BLOG TOUR: Meritropolis by Joel Ohman [GIVEAWAY]

Meritropolis (Meritropolis, #1)
by Joel Ohman
Release Date: September 8th 2014
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult

SYNOPSIS: In Meritropolis everyone is assigned a numerical Score that decides their worth to society and whether they live or die. After a young boy is killed because of a low Score, his brother plots to take down the System.

The year is AE3, 3 years after the Event. Within the walls of Meritropolis, 50,000 inhabitants live in fear, ruled by the brutal System that assigns each citizen a merit score that dictates whether they live or die. Those with the highest scores thrive, while those with the lowest are subject to the most unforgiving punishment–to be thrust outside the city gates, thrown to the terrifying hybrid creatures that exist beyond.

But for one High Score, conforming to the System just isn’t an option. Seventeen-year-old Charley has a brother to avenge. And nothing–not even a totalitarian military or dangerous science–is going to stop him.

Where humankind has pushed nature and morals to the extreme, Charley is amongst the chosen few tasked with exploring the boundaries, forcing him to look deep into his very being to discern right from wrong. But as he and his friends learn more about the frightening forces that threaten destruction both without and within the gates, Meritropolis reveals complexities they couldn’t possibly have bargained for…

REVIEW: The premise of this book was extremely promising. I like the idea of everyone getting a score to determine a person’s worth in society (not in real life, obviously, but in a fictional scenario, that seems intriguing). I felt like this book fell flat a little bit though as it didn’t really go into the system much–we didn’t really see it operating asides from people being “zeroed out”.

Charley as a main character was kind of hard for me to swallow. He was very aggressive and abrasive–I didn’t find myself connecting with him at all. Sure, he’s got this tragic backstory, and I feel bad for saying it, but I just couldn’t make myself sympathize with him. He seemed really unlikable to me and I didn’t feel like he experienced any kind of character development. I did like other characters though like Grigor and Sandy. They seemed like solid characters and I wish we’d seen more of them.

Overall, this book was just okay. The premise was so promising, but then the world just ended up being confusing (I don’t really understand the animal combinations–they just seem super random).

Overall Rating: 3
Language: Mild
Violence: Heavy
Smoking/Drinking: None
Sexual Content: Mild

Click on the picture above to be taken to the giveaway!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joel Ohman is the author of the Meritropolis series –“The Hunger Games meets The Village with a young Jack Reacher as a protagonist”. He lives in Tampa, FL with his wife Angela and their three kids. His writing companion is Caesar, a slightly overweight Bull Mastiff who loves to eat the tops off of strawberries.