4.5 stars
This book is different from what I usually read, (it is French - which is a language I don't read much these days- it's not smut nor is it focused on romance and it's also meant to be read by teenagers and young adults) but it was great. The only reason why it didn't get a fifth star is because The end of the book was too sudden for me. But the epilogue did sweeten the deal.
I read this book because I had to pick one book written by Carole Trebor in order to be able to ask questions to the author at a later date for my studies. The U4 project inspired me more than her other work. And I'm really glad I followed my instincts because starting with U4: Jules was great to start this series.
Let me explain the concept to you first:
Basically, this is a series of four books that you can read in whichever order you like, telling you a story from 4 different POV by 4 different authors.
Each character has a book and its own story to tell, so you never read the same story twice, and even though each book can be read separately, if you want to know the full story of U4, you need to read all 4 books.
The story takes place in France, right after a virus (U4) killed everybody except 10% of the population, the only survivors being teenagers between the age of 15 to 18 years old and the few adults.
I started with Jules' story. He lives in Paris and doesn't really know what to do with himself after almost the entire world died. Him and the four other main characters of this series are all Expert players of an online game called Warriors of Time (WOT) and the day before the Internet stops, they (as well as all the other Expert players) receive a message from Khronos, the master of time in the game, telling them to meet him on December 24th at midnight in Paris in order to save the world.
At the beginning of the book, Jules watches the world for the windows of his apartment, and wonders what comes next, until he finds Alicia, a young girl and the only child that survived the virus.
Now, his mission is to protect Alicia and to meet Kronos and the other Expert players on December 24th with the hope to save all the people he loves from the virus.
I really enjoyed this book. Post-apocaliptic books aren't exactly what I read every days, but they are always books that I enjoy reading once in a while, and Jules' book was no exception.
Jules was a character I enjoyed following throughout the book. Even though he is imposing physically, he was almost shy and very discrete. Most of the time he doesn't speak but observes or doesn't vocalizes what he thinks.
To me, he took the role of protector in this story and I had a sweet spot for him. He's really tender, loving and he takes care of the people close to him. The bond he has with Alicia was really sweet and moving and I liked their dynamic and how they took to each other. In a way, finding Alicia gave him purpose.
He doesn't really deal with his loss throughout the book, especially since he hopes that Kronos will help him go back in time and save the world from the virus. In a way, he tried to escape reality to survive and until later in the book, he is in complete denial of what has happened and the people he lost because to deal with it was too hard. Jules really moved me.
This book, even though it is set in a world where the Internet doesn't exist anymore, makes you think on the impact the Internet and online games have on kids.
Jules before the outbreak of the virus played at WOT obsessively, to the point where his grades dropped and he had to re-do a year at school and he started gaining weight and secluding himself and losing touch with his friends (two of those friends we meet in the book).
It also deals with finding you place in a group and in the world and becoming someone. How to think for yourself but also how to stand for something or someone other than yourself, especially in a world where people think more of saving their own skin than someone else's.
What I liked in this book (and in this kind of book in general) is the community a few of those teens created for themselves. The little group Jules and Alicia rejoin is a family of sorts, where every body has a place and they support each other.
I liked seeing the ties being created between some characters and between Jules and Alicia but also between Jules and Maïa. I just would have wished they admitted their feelings for each other sooner in the book (that's part of the reason why I didn't give this book 5 stars).
It was interesting (and impressive at times too) to see how organized and self-efficient they were.
Jules didn't have to travel across France to get to Paris like some of the main characters had to, but he and the rest of his group have to resist the army and their oppression against some of the groups of teenagers who refuse to bow and submit to them.
Meeting the other main characters was also interesting and it made me very curious to get to know them more. I'm as curious to get to know Koridwen, Yannis and Stéphane now that I've seen them through Jules' eyes, but also to see how they saw him.
It's one thing I like about this series/project. Every main character is a secondary character as well, and I'm eager to get to know them personally but also to see them from different perspectives.
The one thing I have a problem with with this book is that the last chapter totally blindsided me. The last chapter by Jules is one that is action packed where a lot of things happen really fast and when it ends, the next thing to come is the epilogue.
I think a last chapter would have benefitted the book because it would have helped me (and probably other readers) get closure here. I know there are 3 more books to read so the book is not "done" per se, but it was the last time I would see things through Jules' eyes and voice and even though Alicia's epilogue was sweet and perfect and a very nice (and hopeful) way to end this book, I wish I had to change to "say goodbye" to Jules in a proper way at the end. A post action-filled-moment chapter where you take stock of the situation now that the adrenaline is dropping. I guess that's something I'll ask the author about when I meet her (there are cool aspects of studying literature after all, right? ;))
Anyway, I really hope they decide to translate these books so more people can read them. So far, they're only written and published in France (and in French) which is sad if you ask me because those are some seriously great books.