Recent Reads: Gated by Amy Christine Parker

Gated by Amy Christine Parker
Publisher: Random House Audio, Listening Library
Available: Now! August 6th, 2013 

 

Source: Random House Audio for Review
Format: Audiobook

My rating:



Goodreads Synopsis:

She thought the evil lived outside the walls. She was wrong.

Amy Christine Parker's deliciously chilling prose creates a fast-paced, nerve-fraying contemporary thriller that questions loyalties and twists truths.

In the Community, life seems perfect. Lyla Hamilton believes she is one of the chosen. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Pioneer invited her family to join the Community and escape the evil in the world. They've thrived under his strict, charismatic leadership. Now seventeen, Lyla knows certain facts are not to be questioned:

Pioneer is her leader.
Will is her Intended.
The end of the world is near.

Pioneer has visions of the imminent destruction of humanity. He says his chosen must prepare to fight off the unchosen people, who will surely seek refuge in the Silo, the underground shelter where the Community will wait out the apocalypse.

Lyla loves her family and friends, but a chance encounter with an unchosen boy has her questioning Pioneer, the Community--everything. She needs time to figure out the truth. But with Pioneer's deadline for the end of days fast approaching, time is the one thing she doesn't have.

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Review: Gated is an interesting story about a girl names Lyla who lives with a group called the Community. They live outside of cities and towns and off the land and are preparing for the very worst, the end of days. They are the chosen ones and Pioneer their leader has ben preparing them for the doom of the planet.

Lyla and her family move in with the Community after her sister is kidnapped and her parents start to mistrust the world outside. Pioneer gave them their salvation, a remote world where they will live and prosper and the wicked world will die.

I have to admit that I was not a fan of this story in the beginning. I have trouble with people that do not question things and follow the herd so to speak. So in the beginning Lyla was annoying and I could not relate to her at all… I didn’t like her and I didn’t like the cult atmosphere.

I think the turning point for me was when she does begin to question how she lives, and that comes about when a boy from the outside enters her community and she starts to fall for him and seeing the cracks in the Community’s plan and preparations.

The chapters all began with quotes, from Pioneer her leader, the Bible, and other notorious cult leaders. These were interesting and set up each of the chapters more than I realized. I though they were an interesting snippet.

Like I said, Lyla, I wasn’t really a huge fan of in the beginning, but she did seem to grow on me the stronger she got as an individual breaking away from the beliefs of the Community.

I finished the book pretty quickly all things considered and it was enjoyable and entertaining. I would recommend for those with and interest in cults (there was a good amount of research doe to portray this group I felt), and for those that enjoy a good internal struggle in characters (because this is a big one).


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