This had excellent characterization and messages. However, it was slow in some parts and I felt that some characters should have had a little bit more dialogue. Overall, I enjoyed the world Lilliam Rivera created. ( )

Conceptually I thought this had many interesting elements, a dystopian setting with a drug epidemic, a woman who abuses power much the way men have, young men objectified by women, and girl gangs simultaneously terrorizing and protecting while also putting on gladiator type events as the athletes of the moment.

The plot gave me a lot to think about but with the exception of Nena (the newest and most expendable/critiqued recruit of main character Nalah’s gang) I don’t know that I was ever as emotionally engaged with this one as I wanted to be. There were all these relationships, Nalah and her best friend Truck, Nalah with her family or Nalah with Books, where the situation was compelling yet at the same time didn’t dig quite deep enough, those dynamics rarely felt as thoroughly explored as maybe they could have been.

Also, while Nalah does change over the course of the story, aside from that and the status of her friendship with Truck, the ending is otherwise left open, if you’re the type of reader who needs resolution you won’t find much of that here. ( )

4.5 stars. I really loved this book-- the prose-style was fairly simple, but the subjects dealt in the book were interesting and kept me invested. The story tells of a teenage girl-gang in a dystopian world where the only way to live away from the poverty line is to somehow earn the favor of the city's ruling matriarch. Also roles in dominance between men and women have been switched. It may be YA but fans of The Hungergames and 1984 might enjoy this book. ( )