Review: Article 5

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Summary: New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don’t come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

My Thoughts: Article 5 is very good. I was hooked right from the start, and couldn’t stop until it was over. While this is the first in a planned series, it ends very satisfactorily. It left me wanting more, but could be read on its own, too. While there are bigger things happening, the central issues to the story are resolved.

Ember (I really don’t like that name) is why I didn’t rate this higher. She’s very naive, jumps to conclusions, and despite her naivete, thinks she knows more than she does. She’s very wishy-washy in regards to Chase, and I wanted to smack her on occasion. There are lots of things about how she is with Chase – her attitude regarding him – that rubbed me the wrong way. She’s mad at him for leaving her, despite the fact that he was drafted. And it seems that in that society, there isn’t much choice in the matter. She blames him for doing his job,

Spoiler

which it turns out is her fault. He wanted her to tell him not to go when he was drafted. But she insisted he go. And here she is blaming HIM for everything? It’s not HER fault, either, but his leaving kinda is. Um, honey, you sorta pushed him away! Sheesh!

From his very appearance in the book, it’s clear that he’s doing his best to try to protect her without making things worse. But she doesn’t see that. She’s so mad about him abandoning her. She’s selfish, immature, and I got tired of it. Fortunately, the whole story isn’t her being pissed at Chase. There’s enough other stuff going on that it didn’t ruin the story for me. Plus, by the end she learns a lot, grows a lot, and that makes it much easier for me to overlook her flaws when I think on the book as a whole. And, really, if I’m honest with myself, I think the bigger problem is that I’m twice her age. I don’t think like a teenager anymore. Really, she’s a very believable depiction of a teenage girl who is scared, lost, confused, and doubly so because of her crush. And like I said, she grows. She learns. She matures. And by the time the book ends, I like her a lot more than I did for most of the story.

Don’t let my complaints about Ember discourage you. Article 5 is an excellent read. I would have read it in one sitting if I was able. The romance between the two isn’t the central focus (nice) – it’s actually balanced perfectly with the rest of the book. I look forward to seeing what’s next in the series. I would highly recommend this to dystopian fans. If you enjoyed Matched by Ally Condie, Delirium by Lauren Kate, The Hunger Games, etc., you’ll love Article 5.

Source: Received through The {Teen} Book Scene for review. (Click the button below for more tour stops.)

Read It: Get your own copy HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

Challenges: Counts for the Speculative Fiction Challenge 2012.

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FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own.

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