Review: The Farm by Emily McKay

Title: The Farm
Author: Emily McKay
Copy Obtained: Purchases


Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...

I'm really now sure what I think of this one.  I liked it, but there was so much going on it that sometimes it seemed a bit much.  It's told from three different perspectives - Lily, Mel and Carter. It was neat to hear what each was thinking, but it did add to everything that was happening.  To go with that you had all the people on The Farm to keep track of, the ticks and how they were formed, and the real vampires.  Plus there is what is happening with Lily according to Carter and it just seemed like a lot.  

Did I like it?  Yes I did.  It was interesting, and I did keep reading.  Mostly because I had a theory about what was happening, and I wanted to find out if my theory was right.  Plus it did have a lot of action, so that held my interest.  I love zombie books, and this one had a zombie feel to it.  The ticks act kind've like zombie in their actions, so there is that constant tension of needing to get away from them as they attack.  That was definitely well done.  I found myself holding my breath several times during those scenes.  

As for the characters - I liked them especially Mel.  Mel is autistic (Asbergers I think), and the chapters told from her point of view were very interesting.  And I just liked how she was because she was the most honest person in the book.  That alone made me like her a lot because everyone else has some secret they are keeping.  Lily was the typical fighter.  She was strong and I liked that.  She knew that trust put her and Mel at risk, so she was very cautious.  I got that, but sometimes I wanted her to just have some faith! I don't blame her for not though!  The relationship between Mel and Lily was great.  I haven't seen a twin relationship like it, so it was a nice twist in the book.

Final Thought: Good, but not sure if I'll pick up the sequel.
Best stick-with-you image: The stakes outside the Farm
Best for readers: Who are ok with vampires showing up in their dystopia story
Best for ages:  14+

For the Guys? I think guys could maybe get into this one.  Some of the chapters are told from Carter's perspective, so that's nice.