(4.5/5 stars)
Okay, okay, I can see the places where people might have had some issues with this book (in terms of character believability/backstory), and I agree with them. Here's hoping these issues get addressed in the next book, if there is one. I'll try to keep this review as spoiler-free as I can when I talk about them. Otherwise? I really, really enjoyed this book, and here's why it's making my best of 2011 list:
For what Grant lacks in the development of some of her characters (and they're all male, but I won't go any farther than that lest it turn spoilery), she more than makes up for in plot. The true goal of Homeland that's the Big Reveal in the final part of the book is so awful, so horrifying, that it made me violently nauseous. To have that much of a visceral effect on me is rare, which is why, I guess, for me it balanced out the lack of character development with the guys. I'm really hoping that there will be a second book so that those omissions get rectified, but at the same time, I can understand why they were omitted in the first place.
This is a heavily feminist story when it comes down to it. The male characters really aren't important, even if they seem that way through the first chapter and in bits and pieces throughout the book. This is Neva (and Sanna, and the rest of the girls who are "unpatriotic")'s story, not theirs. For every woman that has had something done to her against her will, no matter what that is, emotional or physical, this is their story. That is the larger message that I think a lot of the other reviewers out there are missing. This is not your usual YA dystopian book. The girl does not wait for the boy in the end. She saves herself instead. The romance, in the end, is shelved for personal freedom. And many dystopian YA books do the reverse, which is probably why we're all getting sick of it (though "Hunger Games" did it best, and I can see why everyone else is doing the comparison).
The fact that Neva shelves her own want for affection/romance/sex in exchange for her own freedom is not only a rare trait in the YA market, but in the adult market, and in real life. At the end of the day, humans are social creatures. Whether we like it or not, being alone has been hardwired into the brain as being a very scary thing. So I applaud Grant for making her heroine overcome her fear of being alone because she chose herself over sex/relationships with others - even if it was reluctant (and under the circumstances, I understand why). If anything, it's something I'd like to see more of in the YA market as a whole.
There was a study recently done about self-identification by gender. The results were something like this: men self-identify. Women identify themselves by their relationships to others/role in society and not by the sole self alone. Grant changes this in "Dark Parties". Neva grows, and by the end of the book, she is still a friend, sister, lover, daughter - but most of all, she is herself, and that is what saves her. This needs to be said in more YA lit, and the stories that are the best, in my opinion, toy with and break that identity-via-relationship trait expectation about girls.
So even if this starts out like a typical YA dystopian book, I ask you to stay with it until the end. You'll be pleasantly surprised by what happens. If you want something new, try "Dark Parties". And let's hope there's another book coming.
(posted to librarything, goodreads, shelfari, and [...])
