Captured Minds

by R.A. Odum

For the last decade, famine has had the thriving land of Zoar in its grip. With money and food dwindling, seventeen-year-old Raven Montgomery longs for something more than working in the library. Driven by her love of learning, she enters a competition hosted by the Other World, where she will test her knowledge in order to win supplies Zoar desperately needs.

Before she can do so, Zoar’s ruler is killed, and hours later the Other World closes its door. Raven can’t believe the two events are connected. Yet, when she stumbles across Other World technology that holds classified information, she learns there may be more to the competition than meets the eye. Sure that her ruler’s death is somehow linked, she now faces the challenge of revealing the truth behind the Other World’s sinister ways before both lands are changed forever.

235 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 22, 2013

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Captured Minds" is a YA novel about a young woman who tries to help her country by competing in a competition hosted by The Other World (aka the US) to get food. Raven, the young woman, lives in Zoar, which is comprised of people who have left the US. During her preparation of the competition, she learns some overwhelming things about herself and her life.

The premise of this novel is actually pretty good. The government in the US wants to implant microchips and/or nanotechnology into everyone in order for people to have all the knowledge they would need without having to go to school. There are those who oppose this law (most have relocated to Zoar), and they want to stop the government from implanting everyone.

While I liked the premise of the novel, the writing was iffy, at best. The author seems to think that the characters need to change clothes every 5 minutes and that the reader needs to know what they are wearing in detail. The dialogue, especially towards the end, seemed stilted and lackluster. It was also evident that the first part of the novel was proofread, but the last 30% (I read this on my Kindle) needed work. There were jumps in characters and locations that just appeared in the text without any foundation.

I think with some editing this would be a solid work. At this point, however, I wouldn't recommend it.

[CARTER C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it's a good but very dry (sorry author)

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raven feels caught between the two worlds; the one in which she was raised and the one in which she's never seen, but has dreamed about seeing. A knowledge competition brings the two together and it doesn't go as planned. Immediately, the ruler of Zoar is killed and lies surrounding the competition begin to reveal to Raven the truth of her past. In order to conquer her future, she has to protect those around her from the thing she's struggled with her whole life. Raven discovers nothing is as it seems.

I would give "Captured Minds" by R.A. Odum at 3.5 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed the story, though parts of the characterization didn't flow very well and would switch too quickly to comprehend. The main character would go from angry to happy in two sentences. The plot was fast paced and I liked the twists in it.

One little pet peeve that bothered me: The T in "The Justice" was always capitalized, even in the middle of a sentence. Since his title was Justice, he only needed to be referred to as the Justice, not The Justice. I did also notice a few other grammatical errors throughout the book. One instance of a period and an exclamation point at the end of a sentence.

It was a very interesting story to read!

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is so horrible, I can't take it anymore. The characters are flat and their emotions are irrational. The plot seemed interesting at first bit then got convoluted and frankly, stupid. How does one go from "the other world" of Zoar with a purple sky (which, by the way, the planet's origins are never explained) to earth (which apparently only includes the United States of America in the books reality) by train? Why are hundreds of teenagers gladly willing to participate in scientific drugging experiments, supposedly for the benefit of humanity, only because they watched a video of kids on earth who are so smart that they are bored? Oh and let's cry about their boredom too, poor earth kids!
I could go on with the commentary, but I couldn't continue stomaching the book. I tried, I really did, but I am finished at 54% read.
This book could possibly be salvaged with a complete overhaul of characters, character names, plot, explanations, grammar and syntax. But as it stands, don't bother.

[Amy Carter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found it quite difficult to get through. The story line and characters were not well developed at all and many things were inserted with no explanation at all. I felt as though it just rambled on as though half of the book remained in the author's head. Things just occurred and came and went throughout the book without any real exploration of what was going on. I think the concept was a good one, but the execution of the story simply left it flopping like a dying fish on the proverbial shoreside. Also, the poor editing drove me nuts. One example that comes to mind is when someone speaks of purchasing something and says that it was ".... to by". Certainly not a book I would recommend, nor would I ever consider reading it again. I forced my way through with the continual hope that something would happen to tie the story together somehow. It didn't happen.

[Elizabeth C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! What I especially liked about the character of Raven is her positive possibility thinking, not letting her physical challenges or her past of loneliness due to being intellectually advanced for her age stop her from striving to make a difference in not one but two worlds. The land of Zoar is magnificently constructed, believable and able to highly resonate with us, especially in the areas of prioritization, values and difficult life choices. The plot twists kept me reading and guessing until the surprising cliffhanger at the end, which only whets my appetite even further for a continuation of Raven's story! Count me in as one of the first readers of a sequel! Thank you for the fun of reading this book!

[Miguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise, however, the dialogue at times is stilled and awkward. Short chapters with lots of twists and turns make it an easy read. Captured Minds is for fans of the Dystopian genre, especially young adults.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book, however I do wish the author would have done more to make it more interesting. I look forward to reading more of this authors work.

[Briana Zakszeski · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. Had potential but was so full or errors and inconsistencies that I almost couldn't finish it...at least it was free. Perhaps the editor and author will re-release a better version.