After Reading: THE ALLIANCE by Shannon Stoker

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:00 AM

Happy Thanksgiving week to those of you celebrating! I'm going to be a bit MIA this week and trying to relax before the end of the semester, but I thought I'd post a book review today, and I'll be popping around the blogosphere too!

Mia Morrissey fled to Mexico to escape the government marrying her to someone she did not love. Now, she’s going risk everything so that the rest of America can be free. 

Going undercover as part of a diplomatic mission, Mia returns to America. But life there is more dangerous than ever as the walls grow ever taller, and the forgotten country faces its most ruthless leader yet, Grant Marsden…a shadow from Mia’s past. With the help of Andrew, Carter, and other members of the subversive group Affinity, she embarks on a perilous journey to defeat Grant, bring down the government, and destroy the Registry once and for all. 

When a terrible betrayal exposes the operation, Mia discovers that her enemies have used her—and so have her friends. Alone and frightened, she’s uncertain who to trust—or whether the mission is worth what she’s sacrificing.
With the fate of her friends and the future of her country on the line, Mia knows that her next step may be the last for her . . . and America. (Goodreads)

Thanks to LibraryThing and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this series and provide an honest review. 

I've read this entire series and found it both interesting and entirely freaky. It's hard for me to read about what happens to the United States in these books and not be concerned that there's a real chance that something similar could happen today. While the shift toward viewing women as property is facilitated by a massive plague in the series (a side story that I wish got more attention), I don't think it's far-fetched that, given the right set of circumstances, it could totally happen today. This was something that had me thinking quite a lot while reading and long after I finished. It's a terrifying thought--and while I may sound like I'm paranoid--those things going on with our government right now make me so frustrated that the denigration of women's rights even more wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. Okay, I'll get off my soap-box now, but if in any way you're interested in this sort of thing, I recommend this series. The writing itself leaves something (okay, a lot of things) to be desired, though the story is nearly compelling enough to carry it. Stoker isn't much for showing, so the story itself is really all telling (it's a good example of the difference, actually), but it's interesting and while Mia's a bit hard to believe or relate to, I did find myself rooting for her and her cause. Basically, I'd recommend these books to those who have a bit of a political bent and enjoy a particularly dark dystopian.

Thoughts? Have you had a chance to read any of these books?