This novel is a dystopian science fiction story set in the near future. Thirty-one teenage humans live in a seaside camp, trapped in their camp by a forest that maliciously attacks them. Ash, the best surfer, is their leader until she loses a surfing contest due to a seagull. The new leader, Jon, is the first to kill and eat an animal, driving others to savagery as well. That night, Ash is captured by a species she did not even know existed, the Raptors, and is saved from death by the Raptor king, who is the most peaceful member of his species. She also befriends a Rodent, another species and an enemy of the Raptors. The situation becomes chaotic when the Raptor king dies and Ash must flee for her life. Luckily, she is taken in by the Rodents. She learns that all these different species are a result of her father's work of designing plants and animals to rapidly evolve to better suit humans. Unfortunately, most humans died off as a result of his work. Soon after she learns this, the Raptors attack all the humans. They are saved by a militant religious society that decides to help the human teenagers by killing off inferior races. Both groups plan an attack on the Raptors.
I enjoyed the setting of the book and the variety of characters. The different species were imaginative and interesting, as were the different humans. However, the book had too many messages. It seemed that the book’s purpose was to warn humans to respect each other and the environment. However, for long stretches of time, all the book did was express different morals. The major morals were: do not be racist, understand science instead of blindly following religion, all killing of animals is bad, and do not tamper with the environment. These messages did not always fit together well and interfered greatly with my appreciation of the story. In my opinion, the book would have been much better with more plot and less preaching. In addition, this book has some violence and anti-religion messages.
Content: 2
Rating: 5
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Royersford, PA United States
