I like nothing better than a book who was trained to track, hunt, and fight against the will of a dominating ruler in a society where women must be escorted everywhere they go, aren't educated, and are treated like property. And C.J. Redwine takes the dystopia genre by storm with Rachel in Defiance, a girl who won't just sit back and accept her fate. A girl who fights for everyone she loves.
Rachel's father has been declared dead, but she simply won't accept the news. She watches as they close up the city on the final day of wait for him and knows she will find a way to escape the city walls and find her father. But the Commander of the city must now assign her a new Protector, and she assumes it will be Oliver, the man who has been a grandfather to her all her life. When Logan, her father's apprentice and the very young man Rachel professed her undying love to and was rejected by, is named her Protector, Rachel's vehement defiance catches the terrifying eye of the Commander.
Logan tries to keep rachel under control long enough to put together a plan to find her father, but the headstrong young woman refuses to wait. In an attempt to escape over the wall, she is apprehended and has the opportunity to witness the Commander's cruelty all too close. But nothing will stop her from protecting the ones she loves, even if it means leaving the safe walls of the city to roam the Wasteland and risk being burned alive or devoured by the Cursed One.
This was a book that has it all: monsters, dystopia, human folly that gave way to an apocalyptic future, controlling rulers, and feisty ladies. I loved it! Rachel was strong, brave, and quite stubborn, and that made me like her all the more. She was like so many girls I know, love, and am related to! Rachel wouldn't take no for an answer, and her love for her father was one I am sure we can all relate to. Logan was also a very dynamic character. His background as a starving wretch who was saved by Rachel's father and Oliver added to the ferocity with which he protected his job as a courier/tracker. Add to that his loyalty to Rachel's family and burning rage toward the Commander and you have quite a match!
This is a great book not only for the kids who like dystopias, but also for those girls who need a butt-kickin' heroine to love and root for. There is some violence and the control of the Commander is pretty vile stuff. The book ends in a way that keeps you wanting more but doesn't leave you cursing the book Gods who think it is funny to cheat us of any possible resolution (jerks). So let loose your Defiant streak, ladies. It's time you had some fun!
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