Kalb Ward slaughters dogs for the Colony, a closed, dystopian society where resources are tight, free speech is nonexistent, and those in power have eyes and ears everywhere. Ward desperately wants to quit his grisly job, but he knows he’ll be arrested, or worse, if he tries.
In the Colony, a citizen’s future is determined by a placement exam. Score high, and you’re set for life. Score low, and you end up living a nightmare–like Ward.
Li Ling, the love of Ward’s youth, scored high, and she’s a local celebrity now, far out of his reach. Meanwhile, his neighbor’s son is making a series of disastrous decisions as his own exam rapidly approaches.
Can Ward bridge the social divide and win back Li Ling? Can he help the neighbor’s son avoid a future as grim as his own? Can he escape the Colony’s oppressive rule and, if he’s very lucky, bring down the whole horrific system in the process?
You know what they say: Every dog has his day.
And Ward’s day is coming.
I loved this dystopian book. Fay owned a Yulin Dish restaurant. She was Ward’s boss, who forced him to slaughter dogs for their meat. My favorite quotes: 1) “If the dogs did ever turn on him, it’d be a better death than theirs.” 2) “I wouldn’t want to go with me either,” Ward said.'”
The drama was very enticing to me. I felt awful for Ward. He tried to do the right thing and get out but was met with roadblocks every step of the way. The author did an amazing job showing all the tension between characters and developing the relationships between everyone. It was a great twist of who the neighbor’s son was. Wasn’t expecting that at all! I shed a tear at the scene where Ward met the local celebrity in the restaurant with the entourage. I could feel his brokenness, emptiness, and hopelessness. The ending was depressing (in a good way).
The author did a wonderful job with all the setting details. I could feel the dread and gloomy atmosphere in that dystopian society.
I RECOMMEND this book to read.
Keep smiling,
Yawatta Hosby
yawattahosby 