Acolytes

by Nel Franks

Acolytes is first book in the new dystopian social science fiction Enclaves Trilogy from Australian author Nel Franks.

Gaia, Tomma and Rosie have had cheerful childhoods within the Female Enclave, surrounded by sisterhood, creativity and love. Now they have each reached puberty, they are finally being inducted into the Acolytes training program to become fully adult women of the Enclave.

As they embark on their first years as Acolytes, growing up becomes much harder than before. As the girls learn about themselves, their friends, sisters, and community, each must grapple with identity, dreams and fears – which do not fit within the bounds of life in the Enclave.

Discovering their own paths uncovers darker truths, that begin to reveal the rigid restrictions and brutal controls that constrain their entire community. Can the girls live within the rules that have governed their lives until now? Can their friendship withstand becoming who they were meant to be? And will the Enclave survive three girls who each dream of a very different life?

Kindle Edition

Reviews

[Adele Lande · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was recommended to read this book by a friend who loves apocalyptic dystopian fiction, which is not usually my bag. I was pleasantly surprised however, as this book explores more to do with the effects on society after a sexually-transmittted infection wipes almost out a population (I surmise this), causing a need for restrained procreation. Hence the separation of society into enclaves based on gender. The first book is one of a trilogy and follows the lives of three young girls (acolytes) living in the female enclave who are then trained in different occupations and study. Each teenager has a distinct voice and characterisation is well drawn. Each character struggles with aspects of living in the Enclave, whether it be from thwarted love, sexual identity issues or difficulty with the tradition of the Summer Festival, where men and women cohabit for just one night to reproduce. Complicating matters, there are people who don't live in the Enclaves: Outcasts (those who choose to not live there) and the Expelled, women who have sinned against the Enclave's ways. Franks does well to keep the narrative in check; it would have been easy to present a twisted and confusing story line. The author gives an interesting insight how men and women would live without the daily influences of the opposite sex. This book is difficult to pigeon-hole genre-wise. There is a bit of action which is deftly presented, but of most interest is the focus on the teenage-girls themselves, written in their voices. I think this is best as a Y-A series, although I suspect as each character ages, the writing will reflect that maturation.

[Shelley Milbank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tells the story through the eyes of 3 girls as they mature into young women living in an idealist female enclave. As they grow and learn more about the enclaves’ rituals and the mysterious male enclave over the wall, all is not what it appeared to them during their idealistic young years. The more they learn about their rules, rituals, and interactions with their male neighbours, they start to discover the darker underbelly of their life.
I’m looking forward to parts 2 & 3.

[Nel Franks]

Very excited to have the book available for purchase on Amazon, and eagerly awaiting reviews from readers! Will they like it as much as I do? Will they see things in it that I haven't? What improvements might they suggest?

[Michael Vawser · Rating 4 out of 5]

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