So this one took me a while, but it was on the back burner for a bit. Now I’m finished and ready to share it with you! Here’s the pretty awesome cover:
The Park Service by Ryan Winfield is the first of the Park Service trilogy. This book hooked me right away, but I ended up with some mixed feelings about it–though the end definitely left me wanting more.
The Jist: 16 year old Aubrey lives underground, believing that the surface of Earth is uninhabitable, until a train crash brings him above ground. He finds Earth is paradise, his life has been a lie, and someone is killing off the surviving humans on the surface.
The Good: The imagery and descriptions are very beautiful and detailed. There are some really exciting scenes as well. By the end of the prologue, I was hooked. Winfield has created a very thought-provoking, if disturbing, world. I am interested to see where he will take this next.
The Not-So-Good: I found the protagonist Aubrey a little flat. He’s not bad, just nothing to really give him life or make me attached to him–more of a plot drives character book. Also, I think this was stretched for a trilogy and there were parts where nothing interesting seemed to happen–pages of description of nature–and slow plot, and I found myself bored for most of the middle third. I pushed through though, and the end was worth it.
My Favorite Part: Aubrey’s slang-talking, wild native best friend Jimmy and their pet fox cub, Junior. I also enjoyed Hannah, the love interest, though I’d love to see her developed more.
The Verdict: There are some elements here that felt flat–another dystopian, the protagonist, and the romance–but Winfield has created an interesting, haunting post-apocalyptic Earth, and the end has me wanting the next book by yesterday.
Coffee. Write. Repeat. 
I think a lot of author are riding the trilogy train these days, but some stories are best as a singular book. I might wait for the library to get it. Hard earned cash is very hard to part with. 🙂
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Yes absolutely! It’s a good book, but I’m with you on the hard earned cash part 😉
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I love this review, I could easily draw out a clean-cut imagery of what the book is about. Good,good.
What’s your email address?
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Flat but still eagerly anticipating the next book. Interesting.
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I guess I should clarify–they weren’t bad, but just not as developed as I’d have liked them to be. But the plot and story were really great, interesting, and exciting. The end was also great and a definite hook for the next book.
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Sounds interesting. I assume it’s YA? Also, are you a post-apocalyptic fan?
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