Book Review: SURRENDER by Elana Johnson

Surrender (Possession #2)
Author: Elana Johnson
Published: June 5th 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian

Summary | Add to TBR

Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…

Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque....

My Thoughts:

This book is one of my favorite reads this year and once again I was reminded how much I enjoy dystopian novels. Surrender is the second book of Possession Series, and if you've already read the first book, then you already met Violet Schoenfield, Zenn Bower, and Jag Barque. You already know what happened to them in the end of the book, and how Violet and Zenn end up at Freedom City. (Freedom City, as weird and as crazy as it is, Freedom City doesn't live up to its name, because here, the Citizens are controlled, and free-will isn't an option.)

In this second book, I was introduced to a new set of amazing characters. If you loved Vi and Jag in Possession, you'll gonna love Raine and Gunner. These two new characters will fight for what is right no matter what the cost is. Just like Vi, Jag and Zenn, they possessed controlling powers that can destroy the whole Freedom City, its government and the whole society.

Every person has a season of knowledge. - Cannon

Raine Hightower has always been good in the eyes of her father, the Director of Freedom City. She was assigned to monitor and report every detail about Violet, her new non-student roommate. She doesn't understand why her father give too much interest about Vi, but Raine suspects that her roommate is not an ordinary citizen. Especially when she already saw how everything will end once Vi got what she desired most--to be free. In the vision, she also saw herself standing with Vi and with another boy--Gunner--as they watched Freedom City falls. Together, with their powerful abilities, they will destroy the city. The time that Raine Hightower realized this, she didn't stop until she recruited Gunner to be part of the Insiders where she too is a member. The Insiders (consist of different groups) are branches of the Resistance that are assigned to work and operate inside the Freedom City. When Jag, the leader of The Resistance was caught, Raine knows that the time has come to unbrainwash Violet and help Jag escape. 

"Maybe if she saw Jag again...maybe that would wake her up. But if she sees him and remembers, I'm nobody. In more than ways than one." - Zenn

There are lots of things that I wanna say about the story and let me start with the characters. How could anyone love a book if the characters aren't well-developed, weak, even more so, annoying. But I tell you, I don't have any problem with that in Surrender. I loved Raine and Gunner. They absolutely have the five S qualities of a protagonist that I like--Smart, Strong, Snarky, Sneaky and Stubborn. Secondly, the plot and the setting. There was a slight difference in the setting of the two books. As far as I could remember anyway, Possession mostly happened outside the Freedom City, while in Surrender, everything took place inside (well, mostly). It was fascinating to read about high-tech gears and facilities, hovercrafts and even the High Rises buildings and apartments. It was so futuristic and scary at the same time. Especially when you know that there are people in the society who have the abilities to control you using their voices, their minds, their touch.

Okay, well, maybe the plot isn't that fast-paced. It was rather a bit slow for me and confusing, BUT, it was never a hindrance for me not to enjoy the story. When I first read Possession a year ago, I admit that it was confusing and I had to go back to a couple of pages and re-read them. There were questions that hadn't even answered even I reached the ending. I had the same experience with Surrender, but as I reached the last part of the story I began to see things clearly. I finally understood what truly happened in Possession and why certain characters acted that way. I'd say that Surrender surprised me with it's incredible twist and revelation! I suddenly want to read Possession again and see if I would have the same reaction as I had the first time I read it. So you must know that the people/characters aren't exactly who they seem, and you'll discover that in Surrender. 

If you love dystopian novels, you should read this series. It might be a confusing and slow at the beginning, but overall it's amazing. If the ending of Possession killed you the last time, then be prepared with the ending of Surrender. It was another cliffhanger ending that made me want to read the next book now. It is really good! With the addition of new remarkable characters, the unexpected twist, the huge cliffhanger ending, this series just get more riveting. I can't wait for the next book!

My Rating:

The first book in Possession Series by Elana Johnson

Add to TBR
Read my Review

Book Review: POSSESSION by Elana Johnson

Possession (Possession #1)
Author: Elana Johnson
Publication Date: June 7, 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genre/Category: Young Adult, Dystopian

Summary on Goodreads:

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

My Thoughts:

Good girls don’t walk with boys. Even if they’re good boys—and Zenn is the best.

I know right? It’s intruiging… I was suddenly captivated just reading those first two lines of the book! But my favorite is this one:

Good girls don’t touch boys, not even good ones. And Jag wasn’t good.

And so I love love Jag! I bet you’ll love him too!

Vi, Jag, and Zenn are the three main characters in the story. Vi has always loved Zenn, her bestfriend, her protector, her partner in every rule breaking she does in Goodgrounds—her perfect match. And there’s Jag, the boy with the wicked hair (just like her), the boy from the Badlands, one who has always been bad (though not really), the boy she truly love and the only person who can fill the hole in her life. The boy she called Perfect. For Vi life has always been full of choices. Good or bad? Zenn or Jag? Duty or Death?

I’ve read a lot of Dystopian Novels and they never fail to captivate me. Maybe that’s the reason why I picked this book, and I wasn’t wrong. Elana Johnson knows how to engross a reader from beginning to end.

You can easily picture the world which the author created. It was too futuristic, and frightening as well. There are lots of high technology emphasis: from the Mechanic Robots (which acts like human), the high-end transmissions which the Thinkers used to brainwash and manipulate people, to the chips being inserted on your skin, the teleport rings (which I find interesting), the talking walls, the silencer (the one they used to silence people), the taser, and a lot more... But the most interesting to me are the characters who possess special talents, those who are able to control people using their minds and voices. Something I wasn’t expecting at all.

Well, there are actually lots of things I didn’t anticipated. Some surprised me and some annoyed me, but that didn’t stop me from reading it. Most of the times, I needed to re-read some parts of the book just to catch up and understand why the characters suddenly act this way, or act that way. Sometimes it's weird and I couldn't grasp the idea. There are still lots of questions in my mind right now that are left unanswered even after finishing the book (which I better not mention to avoid spoilers). Sometimes the events are little confusing, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed it. This book is thrilling and engrossing, it's easy to ignore those flaws and continue reading until I feel satisfied (which is hard because I can’t get enough of this book either!). I so love the twists in the story which makes it more enjoyable.

From the time I started reading Possession, I couldn’t put it down. I was so into it and the love triangle of Vi, Jag and Zenn is quite entertaining to me. I was so eager to know what would happen to them especially to Vi and Jag (and YES, I’m definitely Team Jag here!).

Though I love Jag and Vi together, I hate it when Vi sometimes becomes bossy and I hate it more when she calls Jag stupid (because he’s not!). She’s so upset all the time that I find her annoying. Thanks to Jag, he keeps me entertained! I bet you’ll gonna love him and you’ll miss him every minute he’s away. I can’t seem to get enough of those two… their conversations made my grin wider… and their arguments and teasing are always a hit to me. Blockbuster I might say.

I knew from the start that I’m off to a huge cliffhanger ending… but still, I didn’t expected this one. I am way too anxious to learn about the next book, which is some kind of torture, knowing you have to wait for months or a year to read it. I just hope that the sequel would be as good as this one (but not as confusing... I hope) so I could say that it's worth the wait.

I totally love it. A must read and I would definitely recommend it.

My Rating: