'No one's coming for us.
Not our families, not the police.
No one.'
Alyn, Jes, Ryan and Elsa are Nowhere. A concrete cube in the middle of a dense forest. Imprisoned inside are one hundred teenagers from all over the country. They're all criminals. But none of them remember committing any crimes. Who has put them there. What do their captors want? And how will they ever break free...?
Nowhere was a really fast paced, original and gripping story that did seem to be lacking a certain something that meant that I didn't love it, but I did still really enjoy it. This is the type of book that has the ability to appeal to both boys and girls, it has strong female characters but the intrigue, politics and action that will appeal to boys in their younger teens.
The premise of Nowhere is so intriguing, teens being told that they're criminals but all of them are convinced that they're innocent - they have no idea where they are, they were just snatched off the streets and they're being brainwashed and thrown in cells. This is such a mysterious and vague description and it's executed just as well, with us learning things a little bit faster than the characters and enough secrets left unanswered to warrant the sequel, Anywhere in 2014.
What really worked for me in this book is how we follow a group of kids and also have some chapters where we'll get a glimpse of what's going on behind the scenes. The book builds up the political intrigue outside the prison and builds up the suspense inside it and it's fantastic, even when there's barely anything happening there's still the escape plans being hatched and the relationships between the teens to follow. I did feel that because there's no set main character I felt a little more disconnected from the characters than I like, I like to get to know the characters and Nowhere didn't do that for me unfortunately.
Like I said at the beginning, Nowhere is lacking something and I can't quite put my finger on what it is, however I did enjoy it, at 250 pages it's a quick and interesting read. The characters will appeal to both boys and girls and the plot unravels so well. I would have liked to connect to the characters a little more, but overall Nowhere was an enjoyable read.
Book released 4th July 2013 by Puffin
Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
I haven't heard of this one! It sounds interesting though.
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