Mysterious and Suspenseful

I took a chance on the audiobook and I’m not sure this was the best decision. While I liked the story, I didn’t love the audiobook narration. Overall I think the premise is good and the fast paced, action packed story seems to be heading down an interesting path. Enclave paints a bleak world, with evolved “freaks” and hidden dangers lurking around. The protagonist Deuce is a brave huntress trying to find the right path in an uncertain world.

In this post apocalyptic world the remaining survivors are living in underground tunnels. The human life span is now very short, and only if the children (called “Brats”) make it to age fifteen do they even get an official name. Once they are named, they can then choose the title of breeder, builder or hunter. Deuce has just completed the naming ceremony and has chosen the huntress path. She now must hunt for food and fight any flesh eating zombie like “Freaks” that get in her way. Deuce is paired up with Fade, a boy who grew up topside. Once she starts exploring on her hunting missions, Deuce finds that the stories she has been told about life outside the enclave may not be as true as she thought.

The story is mysterious and suspenseful, and since Deuce has been in the dark so is the reader. There is not a lot of information about Deuce’s world and how things got to be so bad. I would expect more of the blanks to be filled in with future installments. Deuce and the others in the enclave have grown up believing they won’t live long, they have to stay underground and away from the dangers above ground. No one seems to question this before Deuce becomes a huntress.

The protagonist Deuce is the character I felt most connected to. She is a brave huntress, curious, and strong. Her life has changed overnight and she is trying to adjust with each new challenge thrown at her. It’s interesting seeing the world outside the underground through her eyes because she is like a fish out of water; everything is new to her. Fade is her friend and potential love interest. He has more knowledge of the topside world since he was born there and can fill in some of the blanks for Deuce. Fade seems to have some competition for Deuce as another suitor is introduced.

Fade and Deuce meet many new characters on their mission, and it’s hard to know who can be trusted. The freaks are another mysterious element in the story. I think they are supposed to be zombies, and some of them are smarter and evolved so they are more difficult to stop.

As I listened to this story and envisioned the Deuce character, I imagined she would sound like a brave huntress, and sound similar to the narrator of Divergent or even the narrator of Delirium. The narrator of Enclave sounds younger and more innocent than I expected for the character. I understand she does need to sound naive due to her age and experience but for me the voice doesn’t match up to how I thought the character would sound.

Overall, the story has potential and should appeal to fans of darker post apocalyptic and action-oriented YA books. It’s not my favorite audiobook, so I recommend reading the book version.

9 people found this helpful

It was supposed to be good.

I thought it was a really good story. You don't have to be a dystopian or sci-fi fan to love this book. The horrifying future that Ann Aguirre had portrayed was so real and vivid in my mind. I have to say that I don't think the Author's focus was on the romance at all. She simply described how any teenage girl at that stage would feel.....confused and bewildered. However, I strongly recommend you NOT TO BUY THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION! I tried so hard to ignore the narrator's whiny voice but just couldn't. She made the whole thing extremly distracting I almost couldn't made it though the first half. Anyway, go buy the book. It's much worth it.

24 people found this helpful

Interesting concept but that voice...

What did you like best about Enclave? What did you like least?

This seems like a good story but I CANNOT continue. The narrator's voice seems very young, whiny, and giggly/gleeful in the most inappropriate parts of the story. It's really rough to listen to and it is the reason I have quit listening to this book and will not buy the next in the series.

3 people found this helpful

Average

Any additional comments?

No particular likes or dislikes. It was perfectly serviceable. I like the strong heroine, which is why I chose it in the first place. But certainly not a stand out in the genre. The naivety of the heroine is a bit irritating.

3 people found this helpful

Good story, horrible narrator

Honestly, I had to stop listening to this. I like the story, but the narrator really ruins it for me. It's like listening to one of the chipmunks read the book. Awful...

13 people found this helpful

Narrator ruined the book

I liked the story, but the narrator sounded like a 12 year old child talking about Disney world, as opposed to the more adult situations.

2 people found this helpful

Gripping Story and Interesting Worldbuilding

I greatly enjoyed this first book. It was a pleasure to read a story with a strong lead female character and a more thoughtful and reticent male character. The story progressed well and there was a lot of interesting action throughout. Quite a few sections of the book are so riveting that it would be hard to stop listening!

I've listened to both the first and the second books in this series and it was very pleased with both the world and the character building. I'm greatly looking forward to the next book in the series as a result!

2 people found this helpful

Interesting and full of adventure.

I would sum this story up as an I Am Legend meets Hunger Games (though there are no "games").

The main character, Deuce, is admirable, brave, and pretty bad a** for her age. At the same time, she's naive, but not because she lacks intellegence; she's grown up in sheltered circumstances and she's barely past childhood.

I am excited for book 2 (The Outpost - which apparently is set for publication September 2012) so I can follow Deuce as she matures and grows into the relationships she's established.

There is a triangle established in this first book, though due to Deuce's naivety and age, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "love triangle" yet. But this is one of the things that makes Deuce's story interesting. It's not the typical YA novel of, OMG I've immediately fallen in love with two different boys and don't know what to do; it's not mushy at all. There's a lot more of an organic nature to the growth of the relationships in this story, and it's one of the reasons I look forward to book 2.

The story is also action packed and moves along at a good pace; you don't get bored.

The narrator took some getting used to. She sounds awfully young and, at first, I found her high pitched voice annoying. But I got over it pretty fast and her voice actually matches Deuces character pretty well. I just wish she did more convincing male voices. Other than the tone of her voice, I think Emily Bauer did a good job expressing intensity in those moments of the story that really called for it.

Overall, despite my criticisms, I really liked Enclave and would recommend others read it. I've read(or really listened to) a lot, A LOT, of other YA novels lately that I didn't really find all that impressive and worth reading, but I really enjoyed Enclave and thought it worth a review.

8 people found this helpful

Exciting!

ENCLAVE is fantastic. It was like a movie in my mind. For being a relatively short book, it covers A LOT and the journey is incredibly exciting. Deuce has worked her whole life to be a Huntress. It’s all she’s ever wanted. She’s brave and strong for a New Blood. She lives by the rules. Then she gets partnered with Fade (how cool is his name?!). He’s not like everyone else and Deuce isn’t sure how to deal with him. He makes her second guess everything she’s ever been taught and awakens a new understanding within her.

I’m completely impressed with Ann Aguirre’s imagination and ability to create post-apocalyptic magic. I was enthralled by the story and attached to the characters. I’m rooting for them in every way.

4 people found this helpful

great YA novel, I loved it...by Eddie, age 12

Any additional comments?

It was a great book. After reading the Gregor series, where they live in underground colonies, I was a little sick of that concept. Still, I enjoyed Enclave (though they live in enclaves, also underground). All the characters had their own interesting back stories, which was really fun to listen to. The narrator had a very squeaky voice that got annoying.

4 people found this helpful