Review : Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony

Title : Restoring Harmony
Author : Joelle Anthony
Publisher : Putnam Juvenile
Genre : Young Adult, Dystopian Fiction
ISBN : 978-0399252815
Series : Stand Alone
Release Date : May 13, 2010
Rating : 3/5 Stars - Liked It

Description from Amazon : 

The year is 2041, and sixteen-year-old Molly McClure has lived a relatively quiet life on an isolated farming island in Canada, but when her family fears the worst may have happened to her grandparents in the US, Molly must brave the dangerous, chaotic world left after global economic collapse—one of massive oil shortages, rampant crime, and abandoned cities.

Molly is relieved to find her grandparents alive in their Portland suburb, but they’re financially ruined and practically starving. What should’ve been a quick trip turns into a full-fledged rescue mission. And when Molly witnesses something the local crime bosses wishes she hadn’t, Molly’s only way home may be to beat them at their own game. Luckily, there’s a handsome stranger who’s willing to help.

Trailer :

 Review :

The world has changed a great deal over the years, and now it is the year 2041.  Molly McClure lives in Canada, with her family.  They spend a lot of their time farming, and Molly also enjoys playing the fiddle.  All is going well until they come to the realization that Molly's grandfather in the United States might be in terrible trouble.  Sixteen-year old Molly is elected to go on a dangerous adventure through a country destroyed by economic collapse.  One with massive oil shortages, rampant crime and abandoned cities.  Molly is scared, but she is determined to make things right.

When Molly first arrives in Portland, she finds her grandparents alive.  They are far too skinny due to lack of food, and while they used to be rich, they now don't have a dime to their name.  Now her mission has become far more dangerous, because now she must rescue the both of them, and return to Canada. 

Molly spends her time in the states trying to come up with the money to travel back to Canada, since her grandparents don't have the money she thought they would.  It's hard at first, but Molly slowly learns a few tricks to keep both food in their stomachs and money in their pockets.  She also has the help of a mysterious stranger, who calls himself Spill.  Molly doesn't know whether she can really trust him or not, but she has little choice.

When Molly sees the local muscle roughing someone up though, she's told she can't leave Portland, because of what she has seen.  With the help of Spill, they have to think of a plan to rid themselves of the crime bosses.  Molly will do whatever it takes to get back to Canada.

I felt like this story was a little slow moving.  Despite how Molly always found things to do, I felt like the story wasn't moving very quickly, and at times I got a little bored.  I enjoyed Molly's character, because despite her reluctance to be away from her family and traveling to unknown territory, she was rather brave about it.  I'm not sure if I would be able to do something like that at the age of 16, it would be far too frightening.

I enjoyed most of the characters in this book, but I'd have to say that Spill was my favorite out of everyone.  I didn't trust him through the whole book, but he was a mystery to me that needed to be solved.  Whenever he wasn't around I found myself wondering when he would return, and when he did I was always so excited.  I'm most certain that Molly felt the same way, because despite her uneasiness towards him she was determined to learn his story.

My least favorite character of the book was probably Doug.  I've read a few reviews for this title, and realized a lot of people liked him, and I couldn't understand why.  He wasn't the smartest character, and he always worried more about himself than anyone else, despite his true reasons he was supposed to be there.  I looked forward to the moments when he was absent, and groaned on every one of his returns.

This is the first time I've read a dystopian fiction, but despite how slow I felt it was I still really enjoyed it.  I felt like the world around Molly and her family was very realistic.  Everything can change at the drop of a hat, and it wouldn't surprise me if our world looked like Molly's some day.  I dread the day it arrives, but unfortunately we won't have any say in the matter.  I think Joelle Anthony described this 'new' world perfectly.  While a lot of it was familiar, it was all different, and it actually scared me a little bit because it's exactly the way I would imagine it to be if there truly was such a collapse in economy.

This book inspired me, and I actually had a huge discussion with my fiance about the coming year of 2012.  While a lot of people think that it will be the end of the world.  I personally believe, that it's just going to be the end of the world as we know it today.  Everything will change dramatically, and reading this book only made me think that what was between the pages might be what we look forward to sooner than we think.  This book makes me want to read more dystopian fiction now, because I see it becoming one of my favorite genres.

Where did I get this book? : 

I received my ARC through Around the World Tours for participating in a traveling blog tour.

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