Synopsis: The year is 2041, and sixteen-year-old Molly McClure has lived a relatively quiet life on an isolated farming island in Canada, but when her family fears the worst may have happened to her grandparents in the US, Molly must brave the dangerous, chaotic world left after global economic collapse—one of massive oil shortages, rampant crime, and abandoned cities.
Molly is relieved to find her grandparents alive in their Portland suburb, but they’re financially ruined and practically starving. What should’ve been a quick trip turns into a full-fledged rescue mission. And when Molly witnesses something the local crime bosses wishes she hadn’t, Molly’s only way home may be to beat them at their own game. Luckily, there’s a handsome stranger who’s willing to help.
Restoring Harmony is a riveting, fast-paced dystopian tale complete with adventure and romance that readers will devour.
Molly is relieved to find her grandparents alive in their Portland suburb, but they’re financially ruined and practically starving. What should’ve been a quick trip turns into a full-fledged rescue mission. And when Molly witnesses something the local crime bosses wishes she hadn’t, Molly’s only way home may be to beat them at their own game. Luckily, there’s a handsome stranger who’s willing to help.
Restoring Harmony is a riveting, fast-paced dystopian tale complete with adventure and romance that readers will devour.
Details: Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony, 320 pages, 3.76 stars on Goodreads
My Thoughts: This one was another dystopian, which, as I've said, I'm getting a little tired of. Or maybe more than a little. Let me say something straight off - I didn't dislike the book, but I feel it just didn't stand out very much, especially given how many other dystopians there are out right now. I read this something like three weeks ago (I know, I'm so behind on reviews), and I don't even remember very much about this.
There's nothing I can find that's wrong with the book - the plot is interesting, the characters feel real, and there are places where I very much wanted to know what happened next. I was a little disappointed, though, because the cover was so pretty (I know, I know, don't judge a book by its cover) and I've heard so many great things about this. In the end, Restoring Harmony simply didn't grab me as much as I'd hoped.
One thing, actually, that bothered me was how easy everything was for Molly. I liked her - she was strong and a little feisty and definitely intriguing - but whenever something bad happened to her, she escaped about half a minute later. For instance, there was a scene when she was about to get raped, but then got rescued at the last moment. A lot of scenes like this occurred where they didn't do much for the plot nor did they affect her much, and I got the feeling that Joelle Anthony was just trying to show how dangerous the world was supposed to be without having anything really, really bad happen to Molly.
When I think of this book, the first word that comes to mind is "slow". The book itself wasn't slow-paced, but it wasn't as suspenseful as it could have been. I think I would have liked this much more if there was more tension, more of that quality that makes you sit on the edge of your seat (and slide off and fall on the floor, if you're me).
This review has been mostly negative, looking back, but I did enjoy parts of this. The romance was cute, and who doesn't like a girl who carries around a fiddle all the time? Molly is an amazing character, the kind of person I'd love to be friends with. She's kind and brave, but not all perfectly perfect like you sometimes see in YA.
(I'm going to try a new rating system, inspired by all the blogs I've seen on the hop.)
Plot - 2.5/5
Characters - 3.5/5
Writing - 3/5
Impact - 1/5
Overall - 50% = C
(Note: A "C" is similar to 3 stars, which is what I gave it on Goodreads.)
