2 out of 4 stars
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The Boys from Bakersfield is a futuristic dystopian novel written by Mitch Laretz. This book is Laretz’s first novel. As a lover the dystopian genre, I jumped at the chance to review this book. The description of the story pulled me in and set up high expectations.
Tommy and Monty are living in a terrible time when Tyranny has struck the United States and every day is a fight for survival. Being taken back to a time when people didn’t have electricity and the modern-day amenities we are graced with, life is no easy feat. These two teenagers stick together and live as normal a life as possible for those not privileged to live a rich lifestyle. All while doing what they can do help their families survive. Everything changes when Tommy decides to join a resistance movement and Monty reluctantly follows suit. Leaving their home in Bakersfield, the two embark on a journey that will forever change their lives.
On a mission to take over the government, we meet many characters throughout the story. Through this journey we watch Monty and Tommy mature - one filled with hate and loathing, the other developing true leadership potential. The one good thing that I found relate-able in this story was the friendship between the two. Taking over government buildings leading up to the ultimate goal of storming Washington DC takes its toll not only on the two, but on everybody who must somehow come to terms with their situation. From being handed over by one of their own to facing mass death we watch characters fall to madness to others just wanting to live a peaceful life. The conclusion, I will say, is not what I was expecting but I wasn’t totally surprised either.
As a reader, I was disappointed from the very beginning. It was slow starting and it felt rushed with the dialogue being squeezed into the paragraphs. That also made it hard for me to keep up, especially since there were so many characters involved. Repetition was also abundant in this story. It made for dull reading and I found myself becoming annoyed. In any book I like to be able to relate to the characters and I just couldn’t do that. While the plot could have been interesting it was dragged out and none of it really excited me. In all the scenes where the reader shouldn’t have felt something for the characters, I found myself lacking in emotion. The edge of your seat while reading about battle and death was missing.
As a lover of dystopian novels, I was disappointed with this book. From the beginning to the end I couldn’t get into it. I rate The Boys from Bakersfield by Mitch Laretz a 2 out of 4 stars. The author has something good and I wish I could have enjoyed the story. I look forward to seeing what else this author comes up with because this book did have a lot of potential. As is I would not recommend this book.
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The Boys from Bakersfield
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