Review : The Ward by Jordana Frankel
Title : The Ward (The Ward #1)
Author : Jordana Frankel
Publication Date : April 30th 2013
Publisher : Katherine Tegen Books
Goodreads - The Book Depository
Sixteen-year-old Ren is a daredevil mobile racer who will risk everything to survive in the Ward, what remains of a water-logged Manhattan. To save her sister, who is suffering from a deadly illness thought to be caused by years of pollution, Ren accepts a secret mission from the government: to search for a freshwater source in the Ward, with the hope of it leading to a cure.
However, she never expects that her search will lead to dangerous encounters with a passionate young scientist; a web of deceit and lies; and an earth-shattering mystery that’s lurking deep beneath the water’s rippling surface.
Jordana Frankel’s ambitious debut novel and the first in a two-book series, The Ward is arresting, cinematic, and thrilling—perfect for fans of Scott Westerfeld or Ann Aguirre.
Personal Thoughts
I don't know what it is with me and review books lately, but we're just not getting along. I haven't read one review title that blew me away. The Ward is yet another example of a stunning cover with a premise that has huge potential, but unfortunately the execution fails to impress.
As far as the characters go, I didn't have a huge issue with them. The main character Ren is actually quite likable. She was headstrong, fearless and wasn't afraid to endanger her own life in order to protect those that she loves. Her presence in the book really shone through and I liked being inside her head. She was also a complex and multi-layered character. On the outside, she gave off a tough-chick vibe, but on the inside she was like any other girl, vulnerable. The reader can't help but enjoy her presence in the book because you cannot help but notice her. Devoted, she was a girl who you would want to befriend. Her deep love and loyalty to the girl she considered to be more than her sister was, for me, the focal point of The Ward. However, here's where one of my first issues lie. The reader doesn't understand why Aven and her shared such a deep bond. The profoundness of their relationship was simply not palpable. As for the secondary characters, there were a few of them. At times, the personality of a couple of them would fade together and I couldn't for the love of me recall who was who. Derek, the love interest, was not my kind of love interest. From my side, there was no feelings for him. For some reason, I couldn't grasp why Ren looked him up with such fascination. He did some pretty awful things to Ren that made him even more unlikable. In fact, I fell for another guy, Callum. A sweet, good-hearted scientist, Callum respected Ren and he was the one who stole my heart. However, I'm not sure if this will ever be a love triangle because Callum and Ren never express feelings of attraction. This is one case where I hope the new friend becomes the love interest.
Like I said above, The Ward is one of those books that had immense potential. Not only was the future that the author created something that could actually happen in reality in the future, but it had the possibility to be absolutely fascinating. However, the world-building was sketchy at best. I wanted to know how and why the world came about to be. Unfortunately, it wasn't explained in this title. Because of the lack of background, at times, I found it incredibly hard to figure out what was going on. I will admit that the plot was action-packed, and that was what managed to hold my attention throughout the book. However, that simply wasn't enough. By the end of the book, I was left unsatisfied and craving to know more about Ren's world. In addition, I felt like The Ward offered nothing new in the dystopian genre. It's the same repetitive formulaic plot of an evil man ruling the world in the aftermath of some disaster. I think it's high time that new elements are introduced to this genre. Another thing I had a big problem was the lack of logic in certain aspects. They live in a world that has been immersed in the ocean, but yet there's this race to find fresh water. Like Giselle at Xpresso Reads said in her review, there is technology to change sea water into pure drinkable water. That part, I thought was pretty stupid and made no sense at all. I also some complaints about the language in the beginning of the book. Ren says words like ,"ain't" and "gotta", but as the book went by those words completely disappeared from the book. I thought that was a little strange. Other than that though, the author's writing is highly engaging.
While the characters and plot in The Ward were satisfactory, the poor world building leaves much to be desired. Even though I didn't have a good experience with this book, I'm keeping hope for the second installment. The Ward might not have worked for me, but if you go into the book lowering your expectations, you might end up enjoying it more than I did.
Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 2/5
Characters : 2/5
Writing : 3/5
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