Review Detail

The Watchers is a dystopian science fiction novel and the debut of the author. While we have seen a lot of dystopian this and sci-fi that in YA lit lately, this one is different: it makes sense. At no part was I questioning whether or not something could happen and was even a little nervous by how very real things could become down the line. My belief was suspended (as it should be in sci-fi) but not to the point of concern.

The Watchers follows a young optic surgeon named Ellimeaux Edin who is about to become a full-fledged surgeon at a hospital in her Quarter. She is in charge of implanting children with a device that operates by sending the electrical signals from the human eye to a super computer in The White Quarter, a place where the leaders/workers of this community analyze and store it. If someone is witness to a crime then The Watchers can arrest those responsible, and save those in peril.

This system seems to work well for everyone there, except for the massive lack of privacy and a big-brother sort of control. There is your expected group of dissenters who have a problem with this and the main character becomes mixed in with them after she is given a little girl, one who is even younger than the already low age range, to implant. She fights it and ultimately has to give the girl the implants. After doing so the two grow a bond.

There is no crazy romance (which was refreshing), though it seems as if there could potentially be something between the main character, Ellie and one of the two guys in her life. The main relationship seems to be a sort of mother-daughter tie between Ellie and the little girl, Annalie.

When (surprise surprise!) the Watchers end up abusing their power and even killing people over it, Ellie must pick sides as she tries to protect the little girl Annalie (who has a tangle of secrets all her own).

All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian, sci-fi, and more "grown up" YA genres. If you enjoyed The Hunger Games and/or Divergent check this out.

A great easy read. Very strong writing. Strong characters and visuals. A Fantastic young adult / science fiction and a marvelous first book for this author!