Author: Jennifer
Bosworth. Release date: 2012. Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN: 9780374372835.
Annotation:
After
a devastating earthquake destroys Los Angeles, seventeen-year-old Mia Price is struggling
to live in a world that is falling apart. Her only solace lies in her unlikely
addiction: being struck by lightning.
Personal
thoughts: I love dystopian novels so I was pumped to read this one since I
thought the lightning was a nice twist. Unfortunately, it didn’t really live up
to my expectations. I found it to be too jumbled and wasn’t sure what kind of
direction it was going in. I really wish the author had focused more on one
main concept because I think she would have created a really awesome story had
that been the case. I do think she has some interesting ideas, however, and
look forward to seeing what she comes up with in the future. Hopefully she can
improve and write something truly outstanding.
Plot
summary: Seventeen-year-old Mia Price has tried for years to hide her
darkest secret from the outside world. While most girls her age are interested
in boys or music, Mia is addicted to lightning. Mia has been struck dozens of
times, so much, in fact, that her body is covered with red veins that snake
around like a lightning bolt. She doesn’t know why or how, but she seems to
attract lightning, and can even feel a storm coming like tingles on her skin.
After her abilities inadvertently cause her to seriously injure one of her
friends, Mia, her mother and brother, Parker, leave their home in Lake Havasu,
Arizona and move to Los Angeles to start over. Mia’s plans for a new life are
put on hold, however, after a devastating earthquake, accompanied by a powerful
lightning storm, destroy the city. Most of Los Angeles is killed, the rest
displaced into a strange Tent City on the beaches. Those who were lucky enough
not to lose their homes in the earthquake are left to fend for themselves as
supplies of water and food run short. To make matters worse, a mysterious
religious figure known as Rance Ridley Prophet, who accurately predicted the
coming of the storm and earthquake days before it happened, has taken hold of
much of the city’s survivors. Preaching that God is punishing Earth for its
sins, Prophet’s Followers, clad all in white, roam the city like a church militia,
trying to recruit anyone and everyone to their fold. Opposing Prophet are the
Seekers, a group determined to show the Followers that their leader is a
con-artist who is using the disaster to gain power. Not interested in taking
sides, Mia soon finds herself in the middle of the conflict between the
Followers and the Seekers, both seeming to know about her abilities and wanting
to use them to their advantage.
Review: Fans of
dystopian literature are sure to be interested when reading the description of Struck, the first novel in a new series
by author Jennifer Bosworth. The idea of someone not only getting struck by
lightning, but surviving and eventually becoming addicted to it is very
intriguing. Unfortunately, however, Struck
suffers from a common problem that plagues many young adult novels: too
many ideas in one book. Individually, each of the concepts in the novel would
make for a great story: post-apocalyptic Los Angeles destroyed by an earthquake
started by lightning, a war between a religious leader and his followers and
those who oppose him, a girl who is addicted to getting struck by lightning.
Put together, however, the novel feels a little schizophrenic. Mia is a
somewhat likable protagonist, wanting to protect her mother and brother at all
costs. What is frustrating about her character, and as a result much of the
book, is that the reason behind her ability to be struck by lightning and her
subsequent addiction to it is never explained. Most of the time when someone is
struck, they are seriously injured or killed, so why is Mia able to be struck
over and over again without dying? If the significance of the lightning
addiction as a genetic abnormality, paranormal ability, etc. was explained, the
novel would have likely made more sense. The conclusion of the story as well
feels very rushed and unresolved, but hopefully the author will be explain to
expand on the events that occur and more in the sequel. With so many dystopian
novels available for teens, Struck,
unfortunately does not stand out enough to be easy to recommend.
Genre: Science-Fiction
Reading
level: Grade 8+
Similar
titles: Cinder by Marissa
Meyer, Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel,
Divergent by Veronica Roth, Eve by Anna Carey, Legend by Marie Lu, Partials by
Dan Wells, The Pledge by Kimberly
Derting, Starters by Lissa Price, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.
Themes: Dystopian, post-apocalyptic, lightning,
religion, prophesies, family, romance.
Awards/Reviews:
Positive reviews from Horn Book, Kirkus and Publishers
Weekly.
Series
Information: First book in Struck series.
Discussion
questions:
- How would you describe the Spark?- Explain Prophet and his control over his
Followers. Was he a truly religious man? Do you think people like him exist in
our world?- Why do you think Mia was apprehensive about
joining both the Followers and the Seekers?- Were you surprised to learn the truth about
Jeremy? Why or why not?- What was the significance of Tarot Cards in
the novel?- What would you like to see happen in the sequel?
