Dystopian Young Adult novels are very popular these days. Between the popularity of The Hunger Games and Divergent series and a few others out there, there were bound to be some Christian versions of this popular genre right now. Captives, the first book in The Safe Lands series written by Jill Williamson, does not disappoint.
The year is 2088 and three brothers are trying to find their way in their small village. When Omar, the youngest, decides to show the other villagers that there is a better life for them inside the Safe Lands, he doesn’t realize the true cost until it’s too late. Mason feels backward from the other men in the village. He is training to be a doctor (usually a woman’s job) and he doesn’t like to hunt or scavenge like the other males. Inside the Safe Lands Mason finds a job where he can learn and help some of the other members of their village. Levi comes home after being tricked by Omar to find no one left in his village, including his fiancée, gone. He is determined to find them and bring them back.
Captives is a fast moving, page turner. You want Levi and Mason to succeed in their missions. It took me a couple of weeks to pick this book up to read it but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. It’s nice to have a dystopian YA story with Biblical principles throughout.
****Booksneeze and Zondervan publishing provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I was not compensated in any way for either a positive or a negative review.