Time Zero is the first YA novel by Austin author Carolyn Cohagan. She will pass from her father's household to her husband's, a man she will have no say in cho I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Her world is very small- her dress code, her words, her behavior are all strictly prescribed and monitored. It tells the story of Mina, a fifteen year old girl living inside the walls of what was once Manhattan, under the rule of an extremist religious regime. I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum, Mina and Grace.more 3 stars for writing, characters (besides Juda the Convenient) and guts, minus points for Juda the Convenient and insufficient worldbuilding.
My timezero series#
I would consider reading the next book in the series because the cliffhanger worked for me and I want to see Grace in the real world, but I'm not sure I would recommend this to anyone besides a teen who has already devoured the big-name dystopian novels. For a book with such interesting women characters, we spend a lot of time mooning over Juda. He also is conveniently trained in martial arts, first aid, and has connections in the lower class. Unlike Tris in Divergent, Mina doesn't fight her own battles (though she gets points for telling her dad about a conspiracy when she knows her mom will report her.) She relies on Juda, the first boy she has ever spoken to besides her family, who of course is a perfect human and they instantly love each other and would die for each other. It's left unexplained how a female Prophet can have created such a misogynistic culture and relies on the shock value of "women aren't allowed to read!" and "rich people break the law!" If you can make it through the first half of the book, the second half is fast-paced and action-packed.
My timezero plus#
While Time Zero was an entertaining read, the worldbuilding felt like Handmaid's Tale plus a bit of Fox News understanding of Islam. It's left unexplained how a female Prophet can have created such a misogynistic culture and relies on the shock value of "women aren't allowed to read!" and "rich people break the law!" If you can make it through the first half of the book, the second half is fast I hate to say it, but the reviews calling this book original have likely not read The Handmaid's Tale. I hate to say it, but the reviews calling this book original have likely not read The Handmaid's Tale. Mina transforms her world, and through Time Zero, Carolyn Cohagan can change ours. Framing things within a narrative is a powerful way to make people care, and make them more likely to do something about it. All of them are well-developed and realistic, which is another thing with which authors of YA sci-fi seem to struggle.īut the best thing was how well it draws attention to the real issue of women’s rights. Some characters you want to throttle, others just need a hug.
My timezero full#
Adding weight to the theme, it subtly yet forcefully points out what a privilege it is to have access to an education.Ī story full of action as well as morals, each chapter ending won’t let you put the book down. And like Josephine from Cohagan’s first book, The Lost Children, she shows that the traditionally female traits of love and compassion are strengths, not weaknesses.Īnother similarity between the two stories is the colorful descriptions of books, and the joys of reading. Sure, she’s saved a couple of times, but she also does a fair bit of the saving, showing that everyone needs help sometimes. She is either constantly being rescued by men, or surviving by dumb luck. One big thing that bothers me about a lot of YA fiction supposedly featuring a strong female lead is that the girl is rarely actually portrayed as independent. Carolyn Cohagan addresses the real issues facing real women through the pages of this book. Like most of its genre, it follows a strong-willed teenage girl, but uniquely, it isn’t completely fiction. Mina isn Time Zero is the best dystopian YA novel written in years.
Time Zero is the best dystopian YA novel written in years.
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