Review: Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Title: Enclave
Author: Ann Aguirre
Genre: YA - Dystopian - Horror


"WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE 


In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember. 


As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning. 


Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first Deuce thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace. 


As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known." ~Goodreads

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It’s no secret that I’m a big Dystopian lover, so when I first came across Enclave I was very intrigued by the storyline and immediately added it to my TBR list. I finally got around to reading it (I”ve had it on my bookshelf for quite some time lol) and I’m glad I did. While I did have a few nitpicks I really did enjoy it.

I really liked the setting of this story, the author created a dystopian world that was very vivid but not over done. And it’s not so unrealistic that you know something like that would never happen, the plausibility that the story had made it even more engaging. And I liked the way the author incorporated zombies or “Freaks” as they’re called in the story, she didn’t just stick with a typical description but she adjusted them to fit into the story. There wasn’t a whole lot of detail about what exactly happened to change the world so drastically, and I’m hoping in the books to come we’ll find out more about that.

I thought the characters and their development was all very well done. Deuce is the heroine of the story, she’s strong, practical, and level headed. As the story progresses you see her mature, and her perspective begins to change as she starts questioning the things that have been ingrained in her since childhood. Fade is Deuce’s partner, he’s strong, loyal, resilient, and willing to risk his own life for the sake of his friends. I’m looking forward to finding out more about him in the next book.

There is a bit of romance in this book, it’s just enough to add that little extra something but not the main focus of the story and I thought that was refreshing to see because there are a lot of YA books out that have a big focus on romance (which isn’t bad if it’s not overdone and doesn’t distract from the main storyline) and I think that for those readers who aren’t huge fans of romance this book would better appeal to them than something that has a lot more romance in it.

There were a few parts in the second half of the book where the story got a bit slow, but it did pick up again closer to the end. And speaking of the end, it seemed a bit sudden and I wish there had been a little bit more to it. But then again you kind of come to expect slightly clif-hanger endings with a series lol. Overall I really enjoyed Enclave, it’s engaging, chilling, and unique. It was a good start to the series and I’m looking forward to the next book.

“There were different kinds of strength. I knew that now. It didn't always come from a knife or a willingness to fight. Sometimes it came from endurance, where the well ran deep and quiet. Sometimes it came from compassion and forgiveness.”

4 Stars!