Tankborn

Tankborn
Author(s)
Genre(s)
Age Range
12+
Release Date
September 15, 2011
ISBN
978-1600606625
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Best friends Kayla and Mishalla know they will be separated when the time comes for their Assignments. They are GENs, Genetically Engineered Non-humans, and in their strict caste system, GENs are at the bottom rung of society. High-status trueborns and working-class lowborns, born naturally of a mother, are free to choose their own lives. But GENs are gestated in a tank, sequestered in slums, and sent to work as slaves as soon as they reach age fifteen. When Kayla is Assigned to care for Zul Manel, the patriarch of a trueborn family, she finds a host of secrets and surprises-not least of which is her unexpected friendship with Zul's great-grandson. Meanwhile, the children that Mishalla is Assigned to care for are being stolen in the middle of the night. With the help of an intriguing lowborn boy, Mishalla begins to suspect that something horrible is happening to them. After weeks of toiling in their Assignments, mystifying circumstances enable Kayla and Mishalla to reunite. Together they hatch a plan with their new friends to save the children who are disappearing. Yet can GENs really trust humans? Both girls must put their lives and hearts at risk to crack open a sinister conspiracy, one that may reveal secrets no one is ready to face.

Best friends Kayla and Mishalla know they will be separated when the time comes for their Assignments. They are GENs, Genetically Engineered Non-humans, and in their strict caste system, GENs are at the bottom rung of society. High-status trueborns and working-class lowborns, born naturally of a mother, are free to choose their own lives. But GENs are gestated in a tank, sequestered in slums, and sent to work as slaves as soon as they reach age fifteen. When Kayla is Assigned to care for Zul Manel, the patriarch of a trueborn family, she finds a host of secrets and surprises-not least of which is her unexpected friendship with Zul's great-grandson. Meanwhile, the children that Mishalla is Assigned to care for are being stolen in the middle of the night. With the help of an intriguing lowborn boy, Mishalla begins to suspect that something horrible is happening to them. After weeks of toiling in their Assignments, mystifying circumstances enable Kayla and Mishalla to reunite. Together they hatch a plan with their new friends to save the children who are disappearing. Yet can GENs really trust humans? Both girls must put their lives and hearts at risk to crack open a sinister conspiracy, one that may reveal secrets no one is ready to face.

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2 reviews
Overall rating
 
4.3
Plot
 
4.0(2)
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4.5(2)
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Tankborn by Karen Sandler
Overall rating
 
4.0
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Best friends Kayla and Mishalla know they will be separated when the time comes for their Assignments. They are GENs, Genetically Engineered Non-humans, and in their strict caste system, GENs are at the bottom rung of society. High-status trueborns and working-class lowborns, born naturally of a mother, are free to choose their own lives. But GENs are gestated in a tank, sequestered in slums, and sent to work as slaves as soon as they reach age fifteen.
When Kayla is Assigned to care for Zul Manel, the patriarch of a trueborn family, she finds a host of secrets and surprises—not least of which is her unexpected friendship with Zul's great-grandson. Meanwhile, the children that Mishalla is Assigned to care for are being stolen in the middle of the night. With the help of an intriguing lowborn boy, Mishalla begins to suspect that something horrible is happening to them.


After being declined over and over again by Netgalley, I finally received Tankborn three days before its release date. I was really looking forward to reading it, but by the end of the first chapter sadly I found it quite a chore to read. It finally picked up when I was about thirty-five to forty percent into it, (I think this was mainly due to the system of GEN's,trueborns and lowborns being explained though). Despite the slow start, overall I enjoyed this book quite a lot!
My favourite characters were Kayla and Mishalla. Kayla because of her inner strength, her need to protect & put others before herself and generally because of her determined nature. And Mishalla because of her protective and nurturing disposition.
I think the cover suits the tale within perfectly and is beautiful as well!
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Totally Awesome Dystopia
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4.7
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Tankborn was definitely another reminder to me not to judge books by their covers, which I will undoubtedly continue to do ad infinitum. Still, I know I shouldn't. The only reason I requested this on NetGalley was because of the golden word dystopia in the description. If it says dystopia, I will read it. So yeah, the cover's not the best (and, yet again, does not seem to depict one of the main characters), but don't let that stop you.

The characters and the story both intrigued me right off. It took a few chapters for me to get completely absorbed, because you're dropped into the middle of this completely unfamiliar landscape and have to get used to how things work there. Once I did, though, I could barely put the book down, except for having to work and sleep and feed the cat and all of that.

My one complaint, and it's pretty mild, is that I would really like to know more about why they left Earth. What happened there? There really wasn't too much said about that and I can only hope that there will be a sequel that might delve into some of that, and tell more of Kayla's future.

The lessons this book conveys about racism and religion are really well done, not so much lecturing as raising an ethical point and getting you to really think about the philosophical and theological leaps needed to support certain ways of being. This might make an excellent book club read for that very reason.

If you love dystopias, you will not want to miss Tankborn. It's going on sale tomorrow, so go get it!
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