Extinction of All Children by L.J. Epps -- Review

Title: Extinction of All Children
Author: L.J. Epps
Publishing: Published June 4th 2016 by Smashwords Edition


Summary:

Emma Whisperer was born in 2080, in the small futuristic world of Craigluy. President Esther, in charge for the last twenty-two years, has divided their world into three territories, separated by classes—the rich, the working class, and the poor—because she believes the poor should not mingle with the others. And, the poor are no longer allowed to have children, since they do not have the means to take care of them.
Any babies born, accidentally or willfully, are killed. Emma is the last eighteen-year-old in her territory; every baby born after her has died. Somehow, she survived this fate.

During the president’s Monday night speech, she announces a party will be held to honor the last child in the territory, Emma Whisperer. Emma must read a speech, expressing how happy she is to be the last eighteen-year-old.

Emma doesn’t like the rules; she doesn’t believe in them. So, she feels she must rebel against them. Her family doesn’t agree with her rebellion, since they are hiding a big secret. If this secret gets out, it will be disastrous, and deadly, for her family.

During Emma’s journey, she meets—and becomes friends with—Eric. He is one of the guards for the president. She also befriends Samuel, another guard for the president, who is summoned to watch over her. As Emma meets new people, she doesn’t know who she can trust. Yet, she finds herself falling for a guy, something which has never happened before.

After doing what she feels is right, Emma finds herself in imminent danger. In the end, she must make one gut-wrenching decision, a decision that may be disastrous for them all.

Review: 

Extinction of All Children started out a little slow, but then it surprised me and sucked me into its unique plot. The characters were interesting, the drama was engaging, and the lead character was a resilient and ambitious female. All good things, right? 

The main problem I had with the story was that it had several slow portions that seemed to drag on forever, but I tried to look past that and aim for the ending. The last few chapters really picked up and left me with a lot of unanswered questions. If I would have read just the first half of the book, I probably wouldn't want to pick up the sequel.  As I kept reading, I began to enjoy the book more, and the ending left me begging for the second book. 

All in all, I would say Extinction of All Children was an interesting read with a unique plot. I would recommend this book to lovers of YA with the warning that the first half is rather slow. I enjoyed the book and want to read the sequel now! 

Rating 3/5