Review: The 100

I'm a pushover in terms of rating books...meaning I typically don't rate below 3 stars, but I did for this and I thought I wouldn't post this review, but all reviews (good or bad) help, right? 

Here's my review of The 100 by Kass Morgan. 

Summary: (from goodreads): In the future, humans live in city-like spaceships orbiting far above Earth's toxic atmosphere. No one knows when, or even if, the long-abandoned planet will be habitable again. But faced with dwindling resources and a growing populace, government leaders know they must reclaim their homeland... before it's too late.

Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent on a high-stakes mission to recolonize Earth. After a brutal crash landing, the teens arrive on a savagely beautiful planet they've only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. But they're haunted by their past and uncertain about the future. To survive, they must learn to trust - and even love - again.

Rating: 2.5/5.0 stars

Thoughts: 

I love The 100 TV Show on CW. Reason one why I picked up this book. Reason two: I needed something to tide me over before I could start watching season 2. Reason three: I thought that the book would be great because it would reveal more about the characters I love and hate.  

The 100 wasn’t what I was expecting. The story is told from four main characters’ point of view, which wasn’t confusing, but it also didn’t help me. There was a lot of switching of viewpoints, so I didn’t feel close to any of the characters. Then again, the changing viewpoint was the main reason I kept reading. I didn’t breeze through this book because I wanted to know more about one character over the next, I was just reading to find out what would happen next. 

But nothing happens. Literally nothing happens. The 100 make it to Earth and that’s it until the end. There’s no growth and the “high stakes” (specifically the “radioactive” Earth) was too far removed to actually seem like a threat. It wasn’t like the Earth had a knife in its hand to hunt the 100 down. It was just there. This ever present, looming threat. It made for a boring book.

Also everything that was interesting (at least in my opinion) had already happened. Ms Morgan uses flashbacks to relay important information, but I’ve never been a fan of flashbacks. If you have that many flashbacks, shouldn’t the book be about that? The conflict in the flashbacks were more compelling than the present one.

I think the only reason I really kept reading was because I loved the concept. I was already attached to some of the characters—namely Bellamy and Clarke from the TV show.  I relate to how protective Bellamy is of his younger sister, Octavia. I would do anything for my younger siblings. And I relate to how serious and down-to-business Clarke is because that’s how I am. 

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this book and largely because there was no plot. The was a “dangerous” setting and a whole cast of characters that didn’t really grow or change throughout the story. But here’s to hoping the second book will be a lot better though. I’m far to attached to TV Bellamy and Clarke to not at least try and read the second book. 

Anyone else love the TV show, but not the book like I do? Comment below if you want to talk about either the TV show or the book. (By the way, if you couldn’t tell, I ship Bellarke, so hard and I haven’t even seen the second season).