This past week I was stuck on a airplane for several hours. I wasn’t flying with my (totally amazing!) husband, so I decided to get in some reading to help the time pass quickly. And, boy, did it pass quickly with this book!
I haven’t posted a book review in forever, but I hope my new beauty followers will enjoy it nonetheless and maybe discover a new book to add to their wishlist. 🙂
About Jill Williamson
Williamson is weird, which is probably why she writes science fiction
and fantasy novels for teenagers. She grew up in Alaska with no
electricity, an outhouse, and a lot of mosquitoes. Thankfully it was the
land of the midnight sun, and she could stay up and read by the summer
daylight that wouldn’t go away. But the winter months left little to do
but daydream. Both hobbies set her up to be a writer.
Her debut novel, a medieval fantasy called By Darkness Hid, won an EPIC Award, a Christy Award, and was named a Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror novel of 2009 by VOYA magazine. Jill has since published twelve books.
Jill loves working with teenagers and encouraging them to respect
their dreams. She speaks and gives writing workshops at libraries,
schools, camps, and churches. She lives in Oregon with her husband, two
children, and a whole lot of deer. Come visit Jill on her Facebook
author page or on her website at www.jillwilliamson.com, where adventure
comes to life.
– See more at: http://www.jillwilliamson.com/press-kit/#sthash.VNH0UMj2.dpuf
Williamson is weird, which is probably why she writes science fiction
and fantasy novels for teenagers. She grew up in Alaska with no
electricity, an outhouse, and a lot of mosquitoes. Thankfully it was the
land of the midnight sun, and she could stay up and read by the summer
daylight that wouldn’t go away. But the winter months left little to do
but daydream. Both hobbies set her up to be a writer.
Her debut novel, a medieval fantasy called By Darkness Hid, won an EPIC Award, a Christy Award, and was named a Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror novel of 2009 by VOYA magazine. Jill has since published twelve books.
Jill loves working with teenagers and encouraging them to respect
their dreams. She speaks and gives writing workshops at libraries,
schools, camps, and churches. She lives in Oregon with her husband, two
children, and a whole lot of deer. Come visit Jill on her Facebook
author page or on her website at www.jillwilliamson.com, where adventure
comes to life.
– See more at: http://www.jillwilliamson.com/press-kit/#sthash.VNH0UMj2.dpuf
Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms
and the award-winning author of several young adult books including the
Blood of Kings trilogy, Replication, the Mission League series, and the
Safe Lands trilogy. She lives in Oregon with her husband and two
children and a whole lot of deer. Visit her online, where adventure comes to life.
About Rebels: Book 3 in the Safe Lands Series
The Safe Lands have long kept secret from their people what it means
to be liberated. Mason and Omar are about to discover the truth.
Levi doesn’t want to give up on his brothers, but when Jemma is
captured and becomes the Safe Lands new queen, Levi’s best option is to
take up the role of The Owl that Omar began, leading the rebels in their
quest to overthrow the government.
But will The Owl be enough to safe Jemma? Will Ciddah be able to
deliver Shaylinn’s babies safely underground without the help of a
surgeon? And will Mason be able to keep Omar from dying as they search
for a way back?
If only they could unite their efforts, together they could expose
the Safe Lands lies to the people. But if they fail, they will surely
die.
– See more at: http://www.jillwilliamson.com/the-safe-lands/#sthash.w9zFwGlq.dpuf
Safe Lands have long kept the true meaning of Liberation secret from
their people. But after being sentenced to Liberation themselves, Mason
and Omar soon discover the truth.
public sentencing and tries to hold out hope they are still alive, He is
forced to focus his attention elsewhere, however, when his new wife,
Jemma, is captured and made the Safe Lands’ newest Queen. His only
choice to save Jemma may be to take up Omar’s old role of undercover
vigilante, leading the rebels in their quest to overthrow the
government. But will Levi’s new role be enough?
Jemma’s sister, Shaylinn, is ready to give birth to the “Safe Lands’”
children … but not even Ciddah is sure they can be delivered safely in
the midst of a rebellion. And Mason must face the fact Omar’s illness
could be fatal.
they may be able to expose the Safe Lands’ lies to the people. But if
they fail, they will all surely die.
My Review:
I read the first book, Captives, and was completely ‘captivated’ by the world that Jill Williamson created in front of me. When the adventure continued in Outcasts, the intensity of the plot continued to mount with every page. It ended with a pretty significant cliffhanger, and ever since then I’ve been so curious and anxious to find out how this series ends. Finally! The last book, Rebels
, released earlier this month and I’ve already flown threw its pages.
Wow, what an adventure! There are a lot of characters in The Safe Lands series — starting with the three main characters, brothers Levi, Mason, and Omar — and each one of them had their own little suspenseful adventure going on throughout the book. Surprisingly, Jill Williamson was able to weave them all together so seamlessly, I never felt confused or lost amid all the different events going on in different character’s lives.
While this book is marketed
as a young adult novel, I personally feel that the many sexually
suggestive aspects of the book makes it for an older audience. And not
necessarily only for adults — things are only eluded to and never
outright said or explained — but definitely not appropriate for
preteens or young teens. Again, this is just my personal opinion, but
know that sexual undertones are sprinkled through the book.
Throughout the series, the mystery of ‘Liberation’ has always been looming — and much to my surprise and delight, the mystery is finally uncovered. I’m not sure what I had guessed Liberation might be, but I wasn’t expecting what Mason and Omar discovered.
Williamson created such a unique– but realistic — dystopian worth in the Safe Lands series and writes in such a way as to completely submerge her readers into the moment. And while there were hero’s and heroine’s, none of them are perfect. I loved how the author kept it so realistic in this regard. The characters experience heartache, temptation, lust, addiction, fear, and shame, just like anyone would if they were thrust into this world. Yet, at the end of it all, we see the Lord bring characters like Omar from the depth’s of despair to walking on the clouds of promise.
The whole series brings such a strong feeling of hope and redemption, I think whoever reads this series will take away something special. I highly recommend the whole series!
I
reviewed this book for the author. It was not required
that I give a positive review, but solely to express my own thoughts and
opinions of this book, which I have done.
Robin Wilson says
You do a great book review…not too long or too short, just right. I thing that book marked as young adults have a lot sexuality in them. What a shame. Sounds like an interesting series of books nonetheless! Thanks for the info.
Kate S (4readin) says
I've been wanting to read this series sometime. Thanks for the book review! 🙂
KatieMacGarvin22 says
Robin – Oh, thank you so much. I'm glad they are profitable. I know what you mean, I feel that subject is just unnecessarily introduced at such a young age.
Kate – It's a great series, I know you would like it! My favorite that I've read from Jill Williamson, for sure. 🙂
Elle Sees says
my boss loves books like this–i;ll have to tell her about this series!
KatieMacGarvin22 says
ElleSees – I really enjoyed this book, and I'm personally not that into dystopian fiction. And even though it's all in the future and made up…it was very realistic and believable 🙂
Felicia Rodrigues dos Santos says
Looks like a really good book! I love to read books like these.
Love, Felicia
The Artist Librarian says
I feel similarly, Katie, regarding some of the content, but I LOVE that overall it's from a Christian perspective … I think a lot of teens need to learn how to deal with or realize the attitudes others have towards such situations before they leave "Glenrock" so to speak. Definitely for high school and up but also hopefully it will spark conversations with their families as well. =)
KatieMacGarvin22 says
Felicia – Then I would highly recommend it to you. Start with the first book in this series, Captives (I wrote a review on that one, too, linked above)! This is definitely a series that must be read in order. 🙂
TheArtistLibrarian – Yes, that's true! And I didn't mention the adult content because I disapproved — I thought Jill presented it well and kept it very clean given the situation. I just wanted to warn parents that it's not a pre-teen book. My little sister just turned 14. I think I'll wait another year or two before giving her this series to read. Just because it will spark questions from her, and I personally don't think it's necessary for her to know those things at this age. But that's just my personal opinion!
And, yes, I did LOVE that it came from a Christian perspective. So thankful for that!