PUBLISHER: Balzer + Bray
PUBLICATION DATE: June 12, 2012
FORMAT: Hardcover
LENGTH: 407 pages
LENGTH: 407 pages
GENRE: Young Adult, Science Fiction/Dystopia
ISBN: 9780062006141It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.
Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.
But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.
Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.
MY REVIEW:
I have to admit that I have not read Jane Austen's Persuasion. I definitely have to remedy that, after reading this story that is inspired by it.
Elliot North and her family are known as Luddites, who are a wealthy class of "pure" bloodlines. It is their responsibility to care for the Reduced and their offspring, the ones who played God in an experiment which backfired. The Reduced are somewhat simple-minded to put it bluntly. They are incapable of speech, other than simple yes/no answers and, while they can be trained to perform menial labour, they are not skilled. In only 5% of cases, a Reduced parent will have a baby that develops normally. These children are known as Children of the Reduction or CORs, but prefer to be called Post-Reductionists or simply Posts. Whether Post or Reduced, they became the property of the Luddites whose estate that they were born upon, like chattel.
Elliot is the second-born daughter to the Baron North. Her older sister, Tatiana, has as much business sense as their father. When Elliot's mother passed away, the running of the estate went to Elliot. She doesn't mind it. Unlike her sister, she enjoys mucking about and socializing with the staff. She even has been doing a little experimentation herself, which is strictly forbidden. If her hybrid wheat is a success, it will be ready for harvest sooner than usual and there will be enough food for all the staff during the winter.
The Norths are contacted by someone who wants to rent the shipyard on the estate next door belonging to Chancellor Elliot Boatwright, for whom Elliot was named...her grandfather. Elliot sees this as a good business opportunity and agrees to the deal. She is shocked when the guests arrive, and one of them is none other than her long-lost childhood friend, Kai, who was a Post on the North estate.
Between the chapters are letters written between Elliot and Kai when they were children.
It took a bit for me to get a grip on all the lingo, but the author does a great job at the world-building. I love Elliot! She is a great heroine, and her choices are always in the best interests of her staff and not for her own personal gain. This is what ultimately tore Elliot and Kai apart in the beginning. However, now he has returned!
At the end of the book, I immediately bought the prequel and sequel and am looking forward to continuing on in this series!
Elliot North and her family are known as Luddites, who are a wealthy class of "pure" bloodlines. It is their responsibility to care for the Reduced and their offspring, the ones who played God in an experiment which backfired. The Reduced are somewhat simple-minded to put it bluntly. They are incapable of speech, other than simple yes/no answers and, while they can be trained to perform menial labour, they are not skilled. In only 5% of cases, a Reduced parent will have a baby that develops normally. These children are known as Children of the Reduction or CORs, but prefer to be called Post-Reductionists or simply Posts. Whether Post or Reduced, they became the property of the Luddites whose estate that they were born upon, like chattel.
Elliot is the second-born daughter to the Baron North. Her older sister, Tatiana, has as much business sense as their father. When Elliot's mother passed away, the running of the estate went to Elliot. She doesn't mind it. Unlike her sister, she enjoys mucking about and socializing with the staff. She even has been doing a little experimentation herself, which is strictly forbidden. If her hybrid wheat is a success, it will be ready for harvest sooner than usual and there will be enough food for all the staff during the winter.
The Norths are contacted by someone who wants to rent the shipyard on the estate next door belonging to Chancellor Elliot Boatwright, for whom Elliot was named...her grandfather. Elliot sees this as a good business opportunity and agrees to the deal. She is shocked when the guests arrive, and one of them is none other than her long-lost childhood friend, Kai, who was a Post on the North estate.
Between the chapters are letters written between Elliot and Kai when they were children.
It took a bit for me to get a grip on all the lingo, but the author does a great job at the world-building. I love Elliot! She is a great heroine, and her choices are always in the best interests of her staff and not for her own personal gain. This is what ultimately tore Elliot and Kai apart in the beginning. However, now he has returned!
At the end of the book, I immediately bought the prequel and sequel and am looking forward to continuing on in this series!
MY RATING:
4 stars!! It was really good, and you should put it on your TBR if you enjoy dystopia.
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