DUE NORTH Book Review

Due North¹ (book 1 in The Kara Mason Story) by Jill N. Davies, audiobook, 12h 39m

Synopsis from Audible: In order to put an end to the people who took everything from them, a 14-year old girl and the man who was supposed to usher her family to safety must go under cover in a hostile institution to uncover the government’s biggest weapon and darkest secrets…

Kara Mason used to live at a fusion energy generator station on the outskirts of a major city. She used to travel with her brothers every week to attend classes inside the safety of the city, surrounded by force fields meant to keep everything else out. Until she and her twin brother Hank passed the test and are summoned to attend the prestigious but mysterious Institute...Kara doesn’t understand why they weren’t meant to pass the tests, or why it means they have to run. All she knows is that she’s terrified of the monsters on the other side of the force field. She’ll have to face more than monsters in order to get the answers she needs.

Due North is an exciting science-fiction dystopian thriller set in a world rebuilt from ruin. The government keeps people safe, but it comes at a cost. Does Kara have what it takes to navigate the outside world or will she lose herself in the halls of the frozen laboratories?

BOOK REVIEW: This was so good! I'm so glad that I opted to listen to this instead of reading it because it truly brought the story to life for me. The narrator does a wonderful job taking Kara from this somewhat carefree teen girl excited to head home with her brothers at the beginning of the story to being scared, alone, and injured trying to get away to having to pretend to be someone she isn't. Her inflection and tone give a depth to the character that I enjoyed so much more than I thought I would. I think that's my favorite thing about this book...the way the narrator does her job. You feel the character's pain, anger, sadness, really all of the emotions that they are feeling she conveys them so well. I only wish I had done one thing before listening to this and that was listening to Hearts of a Vanishing City before to refresh my memory. That was the prequel and I read it back in May (see related posts for that review) and kind of forgot some of the characters that were introduced to see who carried forward to this story. This was a 5 star. I mean you have the near dead (a.k.a. zombies), a search for a cure for the disease and a government that will do everything in it's power to not come up with a cure. I think I've gushed enough about the great job the narrator did. The author has really created a wonderful world for this story. The characters are all similar yet different. She gives us characters we love, hate, love to hate, and hate to love. Truly a wonderful mix. Definitely listening to this one gave me a better sense of the feeling at the institute for the students and volunteers as well as a better feel for the Northern Laboratories. We definitely are left at the end needing more and I can't wait to read book 2!

5/5 Stars

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