Review: Grip by David Estes

Posted December 12, 2014 by Lola in Dystopia, Review, Sci-Fi / 2 Comments

LolaReview

Grip coverGrip (Slip #2)
By David Estes

Genre: Dystopia
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: 1 December, 2014

Blurb:
In a tumultuous world of population control, one illegal child has slipped through the cracks. Now, as a teenager, Benson Kelly has escaped certain deaths at the hands of the Department of Population Control, only to find himself the symbol of a rebellion, something he never intended.

While trying to survive one day at a time, Benson seeks to unravel the tangled knot of secrets left behind when his father died, the key to which has something to do with his mother, Janice Kelly, recently escaped from the insane asylum.

As the rebel group known as the Lifers continue to use brute force to send a message to the government, Benson’s twin, Harrison Kelly, seeks to exploit a loophole that could be the key to freedom for his brother. All that’s required is a simple act of murder.

Meanwhile, Population Control’s attack dog, a sadistic cyborg known as The Destroyer, closes in on Benson and his family. His directive: Kill them all.

Faith, family and love will be pushed to the limits in the GRIPping sequel to Slip.

My Review:
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review

I just finished Grip and I am still not 100% what to think of it, I am not sure whether I enjoyed it, but it was a good book. The pace and writing style done well and the first 30% had me hooked, after that it got darker and heavier and I can only hope it’s all worth it in the end. Some parts of scenes were hard to read and I had to skip a few parts. There are some great scenes and some heartbreaking ones. It definitely wasn’t an easy book to read and David doesn’t spare the readers the hard parts. I can only hope our world will never descend into anything resembling this world.

The first 30% of the book had me flipping the pages at rapid speed, it was great to be back with Benson and his friends. We also meet an interesting character early on called Destiny and I immediately liked her. The characters we met in the first book played an important role, but later on we also meet new characters who turn out to be maybe even more important than some others. There are twists and turns I didn’t see coming and this book surprised me a few times along the way. There was so much more going on then I first thought and it was like every time there was another layer revealed.

This book gave me a new appreciation for Janice, she’s truly an unique character and she’s just so different it’s almost interesting being in her mind. I also really liked Destiny, she was a fresh addition to the group, although there was a scene involving her I had to skip partly as I didn’t want to read it. I like Benson as well, he’s so down to earth and good at times. He has such an unique perspective on things and it was refreshing to see. He looks beyond the borders and refuses to play the games of pop con. Then there’s the Destroyer, he is a truly disgusting character and didn’t enjoy the scenes from his perspective, he’s just so twisted. And while I don’t like using terms like good and evil, his character really came close to true evil. He didn’t seem to have any motivations beside killing.

This book adds some things in terms of world building, there isn’t necessarily more that we learn, but more different layers and thing we didn’t realize were there. Some plots which were set up earlier we only learn of now and things that make everything fall in place a bit more.

To conclude: Grip is a good book, but I had some difficulties reading some parts and it wasn’t always enjoyable. Which is why I can only give this book 3 stars. Grip continues the horrible story of what our world could be like in the future, it’s kinda terrifying and I really hope it will never get to this. It deals with dark and heavy topics and was a bit depressing at times, although there is always a sliver of hope. There are some interesting characters and they certainly make it worth the read.

3-star

You can find Grip on Goodreads

You can buy Grip here:
Amazon

Other books I read and reviewed by this author:
– David Estes – Nikki Powergloves: a Hero is Born (Nikki Powergloves #1) – 4 stars
– David Estes – Nikki Powergloves and the Power Council (Nikki Powergloves #2) – 4 stars
– David Estes – Fire Country (Country Saga #1) – 5 stars
– David Estes – Ice Country (Country Saga #2) – 4 stars
– David Estes – Water&Storm Country (Country Saga #3) – 5 stars
– David Estes – Earth Country (Country Saga #4/ Dwellers series #4) – 5 stars
– David Estes – Slip (Slip #1) – 4 stars

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