Summary:
Lyla's family is part of 20 families in a cult known as The Community, led by Pioneer. This cult came together after 9/11 in an attempt to flea the evils of the world inside gates. They have an underground compound that they are planning on surviving the end of the world in, so they spend their days training to protect themselves and keep the unchosen, outside world out. Everything seems to be going forward, except Lyla doesn't really like spending her days in target practice. She wants to do other things. She seems to be questioning things a little bit more and her current obsession with a boy from the outside encourages her traitorous thoughts further.
My thoughts:
I really love the concept of this book. We are looking from the inside of a cult instead of the outside viewpoint that we often take. It also plays on my favorite dystopian genre. There are rarely dystopians that I do not like. It takes a little bit for this novel to get going, but once it does, the story goes by quickly. The story keeps you moving and after about halfway through the novel, I didn't want to pause for another day. I generally liked Lyla. She does go through some grand transformations within the novel. Her passive, questioning nature leads to a more bold statement as she investigates things a bit more. It's like she gets more courageous with more knowledge or more questions.
The major problems with this book are the large holes within the explanations of the set-up. Why is Pioneer the leader? Usually in a cult book, the leader is someone that the reader goes back and forth on liking and disliking. We feel some of that pull of charisma that makes the leader interesting and possibly someone we would listen to. Pioneer isn't really like that. There is no real expression of why he is chosen other than the discussion of the Brethren that he receives messages from. Why would wealthy people leave their lives to follow him based upon this? It is not like the Brethren already have a known spot in the world. I could buy the desire to find safety after 9/11 and the survivalist underground bunker idea. Perhaps Pioneer owned the land and that was why he became the leader? I don't know. That really bothered me because he just wasn't believable.
I also didn't understand why you would protect this underground area that couldn't sustain any type of life. They have to keep going outside the gates in order to get supplies. What type of cult, especially one that is based upon survivalism, have no means of survival without the outside world? This really annoyed me. There are other holes within the plot that will make you stop and go, REALLY?!? but nothing made me stop reading. The writing is simple that you could probably fly through the book in a day or two.
Lyla's family is part of 20 families in a cult known as The Community, led by Pioneer. This cult came together after 9/11 in an attempt to flea the evils of the world inside gates. They have an underground compound that they are planning on surviving the end of the world in, so they spend their days training to protect themselves and keep the unchosen, outside world out. Everything seems to be going forward, except Lyla doesn't really like spending her days in target practice. She wants to do other things. She seems to be questioning things a little bit more and her current obsession with a boy from the outside encourages her traitorous thoughts further.
My thoughts:
I really love the concept of this book. We are looking from the inside of a cult instead of the outside viewpoint that we often take. It also plays on my favorite dystopian genre. There are rarely dystopians that I do not like. It takes a little bit for this novel to get going, but once it does, the story goes by quickly. The story keeps you moving and after about halfway through the novel, I didn't want to pause for another day. I generally liked Lyla. She does go through some grand transformations within the novel. Her passive, questioning nature leads to a more bold statement as she investigates things a bit more. It's like she gets more courageous with more knowledge or more questions.
The major problems with this book are the large holes within the explanations of the set-up. Why is Pioneer the leader? Usually in a cult book, the leader is someone that the reader goes back and forth on liking and disliking. We feel some of that pull of charisma that makes the leader interesting and possibly someone we would listen to. Pioneer isn't really like that. There is no real expression of why he is chosen other than the discussion of the Brethren that he receives messages from. Why would wealthy people leave their lives to follow him based upon this? It is not like the Brethren already have a known spot in the world. I could buy the desire to find safety after 9/11 and the survivalist underground bunker idea. Perhaps Pioneer owned the land and that was why he became the leader? I don't know. That really bothered me because he just wasn't believable.
I also didn't understand why you would protect this underground area that couldn't sustain any type of life. They have to keep going outside the gates in order to get supplies. What type of cult, especially one that is based upon survivalism, have no means of survival without the outside world? This really annoyed me. There are other holes within the plot that will make you stop and go, REALLY?!? but nothing made me stop reading. The writing is simple that you could probably fly through the book in a day or two.
At the brink of a falsely prophesied societal ruin, a cult known only as The Community forms around a leader named Pioneer. Not only are outsiders not allowed in... but insiders aren't allowed out, either.
Pioneer's cult following borders on insane, but it's this manic totalitarian state that readers come to sympathize with once taking a glimpse at what goes on within the gates of Mandrodage Meadows. Most people would have difficulty imagining why such a group would ever form and how it could ever work at all (The Manson Family or People's Temple, anyone?), but from the inside looking out, it definitely makes sense. The perspective is unique, expertly crafted, and constantly exciting because as outsiders looking in, we never know what to expect.
I personally loved Lyla's exclusive, imaginative viewpoint, and found Gated fast-paced and eventful. While it isn't at all that stylistically or structurally imposing, the plot is unpredictable and definitely made me gasp and double-take throughout.
While it does have a more juvenile tone to it, Gated is overall very disturbing with its grave scenes. It may read like middle-grade fiction, but I would categorize it as YA just because of its grittier content. This is serious stuff, nothing what you'd want if you're in for a fun, light read. I did, however, find it to be a perfect escape; Parker builds the Community's world so beautifully that at times, I swear I'd lived in it.
Lyla is the kind of girl who can't let go of the small things, and this is what makes her the first to wander from Pioneer's rulewhich, in his book, can't ever happen. Her weakness is her passivity but she comes out of her shell when she discovers she has a strength inside of hera strength called curiosity and ethicsthat make her realize what she's been capable of all along: salvation. She has a desperate, intrinsic need to be rescued from a monster that she has yet to fully acknowledge, and her willingness to believe in good and her courage to leave everything she's ever known behind, are what will save her. When she finally faces up to reality, her insight is just what may save the misled cult members, as well... unless Pioneer has his say in the matter, that is.
I really didn't like Lyla as a character. She's a decent narrator and makes mature observations, but she just acts uncharacteristically childishly; she seems overdependent and unrealistically loyal, and her whininess doesn't earn her any brownie points either. I also thought adding Cody in as a love interest was completely unnecessary. It's a shame how a good plot can ruined by one glimpse at THE one... Lyla could have easily been inspired by something bigger and better than a cute boy.
Pros: Well-formed plot // Story moves swiftly // Action-packed // Doesn't hold back on the horrors and abuses of a cult leader's malicious plans // Relays the true meaning of home and safety
Cons: Main character Lyla is dislikable // Narration is dull at times // Lots of plot holes and loose ends // Cody could have been eliminated as a character
Verdict: Absorbing and impressively built, the world formed in Gated is one readers will be staying up until the wee hours of the morning, just to read more about. Straightforward and deeply rooted, Amy Christine Parker's debut novel teaches a lesson on what evil and safety really are, and that neither can be preventedand neither, guaranteed.
Rating: 8 out of 10 hearts (4 stars): An engaging read; highly recommended.
Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher via tour company in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Random House and Book Nerd Tours!).
Pioneer's cult following borders on insane, but it's this manic totalitarian state that readers come to sympathize with once taking a glimpse at what goes on within the gates of Mandrodage Meadows. Most people would have difficulty imagining why such a group would ever form and how it could ever work at all (The Manson Family or People's Temple, anyone?), but from the inside looking out, it definitely makes sense. The perspective is unique, expertly crafted, and constantly exciting because as outsiders looking in, we never know what to expect.
I personally loved Lyla's exclusive, imaginative viewpoint, and found Gated fast-paced and eventful. While it isn't at all that stylistically or structurally imposing, the plot is unpredictable and definitely made me gasp and double-take throughout.
While it does have a more juvenile tone to it, Gated is overall very disturbing with its grave scenes. It may read like middle-grade fiction, but I would categorize it as YA just because of its grittier content. This is serious stuff, nothing what you'd want if you're in for a fun, light read. I did, however, find it to be a perfect escape; Parker builds the Community's world so beautifully that at times, I swear I'd lived in it.
Lyla is the kind of girl who can't let go of the small things, and this is what makes her the first to wander from Pioneer's rulewhich, in his book, can't ever happen. Her weakness is her passivity but she comes out of her shell when she discovers she has a strength inside of hera strength called curiosity and ethicsthat make her realize what she's been capable of all along: salvation. She has a desperate, intrinsic need to be rescued from a monster that she has yet to fully acknowledge, and her willingness to believe in good and her courage to leave everything she's ever known behind, are what will save her. When she finally faces up to reality, her insight is just what may save the misled cult members, as well... unless Pioneer has his say in the matter, that is.
I really didn't like Lyla as a character. She's a decent narrator and makes mature observations, but she just acts uncharacteristically childishly; she seems overdependent and unrealistically loyal, and her whininess doesn't earn her any brownie points either. I also thought adding Cody in as a love interest was completely unnecessary. It's a shame how a good plot can ruined by one glimpse at THE one... Lyla could have easily been inspired by something bigger and better than a cute boy.
Pros: Well-formed plot // Story moves swiftly // Action-packed // Doesn't hold back on the horrors and abuses of a cult leader's malicious plans // Relays the true meaning of home and safety
Cons: Main character Lyla is dislikable // Narration is dull at times // Lots of plot holes and loose ends // Cody could have been eliminated as a character
Verdict: Absorbing and impressively built, the world formed in Gated is one readers will be staying up until the wee hours of the morning, just to read more about. Straightforward and deeply rooted, Amy Christine Parker's debut novel teaches a lesson on what evil and safety really are, and that neither can be preventedand neither, guaranteed.
Rating: 8 out of 10 hearts (4 stars): An engaging read; highly recommended.
Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher via tour company in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Random House and Book Nerd Tours!).
