Kelly
Written on Mar 12, 2014
It's no secret that I love apocalyptic survival stories, and The Well's End slots nicely onto that shelf. It's a mix between Tomorrow, When The War Begun, the eighties movie Toy Soldiers and Red Dawn, which blends into a brilliant young adult thriller. Mia is relentlessly teased, often called Baby referring to her stint down the well as a child. She's a keen swimmer and somewhat of an outcast at Westbrook Academy, and known as a Townie. Her admittance to the exclusive private school only due to the brilliance of her father and being awarded a scholarship by default. But Mia's made the most of her opportunities, a model student, doting best friend and now leader of group of teens who are fleeing for their lives.
The storyline is fast paced, and unpredictable. Who I'm assuming is a first time novelist, Seth Fishman created a scenario the I found myself completely immersed in. Mia is a brilliant protagonist, the reluctant heroine who continues to endanger her own life to ensure the safety of those around her. Sadly her friends barely protest her bravery, and make a weak attempt to stop her from sacrificing herself time and time again. But Mia's determination more than makes up for their lack of backbone. Brayden is an interesting character, he seems to have the survival know how but chooses to spend his time attempting to romance Mia, all while running for their lives. Mia is clearly attracted to Brayden, but thankfully she can see the bigger picture and knows they have bigger issues than teenage hormones.
Despite what was seemingly a case of instant love, more likely lust, it was looking like a five star read. But the final few chapters that were flashbacks, I found difficult to take in. The flow of the storyline morphed from thrilling survival, to flashback science fiction and felt as though it was more of a lull in the storyline, than an explanation. But thankfully the storyline redeems itself and I can't wait to see what the next book in the series has in store.