‘Land’ – Alex Campbell

land

‘Land’ is a title that I might well not have picked up had it not been on the list of nominations for Carnegie 2016. The cover gives little away, but the blurb hints at a rich and enthralling story that will hook the reader if they get close.

The boxes for YA dystopian novel are ticked, but there is something different about this that gets under your skin from the moment you start reading.

Christy is a heroine that could, quite easily, be disliked, but I found her engaging. While she is, in some respects, a puppet for others’ ideas I felt she truly came into her own at the points in the novel where she forgets what she has been told to do, and acts on her own beliefs.

There are numerous strands to this novel, and I was continually second-guessing what would happen. Watching the gradual disintegration of Land did not affect me unduly, perhaps because you are told from early on what Christy’s role is to be. However, the end of the novel left me somewhat open-mouthed. I loved it!