Review: Rebellion (Extraction #2)

18625184Title: Rebellion (Extraction #2)
Author: Stephanie Diaz
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian
Pages: 324
Review Copy: publisher
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Availability: February 10th, 2015

Summary: The uprising has begun.It’s been seven days since Clementine and Logan, along with their allies, retreated into hiding on the Surface. The rebels may have won one battle against Commander Charlie, but the fight is far from finished. He has vowed to find a way to win—no matter the cost. Do the rebels have what it takes to defeat him…and put an end to this war?
As Clementine and Logan enter a desperate race against time to defeat Commander Charlie—and attempt to weaken his power within his own ranks—they find themselves in a terrifying endgame that pits them against a brutal enemy, and each other. With every step, Clementine draws closer to losing Logan…and losing control of herself. [Image and summary via Goodreads]

Review: Rebellion is the sequel to Extraction, which is definitely a great dystopian/sci-fi YA book to get on your reading list! As with most dystopian and sci-fi books, there’s plenty of detailed settings and descriptions used to set the tone in the first book. If you don’t read Extraction first, you’ll be at sea with Rebellion.

That said, Rebellion is a solid follow-up to Extraction. At the beginning of Extraction, Clementine is one of the chosen few who gets to be taken to the Earth’s Core to live, safe from the poisonous acid that rains down from the moon and poisons the surface of the world. Clementine then uncovers various conspiracies that would be super spoilers if I mentioned them here, so I won’t. Suffice it to say that the ending takes the series to the next level. The book goes from standard dystopian to awesome sci-fi in one big plot twist.

As with Extraction, Rebellion is slow going at first. It follows the tried-and-true dystopian story line of Girl Against the Government, but with one main difference: Clementine’s past traumas and fears do play a role in the book, and are portrayed consistently, for the most part. The book hits its stride in the second half, when it switches gears from dystopian to a more sci-fi take.

Still, Rebellion leaves a few questions unanswered. Like a lot of dystopian YA, there’s always the mystery of what makes the protagonist so special? Why is she the One to rise up against the government? But with the Extraction series’ track record of sweet sci-fi plot twists, I have faith that any mysteries about Clementine will be resolved in the last book.

This is a drastic oversimplification, but: The Extraction series is like Divergent and Ender’s Game had a baby. A less problematic, more girl-power-awesome baby. Rebellion is a great book for anyone who’s a fan of dystopian YA or sci-fi. (Seriously, though, read the first book Extraction before Rebellion, or you’re going to be so confused.) I’m definitely looking forward to reading the sequel to Rebellion!

Recommendation: Get it soon!