Great concept for a dystopian. One of my favourites.
Genre: YA, Dystopia
No. of pages: 306
The survivors of the Monument 14 have finally made it to the safety of a Canadian refugee camp. Dean and Alex are cautiously starting to hope that a happy ending might be possible.
But for Josie, separated from the group and trapped in a brutal prison camp for exposed Type Os, things have gone from bad to worse. Traumatized by her experiences, she has given up all hope of rescue or safety.
Meanwhile, scared by the government’s unusual interest in her pregnancy, Astrid (with her two protectors, Dean and Jake in tow) joins Niko on his desperate quest to be reunited with his lost love Josie.
This didn’t have the same punch as the two prequels, though it is still a great book and wraps up everything nicely for the trilogy.
There was the same element of risk for the characters, but less action due to having to set up the premise, and the story being set in many different locations (and having to travel between these places). Told through alternating perspectives between Dean and Josie also cut the pacing a bit, just as you got interested in one characters plight, you head-jumped to the other character. In some places this worked, in others, not so much for me.
We meet a lot of new characters, while other, established characters are relegated to the background. I understand the practicality of this, but my heart wanted the group to keep together for the sake of the romantic in me.
The realism noted for this collection is lost a little with Josie’s storyline – there were some major plot holes that I felt were missed. Maybe an internment camp strike or retaliation in protest to the conditions and treatment? There was knowledge of the camps, but no action or pressure from the outside when reporters are obviously on scene trying to get information. The USAMRIID facility felt a bit wish-washy with its governance and performance. I’ve been on both a military base, and in a top security medical facility… a little research would have gone a long way in painting a more realistic and bleak picture for Josie. We could have seen more play with politics and Josie bringing to front her stubborn streak (and her O blood condition.)
I think I felt like the story in this finale floundered a little. It could be down to the protagonists being teens and naive of their options… but I feel we’ve seen them grow and mature through their ordeal and gain a great deal of street smarts and survival skills, and I’d have liked to see them put these skills to use to circumvent a lot to complete an arc and show how the disasters they’ve survived, force them to become independent and more equipped to face the new world than any adult.
Also the exposure to the compounds released from the NORAD facility has obviously changed those to whom were exposed permanently – there did not seem to be closure on this element. What does it mean for the future? What becomes of USAMRIID? It felt like there was the possibility of the series continuing, or at least a possibility of a companion series to delve into this aspect of the Monument 14 universe.
Dean seemed to be reactionary throughout this whole book. In the previous novels he was more proactive, organisational, and had leadership qualities. I don’t think he was given a chance to shine as a character in ‘Savage Drift’ which was a pity. Closer to the conclusion a lot of the tension was pulled apart too early which was another reason I wasn’t invested as I would otherwise.
Similarly Josie’s story (plot holes aside) had her just surviving. We had glimpses of her determination and survival instinct and care for the little ones in the internment camp – but then it went nowhere because she was pulled out of that situation and forced into another which meant her motivation was eliminated.
I wish ‘Savage Drift’ were two novels the first dealing with the characters having been separated, reuniting at the end facing the might of the military regime; and the second taking on the military rule and USAMRIID (with allies and rebels).
I didn’t know what to predict going into ‘Savage Drift,’ but upon completion they must have been high because, while I enjoyed the read, many of my expectations did not feel met. After the last page I was left with a feeling of ‘is that it?’
Having read a number of other novels in-between ‘Savage Drift’ and its prequel ‘Sky on Fire’ I also felt the writing style a bit sparse and dry. It did not capture my imagination as the first two novels. Again, it reflects the demographic, dystopian world of the Monument 14, and head space of its tween protagonists – but I wanted it to be a bit more reflective and expressive of the wider world. It could have felt intimate given the way the novel is narrated, instead it fell flat for me.
Overall a lovely conclusion but I wanted more – an elevation over the established precedence of the first two novels.
Overall feeling: Not too shabby.
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Casey Carlisle 