The Wicked We Have Done

Chaos Theory #1

by Sarah Harian

Twenty-two-year-old Evalyn Ibarra never expected to be an accused killer and experimental prison test subject. A year ago, she was a normal college student. Now she’s been sentenced to a month in the compass room—an advanced prison obstacle course designed by the government to execute justice.

If she survives, the world will know she’s innocent.

Locked up with nine notorious and potentially psychotic criminals, Evalyn must fight the prison and dismantle her past to stay alive. But the system prized for accuracy appears to be killing at random.

She doesn’t plan on making friends.

She doesn’t plan on falling in love, either.

Genres: New Adult, Dystopia, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Thriller, Fantasy

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 18, 2014

About the author

Sarah Harian grew up in the foothills of Yosemite and received her B.A. and M.F.A. from Fresno State University. She spends her free time listening to movie scores and dreaming up monsters, and lives with her husband in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 2 out of 5]

The man I shot was named Jason Earhart, dean of the math department. But then, he was only a body.
I am wicked because the moment Jason died, the only thing I felt was relief.
I murdered an innocent man in cold blood.

I'm sorry, am I supposed to like you?. This is a book about the nature of good and evil, and it completely failed to convince me that any of the criminals within this book deserved a second chance at life. I am not pro-death penalty by any means. This book just failed to be convincing on the grounds of speculative fiction.

This book tries to present the premise that a criminal may be granted a new lease on life if their minds, their genetic makeup is pure. That despite their murderous crime, they could still be goooooooooood inside.

Bullshit.

This book is an inconsistent, flashback-filled mess, with an unreliable first-person narrator. We are told that Evalyn is a murderer, and yet there's no attempt at building sympathy for her whatsoever. She shows no remorse; all we got is a self-pity-party, there was nary a mention of the people whom she was purported to have killed. How am I supposed to care about her? There's plenty of guts and blood, but it was purely gratuitous. I was gnawing on a small pork hock while reading a scene where a girl's head exploded, spraying bloody brain matter all over the fucking place without feeling a twinge of nausea. The violence is there only for shock value, because I didn't give a damn about any of the characters and I didn't care whether they lived or got gutted or died. There was no emotion to any of the deaths within this book.

What's the saying, "Do the crime, do the time?" Yeah. It may not be perfect, but our current justice system mostly works. So what the fuck is with this new Compass Room shit? I don't get it! What's the fucking point?!

It's not just the premise, the characters and how they're presented completely failed to back up the idea of inner goodness vs. "evil" acts. I feel that a person should be judged by their actions, not their thoughts. We all have a darkness within us. It's up to us to suppress that evil. This book completely failed to convince me on the concept of the Compass Room, and it didn't convince me that the criminals and killers within deserve to live through the experience.

The Summary:

Fifteen years ago, government scientists manufactured an accurate test for morality—an obstacle course, where the simulations within proved whether a candidate was good or evil. It was named a Compass Room.

Evalyn is a mass murderer.

The footage of my crime rolls. Crying families outside Roosevelt College. Students and professors wailing, screaming. FBI, police, bomb squad.
All storming the school to catch one of the shooters who initiated fifty-six deaths.
All storming the school to catch me.

She is one of eight who has killed 56 people at her college. She got caught, and now she is most likely going to die.

But not through the death penalty.

She has chosen the trials of the Compass Room. The Compass Room is a technology developed to determine the true morality within a person. It is a moral obstacle course, and it will kill those who are truly evil.

After the law passed, engineers updated the Rooms to kill the wicked. They became the most accurate form of the death penalty ever created.

It's not entirely clear how the Compass Room ("CR") works, but Evalyn is one of 10 criminals, all of them murderers, who will enter the CR to be tried. 10 will go in, statistics say that an average of 2.5 will make it out. The guys, girls, all in their teens through their 20s, are all multiple murderers. They are hoping for a chance to prove that their minds are good, that they deserve to live.

They enter the CR, and it's not as they expected. For one thing, it's not a room. It's a vast expanse of space that changes, that moves them from one "Testing" environment in different scenarios. From a plush mountain resort with top-shelf liquors to a wilderness where they have to scrounge for food. The only thing that remains consistent is the nightmares---or rather, the "Tests" that pop up to evaluate their goodness.

She creeps to me, shoulders erect. Her head hangs at an angle, stringy blonde hair falling limply around her shoulders, eyes sunken in their sockets.
“Shh.” She reaches out, like she’s going to place a finger to my lips. I shut my eyes, waiting for her touch.
“Don’t tell him I’m here. I want it to be a surprise.”

And the tests can be deadly. There is no trial by jury here. One wrong motion means death.

Clasping her hands on either side of his head, she twists, elbows swinging as she snaps his neck in half.

Except when it doesn't. Because it seems that the morality in this book is pretty relative.

Casey hacks and hacks, blood splattering across his face and clothes as he rips the knife away. He doesn’t stop, not when his dad has to be dead—again—his back nothing more than ripped denim and mangled pockets of swelling blood.
My breath rattles through the air. Nothing happens.

Aaaand that's pretty much it. They find food. They fall in love. They survive. They make friends. They're all criminals, some of whom are intrinsically good inside? Whatever. I don't care.

The Premise:

Fifteen years ago, government scientists manufactured an accurate test for morality—an obstacle course, where the simulations within proved whether a candidate was good or evil. It was named a Compass Room.

Look, I don't give a flying fuck if your DNA is made up of flowers petals and a sprinkling of unicorn dust. If you raped my sister, if you killed my family. If you tortured and killed numerous people, I want you to rot in prison. I don't give a fuck if you're internally good if you've killed someone, intentionally or not. That's why we have a multi-layered justice system. You get tried by a jury of your peers, depending on the severity of your crime.

Involuntary manslaughter and negligence is judged and sentenced differently from murder. That's why you have different charges when a person gets tried for a crime. That's why after you get sentenced, there's yet another system of appeals in place. Your sentence will depend on the severity of your crime. There's a difference between killing someone by accident and getting a few years in prison, versus willfully committing multiple murders. THE JUSTICE SYSTEM! IT WORKS!

So why this book? What's the point, really? Especially when you can kill again and again and not get punished for it in the Compass Room? This book tries to tell us that murder is relative, that murder is ok if it's justified.

But it doesn't exactly work that way. Morals are not relative. You have to have some sort of absolute standard. Murder has to be wrong. Rape has to be wrong. Some things have to remain absolute. If morals are relative, can you give me an argument, that, well, there are some cases in which it's acceptable to rape a child? No. This book plays on the idea that morals are relative, and it doesn't work.

Furthermore, the "tests" in the Compass Room are just unconvincing. Different scenarios are presented, if you pass, you get to live, if you fail, you don't. But for some reason, some people can fucking kill and still be able to get away with it. What the hell?! I don't care if you killed someone who bullied you, that person may be a motherfucking asshat, but you are not judge, jury, and executioner. Someone doesn't deserve to die just because they are a jerk!

The concept of the Compass Room is just vague. The science is almost completely unexplained, and the reasoning behind the use of the Compass room just doesn't make any fucking sense. Yeah, it's supposed to save money, but how exactly does it fucking save money when there's only 10 people allowed inside at a time for a period of 30 fucking days. Why, if we have such advanced technology to manipulate the brain to create mass hallucinations, do we not just run a fucking simulation with one person strapped to a chair? Simple! Gah!

Remorse:

“I bet you’re enjoying this, dying just like her. Like you think you’re some fucking martyr,” he spits.

Evalyn is a oh boo fucking hoo poor poor me type of girl. She is a mass murderer. Throughout the book, we know that she's a killer, but we just don't know how.

But here's the thing, throughout the book, she never shows a single fucking sign of remorse. Not once did she ever feel sorry for all the people she has killed. Not once did she think about the countless lives she has destroyed, the countless numbers of wives, daughters, husbands, sons, friends whose lives she has devastated by her acts of murder. She only feels sorry for herself, and the fact that she could not help save the life of her friend, Meghan.

I was the one who kept proving myself to be a killer over and over in the Compass Room.

And she's another reason why the Compass Room is so unconvincing.

“Of course you wanted to kill him. We all did.”

So why is she still alive?! Clearly, the Compass Room has failed -.-

Final Comments: The writing runs purple prosy at times despite the complete lack of emotion in the book.

The Compass Room is pregnant with sin. Not the ghost of our crimes, but real, pungent sin.

And is just plain bad in some parts.

He doesn’t look at peace, more like a baby. A frightened baby.

The romance is stupid, but it doesn't bother me, despite the fact that this is a New Adult and the love interest is an honest-to-goodness killer. The flashbacks are completely useless, and serves only to frustrate me, because they contribute so little to the plot besides telling us about Evalyn's perfect life in college, with her wonderful (and completely forgotten) ex-bf Liam "Last Year."

[Wendy Darling · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sad that I didn't end up enjoying this book more. I try not to use these comparisons too often, but there are so many similarities that this is the best way I can think of to describe the story: it's sort of like The Hunger Games as a punishment/crazy justice system combined with Divergent-ish tests using Star Trek TNG's holodeck. The premise is pretty interesting, but I felt pretty disconnected from the drama and the characters, as well as confused by the plot throughout most of the book. The constant flashbacks didn't help, nor did the deliberate withholding of information (that the main character knows) so that the reader stays in suspense. I was also not crazy about any of the motivations, especially this reveal that comes late in the book:

Casey and I committed unthinkable crimes because we were so desperately in love with people in our lives. We felt as though we had no choice.

I think the writing was solid, but I wish it had been more dynamic. I felt pretty disinterested by extremely dramatic things that were going on, even when people were taking off their clothes. Some of the writing or dialogue also could have used some smoothing out:

Mine and Casey's breathing rattles in sync.

I mean, that's just an awkward sentence, and it distracted from what should have been a relatively important moment.

While this is dystopian/scifi and there are certainly elements that make it so, the style felt like more of a paranormal/horror book to me. Which would have been fine, I guess, if I'd enjoyed it more, but because I had a hard time getting engaged, it all felt a little jarring. And the horror elements were pretty gross. I'm really glad to see more NA being published that aren't always angsty contemporary romances, but somehow this one feels like it might've slotted better for an upper YA audience if it weren't for all the sex in it. (Or maybe it would have worked for an adult MIRA-type imprint? I haven't read that many Intermix titles yet, but this wasn't what I expected.)

I was originally interested in this book because I'd seen the author refer to its sequel as "insanely sexy lesbian NA," but I think I might wait to see what else she writes outside of this series. Other readers seem to be enjoying this, so I'd recommend sampling the ebook previews when they become available to see if you like the style.

An advance copy was provided by the publisher for this review.

[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

1.5 stars

Here’s my rule about spoilers:

If it’s in the blurb, or if it’s in the first 5(ish)% of the book (and therefore available for download BEFORE you purchase the book), it’s not a spoiler.

And that’s my disclaimer.

Meet Evalyn Ibarra.

As The Wicked We Have Done begins, Evalyn is saying goodbye to her mother and 5 y.o. brother before being taken to the Compass Room (à la The Hunger Games). Evalyn lives in a future version of our world in which the scientists have created a arena testing ground, where violent criminals are monitored both visually and emotionally/hormonally (via neck implant), while being subjected to various reenactments of the crimes that put them there in the first place. All of this to determine their guilt, and all of this to keep the tax-payers from having to provide for the upkeep of inmates while they sit in prison and/or on death row.

B/c it would be so much cheaper to build several 8-miles-in-circumference testing zones, complete with hovering robot spheres capable of emitting enough radiation to EXPLODE a body (among other things, like morph into vines, ropes, chains, mailboxes and fireplaces, whatever is deemed necessary for the reenactment—mighty versatile, those spheres . . . ), not to mention pay all the high-salary scientists to “observe.”

Ridiculous.

And what did dear Evalyn do to wind-up bound for the Compass Room (Compass! As in moral compass! I see what you did there . . . )? She participated in a school shooting that ended in the death of 56 professors (and students?).

Yes. She did.

Not a spoiler. I already told you my rules.

As soon as I learned this, I knew, I knew, that there was absolutely nothing that could rationalize away her part in the crime. I knew it. But I held out hope that I was wrong, that there was some clever twist that would make it all okay, that I didn’t have all the information . . .

Well, I didn’t have all the information, but guess what? Getting it didn’t change a damn thing.

BUT you’re supposed to think it does. Harian goes to great (and by “great” I mean “mediocre”) lengths to use a disconsolate Evalyn to elicit an emotional response. You’re supposed to be thinking to yourself, “She’s SO sorry! Poor girl! What pain she suffers! How could she possibly be responsible for this crime?” so that when the Big Reveal happens, you can say, “See I knew there was a reason!”

C-O-D-S-W-A-L-L-O-P.

Even if you feel that Evalyn made the only decision she could given the circumstances, and that could be debated until the end of time, it doesn’t change the fact that she consciously chose to take a life. She pulled that trigger, she is responsible for that death, and no one will ever be able to convince me that she should get a get-out-of-jail-free card. Prisons are full-to-bursting of criminals who are sorry for what they’ve done. And yet, they’re still sitting there in prison.

Evalyn, sweetheart, you made your bed. Now lie in it.

Disregarding how tacky it is to suggest that a participant in a school shooting should be pardoned for their actions—I tried to tally-up how many teachers and students have been killed and wounded in school shootings in America, but lost track in the 100s (it was 323 in in the 15 years preceding 2007 according ABC news), I can, however, tell you that there were 44 more in the first six weeks of 2014 alone. This is not a thing of the past, and I find it to be incredibly insensitive to fictionalize this topic in any capacity, but especially in an attempt to make a sympathetic character out of the culprit. What’s next? Someone’s family is being held hostage by a terrorist organization, and that’s why they flew that airplane into that building? I felt bad for Mickey in Star Trek Into Darkness when the only way to save his daughter was to blow up that building. Doesn’t make it okay that he BLEW UP THAT BUILDING.

Right. So disregarding that, the book is still terrible. The situations the characters found themselves in, the dialogue, the relationships, ALL exaggerated and/or stock, ALL a complete waste of my time.

The Compass Room runs with groups of ten criminals at a time and has a 25% survival rate. Evalyn’s group is made up of the Angry Lesbian, the Pretty Little Thing that becomes smitten with the Angry Lesbian, the Teenage Geek Who Knows More Than You, the Savior, and the Savior’s Love Interest. There are also token Red Shirts like the Rapist and the Sociopath. The only atypical typecasting in this group is that Evalyn is the Savior and the big, strapping male is the Savior’s Love Interest, but even this is such an obvious and lazy switcheroo that I couldn’t appreciate it.

There are not one, but TWO cases of severe insta-love (yes, insta-love—Casey had issues with Evalyn for less than 24 hours before he began to change his tune, and that my friends, is insta-love), AND all of the melodramatics that go along with it. Dramatics like the fervent belief in the people surrounding you, even though you’ve only known them for two weeks (or less), and even though every single one of them is a murderer in some capacity.

*rolls eyes*

That’s it. I’m done.

I’m waffling between 1.5 and 2 stars b/c I can’t decide whether or not how quick a read this was should warrant an entire star. Yes, I found The Wicked We Have Done to be completely unbelievable and in poor taste, but it only took a few hours of my life vs several days, so that’s something. And, you know, every reader brings something different to the table. I’ve read several good reviews of this book by bloggers whose opinions I respect, so just b/c I hated it, doesn't mean you will hate it. If you’re interested in NA Dystopian, then it might be the perfect book for you. And hey, forewarned is forearmed.

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a not-too-distant future, humanity has developed the technology to see inside the mind of criminals. Through simulations and tracking responses, the law claims to have the ability to measure motivation and "goodness."

Evalyn Ibarra says she is guilty, but not of the crime she is on trial for. Rather than rely on a jury to prove her innocence, she chooses the "compass room," the new technology, to prove her innocence.

If she is truly evil, the compass room will kill her. If she is innocent, she will walk free.

"My throat tightens, but there is no time to reflect. I had months to imagine this moment, months to mourn. That time is over, because today is the beginning of my inevitable execution in the Compass Room." pg 7, ebook.

I found the premise of this book to be interesting, but it suffered in its execution and characterizations. Both were rather flat.

"The tension after Stella leaves is awkward and volatile. ... We've been given provisions, so it's obvious that, if this is the Compass Room, we are meant to head out. It's either that or stay in a house full of psychopaths." pg 25, ebook.

Did I mention that the compass room tries more than one criminal at a time? Very Hunger Games-esque.

"The one thing I do know about the Compass Room is that this test is supposed to see who you truly are, despite your research. Despite good acting or the lies you tell yourself." pg 27, ebook.

Wouldn't it be something if detecting evil was as simple as marking a chemical or hormonal response of the brain?

But then, of course, you wander into the problem: what if the technology gets it wrong? Or glitches?

"A terrorist attack finally convinced the Supreme Court. All charged in the bombing were forced to undergo the Compass Room's exam. And they were all found to be, as reporters said on the news, 'morally tarnished.'" pg 12, ebook.

The thing about execution is that there are no second chances or second guesses. Evalyn believes herself to be innocent. Will the room think so too?

I think if the author had fully explored the compass room and the psyches of those involved, I may have enjoyed it more.

As it was, I felt like we only skimmed the surface of what was possible. It lacked complexity because of the number of characters she wrote into the story.

Also, the author includes some half-baked romances, perhaps to prove this is in the "new adult" genre? I don't believe it added much.

There's also some non-spooky horror elements, that are meant to evoke the harrowing nature of the compass room. They felt overdone.

If you must read The Wicked We Have Done, I recommend borrowing it from the library.

[Ash Wednesday · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 STARS

It’s hard to gauge the insanity levels of others when you’re so screwed up yourself.

In terms of premise-outcome ratio, this came out on the side of disappointing. What I liked most about this book was that this had ambition. I saw the intention to be different and break traditions and stereotypes in the New Adult genre and was greatly appreciated. What I liked least about the book is that it stopped there. It just failed to launch getting trapped in a messy, under-explored storyline.

This is set in the unspecified future when a JJ Abrams fan from the government recently figured out how to use the island in the criminal justice system. Under the silly and hazy scientific pronouncement that the human moral nature doesn’t change with age, The Compass Room is about to be used to determine the “moral compass” of a certain set of criminals: those with dubious motivations and conflicting evidences in their cases, to determine if they will be a bane to civilized society in the future and require prophylactic extermination, I suppose.

What propelled society to turn to this new technology? I don’t know.
What keeps it from being used among non-criminals to pre-emptively prevent them from committing crime Minority Report-style? I don’t know either.
I mean, knowing that it sets such a precedent… okay, I’m gonna stop now.

Sentenced to endure this one-month of moral compassing is an interesting mix of a rapist, an arsonist, a pagan, a torturer and a couple of murderers who all seem to cower in the presence of Evalyn Ibarra, alleged cold-blooded murderer of 52 people, including her best friend.

Which initially made me think of that fairy tale with a tailor who claims “seven in one blow” except she really did kill all those people.

Anyway, this is when the story takes a Hunger Games in Purgatory vibe with very confusing rules, fuzzy motivations for each of the inmates and worse of all, incomprehensible goals as to what is the point of this exercise.

Because unlike the Hunger Games where it’s a survival game where there will be one winner, in the Compass Room you are being tested through the very crimes that sent you to jail. So its like that LOST episode with Charlie, the recovering heroin addict who finds that plane crash site with the heroin stash in the Virgin Mary figurines. Except here, everybody knows they are being tested but the mechanics and fundamentals of this test were hazily explained.

Human behaviour is so complex, but is oversimplified into trigger objects and chips in the brain within the Compass Room without proper explanation. The reader instead has to draw conclusions on their own and forage through a bevy of inconsistencies. Things that have been established before elicits surprise and wonder among characters a few chapters after, and the obvious details in the plot generate disproportionate concern, and interest (the person you killed is chasing you and you are in a room meant to test your morality, do we really wonder if its an illusion or its a zombie?). There was vivid imagery and violence that just ended up being gratuitous because I CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHY THESE PEOPLE ARE VOLUNTARILY SUBJECTING THEMSELVES TO THIS KIND OF BAD CRAZY.

There was a healthy smattering of purply prose that I wouldn’t have mind anywhere else except anytime the narrative reverts to these musings, I feel the focus is being allocated inappropriately. The “rooms pregnant with sin”, the “dawn flirting with the skies”…

My body is a furnace. The flames have all but eaten my shell. There’s nothing left of me to feel.

I’m sorry but I’d always pick a comprehensible story over literary masturbation any given day.

I appreciate the lack of insta-love but this still failed convince me in the logic of the romance. It was like the book as a whole was too busy with the avant grade imagery and the japanese horroresque violence that it forgot to infuse some humanity and sympathy into the characters. I feel Valerie was such a waste of potential. The few prison scenes this had only highlighted just how little that opportunity was exploited. I mean you have a plot that allows for scenes set in a Women’s Correctional Facility… how can you not capitalize on that?




Evalyn started as a compelling character but gradually lost her claws and teeth towards the end. The reveal of her backstory was womp-wompy and save for her and Casey there was very little moral conflict among this interesting mix of characters when it should have been the driving force of a story like this.

The concept of this new series is based on Chaos Theory which opens a lot of promising avenues for creativity and provocative thinking on the part of the reader. But as a first instalment, I can’t really say that The Wicked We Have Done exploited the side streets where it mattered.

ARC provided by the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Quotes are taken from an uncorrected proof and may not appear in the final edition.

Also on Booklikes.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a digital arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


The Wicked We Have Done is a good example of a great way to utilize the relatively new genre of New Adult books. Instead of just hyper-angsty romance novels, authors can make hyper-gritty stories for what would have normally been classified as the 'mature young adult' audience.
I think I originally gravitated toward YA because they tended to have more innocence and hope sprinkled in the story. The good guys still (mostly) won, and the hero or heroine typically got to have a Happily Ever After.
But with the things I enjoyed, I also had to put up with a lot of teen drama and virginity issues. New Adult has the potential to be the best of both worlds for someone like me.
And although NA is getting pretty well-know for it's overblown drama, I think that in the hands of the right authors, you could have a truly winning combination.

So why only 3 stars for this one?
Well, I think maybe the author hasn't quite found her voice yet. It's definitely a readable book, and I flipped the pages fairly quickly for the first half of the story. And then about two-thirds of the way into it, she just lost me.
I realized that I didn't like any of the characters, and nothing seemed to be coming down the pike to make me change my mind. In fact, the opposite was happening. In the beginning, I had cautious optimism that Evalyn was a character I could root for, but by the end...ehhhhh. I didn't hate her, but I didn't care what happened to her, or for that matter, what happened to the rest of her friends.

The plot itself had some wonky points to it, as well. It seemed like a giant waste of money to put criminals through an elaborate test to find out if they were 'moral' or not. At first I went along with it, because I assumed it was all a virtual reality simulation that was being run inside their minds.
Read: Not exorbitantly expensive.
Nope. Evidently, the government decided to spring for shape-shifting robots to decide the fate of iffy felons.
Riiiiight.

The lurve story that unfolded between Evalyn and Casey felt a bit awkward and weird. I never felt a real connection with them as a couple. The romance smelled like two people who were both desperate and needy. Which, I guess they were...but that knowledge didn't exactly help me enjoy reading about them.

Ok, while I don't think I will continue with this series, I do think I'll keep the author on my To-Watch list. There are some good ideas in the book, but not enough to make me want to go back for more.

[AH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initial Thoughts: 3.0-3.5 stars. It's kind of unfortunate that I kept thinking that this is a Hunger Games clone. There just seems to be a lot of that around, and understandably so. The book's strong point is the character development. Evalyn is a character placed in an unfortunate circumstance, yet she manages to shine despite adversity. For me, her voice saved the novel and kept me reading.

The Review:
OK, I settled on 3 stars for this book because it did have that Hunger Games vibe to it. I did like the concept of the Compass Room, however, it wasn't clear as to how it worked. In The Wicked We Have Done, teen offenders who have been sentenced to death are offered a way to redeem themselves and prove their innocence.

CRs are designed to terminate the morally corrupt. Think of them as the ultimate lie-detector test.

The story is told in Evalyn's point of view with flashbacks to her past. As the game progresses, what is real and what is illusion seems to merge together. Thing happen that trigger a "test." As each character is "tested," the character fights for their life. This part of the book is intense, leaving the reader at the edge of their seat.

I enjoyed the interaction between the characters, especially Evalyn, who seemed to keep her wits about her throughout most of the time she spent in the Compass Room. The Wicked We Have Done is the first book in The Chaos Theory series. The second book, A Vault of Sins is due out in September of this year. I'm looking forward to reading that book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Intermix Books for a review copy of this book.

[Rashika (is tired) · Rating 3 out of 5]

***This review has also been posted on Tangled in Pages

“We die if we’re supposed to die, right?”

While The Wicked We Have Done is not the most original book out there, it certainly was a highly entertaining read; until it took a turn which I couldn’t accept, a turn I STILL cannot accept. It enraged me with how easily it could waive something like ‘that’ off. I just couldn’t.

Comparisons to The Hunger Games will be unavoidable because of the whole survival aspect and how they always found food randomly. Comparisons to the other dystopian book will also be made due to the whole stimulation aspect but in spite of all these similarities, The Wicked We Have Done does manage to stand out because of the way it presents these ideas. It puts a psychological spin on them and adds the throws in a bit of crime. Because how can what is happening to them be wrong when some of them are in fact evil criminals who ruthlessly harmed other people and took great pleasure in it? The Wicked We Have Done brings up the age old question of the ethicality of death penalty and a hand full of other questions about who the victims are and whether a crime can be justified.

The book opens with a touching scene between the main character, her mother and her brother. They are having their final farewell before she goes to the Compass Room where she will most assuredly die. The chances of survival are extremely low but the main character comforts her mother and younger brother instead and puts on a brave face while the first breaks apart and the latter buys her story (because he is 5).

Evalyn was a great character (until that one thing which I will get back to later). She was full of guilt and self-doubt yet she also managed to be a leader for all these other criminals. She doesn’t fall apart but instead tried to keep the group together to the best of her ability. She supported everyone, cared about everyone and made good decisions. Yes some were rash but in the end, she was a wonderful leader.

All the other characters fall into the category of well-developed characters. The author gives all of them a sort of depth that I usually find lacking in all other books in the New-Adult category. The author doesn’t just focus on the love interest, Casey. She develops all the characters in the supporting cast and she develops them WELL. And when I say supporting cast, I mean even the characters we encounter in the female lead’s flash backs.

The relationships that emerged between these characters (except the romance) are wonderful and sweet. It’s just heartwarming to see them all get together and let go of their differences and just survive together. They have each other’s backs. They laugh together. They comfort each other and they help each other face their fears.

The romance was one of the things that bothered me in this book. It definitely had potential. It started off slowly. I was so sure I’d finally found a slow-burn romance that seems to be almost completely absent from New-Adult but then they declared their ‘I love you’s’ in a time span of two weeks. We’re talking about the same people whose first kiss was not a result of attraction but was meant as a way of comforting each other. Given the circumstances, it’s highly probable that bonds will be forge but ‘I love you’s’ declared when the female lead claimed to have been in love with her childhood sweetheart who she was together with for 5 years?? Yeah, not so much.

“..this place is patiently waiting to peel back the layers of your skin and claw out your insides.”

The world building, as I mentioned earlier, was not particularly original, but it worked. The Compass Room was a wonderful idea. It wasn’t built to torture children. It was built to distinguish the morally corrupt from those who weren’t so because while some of these youngsters have committed horrid crimes, for a good number of them, it’s a one-time thing. And so The Compass Room gives them the opportunity to show their innocence. What I also found interesting was that this book wasn’t like a typical dystopia, hell I am not sure it can even be classified as one because I don’t find the government to be at fault here. Yes glitches occurred and shit went down but the intentions were not evil. And the people in this society have a voice. People are allowed to protest, LOTS of people DID in fact protest against the idea of The Compass Room because they didn't find it to be morally correct to put young kids through something so difficult.

The plot revolves around a group of misfits trying to survive and finding a way to beat the system to save themselves. We are also trying to unravel the mystery of what exactly it was that what went down that landed Evalyn in jail. This was the biggest drawback of the novel. THIS was what screwed the book over. For starters, the author spent too much time dancing around what happened offering us hints instead of just telling us. When we learned what went down, it was heartbreaking but I also think the author was trying to make us see Evalyn as an innocent party which is something I wholeheartedly disagree with. She is not innocent. She may have been a victim but you most definitely cannot label her as innocent. She was definitely guilty and she deserves to do time in jail. Some things cannot be justified in my book, no matter what. Some of the crimes the other characters committed were justified but I cannot write off what she did and I absolutely hate how it was waived off as an act of love.



If you’re looking for a book that deals more with the whole criminal aspect, read Criminal . It does an excellent job of it and takes crime seriously unlike this book.

That issue was a total buzzkill when it came to this book. It flushed all of my enjoyment down the toilet and replaced said joy with rage. I was angry. I was pissed. But I couldn’t completely dismiss this book. The first 80% was enjoyable. The book (until that point) was a page turner. I was on the edge of my seat, crossing my fingers for all my favorite characters and was thoroughly enjoying the book.

In the end, I would still recommend this to people because it’s something new in the New Adult category, something I haven’t seen before and it really gives me hope for New Adult. That someday I will read a New Adult that makes it to my list of all-time favorites. Until then, I shall patiently wait for that day (and read another book in the mean time).

Note that all quotes have been taken from an uncorrected proof and may be subject to change.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a little way of letting you know my thoughts of the book I am going to share the message I sent the author of this book at 3 am in the morning after having finished reading it. A full review will come once I have the ability to write something more eloquent than simply the word wow 500 times :P

"So late this evening I stupidly decided to read the first chapter or two of The Wicked We Have Done before going to bed. Of course once I started the suspense made it impossible to stop reading and I literally did not tear my eyes away from my kindle screen for even a second. It is now the very early hours of the morning and not only am I unbelievably tired but also emotionally exhausted from the rollercoaster ride that was the book. I cant get its sheer amazingness out of my head (hence why I am sharing with you how much I loved the book rather than falling into an exhausted slumber). It really was so amazing and I don't see how any other book I read this year could live up to it. I really cant wait to see what books you release in the future because if this is anything to go by then you are one heck of an incredible author : D"

So yeah, this is a must read :D

[Merve Özcan Özkan · Rating 4 out of 5]

çok hoş etkileyici bir kitap. açlık oyunlarının daha suçlusunu hayal edin. kalbim kırıldı. :'(

[Noah Crocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hunger Games meets the O.J. Simpson trial.

[Stuti Rai · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it might not come out as the most successful novel of the genre, The Wicked We Have Done is definitely a genre-bending story for New Adult fans. On the other hand, in terms of a futuristic/science fiction/survival novel, I think I've read most of its storyline many times already. Comparisons have been drawn between The Hunger Games and The Wicked We Have Done(certain others have also been thrown in the mix, but THG remains the principal comparison), but personally, I don't see many similarities. For sure, there is the inclusion of arena and survival facets endemic to both; however, these days, it's almost become the prerequisites for the genre, and frankly, I've been overlooking it for a while.

Despite being unoriginal, TWWHD also has the concept of the Compass Room which I found captivating- in fact, the story is built around it. Yet, here I found a caveat as well, because the concept had potential not fully realized in its execution. The Compass Room is a newly introduced method of finding and exonerating the accidental criminals-a purge, if you will, to separate the true criminals, the ones with the kill gene(yet again!) who have the intention, the will to kill/harm from the ones who are coerced into it, or committ under effects, temporary insanity whatever... The Kill Gene concept is not one that I endorse; in fact, I pretty much hate it. However, the kill gene was mentioned only once- to trace the origin of the Compass Room and its history. Thankfully, The Wicked We Have Done never tried to tango with the nature v/s nurture debate. Criminals are judged based on their true response to simulations such as facing their victims. But when it happened for real, I actually found it a tad ridiculous. Just a tad.

But don't be confused, The Wicked We Have Done is foremost a group-survival novel, with criminal characters meeting up in the Compass Room and trying to survive the truly psychopathic criminals. Sure it'll make one ponder for a while-when you meet a girl who accidentally burned down her boyfriend's house and killed his family, while trying to commit suicide-using circumstances over actual questions, letting the story speak for itself and that's about it. Which, for me, was a pro.

Another aspect in its favor is the litany of well-developed characters-sure, some of them don't stand out much, including our protagonist, Evalyn, but there are some like Valerie who left an impression. The reluctant and/or circumstantial and/or definite relationships that evolved between them was believable and necessary. On the other hand, the chemistry between Evalyn and the romantic lead didn't leave a heart-burn. As individuals, they're both thought out characters, but together, the beginning of the romance started out in my good graces, but it never sparked for me.

It's not exactly thrilling, but the pacing is fast enough not to bore readers. The writing, however, needs another round of editing not only because there were mistakes at times, but also many a time, sentence structures were simply awkward. The world-building was lacking, but this insufficiency was hardly felt as the story was limited within the Compass Room and its characters inter-personal ships and happenings.

Time for the unmentionable: I hated how easily Evalyn's crimes were brushed off, and in the manner that they were. For the greater part of novel, it seemed that Evalyn hadn't actually accepted her hand in the crimes and the narratives from the past appeared hell-bent on redeeming her. But I did think that Evalyn had reconciled with her guilt in some small corner. And yet, once the guy says- we both did it for love- or some variation, everyone, from Evalyn to the author, brushed off her crimes. I think the reader was expected to as well. And that is what I can't reconcile with. The guy's crime, killing and burying his father, I accepted because I'm fucking biased that way against super-abusive fathers but not hers. Which leads me to believe I could never, never write up a Constitution for a non-autocratic country. Hell, even repressed subjects of an autocratic regime wouldn't accept my varying, whim-of-mine laws.

In summation, it was a good book, there were drawbacks; for a fast read with characters you can root for, for a read that doesn't prod your limitation of emotion, go for The Wicked We Have Done. I'm gonna continue with the series, especially since what is to come is going to be very, very delicious and give us more info on the world.

Thank you Penguin Group!

[Rachael Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 Things I Loved About THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE:

1) Evalyn. She's an amazing MC. From the get-go, I liked her and sympathized with her (I think her relationship with her brother was a big part of this). And at the beginning we think she’s committed some horrible crime, like the kind where you’d have to be morally bankrupt, so the fact that she’s so damn likable is pretty amazing. I like how we peeled back the layers to learn more about her as the book went on. She’s strong, she’s flawed, she’s the kind of character you really root for.

2) The premise. Holy hell, can I steal Sarah Harian's brain for a day?! The idea of compass rooms is so creative and creepy. I loved how REAL it all felt, with the public being split and people protesting and no one knowing exactly what goes on. I loved how the characters are all criminals, but they all have complicated crimes and a chance at redemption.

3) The pacing. It’s phenomenal. I couldn’t put this down. I was dying to know what she had done and I was dying to know what happened next in the CR, so having those two timelines alternate and both crescendo at the same time was a stroke of genius. This was such a fast read.

4) The LI(s): I felt that Liam was the perfect Before LI and Casey was the perfect After LI, and the way she felt towards them and who she chose and why fit exactly with what I would expect based on her changing after the bombing and throughout the compass room. Also, I love Casey. I love how they’re suspicious and hateful at first but they grow together and he helps her realize things about herself. He’s solid and supportive without being overpowering. I think one of the things I loved most though, is that you technically have a love triangle here, but it doesn’t FEEL like your typical who-do-I-chose-it’s-so-hard-being-me obnoxious YA love triangle. You see Evalyn change as a person, and she makes choices based on the person she is at each time point, and it’s completely organic and right.

5) The supporting cast: I loved all the minor characters: her little brother, Jace, Tanner, VALERIE!!!, Stella, they were all so well done and complete. I loved that all the CR kids had their own back stories, and I was curious to find out about all of them. I also liked how real the villains felt.

6) And in case I didn't make it clear enough in #5, I'll say it again: VALERIE! Can you tell I especially loved Valerie? LOL. I hear she may be getting her very own novella (!!!). You better believe I will be reading it the first chance I get.

7) The emotion. There’s so much that happens here. It’s so intense. I loved finding out the stories for Val and Casey and Tanner and finding myself being on their side and feeling they were right to do what they did even though it was wrong. And when bad things start to happen to people in the compass room, well, I don't want to be all spoilery, but just read it, mmmkay?

8) The title. Freaking love it.

9) The cover. Yep. Freaking love that too.

10) The literary writing style. It's so rare that you get prose like this paired with action and intrigue. And it is such. pretty. prose. Chocolate-fondue-I-want-to-smear-it-all-over-things-and-eat-them prose. Huh. Well, that came out more sexual than I meant it.


Overall: Go read it. NOW! Then let me know so we can talk about it :)

[Angela S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah Harian's debut The Wicked We Have Done has that "I couldn't put it down" mojo that I crave when searching for books. From the first line I knew that I was going to be sucked into it, and I was right. Evalyn's character comes screaming out of the page - tough and smart with just enough compassion for others that you know she's someone to root for. Evalyn also has a certain vulnerability that I found compelling. By feeding us little pieces of her past, Harian reveals Evalyn's true character, the one she doesn't let the other criminals see. I thought that Evalyn's guilt was all wrapped up in one element of her story, but it turned out there was a lot more to it than what I thought I knew. In the end, I found myself questioning, what if I were Evalyn, how would I have reacted? My lingering thoughts about Evalyn's true moral compass raises questions that sit in that gray area between right and wrong; it's given me a lot to contemplate.

Others have pointed to the similarity between this book and The Hunger Games, and while the similarity is definitely there, I felt like this book set a very different tone than THG, a tone that is more specifically new adult. The characters are raw and crass, their dialogue snappy and intelligent. And there is definitely a sexiness to this story that THG barely touches on. I think that readers will enjoy the steamy romance. I know I did.

Harian also doesn't hold back on the gruesome. Some have said that it has a horror story vibe to it, and while I can see that, I honestly never felt frightened of what was to come next. (I think after being raised on Stephen King novels, I've made myself immune to book fright?) In any case, the little drops of blood seen on the front cover are quite accurate; it's not a story for the squeamish.

There are some quibbles that I have with regards to the editing of the book which I think go beyond what one would normally expect for an ARC. I hope that the editors smooth out these areas before publication, and I also hope that readers will realize these issues don’t sit solely on the author’s shoulders. This is what you get when publishers try to squeeze out books in a hurry in order to compete with the self-pub market. That said, I give the story (minus the editing) 5 stars - it was quick paced, with great characters, dialogue that made me all jelly, and prose that I thought was just fantastic.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin/Intermix for providing me with an ARC of this book.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, I'm a little upset with this one. Although there are some super cool quotes to go along with a super cool concept, the writing style sucked. It made me not want to finish this. And I really really wanted to.
When I read the synopsis of this I was definitely intrigued. An NA book with that's about something else other than a just a romance? I was all for it! It really seemed like something I would like. But the more I read, the more I didn't like it. But it had nothing to do with the synopsis. That was what kept me reading. It really had everything to do with the way it was written.
The writing style in this one wasn't great to me. I never connected with the character due to her little flashbacks during the chapters. It was like we didn't get any back story on her until something big had already happened and I just didn't like that. Evie seemed crazy (in a very sane way) and I wanted to know all about her. But beforehand. Another thing I didn't like was how it was all choppy like. It felt like it was all over the place. I'm guessing it was because there was so much repetition. (If they "cleaned Jace's wound" one more damn time I was going to flip.) This was a classic example of telling and not showing. Which brings me to the last thing I didn't like about it. For this to be about a space where all these killers are, there was absolutely no world building. I'm a huge fan of it and when I wasn't sucked in by the world OR the characters, I just wasn't impressed. There was really nothing anchoring me to this story. I was really shocked that I didn't like this one. I was hoping to love it because it had such an interesting concept, but it just wasn't executed right. From the characters to the world building, I just wasn't happy.

[Megan • Reading Books Like a Boss (book blog) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Wicked We Have Done has been on my radar ever since I saw that the author, Sarah Harian, mentioned that it was inspired by the TV show LOST. Color me interested.  If you didn't know, I am and will forever be a huge fan of that TV show. The characters are unforgettable and all of them are incredibly flawed.  Similarly, the characters Harian created in her debut novel are equally (if not more) flawed.  All of them are convicted criminals.  The Wicked We Have Done is an action-packed thrill ride with twists and turns on every page, leaving the reader guessing at what happens next.

Check out Sarah's Interview & Guest Post on how LOST inspired this novel HERE!

The story is told through Evalyn Ibarra's point-of-view. On the outside, she seems like your normal college-aged girl.  But everyone in America knows who she is and what she did.  Evalyn was a participant in a mass-murder school shooting, leaving fifty-six dead and a lot of blood on her hands.  Her sentence, however, is not what you think.

Set in America at some point in the future, you learn that the government has a new way to punish criminals.  A way that will separate those criminals who are truly wicked at their core.  With incredible advancements in technology, the government has created an elaborate simulation system called Compass Rooms.  Convicts have a choice to either go through with their sentence and face life in prison or the death penalty or go to the Compass Rooms for the thirty days.  The catch?  Well, out of the ten people that are place in a Compass Room, on average 2.5 survive.  Not great odds.

"The only thing I do know about the Compass Room is that this test is supposed to see who you truly are, despite your research. Despite good acting or the lies you tell yourself."

Our heroine, Evalyn, is America's favorite person to hate. She's a terrorist.  A murderer.  Everyone wants to see her burn in hell.  And she knows it. She chose to forego her prison sentence and face possible death in the CR.  Along with ten other participants, she gets an implant put into brain that will monitor her hormones and emotions.  Using these levels, the CR's algorithms will determine her fate, will determine if she truly good or truly bad.

"Even they they committed crimes, I am the queen of darkness. They have nothing to worry about. If I'm really evil, the CR will make sure that by day two, my heart isn't beating."

On her way to meet her fate, Evalyn meets the other nine who will join her in the CR simulation.  Four other girls and five guys.  Some of them did unimaginable things.  Salem raped several women; Erity was convicted of murdering four women whom she used as human sacrifices in black magic; Gordon was the crazed psychopath who kidnapped and drugged several people.

All ten of them were placed in the CR — a place in the middle of nowhere amidst a thick overgrown forest with only the bare essentials.  The Compass Room picks them off one by one, making its mathematically calculated decision.  But is the CR making the right choice?  Is it executing the right people?

What I really liked about this novel was that none of the characters were perfect.  At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to even like them. I mean, they're all seemingly terrible people who did horrible things.  At least, that's what you're led to believe.  However, throughout the novel , Harian delves deeper into the characters' pasts.  Everything that you learn in the beginning is not as it seems.  Everything isn't black and white.  Right or wrong.

Evalyn is a strong heroine.  She went into the Compass Room prepared to die and to accept her fate. Portrayed as this ruthless killer, Evalyn isn't like that at all in the Compass Room.  In the middle of death and sorrow, she is the strong force the binds the group together, coming up with a plan and a way to make things better.  Throughout the novel, Evalyn's backstory is revealed through a set of flashbacks.  Harian slowly and methodically reveals the events leading up to her heinous crime.  What is revealed is incredibly sad and not at all what I was expecting.

The hero in the novel is Casey Hargove, a man who buried his father alive.  Casey and Evalyn don't exactly get along at first, but tragedy and trials bring them together.  As each of them are tested, they help each other through the simulation, creating a strong bond of love and trust.

"Casey needs order and control and for things to exist only with meaning. He is the antithesis of chaos. He is the opposite of everything that destroyed my life."

While some scenes had me turning the pages, there were moments that I felt dragged.  I was hoping for deep discussion between the characters about morality and good versus evil.  Instead, much of what determined "good" and "evil" was whether the person was justified in committing their crime. Additionally, I had a hard time fully connecting to Casey and Evalyn's romantic relationship; I wanted more development there.  I didn't feel the chemistry between the two of them.

Overall, I liked the story.  The writing was solid and the concept was intriguing. I really enjoyed the main group of characters (Jace, Valerie, Tanner, Evalyn and Casey), which is a hard feat to do considering all of them are potentially unlikable.  Like in LOST, the characters had to bond together and work together to survive and make it out alive.

3.5 stars

* I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review



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I cannot wait for this book! The author describes it as "a sexy, scary and speculative thriller inspired by the show LOST."
Release date: March 18, 2014

Teaser

[Kelli W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent, BUT Loved it, read it in a day, and same with the 2nd novel, BUT. Exciting, scary, tough, emotional, etc., BUT, knowing everything I do after reading the 2 novels, and how the 2nd goes, I would NOT read these AGAIN, if I could go back. There is no 3rd b0ok, no plans for a 3rd, per authors, own words. It is left horribly open-ended and painfully unsatisfying, so much that, no matter how much I loved the 2 books, I would not read them if I knew I would be left with a misleading incomplete experience. I don't mean, I was just feeling upset about unresolved plots at the end, or I didn't like that a certain character died or didn't. I mean the entire book is presented as a 2nd novel with even more things occurring, more areas ramped up, new big characters, and nothing entirely resolved from the first book, so as typical in series, it has to carry onto another book for any conclusion or aspect of conclusion to exist. The 2nd novel is entirely leading to a 3rd book. You can make your own decision, but it's already been 3 years since 2nd book, and author's last comments about not doing a 3rd book were just recently made in December 2017. I would have given 4, but for reasons described above dropped to 3.

[Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scientists have developed a program that can determine whether a person is mortally corrupt. Inside the Compass Room, severe criminals are tested whether they are evil or not. If the Compass Room deems them corrupt, they will die. If you survive for a month, you're free.

Evalyn has been charged with terrorism for her involvement in a high school shooting. She is ready to be found guilty and to be killed. She is put into the Compass Room, which is reminiscent of the arena in The Hunger Games, with a serial rapist, a girl that put a house on fire which burned an entire family to death, a boy that murdered his father, and several other adolescents that risk death penalty for their alleged crimes.

I really like the concept of The Wicked We Have Done. It makes so much more sense to put people in an arena to test their moral resolve than it is to put children in one to fight to the death for some kind of twisted pleasure of a Capitol. The concept is highly realistic as well - wouldn't we jump on an opportunity to determine with science to detect evil? To test it in a highly controlled environment?

The arena is brutal. I won't go into much of the plot other than the premise, since information is only revealed slowly in the story. One aspect I'd like to highlight is that The Wicked We Have Done partly reads like a horror novel. People that are seemingly dead suddenly make appearances that wouldn't look weird in any horror flick. It is pretty scary, especially in the beginning, when you have no idea what the hell is going on.

The Wicked We Have Done is the first official non-romance new adult book I've read, and I wish there were more new adult books like this. I'm not interested in super spicy sex scenes and 18+ bad boys. I enjoy the slightly harsher young adult story, where it's okay to swear (and they swear a lot) and romantic relationships aren't crazily platonic (some YA couples are together for years, sleep in the same bed, and never do any boob-touching or anything - yeah right). There is a romance, two actually, which I found acceptable under the circumstances. There is some sex, but they mostly fade to black. The one thing that Ms Harian deserves a brownie for is that the girl is older than the guy. And there is a gay couple. Yay for diversity!

As I've pointed out before, the story of The Wicked We Have Done is pretty harsh and brutal, with characters dying a horrific on-screen death a few chapters in. What would have elevated this book from great to fantastic is more brutality. Towards the end Ms Harian decides to go with an ending a bit too convenient and saccharine for my taste. I wish she would have had the balls to make the ending a big whomper of cruelty, which would have fit with the overall tone of the book a lot better. I guess a lot of readers will be glad with how it ended, but I was left wanting she had taken it that one little step further.

A mash-up of science-fiction, dystopia, and horror, The Wicked We Have Done will appeal to the now more grown-up fans of the early young adult dystopia genre.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I don’t usually like comparisons, but parts of it did remind me of The Hunger Games, others made me think of Criminal Minds and there was a constant reminder of Cabin in the Woods in the back of my head, which is a poke at horror clichés anyway. Add to that a new adult vibe, and you might get an idea of what The Wicked We Have Done is like.

At first, the description of the characters as deviant criminals didn’t fit with how they were portrayed, maybe with a couple of exceptions. As the story unfolds, this makes more sense. How often does a crime have complex motives? Is a person evil because of one bad thing? The Compass Rooms were designed to discover if the accused were lost causes. It’s described as a prison, but it’s more of a trial and, if found guilty, executioner.

What is hard to stomach is how people who are victims themselves are treated. Maybe they do deserve some punishment, but making them relive what drove them to the point of murder, seems cruel and unusual torture. In the case of the guilty, it proves they are beyond redemption and that’s that but to those who are more borderline cases, the trial is punishment enough.

It’s a short book, with quite a few characters, which meant it really only touched the surface of some quite interesting issues. I didn’t quite get emotionally invested with the characters, feeling they had potential, but were a bit on the two-dimensional side. Their crimes were glossed over a bit, considering they were quite important to the rest of the plot. Evalyn’s flashbacks could have been skipped altogether for all the understanding they contributed. I still don’t get how you go from not liking your best friend’s boyfriend to becoming involved in a terrorist plot, and what was the point of their terrorism anyway?

Many of the horror aspects were over a bit quickly, although there was one point where I did get a bit creeped out. Maybe it was the accumulation, or maybe just girls with bleeding eyes are just plain scary.

I’m starting to think I should cut some stars in half, then I could give it 3.5. It’s great to see some new adult branching out into different genres and not following the standard, sexy contemporary stories. And it was a page turning read. I just wanted a bit more depth from it. Definitely worth a read for existing new adult fans and those a bit wary of this “new” category.

Review copy provided by publisher.

[Anne Huart (Books & Tea) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Review also available on Books & Tea

In the dystopian world of "The Wicked we have done", criminals who are trialed and quite certain to be condemned to death, have the choice to change their sentence to one month in a prison where their only goal will be to survive: the Compass Room.

A month during which their morality will be tested and monitored, in order to prove whether they really are evil or not. The few survivors will be released.

The book starts as Evalyn enters the Compass Room with other young criminals, and we follow what she experiences, as we learn thanks to flashbacks what lead her to this place.

I really enjoyed reading this book, as I thought it was well written and I appreciated the original plot of this dystopian fiction, and the thought-provoking themes addressed by it (death penalty, redemption,...).

"I think that all of us - every criminal put in the Compass Room - confronts their guilt. The very last moment they could have reversed their actions? Could have said no to inflicting pain"
[...]
"Then they have the choice of being a villain, or a coward, or a hero."

Alternating what was happening in the Compass Room with flashbacks of Evalyn's previous life gave the story an engaging rhythm and kept me captivated throughout the book.

What I enjoyed the most was the wide range of characters. Though I had a hard time at the very beginning, to get who was who, pretty quickly all characters became distinct, each with their own story and personality. Some of them were simply evil, but the main characters were more complex.

I also loved the relationship development between the characters, going from tension and distrust, to friendship and even love, through the lens of the treat of their possible imminent death.

"I'm not leaving you until I'm dead," I say, and I mean it.
"Please," he begs.
"You aren't dying before me. I won't let it happen."

I am looking forward to the second book in this series!

** ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

People, if we keep watering down the definition of "dystopia" to include "a flawed prison system", we might as well toss it out entirely. This isn't a dystopian novel, or at least no more than our current reality is.

This book is about a group of convicted murderers sentenced to a month-long test of their morality, to determine if they should be put to death or released. I'm not seeing the Hunger Games similarities, beyond the surface concepts of "female protagonist" and "dying in an arena".

Harian does a lot of interesting things here, though I feel like it ultimately fell flat. Given the subject matter (murder, passion, the horrible choices people make) and despite Harian's above-average writing ability, there's a lack of emotional resonance. It didn't get to me the way I felt it could have. Evie talks about all this love she felt, but it doesn't show through.

I wish the ending hadn't gone the direction it did, too. It would have been a much stronger book if it focused on the morality of the system instead of feeling compelled to add an literal antagonist in the last quarter. The meaning of good/evil, and the nature of punishment, arguments about what justice really is...these are all big, strong, literary topics that can carry their own weight. Harian seemed to be heading that way, but unfortunately, she pulled back from that level of "grey" at the last minute.

I'm bumping this up from 2- to 3-stars though, because this sort of writing is the direction I want more YA books to be going in. Think of it as bonus points for effort.

[Megan Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's just say that I'm in bed right now and I don't want to get OUT of bed because surely there is something trying to kill me.

I feel like I'm still in the Compass Room with Evalyn.

THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE is not a book I normally read. But I like the author and I love the idea of NA stretching its contemporary limits, so I picked this up eagerly. And I'm glad I did.

Because it does make you think about morality. And what is sinful and what punishment is fair. This is a weird world that Ms. Harian created but she did so in a way that I felt like I was RIGHT. THERE. with Evalyn and Casey and Valerie (how kickass is Valerie? So kickass).

Yes, there is romance but this book is at its core a horror. There is a lot of violence and tons of action. You won't be bored, that's for sure. It's like a mix of The Hunger Games, Ten Little Indians (Agatha Christie) and Cabin in the Woods.

There are a lot of characters and Ms. Harian did a great job making each very unique and fully rounded.

My only qualm is that the flashbacks took me out of the Compass Room too much. I could have done without those or how extended they were. I get why there were necessary but that's just a personal preference. But really, that's minor in my overall enjoyment of this book.

*I received an ARC from Netgally in exchange for an honest review

[❃**✿【Yasmine】✿**❃ · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I was looking for something.... different.

Genre: Low Sci/fi, horror & romance.
Cover: 5/10
Writing: 8/10
Heroine: 8/10
Other characters: 8/10
Action: 8/10
Romance: 6/10
Ending: 8/10
Extra book Details: Heroine POV.

I don't really read these kind of books, so this is unique for me, I don't have anything to compare it with apart from films. So, think Jumanji meets The Hunger Games meets Saw meets The Breakfast Club :D

The 'Compass Rooms' is a new form of criminal justice, of execution. The ultimate test, it determines whether the criminal is good or evil and whether they should die or not.

Evalyn Ibarra is accused as a killer and terrorist after a college shooting. A year into her sentence, she's been nominated to enter the month long obstacle course that is the Compass Rooms.

Evalyn and nine other of the most notorious and psychotic criminals are put to the test. Who is truly evil? Who is going to die? And who is going to live?

I enjoyed the characters immensely, and the side characters. There's a lot action, it's fast paced, testing the characters morals and consciences. There's horror, friendship and love.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm quite sad about this book. Mostly because it was one that I was really looking forward to reading this year (because it sounded fresh and cool and had a lot of potential to be a really awesome read), only after reading the actual book now, it ended up being the kind of read that didn't live up to my expectations or rather it just wasn't what I was expecting the book to be like. Yeah. It was disappointing needless to say. Perhaps the sequel might change my mind about this series, that is if I decide to continue with this series.

But with that being said, overall, I thought this book very different which I usually go for in books, however I didn't really like this book as sad as it is to say so (so it wasn't really for me I guess). Though - like what others readers of this book have already pointed out - 'The Wicked We Have Done' does have a similar vibe to the likes of the Hunger Games and Divergent, which some readers may like this book for, but as for me, this book is just not as epic in any sense of those two titles.

* Thanks to the publisher on netgalley for providing me with a review copy of this book.

[Jennifer Walkup · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wicked We Have Done is incredible! It’s a beautifully chaotic futuristic thriller. The tension on these pages had me FLYING through this book. Evelyn and the others in the compass room are desperate and fighting for their lives, all while reliving and fighting their personal demons. This book begins with a group of very disturbed young criminals. But things are not always what they seem, and soon we find out more and more about these characters… We begin to care about them, understand them, hope for them. But not all of them – because some of them ARE downright evil. So evil, that even now, after reading, I’m still looking over my shoulder and feeling the thumping-heart horror I felt while reading. Harian pulls no punches with her plotting, and reading this made me feel all the emotions. Read this book ASAP. You will not be sorry!

[Lynsey is Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such an amazingly creative concept in THE WICKED WE HAVE DONE that sadly was completely wasted on me because I simply did not like the characters at all - particularly the heroine. She was a real strange one. And a total exhibitionist which was not only odd but further off-putting. And the romance... eesh. The love interest was incredibly weak; I actually found the entire romance storyline repelling. From the first kiss with puke breath, well, it just didn't improve from there for me, sadly.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fuck. Amazing. I devoured this.

If you dig the YA trend of dystopian government breaking (but need a little less angst), you'll dig this book.

Also? I'm gonna need this to be a movie. kthx.

[Dahlia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Badass. And perfect proof that NA is more than ready to go beyond Contemporary Hetero Romance.

[Nereyda (Nick & Nereyda's Infinite Booklist) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been looking forward to this book since I first saw the cover. I loved that it was a New Adult Dystopia (we need more of these please!), I loved that the cover was sooooo different than 99% of new adult books out there (I love the blood!), and I of course loved that this book was about killers.This quickly went on my ‘Killers’ shelf and I was so excited when I finally got my review copy. I sometimes feel let down with books like this because I feel like they don’t reach their full potential. I mean, if you’re gonna write a book about a group of killers, might as well go all out. Sarah kicked ass writing this book and I loved that she went all out and made her characters dark and flawed and WICKED!

Evalyn has agreed to skip the trial for her charges and opts for spending one month in the brand new, experimental Compass Room. The odds of her, or anyone, surviving the 30 days in the Compass Room are very slim. But Evalyn would rather do this than to have to suffer through her trial where her crime will rehashed in vivid detail. She has pretty much no chance of winning this trial since she’s accused of mass murdering 56 people. She also believes she deserves to die and she’s accepted it. So, off she goes into the Compass Room with nine other criminals. The Compass Room is designed to test them and evaluate if they are truly evil, but with nine other criminals, who have committed their own horrible crimes, what should Evalyn fear more? The people controlling the Compass Room or being killed off by one of the other criminal?

The Compass Room inserts triggers from their crimes to test them, but when these tests start killing people, they have to either choose to try to survive by forming an alliance or eliminating the others before they eliminate you. I wasn’t expecting for this book to have the sci-fi-ish feel to it, but the tests that the CR put them through were hard core and brutal! Evalyn reluctantly forms and alliance with Casey, who seems to hate her. Seeing as Evalyn has commited the worst crime out of all of them, she’s not surprised. But, they both surprise each other as they help each other and the other people in their alliance. Suddenly, their feelings of hate and self-loathing and pity start to slowly turn into more. When they both know they are probably going to die, and they believe they deserve it, it becomes easy to be able to find comfort in each other. They also start to realize that even though they might all be killers, not all of them are evil.

This is one of those books that really makes you think more than just right vs. wrong or black vs. white. Despite the fact that they’ve all killed, you feel connected to some of these characters (Valerie!) and you can’t help but feel for them. I wasn’t aware that this was part of a series when I first started reading it, but I’m excited that it is because there is still so much more of the story I want to know! The Wicked We Have Done was a dark and sometimes disturbing story. The haunting writing gave me chills sometimes. I loved how it was so depressing, yet so beautiful at the same time. I really hope we see more of these types of books because the NA category needs it!

Some of my favorite non-spoiler quotes from The Wicked We Have Done:
- “I wanted to die.” She sputters a cough. ”For so long. I don’t want to anymore. I finally don’t want to and now it’s inevitable.”

- Maybe Casey’s right. Maybe I’ve died already and this is hell.

- “You made it worse. He was going to kill me. It was going to be over. Now I have to sit here and wait to die.”

- He pulls me into his lap. I trace my finger across his forehead, swiping the hair from his face. ”I don’t mind my last memories being you,” I say.

- It’s fair that each one of us is put through this torture. Even those of us who are morally good at heart need to be reminded that what we’ve done is still, at its core, unforgivable. The only people who could ever forgive me completely are those here, in the Compass Room, because they are asking for the same forgiveness.

- I am wicked in its purest form. I had gathered hope in the darkest places for the sake of destroying it.

4.5 out of 5 stars!

***
Read more of my reviews at Mostly YA Book Obsessed

[Jenni Arndt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny, recurring conversation I always have with my friends is about the stark contrast between books I like and movies I like. See, I love me a good action movie. Give me Jason Statham, Mark Wahlberg or a nice gory horror film any day of the week. But when it comes to reading, I want the “chick-flicks” I want heartbreak, I want emotion, I want to be left so emotionally wrecked that I can’t even see through my tears. The Wicked We Have done brought everything that I like in movies so perfectly to a book that it surprisingly worked incredibly well for me!

What struck me right off the bat with this one was how original it was. First of all there is the fact that it is an NA novel and it’s not just a sexy-times romance about two broken characters coming together and boinking, how refreshing is that? I loved the idea of these criminals being thrown into an area and tested to see where their morality lies and if they are a fit for the death penalty or not. I mean that’s the big argument against the death penalty right? The system isn’t perfect and what if an innocent loses their life. But in the world of The Wicked We Have Done they have created a system that implants a chip into the back of a criminals head and they throw them into a Compass Room where they are faced with tests and their reactions are constantly monitored. Cool, hey? What made this so intense was that there was genuinely good people in this dome and there were also people who were out for blood. And was there ever blood, people exploding, stabbings, shootings, you name it. The action scenes were excellently written and the pacing was kept up so well that I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of the novel. After mentioning all of the blood and gore in these pages I’m not sure what it says about me that I had so much fun reading it, but I did!

As I am sure you can guess from above, we are greeted to some very… interesting characters in this novel. Our MC Evalyn was someone that I came to like quite a bit by the end of the story. She is very closed off when we meet her and struggling with all that has come about since she committed her crime (which we find out more about through flashbacks in the story.) She proves to be really strong and intelligent in the Compass Room and I loved being in her head. There is a bit of insta-love when it comes to her and Casey, which I could have done without but I do see and understand what the romance added to the story and Evalyn’s will to live. She wasn’t the only one finding herself in this room, we are treated to a budding lesbian romance which was really refreshing and didn’t feel insta-lovey to me at all. I really liked Jace and Valerie. Oh and there is also the young brainy boy Tanner who I liked for all of his technical thinking as he tried to figure out the inner workings of the Compass Room. So yea, I liked the characters and even the really bad ones that they were thrown into the room with served to keep me highly entertained.

One thing I did long for a bit more in the story was a more about the character, Nick. He came into Evalyn’s life prior to her crime and it’s made clear that he was a big part of it. Through Evalyn we are led to not trust him at all and know he is not a good person but I wanted more to define just how crazy bad he was. I was trying to explain this to a friend and it got me all tongue twisted, but the best way to put it is that I didn’t NEED more to enforce his darkness but I just WANTED more. I was perfectly ok to believe he was as twisted as we are led to believe but I wanted to read more about what made him tick. Maybe a novella could be in the works? A girl can dream, right?

If you are looking for a thrill ride, Sarah Harian’s debut is sure to fit the bill. I will anxiously be awaiting anything (AHEM, see above paragraph) that comes out in this series.

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For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads