Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Title: Article 5
Author: Kristen Simmons
ISBN: 9780765329585
Publisher: Tor Teen
Released: January 31, 2012
Page #: 362
Source: My public library

Summary:
"New York, Loss Angeles, and Washington, D.C. have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked and replacd with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police - instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior - instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested don't usually come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember things that weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

In the three years since the war ended, Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what's worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings... the only boy Ember has ever loved."
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First Lines:

"Beth and Ryan were holding hands. It was enough to risk a formal citation for indecency, and they knew better, but I didn't say anything. Curfew rounds wouldn't begin for another two hours, and freedom was stolen in moments like these."
Page 9
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Review:

I absolutely loved this book. It had all of my favorite elements of an amazing post-apocalyptic story. I'll get to that in a minute... I will try not to gush. This was one of those books where I found myself skipping ahead to find out what happens and getting to wrapped up to go back... but I made myself.

After a huge war, the government effectively goes into lockdown. They start enforcing more and more strict rules. Eventually, the rules get so intense that it's hard for almost anyone to comply with them. Ember and her mother get picked up for something they can't change and are separated. And Ember desperately tries to get away. She's also concerned about Chase - her one and only love - who is now a soldier and seems to have lost all parts of himself to the cause.

My description doesn't really do this book justice. It's a story of family first. And love. And unity with other people in your situation. And Ember knows she has to find her mom to save her from whatever fate she is facing. The government is known for killing people for the smallest offense. They all fear for their lives and what could happen to them.

Ember is awesome. She fights from the second she is picked up by the soldiers. She fights to get out of her situation. She fights to understand how and why things are happening. And she fights to reunite her family make sense of how the world works. There's also the romance aspect - but not like any other type of romance. Well, it's just much more complicated than any other romance... ever :). I was so excited to see what happened with them... sigh. I'm hopeless that way.

I'm trying really hard to not give anything away about this book. There are things that happen in the end that totally change the entire tone of the story. But those changes (and many other things) are what make this book so intense!

You know, I just realized that there wasn't much explanation about the war before this story happened. There's mention of bombing and such, but I don't remember much else. Of course, I was reading pretty quickly... but I don't remember anything about it. Though, it doesn't affect the story much - except that it happens. Anyway...

I've already recommending this book to a few other people... therefore, I'm definitely going to pass this along. Anyone who loves post-apocalyptic stories will really love this one, I think. It's definitely worth your time. I'm really hoping there is going to be another book that continues the story, but I haven't heard about any. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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