Review : Resist by Sarah Crossan

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Resist (Breathe #2)
Author : Sarah Crossan
Publication Date : October 8th 2013
Publisher : Greenwillow Books
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The sequel—and conclusion—to Sarah Crossan's Breathe. Three teen outlaws must survive on their own in a world without air, exiled outside the glass dome that protects what's left of human civilization. Gripping action, provocative ideas, and shocking revelations in a dystopian novel that fans of Patrick Ness and Veronica Roth will devour.

Bea, Alina, and Quinn are on the run. They started a rebellion and were thrown out of the pod, the only place where there's enough oxygen to breathe. Bea has lost her family. Alina has lost her home. And Quinn has lost his privileged life. Can they survive in the perilous Outlands? Can they finish the revolution they began? Especially when a young operative from the pod's Special Forces is sent after them. Their only chance is to stand together, even when terrible circumstances force them apart. When the future of human society is in danger, these four teens must decide where their allegiances lie. Sarah Crossan has created a dangerous, and shattered society in this wrenching, thought-provoking, and unforgettable post-apocalyptic novel.

Personal Thoughts

Last  year, I was completely taken by surprise by how much I loved Sarah Crossan's Breathe despite the multiple mixed reviews from blogger friends. I was more than excited to begin Resist because I wanted to know how everything ended for the characters that I grew to cherish in the first book of the series. While Resist ended on a positive note, I was still disappointed by the lack of answers to some questions I had in the first book.

Resist, like Breathe, is told in multiple POVs. However, in addition to the POVs of Alina, Bea and Quinn, we get another POV from a new character, Ronan. Usually, I'm not a fan of multiple POVs because they hardly ever work for me, but this series is an exception because I completely adore being inside the head of all these characters. It was also a necessity in this book because the characters were never always together. My favorite character in this series has always been Bea. She started off as the naive, innocent girl who has had a crush on her best friend for a long time, but over the course of the book, she developed into this beautiful character who began to see her real strength and started using her strengths to help others. In Resist, I grew to love her even more because she blossomed into an even braver character. What I loved most about Bea though that she didn't allow the circumstances that she was in to harden her soul. She was still the sweet, genuine and honest girl that she had always been. Quinn, on the other hand, I had some issues with. I hated how he constantly left Bea alone despite knowing very well how harsh the conditions were and he frustrated me at times. What I love about the characters in this series is that they are all well-developed and you actually get to watch them grow throughout the books, which is a huge plus according to me.

The plot in Resist was fast-paced, which made it quite an entertaining read. I also liked how the characters weren't constantly with each other, so you go to see what was going on on the different sides of the world in Resist. My complaint when it comes to Resist is the lack of answers. I had multiple questions as to how the world in this series came to be in the first book, so I was sorely disappointed when I turned the last page because none of my questions were answered and this is the last book of the series. While the world-building wasn't as strong, the characterizations and the nail-biting plot made up for it, but I do think a lot of people who look for solid world-building when it comes to dystopian books will be a bit disappointed with Resist. The romance between Bea and Quinn was minimal and that was a shame because I was looking forward to more scenes between them. The few scenes they had together though were sweet, heart-warming and left me smiling. While the Breathe series might not be the best dystopian series, I do think it's worth the read because Sarah Crossan has a wonderful writing style.

My feelings for Resist are conflicted. Part of me loved it and the other part had a few issues with it. It is by no means a terrible book, but I did expect more from it. If I had to choose between Breathe and Resist, I would most definitely choose Breathe.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 3/5
Writing : 4/5