Book Review- Birthmarked by Caragh O Brian

Title: Birthmarked

 Author: Caragh M O’ Brian

Series:  Birthmarked #1

Published:  2 May 2011 by Simon and Schuster

Length: 361 pages

Warnings: Violence, executions, a little romance. 12+

Source: Library

Summary : IN THE ENCLAVE, YOUR SCARS SET YOU APART, and the newly born will change the future.
In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the walled Enclave and those, like sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside. Following in her mother's footsteps Gaia has become a midwife, delivering babies in the world outside the wall and handing a quota over to be "advanced" into the privileged society of the Enclave. Gaia has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested by the very people they so loyally serve. Now Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught, but her choice is simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying.
A stunning adventure brought to life by a memorable heroine, this dystopian debut will have readers racing all the way to the dramatic finish.

Review: In this dystopian world, the lucky live in luxury in the Enclave. Those who don't live outside, struggling to survive. Gaia Stone is one such girl. She's also in training to be a midwife. So the first one she delivers by herself, she delivers to the Enclave. Why? She doesn't know. All she knows is that a quota of babies must be handed in. Soon after, everything changes when her parents are arrested for keeping a code, or record of some kind. Determined to save them, Gaia breaks into the Enclave and, with the help of Leon and some other people, and must unravel the code.

I like the concept to this. Genetics interests me, and so when it's put in a dystopian setting, it's sure to make an intriguing read. Sadly it didn't feature quite as much as I'd have liked, but this was made up by the awesomeness in the rest of the book.

Gaia is a strong, resourceful heroine with a strong set of morals and a huge dose of determination. This makes her a very likeable character that I was rooting for throughout the book.

The system to this dystopia makes a little more sense and is a bit more interesting while actually in the pages and not on the back.

I loved the little code that Caragh thought up, the one that Gaia is forced to dechiper. As well as letting us see Gaia's mind at work, it has the added benefit of giving us some nice backstory regarding the family.

The third person narrative wasn't that engaging. While I got a good idea of what was happening, what the setting looked like, and so on, I just didn't feel like I was in this dystopia.

The ending was great. It ended on a huge cliffhanger with the fate of a rather major character being unknown. And while I think I know what's happened, knowing these books I'm totally wrong. And therefore I really want to get hold of book two.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a really good dystopian with a load of adventure packed in.

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