Renegade (Elysium Chronicles) [Hardcover]

J. A. Souders (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 13, 2012 | Series: Elysium Chronicles (Book 1)

J.A. Souders's haunting debut—Renegade Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s believed that everything is perfect. Her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into Elysium’s secluded little world, Evelyn comes to a startling realization: Everything she knows is a lie.

Her memories have been altered.

Her mind and body aren’t under her own control.

And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb...and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Evelyn Winters's life is just about perfect-or so she's been brainwashed to believe. As Daughter of the People of Elysium, an underwater utopia, she seemingly lives a life of luxury. The Leader of the People, her Mother, is training her to take over one day and manage the isolated community. When Gavin, a Surface Dweller, infiltrates Elysium, everything Evie's ever been taught begins to unravel. Her memories can't be right. Her life, her Law, her world, isn't perfect. Scores of people who have created "problems" are simply killed-and Mother is behind it all. Evie has to escape. Renegade is a creepier, underwater version of the Society in Ally Condie's Matched (Dutton, 2010). Souders creates an unsettling tone with the repetition of Evie's rote internal dialogue. First in a trilogy, Renegade is another dark and exciting YA novel about how striving for perfection leads to murder and manipulation. The love story between Gavin and Evie is lackluster, but the action mostly makes up for it. A solid recommendation for fans of dystopian fiction.-Emily Chornomaz, Camden County Library System, NJα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

“Grim, vicious, riveting. Renegade is a haunting, unforgettable debut.”
—Ann Aguirre, national bestselling author of Enclave

“Deliciously creepy and filled with psychological twists, Renegade kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last page.”
—Kristen Simmons, author of Article 5

“Renegade is a dark tale of deceit, with twists that will keep you turning the pages, and an ending that will have you on the edge of your seat.”
—Lisa Desrochers, author of Personal Demons

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tor Teen; First Edition edition (November 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765332450
• ISBN-13: 978-0765332455
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #420,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.A. Souders was born in the heartland with an overactive imagination and an over abundance of curiosity that was always getting her into trouble. She first began writing at the age of 13, when she moved to Florida and not only befriended the monsters under the bed, but created worlds for them to play together.

Because she never grew up, she decided she'd put her imaginary friends to work and started writing. She still lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and their two children and is an active member of the RWA, CFRW, YARWA and SCBWI.

She is represented by Natalie Fischer Lakosil of the Bradford Literary Agency. Her debut book, RENEGADE, surfaces November 13, 2012 from Tor Teen (Macmillan).

Her short story TOOTHLESS is in the Mystery Times Ten anthology from Buddhapuss Ink.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I had such high hopes... December 3, 2012

By Gretchen @ My Life is a Notebook

Format:Hardcover

~Thank you to TorTeen for this ARC!~

I had very high hopes for Renegade, I'm not going to lie. It sounded almost too good to be true. I'm a sucker for stories that play with genetics, and--despite the obvious choice of love interest--the storyline looked unique and interesting.

I hate when I don't get everything that I'm hoping for.

Renegade starts off ridiculously creepy. Like, good creepy. So fantastically creepy. Souders uses an interesting technique between chapters that excellently shows off how Evie's mind is being altered by her mother. You are shown Mother's cruelty right away as well, which sets the tone for the rest of the book. Don't be fooled by the pretty cover; Renegade doesn't shy away from blood and killing.

Things start to break down right around when Gavin, the Surface Dweller, is introduced. No, I'm not saying this just because I found their love story cliché. (I did, but that's not the point.) The sessions where Evie is "interrogating" him are clearly an info dump opportunity so that we can learn more about the world, and I have no idea why they weren't shot on spot right away. There is no way that Mother has all these security features and doesn't have microphones in her jail cells.

It's at this point that information starts to get jumbled. Souders has created a very complex world, and in the end that does her a disservice. A few too many things are glossed over or left unexplained entirely. A few key plot points are fixed almost magically. Certain characters turn bipolar and their actions make no sense.

I guess being frustrated that I never completely understood the world or the technology is sort of a good thing. After all, it means I was invested enough to want to know. It's entirely possible that another reader, not looking as closely, wouldn't notice the slip ups. I don't know. What I do know is that there are world building holes I wish had been filled so that I could have a better grasp on the back story that Souders was attempting to make a key point but kept getting marginalized.

Evie's story in itself was pretty gripping. The mental conditioning she had had was super creepy but super awesome at the same time. What can I say? I like narrators with fractured minds; it's very interesting to read when done right. I wish, of course, that Gavin hadn't been there, because then maybe Evie's troubles would have been a little more compelling without the guy there to save her, but I digress.

Also, Gavin being there resulted in too many weird, sexually-charged moments. Like, he can't climb a ladder because he's distracted because he can see up her skirt? He watches her change in a mirror, even though she says don't look? Gavin cannot be both her knight in shining armor and a creep. Just saying.

All in all, I wanted to like Renegade a lot more than I did. The world and plot were very interesting, but Souders got tangled up in her own complexities and got a little lost. Evie herself completely won my investment, but the story and the other characters didn't back her up as well as they could have. I would tell you to give this a try if you're in the mood for yet another dystopian, but I wouldn't put it on my MUST BUY list. Goodreads lists this as number one in a series (which I didn't realize, because it doesn't really leave anything on a huge cliffhanger--it could be read as a standalone), but it'll be a coin toss to see whether or not I pick up number two.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dear Mother, I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK. January 2, 2013

By Inky

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I. Heart. This. Book. Seriously. I heart Jessica for writing it. I had like an EPIC blast reading it and I can't wait for more EPIC Gavin book two!!! I mean this book had everything I could possibly want in a YA novel. Suspense, a crazy amazing bad guy, a hot boy, romance, action, secrets around every corner, a crazy ending.....ack! This book will always be in my heart. From this day on now and forever more...yeah we get it. ALWAYS. End of story.

I thought that the idea behind this book was very intriguing. Not so much the dystopia aspect, but the underwater aspect. Why? It's NOT ABOUT MERMAIDS! Phew! Not that I have anything against mermaids, but it's kinda hard to find a non-cliche mermaid book at least in some aspects.... okay moving on. Anyway it's this big glass dome underwater! Totally like when you're in an aquarium and there's the big glass wall so you can look at fish and sharks...except this time it's the whole ocean, and if it breaks you are DEAD. Kinda awesome right? (Not the dead part of course.) So there...

Anyway, it's an insane picture in your head, with Nemo and Dori swimming above you and whales trying to eat them, and beneath the glass you have a monster. Named MOTHER. Personally, I think that Mother is one of the BEST villains I have EVER READ lately. She's intense and villainy, yes, but she has a good connection to Evie and that is why it works so well! And I think that naming her Mother was a stroke of genius, it shows that connection. It gave Evelyn a struggle to accept the fact that the villain is someone normally so close to her. Hands down she's extraordinaire. And we know how I feel about extraordinaire

Time for Evie. Nice little perfect Evie in a perfect world. I liked her. I thought she had a good narrative voice, and although she didn't connect to me as easily as I would of liked (being that she could have had a little more character development), she was still a fabulous person to experience the story from. Especially when we started experiencing Gavin.

Gavin. My dear sweet boy. WHY?! Tell me WHY? WHY are you so amazing? Why are you already taken with Evie?! Can't I have you? PRETTY PLEASE?! I mean he's such a Gavin. And I'm a sucker for Gavins. I blame Fablehaven. I tell you it's a hot name, and luckily this boy fits the description. He's got character, and lots of character that I can't WAIT to learn about him in the next book. He's loyal an kind and yes he's blonde. Which I can forgive... because he's so not BLONDE. He's a smartie, and just as good as the candy of the same name. Let's just say I like him. Dearly. Ah Gavin....

AND THEN WE HAVE THAT ENDING!! Oh my cheesy cupcake. Most of it was easy to figure out, but that TWIST. UGH. I think the scene after it just made things worse. *dies* Can't I have the next one NOW?!!! We don't even have a title or a cover yet! This is Sadness. I don't know if I can wait. Someone save me. Or just get me info on book two. But whether I die or not, let's just say that I loved this book. And I'm very psyched for the next one.

Content: Mild
(a few instances of mild language, innuendo. Kisses)

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Insane Underwater Utopia November 13, 2012

By Miss Bonnie

Format:Hardcover

3.5 stars

'We are all Mother's children. It is a privilege to show her our ultimate obedience to her laws.'

Evelyn Winters is the Daughter of the People in the underwater world of Elysium. She is a flawless specimen with ideal genes perfectly suited to create flawless children. Mother has worked hard to solidify Evelyn's perfection and the perfection of all citizens in Elysium. Mother will do anything and everything to make sure this remains so. All is not as it appears in Elysium. Look carefully, beyond the perfection.... and you'll see the malevolence hidden closely beneath the surface.

'Greed has poisoned men's souls. Surface Dwellers have destroyed what was once beautiful and turned it into a ghostly illusion of what they call peace. But down here, we have real peace. There will be no fear, or sickness, hunger, hate, or greed. We have created our Utopia. And it is magnificent.'

Evelyn is told from an early age that her people escaped to Elysium to hide from the evil Surface Dwellers that war with one another but when a Surface Dweller manages to breach Elysium Evelyn can't help but be intrigued by him. His name is Gavin and with his help Evelyn realizes that the very world she lives in is a complete lie.

An underwater utopia? How. Awesome. I loved the descriptions and details of how everything worked and how people managed to not only survive but to truly thrive and be completely self-sufficient under the sea. I would have loved for it to be explained more in detail in the beginning rather than a conversation between Evelyn and Gavin when he'd ask a question here and there. I believe an introduction in the beginning on the underwater society would have been better.

Very intriguing from the very first page, it's quite obvious that something is wrong with Evie and it all has to do with Mother. The introduction of Gavin had to be done in order to set in motion the entire story, but I didn't buy how incredibly easy it was for her to understand and accept that she was being brainwashed. You'd think that for someone that was brainwashed for over almost her entire life wouldn't just begin having doubts just because someone (that she doesn't even know) randomly suggests it once. I think if there was more time spent on the overall character building that I wouldn't have a problem with Evie trusting Gavin immediately or their instant bond which while it wasn't quite insta-love veered a bit too close for my liking.

'...I shiver at the sounds surrounding me: Gavin's gasping breaths. The thunder of my heartbeat. The ripping of flesh. And, making it all worse, the man's rasping voice as he sings.'

The action is intense and ongoing and it never seems to let up throughout the extent of the book. Towards the end though, the story takes an extremely gruesome turn. Mother was a truly evil villain and one that conducted some particularly shocking experiments in order to secure her perfect society. A textbook villain is one that is willing to do whatever is required to get what she wants, and Mother was definitely prepared to do that. You don't realize till then end bits just how far she had gone with her experiments and what the end result was.

When I began this story I was under the impression that it was a standalone novel but there were far too many questions that were left unanswered for there not to be a follow-up. I will definitely be reading the follow-up, I'm quite excited to find out how everything is explained and to see where the author takes the story. Despite the few issues I had and the lower rating this was still a highly enjoyable, edge-of-your-seat kind of read that fans of dystopian and sci-fi genres will enjoy.