Review: Article 5 By Kristen Simmons

I'm baaaack!

Summary: New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Link to cover: http://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/10677277-article-5

Review:

Okay. So, to start off, I got this book from the library. It was given to me in a "Blind Date". I chose two wrapped books and then went home to see what I got. One of them was this book.

This book had so much potential. Since the Dystopian genre has gotten so much hype in 2012-due to the Hunger Games, of course-you kind of expect a strong female protagonist, a very corrupt government, and a strong male lead. This book, however, lacked two of the three. Can you guess which two?

Yes, this book had a horrible protagonist. Ember Miller is very, very stupid. You can see that she tries to be brave all through out the book. But she fails epically. There is a very fine line between stupidity and bravery. Ember Miller crossed that line frequently. At first Ember seemed just like your normal Dystopian main character. Naive about her government and poverty stricken. But then, around page 19, you learn about Chase Jennings. The boy she does not shut up about through the whole book. "Chase, I love you!" "Chase, I hate you!" and so on. Ember could not make up her mind about him until fifty pages until the end. Ember was whiny and immature. She ruined every thing that came her way. She ruined others lives, just because she was trying to be brave. Running away because your old boyfriend was trying to protect you is not brave. It's immature. She really had potential. I just think the author was so focused on not making the romance the typical insta-love that has plagued most YA fiction now a days, that she forgot that her character needed character. I tried so hard to see why Ember did the things she did. But the only back story you got about her was her previous love life with Chase and her life with her reckless mother.

Another thing. Back story.

So, you know when you're reading a Dystopian novel and the world has gone to hell and the government is crazy? You know that amazing back story you get? You don't get that with ARTICLE 5. Ember keeps mentioning a President Scarboro-who is only mentioned twice!-and a War. What is this War that she keeps talking about? I have no freaking idea. Because Simmons never gave a back story. Again, she was so focused on the romance in this book, that she forgot to put important details in the story! I would have loved this book a lot more if I knew why the FBR did what they did. If I knew what the War was that ruined America as we know it. If I know why every one loves their morals now. But I never got that.

Aside from all the bad things in this book, the action in the first half was excellent. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved how the action tied together with the new Moral America.

One more thing. Did anyone else find Chase extremely abusive? He had the tendencies of an abusive man! I could understand Ember freaking out about him most of the time. I have a feeling Simmons was trying to make Chase be like Four in Divergent. But Four had character. Unlike all the characters in ARTICLE 5.

The only reason I may pick up BREAKING POINT (ARTICLE 5 #2) is if I have no other books to read or I am just curious.

If you are looking for yet another Dystopian book and don't mind the lack of all the above, ARTICLE 5 by Kristen Simmons is your book

Overall rating: 2/5 stars.