Enclave
Ann Aguirre
Published: April 12, 2011
Received From: Around the World ARC Tours
New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20’s. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters—or Freaks—who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight, in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs. As the two are guided by Fade’s long-ago memories, they face dangers, and feelings, unlike any they’ve ever known. -Goodreads
An amazing and well written dystopian, Enclave is nonstop action from the first page until the last. Aguirre takes the reader right into the action at the beginning of the book and it doesn’t stop. When the story picks up, we are introduced to Deuce who is just starting her role as a Huntress for her enclave.. When she is paired up with Fade, an outsider who has been accepted to the enclave very slowly, she is cautious and worried about what this will mean for her as a Huntress. As Deuce and Fade learn to work together to fight off the Freaks (monsters in the tunnels that eat people) they uncover some secrets that lead to them being cast out of the enclave and forced about ground. Once above ground, Deuce and Fade must still learn to trust each other while dealing with the dangers in this new place.
Aguirre does a great job of developing her characters in this book. Deuce and Fade are both so complicated and tough. They both kick some major ass and know how to survive. The world that Aguirre develops is so unique too. There are virtually no adults in the enclave – since living underground is rough and dangerous. All the people in the Enclave are given certain jobs on their 15th birthday – a hunter, builder, or breeder – and must fulfill their job requirements.
I really loved this book. It was so dark and sorta terrifying – I couldn’t imagine living underground with the freaks – they are some nasty monsters. I’m really looking forward to the second one to see what happens with Deuce and Fade and the new world they discovered above ground.