Emily McKay: The Farm

You know I hate trilogies because the plot which is usually OK enough to fit into one book gets diluted into three or more books to keep the readers going and money flowing. 

But I also hate unfinished stories. Some series are good in a way that nothing ends on a cliffhanger and it's up to you to read on or not. But other series, especially those with the planned exact number of sequels are just a money trap. No, I don't want the authors to starve but I also don't want to be disappointed as a reader. This trilogy shouted Cronin's Passage for younger audience with a little twist - an autistic character in it. So I grabbed all three books and hoped it would be worth my time. 

What do you want me to start with? The good or the bad stuff? OK, let's start on a positive note. I like the structure of the books. In the first and the second book it's two ich-forms and just one er-form and the third books is all first person narratives. Neat, I know. 

The story flows fast, there are interesting twists to keep you awake at night for "just one more chapter" and if you like post-apocalyptic world and vampires this is for you. Also, there is romance (hormones, duh!) but it's kept at a bearable level. Since the couples are kept separated there is not much space for puppy looks and boring scenes full of stupid dialogues.

But why teenagers? I mean, adults (I by that I mean anyone older than 19) should be capable of greater things than hormone-powered teens. It's not that I don't believe in children but I work with them and I know how fragile they can be. Which would send everything flying. But let's leave the unlikely heroes alone and focus on my bullshit-o-meter. 

It kept giving me signals throughout the books. The first book was basically about finding a girl who has "magical" powers to make people believe what she wants. The background for it was so unstable I couldn't shake off the feeling this was wild goose chase. Which was nothing compared to the abundance of such people at the end. I just didn't like it. The story would go differently if all the character had such power. 

Then there was this smart-at-survival character who kept plants with him on the road in case he had to sleep in a freezer (no electricity) so that he wouldn't suffocate. Ever heard of plants TAKING your oxygen at night? So I kept expecting him to die one day in a confined space with his plants but it never came. 

It was full of really weird moments in which every sensible person would guess a different development but overall it was a good read. The way it was written and how fast the story flowed somehow made me overlook the mistakes and just keep reading.

GENRE: post-apocalyptic teenage whatever

FANGS OUT: good pace, nice twists
FANGS RETRACTING: the author should have done better research
TOTAL SCORE: