Review: The Forsaken (Lisa M Stasse)

As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.
The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

Hardcover, 375 pages
Published July 10th 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

This book was an good read...It had a Hunger Games/Sci-Fi feel to it. I love dystopian novels because they take you to a different world and let you totally divulge into a different culture. This book definitely takes you to a different world. I liked the main character, Alenna, but I will admit it took me a while to get to really like her. I absolutely loved Gatya...but of course she was a kickass heroine so she was A+ in my opinion. I had a hard time liking David...Because I was not sure where his trust laid.....(you will have to read to understand) and then comes Liam...I actually liked him from the beginning. He was a strong, determined leader and really looked after his people.
It was a little slow at the beginning and I had to weave my brain around all that was happening. The world building was good at first but really got better closer to the ending.
It had some moments where I couldn't put it down but it also had some slow parts... And had some parts that I wasn't sure about.... It has more Sci-Fi than I expected....The last couple of chapters were really good and I am really looking forward to reading the 2nd one....