Review: The Registry by: Shannon Stoker

The Registry by: Shannon Stoker (#1)

336 pages

Genre: Dystopian

Publisher: William Morrow

Source: The Library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: The Registry saved the country from collapse. But stability has come at a price. In this patriotic new America, girls are raised to be brides, sold at auction to the highest bidder. Boys are raised to be soldiers, trained by the state to fight to their death.

Nearly eighteen, beautiful Mia Morrissey excitedly awaits the beginning of her auction year. But a warning from her married older sister raises dangerous thoughts. Now, instead of going up on the block, Mia is going to escape to Mexico—and the promise of freedom.

All Mia wants is to control her own destiny—a brave and daring choice that will transform her into an enemy of the state, pursued by powerful government agents, ruthless bounty hunters, and a cunning man determined to own her . . . a man who will stop at nothing to get her back.

My Review

The Registry could have been so much more than what it was; it was such a unique idea but wasn’t well executed and in the end fell flat. Girls must marry or end up working a crappy government job and boys must serve in the army, and if they don’t do these things they will be severely punished. This sounded so promising and yet there was just something missing from the whole book.  I’m sad to say that although I liked this book, I didn’t love it.

I had no connection to the characters in The Registry. Not to a single one of them. (Okay I may be exaggerating just a little.) I didn’t get to know them, not the good guys or the “bad guys.” The characters were not memorable to me and I believe this was due to the fact that I never got a feel for who they really were. Mia was very niave, and she drove me crazy. It wasn’t her fault she lived a sheltered life, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t have any common sense. Andrew, a young man who worked on Mia’s family farm, ends up helping Mia and her friend escape from their duty to be married to whoever their parents chose for them. Andrew was the most interesting character and I did enjoy it when we got to see things from his perspective, he lived a hard life since boys are only raised to serve in the military and many families don’t even keep their male children, but give them to orphanages. Grant is Mia’s soon to be husband and one crazy dude. Although he fit really well into the evil husband category, there was something missing about his character too. Not to mention Mia’s parents, who only care about money. Everyone in this book was just strange and so out there at times that I really couldn’t understand why they would do and say the things they did which may be why I had such a hard time connecting to them. There is also some romance in the novel, but I don't think it was handled all that well and sometimes it seemed forced.

So now that I have complained enough I’m going to get to some of the good aspects of The Registry. Stoker knows how to write action scenes, so well in fact that the big show down at the end of the book had me on the edge of my seat. Not to mention how much I love that each chapter began with a brief excerpt from either The Registry Guide for Girls or The Boy’s Guide to Service, which brings me to one other great point about this book, no info dumbs. I can tell you that even though the characters were hard for me to connect with I am intrigued enough to probably read the second book. I actually think it will be better just because I do know the characters better now after reading the first book.

So The Registry isn’t the best dystopian novel but there are some pretty awesome action scenes. Plus, even though I didn’t connect with the characters doesn’t mean you won’t. Therefore I’m not sure how to recommend this book, you will have to figure that out on your own.