"Alive"

     A little disclaimer: I received the advance reader's edition of "Alive" that is pictured above at a work event that I attended.  Therefore, the cover above may be different (it seems to be, looking at the Amazon picture) than those on the version sold on shelves.  While this post does include some information about the very beginning of the book, there will be no spoilers, promise.

         "Alive" by Scott Sigler is young adult sci-fi novel with a strong lead female character that must face many obstacles to take car of those around her and lead them to safety.  I loved this book, although at the beginning I did have a little issue with it, which will be addressed, however overall I strongly recommend this book and really enjoyed reading it.

     In some ways "Alive" is almost the girl version of "The Maze Runner" which put me off a little at the beginning.  The characters of the two books are introduced in very similar ways.  Thomas of "The Maze Runner," is introduced to readers as he is stuck in a small dark elevator-like contraption, doesn't remember who he is, and ends up in a community of boys who all arrived in the exact same manner.  The main character of "Alive," Savage is introduced as she is trapped within a small, dark coffin-like box, breaks free, finds herself surrounded by others who are also trapped in boxes, and none of them can remember who they are.

     However, this is where the similarities mostly end.  When I picked up on the similarity in the way the characters were introduced, I was a little disappointed because I thought the whole book would be the same as "The Maze Runner" just in a different setting with different characters.  Thankfully, while the two books do have some similar themes, they really are very different from each other.

     "Alive" follows Savage and the others who are trapped within the building with her as they attempt to figure out where they are, who they are, what has happened to them, and how to escape.  The book sucked me in and I finished it within about two days.  It is full of twists and turns(the main one is huge and you'll never see it coming!), and I really enjoyed all of the characters and felt they all had very distinct well developed personalities.

    With the way the book ends, I was anticipating a sequel, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that "Alive" is the first of a trilogy!  I can't wait to read the next one and see what happens.