The Ward #1
Jordana Frankel
Young Adult/Dystopian
480 pages
Katherine Tegen Books
Available April 30th
Received from publisher for review
THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Sixteen-year-old Ren is a daredevil mobile racer who will risk everything to survive in the Ward, what remains of a water-logged Manhattan. To save her sister, who is suffering from a deadly illness thought to be caused by years of pollution, Ren accepts a secret mission from the government: to search for a freshwater source in the Ward, with the hope of it leading to a cure.
However, she never expects that her search will lead to dangerous encounters with a passionate young scientist; a web of deceit and lies; and an earth-shattering mystery that’s lurking deep beneath the water’s rippling surface.
MY THOUGHTS
The Ward presents us with yet another bleak look at a possible future, a world where an airborne infection runs rampant, drinkable water is scarce despite entire cities being flooded, and the wealth of a few determines the fate of the many. While a disease-ridden post-apocalyptic setup is certainly nothing new, Ms. Frankel does create some very interesting elements given the prevalence of water, and while sometimes her obviously clear vision of this world doesn’t always translate for us as readers, there’s something fascinating about the pieces we are able to put together. The real strength of this story, however, lies in the characters themselves, our connection to them and their struggles overwhelming any confusion we experience with the world-building and ensuring we add this book to the list of series we wish to continue.
We initially meet Ren as a rough-and-tumble thirteen year-old who’s been raised in an orphanage and has watched as everyone around her gets adopted out. As a result, she makes absolutely no attempts to form attachments to anyone knowing they will inevitably leave her behind. Spending time with this younger version of Ren in the prologue gives us a much deeper understanding of the Ren we’re with for the remainder of the story, laying a beautifully painful foundation for the fight Ren is about to undertake in order to save the one girl who dodged, ducked, and destroyed every single one of Ren’s defenses to make her way straight into Ren’s heart.
Ren is as strong as they come (though she often thinks the opposite of herself), someone who would likely laugh in your face if you wanted to have a heart to heart, but who so clearly feels deeply an passionately about the select few people in her life. She projects a strictly superficial persona, letting people know only the things she wants them to know and nothing more, making our access to her fears, her pain, and her desperation to save Aven all the more intimate and profound. The extraordinarily subtle romance between her and longtime crush Derek is well-executed, the romance not a foregone conclusion as so many are in young adult fiction, but rather it's a quiet yet powerful connection pulsing with so many intricacies we quickly realize it could either progress into something meaningful or devolve into something dark and hurtful.
While the depth of Ren’s character does make up for a few of the drawbacks of this story, our love for her can’t act as a plug for every hole we find. There are some things about her past–particularly the fact that she is immune to the virus sweeping through the Ward as well as the reasons why she was never adopted–that plague us as we try and lose ourselves in this watery future. Additionally, there are several aspects of the world that are difficult to grasp because we simply can’t picture them; namely the way the mobiles Ren is so gifted at piloting actually race from rooftop to rooftop. There are a multitude of scenes depicting the races themselves and several action-packed sequences involving these vehicles, but given their complexity and the foreignness of how they work, we find ourselves distanced from the story during the times we should be holding our breath in anticipation. Overall though, I simply have to know what’s to come of Ren, Aven, and Derek, so I am eagerly anticipating book two.
Rating: World-building/plot – 3.5/5
Characters – 4/5
More information on Jordana and The Ward can be found here:
Hm.. with my Dystopia reading slump I didn't want to pick it up before. But.. there is this beautiful cover and with you giving it such good ratings. I love great characters it's what I usually find most exciting about agood story.. However, at the same time I hate it when things doesn't make sense or when the world is not developed enough..
ReplyDeleteI was definitely confused in a couple areas, but I really liked Ren. A lot of people weren't fans of Derek, but I liked him, and I liked that their romance wasn't a given - it was and will continue to be a challenge:)
DeleteI like that you separated the character rating from the world-building rating. I do think that some of the plot/world-building holes that you've mentioned would be bothersome, though it does sound like Ren, Aven, and Derek make for fine entertainment. Truthfully I am much more of a character than world person, so this sounds awesome :). Also sounds like the romance is just up my alley! yay!!!
ReplyDeleteI felt like I had to with this one. There were some definite flaws for me with how the world worked and some questions lingering about Ren's past, but I so enjoyed Ren herself:)
DeleteI need to get back to my dystopia but I always get so disappointed in later books
ReplyDeleteI'm really curious to see where this one goes:)
DeleteI've seen this book around and I'm really curious about it. This is the first review I'm reading about it and really I want this. Ren sounds awesome. I mean you get to really meet her there. I'm only a bit scared of world-building. Great review Jenny :)
ReplyDeleteI really liked the world Tanja, I just had some questions about it that weren't answered in this one. And the cars she raced were confusing for me, so I got ejected from the story in those scenes because I didn't fully understand.
DeleteI'm definitely liking the sound of Ren's character, she seems so complex, but so raw and honest too. I think that I wouldn't have a hard time connecting with her character, which is great, as that's what really makes a novel for me. Her romance with Derek sounds so sweet, and I'm glad everything about it is not covered in The Ward. The world building would probably be a bit too much for me, but I think because of the characters alone I would still give The Ward a try. Great review Jenny! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved Ren Jasprit! And Derek is a tricky character, you'll learn some things about him that make you see him differently, but again, I liked that. I liked that he wasn't always worthy of her affection, it made their relationship interesting.
DeleteI have never reallyl paid attention to this book, but your first paragraph kinda drew me in, I must say. Honestly, I haven't even bothered to read the synopsis and I only now noticed what an awesome cover it has. The thing that you connected with the characters and a strong heroine and found them even better than the world building is always better in my eyes than an original plot without relatable characters. I'm glad you found this to your liking and you're excited to continue the series:-) Yay!
ReplyDeleteI agree, characters are always the most important element for me. I can overlook a lot of things if the characters are ones I fall madly in love with:)
DeleteIt's a shame that there are so many flaws in this, despite the excellent heroine. I've seen mixed reviews of this one, but I suppose I'll skip it, merely because I need a break from dystopian novels. Still, lovely, balanced review, Jenny!(:
ReplyDeleteThanks Keertana! I definitely had some small issues with the world, but overall I really enjoyed it. It was just one of those times where I could tell the author could see everything clear as day in her head, it just wasn't always written in a way where we could share that clarity.
DeleteAwesome review Jenny!!!!!! Ren sounds like a wonderful character. I also would have wondered why she didn't get adopted and a description of the mobiles.
ReplyDeleteCool technology in another world is the best. You should try the Leviathan trilogy; there is so much intricate steampunck machinery!
Ooooo I do love steampunk! I'll have to give those a try, thanks Rachel!
DeleteI definitely agree with the differentiated ratings. The plot was good but had some holes but the characters were all well-developed. Loved Ren! She was a strong character who really pulled the story along in her wake.
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm so glad you liked Ren too, she just grabbed me from the beginning. I hope we get a few of those holes with the world filled in moving forward:)
DeleteIt sounds like this is one of those books where you either love it (for the characters) or hate it (for the plot holes).
ReplyDeleteI am glad that even though it has some issues you were still able to enjoy it.
Most likely. I've read a lot of mixed reviews, but Ren and the secondary characters made this book really enjoyable for me!
DeleteI love this cover. I seriously do. It's what attracted me to the story in the first place, plus I heard about it right after Hurricane Sandy and it seemed eerie since NYC was underwater in many places.
ReplyDeleteGabrielle raved about this book and I definitely want to read it, but I'm glad I know going in that the world building skills are a little thin. Not what I want to hear, but at least I won't be needlessly frustrated.
I can't imagine how hard it is to build a world from nothing and try to make an audience be able to envision things. There's such a fine line and I'm a little glad Frankel erred on the side of vague versus overly wordy monologues of pure description.
Great review, Jenny! I can't wait to meet Ren myself!
I can't imagine either, and the foundation for the world was great, I just wasn't able to see certain things as clearly as I wanted to. Particularly the mobiles and the racing, I would just be lost in those scenes, but that may not happen to everyone:)
DeleteWOW! That is usually a reverse--the characters are sometimes lacking in a dystopian and it sounds like this one really did great on the characterizations :) YEAH!
ReplyDeleteI thought the characters in this one were awesome! The world-building/plot were intriguing, I just had some questions about certain things that weren't addressed in any way:)
Deletethanks for your review and totally agree with it. I loved the characters but i agree it needed more world building. I enjoyed Ren, derek , aven.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I loved all the characters and I can't wait to see what happens to them in book 2!
DeleteHm it's nice to read a more positive review of this one. I have to be honest and say that I had written it off because everyone was talking about the lack of world building. I am so done with dystopians that just don't bring it in the department. I need details authors!!! I'm happy that you did like this one overall, Jenny, it gives me new hope! Fabulous review!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say the world-building was lacking per se, at least not for me, I would just say there are some practical questions that aren't answered. I know a lot of people were wanting to know about desalination and why they didn't develop that process, but that didn't bother me so much, I had more questions about Ren's immunity to the virus that's never explained.
DeleteI'm glad that you enjoyed this more than I did, Jenny! I had a lot of issues with the lack of world-building and I also thought certain scenes were unclear. Plus, I never warmed up to the love interest and I was happy for something to happen between Ren and the doctor. I don't think I'll be reading the next installment because I don't have the energy to read books that lack world building anymore.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, lovely review as usual, Jenny!
I was definitely confused during ever racing scene. I just couldn't picture it in my head, so she lost me when Ren was driving, which was fairly often. I did love Ren though. I'll read the next one when it comes out and will let you know if some things are made clearer!
DeleteI'm intrigued by the difference in rating. Like Felicia said, it's usually the opposite. But. BUT. I like a story where the characters totally win you over. Sometimes it's enough to make up for those lackluster worlds.
ReplyDeleteRen sounds awesome! That's disappointing that there are some worldbuilding issues, the world of a futuristic novel is so important to the overall story. It still sounds like a great book to check out of the library, though.
ReplyDeleteFabulous review, Jenny!
Ooooh this has been on my radar, as I loved the cover and blurp..I am thrilled that you liked this and that the characters were so good and despite the world-building issues I am ready to read this! thanks Jenny:)
ReplyDeleteWow, Ren sounds amazing, but it's a shame the plot and worldbuilding needed more work. "While the depth of Ren’s character does make up for a few of the drawbacks of this story, our love for her can’t act as a plug for every hole we find." <---this beautifully sums up my feelings on every dystopian/sci-fi I've loved for the characters alone, and it sounds like that would be the case here. Even so, I'm a character kind of gal, so I'm still pretty excited to read my ARC. Great review, Jenny! :-)
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering if the world building in this one would bother me a lot. I'm still not sure, but I may be able to forgive with the characterization... at least some of it. I have a feeling I would feel split like you and have to give it 2 different reviews for each part of the book. Still, dystopian really does need some good world building for it to really work. Yep, I'm on the fence for this one.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I know there are authors (and reviewers and critics and whatnot) who consider prologues to be a sign of poor writing and overall damaging for the narrative, but darn it, I can't help loving them. Ever since that amazing prologue in Brenna Yovanoff's The Space Between, I've been craving another one just like it.
ReplyDeleteBut I digress...
It's nice to see a different opinion on this one. So far the reviews havent been all that enthusiasic, but I'm all about the characters and I think I'd forgive almost anything because of Ren's awesomeness.
Lovely review as always, my friend.
A lot of reviewers have been echoing the same points about the world-building. That worries me a little, but I do like the sound of the characters. And subtle, quiet romances are usually my favourite kind, so I really want to give it a try now for that alone. Fantastic review, Jenny!
ReplyDeleteI've been so wary lately about picking this book up because so many reviews have been complaining the lack of execution in this dystopian world, but I'm so glad that you were able to appreciate the main character, Ren, along with the love interests. I wish Frankel could have done a better job with the vehicles, because I love intense scenes. Maybe I'll still end up picking this one up just for the characters! Thanks for the lovey and helpful review, Jenny. :)
ReplyDeleteJenny, I have still yet to read it but I think Chayse like it. I think I'm going to give it a try anyway. I just won't have my hopes up. (In case, you know, I don't like it.)
ReplyDeleteI have read quite a few reviews for this now and it seems like most have said some of the world building bothered them, or wasn't done well. But it sounds like it's a pretty decent read. I do have a copy of it but I'm not sure when I'll be able to read it. Wonderful review!
ReplyDeleteWell, I blew up the picture as large as I could and the only thing I saw that I hadn't seen before was the girl, Ren, I'm guessing is in the Title of the book. I couldn't see anything that looked like it was zipping over the buildings. Sometimes it helps. This time it didn't. So bummer. But that you're still that interested in the series says a lot about it. I can see where traveling in the water might be hazardous as it looks like Niagara Falls is right there!
ReplyDeleteI like that you rated the characters so high. I'm a character girl (yes I have said that a lot) and I'll do a lot of overlooking if the characters are well written. So this one goes on the list of wants.
Heather
Beautiful review, Jenny. You obviously know a lot about this genre!
ReplyDeleteFantastic review, Jenny! The cover is so eye catching. It stinks that you didn't like the world-building as much as the characters. I find that is the case with many dystopians that I read. Nevertheless, I will keep my eye out for this book!
ReplyDeleteI do love dystopian with romance. A romance involving a long-time crush?!! Sign me up. Let's hope it doesn't turn dark and hurtful. This sounds like a promising read to me, Jenny. Brilliant review! :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm...I've seen such mixed reviews of this one that I've been wary to start it...the fact that you really enjoyed the characters makes me much more likely to pick it up.
ReplyDelete