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The Season of Light and Darkness
A girl is woken early from her cryogenic slumber to find the authoritarian rule her family had hoped to escape is still very much in effect in this unforgettable young adult dystopian thriller.
In the months since a dictator was elected president, the United States has been turned upside down. Dissenters are deemed terrorists, including sixteen-year-old Ellie Jacobs’s family.
To escape persecution, the four of them—Ellie, her younger brother Scott, and their parents—decide to freeze themselves cryogenically for ten years in her father’s lab. In ten years, things will be better. They have to be.
But the government discovers the lab after only three years and thaws Ellie early. She awakens, completely alone, to a nightmare of a strange new world and is told the rest of her family didn’t survive. Suddenly, she must abandon everything she knows to go to through “ReAdmittance” and become “Initiated.” Ellie is terrified…until her boyfriend, Ryan, now a nineteen-year-old Initiated soldier, shows up and tells her everything will be fine, that she should trust the good people around her.
But Ellie isn’t sure if she can still trust Ryan.
What Ellie doesn’t know is that Scott never went through with the freeze. He ran away and has joined a band of teenage resistance fighters living in the mountains. No longer her “younger” brother, he’s now sixteen just like her. When Scott learns Ellie has been thawed early, he decides he must risk everything to save her before the brainwashing begins.
Together with other brave rebel teens, Ellie and Scott must navigate this terrible new world to find their way back to each other, before they lose everything—including who they are.
The first printing of this hardcover is a limited-run special edition featuring sprayed stenciled edges.
In the months since a dictator was elected president, the United States has been turned upside down. Dissenters are deemed terrorists, including sixteen-year-old Ellie Jacobs’s family.
To escape persecution, the four of them—Ellie, her younger brother Scott, and their parents—decide to freeze themselves cryogenically for ten years in her father’s lab. In ten years, things will be better. They have to be.
But the government discovers the lab after only three years and thaws Ellie early. She awakens, completely alone, to a nightmare of a strange new world and is told the rest of her family didn’t survive. Suddenly, she must abandon everything she knows to go to through “ReAdmittance” and become “Initiated.” Ellie is terrified…until her boyfriend, Ryan, now a nineteen-year-old Initiated soldier, shows up and tells her everything will be fine, that she should trust the good people around her.
But Ellie isn’t sure if she can still trust Ryan.
What Ellie doesn’t know is that Scott never went through with the freeze. He ran away and has joined a band of teenage resistance fighters living in the mountains. No longer her “younger” brother, he’s now sixteen just like her. When Scott learns Ellie has been thawed early, he decides he must risk everything to save her before the brainwashing begins.
Together with other brave rebel teens, Ellie and Scott must navigate this terrible new world to find their way back to each other, before they lose everything—including who they are.
The first printing of this hardcover is a limited-run special edition featuring sprayed stenciled edges.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published August 4, 2026
About the author
Jillian Cantor
17 books1,666 followersJillian Cantor is the USA Today and internationally bestselling author of fifteen novels for teens and adults, which have been chosen for LibraryReads, Indie Next, Amazon Best of the Month, and have been translated into 15 languages. Born and raised in a suburb of Philadelphia, Cantor currently lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
March 19, 2026
Need sequel ASAP which is why i was trying to wait until closer to the pub date but alas i have no control. Despite the fact that we are currently living in a dystopia, i really have missed reading them.
Everyone needs to read this because it’s exactly where we’re fucking headed.
But disregarding the real-life similarities and pretending that this is just another book (in case it hasn’t been clear in my review so far, it is NOT), this was amazing. Tense, heart stopping, fast-paced from the start, and an incredible start back into the era of our high school days. I felt like I couldn’t breathe the entire time and I’ve never read something so quickly. Every single aspect of this was compelling AF and the chapters were short and always ended on a cliffhanger which just upped the stakes.
Read this for pleasure and because if we don’t get our heads out of our asses, this is coming for all of us. And yes I said that twice to make sure it’s understood that we CANNOT let this happen.
Everyone needs to read this because it’s exactly where we’re fucking headed.
But disregarding the real-life similarities and pretending that this is just another book (in case it hasn’t been clear in my review so far, it is NOT), this was amazing. Tense, heart stopping, fast-paced from the start, and an incredible start back into the era of our high school days. I felt like I couldn’t breathe the entire time and I’ve never read something so quickly. Every single aspect of this was compelling AF and the chapters were short and always ended on a cliffhanger which just upped the stakes.
Read this for pleasure and because if we don’t get our heads out of our asses, this is coming for all of us. And yes I said that twice to make sure it’s understood that we CANNOT let this happen.
August 4, 2026
2 Stars
Started off so strong, and then it was just... nothing. What could have been a good political critique took a strange (and incomplete) turn into the personal. The too-close-to-home anti-science movement was a good antagonist... but our protagonists didn't get to do anything useful to take down the regime. And it wasn't even a good exercise in exploring futility. And if you're looking for a completed book? Well, this isn't one. It is clearly Book 1 in a series, by which I mean absolutely nothing wraps up here. It's all dangling plots and no resolution, so it isn't satisfying to get to the end.
Does that mean it's entirely a lost cause? Well, no. It does have good bones, and the characters here really do carry it. But boy, has dystopia been disappointing the last few years.
Anyway, my full review will be available over at Gateway Reviews on August 14, 2026. Stop by if you feel so inclined.
Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.
Started off so strong, and then it was just... nothing. What could have been a good political critique took a strange (and incomplete) turn into the personal. The too-close-to-home anti-science movement was a good antagonist... but our protagonists didn't get to do anything useful to take down the regime. And it wasn't even a good exercise in exploring futility. And if you're looking for a completed book? Well, this isn't one. It is clearly Book 1 in a series, by which I mean absolutely nothing wraps up here. It's all dangling plots and no resolution, so it isn't satisfying to get to the end.
Does that mean it's entirely a lost cause? Well, no. It does have good bones, and the characters here really do carry it. But boy, has dystopia been disappointing the last few years.
Anyway, my full review will be available over at Gateway Reviews on August 14, 2026. Stop by if you feel so inclined.
Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
2.5 ⭐️
i wanted to like this, and it was a fast/entertaining read, at least. however, i think that the commentary within this book is both surface level and "obvious." there's a lot of pieces of this dystopian world (ie: complete absence of doctors, lack of acknowledgement of allergies) that don't really make any sense in that i don't understand what these things "do" for the fascist regime in the book.
it also discusses implications of lack of science and devolves into a sexist world, but racism is not discussed once. the electee president is clearly trying to make a "1950s" usa, but somehow race isn't mentioned in this goal (i mean, women all have to have platinum blonde hair, this has undertones no?).
essentially, though this book had promise and intrigue, the commentary is surface level / doesn't provoke much conversation/depth.
**thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC copy**
i wanted to like this, and it was a fast/entertaining read, at least. however, i think that the commentary within this book is both surface level and "obvious." there's a lot of pieces of this dystopian world (ie: complete absence of doctors, lack of acknowledgement of allergies) that don't really make any sense in that i don't understand what these things "do" for the fascist regime in the book.
it also discusses implications of lack of science and devolves into a sexist world, but racism is not discussed once. the electee president is clearly trying to make a "1950s" usa, but somehow race isn't mentioned in this goal (i mean, women all have to have platinum blonde hair, this has undertones no?).
essentially, though this book had promise and intrigue, the commentary is surface level / doesn't provoke much conversation/depth.
**thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC copy**
August 16, 2026
Well, if this isn’t one of the most terrifyingly plausible books ever. And I was sucked in, wholly invested, and frankly terrified (because well, look around) by how easily this could be our reality. In some cases, it is, honestly. You need to read it for yourself to understand how chilling this anti-science world is, how precariously close we are to this same tipping point. I honestly wonder if this had been written 20 years ago whether we’d all think it was too outlandish, but… here we are, and we know it isn’t. I digress. I really enjoyed Ellie’s story, loved her family’s role in the resistance, and was definitely hooked. Here’s where I am left a bit unsure: it ends, rather abruptly. Is this a cliffhanger for another book? Or is that just… it? Because if it’s the former, then cool, I am in! If it is the latter, it changes my feelings on the book a bit, because I don’t feel satisfied. But I can find nothing indicating one way or another whether it will continue, so for now I feel a bit in limbo. I’m going to rate 4 stars for now because most of the book was awesome. If there’s a sequel, I’ll likely bump it up because it was very good and compulsively readable, I just needed way more from the ending.
August 1, 2026
Dystopian thriller. It’s marketed as a Young Adult but honestly the messages and depthness behind it can also be marketed as adult. I did not know going in that this was book one of a series. The cliff hanger has me eagerly waiting for book two!
Ellie is a sixteen year old girl who is supposed to be cryogenically frozen for 10 years to avoid the recently appointed radical administration but is thawed out early. She wakes up to a very different world and does not know who to trust. There are so many patterns and parallels to the current American experience.
Really great story line with so many details. The plot was executed flawlessly (so far)!! The leader of the US is a dictator and has changed the way of living. Has captured doctors and scientists. Closed medical facilities. Doesn’t believe in science and vaccines. Females attend school until the age of 15 then are given the option of certain jobs. They are to wed at the age of 18 and basically serve their husband (total nightmare). The people who follow the new administration have to go through “training” or what they call getting ReAdmitted. They attend classes where they learn to focus on faith, beauty and domesticity and also are injected with serums that brainwash them to forget the past and to “willingly” follow the President’s new laws and obligations. Every female must wear a white dress and have their hair dyed blonde. All the males are soldiers and wear khakis. The President has even changed the name of Dallas, Texas to Freedom, Texas (uncanny, huh??).
There’s a group of resistance fighters who have to hide or else their lives will end or they get sent to Guantanamo Bay. One of these fighters is Ellie’s brother, Scott, who she does not know is alive. When he finds out Ellie has been thawed out early and in the hands of the administration he sets off on a journey to save her. There’s a lot that happens in the book and it is done and explained perfectly.
Well developed characters. Fast paced. Short chapters. Multiple POV. Total page turner. Twists. Gripping and compelling. Suspenseful!!
This has to be a movie. I hope there’s talks of it. I have loved everything I have read from Jillian Cantor.
She is an auto-buy author for me and I always recommend her books. This particular one is very very different from her other works but it’s still amazing. I read it in two days and couldn’t stop taking about it. I think I annoyed my friends! I pre-ordered a copy that comes with sprayed stenciled edges (first printing only!).
If I had to compare it to a book….? Maybe a mix of The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984 and Hunger Gamesish?
The sequel needs to come out this year. Please? Pretty please???
5 stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you NetGalley, Jillian Cantor and Simone & Schuster for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ellie is a sixteen year old girl who is supposed to be cryogenically frozen for 10 years to avoid the recently appointed radical administration but is thawed out early. She wakes up to a very different world and does not know who to trust. There are so many patterns and parallels to the current American experience.
Really great story line with so many details. The plot was executed flawlessly (so far)!! The leader of the US is a dictator and has changed the way of living. Has captured doctors and scientists. Closed medical facilities. Doesn’t believe in science and vaccines. Females attend school until the age of 15 then are given the option of certain jobs. They are to wed at the age of 18 and basically serve their husband (total nightmare). The people who follow the new administration have to go through “training” or what they call getting ReAdmitted. They attend classes where they learn to focus on faith, beauty and domesticity and also are injected with serums that brainwash them to forget the past and to “willingly” follow the President’s new laws and obligations. Every female must wear a white dress and have their hair dyed blonde. All the males are soldiers and wear khakis. The President has even changed the name of Dallas, Texas to Freedom, Texas (uncanny, huh??).
There’s a group of resistance fighters who have to hide or else their lives will end or they get sent to Guantanamo Bay. One of these fighters is Ellie’s brother, Scott, who she does not know is alive. When he finds out Ellie has been thawed out early and in the hands of the administration he sets off on a journey to save her. There’s a lot that happens in the book and it is done and explained perfectly.
Well developed characters. Fast paced. Short chapters. Multiple POV. Total page turner. Twists. Gripping and compelling. Suspenseful!!
This has to be a movie. I hope there’s talks of it. I have loved everything I have read from Jillian Cantor.
She is an auto-buy author for me and I always recommend her books. This particular one is very very different from her other works but it’s still amazing. I read it in two days and couldn’t stop taking about it. I think I annoyed my friends! I pre-ordered a copy that comes with sprayed stenciled edges (first printing only!).
If I had to compare it to a book….? Maybe a mix of The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984 and Hunger Gamesish?
The sequel needs to come out this year. Please? Pretty please???
5 stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you NetGalley, Jillian Cantor and Simone & Schuster for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 15, 2026
This started out strong. Three years ago, the government became a Fascist Regime run by President Lyon. Science is considered evil and all funding for it stopped. Ellie’s father, a scientist decides that he and his family will all get frozen and thaw after 10 years when he believes this Authoritarian Rule will have stopped. Yet, someone knows about the freezing and Ellie is found after 3 years. She is thawed and wakes up to find herself in the middle of President Lyon’s brutal dictatorship. The whole United States has had to become part of ReAd and was forced to take medication to make them completely forget about the past and embrace President Lyon and this way of living. Only, a few people became part of the Resistance and Ellie realizes that her brother, Scott may be one of them.
After listening to this part, the book kind of stalls. Not that much happens as Ellie and Mateo (knew Ellie before the freezing and lived in woods to escape ReAd) try and find out if her brother is alive. It feels very young adult as a possible romance between Mateo and Ellie occurs. I did not realize that this was a Young Adult Book and should have looked that up before. This is the first book in a planned series.
The narration was well done. I like Jillian Cantor’s books, but I am not the right person for this one. So, the story was ok, but disappointed it didn’t pull me in and really relate to the characters.
After listening to this part, the book kind of stalls. Not that much happens as Ellie and Mateo (knew Ellie before the freezing and lived in woods to escape ReAd) try and find out if her brother is alive. It feels very young adult as a possible romance between Mateo and Ellie occurs. I did not realize that this was a Young Adult Book and should have looked that up before. This is the first book in a planned series.
The narration was well done. I like Jillian Cantor’s books, but I am not the right person for this one. So, the story was ok, but disappointed it didn’t pull me in and really relate to the characters.
October 12, 2026
The first in a near-future dystopian duology that feels eerily close to reality in some ways. After the rise of a fascist leader in the United States, a teen girl and her family are cryogenically frozen, hoping to wake 10 years later when things are better. But Ellie is woken early, her parents having died in the process, and things are far worse. A vision of what feels all too possible given the path we're on in an engaging story for teens with a romantic subplot. A solid and easy read! I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
DNF'd at 36%.
This book is sort of fascinating in the sense that it's a novel about a dystopian fascist dictatorship written by someone who obviously has no clue about politics or fascism. Or science, for that matter.
This book is compared to The Handmaid's Tale, but it is absolutely nothing like that. The premise is threadbare; the world is bad because a bad guy got elected. There is no overarching motivation, or background politics. The author wanted a dystopian backdrop and that's it. The science mentioned here is even dumber somehow, with a physicist freezing his family to survive the dictatorship. He figures 10 years should do the trick. Why a physicist was working on cryogenics, no clue. How he's able to construct something that can freeze a family of 4 when they only worked on mice, no clue.
The fascist government that's ruling the United States in this book is obviously supposed to be an analogue to Trump, but it's coming from a place of fundamental misunderstanding. It posits that this leader is just controlling and bombing the country just cause and doesn't get at any of the motivations that bring bad people to power. The main character in the book thinks about the Taliban taking over Afghanistan, and how this is similar. The Taliban didn't just spring into existence for no reason. I get that this is a young adult book, and you could say that it doesn't need to be that deep, but I call bullshit on that. The Hunger Games had a lot of world building around the political structure of the world and how that affected the districts and its people.
This book just wants the gritty environs without any of the work. That just makes for an incredibly shallow, flimsy narrative with bland characters to boot. This is not worth your time.
This book is sort of fascinating in the sense that it's a novel about a dystopian fascist dictatorship written by someone who obviously has no clue about politics or fascism. Or science, for that matter.
This book is compared to The Handmaid's Tale, but it is absolutely nothing like that. The premise is threadbare; the world is bad because a bad guy got elected. There is no overarching motivation, or background politics. The author wanted a dystopian backdrop and that's it. The science mentioned here is even dumber somehow, with a physicist freezing his family to survive the dictatorship. He figures 10 years should do the trick. Why a physicist was working on cryogenics, no clue. How he's able to construct something that can freeze a family of 4 when they only worked on mice, no clue.
The fascist government that's ruling the United States in this book is obviously supposed to be an analogue to Trump, but it's coming from a place of fundamental misunderstanding. It posits that this leader is just controlling and bombing the country just cause and doesn't get at any of the motivations that bring bad people to power. The main character in the book thinks about the Taliban taking over Afghanistan, and how this is similar. The Taliban didn't just spring into existence for no reason. I get that this is a young adult book, and you could say that it doesn't need to be that deep, but I call bullshit on that. The Hunger Games had a lot of world building around the political structure of the world and how that affected the districts and its people.
This book just wants the gritty environs without any of the work. That just makes for an incredibly shallow, flimsy narrative with bland characters to boot. This is not worth your time.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing company Simon Pulse for this arc.
Listen, this might just be a me problem. Let me start by saying that the premise is so fascinating. Gives me Fallout vibes that the protagonist and her family go into cryo to escape the world and the dictator. I was excited on that alone, as well as the idea of dystopian in general. But it is very young adult. I mean, very. If you are expecting to go into this and think about this world in a deep and meaningful way, learning how science gone in a world would lead to destruction, don't bother. The writing tells you what people are feeling and that's about it. No meaningful conversations or thoughts about the world. It also doesn't go into detail about how the world changed so much in under three years, which I personally thought would be important. Again though, this might just be me. I would still recommend you check it out, just know that you are walking into a heavily YA written story.
Listen, this might just be a me problem. Let me start by saying that the premise is so fascinating. Gives me Fallout vibes that the protagonist and her family go into cryo to escape the world and the dictator. I was excited on that alone, as well as the idea of dystopian in general. But it is very young adult. I mean, very. If you are expecting to go into this and think about this world in a deep and meaningful way, learning how science gone in a world would lead to destruction, don't bother. The writing tells you what people are feeling and that's about it. No meaningful conversations or thoughts about the world. It also doesn't go into detail about how the world changed so much in under three years, which I personally thought would be important. Again though, this might just be me. I would still recommend you check it out, just know that you are walking into a heavily YA written story.
July 17, 2026
the first lines of this book gripped me in immediately bc of the cool (and alarming) dystopian plot line; it was a very fast paced and entertaining read (for the most part).
i do wish the author went more in depth about the systems set in place & why ellie's father believed that cyrosleeping was the only option. the ending felt very rushed and i was losing interest after the 70% mark; random scenes were included that didn't necessarily add any value to the whole "fighting back" agenda of wanting to stop lyon's presidency.
thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!!
i do wish the author went more in depth about the systems set in place & why ellie's father believed that cyrosleeping was the only option. the ending felt very rushed and i was losing interest after the 70% mark; random scenes were included that didn't necessarily add any value to the whole "fighting back" agenda of wanting to stop lyon's presidency.
thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!!
October 24, 2026
I could have left higher stars because the beginning of this book was actually pretty interesting and good. Because I don’t want anybody to waste their time starting it. It became a huge letdown about a quarter of the way in.
There were major plot holes and things about the story that were not addressed, which was incredibly frustrating. It makes no sense that the government would use an injection to mind control you but then get rid of the scientists of the people who administer and make it. I am aware that this is an allegory of the current political clown show, but even this is really just not well thought out. There’s also the matter of if people willingly took this drug to pledge loyalty who is to say anything’s gonna happen when they stop using the drug? It was mentioned that there were resistance people in the beginning. Do they think that just snapping them out of mind control is going to make them see the way? I highly doubt that.
The story was pretty fast until the last third of the book. Before that I couldn’t keep up with all of the weird errors like the grandma having a walker, then storming around and the South Pacific costumes being modern fatigues? The ones that made me annoyed the most was the complete disregard of the subject of racism and Ellies’s hypocrisy over being against capitalism but being upset about stealing for survival. Reading lib books is so hard when you’re a leftist and actually care about systemic oppression and lack of intersectionality in everything in this book.
There were major plot holes and things about the story that were not addressed, which was incredibly frustrating. It makes no sense that the government would use an injection to mind control you but then get rid of the scientists of the people who administer and make it. I am aware that this is an allegory of the current political clown show, but even this is really just not well thought out. There’s also the matter of if people willingly took this drug to pledge loyalty who is to say anything’s gonna happen when they stop using the drug? It was mentioned that there were resistance people in the beginning. Do they think that just snapping them out of mind control is going to make them see the way? I highly doubt that.
The story was pretty fast until the last third of the book. Before that I couldn’t keep up with all of the weird errors like the grandma having a walker, then storming around and the South Pacific costumes being modern fatigues? The ones that made me annoyed the most was the complete disregard of the subject of racism and Ellies’s hypocrisy over being against capitalism but being upset about stealing for survival. Reading lib books is so hard when you’re a leftist and actually care about systemic oppression and lack of intersectionality in everything in this book.
October 4, 2026
The Season of Light and Darkness is a YA dystopian novel about a teenage girl (Ellie) that is cryogenically frozen with her family in hopes of temporarily escaping a new authoritarian regime that has taken over the U.S. But when she is woken up early without her family and things have gotten dramatically worse, she is forced to adapt to a changed country and limited rights. But there is also a resistance group that is also interested in Ellie.
This is a fast-paced dystopian novel that is both entertaining and has a message about how rapidly rights and freedoms can be lost. I think readers will find it timely and will root for Ellie and the other young people in the novel.
Rating: 3.25
Disclosure: An advanced copy of The Season of Light and Darkness was provided by Simon Pulse for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is a fast-paced dystopian novel that is both entertaining and has a message about how rapidly rights and freedoms can be lost. I think readers will find it timely and will root for Ellie and the other young people in the novel.
Rating: 3.25
Disclosure: An advanced copy of The Season of Light and Darkness was provided by Simon Pulse for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 8, 2026
I finished this book in two sittings! I will always love young adult dystopians, and this one was pretty intriguing!!
What to expect/tropes:
⋆˙⟡ A unique dystopian plot (the FMC wakes up early from a 10 yr freeze)
⋆˙⟡ A dictatorial government & rebels
⋆˙⟡ Multiple POVs
⋆˙⟡ A love triangle blooming 🤭🤍
It is the first book in the series, and I’m definitely excited to see where the story goes next!!
Thank you to NetGalley, and Simon Teen / Simon Pulse for the ARC 📚✨
What to expect/tropes:
⋆˙⟡ A unique dystopian plot (the FMC wakes up early from a 10 yr freeze)
⋆˙⟡ A dictatorial government & rebels
⋆˙⟡ Multiple POVs
⋆˙⟡ A love triangle blooming 🤭🤍
It is the first book in the series, and I’m definitely excited to see where the story goes next!!
Thank you to NetGalley, and Simon Teen / Simon Pulse for the ARC 📚✨
Read
October 5, 2026This book felt very nostalgic of the 2008 to 2012-ish dystopian era of YA, which was fun! I was definitely hooked and interested in how the story unfolded. That being said, it was very strange to me that the author wrote a dystopian society with a Trump-esque misogynistic, anti-science dictator but didn't at all acknowledge or address race. It felt like a glaring omission to not address this.
This is a series opener, and while I'm curious about where the story will go, I probably won't rush to get to the next one.
This is a series opener, and while I'm curious about where the story will go, I probably won't rush to get to the next one.
July 24, 2026
This was a fun YA dystopian. It ends on a cliffhanger so I’m guessing there will be a sequel and I will probably read it, too. Listen, did the political logic and science make sense? Almost never. Is it outrageous that the responsibility of taking back the country from an evil dictator rests on the shoulders of a few random teens and a grandma? Yep. But was it a good time? Also yes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2026
Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted copies!
This book was definitely a little difficult to read just because of how accurate it is, but that’s what makes sci-fi so good!
One thing I really enjoyed about this book were the short chapters. It made switching between multiple POVs less frustrating, and it kept the story moving very quickly.
It definitely had a lot of elements of The Handmaid’s Tale and Divergent. This was a great YA sci-fi that I didn’t realize wasn’t a standalone! So now I definitely need the next book to know what happens!
This book was definitely a little difficult to read just because of how accurate it is, but that’s what makes sci-fi so good!
One thing I really enjoyed about this book were the short chapters. It made switching between multiple POVs less frustrating, and it kept the story moving very quickly.
It definitely had a lot of elements of The Handmaid’s Tale and Divergent. This was a great YA sci-fi that I didn’t realize wasn’t a standalone! So now I definitely need the next book to know what happens!
April 29, 2026
This is a ya book that comes out in 8/26. It’s a dystopian thriller about a girl who was cryogenically ally frozen but is thawed early. She awakes to a world that is radically different. Truly a page turner that kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat until the end.
August 30, 2026
Hard to believe this is the same author that wrote The Lost Letter. Which was a 5⭐️ for me. Completely different genre. Read this as a buddy read. We were both pretty disappointed with the book. This was a big miss. 👎🏼
October 13, 2026
I won this book in Goodreads giveaways, and I did really like it! Perfect for young adults.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Starting off, I thought this was a very interesting read! I liked the dystopian feel of it, along with the political environment. It felt as if I was watching a movie on the big screen! The multiple POV’s were nice, however, I feel like one was randomly thrown in until we started getting who they were to the main characters. I wish there was more of the background of how life was prior vs now, it would’ve been easier to have more feelings invested towards the characters and what they deal with. I enjoyed how the plot held throughout, but seeing more of the science part and maybe more inner thoughts of the MC’s would be better. The ending fell flat for me unfortunately, it left me wanting a lot more as I know it was a cliffhanger but something was missing on it for me!
October 11, 2026
## The Season of Light and Darkness — Jillian Cantor
### PRE-READING
There is something particularly unsettling about a dystopia that feels a little too plausible. In *The Season of Light and Darkness*, a newly elected US president declares war on science, scientists are forced to register themselves, and dissenters are treated as enemies of the state. It's the sort of premise that makes you wish the author had a more wildly imaginative view of the future.
There are shades of the eighties miniseries *V* here, too, with its authoritarian regime and the persecution of a group who represent something much bigger than themselves.
### POST-READING
Ellie Jacobs and her family are trying to escape a government that considers them dangerous. Their solution is cryogenic freezing: wait ten years, wake up when things have improved, and start again. Unfortunately, the government discovers their laboratory after only three years, and Ellie is thawed alone into a world she barely recognises.
Her younger brother Scott, meanwhile, never went through with the freezing and has spent those years growing up in the resistance. When he learns Ellie is alive, he has to find a way to save her before the government can brainwash her into becoming one of its own.
There are several threads to follow here — Ellie, Scott and Ellie's boyfriend Ryan — but they come together nicely as the story progresses. The freezing mechanism is a particularly clever way of introducing Ellie to this unfamiliar world. She has no idea what has happened during her missing years, and neither does the reader, so we discover the new rules alongside her.
The political imagery is not exactly subtle. Scientists are persecuted as a proxy for Jewish people, while the president's demands that all women have platinum-blonde hair, regardless of their natural colouring, add another layer of enforced conformity. The regime's methods and imagery deliberately evoke Nazism, making this a story about much more than a futuristic technological nightmare.
### As I expected
The atmosphere is one of the strongest elements of the book. Sterile corridors, whispered conversations that must not be overheard, and young people determined to fight back all contribute to a world where even the smallest act of independence can be dangerous.
The resistance threads also give the story some welcome variety. Ellie is trying to work out whom she can trust, while Scott has been fighting against the system for years. They are siblings, but they have effectively grown up in different worlds.
### I was surprised by
How neatly the different storylines come together by the end. With several characters and perspectives to follow, there's a risk of the story feeling fragmented, but their journeys converge in a satisfying way.
That said, this is clearly the beginning of a larger story. Several questions remain unresolved, and there is plenty of room for another volume. Happily, it doesn't end on a complete cliffhanger, although I would certainly like to know what happens next.
### RECOMMENDATIONS
For another YA dystopia about young people resisting an oppressive system, try *The Hunger Games* by Suzanne Collins. And for the television comparison that kept coming to mind while reading, seek out the original *V* miniseries, with its sinister authoritarian visitors and the resistance trying to expose them.
### MUSIC PAIRING
**“The Resistance” — Muse**
A fitting soundtrack for young people discovering that the world they've been told to trust is built on lies, and deciding to fight back anyway.
### VIBE CHECK
**Colour palette:** Clinical white, cold silver, shadowy grey and the artificial platinum blonde demanded by the regime.
**Soundtrack:** Fluorescent lights humming in sterile corridors, whispered conversations, distant footsteps and the sudden noise of a door opening when it really shouldn't.
**Season:** Winter, with the promise of spring somewhere beyond the walls.
**Mood:** Paranoid, claustrophobic, defiant and quietly hopeful.
**Scent:** Disinfectant, cold metal and the stale air of rooms where nobody feels safe enough to speak freely.
**Texture:** Smooth laboratory surfaces, stiff uniforms, cold glass and the rough fabric of clothes worn by people who have been living outside the system.
### TAROT CARD PULLED
**The Moon**
The Moon is about uncertainty, hidden truths and the difficulty of knowing whom to trust. It is particularly appropriate for Ellie, who wakes into a world where the information she receives may be deliberately misleading, the people around her may not be what they seem, and she must find her own way through the darkness.
It's also a card for the frightening space between what we believe and what we can prove. In Ellie's world, that space is exactly where the government wants to keep her.
### ✦ THE TRUE QUESTION ✦
**When the world insists that a lie is the truth, how do you hold on to what you know?**
Ellie and Scott must both work out which voices deserve their trust, while a government determined to control people's thoughts and identities tries to make independent thinking impossible. Their resistance begins with refusing to surrender their own understanding of the world.
*The Season of Light and Darkness* published on 4 August 2026. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
### PRE-READING
There is something particularly unsettling about a dystopia that feels a little too plausible. In *The Season of Light and Darkness*, a newly elected US president declares war on science, scientists are forced to register themselves, and dissenters are treated as enemies of the state. It's the sort of premise that makes you wish the author had a more wildly imaginative view of the future.
There are shades of the eighties miniseries *V* here, too, with its authoritarian regime and the persecution of a group who represent something much bigger than themselves.
### POST-READING
Ellie Jacobs and her family are trying to escape a government that considers them dangerous. Their solution is cryogenic freezing: wait ten years, wake up when things have improved, and start again. Unfortunately, the government discovers their laboratory after only three years, and Ellie is thawed alone into a world she barely recognises.
Her younger brother Scott, meanwhile, never went through with the freezing and has spent those years growing up in the resistance. When he learns Ellie is alive, he has to find a way to save her before the government can brainwash her into becoming one of its own.
There are several threads to follow here — Ellie, Scott and Ellie's boyfriend Ryan — but they come together nicely as the story progresses. The freezing mechanism is a particularly clever way of introducing Ellie to this unfamiliar world. She has no idea what has happened during her missing years, and neither does the reader, so we discover the new rules alongside her.
The political imagery is not exactly subtle. Scientists are persecuted as a proxy for Jewish people, while the president's demands that all women have platinum-blonde hair, regardless of their natural colouring, add another layer of enforced conformity. The regime's methods and imagery deliberately evoke Nazism, making this a story about much more than a futuristic technological nightmare.
### As I expected
The atmosphere is one of the strongest elements of the book. Sterile corridors, whispered conversations that must not be overheard, and young people determined to fight back all contribute to a world where even the smallest act of independence can be dangerous.
The resistance threads also give the story some welcome variety. Ellie is trying to work out whom she can trust, while Scott has been fighting against the system for years. They are siblings, but they have effectively grown up in different worlds.
### I was surprised by
How neatly the different storylines come together by the end. With several characters and perspectives to follow, there's a risk of the story feeling fragmented, but their journeys converge in a satisfying way.
That said, this is clearly the beginning of a larger story. Several questions remain unresolved, and there is plenty of room for another volume. Happily, it doesn't end on a complete cliffhanger, although I would certainly like to know what happens next.
### RECOMMENDATIONS
For another YA dystopia about young people resisting an oppressive system, try *The Hunger Games* by Suzanne Collins. And for the television comparison that kept coming to mind while reading, seek out the original *V* miniseries, with its sinister authoritarian visitors and the resistance trying to expose them.
### MUSIC PAIRING
**“The Resistance” — Muse**
A fitting soundtrack for young people discovering that the world they've been told to trust is built on lies, and deciding to fight back anyway.
### VIBE CHECK
**Colour palette:** Clinical white, cold silver, shadowy grey and the artificial platinum blonde demanded by the regime.
**Soundtrack:** Fluorescent lights humming in sterile corridors, whispered conversations, distant footsteps and the sudden noise of a door opening when it really shouldn't.
**Season:** Winter, with the promise of spring somewhere beyond the walls.
**Mood:** Paranoid, claustrophobic, defiant and quietly hopeful.
**Scent:** Disinfectant, cold metal and the stale air of rooms where nobody feels safe enough to speak freely.
**Texture:** Smooth laboratory surfaces, stiff uniforms, cold glass and the rough fabric of clothes worn by people who have been living outside the system.
### TAROT CARD PULLED
**The Moon**
The Moon is about uncertainty, hidden truths and the difficulty of knowing whom to trust. It is particularly appropriate for Ellie, who wakes into a world where the information she receives may be deliberately misleading, the people around her may not be what they seem, and she must find her own way through the darkness.
It's also a card for the frightening space between what we believe and what we can prove. In Ellie's world, that space is exactly where the government wants to keep her.
### ✦ THE TRUE QUESTION ✦
**When the world insists that a lie is the truth, how do you hold on to what you know?**
Ellie and Scott must both work out which voices deserve their trust, while a government determined to control people's thoughts and identities tries to make independent thinking impossible. Their resistance begins with refusing to surrender their own understanding of the world.
*The Season of Light and Darkness* published on 4 August 2026. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
September 21, 2026
DNF @54%
Ellie and her brother Scott are children of a Jewish scientist who foresaw fascism coming when President Lyon was elected in an unexpected victory and cyrogenically froze his family with the intent to wake them back up in ten years. When Ellie is thawed early and discovers she's the only one, she and Scott must fight their ways back to each other to save the country.
This was a really cool concept that had an unimpressive execution. I think this novel could''ve been written much better, especially if the fact that Scott and Ellie's father was a Jewish scientist had been emphasized ... any more, really. Instead, we have them as sort of half-Jewish characters where it's barely relevant, even though a guy at Ellie's "ReAd" center is referring to her has one of "their kind". I'm not asking the author to browbeat us with the characters' Judaism, but given that a big point of this book is that the fascist dictator has banned religion and appointed himself as a prophet and their catchphrase is "God Bless Lyon" in the same way that "Under His Eye" is the catchphrase in Gilead, it really seems like it should have been more relevant.
The worldbuilding is also not great. Like other reviewers, I think it could've been better if the racism was more obvious. There are very few blonde non-mixed race African women, after all. It kind of seems like the author just forgot about characters of color, which is not a good look. It's also unrealistic how fast the fascism hit. It wouldn't have been that hard for things to not go from President is elected one day to suddenly all the news stations are being bombed. I get that this is YA and YA is often unsubtle, but teenage readers are smarter than this book seems to be catering to.
The reason I DNF'd was because there was a very compelling POV among the multi-POV book from a girl named Olivia who is working within the ReAd system, and her last POV until the *very last chapter* stops at 53%. It seemed like the POV switches in this book only served the purpose of serving as cliffhangers, not being there for any reason other than that. What does Mateo add to the book other than being Ellie's love interest? Pretty much nothing, at least not at about halfway through the book. The book seemed like it was supposed to be primarily about Ellie and primarily about the anti-feminist regime, so adding another POV just to be the love interest and getting rid of Olivia/Liv's POV halfway through the book was annoying. If the author truly wanted to write a feminist dystopian, she easily could've added the POV of one of the two girls at Scott's "camp" to the book instead of Mateo's seemingly pointless POV. Or even, hey, add Ellie's grandmother! That would've also been relevant for the Jewish aspect of the book.
This wasn't the book for me, but if you're a fan of dystopians and don't mind when they're fairly surface-level with sparse worldbuilding, it might be the one for you.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jillian Cantor, and Simon Pulse for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Ellie and her brother Scott are children of a Jewish scientist who foresaw fascism coming when President Lyon was elected in an unexpected victory and cyrogenically froze his family with the intent to wake them back up in ten years. When Ellie is thawed early and discovers she's the only one, she and Scott must fight their ways back to each other to save the country.
This was a really cool concept that had an unimpressive execution. I think this novel could''ve been written much better, especially if the fact that Scott and Ellie's father was a Jewish scientist had been emphasized ... any more, really. Instead, we have them as sort of half-Jewish characters where it's barely relevant, even though a guy at Ellie's "ReAd" center is referring to her has one of "their kind". I'm not asking the author to browbeat us with the characters' Judaism, but given that a big point of this book is that the fascist dictator has banned religion and appointed himself as a prophet and their catchphrase is "God Bless Lyon" in the same way that "Under His Eye" is the catchphrase in Gilead, it really seems like it should have been more relevant.
The worldbuilding is also not great. Like other reviewers, I think it could've been better if the racism was more obvious. There are very few blonde non-mixed race African women, after all. It kind of seems like the author just forgot about characters of color, which is not a good look. It's also unrealistic how fast the fascism hit. It wouldn't have been that hard for things to not go from President is elected one day to suddenly all the news stations are being bombed. I get that this is YA and YA is often unsubtle, but teenage readers are smarter than this book seems to be catering to.
The reason I DNF'd was because there was a very compelling POV among the multi-POV book from a girl named Olivia who is working within the ReAd system, and her last POV until the *very last chapter* stops at 53%. It seemed like the POV switches in this book only served the purpose of serving as cliffhangers, not being there for any reason other than that. What does Mateo add to the book other than being Ellie's love interest? Pretty much nothing, at least not at about halfway through the book. The book seemed like it was supposed to be primarily about Ellie and primarily about the anti-feminist regime, so adding another POV just to be the love interest and getting rid of Olivia/Liv's POV halfway through the book was annoying. If the author truly wanted to write a feminist dystopian, she easily could've added the POV of one of the two girls at Scott's "camp" to the book instead of Mateo's seemingly pointless POV. Or even, hey, add Ellie's grandmother! That would've also been relevant for the Jewish aspect of the book.
This wasn't the book for me, but if you're a fan of dystopians and don't mind when they're fairly surface-level with sparse worldbuilding, it might be the one for you.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jillian Cantor, and Simon Pulse for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Handmaid's Tale was one of the first adult books I read as an adult and it has really stuck with me. I feel like there wasn't a lot of dystopian YA when I was growing up and the bleakness of the world really hit me hard. Well, there is a LOT of dystopian YA now and yet, it is still a kick in the teeth when I see so many parallels to the world we are living in and hopefully not becoming.
You would have to be living under a rock to not recognize patterns between the start of this book and the current American experience. Substitute greed for pride in the overblown buffoon in office, substitute racism and fear for, I don't know, scientific understanding and gender roles, and we're nearly there!
But because this is YA, the lines are drawn pretty simply and the story boils down to a resistance adventure. In a good way!
I try not to wallow in the doom that many folks gobble up and I don't judge those that live in fear now, but I appreciated the stark black and white of the fictional world. There is an elected "dictator." People are given "reeducation" (involving what sounds like some pretty good drugs) to make them more amenable to the new world order. Everyone is painted in black and white so that it is easy to see if they are a goodie or a baddie. It's kind of refreshing to know exactly who to hate.
And the story kicks butt! It appears to be about Ellie, a girl who was frozen with her family to wait out an administration who hates science with the passionate intensity of a thousand burning suns. Which half the country would not ever be able to calculate because girls don't get to go to school anymore. But it is half the story of Scott, her little brother who ran away before he could be frozen and now lives in the wilderness with the partisans. Stir in an unstoppable grandma and sweet plot twist involving food allergies and you have a nonstop adventure in how to resist fascism.
There are some great details in here. My favorite is that all women, who are expected to be married by 18 at the latest, are required to dye their hair blonde. The hatred of science is the main thrust of the police state, and it is explained by the end of the book, but it doesn't hit as hard as a more realistic idealist lynchpin. But no matter, this book isn't about defining the paradigm of the overlords so much as the freedom intrinsic to resistance. Wow, those last two sentences might be the word-salad-iest sentences I have ever written, but they are accurate.
TLDR - I loved this book and will 100% be nominating it for the Mass. Teen Choice book award list. And I can't wait for the inevitable sequel, even though I will have to reread this one before reading it unless Jillian Cantor already wrote it and is going to release it before I forget all the salient details. Unlikely, but I live in hope!
Thanks to Netgalley for the digital ARC.
You would have to be living under a rock to not recognize patterns between the start of this book and the current American experience. Substitute greed for pride in the overblown buffoon in office, substitute racism and fear for, I don't know, scientific understanding and gender roles, and we're nearly there!
But because this is YA, the lines are drawn pretty simply and the story boils down to a resistance adventure. In a good way!
I try not to wallow in the doom that many folks gobble up and I don't judge those that live in fear now, but I appreciated the stark black and white of the fictional world. There is an elected "dictator." People are given "reeducation" (involving what sounds like some pretty good drugs) to make them more amenable to the new world order. Everyone is painted in black and white so that it is easy to see if they are a goodie or a baddie. It's kind of refreshing to know exactly who to hate.
And the story kicks butt! It appears to be about Ellie, a girl who was frozen with her family to wait out an administration who hates science with the passionate intensity of a thousand burning suns. Which half the country would not ever be able to calculate because girls don't get to go to school anymore. But it is half the story of Scott, her little brother who ran away before he could be frozen and now lives in the wilderness with the partisans. Stir in an unstoppable grandma and sweet plot twist involving food allergies and you have a nonstop adventure in how to resist fascism.
There are some great details in here. My favorite is that all women, who are expected to be married by 18 at the latest, are required to dye their hair blonde. The hatred of science is the main thrust of the police state, and it is explained by the end of the book, but it doesn't hit as hard as a more realistic idealist lynchpin. But no matter, this book isn't about defining the paradigm of the overlords so much as the freedom intrinsic to resistance. Wow, those last two sentences might be the word-salad-iest sentences I have ever written, but they are accurate.
TLDR - I loved this book and will 100% be nominating it for the Mass. Teen Choice book award list. And I can't wait for the inevitable sequel, even though I will have to reread this one before reading it unless Jillian Cantor already wrote it and is going to release it before I forget all the salient details. Unlikely, but I live in hope!
Thanks to Netgalley for the digital ARC.
August 5, 2026
<ɪ>ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ ᴏғ ᴀᴅᴠᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ʀᴇᴄᴇɪᴠᴇᴅ ғʀᴏᴍ ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏɪ>
🎧📖 𝐸-𝒜𝑅𝒞 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌📖🎧
𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝐿𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 ʙʏ ᴊɪʟʟɪᴀɴ ᴄᴀɴᴛᴏʀ
𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: 🥀🥀🥀 ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ 𝟻 ᴇɴᴄʜᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ʀᴏsᴇs
✨ 𝐻𝑜𝑜𝓀✨
ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴄʀʏᴏɢᴇɴɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ ғʀᴏᴢᴇɴ ᴛᴏ ᴇsᴄᴀᴘᴇ ᴀɴ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴ ʀᴇɢɪᴍᴇ, sɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ-ʏᴇᴀʀ-ᴏʟᴅ ᴇʟʟɪᴇ ᴀᴡᴀᴋᴇɴs ʏᴇᴀʀs ᴛᴏᴏ ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴛᴏ ғɪɴᴅ ʜᴇʀ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ ɢᴏɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇʀ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ ᴛʀᴀɴsғᴏʀᴍᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀ sᴜʀᴠᴇɪʟʟᴀɴᴄᴇ sᴛᴀᴛᴇ. ɴᴏᴡ sʜᴇ ᴍᴜsᴛ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇ ᴡʜᴏ sʜᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ᴛʀᴜsᴛ ᴀs sʜᴇ ғɪɢʜᴛs ᴛᴏ sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ—ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇsɪsᴛ—ᴀ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ʙᴜɪʟᴛ ᴏɴ ғᴇᴀʀ.
𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌:
ʜᴜɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ sɪᴍᴏɴᴛᴇᴇɴ ғᴏʀ ɢɪғᴛɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴛʜɪs ᴇ-ᴀʀᴄ!
𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓁𝑒𝑒𝓅 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝑒𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓅𝑒 𝒶 𝒹𝒾𝒸𝓉𝒶𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅. 𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓀𝑒 𝓊𝓅 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝒾𝓈𝒸𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒾𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝑔𝑜𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒.
ᴊɪʟʟɪᴀɴ ᴄᴀɴᴛᴏʀ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀs ᴀ ᴄʜɪʟʟɪɴɢ ʏᴀ ᴅʏsᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ғᴇᴇʟs ʙᴏᴛʜ ɢʀɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴsᴇᴛᴛʟɪɴɢ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʀʏᴏɢᴇɴɪᴄ sʟᴇᴇᴘ ᴘʀᴇᴍɪsᴇ ɪᴍᴍᴇᴅɪᴀᴛᴇʟʏ ʜᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴇʟʟɪᴇ ɴᴀᴠɪɢᴀᴛᴇ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ's ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴀʟᴍᴏsᴛ ᴜɴʀᴇᴄᴏɢɴɪᴢᴀʙʟᴇ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴀɴ ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴅɪʙʟʏ ᴛᴇɴsᴇ, ғᴀsᴛ-ᴘᴀᴄᴇᴅ ʀᴇᴀᴅ.
ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ᴘᴏᴠs ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴀᴋᴇs ʜɪɢʜ, ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍᴇs ᴏғ ʀᴇsɪsᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ, ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ, ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀʏ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ɢɪᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ ʙᴇʏᴏɴᴅ ɪᴛs ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ-ᴘᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴘʟᴏᴛ. ᴀʟᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴄʟᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇɢɪɴɴɪɴɢ ᴏғ ᴀ ʟᴀʀɢᴇʀ sᴛᴏʀʏ, ɪᴛ ʟᴀʏs ᴀ sᴛʀᴏɴɢ ғᴏᴜɴᴅᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇɴᴅs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴄʟɪғғʜᴀɴɢᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇs ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴇsᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇǫᴜᴇʟ.
𝒯𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈 & 𝒱𝒾𝒷𝑒𝓈:
❄️ ᴄʀʏᴏɢᴇɴɪᴄ sʟᴇᴇᴘ
🦅 ᴅʏsᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ғᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ
⚠️ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴ ʀᴇɢɪᴍᴇ
🤝 ʀᴇsɪsᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴍᴏᴠᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ
👫 sɪʙʟɪɴɢ ʙᴏɴᴅ
🧠 ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀʏ ᴍᴀɴɪᴘᴜʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴ
⏳ ғɪsʜ-ᴏᴜᴛ-ᴏғ-ᴛɪᴍᴇ
🏃 sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀ
✨ ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ᴘᴏᴠs
📚 sᴇʀɪᴇs sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀ
𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒...
📖 ᴅɪᴠᴇʀɢᴇɴᴛ
🔥 ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴜɴɢᴇʀ ɢᴀᴍᴇs
👁️ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴀɴᴅᴍᴀɪᴅ's ᴛᴀʟᴇ (ʏᴀ ᴠɪʙᴇs)
⚡ ғᴀsᴛ-ᴘᴀᴄᴇᴅ ᴅʏsᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀs
🖤 ʀᴇʙᴇʟʟɪᴏɴ sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs
❄️ sᴘᴇᴄᴜʟᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ sᴄɪ-ғɪ
🗣️ 𝒲𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓉𝓇𝑒𝑒𝓉:
ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀs ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴘʀᴀɪsᴇᴅ 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝐿𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈's ʜɪɢʜ-ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇᴘᴛ ᴘʀᴇᴍɪsᴇ, ғᴀsᴛ ᴘᴀᴄɪɴɢ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛɪᴍᴇʟʏ ᴇxᴘʟᴏʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴɪsᴍ. ᴍᴀɴʏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʜɪɢʜʟɪɢʜᴛᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴇɴsɪᴏɴ, ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ᴘᴇʀsᴘᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇs, ᴀɴᴅ ᴄʟɪғғʜᴀɴɢᴇʀ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ, ᴡʜɪʟᴇ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴡɪsʜᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴅᴇᴇᴘᴇʀ ᴇxᴘʟᴏʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ-ʙᴜɪʟᴅɪɴɢ—sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇǫᴜᴇʟ ᴛᴏ ᴇxᴘᴀɴᴅ ᴜᴘᴏɴ.
𝐹𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸𝓉:
𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝐿𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 ɪs ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴇʟʟɪɴɢ ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʏᴀ ᴅʏsᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ɢᴇɴʀᴇ, ʙʟᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ sᴜsᴘᴇɴsᴇ, ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ, ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇʙᴇʟʟɪᴏɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ-ᴘʀᴏᴠᴏᴋɪɴɢ ᴘʀᴇᴍɪsᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ғᴇᴇʟs ᴇᴇʀɪʟʏ ᴘʟᴀᴜsɪʙʟᴇ. ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴄʀᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴀ ғᴀsᴛ-ᴘᴀᴄᴇᴅ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʀᴇsɪsᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ, sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴀᴄᴇ ᴏғ ᴏᴘᴘʀᴇssɪᴏɴ, ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴏɴᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴅᴅ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴛʙʀ—ᴊᴜsᴛ ʙᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴘᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴛᴡᴏ ɪᴍᴍᴇᴅɪᴀᴛᴇʟʏ.
ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ!
𝒜𝓈𝒽𝓁𝑒𝓎
ʙᴏᴏᴋsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ: <ᴀ ʜʀᴇғ="ʜᴛᴛᴘs://ᴡᴡᴡ.ɪɴsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ.ᴄᴏᴍ/ᴛʜᴇᴛᴀᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅᴘᴀɢᴇ/">@ᴛʜᴇᴛᴀᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅᴘᴀɢᴇᴀ>
🎧📖 𝐸-𝒜𝑅𝒞 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌📖🎧
𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝐿𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 ʙʏ ᴊɪʟʟɪᴀɴ ᴄᴀɴᴛᴏʀ
𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: 🥀🥀🥀 ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ 𝟻 ᴇɴᴄʜᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ʀᴏsᴇs
✨ 𝐻𝑜𝑜𝓀✨
ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴄʀʏᴏɢᴇɴɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ ғʀᴏᴢᴇɴ ᴛᴏ ᴇsᴄᴀᴘᴇ ᴀɴ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴ ʀᴇɢɪᴍᴇ, sɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ-ʏᴇᴀʀ-ᴏʟᴅ ᴇʟʟɪᴇ ᴀᴡᴀᴋᴇɴs ʏᴇᴀʀs ᴛᴏᴏ ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴛᴏ ғɪɴᴅ ʜᴇʀ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ ɢᴏɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇʀ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ ᴛʀᴀɴsғᴏʀᴍᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀ sᴜʀᴠᴇɪʟʟᴀɴᴄᴇ sᴛᴀᴛᴇ. ɴᴏᴡ sʜᴇ ᴍᴜsᴛ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇ ᴡʜᴏ sʜᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ᴛʀᴜsᴛ ᴀs sʜᴇ ғɪɢʜᴛs ᴛᴏ sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ—ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇsɪsᴛ—ᴀ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ʙᴜɪʟᴛ ᴏɴ ғᴇᴀʀ.
𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌:
ʜᴜɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ sɪᴍᴏɴᴛᴇᴇɴ ғᴏʀ ɢɪғᴛɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴛʜɪs ᴇ-ᴀʀᴄ!
𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓁𝑒𝑒𝓅 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝑒𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓅𝑒 𝒶 𝒹𝒾𝒸𝓉𝒶𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅. 𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓀𝑒 𝓊𝓅 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝒾𝓈𝒸𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒾𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝑔𝑜𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒.
ᴊɪʟʟɪᴀɴ ᴄᴀɴᴛᴏʀ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀs ᴀ ᴄʜɪʟʟɪɴɢ ʏᴀ ᴅʏsᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ғᴇᴇʟs ʙᴏᴛʜ ɢʀɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴsᴇᴛᴛʟɪɴɢ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʀʏᴏɢᴇɴɪᴄ sʟᴇᴇᴘ ᴘʀᴇᴍɪsᴇ ɪᴍᴍᴇᴅɪᴀᴛᴇʟʏ ʜᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴇʟʟɪᴇ ɴᴀᴠɪɢᴀᴛᴇ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ's ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴀʟᴍᴏsᴛ ᴜɴʀᴇᴄᴏɢɴɪᴢᴀʙʟᴇ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴀɴ ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴅɪʙʟʏ ᴛᴇɴsᴇ, ғᴀsᴛ-ᴘᴀᴄᴇᴅ ʀᴇᴀᴅ.
ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ᴘᴏᴠs ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴀᴋᴇs ʜɪɢʜ, ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍᴇs ᴏғ ʀᴇsɪsᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ, ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ, ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀʏ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ɢɪᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ ʙᴇʏᴏɴᴅ ɪᴛs ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ-ᴘᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴘʟᴏᴛ. ᴀʟᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴄʟᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇɢɪɴɴɪɴɢ ᴏғ ᴀ ʟᴀʀɢᴇʀ sᴛᴏʀʏ, ɪᴛ ʟᴀʏs ᴀ sᴛʀᴏɴɢ ғᴏᴜɴᴅᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇɴᴅs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴄʟɪғғʜᴀɴɢᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇs ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴇsᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇǫᴜᴇʟ.
𝒯𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈 & 𝒱𝒾𝒷𝑒𝓈:
❄️ ᴄʀʏᴏɢᴇɴɪᴄ sʟᴇᴇᴘ
🦅 ᴅʏsᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ғᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ
⚠️ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴ ʀᴇɢɪᴍᴇ
🤝 ʀᴇsɪsᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴍᴏᴠᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ
👫 sɪʙʟɪɴɢ ʙᴏɴᴅ
🧠 ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀʏ ᴍᴀɴɪᴘᴜʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴ
⏳ ғɪsʜ-ᴏᴜᴛ-ᴏғ-ᴛɪᴍᴇ
🏃 sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀ
✨ ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ᴘᴏᴠs
📚 sᴇʀɪᴇs sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀ
𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒...
📖 ᴅɪᴠᴇʀɢᴇɴᴛ
🔥 ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴜɴɢᴇʀ ɢᴀᴍᴇs
👁️ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴀɴᴅᴍᴀɪᴅ's ᴛᴀʟᴇ (ʏᴀ ᴠɪʙᴇs)
⚡ ғᴀsᴛ-ᴘᴀᴄᴇᴅ ᴅʏsᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀs
🖤 ʀᴇʙᴇʟʟɪᴏɴ sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs
❄️ sᴘᴇᴄᴜʟᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ sᴄɪ-ғɪ
🗣️ 𝒲𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓉𝓇𝑒𝑒𝓉:
ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀs ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴘʀᴀɪsᴇᴅ 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝐿𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈's ʜɪɢʜ-ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇᴘᴛ ᴘʀᴇᴍɪsᴇ, ғᴀsᴛ ᴘᴀᴄɪɴɢ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛɪᴍᴇʟʏ ᴇxᴘʟᴏʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴɪsᴍ. ᴍᴀɴʏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʜɪɢʜʟɪɢʜᴛᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴇɴsɪᴏɴ, ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ᴘᴇʀsᴘᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇs, ᴀɴᴅ ᴄʟɪғғʜᴀɴɢᴇʀ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ, ᴡʜɪʟᴇ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴡɪsʜᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴅᴇᴇᴘᴇʀ ᴇxᴘʟᴏʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ-ʙᴜɪʟᴅɪɴɢ—sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇǫᴜᴇʟ ᴛᴏ ᴇxᴘᴀɴᴅ ᴜᴘᴏɴ.
𝐹𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸𝓉:
𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝐿𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 ɪs ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴇʟʟɪɴɢ ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʏᴀ ᴅʏsᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ɢᴇɴʀᴇ, ʙʟᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ sᴜsᴘᴇɴsᴇ, ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ, ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇʙᴇʟʟɪᴏɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ-ᴘʀᴏᴠᴏᴋɪɴɢ ᴘʀᴇᴍɪsᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ғᴇᴇʟs ᴇᴇʀɪʟʏ ᴘʟᴀᴜsɪʙʟᴇ. ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴄʀᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴀ ғᴀsᴛ-ᴘᴀᴄᴇᴅ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʀᴇsɪsᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ, sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴀᴄᴇ ᴏғ ᴏᴘᴘʀᴇssɪᴏɴ, ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴏɴᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴅᴅ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴛʙʀ—ᴊᴜsᴛ ʙᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴘᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴛᴡᴏ ɪᴍᴍᴇᴅɪᴀᴛᴇʟʏ.
ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ!
𝒜𝓈𝒽𝓁𝑒𝓎
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was a huge fan of dystopian novels as a teenager and while I acknowledge that I grew up ;), this novel did not bring back the spark in me nor would it have appealed to a younger me. The blurb and the opening chapters are very exciting but misleading: Ellie is unfrozen from a cryogenic sleep and wakes up an orphan, under a totalitarian government/anti-science and anti-women regime, and in a brainwashing center where her former boyfriend Ryan is now a convert to the system. Her chapters are interwoven with a POV of her brother Scott, whom she does not know did not enter hibernation and is now looking for her as a resistence fighter,, and Olivia's, a girl who seems a believer in the system but gradually regains her memories. Unfortunately, the most promising plot (Ellie's brainwashiing process: will she partially give in? Will Scott have to fight not only for her, safety but for her mind with Ryan?) ends abruptly and I wish it was explored more deeply as it was a hook that pulled me into the story. The chapters about resistence are a bit boring and a worldbuilding is not thought out. I lost focus with Scott's chapters very early and was looking forward to Ellie's, but then I lost interest in her as well. Olivia was my favorite side character, but I wish the brainwashing was explored more through Ellie's POV and not through Olivia. The regime seems to evoke the Handmaid's Tale hype but PG13 (even though I get that these are generically fascist elements, I miss dystopias that were not inspired by it to be honest), but we do not learn how the world became like this and the novel pulls back from topics that it could explore more deeply (i.e. racism in this world where all women are required to have platinum hair). Parallels with real-world politics might be appealing to some readers but to me felt superficial. Also, this is a part of the series and ends in a way that does not allow it to be stand-alone: however, I lost confidence in these characters actually abolishing the system.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Clearly this is book one of a series to come, as the end is a total cliffhanger. That being said, I cannot wait for book two. Honestly, leaving us that way is cruel.
This novel really touches on the craziness of living in a dystopian world ruled by a fascist. It mirrors a lot of things going on in our own world right now, which is mighty frightening. It is a world where women leave school at 14, and men are immediately sent into the military. A world without medicine or science. A world where women are forced into domesticity, faith, and beauty. Where all women are blond and wear white.
Ellie wasn’t supposed to experience this world. After President Lyon was elected, her scientist father decided to freeze the entire family for 10 years, with the hope that when they thawed, the world wouldn’t be as it is before the freezing. Only something goes very wrong. Ellie is suddenly thawed after only three years. Three years and now is in this crazy, authoritarian world that her family hoped to avoid.
Ellie’s brother Scott ran away prior to the freezing. He couldn’t bring himself to be a part of this idea. Fortunately he ran into their old neighbor Mateo. With Mateo, Scott fled into the hills to an abandoned boy scout camp. There along with other escapees, they have been living for three years. Hunting squirrels for food and using fake IDs to buy supplies down in town. It’s precarious, but it’s better than being sheep.
Until Scott hears that Ellie is alive. Now his mission is simple, to save Ellie from a fate worse than death or freezing. Only it’s risky and frightening, and Scott is merely 19. He knows where Ellie is being kept, and nothing will stop him from trying to rescue her.
Really great dystopian novel. Terrifying as can be, if you think about how easy this would all be. There is good character development with Ellie, Scott, and Mateo, even the minor characters are believable in an unbelievable world. I think this book will be popular amongst teens.
As I always say, YA is for everyone! Hopefully book two won’t be too far away.
This novel really touches on the craziness of living in a dystopian world ruled by a fascist. It mirrors a lot of things going on in our own world right now, which is mighty frightening. It is a world where women leave school at 14, and men are immediately sent into the military. A world without medicine or science. A world where women are forced into domesticity, faith, and beauty. Where all women are blond and wear white.
Ellie wasn’t supposed to experience this world. After President Lyon was elected, her scientist father decided to freeze the entire family for 10 years, with the hope that when they thawed, the world wouldn’t be as it is before the freezing. Only something goes very wrong. Ellie is suddenly thawed after only three years. Three years and now is in this crazy, authoritarian world that her family hoped to avoid.
Ellie’s brother Scott ran away prior to the freezing. He couldn’t bring himself to be a part of this idea. Fortunately he ran into their old neighbor Mateo. With Mateo, Scott fled into the hills to an abandoned boy scout camp. There along with other escapees, they have been living for three years. Hunting squirrels for food and using fake IDs to buy supplies down in town. It’s precarious, but it’s better than being sheep.
Until Scott hears that Ellie is alive. Now his mission is simple, to save Ellie from a fate worse than death or freezing. Only it’s risky and frightening, and Scott is merely 19. He knows where Ellie is being kept, and nothing will stop him from trying to rescue her.
Really great dystopian novel. Terrifying as can be, if you think about how easy this would all be. There is good character development with Ellie, Scott, and Mateo, even the minor characters are believable in an unbelievable world. I think this book will be popular amongst teens.
As I always say, YA is for everyone! Hopefully book two won’t be too far away.
August 25, 2026
Thank you to Simon Teen & NetGalley for the E-Arc.
The concept of this book immediately stood out. A teenage girl, Ellie, awakes from cryogenics sleep earlier than she was supposed to, where America is heavily controlled and conforming is only way to survive. The emotions the readers are forced to confront is of unsettlement and unease as we must visualise Ellie’s confusion and fear of awakening in a world worse than what it was before the succumbed.
The atmosphere was carefully created to be of great tension. The pacing was easy to follow and kept the book an easy read. The short chapters made it almost flow easier as it felt like a shorter read. The multitude of POV’s made it more dynamic to read the book as it felt like seeing different perspectives of this society instead of being constrained to one perspective and one narrator. The different storylines needed urgent and desperate for the readers to understand the society and environment these characters are trapped in.
I do feel the development of the plot is where the book lacked. There were many interesting ideas that could have been explored in depth which were not, leaving the story feeling almost incomplete. I do think this book would have performed better as a series rather than a standalone as some questions that I had were left unanswered. Some themes felt like the author barely scratched the surface when it could have been much deeper.
The writing style is so incredibly evocative as the book serves to be a parallel to the world we are living in. The plot is so chilling because I could see the world being reduced to existing how the book portrays it. The obvious pattern similarity between our world and the one described in the book is truly heartbreaking to see because I could see our world coming to it. When a book evokes genuine emotions, it is 100% a good book.
Overall, I would suggest this book to readers who enjoyed the hunger games and divergent. This book was a fast based YA dystopian read with a thrilling plot that kept me hooked the entire time.
The concept of this book immediately stood out. A teenage girl, Ellie, awakes from cryogenics sleep earlier than she was supposed to, where America is heavily controlled and conforming is only way to survive. The emotions the readers are forced to confront is of unsettlement and unease as we must visualise Ellie’s confusion and fear of awakening in a world worse than what it was before the succumbed.
The atmosphere was carefully created to be of great tension. The pacing was easy to follow and kept the book an easy read. The short chapters made it almost flow easier as it felt like a shorter read. The multitude of POV’s made it more dynamic to read the book as it felt like seeing different perspectives of this society instead of being constrained to one perspective and one narrator. The different storylines needed urgent and desperate for the readers to understand the society and environment these characters are trapped in.
I do feel the development of the plot is where the book lacked. There were many interesting ideas that could have been explored in depth which were not, leaving the story feeling almost incomplete. I do think this book would have performed better as a series rather than a standalone as some questions that I had were left unanswered. Some themes felt like the author barely scratched the surface when it could have been much deeper.
The writing style is so incredibly evocative as the book serves to be a parallel to the world we are living in. The plot is so chilling because I could see the world being reduced to existing how the book portrays it. The obvious pattern similarity between our world and the one described in the book is truly heartbreaking to see because I could see our world coming to it. When a book evokes genuine emotions, it is 100% a good book.
Overall, I would suggest this book to readers who enjoyed the hunger games and divergent. This book was a fast based YA dystopian read with a thrilling plot that kept me hooked the entire time.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
📖 ARC REVIEW 📖
Thank you @simonteen for an early copy of The Season of Light and Darkness by Jillian Cantor. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.25/5
Release date: August 4th, 2026
🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑
I was initially drawn to The Season of Light and Darkness by Jillian Cantor because of the intriguing blurb and the strong opening chapters. The premise of a dystopian society ruled by a dictator who has supposedly “reformed” the country feels eerily inspired by the current political climate in the United States, which made the concept especially compelling.
The story is told through multiple POVs. Ellie, who was frozen at her parents’ urging when Lyon rose to power; her younger brother Scott, who fled before he could be frozen; Mateo, their neighbor who becomes Scott’s found-family brother while surviving at camp; and Olivia, a ReAd who has recently regained her memories. I enjoyed seeing the story unfold from these different perspectives, but while the world itself seemed thoughtfully planned, the actual world-building felt a bit underdeveloped. I kept wishing for more context and depth, something I’m hoping will come in the sequel.
One of the main reasons this didn’t rate higher for me was the characters’ overall approach to their mission. Much of their struggle revolves around trying to save each other without a clear or cohesive plan. I understand that they’re essentially teenagers navigating life under a dictatorship, but I still found myself wanting a bit more strategy or forethought in their actions.
Overall, this was an entertaining dystopian read that held my interest, though it never quite had me on the edge of my seat. The ending does leave off on a major cliffhanger, raising plenty of questions that I’m curious, and hopeful, to see answered in the next installment.
Thank you @simonteen for an early copy of The Season of Light and Darkness by Jillian Cantor. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.25/5
Release date: August 4th, 2026
🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑
I was initially drawn to The Season of Light and Darkness by Jillian Cantor because of the intriguing blurb and the strong opening chapters. The premise of a dystopian society ruled by a dictator who has supposedly “reformed” the country feels eerily inspired by the current political climate in the United States, which made the concept especially compelling.
The story is told through multiple POVs. Ellie, who was frozen at her parents’ urging when Lyon rose to power; her younger brother Scott, who fled before he could be frozen; Mateo, their neighbor who becomes Scott’s found-family brother while surviving at camp; and Olivia, a ReAd who has recently regained her memories. I enjoyed seeing the story unfold from these different perspectives, but while the world itself seemed thoughtfully planned, the actual world-building felt a bit underdeveloped. I kept wishing for more context and depth, something I’m hoping will come in the sequel.
One of the main reasons this didn’t rate higher for me was the characters’ overall approach to their mission. Much of their struggle revolves around trying to save each other without a clear or cohesive plan. I understand that they’re essentially teenagers navigating life under a dictatorship, but I still found myself wanting a bit more strategy or forethought in their actions.
Overall, this was an entertaining dystopian read that held my interest, though it never quite had me on the edge of my seat. The ending does leave off on a major cliffhanger, raising plenty of questions that I’m curious, and hopeful, to see answered in the next installment.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The concept of this book immediately grabbed me. A teenage girl waking up from cryogenic sleep years too early into a heavily controlled America where conformity is survival is such a strong premise, and the story starts off with a lot of tension right away.
Ellie’s confusion and isolation in those opening chapters were probably my favorite part of the book. Waking up to find out the world she thought she escaped has somehow become worse was genuinely unsettling, and I liked the constant feeling that nobody around her could fully be trusted. The atmosphere throughout the book felt tense and uncomfortable in a way that worked really well for the story.
The pacing also kept me reading quickly. The short chapters and multiple POVs made it easy to move through, and I liked seeing different perspectives of this society instead of staying locked into only one character’s experience. Scott’s storyline especially added urgency because you could feel how desperate everything had become outside the controlled environment Ellie is trapped in.
Where the book lost me a little was in the depth of the world-building. There were so many interesting ideas introduced — political control, memory manipulation, forced identity, the science behind the freezing process — and I kept wanting the story to spend more time exploring those things. Some of the darker themes felt like they were only scratched at instead of fully developed.
I also think this reads very much like the first installment in a series rather than a standalone novel. The ending leaves a lot unresolved, but it did leave me interested enough to want to know where these characters go next.
Overall, this was an entertaining and fast-paced YA dystopian read with a really compelling setup and enough suspense to keep me invested the entire time.
3.5 stars rounded to 4
Ellie’s confusion and isolation in those opening chapters were probably my favorite part of the book. Waking up to find out the world she thought she escaped has somehow become worse was genuinely unsettling, and I liked the constant feeling that nobody around her could fully be trusted. The atmosphere throughout the book felt tense and uncomfortable in a way that worked really well for the story.
The pacing also kept me reading quickly. The short chapters and multiple POVs made it easy to move through, and I liked seeing different perspectives of this society instead of staying locked into only one character’s experience. Scott’s storyline especially added urgency because you could feel how desperate everything had become outside the controlled environment Ellie is trapped in.
Where the book lost me a little was in the depth of the world-building. There were so many interesting ideas introduced — political control, memory manipulation, forced identity, the science behind the freezing process — and I kept wanting the story to spend more time exploring those things. Some of the darker themes felt like they were only scratched at instead of fully developed.
I also think this reads very much like the first installment in a series rather than a standalone novel. The ending leaves a lot unresolved, but it did leave me interested enough to want to know where these characters go next.
Overall, this was an entertaining and fast-paced YA dystopian read with a really compelling setup and enough suspense to keep me invested the entire time.
3.5 stars rounded to 4
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In this fascinating and chilling teen dystopian drama, a near-future United States has been taken over by an authoritarian, President Lyon, who has set out to destroy any dissent. Lyon imposes a totalitarian regime, banishing science, killing scientists, outlawing medicine, and controlling the news.
All citizens must attend a brainwashing program, called ReAdmission, for citizenship in the new regime. The program uses drugs that wipe one’s memory and to impose social conformity. Women must all look like Barbies and hold menial jobs. Anyone dissenting faces imprisonment or death.
Seventeen-year-old Ellie’s Dad sees Lyon taking over the country coming, and as a leading scientist wants to protect his family. He manages to cryogenically freeze Ellie, her Mom, and himself, intending the freeze to last for a decade to hopefully outlast Lyon’s stint in power. But Ellie’s younger brother Scott runs away from home right before the freezing and has since been hiding at a small dissident’s camp in the mountains barely surviving. The fate of Ellie’s brilliant scientist grandmother is unknown to the family.
Betrayed by a teenage friend who knew what her family was up to, Ellie gets defrosted after only three years and finds herself imprisoned in a ReAdmission facility. The race is on by Scott and his best friend Mateo to try to rescue Ellie. They get swept up into a larger rebellion trying to take down the authoritarian rule.
Like any good teen dystopia, there’s romance blended with danger, and young adults who have to summon bravery to take on corruption. There’s also ample room for comparisons to the current politics in America leaning to an authoritarian regime, and how step acts of courage can topple extremism.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy.
All citizens must attend a brainwashing program, called ReAdmission, for citizenship in the new regime. The program uses drugs that wipe one’s memory and to impose social conformity. Women must all look like Barbies and hold menial jobs. Anyone dissenting faces imprisonment or death.
Seventeen-year-old Ellie’s Dad sees Lyon taking over the country coming, and as a leading scientist wants to protect his family. He manages to cryogenically freeze Ellie, her Mom, and himself, intending the freeze to last for a decade to hopefully outlast Lyon’s stint in power. But Ellie’s younger brother Scott runs away from home right before the freezing and has since been hiding at a small dissident’s camp in the mountains barely surviving. The fate of Ellie’s brilliant scientist grandmother is unknown to the family.
Betrayed by a teenage friend who knew what her family was up to, Ellie gets defrosted after only three years and finds herself imprisoned in a ReAdmission facility. The race is on by Scott and his best friend Mateo to try to rescue Ellie. They get swept up into a larger rebellion trying to take down the authoritarian rule.
Like any good teen dystopia, there’s romance blended with danger, and young adults who have to summon bravery to take on corruption. There’s also ample room for comparisons to the current politics in America leaning to an authoritarian regime, and how step acts of courage can topple extremism.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy.
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