Enclave (Enclave Series) [Kindle Edition]

Ann Aguirre (Author)

Book Description

New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters--or Freaks--who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight--guided by Fade's long-ago memories--in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs.

 

Ann Aguirre's thrilling young adult novel is the story of two young people in an apocalyptic world--facing dangers, and feelings, unlike any they've ever known.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[Enclave] is a young adult dystopian novel and has been compared to the hit series The Hunger Games. To say we’re excited is a major understatement…” —ElleGirl.com

“In her first young adult novel, Aguirre (the Sirantha Jax series) has created a gritty and highly competent heroine, an equally deadly sidekick/love interest, and a fascinating if unpleasant civilization. This series is likely to hold considerable appeal for fans of The Hunger Games.” — Publishers Weekly

“Enclave is dark and thrilling, fast-paced and intense. With some graphic and gross imagery and a hard look at a post-apocalyptic world, Aguirre has taken themes from Scott Westerfeld and an assortment of zombie literature and created something that is very much her own — and a very engaging read.” —RT Book Reviews

“This well-paced zombie-esque adventure in an urban wasteland will keep fans happy.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Aguirre’s young adult debut is a gripping survival story set in an apocalyptic future. . . This is a tense, action-packed dystopia with intriguingly gray characters. . . ” —Booklist

“Deuce’s passion for life, even in her bleakest moments, is contagious, and that passion exemplifies the nebulous force that has driven all of these individuals to persist in the face of awful options.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

About the Author

Ann Aguirre is a national bestselling author with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, two cats, and one very lazy dog. She likes all kinds of books, emo music, action movies and Dr. Who. She writes urban fantasy (the Corine Solomon series), romantic science fiction (the Jax series and the spinoff the Dread Queen), steampunk fantasy with her husband, Andres, and YA.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 498 KB
• Print Length: 288 pages
• Publisher: Feiwel & Friends; Reprint edition (April 12, 2011)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004H1TC9S
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,128 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #50 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction
  • #73 in Books > Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

128 of 139 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Horrifying Vision of the Future April 12, 2011

By Jennifer L. Rinehart TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Take every possible terrible scenario you've ever considered for the future and throw it out the window, this book will blow you away.

I'm a huge fan of dystopian fiction, I loved Hunger Games, Shipbreaker, Z for Zachariah, World War Z, The Passage, 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale, but with Enclave, Ann Aguirre proves that there is still plenty of creative and terrifying stories to tell about society and how it will end (not with a bang, but with a growl of hunger in this case).

Girl15, that's her name, until the naming ceremony where she will learn whether the rest of her life (a very short life, the oldest person she knows is 25) will be spent as a Breeder, a Builder or a Hunter. She wants to be a Hunter and Girl15 gets her wish, her name is changed to Deuce and she is paired with Fade, a strange and mysterious figure who no one else wants to work with. I'll get back to Fade later.

Her dearest friends, Thimble (a builder) and Stone (a breeder because he's so handsome) are happy for her but worried. Hunters have the dangerous job of providing food for the College Enclave (that's the name of the enclave, College). Most hunters don't live very long, in fact, Fade's last partner died shortly after they started working together.

But Deuce is determined, as far as she's concerned, being a Hunter is one of the most important functions a person can have and she's proud to put her life in danger everyday to provide food and safety for the rest of the Enclave.

Fade, her new partner, is a strange combination of lethal skills and smartass defiance. He isn't from the enclave, he was born topside (above the tunnels where the land is dead and burning rain falls or so the elders say), but no one really believes him. They think he must be from a far away enclave and became lost in the tunnels (which is a miracle in and of itself because of the Freaks who roam around). Wherever he comes from, he is a great fighter and Deuce gradually begins to trust him and is glad he is her partner after they encounter increasingly dangerous stuff.

Now on to the scariest part of the story (as if the whole living in tunnels, eating rats and garbage weren't enough!) the Freaks. Scarred with lesions, their teeth long and animal like and their nails thick and claw'ish, the Freaks roam the tunnels looking for meat. Any kind of meat including human. After generations of fighting the mindless creatures, Fade and Deuce find that they are starting to work together, exhibiting sort of a pack mentality in their hunting of humans. The Freaks are getting smarter.

Now this is bad, super duper bad, like on a level with the end of all life as they know it and time is running out to make changes to the Enclave that will help it survive. Deuce and Fade will have to convince the elders of what is going on and that could turn out to be impossible.

Toss in a scary secret about the next nearest enclave, a scheming elder named Silk and Deuce's growing feelings for her partner, Fade and I don't know how I'm going to wait for book two.

Whoo, I feel strangely out of breath just typing all this, the book is a real adrenaline rush, I was flipping through the pages like a person who lives on Red Bull and smarties. Seriously, when the book was done I sat, frozen in place, my heart pounding, wondering how it could have gone by so fast, (I got the book last night!).

Now what will I do? It will probably be another year before Ann Aguirre finishes book two. Oh well, I guess I could read it again.
Oh

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Original. Anxiety Ridden. Zombies...a touch of romance. May 23, 2011

By Rachel Rivera VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This one rocked it. Original. Anxiety Ridden. Zombies...a touch of romance. What more can you ask for.

Enclave by Anne Aguirre

If a book could render me speechless it would be ENCLAVE. So, I sat and thought about it for about a week. I don't want to destroy it with words like amazing, wonderful, spectacular, it just doesn't convey what this book was for me. It devoured me. Everything I was went into reading ENCLAVE within a 12 hour period. I opened the first page and did not take a breath until I read the last page. The originality of this piece was fantastic. There are only so many ways you can pen a dystopian novel and I think Ms. Aguirre stepped out of the box, showed us bits and pieces that we were familiar with and then added so much more. I'm in love with some of the dystopian books that I have read lately and I can't believe I found another to add to it's ranks. It's hard being published in a world that is going to compare you to the craziness that is The Hunger Games legacy - but these books are giving THG a run for their money. ENCLAVE now joins the ranks of the amazing YA Dystopian revolution that is happening this year. I can't wait to be be devoured by book two.

In a world ravaged by war and plague, what is left of the human race has splinted off into groups and become basically separate entities. Deuce's is world is called the Enclave. In her world 20 years of age is pushing geriatric status. At her 15th birthday she is finally given a name instead of Girl and her number designation and she is also given a role. She has had only one goal for most of her life, to become a Huntress.

After her naming ceremony she is paired with Fade an enigma of a man. He came from outside to live within the enclave and has not made many friend. His former partner died and Deuce is unsure if her pairing with him is punishment or reward. She quickly labels it as punishment though because on their first hunt, Fade doesn't follow orders and lands them both in trouble. As punishment they are forced to travel to the neighboring enclave and find out why they have suddenly gone quiet. Just a few actions on both their parts will change their future entirely and everything that Deuce has known will come crumbling down around her.

This is not just another Zombie, Dystopian novel. This is so much more. The zombie, or Freak element in it just adds the intended anxiety, but the meat and bones of this novel is the break down of the world that Deuce and Fade live in. You think how could the human race get like this? But, it could, scarily it could. It would probably just take two generations. I think I might need to get off this dystopian, apocalypse kick because I'm scaring the heck out of myself. But, this is what these novels, in particularly ENCLAVE did for me.

What sets this series apart from the others?
ENCLAVE is action packed, this is not a romance. Deuce is a butt-kicking heroine, only 15 but in her world that is a mature woman.
There are so many levels to this story, which is reminiscent of THG, the Enclave, the underground, topside, the city...as more and more of the world is revealed it becomes much more complex.
The writing is spectacular. You feel in-tune with each place, like you can almost see it.
The characterization is also well-done, Aguirre will have you liking even the most despicable of characters.
The intensity of every moment. There is no downtime. So much things are accomplished in each page that you are constantly kept on your toes.

Recommended for fans of the dystopian genre. If you like The Hunger Games, Divergent or even adult titles like The Stand you should enjoy. This is a mature novel with some controversial topics and violence so it is recommended for a more mature teen reader.

55 of 65 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Readable but Problematic July 14, 2011

By Cloud

Format:Hardcover

I'd been on the edge between 2 or 3 but finally had to give this book the Deuce.

Though there were some interesting aspects of the world created here, and I got through the book quickly enough, there were numerous crippling problems with its implementation that troubled me. It's hard for me to say which bothered me more, the way emotions were handled or the way chapters were constructed.

The constant use of the same blunt, deadweight phrasing to express the narrator's emotions seemed pitiful and juvenile. "Disbelief blazed through me." "Horror surged through me." "Warmth curled through me." Curled? Instances of this type of phrase with mismatched emotions performing strange actions like "sparkled" occur dozens and dozens of times throughout the book and in some areas nearly on every page. Uninspired doesn't do it justice. I just don't understand why the author chose to depend so heavily on a phrase so ill-suited to do anything other than provide one-dimensional labeling. It didn't resonate with me at all. So many things went through Deuce that she was worse off than a piece of Swiss cheese by the end.

Chapter after chapter ends with a sudden appearance of freaks that are then easily vanquished in the first few paragraphs of the next chapter. Most of these attacks seem stuck in as a rudimentary way to keep the action high despite having no possible impact on the story. For readers, it's definitely a case of fool us once, shame on Ann, but fool us twice, shame on us. It gets obvious by the second time that the freaks pose no real threat no matter how many times we're told how smart they are.

Switching to the positives, I did find that this book improved as it went along and hit its peak somewhere in the middle. I was into the exploring parts, and I was interested in what was going on with Deuce and Fade. Banner was a character who seemed like she had a lot of potential too.

There were gray area things that made me wonder. For even basic communication purposes, could Deuce have really avoided learning the word "river"? Considering summers in New York, would tinned meat really last that long? (Yes, there's the authors note at the end about how long things last.) So whether or not you think it's likely, the book raises some questions worth thinking about.

This star rating is also the result of an ending that was a letdown. When they started hanging around with rapists, I thought I had a good handle on an explosive ending, but the story peters out into a pretty bland ending. Not a bad book, necessarily, but it suffered greatly from a few odd choices.

More About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Ann Aguirre has been a clown, a clerk, a savior of stray kittens, and a voice actress, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in a terracotta adobe house with her husband and children. In this guise, she writes SF, UF, and YA.