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The New Dark

The New Dark by Lorraine Thomson


*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*


Synopsis (from Goodreads)
Sorrel lives a quiet life in the tiny settlement of Amat. It’s all she’s ever known... Until a gang of marauding mutants destroys the village, snatching her brother Eli, and David, her boyfriend. Sorrel sets out after them, embarking on a journey fraught with danger. Can she survive? The only thing that keeps her going is Eli and David. They are out there somewhere. They must be alive. And if she has her way, she will find them.


Review
The premise is very interesting: it's a post-apocalyptic world, only a couple generations after whatever events happened Before to turn it into the Now. Sorrel is a girl whose entire life has been changed and she sets out to save her little brother and her kind of boyfriend. Along the way her worldview expands; she makes enemies and unexpected friends, and she finds that not all humans are good and not all mutants are bad. I feel like the style of writing makes this a good dystopian/post-apocalyptic book for slightly younger teens, around 13-15. 

 Unfortunately, this book just didn't really carry it off for me. I felt like such an interesting world was left so unexplored. I was waiting for hints about what had happened Before to make society what it is Now, but nothing. Plus a huge fuss is made over Sorrel's birthmark and I had no idea WHY, other than it was a symbol from Before? But multiple people seemed to know what it was, except Sorrel. She was just told multiple times she was "special". 

 I also felt the pace was off... In the first chapter we're barely introduced to characters before destruction strikes and everyone is killed and somehow we're supposed to care about the relationships between characters we don't ever see interact except for the first five pages. Also I just didn't really like reading about the sexual harassment that happens to Sorrel (nothing intense, just lots of creepy touching from a gross dude). 

 Overall, it wasn't for me, but I think slightly younger readers would enjoy it more.


Rating
2.5 stars


Details
Genre: YA.
Language: None.
Sex: Some unwanted touching and harassment, but nothing graphic and no sex.
Violence: Some violence, not graphic.
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