Wasteland audiobook

I really liked Wasteland and can't wait for the next book in the trilogy. It's about a future where all the grownups have died, you are considered old if you reach 19. They live in the old buildings scrounging for food and bottled water. The water and even the rain are deadly. There are a new race of people, the Variants, kinda like Native Americans in that they've learned how to live off the land, but their eyes, skin, features, and abilities, are very different from the others, basically adapting to the new world. The townspeople, the Norms, hunt for gas, food, clothes, and trade them to Levi,a boy who found and moved into a warehouse full of food and water and has guards to keep people out. They do what he says and he gives them what they need, but one girl is tired of living by his rules and realizes that something is wrong with the rules. Wasteland is different, reminds me a little of Mad Max or Hunger Games but different enough not to be a copy cat at all. I received this as a digital advanced readers copy through Edelweiss.

I loved the spoiler in the middle of the book. Just really was not expecting that. I had no idea that (view spoiler)[Caleb and Levi would be brothers! (hide spoiler)]I was also confused because throughout the whole book because I thought Joseph was (view spoiler)[young - like under the age of 19 - but he's not!!!! He's 26! There was not even any indicator that he was old, which I thought was odd. (hide spoiler)]I also liked how Esther was friends with Skar, which was predictable, but in the end the variants helped them.It always annoys me how the amazing guy gets with the outcast girl, and the amazing guy's always just plain amazing. But then it also gives me hope because I'm not exactly the most popular person haha. If only I had a bf at all, ever. :( Oh well haha. At least I can live vicariously through books.I like it how Esther doesn't hate (view spoiler)[Caleb's partner, (hide spoiler)] but she will do anything to help Caleb even if it doesn't involve her.

A dystopian world where you marry at fifteen and you die at nineteen, Wasteland is set in a compelling world. In the small town of Prin, the citizens work for The Source, a huge manor house that takes a lot of gas to run it. In return for the gas and other scavenged items, the townfolk receive food, clothing and water. What they don't know is that the one who runs The Source, Levi, has a hidden agenda.Esther spends her days playing with Skar, a variant. Variants are human-like, but aren't. They have unique capabilities, like speed and the ability to stealth. They also have their own rules and don't work for The Source. They used to have a pretty good alliance with the citizens of Prin until recently. Now, they just terrorize the town and it's people. Esther also spends a lot of time shirking her responsibilities, believing herself to be above the law.When a newcomer arrives in town, the citizens are wary until he proves himself a good fighter. He's just what the town needs to rid it of the variants and he immediately decrees that anyone caught with a variant will be imprisoned. Esther immediately wants to warn Skar to stay away from town, even though she disagrees with the stranger. But Caleb is on his own mission and he won't stop until he finds what he is looking for - no matter what the town needs and how much Esther appeals to him.I really enjoyed the world-building and how the plot wasn't predictable. I didn't care for Esther though. I didn't connect with her at all and found her very selfish until the latter part of the book. While some character relationships blossomed, others were stale which is something I hope is addressed in the next book. I look forward to how this trilogy plays out. If you enjoy dystopian young adult with a clever twist, then pick up Wasteland!

Esther and her sister, Sarah live in Prin. A town that may have once been beautiful but has not been almost all but destroyed. The survivors are just that. Surviving. People in Prin have three jobs…harvesting, gleaning, or excavation. Their leader Levi lives in a fortress called the Source. Levi is a mean leader. However the people of Prin have to worry more about the variant or mutants. The variant live on the outskirts of Prin. Lately, they have gotten more violent. The people receive a hero in the form of a young boy named Caleb. Wasteland is a good start to this new young adult series. This series is more post apocalyptic, which is fastly becoming one of the hottest rising genres around along with steam punk. Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan make a great writing team. The story just flowed and I did not have to stumble along or could tell who wrote which parts. This is important when there are several writers involved in a book. I want to be able to just read. What really got me hooked with this book is the world that Esther lives in. The authors described it in such detail that it was like I could feel the heat from the sun scorching my skin. The best way that I can describe it is to compare it to the movie, Pitch Black with Vin Diesel. Where Vin and his crew crashed on a planet that was pretty much desolate.

4 stars for middle school aged kids. This book is about a futuristic world in which no one lives much beyond their teens. The book echoes Mad Max or The Road but with teenagers running the show. There are shortages and foraging is a common activity especially for the most valued commodity gasoline - which apparently never becomes stale in this world. There are your boy and girl "rebels" who, of course, meet each other and the hormonal juices start to flow but nothing too graphic. It is a world in which no one seems to think - Hey, maybe we should grow something because we can't continue to exist on the old food that they find. I guess the adult mind will have a problem with this where a teenager who reads this wouldn't - but maybe I am not giving young adults enough credit. It is readable and fast paced to keep one engaged and is the first of a three part series from what I understand.

I loved the ending but the start was kinda confusing

An exhilarating read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this dystopian future with its Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, and Mad Max vibes! I took my time reading this as I wanted to enjoy it.For a YA novel, I found that the author didn't shy away by addressing some mature themes and issues in the characters' everyday fight for survival, especially due to the ages of the characters in the book, since the oldest is 17-18 years old. I liked the world-building setup of this harsh dystopian world. In this desolate environment with sparse resources to be shared not only by the townsfolk of Prin but also the neighbouring Variants or aka "Mutants" who plague the town's residents. But also made me wonder many questions how did this occur? Was it nuclear? Global warming? Ozone Layer? what was it that caused the drastic environmental changes that Esther, Caleb, Sarah, Levi, Eli, Skar and the other Variants now faced?? Are left unanswered.....for now...I didn't guess the connections or shocks that came at the end of the book which excited me and thoroughly enjoyed several of the character's evolution and maturity especially Esther and I hope in the next book that the other characters will have the limelight to further develop and grow. There was some romance in this, although it did seem to come out of nowhere! It seemed like the two characters had only met only twice before, and then hello! It's suddenly confessing that they loved each other! Ummkay?!?! Maybe that these people have shorter lifespans and everybody dies at 19 hence the whole attitude - declaring one's love and oh hey marriage! To me, it happened really quick! Anyways. Good book. Curious to see what happens next in this saga!

I listened to the audiobook; the narrator did well! Interesting world, post-apocalyptic, not sure how many years or what exactly happened. That might be explained in the next book. Only people under 19-ish survived, and pretty much that’s the life expectancy.It seems like I just finished another book recently with the same situation, yet the world was much different.I don’t recall bad language, but , ya authors, you don’t have to have sex scenes. Really, you don’t. They add nothing to the book and kids are exposed to more than enough as it is. It was , however , a very good read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this dystopian novel. Esther is an excellent protagonist who doesn't follow the rules and is friends with one of the mutants, which is just not done. Fans of The Hunger Games will gobble these up. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

So glad i readed this, i am happy to say it was enjoyable, not perfect, but i am glad i experienced it

Town of Prin, Norms & Variants (mutants). Esther, Skar, Eli, Sarah, Joseph, Caleb, Levi, Rafe.Good writing, cool characters, ok in all. Will read next book in series.

Fast, fairly intriguing read. Good for fans of dystopian fiction who like to be entertained, but don't dig deeply into the book's structure. I'll be curious to see if the second book is more evolved.

Good. Pretty easy to follow book.

Very good book