Extraction (Extraction #1)

Extraction by Stephanie Diaz
Age Range
14+
Release Date
July 22, 2014
ISBN
1250041171
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“Welcome to Extraction testing.” Clementine has spent her whole life preparing for her sixteenth birthday, when she’ll be tested for Extraction in the hopes of being sent from the planet Kiel’s toxic Surface to the much safer Core, where people live without fear or starvation. When she proves promising enough to be “Extracted,” she must leave without Logan, the boy she loves. Torn apart from her only sense of family, Clem promises to come back and save him from brutal Surface life. What she finds initially in the Core is a utopia compared to the Surface—it’s free of hard labor, gun-wielding officials, and the moon’s lethal acid. But life is anything but safe, and Clementine learns that the planet’s leaders are planning to exterminate Surface dwellers—and that means Logan, too. Trapped by the steel walls of the underground and the lies that keep her safe, Clementine must find a way to escape and rescue Logan and the rest of the planet. But the planet leaders don’t want her running—they want her subdued. With intense action scenes and a cast of unforgettable characters, Extraction is a page-turning, gripping read, sure to entertain lovers of Hunger Games and Ender’s Game and leave them breathless for more.

“Welcome to Extraction testing.” Clementine has spent her whole life preparing for her sixteenth birthday, when she’ll be tested for Extraction in the hopes of being sent from the planet Kiel’s toxic Surface to the much safer Core, where people live without fear or starvation. When she proves promising enough to be “Extracted,” she must leave without Logan, the boy she loves. Torn apart from her only sense of family, Clem promises to come back and save him from brutal Surface life. What she finds initially in the Core is a utopia compared to the Surface—it’s free of hard labor, gun-wielding officials, and the moon’s lethal acid. But life is anything but safe, and Clementine learns that the planet’s leaders are planning to exterminate Surface dwellers—and that means Logan, too. Trapped by the steel walls of the underground and the lies that keep her safe, Clementine must find a way to escape and rescue Logan and the rest of the planet. But the planet leaders don’t want her running—they want her subdued. With intense action scenes and a cast of unforgettable characters, Extraction is a page-turning, gripping read, sure to entertain lovers of Hunger Games and Ender’s Game and leave them breathless for more.

Editor reviews

2 reviews
Nice, action filled start to a series
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Clementine has always wanted to go the Core: the place where life is safer, people aren’t dying around her, and she has a chance to do something other than hard labor. When she is one of the very few chosen to be “Extracted,” she is happy for a better chance of survival but torn that it means leaving behind the guy she loves, Logan. At the Core, Clementine quickly learns that not everything is as perfect as they made it sound. In fact, her new location might be even more dangerous than the home she left…

What I Loved:
One of my favorite elements of this story is the realistic ferocity of Clementine’s world. Death and survival are key factors, especially when it comes to what one would do to stay away from the first one. Even before Clementine goes to the Core, this world is clearly one where you must prioritize yourself if you want to have even a chance of living. Particularly in the beginning, Clementine displays the humanity in having a survival instinct.

Though Logan isn’t present for much of the story, I love the interactions between him and Clementine. There are no love triangles, just a simple and powerful connection between these two that readers see immediately. They are each other’s protectors, and you can feel their bond even when they’re apart.

What Left Me Wanting More:
The execution of the plot could be stronger. Clementine goes from believing in the Core as a positive place to outright rebelling against it rather quickly, especially considering what she has already done to stay there. Much of the plot is also very familiar for the dystopian/sci-fi genre. The reader can guess nearly the entire course of the book from the beginning, down to the last secretly rebellious character.

Towards the end, Clementine also takes a sharp shift in her character from focusing on surviving to extreme self-sacrifice without much buildup. She nearly develops a hero complex that takes away from some of her earlier depth and originality.

Final Verdict:
Though there are flaws, EXTRACTION is an enjoyable and high action beginning to an intriguing series.
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Qucik read if not necessarily an original one
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Clementine is smart, hardworking girl who works in farming camps on the surface of planet Kiel. All she dreams is proving that she is Promising enough to become resident of planets Core level where you are free to pick the job you like. But, although Clementine is extracted, she soon starts to question the the facts she knows because the Core is not the promise land they lead her to believe.
"This place is freedom and suffocation at the same time."

Does something sounds familiar? Compare this plot to Pawn, The Testing or even The Hunger Games and you will find a lot of similarities.

Extraction started slow but soon was full of action. Boy Clementine loves left on the surface, sneaky people with bad intentions, dreams crumbling, exploration of awesome toys at Core, new friends, floating in zero gravity, diving, …. It’s never boring and something new is happening all the time.

Extraction seemed too childish at times. Big Bad Wolf was made of President Charley. On the other side Clementine was all-knowing. For every situation she has the necessary skills to miraculously save the day. And even when she fumbles - she does something completely crazy and wins. (*kahm* firing into the air at simulation game *kahm*). I wish she had to work harder to achieve things. Nothing in real life could be so black and white.

In The End…
Dystopia has been a very popular genre for young adult novels in a last couple of years. It’s hard to write something new. Stephanie Diaz, by design or accidentally, took a safer route. She didn’t try to break any new borders and used familiar dystopian plot elements. So, Extraction maybe will not blow your mind but will be enjoyable read while it lasts.

Recommended for: All who can never get tired of dystopian genre

Disclaimer: I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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