★★★★½ -- Article 5 is a fantastic novel, and a stunning debut. It makes a serious contender for my favorite book I’ve read so far this year, and I’ve read some good ones. Kristen Simmons pulls out all the stops. The dystopian world is well-shaped, frightening for its plausibility. In the vein of 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, the world of Article 5 is one gone bad not because of natural disaster or paranormal entities. It is primarily a case of post-war governmental intervention run rampant and corrupted into something wildly wrong. In a world where practicing the wrong religion or reading the wrong books or being born the the wrong father can get you killed, rebellion is a terrifying prospect. Even headstrong Ember doesn’t consider acting out in a big way until the Federal Bureau of Reformation shows up on her doorstep, stealing her mother away from her and condemning her to rehabilitation camp until she “ages out” at eighteen. Afraid for her life and suspecting she will never see her mother, friends or home again, the only thing that can make it worse is the damning presence of Chase Jennings, the only boy Ember has ever loved, as an arresting officer.

Article 5 seeks to accomplish much, and it succeeds. It is a poignant statement on the corruption of government regulation. It makes the reader ponder the importance of freedom and rights. It leads the reader’s stomach to bottom out with dread with suspenseful scenes. Nail-biting tension keeps the pages turning. Certain scenes are written with the finesse of an great edge-of-your-seat horror movie, horrific and chilling to the bone. The characters are engaging. Ember is headstrong and fiery, but isn’t without her emotional baggage. This is understandable given the things she has to face, and makes her character relatable, seeing as how the world as she once knew it has fallen apart. Chase Jennings is a bit of an enigma–stoic one moment, fiercely protective the next, agonizingly tortured all the while. Once we begin to understand more about Chase, I find myself liking him even more (much as with Will Herondale in Clockwork Prince). The plot is a successfully executed gripping rollercoaster of events and emotions. Once you start reading this book, you don’t want to stop.

One of the little touches I really appreciate about the book is how, from the beginning, the history between Ember and Chase is a mystery. We learn little snippets through Ember’s flashbacks, both accurate and warped into nightmares. As her perspective deepens, the reader can relate to her more and more. The gradual unfolding of the story between Chase and Ember pushes their development and the reader understanding of characters forward, but at the same time, allows the reader to step back and examine the events that have already happened through a different lens. Gaining understanding of these main characters and the things that have occurred around them is an important part of the story that occurs in parallel with the action, preventing the feeling of slowness that typically presents itself with a novel’s character background information.

As a Kentucky resident, I also had a little geek glee moment when I realized that parts of the novel took place in the state.

Article 5 is a brilliant, intense gem of a dystopian novel. I’d highly recommend it to anyone that thinks this is what they are looking for. I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on the next two novels in the trilogy.

See a bit more about my meeting Kristen Simmons at my blog: http://blog.delusionsandgrandeur.net/article-5-by-kristen-simmons/

Article 5 - Likewise Book Reviews

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