Will I love The 100?

This book takes what would seem–on the surface–to be an incredibly grim and morally gray story and frames it such that it can be read by younger audiences. I read this book when I was eleven years old, and it truly laid the groundwork for my current love of dystopian sci-fi.

The premise is unique, the characters have complex motivations, and the stakes are endlessly high–after all, humanity was in a bad enough position that it was willing to drop a hundred teenagers on an irradiated planet. In my opinion, such a difficult decision casts a very realistic light on… show more.

Clarke is a natural leader who wants to take care of everyone but herself, and she will sacrifice her safety for others all in a world that defies the logic of the one she’d always known. She is frail and emotional, but tough when she needs to be, and she develops close bonds with just a few special people, while caring about all, even the ones she wants to shoot with a rifle or hang by a rope.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war made their home uninhabitable, humanity has lived on ships far above the Earth’s surface. That is, until 100 juvenile prisoners are sent down on a dangerous mission – to recolonize the planet. It will either be their second chance at life, or a short-lived suicide mission. Clarke is among the 100, and faces not only the challenges of an abandoned planet but also the ghosts of her past. 

It has been a long time since I read something that I simply couldn’t put down, but this is a series of books that had me… show more.