Astrid is the surrogate for Princess Renya, which means she bears the physical punishment if Renya steps out of line. Astrid has no choice—she and her family are Outsiders, the lower class of people without magic and without citizenship.
But there is a way out of this life—competing in the deadly Race of Oblivion. To enter the race, an Outsider is administered the drug Oblivion, which wipes their memory clear of their past as they enter a new world with nothing to help them but a slip of paper bearing their name and the first clue. It's not as simple as solving a puzzle, however—for a majority of the contestants, the race ends in death. But winning would mean not only freedom for Astrid, but citizenship and health care for her entire family. With a dying father to think of, Astrid is desperate to prevail.
From the beginning, the race is filled with twists and turns. One of them is Darius, a fellow racer Astrid meets but isn't sure she can trust. Though they team up in the race, as Astrid's memories begin to resurface, she remembers just who he was to her—a scorned foe who may want revenge. Astrid also starts to notice she has powers no Outsider should—which could help her win the race, but also make her a target if anyone finds out. With stakes that couldn’t be higher, Astrid must decide what is more important: risking her life to remember the mysteries of the past, or playing a cutthroat game in order to win her—and her family's—freedom.
My Review:
This book was kinda intense to read. I mean, surrogates who get punished instead of the royal family? And a race that kills the contestants as well as starts off with them having their memory being taken away? Yeah, pretty intense!
Astrid was pretty fantastic, she loses half her family in this book, either because they ran away or because they died, as well as her mom passed before the book began. And then she goes and does this race, that could kill her. She's strong, she's endured whipping from the princess's behaviour, but she's still friends with Renya. I really enjoyed watching her go on this journey!
There's one or two things that I would've liked to know. One, what did Prince Lars do that caused that punishment that caused Jasper to run away? Kinda seemed important. And secondly, what changes was the king going to be making, that would make things better for Outsiders?
The way things ended, things are in a bad spot, but there's hope for the future. But while it wraps up the story line, well, it's also open for a sequel, because I still have lingering questions, and want to know what's going to happen next. I have an idea, but I don't know if that's how things would play out, and I want to know!
Really enjoyed reading this book, and yeah, wouldn't mind a sequel!
Author: Julie Eshbaugh
Read: August 16th, 2019
Source: Edelweiss
Reason Why: I enjoy her writing, and it's a SAC 2019 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Harper Teen
Expected Publication: November 12th 2019
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| 5/5 Hearts |
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| 5/5 Books |
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| 5/5 Stars |
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