What do you think?
Rate this book
Broken: The Young Hellions Series
In a time of a failed One-World order economy, the only viable currency is a human one.
It is 2035, and the path of Earth's inevitable destruction has finally been realized. Efforts to perfect weapons of mass destruction and subsequently destroy one another have come to a head as the most powerful countries engage in an all-out nuclear assault—the time of The Big Drop—that nearly banishes everyone to death in a wake of destructive Fallout. Humanity devolves back to its carnal heritage of slavery to re-establish currency through the slave trade. Nobody knows who started it, but the devastation ravages every organic life form, both plant and animal. 90% of human life is wiped out, and of the 10% that survive, radiation poisoning has varying effects on the human genome, creating both mindless beasts called Ashers and beings with special gifts - Alphas. As humanity struggles to survive, migrating to the safety of continental coastlines in search of fresh water, the planet scurries to salvage some kind of economic stability. Enter16-year-old Keesa Donovan and her younger brother Kiran. They live out their lives in a slave pod run by The Establishment, just outside Savannah, Georgia. Losing everything she loved after the Fallout, she desperately seeks freedom while navigating the trials of teenhood, sifting through emerging feelings for her best friend Wynn, and realizing the growing attraction for newcomer Dobbs. Confounded by her gift of ESP, she is haunted by unexplainable visions of mysterious days to come, holding onto a sliver of hope that one day she and her brother will be freed. But on the fateful day of the annual Reckoning, Keesa's life takes a turn as fate steps in and forces her onto the narrow road of her destiny.
It is 2035, and the path of Earth's inevitable destruction has finally been realized. Efforts to perfect weapons of mass destruction and subsequently destroy one another have come to a head as the most powerful countries engage in an all-out nuclear assault—the time of The Big Drop—that nearly banishes everyone to death in a wake of destructive Fallout. Humanity devolves back to its carnal heritage of slavery to re-establish currency through the slave trade. Nobody knows who started it, but the devastation ravages every organic life form, both plant and animal. 90% of human life is wiped out, and of the 10% that survive, radiation poisoning has varying effects on the human genome, creating both mindless beasts called Ashers and beings with special gifts - Alphas. As humanity struggles to survive, migrating to the safety of continental coastlines in search of fresh water, the planet scurries to salvage some kind of economic stability. Enter16-year-old Keesa Donovan and her younger brother Kiran. They live out their lives in a slave pod run by The Establishment, just outside Savannah, Georgia. Losing everything she loved after the Fallout, she desperately seeks freedom while navigating the trials of teenhood, sifting through emerging feelings for her best friend Wynn, and realizing the growing attraction for newcomer Dobbs. Confounded by her gift of ESP, she is haunted by unexplainable visions of mysterious days to come, holding onto a sliver of hope that one day she and her brother will be freed. But on the fateful day of the annual Reckoning, Keesa's life takes a turn as fate steps in and forces her onto the narrow road of her destiny.
373 pages, Paperback
Published August 5, 2022
About the author
Braxton A. Cosby
32 books171 followersMulti-Award Winning and #1 Amazon Bestselling author Braxton A. Cosby is a dreamer who transitioned his ideas on pen and paper to pixels and keyboards. He has penned over 18 novels and written several screenplays based on his works. He tells stories that evoke emotions and stimulate thought. THE STARCROSSED SAGA and THE CAPE are currently Young Adult and Superhero series he created, with spins offs for INFINITY 7: GODS AMONG MEN and his latest Bounty Hunter, scifi release, STEEL REIGN: FLIGHT OF THE STARSHIP CONCORD. THE STARCROSSED SAGA has won multiple science fiction and young adult awards, while THE CAPE has also earned recognition for its prowess as a literary fiction series. Braxton is the CEO of Cosby Media Productions and lives in Georgia with his amazing wife and a highly energetic Morkie named StarKozy.
www.cosbymediaproductions.com
www.braxtoncosby.com
www.cosbymediaproductions.com
www.braxtoncosby.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 18, 2022
Thank you to the author and Book Tasters for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is ok overall but it took a while to get into the story. I also found the font of the text (typewriter style font) a little harder to read and it did have an impact on how long I was able to the book. However, once you get use to it; the story itself is very entertaining. The writing and pacing of the story works as the chapters are not too long. The main characters are well written, unique and the protagonists are easy to root for. Recommended read for fans of YA stories, dystopian or science fiction.
This book is ok overall but it took a while to get into the story. I also found the font of the text (typewriter style font) a little harder to read and it did have an impact on how long I was able to the book. However, once you get use to it; the story itself is very entertaining. The writing and pacing of the story works as the chapters are not too long. The main characters are well written, unique and the protagonists are easy to root for. Recommended read for fans of YA stories, dystopian or science fiction.
April 10, 2023
What really works for this book is the dystopian world that the author has so intricately created. I can easily create a visual while reading it.
But the problem arises with the plot. It starts off in a gruesome way. There is too much spirituality or religious nature in certain places which have been very well incorporated into the storyline but were glaringly obvious to me. Lastly the storyline if the whole dystopian background is taken away then it's very basic.
Overall an average read for me.
But the problem arises with the plot. It starts off in a gruesome way. There is too much spirituality or religious nature in certain places which have been very well incorporated into the storyline but were glaringly obvious to me. Lastly the storyline if the whole dystopian background is taken away then it's very basic.
Overall an average read for me.
November 24, 2022
Once you get past its cringe-worthy aspects, this is an interesting dystopian science fiction novel with excellent movie and series potential.
Things to hate include the scene early in the book where the two sweet teenaged girls have to kill the old nurse, the way Keesa still believes in global totalitarian government even after seeing what its proponents have degenerated into, and the way Keesa's specialness is noticed only when people see her long straight hair (Keesa is multiracial, mostly Black).
Things to like include the diverse cast for whom apocalyptic events have finally ended "race" bigotry (replacing it with new partisan conflict, of course), believable and empathetic characterizations, mostly clean writing about a teenaged girl with more than her hormones to think about, and the very sympathetic, lovable protagonists.
What really makes Broken stand out is the realistic role of early religious teaching in Keesa's life. What she's been taught isn't much; she's not sure what comes from the Bible, from Christian tradition, or from pop culture, of the life lessons her elders gave her. But in situations that make suicide seem like a reasonable choice, her faith still sustains her. Despite the science fiction context, this is a credible and excellently handled study of a teenager's budding spirituality.
If you like dystopian young adult science fiction, this is a good specimen of the genre. You will like Keesa and her friends and family. You will want to read all of their adventures. So be warned that, given the scope and the pace of book one, by reading this book you could be programming yourself to buy forty more volumes and the movie versions people are likely to want to make of each one.
Things to hate include the scene early in the book where the two sweet teenaged girls have to kill the old nurse, the way Keesa still believes in global totalitarian government even after seeing what its proponents have degenerated into, and the way Keesa's specialness is noticed only when people see her long straight hair (Keesa is multiracial, mostly Black).
Things to like include the diverse cast for whom apocalyptic events have finally ended "race" bigotry (replacing it with new partisan conflict, of course), believable and empathetic characterizations, mostly clean writing about a teenaged girl with more than her hormones to think about, and the very sympathetic, lovable protagonists.
What really makes Broken stand out is the realistic role of early religious teaching in Keesa's life. What she's been taught isn't much; she's not sure what comes from the Bible, from Christian tradition, or from pop culture, of the life lessons her elders gave her. But in situations that make suicide seem like a reasonable choice, her faith still sustains her. Despite the science fiction context, this is a credible and excellently handled study of a teenager's budding spirituality.
If you like dystopian young adult science fiction, this is a good specimen of the genre. You will like Keesa and her friends and family. You will want to read all of their adventures. So be warned that, given the scope and the pace of book one, by reading this book you could be programming yourself to buy forty more volumes and the movie versions people are likely to want to make of each one.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews