The Ship

The Ship was a surprising read for me. Many Post-Apocalyptic novels jump right to the main events surrounding the action or rebellion of some sort. The Ship takes a different approach. From the first page, the reader goes on the journey with the main character Lalla. This is life right after the fall and the years following. There is not talk about a rebellion or fighting back. Things happened so slowly and before Lalla was even old enough to remember what life was like before. This is a family fighting for survival in the most realistic way possible. Not with guns or knives, but with kindness and sometimes secret political moves.

The Ship to me is more about the inner struggles of fighting for what it means to exist when everything seems uncertain and unclear. At times Lalla's struggles and internal conflicts go back and forth. She seems to whine at times more than take action. Which at first can be a turn off. But in the overall arc of the book, this struggle is necessary. Lalla is the "every man" we could only hope to be in her situation. She may not be a Katniss or a Tris, but she is her own person with her own strengths and flaws.

What drew me into The Ship and kept me reading is not only Lalla's struggles but the mystery behind the Ship itself. Her parents' ultimate goal is to keep Lalla safe and this ship is the one way they can guarantee this. But what did her mother sacrifice? What did her father have to do, give up, to ensure their future? How did all the passengers aboard the ship survive and get on board? Ultimately, where is Lalla's salvation from all the horror she has witnesses in London and around the world? The scariest is part is the familiarity of life in London before the fall and how the cities around the world fell.

This is a must read for all Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic fans. It is a pleasant change from the typical novels in the genre.