Renegade by J.A. Souders Review

"Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. 

Her memories have been altered. 

Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. 

And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all."

Now this is a confusing story. I roll my eyes every time Evelyn says, "My life is perfect." That phrase is part of her programming or what she calls "conditioning." Whatever you, Evelyn, or I call it, we can all agree that is it brainwashing/manipulation.

Renegade is difficult to understand because of how the narrator (Evelyn Winters, the Daughter of the People) tells the book. It's also because Evelyn has a severe case of Alzheimer's. No, I'm just kidding. She has a severe case of mind manipulation, done by her own "Mother" who is the leader of the underwater utopia Elysium. (What kind of a mother does that to her adopted kid? Oh wait, some do.)

I feel no interest towards the book, not to mention the confusion in it, if I tried to pay more attention to it. Renegade's writing is difficult to understand, much less than being addicting or fun. What more is there to words and paper? A voice. And this voice, this futuristic voice of Evelyn Winters or whatever persona the author's using is just not cutting it. 

What's even worse is the plot. Every time the manipulation grows stronger in Evelyn's mind, the more backtracked the plot is. Then the more the plot has to be carried on by Gavin, because Evelyn forgets everything to be conveniently remembering her past when it's needed. 

Oh, then there's an ending, of course. But what do I think of it? I think it's horrible, because of some character's fate in the end. OF COURSE, Evelyn gets out of Elysium by being kick-ass, only to be held back by some forgotten memories. Right, uh-huh. 

The sentencing of Renegade? Just forget about it. 

Rating: One out of Five