Captives by Jill Williamson
The Safe Lands series: Book One
Zondervan/Blink/ 2013
About the book:
One choice could destroy them all.
When eighteen-year-old Levi returned from Denver City with his latest scavenged finds, he never imagined he’d find his village of Glenrock decimated, loved ones killed, and many—including his fiancée, Jem–taken captive. Levi is determined to rescue what remains of his people, even if it means entering the Safe Lands, a walled city that seems anything but safe.
Omar knows he betrayed his brother by sending him away, but helping the enforcers was necessary. Living off the land and clinging to an outdated religion holds his village back. The Safe Land has protected people since the plague decimated the world generations ago … and its rulers have promised power and wealth beyond Omar’s dreams.
Meanwhile, their brother Mason has been granted a position inside the Safe Lands, and may be able to use his captivity to save not only his people, but also find a cure for the virus that threatens everyone inside the Safe Lands.
Can Mason uncover the truth hidden behind the Safe Land’s façade before it’s too late?
When eighteen-year-old Levi returned from Denver City with his latest scavenged finds, he never imagined he’d find his village of Glenrock decimated, loved ones killed, and many—including his fiancée, Jem–taken captive. Levi is determined to rescue what remains of his people, even if it means entering the Safe Lands, a walled city that seems anything but safe.
Omar knows he betrayed his brother by sending him away, but helping the enforcers was necessary. Living off the land and clinging to an outdated religion holds his village back. The Safe Land has protected people since the plague decimated the world generations ago … and its rulers have promised power and wealth beyond Omar’s dreams.
Meanwhile, their brother Mason has been granted a position inside the Safe Lands, and may be able to use his captivity to save not only his people, but also find a cure for the virus that threatens everyone inside the Safe Lands.
Can Mason uncover the truth hidden behind the Safe Land’s façade before it’s too late?
My rating:
My thoughts:
Having enjoyed two of Jill Williamson's previous books and being a huge fan of the dystopian books I've read, I was pretty sure I'd like Captives before I even started it... and my hunch was right!
The whole story matter was very interesting (the virus, how The Safe Lands' people need donors and surrogates to continue populating, etc.). I really liked the characters in Captives. My favorite was Mason, but I pretty much liked everyone except Mia and the "bad guys".
Captives has a wonderful cliff-hanger ending that makes me anxious to read the next book in the series! I'm excited to see where the story heads for Mason and his crew.
Overall, Captives was a really good read! There are a few things that might not be appropriate for young readers, but I definitely recommend this book to mature teens and adults who are fans of YA/dystopian novels.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book for my review. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*
Was my review helpful? If so, please click "yes" on Amazon. Thanks!!
~Excerpt from Captives~
~Team Novel Teen~
Team Novel Teen is a group of bloggers dedicated to spreading the word about clean teen fiction. Check out other posts about Captives by Jill Williamson by clicking on the links below, and click here for more information about Team Novel Teen.
ADD Librarian • Blooming with Books • Bookworm Reading • Chris Kolmorgen • Christian Book Review Blog • Christian Bookshelf Reviews • CTF Devourer • Emily Rachelle Writes • Heavenward Reviews • Jessica Laurie • Labor Not in Vain • The Life of a Teenage Writer • The Maniacal Bookworm • Mrs. Southern Bride • Oh, Restless Bird • Pages from My Journal • The Pen and Parchment • Rachelle Rea • The Ramblings of a Young Author • Realm of Hearts • Shadow Writer World • A Simple Life, Really?! • Surrendering All of Me • Terri Harr • Verbosity Book Reviews • Who YA Reading? • Worthy2Read • The Writings of Rosie
Book Giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
~Excerpt from Captives~
~Team Novel Teen~
Team Novel Teen is a group of bloggers dedicated to spreading the word about clean teen fiction. Check out other posts about Captives by Jill Williamson by clicking on the links below, and click here for more information about Team Novel Teen.
ADD Librarian • Blooming with Books • Bookworm Reading • Chris Kolmorgen • Christian Book Review Blog • Christian Bookshelf Reviews • CTF Devourer • Emily Rachelle Writes • Heavenward Reviews • Jessica Laurie • Labor Not in Vain • The Life of a Teenage Writer • The Maniacal Bookworm • Mrs. Southern Bride • Oh, Restless Bird • Pages from My Journal • The Pen and Parchment • Rachelle Rea • The Ramblings of a Young Author • Realm of Hearts • Shadow Writer World • A Simple Life, Really?! • Surrendering All of Me • Terri Harr • Verbosity Book Reviews • Who YA Reading? • Worthy2Read • The Writings of Rosie
Book Giveaway!
Enter to win a copy of Captives by Jill Williamson! Giveaway is only open to US residents and ends 6/10. To enter, be sure to sign into the Rafflecopter form and click “enter” on each entry you complete. Commenting alone will not get you entered – you must click enter on the form. Happy entering!
Thanks for the contest Melanie! I heard about this book during the last Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt when Jill was being interviewed on one of the blogs. She said that she got the concept for the book while attending a Beth Moore simulcast. It's amazing how God gives creative ideas when we least expect them! Have a great day, G.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter would love this. Maybe not the cliffhanger part, but I did enjoy the excerpt that you have of the first 26 pages and they include a map.
ReplyDeleteInteresting storyli - thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
ReplyDeletebonnieroof60@yahoo.com
Really liked this one too!! Jill did a great job.
ReplyDeleteGood review!I think Jill did a great job with her world-building! Out of curiosity, what other dystopian books have you read? I've only just recently begun reading in this genre and have enjoyed it, but discovered it's hard to find these kind of books with a positive spin. I've read Captives, the Divergent books by Veronica Roth, Evan Angler's book Swipe, and Legend by Marie Lu (which I found more depressing than uplifting). Any recommendations?
ReplyDeleteI definitely recommend Corridor by Robin Parrish (it's one of my all-time favorite books - can hardly wait to read the sequel when it releases!).
DeleteI've also read The Hunger Games series (book three was a little sad/disappointing), Divergent and Insurgent, The Maze Runner by James Dashner (didn't really like this book that much), Books 1-3 in the Swipe series by Evan Angler, and Books 1-4 in the Future Savior series by Jennifer Harts (really liked the story but I didn't like the heated kissing scenes and some of the words used in the books). I think that's all the dystopian books I've read so far. :)
Thanks! I'll definitely have to check out Corridor! :)
DeleteSounds awesome!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway! God bless!
ReplyDeleteI love how you put the scribd chapter in there. How did you do that???
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. I love Mason too. :-)
It's really easy. Just go to scribd.com, go to the document you want to include, and at the top it'll say "embed". Click that and copy the html. Then you just add it to the post. :) Glad you liked that I included that. :)
DeleteThanks for commenting, Jill! Looking forward to reading the next book in this series. :)
awesome review and giveaway.thanks for the preview!
ReplyDeleteGood review, Melanie -- thanks for teaching me something (i.e.m how to emed the scrobd.com document).
ReplyDeleteWhat thing about the Safe Lands did you like or think might be OK to experience?
Looking forward to the next book!
Looking forward to reading this one! Great review!
ReplyDeleteThis book looks pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteThis looks so great! Thanks for sharing with us! I adore that cover as well.
ReplyDeleteBooks like this make me wonder whether the author had any influence from friends and family while writing it.
Thanks for the giveaway!
mestith at gmail dot com
I agree it was amazing!
ReplyDeleteI liked that I liked everyone except Mia and the bad guys, too! Even Omar was relatable and caught my sympathy. I look forward to the next book and seeing what happens next!
ReplyDeleteI think my sons may enjoy reading this. It is so hard to find books that teen boys can enjoy. :)
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted to read this book! I have heard so many amazing things about this book and the reviews I have read have been really good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Giveaway!
Sounds awesome! Can't wait to read it :)
ReplyDeleteNice review! The premise for Captives seems really unique, especially when some dystopians can kind of blur together sometimes; I haven't heard of anything quite like this.
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely give this one a try ... I guess Ted Dekker's Circle series could be described as a type of dystopian fantasy genre, but I was disappointed in the ending. This one sounds intriguing though!
ReplyDeleteLike your review, definitely looking forward to book 2.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Robin Parrish's Dominion Trilogy or Offworld?
I read Robin Parrish's trilogy years ago and Offworld last year. I've also read Nightmare (loved it) and my two favorites of his, Corridor and Vigilante.
DeleteThis book sounds so interesting, and one I look forward to putting on my "to read" list! I have always enjoyed stories and shows based on the end of the world we know, and the what happens when people are forced to start over, or more like try to survive. I have been inspired by these to write a novel based on this kind of event, so I'd love to read this and see how this author pulls it off. :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so good, definitely up my alley.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the contest! I love Jill's books.
ReplyDeletethanks for the chance
ReplyDeleteSounds like an awesome book. Would love to read it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for entering me in your contest.
Barbara Thompson
barbmaci61(at)yahoo(dot)com
Thanks for giving me a chance to participate in this awesome giveaway. God bless you :)
ReplyDelete