The 100 by Kass Morgan

Lynnie  


young adult, science fiction, dystopian

The 100 is another book with a great premise and a mediocre execution. I really liked the idea of this book- Earth (at an unknown time in the future) has suffered a nuclear catastrophe and some humans have existed on a space colony, waiting for Earth to become habitable again. Because of the limited resources on the space colony, rules and laws are strictly enforced- adults who break rules are executed, while children who violate the rules are "confined." The colony's limited resources are dwindling, so a decision is made that it's time to send a test group to Earth to test its habitability. Who better to send than the expendable, confined youth of the colony?

When the teens arrive on Earth, they must figure out how to live, how to trust (remember they are all criminals), and how to survive. Meanwhile their vital signs are being sent back to the colony in order to find out if Earth's environment has improved enough to live there permanently. 

I enjoyed parts of the story- usually when it stayed on task. Many of the characters were amusing and the story of teens trying to set up a society was entertaining. We thought the "romance" aspects of the story were very awkward though- as if the action and dialogue were taken out of a Harlequin novel and plopped into the middle of this adventure. Also, throughout the book the phrase, she/he "could see his lips moving, but his ears couldn't hear the words" was used about a half dozen times or more, to the point of distraction. Is there not another way for Kass Morgan to portray a person's shock? We also felt that the story of Glass and Luke who were back on the colony, was a distraction from the main storyline. All of the action was taking place on Earth and when the book focused there it was strongest. I imagine that the story of Glass & Luke will make more sense in future books, but in this book we were simply frustrated every time a chapter focused on them.

We listened to the audiobook version of The 100 during a recent road trip and the narrators were wonderful. They really brought the characters to life and made the book more enjoyable.  We also started watching the tv series after reading the book and while I hate to admit it- we like it better than the book.  The story and characters are tighter and more focused (& very different!). 

Overall though, an enjoyable idea.  I think teens will like the way the story unfolds more than adults will.