In a ruined world, Manhattan is now New America, a walled-in society based on equality. But the perfect facade hides a dark truth. A timid math geek, sixteen-year-old Drayden watches his life crumble when his beloved mother is exiled. The mystery of her banishment leads him to a sinister secret: New America is in trouble, and every one of its citizens is in jeopardy. With time running out, he … running out, he enters the Initiation. It’s a test within the empty subway tunnels—a perilous journey of puzzles and deadly physical trials. Winners join the ruling Bureau and move to its safe haven. But failure means death. Can Drayden conquer the Initiation, or is salvation out of his grasp?
“The Initiation is a hell of a ride…” – MIT’s The Tech
“Wow! The Initiation has got to be one of the best books I think I’ve ever read.” – The Avid Reader
“This is one to remember… This book has very intelligent writing, great character growth and can get very emotional. I recommend this one a lot!” – The Page Unbound
“An adrenaline filled and suspenseful dystopian with a penchant for capturing Drayden’s emotions on the loss of his mother and the subsequent difficulties he faces. A masterfully written tale that will be liked by fans of Divergent and Warcross.” – Books and Tea
“If you are looking for a Hunger Games/Maze Runner type of book, I truly believe you need to pick this book up.” – Charlotte Brand
“I went into this book knowing next to nothing, so I [wasn’t] sure what I was getting into. That said, I’m so glad I did! I ended up loving this one!” – Adventures Thru Wonderland
“If you like books like Hunger Games and The Maze Runner you will love this one!…this is a great read and I can’t wait for the sequel!” – BookedLQ
“Awesome premise, excellent writing, and wonderfully developed characters.” – Reads and Reels
“A gripping, mind blowing, brilliant book that makes you think while at the same time delivering a fantastic story.” — Renita d’Silva, author of A Daughter’s Courage
“11 Novels Coming Out This February that You’ll Fall in Love With.” — Drink. Read. Repeat.
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A fast-paced, heart-pounding, and engrossing dystopian tale, The Initiation by Chris Babu is an intense and emotional wild ride that had me on edge.
Sixteen-year-old Drayden lives in Manhattan, New York which is now New America, a walled-in society divided into 4 different zones. When his mother unexpectedly gets exiled by the Bureau, Drayden sets out on a mission to discover the truth behind her banishment and enters the Initiation, a test with dangerous puzzles and physical trials. Winners of the Initiation will join the Bureau and move into their safe zone, but those who don’t will face death. Will Drayden succeed and find what he’s looking for?
Dystopian stories are some of my favorites to read and this one definitely does not disappoint. The writing is easy to read and very engaging. It didn’t take very long for me to be hooked and get into the story. I like the world-building, the pacing, the thrills, the action, and just never really knowing what was going to happen had me flipping through the pages. While it’s full of excitement and suspense, there are also some nice emotional and lighthearted moments. I don’t want to spoil the fun, but the final challenge had me completely clutching my heart and hoping that everyone would be okay.
I adore Drayden and I like the rest of the characters. They were all quite interesting, realistic, and fun to get to know. However, if I’m being completely honest, they did from time to time get a little annoying and immature. But then again, they are teenagers so it’s kind of expected. I didn’t dislike them, just got a little frustrated with them sometimes. I did like the friendship and the dynamic between the characters, but I’m not a big fan of the romance/love triangle.
All in all, The Initiation by Chris Babu is a fascinating and fantastic dystopian story that hit all the feels for me and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I like the writing style, the world-building is intriguing, the plot is gripping, and the characters are realistic and likeable enough. There’s action, teen drama, suspense, and moments that will make you think. If you love dystopian books like Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Divergent, then this book is perfect for you.
So this is one I’ve been meaning to get around to for quite a while: the entire concept here: a dystopian oppressed walled-in world supposedly based on equality divided into separate zones really appealed to my sense of imagination and while this was well written and ingenious it still didn’t quite manage to capture my fancy: actually falling quite far from that mark.
So briefly as I said above this is New America: carved out of the former Manhatten, this is now home to Draven and his family.
Draven lives in the Dorms the lowest zone placement in New America: there are three other zones, The precinct: where the guardians reside: they are the police force of this new dystopian future: The labs where anyone intellectual resides: so the teachers, scientists and doctors and lastly the Palace where the bureau are: these are the leaders and government of New America.
You are locked to your zone placement and supposedly everyone has equal status and privilege no matter your zone or job.
The only way to supposedly raise your status for yourself and your immediate family is to enter the initiation upon graduating school: this is apparently a test of intelligence and bravery played out in the abandoned underground subways beneath the city.
It’s like a very deadly game of crystal maze where failure means exile or even death and its quite apparent that the ruling class definitely has a hidden agenda here.
So, after his mother is exiled without due cause Draven with some slight outside persuasion decides to compete: alongside him are several of his former classmates.
Told entirely from Dravens POV these teenagers (sixteen-year-olds) are at loggerheads from the start and with conflicts arising constantly I did want to bang their heads together slightly and scream behave, children at there immature antics.
I mostly put aside their immaturity on account of there young age, but I was still a trifle bemused at the constant concern over there love lives and who they all liked: it just didn’t seem authentic to the storyline or even important when they were in an actual fight for there very existence: personally I would think it would be the last thing on their minds at this time.
They also seemed to brush aside and recover from some very hard-hitting events with such apparent ease when I think they would have been much more affected overall.
So there were times when The Initiation really shone for me, but it was then let down by its slightly repetitive nature and it did actually get quite monotonous at times.
It also really took me a while to get into the story here with me stopping and starting this quite a few times before sticking around for the long haul.
In itself ‘The Initiation’ is a clean YA dystopian read that also manages to deal with some quite harsh situations throughout: and though on paper this did seem a great fit for me in actuality I just didn’t fully connect here and wasn’t ultimately invested in the eventual outcome.
That’s not to say it won’t be your bag: this is still an extremely imaginative endeavour just not really for me.
I voluntary reviewed an Arc of The Initiation.
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
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I liken it to a hunger games-esque contest with more closed circuit viewing, deadly to a new level consequences, and a bigger emphasis on teamwork. Oh, and you’re not offered up to participate, you enter yourself. The prize? Life for you and yours in the protective “arms” of the Bureau, the ruling body of their day and age…but is the price worth the gain especially when the “tests” seem more like ways to pick them off one at a time versus reveal the best candidate? Oh, and some of them are totally cringe worthy… *-*
This is where we meet Drayden, Tim, Alex, Charlie, Catrice, and Sidney…up close and personal. This is where we learn their strengths and weaknesses. Their minds will be tested, their bodies pushed to the limits, their fears laid bare for all to see, and bonds forged for better or worse. Success or failure, life or death, the outcome is in their hands…or is it?
Book one did well to set the stage, build the world, and turn your stomach (I’m sorry, but some of those tests…UGH!), leaving you chomping at the bit for more.
**copy received for review
This is a gripping, smart book.