Week Thirty-Four - August 20th - August 26th

Title: Everett

Author: violetsadowski

Genre: Science Fiction

Number of Chapters: 22 (As of reading)

Completed? No

Link (Added as an in-line comment):

Blurb:

Welcome to the not-so-distant future, in a city of structure and comfort. In a place where maturity and peace reigns. This is a story of one boy's fall into the chaotic pit of learning what it means to become of age. 

After breaking his city's curfew and having a night out with friends, Everett Gibson, a shy young boy, is shipped off to boarding school for rehabilitation. His teachers hate him, the head admin hates him, and the other students seem to hate him as well. He's scared and ready to fold to the school's whim when an unlikely individual becomes his ally and friend. 

Adults are meant to teach and students are meant to obey. Rules are made for a reason and Everett has never questioned them before. He's always been safe. He's always been fed. He's always had a family and friends. In a new environment where much of this is stripped away, and through his new friend and ally, Everett is led down a caverness descent into mysterious societies and new ideas where lines between what's right and wrong are blurred and made jagged. 

 Now, Everett must decide to fall back into the comfortable life he once lived or decide if changing the structure is worth it.

Goose's Thoughts:

It's another week, another Sci-Fi story and a dystopian world that will chill you to your core and leave you asking whether such a state is possible in our lives. 

Violet really goes into a lot of detail regarding the world within the story she is telling and I loved the little details she revealed throughout. It's clear from the very beginning that a lot of care and attention went into each aspect of this story. Although it has a dystopian setting, Violet references books from our own into the story which almost creates this sense of irony in the story. Perhaps the thing that chilled thought for me as that some aspects of the story were not all that dissimilar to our own world.

I loved the idea of the rebellion and how we're introduced to the characters that are trying to bring down this dystopian world. More than anything, I loved how they were seemingly ordinary people doing what they can to stop people from suffering more than they already have. Greg really suits the role of the rebellious figure and Violet does a marvellous job at keeping the whole Underground system a secret until just the right moment.

Everett makes for an interesting character within the story as we follow his train of thoughts throughout his time at the school and eventually his introduction into the rebellion against The Community. I love how Violet creates small moments of doubt within him about the rebellion and that there were small moments where it seems he would be falling into the monotony of the school life. He really grows into himself as the story progresses and he goes from quite a scared kid to someone who will do anything to bring down the corrupt government.

The descriptions throughout this story are honestly incredible Violet manages to capture the settings really well and I love how the setting often plays into the characters emotions. She paints such vivid pictures of the world which really adds to the world-building and allows the characters and the story to leap off the page. There is almost a poetic nature to the way she describes everything and it truly is something special.

If you are looking for a dark, dystopian story full of tension that will leave you on the edge of your seat, then this is the story for you. The descriptions alone are worth it and the world building and characters are a definite bonus.

Thank you for writing such an amazing story, Violet!

-Goose