The Cage (Cage, #1)

by Megan Shepherd

The Maze Runner meets Scott Westerfeld in this gripping new series about teens held captive in a human zoo by an otherworldly race. From Megan Shepherd, the acclaimed author of The Madman's Daughter trilogy.

When Cora Mason wakes in a desert, she doesn't know where she is or who put her there. As she explores, she finds an impossible mix of environments—tundra next to desert, farm next to jungle, and a strangely empty town cobbled together from different cultures—all watched over by eerie black windows. And she isn't alone.

Four other teenagers have also been taken: a beautiful model, a tattooed smuggler, a secretive genius, and an army brat who seems to know too much about Cora's past. None of them have a clue as to what happened, and all of them have secrets. As the unlikely group struggles for leadership, they slowly start to trust each other. But when their mysterious jailer—a handsome young guard called Cassian—appears, they realize that their captivity is more terrifying than they could ever imagine: Their captors aren't from Earth. And they have taken the five teenagers for an otherworldly zoo—where the exhibits are humans.

As a forbidden attraction develops between Cora and Cassian, she realizes that her best chance of escape might be in the arms of her own jailer—though that would mean leaving the others behind. Can Cora manage to save herself and her companions? And if so . . . what world lies beyond the walls of their cage?

• ISBN10: 0062243055
• ISBN13: 9780062243058
• Publish Date: 26 May 2015
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

YES!
+I'm not saying it's aliens, but...
+Cora went to juvie under screwed up circumstances!
+I am conflicted about my feelings on Cora and the Caretaker. I love it, but am also disturbed by the random insta-lust or whatever in the world is going on there. I was immediately intrigued though...
+WTF is going on here?!
+Where is here?!

NO!
-Assuming the POC don't speak or understand English?
-For such an "intelligent" species, the Kindred sure do not understand what the humans need in their enclosure to thrive. Chocolate covered tuna?! A jukebox with ONE song? Candy, toys, and games for teenagers?!

[tweetybugshouse]

This book reminded of few other books that i read recently that are along the same lines kids are kidnapped, some rules are set in place, you got the leaders, those that want to escape, those that want stay extra. Don't get me wrong that not a bad or a good thing it just a standard format i seen in a few books the maze runner, alive, and Hunger games. It a format that works it keeps you guessing you never quite sure what going to happen. The cage kept me guessing on who the bad guys where and the fact that it aliens and your not sure if Earth is gone or not is a pretty interesting concept. I like all the twists and turns in the story and excited to see what happens in book two, also liked the ending as it was not cliff hanger but makes me want to read the rest of the series.

[cornerfolds]

When I first saw the cover and read the synopsis for The Cage, I almost came out of my seat with excitement! The main reason is that I was raised on old Twilight Zone episodes. Does anyone besides me remember the episode where the astronaut lands on a strange planet, is greeted warmly and given a place to live, only to discover he's in a human zoo?!



Okay, well... that was my favorite episode of all time! Because it's completely insane and twisted and amazing and, well, that's what I was really hoping for with The Cage. Not to mention Megan Shepherd is one of my favorite authors! I absolutely LOVED The Madman's Daughter and Her Dark Curiosity (I still haven't read book 3)! All that to say I was super excited about The Cage. Unfortunately, this book was kind of a total let down.

At the very beginning of The Cage we meet Cora, our heroine. She's blonde and pretty and she just got out of juvie for a crime she didn't commit. She's also really freaking stupid. I wanted to like Cora so much. Mostly because she's the main character. But I just couldn't like her. Every time she opened her dumb mouth I had to roll my eyes. Seriously, by the end of the book, every time she said "could it have been..." (or any variation) I'd respond to her aloud with "Gee, you think so, Cora?" Her biggest dumb moment(s) was her escape plan. From the moment she discovers she's in a "cage" she can think of nothing else besides escape. Does she ever consider where she might escape to? Hmm... I doubt it.

Which brings me to the other characters. Almost every single one of them is also really stupid in his or her own way. The only ones who weren't total morons were probably Leon and Mali. Rolf and Nok are living in a fantasy world where everything is lovely. Rolf is a moron and can't see the blatant EVERYTHING going on in front of him, Nok does nothing but stuff her face with candy and treat everyone like crap, and both Rolf and Nok are assholes.

(Let me just completely divert here for a moment with a question for my UK friends: do people in London really say "yeah?" after EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE?! Because I listened to this as an audiobook and I was ready to punch Nok in the face halfway through.)

Lucky, love interest #1, is completely delusional and thinks it's cool and fun to have sex with someone when it's super clear they're not into it. Mali is a little weird, but at least she's not blind like the rest of them.

And then there's Cassian, love interest #2. He was super stiff and weird, which was a result of his being an alien and all. Which made the whole romance thing seem a little forced. Because when exactly did they fall in love? I get that he's beautiful (how many times did she say he looked like an angel?) but other than that he really isn't anything super special.

But enough about characters. The world building was, by far, where The Cage excelled. As soon as Cora arrived in her enclosure and the surroundings started being described, I was totally hooked! The eight different biomes all within sight just sounds so insane! It's something I'd kind of love to see... And the description of the town left chills going up my spine. How creepy would it be to walk into a ghost town that had buildings from multiple different cultures down the street? The reference to Disney World (Epcot) didn't hurt either!

The amazing world Megan Shepherd created made me really, REALLY wish she had done a lot more with the story. Because it had the potential to be amazing.

There were plot holes everywhere. For example, if the Kindred (aliens) were watching them, why did it matter if they could "shield their thoughts" via pinching while having the conversations out loud? Wouldn't they just hear them? I refuse to believe these super intelligent aliens built a cage this high tech and didn't install a speaker system to hear the humans inside. Come on.

Cora's backstory was also extremely unbelievable.

Okay, so her dad drunkenly kills someone and she takes the blame because... what? Because he's a politician with a career that's super important? Are these people all high?? What about Cora's career? How do her parents expect her to get into a decent school or get a decent job with MANSLAUGHTER on her record? I understand her being dumb enough to think that would work out, but her parents? At one point Cora tells Lucky "it's what anyone would have done" because it was for her dad. Um... no, Cora. It isn't what anyone would have done. Maybe I'm just a cold-hearted bitch, but if my drunk dad KILLED SOMEONE I wouldn't take the blame for it. Sorry. Seriously, these people shouldn't be allowed to breed.

I wanted to like The Cage so much. I wanted to LOVE it! It had everything I could ever want! My favorite Twilight Zone episode written by an amazing author! Okay, maybe that's not everything I could ever want... Either way, it wasn't good. I've been going back and forth between one and two stars all day, but I'm settling on two because the world was amazing! I just wish everything else had been.

[nightingalereads]

2.5 stars.

The characters and plot were a bit of a flop for me, but the writing was decent.

[shannonmiz]

Remember that post from a few weeks ago, about whether you review with your head or your heart? Keep that in mind, because this one is really not coming from my head, or any logical place. For a logical breakdown, I am sending you over to Kirsty-Marie @ Studio Reads, because her review has logic and explains how she feels, and I agree with a lot of what she says.

My review? Well.... I really, really liked this book. It was addicting to me, really. At first I wasn't sure about it, because it is seriously an alien race abducting teens and putting them in a human, earth-like zoo. That sounds odd, obviously. And at first, I suppose it was, but since I was quite curious, the oddness was a good thing. Each of the characters had very different backstories and perspectives as well, which definitely added to my interest and the mystery in general.

But then some characters started making some very questionable decisions, and I felt like maybe it was going to delve too far into unbelievability territory. I mean, a few were even starting to be fine with being in a human zoo. As I read, though, I realized that a lot of these strange choices may have had to do with the psychological torment that these characters are facing. They're basically completely unsure who they can trust, and this includes among themselves. That aspect fascinated me to no end, and led to a lot of turmoil within the group. Also, I am pretty sure certain group members are completely insane which absolutely added to the intrigue.

Then there's the romance, which when I first heard of it, my answer was basically: 

Because there is a human boy who at first, our main character Cora has affections for. Not deep ones, mind you, since they kind of just met and were thrown in a zoo, but he is the one she thinks she can trust the most, and likes the most. Enter Cassian, the Robot/Oscar Statue that is the caretaker of the humans. He seems to be protective over Cora, but is he trustworthy? Who cares, because Cora's got a case of the swoons! Okay, from the sound of it... it's a lot of nope. But. I can't even help it, by the end, I shipped them, and I don't even mind admitting it. 

This is basically what I loved about this book, condensed:

• Insanely unique plot and worldbuilding.


• Very complex characters and fabulous psychological questions were raised.


• Quite thought provoking and exciting, which to me, is the best of both worlds.


• I liked the romance, even though everyone else likely things it's creepy.

Bottom Line: I adored, and I need the next book immediately. Please and thank you.

**Copy provided for review**
This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight

[limabean74]

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't get into it, I thought taking a break would help but it just didn't work for me. I love her other books and this one just missed me somehow. I would for sure give it a chance just think it was not for me.

[Ashley]

4.5 Stars

FREAKING FANTASTIC!!!

Things I loved:

* It was so interesting and different.

* ALIENS!

* There was a sort-of love triangle that I actually really liked.

* I could not put this sucker down. I was GLUUUUED to those pages. Until like 4am. Yikes.

* The ending had me CLAWING for more. But it was still a satisfying ending (not open-ended or annoyingly cliffhangery).

Things I didn't like:

* I didn't like Rolf's character development. I loved him at first but HATED him at the end.

* Sometimes Cora could do annoying/stupid things.

* I got annoyed how no one questioned one of the MASSIVE reveals (that Earth was "gone". If someone told me "Earth is gone", I'd ask A MILLION questions.. like, "What happened? What do you mean by 'gone?' When did this happen? How did it happen? Who's responsible? But everyone was just like, "Oh, it's gone. How sad." WHAT THE FUCK DOES "GONE" MEAN!?!?!).