The Elect

Laura Wadsworth
Carter
Genre: 
Young Adult

DYSTOPIAN:  The Foundation rules Belstrana with an iron fist, controlling citizens with an army of trained child soldiers. Seventeen-year-old August was one of these soldiers. He’s done terrible things without even being fully aware of it. But when he and three of his fellow child soldiers wake up and realize what they have done, all bets are off and their number one goal is to bring the Foundation down. 

 

“The Elect “offers a bleak outlook onto a dystopian / science fiction future. It is an enjoyable science fiction read with relatable, well-crafted characters that act very realistically and appropriately for their age. August in particular is easy to relate to and connect with as a reader. Elisa is another amazing character: fleshed out and three-dimensional. The author did an excellent job not just making the main characters, but all characters, even the secondary ones, feel like real people. 

 

The writing is decent and fast-paced. However, the book is written in first person, present tense and readers who are used to reading books in past tense might struggle getting used to the tense at first. As for the plot, it can easily keep a reader guessing, with a lot of unsuspected twists and turns. 

 

Readers looking for a well-written, intriguing young adult book will definitely find all those qualities in “The Elect”. 

 

Majanka Verstraete