The Moon Dwellers by David Estes

By: Anonymous on Sunday, December 16, 2012

Title:  The Moon Dwellers

Author:  David Estes

Series:  The Dwellers #1

Published:  June 30th 2012 by David Estes (first published June 27th 2012)
Page Count:  262 pages

Genre:  Dystopian Young Adult
Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms.

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.

In their world, someone must die.

My Review:

Ok, so I finished this book about 10 minutes ago and have already purchased 2 sequels. I must say, I was captivated from page one to the final word. This is the first time in a very long time that I have read every word on every page of a book, not skimming a single sentence. Estes makes the weird seem real and very possible while intermingling moments of sheer comedic delight with suspense and heart warming personal moments.

Estes’ action packed story keeps you riveted page after page while he takes the pyramidal caste system found in every society throughout history and makes the differences and trials of each class poignantly clear. He helps demonstrate the differences between the classes by switching the speaker in each paragraph between the 2 main characters. As I am normally not a fan of this style of writing I was a bit leery at the beginning but the author keeps the different perspectives very clear and it greatly helps the progression of the story.

Within Estes’ work you feel like you are reading about real people and living every moment with them. The lack of “cardboard cut-out” characters coupled with the progression of real relationships between individuals draws you further and further into this post-apocalyptic world. You also see the beginnings of a forbidden love story makes your heart twist, hoping for the best but expecting the worst in the suspenseful, war torn era in which the characters find themselves. By the end of the novel I found myself dying to get my hands on the next volume in the series, needing to know what happened next and if everyone would be alright.

Get your copy of this book here today!!!!!