February 16, 2014

Review: The Finisher by David Baldacci





Product Description:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author David Baldacci as you've never seen him before. 

Why would Quentin Herms flee into the Quag? There was nothing in the Quag except certain death. 


Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood. But this isn't unusual -- nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood. At least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown. 


Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave -- he was chased. And he's left behind a very dangerous trail of clues that only she can decode. 


The Quag is a dark forest filled with terrifying beasts and bloodthirsty Outliers. But just as deadly are the threats that exist within the walls of Wormwood. It is a place built on lies, where influential people are willing to kill to keep their secrets. Vega is determined to uncover the truth -- but the closer she gets, the more she risks her life. 


With THE FINISHER, master storyteller David Baldacci conjures a thrilling, imaginative world where things are as wrong as wrong can be -- and introduces us to an unforgettable heroine who must think fast, look close, and defy all odds in her fight to do what's right.



My Thoughts:

Most avid readers have a few authors whose books are always must reads. David Baldacci is one of those authors for me.  When I had a chance to read an ARC copy of The Finisher I didn't hesitate to snap this one up and boy was I surprised by the story that unfolded.

Baldacci is most notably an author of suspense thrillers and with a title like The Finisher I was expecting an action packed adrenaline ride. What I got instead was a YA dystopian novel about a young girl, Vega Jane, who works as a finisher in a factory called The Stacks and the odd world she lives in, Wormwood.


Initially I almost gave up on the book because it wasn't what I expected. Also what was frustrating to me was that some of the names for common items in Wormwood were made up and some words are the same words we use. So if people are Wugs, horses are sleps and years are sessions why are there such a things as ceramics or even a pub crawl (with only one pub in the village).  It just seemed to me that there was no consistency. After I got over this, the story grabbed me and I'm very glad I stuck through to the end.


Vega Jane has had an awful lot of adversity in her young life but she comes through stronger than ever and she uses this strength to find out more about the world around her.



My Recommendation

I recommend this one for anyone who loves dystopian YA and I'm thinking The Finisher will be a series because of the ending. I certainly hope so.