put in more and more difficult situations. The disquiet she has managed to quell can’t help but come to the fore, but generally not out of her mouth. The tension mounts as her ambiguous feelings rise with her power. Is it really possible to trust anyone?
A wonderful, character-centred introduction to a post-apocalyptic world, which hints at a vast richness underneath. Written with pace and tension. I want to know what happens next!
Julia Dream may sound sweet and contemporary, but what awaits the reader in this futuristic sci-fi novel is as hard as nails with characters thrust into circumstances no one should ever have to face. The opening scene is a true attention grabber and the premise of a woman being forced to fight a duel to the death to protect her sister’s future. As Julia’s career takes off, she is promoted and eventually equipped with genetically enhanced modifications to make her the perfect soldier. But is she? The dichotomy is that Julia loves her little sister, and relies on Marcus’s kindnesses and has a genuine curiosity and sympathy for the enemy in the forest. Julia is sympathetic and relatable – so much so that I wanted more… a twinge of desire for romance, a friendship formed in the enemy camp to prove that they are not so different after all, a deeper form of relating, a rebellion – something to close the deal and draw me in heart and soul. The book has some formatting issues and is, at times, written in an omniscient point of view that can be distancing and grammatically incorrect as far as the tense used – the issues were very consistent and might be the result of translation from a different language? Despite the issues, the books is easy to read, and held my attention. I would definitely read more of Julia, Cleo, Marcus and X39’s story.
This is an intriguing tale full of events. However, it felt rushed in the beginning, and I would have loved to delve more into the details of the events, some time for the characters to reflect or recover from what happened. I really enjoyed the relationship between Julie and her sister, Cleo. While some of the dialogue felt a bit stiff, I still enjoyed the character interactions and the action within the narrative. I would have loved more details on the antagonists’ motivations, maybe some background on the history that led up to this point. Julia’s path seemed a bit too easy, and I would have liked to see her fail more often, especially by her own choices. The formatting did make things difficult to read, as there were no indentations for paragraphs. The occasional odd choice of words and capitalization (Forest) threw me a bit. Still, this was a quick read and an interesting world. It would work well for those that enjoy YA dystopian adventures.
A rather enjoyable YA sci-fi. The way this is written, it draws the reader slowly into the world. This can be a hard thing to do especially for books that literally are creating their own world. Where some might come off heavy-handed or word dumbing, Scali-Warner seems to have a more gentle approach. It was a nice reprieve from some of the other books I’ve read. That’s not to say that the whole book takes this approach. There is plenty of action and character development to keep you invested.
I think one of the biggest drawbacks was the formatting. I know it seems like a small thing, but there’s a specific format for a reason. With nothing indented, when a paragraph ended on the long side and a new one started it all kind of rolled into one big block of text. It became a little distracting.
4.5/ 5 stars. It has been a while since I read a sci-fi book and this is normally a genre I steer clear of but the dystopian element attracted me. Throughout the story there are hints at such classics as The Hunger Games, Enders Game, and 1984. The dystopian world is 3 centuries post nuclear war where the population is now split into those that follow the Empire and those that don’t and are deemed terrorists. The story follows Julia a young soldier on an accelerated career path. There are some fascinating elements to the story such as the first time Julia eats solid food- the people of the empire relying on synthesized food in pill form.
Julia is a young girl thought to be expendable fodder to the needs of the Empire. At every step, she proves them wrong. She has a strength and resilience that saves her time and again from the dangerous situations she is ordered to solve. Are they testing her or trying to get rid of her?
This sci-fi story is suitable for all ages but especially for YA readers.
I was engaged with the story and the main character, Julia, and the plot pulled me to keep turning the pages. I only removed a star because of some grammar issues that slowed me up in places, but did not detract from my overall enjoyment of this book.