Seven Years Gone: Undesirable (Volume 1) by Liz Iavorschi-Braun is a journey through a not-so-distant dystopian world where the protagonist shuns the collective "The Society" in a desparate last gasp to keep her individualism. Without giving away too much of this great story I'd like to add that there are a lot of parallels between what occurs in this novel vs the coming question Americans face in determining the future course of their country. This novel is well written and entertaining. I highly recommend it.

Ten Likes/Dislikes:

1. (+) Ava, the protagonist - Oh, Ava. From the very first pages I was intrigued because she was haughty about being so girl and I knew that wasn't going to last. I was also intrigued by her curiosity, her boldness despite the harsh society in which she lived. And this determination carries throughout the book. I said something similar of the main character in Tin Star, but I'll say it again: It's hard not to respect and admire a character who goes through such tough circumstances and comes out alive and well and able to take care of not only herself, but another dependent.

2. (+) World-building - What distinguishes Salvage from other literary science fiction novels with empowering themes is its very unique settings. From the rigid gender-oriented decks of the Parastrata and some of the less rigid decks of other ships to the floating, kind community of the Gyre to futuristic Mumbai, this book is like no other YA novel that I've read in terms of the scope of its settings. It's also very easy to imagine the different jobs that someone could have in the various societies. And if Duncan ever chose to expand on this universe, I certainly wouldn't complain. There's a lot of world-building here, and a lot more that could still come too because it's so well-developed.

3. (+) Plot - The plot is part romance as Ava blossoms into a young woman with sexual urges, feels ashamed of her own sexuality, but learns to accept it against everything that she's been taught; part transformation story as Ava goes from being so girl on her father's ship to being a wanted refuge to being a capable, hard-working girl who has to take care of herself and another; part survival story as Ava has to fend for herself without ever having been taught how to read or write or do work that's practical on Earth; part space opera as it's clear that the Parastrata is not an isolated merchant ship but a small part of a larger organization of ships engaged in colonial trade (and that this is only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, in terms of the world-building, if Duncan ever chose to expand on this world).

4. (+) Romance - What I, a romance junkie, liked most about the romance here was that it never interfered with who Ava was. It was always about choice, despite others trying to strip that from Ava. Even when the book does focus on romance, it doesn't take long for us to know the consequences - to feel that underlying tension - or realize what's looming on the horizon... and what romance is there is sweet and kind and tender.

5. (+) Discussion - This line says it all: "This is literary science fiction with a feminist twist, and it explores themes of choice, agency, rebellion, and family." What first drew me to this novel was the comparison to Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, especially since I had never seen a teen novel refer to that work. This book has a beautiful empowering feel and plenty to discuss on the above topics... and privilege. Duncan expertly points out the differences in class among all the societies that she's created and it's all so very real.

6. (+/-) Explanation - This was just a small distraction I'd had while reading. I wanted to know how the Parastrata came to be so rigid in its gender roles and origin stories and the like - like how Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale talks of how the women basically woke up one day and their rights were taken away, and slowly but surely this terrifying society was built & reliance on baby-bearing born. Of course Ava's character was not in much of a position to know this information, but that doesn't mean that I as a reader wouldn't crave it. Especially with such a highly advanced world (colonies? The Earthen technology) and well developed settings. Also is there no governing society with laws to ensure that these kind of infringements happen? I mean, all the merchant ships - if they are transporting goods to colonies, wouldn't there be some regulation? And the other crewes recognize how strange Parastrata's very rigid patriarchal society is. Anyway, none of this took away my enjoyment of the novel.

7. (+) Characters - This book is mostly character-oriented story for Ava, and not the rest, but it does take the time to develop other characters. And despite the fact that it's about Ava growing from her starting point in a severely male-dominated society, very rigid gender roles and all, it is the female characters that rule the day in this book. (For me at least and I loved the different strengths Duncan portrayed in them.)

8. (+) Writing - Science fiction novels sometimes have dry, futuristic writing, but not so here. Alexandra Duncan does a fantastic job at incorporating sensual details. She's also invented some brilliant slang for the futuristic world that never seemed too much to me and was easy to understand from the get-go. Readers who are wary of dialects ought to try an excerpt of the novel to see if it works for them too.

9. (+/-) Pacing - The one thing that kept me from enjoying this novel as much as I could have was its slow pacing. There's always something happening, to be sure, like world-building and character building and etc. etc. But since so much happens to Ava in the course of the novel, and with many different societies to explore, I felt the 500 page weight as I was reading.

10. (+) The Cover - Admittedly, I think this cover could depict the book and its unique settings better, but then again, they're so unique, I can imagine how hard that would be... and this cover is gorgeous as it is. Very eye-catching, some sci-fi, and a tagline that works to show the book as a whole.

Such unique settings (Parastrata the ship, the Gyre, and futuristic Mumbai!) and SO MUCH TO DISCUSS. If you're a teacher, it'd be GREAT to give this novel to your kids. This is the sort of novel that I wish I'd read in high school. I'm definitely going to look out for more from this author. Wonderful literary science fiction that I'd recommend to fans of Matched, Tin Star, and Across the Universe among others.

On the audience: The feel of this book - literary, personal growth, empowering, mostly focused on MC - reminds me of the feel in Not a Drop to Drink - there might be some crossover crowd there, despite the different topics. The epic scope of the world, plus the multiple plot threads, reminds me of Tin Star. Ava's character growth - the emphasis on choice and free will too - and some bits of the romance reminds me of that freeing feel in Matched. Ava's struggle to learn how to fit in Earthen society, compared to the sheltered world she'd known, might appeal to fans of Under the Never Sky, with Aria's character arc. There are also the obvious comparisons to Across the Universeand Starglass. The Edelweiss page also suggested that Salvage fit fans of The Handmaid's Tale - which I count myself among - and I would mostly agree with that assertion... but the timelines are kind of switched -- Offred's past is Ava's future, and there's more focus on how things came to be that way in THT. Still the comparison rings true.

WHAAAAAAAAT. My brain feels like it's going to explode after that mindfuck of a climax and cliffhanger. Okay, first things first. This book seems to be very polarizing in the blogging community in the way that Mind Games was and that, to me, is because they're written in similar ways. First person present, sharp writing (except in Elusion, you get more description of the surrounding world, Escapes, etc. because it is more heavily world-building focused than MG is). Huge focus on the thriller aspects, so the plot has to move at a fast pace and there's not much focus on the characters. What backstory you're given for the characters is to provide their motivations in the plot - the only one whose character arc I discerned was Regan, who goes from never wanting to enter Elusion again after her father's death to looking into the very heart of the program so to speak. (Maybe the mom too who stops being as grief-stricken, but she doesn't get much focus). And yet, as with Mind Games, one character relationship is at the forefront: instead of the sister relationship, it is the relationship between father and daughter.

Where Elusion distinguishes itself from other thrillers is in its world-building. As the summary states, Elusion is basically a virtual reality program that Regan's father creates because the world is dying (e.g. acid rain, depletion of oxygen levels, etc.). First off, I really like this idea. Many dystopians focus on how we've destroyed the earth and that's why things are so terrible; there is some element of this in Elusion, but since the father/daughter relationship is at the forefront, it fits that this idea - creating a program to honor the Earth as it once was - runs parallel to Regan honoring her father's memory. This is also an unspecified future - it may even be like an alternate reality type of future, since some elements of the world (e.g. file extensions like WAV) and plot twists (e.g. world-is-addictive; this is easy to see in our lives now with iPhones and certain tech, etc.) are familiar to our every day lives. A future with an Aesop maybe? At any rate, there are a lot, a lot of tech and future oriented terms (e.g. instant communication via smart walls, the transportation, O2 masks, etc.). I was a bit overwhelmed in the beginning, though it got better, and it's obvious how much these authors have thought about this world. Well-researched too. It's a meld of programming and neuroscience, and I actually wasn't bothered by the neuroscience explanations because *science* itself was not portrayed as magical (despite the alternate reality aspect - the addiction aspect counteracts that & also the fact that the authors pinpoint *specific* mechanisms within the body like serotonin release, brain waves, etc. grounds it in a way that some other far-reaching science fiction tales I've read do not) or inherently evil. I don't know much about programming, so though some reviews have brought that up as an issue, I can't say that those elements bothered me. Though they weren't as future oriented as the rest of the world (would file extensions change? I have no idea.), that seemed to fit with Elusion's blend of alternate reality/addiction/future/reality.

As for the plot, there are some plot holes (e.g. we find out information from random people a lot. Like a couple on an elevator, a saleswoman, etc.). The timeline of the story is what confused me the most because at one point, a love interest says that it's only been a week since they've known each other and I literally startled when I read that. I'd been wondering how much time had elapsed but was going along with the story anyway, and the knowledge of only a week felt strange - how did everything happen all at once? I could have also done without the love triangle. There's minimal waffling between romantic interests, but it's always really hard for me to believe in the best-friend-lusting-for-more scenario. At least with regards to the MC not noticing. Just a personal preference. BUT the plot was suspenseful and unpredictable and full of tension in a good way, making me eager to turn the pages because I was actually curious about what would come next -- nothing, of course, like what I had thought, as things were turned on their head, especially in the climax.

If I were to describe the plot and premise, it'd be something akin to "Matched meets These Broken Stars meets Under the Never Sky meets Crewel." Do I think that this book is really like all of those comparisons? No, I am just trying to decide what audience fits this book. The cover designer seems to have been inspired by Matched, certainly, and some of the plot elements are similar. It's got the basic premise of the seemingly ordinary girl uncovering the illusions of her seemingly perfect society. You know how in Matched, it's obvious that there's something wrong with the society? Same thing here. And the love triangle dynamic is similar, though here there's less waffling. The comparison to These Broken Stars comes from the character backstories - the rich girl who's privileged thanks to her father and the poorer military-esque guy uncover a mystery together except privilege doesn't get addressed as much here as it does in TBS. Under the Never Sky: the dangerous effects of virtual reality realms, though here you get to explore the Escapes for yourself more in depth than you do in UtNS. Crewel because the climax and some of the elements about the MC's powers reminded me of this story, and I'm being vague about that reference so I don't spoil anything. So, if you enjoyed those aspects of those books, you may enjoy Elusion. And if you'd want something like Mind Games in a futuristic science fiction setting, you may also enjoy Elusion.

I've been in the mood to write mini reviews, but as always, my reviews never end up remaining as "mini" as I think they will be.

My mini review round up: Panic by Lauren Oliver, a young adult action-filled contemporary published by Harper in 2014; Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott, a young adult "The Hunger Games" meets "The Amazing Race" novel published by Scholastic; The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain, a young adult urban fantasy take on the Hades/Persephone and Orpheus/Eurydice myths published by Egmont; and The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness, a literary adult retelling of a classic Japanese fairy tale published by Penguin.

I'd post the reviews here, but since it's four of them, I'm just going to link back to my blog.