Dark Parties

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Author(s)

Sara Grant

Publisher

Little Brown & Company

Genre(s)

Dystopian

Age Range

12+

Release Date

June 01, 2011

ISBN

978-0316085946

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Sixteen-year-old Neva has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield "protects" them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But there's nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Or so the government says...

Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a "dark party" to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she's ever known, including the people she loves the most.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Do not question

June 20, 2011

Overall rating

3.0

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Sixteen-year-old Neve knows about the 'missing' even through everyone else refuses to speak of them. Her own Grandmother warned her of those who speak out against the Protectosphere, a so-called protected dome where only the lucky live. But luck depends on who you ask. Neve and her friend Sanna, take action against their government and stage "dark parties" protesting and hoping to recruit others to their side. During one of these dark parties she's kissed by Braydon, a mysterious guy and also her best friend Sanna's boyfriend. Neve is confused but finds herself drawn to Braydon. When their other friend ends up going 'missing', Neve is determined to find out what happened to her. Can Neve succeed in finding her friend and finding out the real truth behind the Protectosphere? Or will Neve and those who help her become part of The Missing?

This dystopia has a great beginning where Neve and her friends stage a 'dark party'. It also introduces us to Braydon and the power he seems to have over Neve. The relationship between these two is intense. The author does a great job showing us the struggles Neve goes through in order to stay true to her friend Sanna. Her boyfriend Ethan is an interesting character. I wanted to know what exactly happened to him that changed him so much. It's only alluded to in the story but I wanted to know more.

The Protectosphere is an interesting world. It's kind of like the failed biosphere experiment of the 90s in Arizona. Everything is recycled--including technology and even underwear. But even then there are those who can get things such as food items to make muffins if they know the right sources.

I did want to see more of this world though. The idea that the inbreeding would cause 'issues' was touched on briefly. Also why exactly did they have the Women Enpowerment Camp if there was a bigger risk for inbreeding? These were some of the questions I wanted answered.

Neve's character was believable in her struggles to find out if her Grandmother was right about life outside of their dome and also trying to stay true to her own beliefs. I did like the mother/daughter relationship and the final revelation felt real and not forced.

The ending had one of those wowza moments I love. For fans of dystopias, Dark Parties won't disappoint.

Kim Baccellia, Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 889 reviews

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2 reviews

Overall rating

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3.0(2)

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3.0(2)

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3.0(2)

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Dark Parties (A Room with Books review)

August 26, 2012

Overall rating

2.0

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Dark Parties was a little strange. I found the pacing to be a little odd along with the flow of the story. Things just felt a little jumbled which made the reading experience a bit uncomfortable, but not terrible.

Some other things that added to the strangeness:
-- The romantic relationship
-- All the sex/sex talk
-- Neva’s constant volley between trust and hate

Okay, let me just touch on those first two on the list. First, the relationship. WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT?! I can tell you what it wasn’t. It certainly wasn’t a healthy relationship. It was lust, plain and simple. The only thing Neva actually knows about him as a person is that he likes to make masks as art. The only other things she knows is that she knows is that she likes the way he kisses and he’s her best friend’s boyfriend. I’m seriously not exaggerating about this. Long story short? The relationship did not work for me even the tiniest bit. In fact, I was literally scoffing at them at the end of the story.

Thing two: What is with all the sex?! I know being a teenager means your hormones are all out of whack, but seriously. The first couple pages are all sexy times. It actually made me a bit uncomfortable. I kind of understand where Grant was going with it for the story, but I feel like it could’ve been toned down or done differently.

Now for the good. I think Grant did a fantastic job of writing a standalone (you can correct me if I’m wrong about that) dystopian. She gave the entire story body from side character personality (save for Braydon) to the back story of the world. I appreciated that she actually gave a back story for why the world was a dystopian. That often just gets swept under the rug when it comes to standalones. The story itself was good as well. There was a conflict, the main character reached her end goal and there were losses along the way. I just simply couldn’t get past all the little weirdnesses. Yep, that’s going to be a word now.

The Nutshell: Dark Parties has a good dystopian story complete with a past that doesn’t get ignored. However, due to the weird romantic relationship along with some other minor things I ended up not really enjoying it. I can’t say this is a book I would recommend, but that doesn’t mean others won’t like it.

Miss

Jasmine Top 50 Reviewer 326 reviews

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Dark Parties by Sara Grant

June 08, 2012

Overall rating

4.0

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ISBN: 9781780620107
Publisher: Indigo
Pages: 352

Every tiny act of defiance adds up.
Maybe this one snowflake can start an avalanche.

Sixteen-year-old Neva has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield "protects" them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But there's nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Or so the government says...
Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a "dark party" to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she's ever known, including the people she loves the most.

This book was kindly sent to me to review from Sara Grant. I really enjoyed Dark Parties! I liked reading about the concept of the Protectosphere and the effect it had on the society it contained. The idea that all of the citizens of Homeland were variations of one another and that any form of individuality was suppressed fascinated me! My favourite character was Neva, she stayed true to herself and didn't give up, even when her friends did. I really liked reading about the meaning behind Neva's name and how the snow theme was maintained throughout this book. Although I like the cover of Dark Parties, I would have preferred it to look less computer generated and for it to have represented more of the story within.

Available at Amazon.co.uk.