My First Impression-What the hell is this writing style?Immediately, you notice the grammatically incorrect sentences. For example:“Lugh’s bin sayin it fer a while now. Pa’s gitten worse. Mind you, he ain’t bin right fer a long time”My thoughts on this writing style:At first, I had a hard time reading it. After about 20 pages, I did not even notice it. As the story progresses, you realize how important this writing style is to portray Saba. The grammatically incorrect sentences reveal Saba’s rawness and her simple desire to survive without the need for fancy words or even correct words. Saba can’t read, or write. She hasn’t even seen a book (they were destroyed by the Wreckers- the people responsible for the Post-Apocalyptic world they are living in), never written a sentence, and never had a need to. The Characters-Saba:Saba had me all over the place. I hated her, loved her, felt pity for her, felt anger for her and in the end, I wanted to cheer for her and tell her good job! Saba is your typical “middle child” in the beginning. She lives a life of non-existence. As the story progresses, you see Saba grow into an individual person and not just one half of a twin.Lugh:Her older brother (he’s Saba’s twin but older by two hours) is always in the lead. Where Lugh goes, Saba follows. Saba doesn’t have to think, or feel, or live beyond the four walls of her shack because no one expects her to. Lugh does the thinking. Emmi:Saba’s younger sister Emmi is the one that gets the blame for all the problems (the rest of the family doesn’t blame Emi but Saba’s blame & poor Emi’s guilt play an essential part in the story regarding the development of the characters). If only Emi wasn’t born, her mom wouldn’t have died. “If only” happens a lot to poor Emmi. You feel for her. Emi was one of the sweetest, most enduring characters. I loved how Emi came out stronger than anyone imagined by the end of the book.Jack:I waited, and waited and waited for Jack to disappoint me. He’s the romantic interest for Saba and I expected the author to do the typical “lack of trust” route or “misunderstanding” route often taken with the romantic interest in the book. Did not happen. Just because there was trust and overall communication, doesn’t mean the potential romance between Jack and Saba was boring. In fact, I loved their interactions. Jack not only put Saba in her place regarding the way she treated Emi but he also challenged Saba in the way she thought about herself and their relationship together.The Setting:Dusty. Dirty. Gritty. Blazing Sun. Deadly winds. It does not rain, it pours. The people are not civilized, they are trying to survive. Get in their way, you die. You can’t fend for yourself, you starve and then you die.What I loved:Saba wasn’t perfect. She screwed up plenty. It’s easy to forget that she is so young when you really get into the book. There is a point when she is running out of water and she uses some of the water to clean her face. This is what a girl just trying to survive would do. The author made her imperfect in an imperfect world. Because of that, I loved Saba and the story even more.The 2nd half of the book. It was more character oriented and less action/world building but I thought it was wonderful. I love how the reader is witness to Saba’s transformation. The pace in the 2nd half is slower but much more personal. In the beginning, it was all about survival and tactics, and figuring others out. The 2nd half was watching Saba's walls come down and the development of her relationship with Jack, her sister and her new friends. What I didn’t like:Small holes in the story. I really had to look for things not to like. That is how much I loved this book.Overall:Loved it. I want the 2nd book now!
