A few years ago, YA dystopian novels—like The Hunger Games and Divergent—were all the rage. I (like many others, I imagine) tired of the genre, and it's been ages since I've read YA dystopian. But All Things Now Living caught my eye, and I decided to give it a chance.
Her whole life Amy has been taught the people of New Lithisle deserve to die, but when she falls for Daniel, she determines to save him.
Sixteen-year-old Amy doesn't like anything to die—she won't even eat the goats or chickens her mama has butchered every fall—but she can't let herself pity the inhabitants of New Lithisle. In a few short months the dome they built to isolate themselves from the deadly pandemic is predicted to collapse, but her whole life Amy has been taught it's God's will they die. They traded their souls for immunity to the swine flu virus, brought God's curse upon themselves by adding pig genes to their own.
Then, while on a scavenging trip with her father, Amy is accidentally trapped in New Lithisle. At first her only goal is to escape, but when she meets Daniel, a New Lithisle boy, she begins to question how less-than-human the people of New Lithisle are.
Amy's feelings grow even more conflicted when she learns she didn't end up in New Lithisle by mistake. Her father is secretly a sympathizer and was trying to prevent the coming destruction.
Now time is running short and Amy has to decide if she will bring the computer program her father wrote to his contact or save herself. Installing the program could prevent the dome's collapse, but if Amy doesn't find her father's contact in time, she'll die, along with everyone else.
All Things Now Living is a completely captivating dystopian romance. I'll admit that I didn't follow everything—the book definitely would've benefited from a prequel story that explained what exactly happened with the genetic modifications, the building of the aegis, and Allarice's daughters—but I could brush over those questions because I was so swept up in the story.
The romance between Daniel and Amy does have all the marks of insta-love, which I generally hate. I didn't mind it so much here, maybe because I cared for both Daniel and Amy as characters, and their romance was just "extra." I enjoyed their adventures together, and I especially appreciated the twist at the end of the novel that sets up book two.
The questions the book raises of what makes someone human are completely valid in this day of genetic engineering. The book also brings up issues of prejudice, blind faith, and religious power.
While All Things Now Living isn't perfect, I really enjoyed it. I'll definitely keep an eye out for the second book in the Seventh Daughter series. 3-1/2 stars.
Content note: While this book contains nothing objectionable in sexual content or language, there is quite a bit of violence. It's not explicit, and there's less than in The Hunger Games, but it's there. Also, Amy receives a shot to start her period, which is then described in great detail. Older teen girls won't blink at this, but it could be traumatizing for girls at the beginning of puberty.
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Rondi Bauer Olson is a reader and writer from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where she lives on a hobby farm with her husband, Kurt. She has four grown children, works as a nurse, and also owns a gift shop within view of beautiful Lake Superior.
Find out more about Rondi at http://rondibauerolson.weebly.com.
While on a scavenging trip with her father, Amy is accidentally trapped in New Lithisle in Rondi Bauer Olson's All Things Now Living. At first her only goal is to escape, but when she meets Daniel, a New Lithisle boy, she begins to question how less-than-human the people of New Lithisle are. Amy's feelings grow even more conflicted when she learns she didn't end up in New Lithisle by mistake. Her father is secretly a sympathizer. Time is running short and Amy has to decide if she will bring the computer program her father wrote to his contact or save herself. Installing the program could prevent the dome's collapse, but if Amy doesn't find her father's contact in time, she'll die, along with everyone else.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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