Genre: Young Adult Dystopia

The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons
Series: Stand-Alone
Published by Tor Teen on February 10th 2015
Genres: Young Adult Dystopia
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
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I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Handmaid’s Tale meets Blood Red Road in Glass Arrow, the story of Aya, who lives with a small group of women on the run from the men who hunt them, men who want to auction off breeding rights to the highest bidder.
In a world where females are scarce and are hunted, then bought and sold at market for their breeding rights, 15-year old Aya has learned how to hide. With a ragtag bunch of other women and girls, she has successfully avoided capture and eked out a nomadic but free existence in the mountains. But when Aya’s luck runs out and she’s caught by a group of businessmen on a hunting expedition, fighting to survive takes on a whole new meaning.

Guys, I could not believe this! I was going through my 2015 list, compiling my favorites for the year and I noticed that I have missed reviewing The Glass Arrow. At first I was shocked because I liked it so much, then I was confused and then I looked at my Goodreads shelf and everything came to light. I read The Glass Arrow literally the day before my son was born.

So despite this being several months late. I figured it was still better late then never.

Wow, I have to admit, this was my first time dipping my toes into Simmons writing and I do not regret it. The Glass Arrow, did it for me. It hooked me from the beginning and continued to hold on until the very end. It was wonderful, it was emotional, and it was addictive. I did not want to let this book go.

Simmons introduces us to a darker world where women are haunted, sold, and used as breeders. The girls that are caught in the wild are brought to this jail like place called the Garden, where they are groomed to be sold. Aya was born in the wild, outside of the city limits, and when she was caught, she did everything in her power to try and stay away from being sold in the auctions - injuries, fights, pissing off the woman in charge. I think the fact that she wasn’t born within the city is what drove her will for survival and her wild like instincts to keep herself from being sold like a piece of meat. She was strong, resilient and she did things that I probably would never have the guts to do. She also has a sort of a pet wolf Brax who I adored.

I was a little perplexed about the way these girls treated each other in the Garden. I was really hoping sisterhood would prevail at a time of need. In a way, later in the story, it does. Still, it saddened me how easily the girls accepted their faith, that this is all they think they will amount to.

The romance in this was slow building, and I was so happy that it was not insta-love. Kiran is a Driver, who is equally as brave as Aya. They meet when Aya get’s tossed into solitary due to her behavior, and after a rocky start they eventually form a kind of bond. Aya thinks that Kiran is a mute as he does not speak, and so there were a lot of one sided conversations between the two. Aya does not trust Kiran at first, but eventually it became kind of hard not to when he tries to help her.

The world building was fabulous. I was shocked how well Simmons had woven everything together into one Stand-Alone novel. For the most part, I think she has managed to cover everything and how the world worked. From how the girls were groomed to be sold, to Drivers, and the food pills.

The ending was action packed and a bit of a nail biter for me. I wanted to know what happens, how will it end. Daphne, one of the girls from the Garden and her sudden resilience surprised me. Her relationship with Aya is rocky and not well liked, but both do what they have to in order to survive. Aya is loyal to a fault and I loved that about her. I loved learning about her past and who she is. I applaud Aya for the sacrifices she had made, seriously the ending made me cry, and if you read the book you know exactly why. I almost gave up on the book there and then, I couldn’t believe it happened. I think that was the major part that took away 1 star for me from the book

Because I am feeling generous today I am giving away an e-book copy of this book from amazon, or B & N or wherever I can send a copy to you from. Open INT. Yay!

Rules

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