Where do I start with PJ Sky‘s dystopian novel A Girl Called Ari, y’all?
I have to admit that I was a bit nervous going into the book–I don’t generally gravitate toward the dystopian genre. Nor do I usually go for most books set in the distant future. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story!
(and here’s the link to my vlog!)
Starla is the first daughter of her city, “The City” and on the night of her 18th birthday, she’s kidnapped. Miraculously, she escapes her captors and finds herself in the nearby town of Cooper. But this isn’t just any town and her city isn’t just some city–they have been divided by a desert and a massive wall for years; xenophobia is rampant, and once you leave the city, in theory, you can never return.
So, the stakes are high for Starla, and all she wants is to get back to the city, but she doesn’t know how and must rely on the help of Ari, a girl who came from the city, but has since been exiled. Together, they embark on a journey back to the city and on the way they run into dingos, Starla’s captors, a crocodile, psychedelic bat poop, a village of “bush people,” and some questionable “friends”/guards from the city.
It is jamm-packed with adventure, has a decent amount of action, a couple of smaller plot twists, and some self discovery. Overall, it’s a solid book. It’s entertaining, I loved the character development, the plot was well thought out, the pacing was good, and the descriptions were excellent.
I think the only reason why you might not like it would be if you’re just really against dystopian and/or adventure novels, but even so, I think this is a novel worth reading.
That’s all I’ve got for now, be sure to look out for my next post on The Lizards of Palm Beach by Bruce McDougall.
Happy Reading!
A Little Bit of Happiness 