City of Savages by Lee Kelly -- WoW #26

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

City of Savages by Lee Kelly

Expected publication: February 3rd 2015 by Simon & Schuster

Genres: Young Adult; Sci-Fi; Dystopia

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It’s been nearly two decades since the Red Allies first attacked New York, and Manhattan is now a prisoner-of-war camp, ruled by Warden Rolladin and her brutal, impulsive warlords. For 17-year-old Skyler Miller, Manhattan is a cage that keeps her from the world beyond the city’s borders. But for Sky’s 16-year-old sister, Phee, the P.O.W. camp is a dangerous playground of possibility, and the only home she’d ever want.

When Sky and Phee discover their mom’s hidden journal from the outbreak of the war, they both realize there’s more to Manhattan—and their mother—than either of them had ever imagined. And after a group of strangers arrives at the annual P.O.W. census, the girls begin to uncover the island’s long-kept secrets. The strangers hail from England, a country supposedly destroyed by the Red Allies, and Rolladin’s lies about Manhattan’s captivity begin to unravel.

Hungry for the truth, the sisters set a series of events in motion that ends in the death of one of Rolladin’s guards. Now they’re outlaws, forced to join the strange Englishmen on an escape mission through Manhattan. Their flight takes them into subways haunted by cannibals, into the arms of a sadistic cult in the city’s Meatpacking District, and, through the pages of their mom’s old journal, into the island’s dark and shocking past. Sky and Phee are dependent on each other, and their ragged posse, for survival, but as their feelings grow toward the handsome English boy Ryder, love and jealousy threaten to break them apart.

While primarily a thriller, City of Savages is also a story about the many meanings of sisterhood, told across two generations of New York women—those who survived a terrible tragedy, and those who were raised to live in its aftermath.

City of Savages sounds so good! I know the dystopian genre has been smothered recently, but I still manage to hold out hope that another awesome book will come along. The blurb sort of reminds me of Angelfall – minus the angels. If I love City of Savages half as much as I loved Angelfall, I’ll be pretty happy!

There is a funny little story about how I came across City of Savages. You know when you’re scanning through lots of books, and you’re only half concentrating? Well, that was me when I came across this book the first time. My mind was wandering and the book titles started to blur together, and I could have sworn it said City of Sausages. Let’s just say, it caught my attention! I had a good giggle over my mistake, but now, unfortunately, every time I’m trying to type “City of Savages”, I’m typing “City of Sausages.” The moral of this story? First impressions really do last, and don’t look through book titles when you’re tired and not concentrating!!

What books are you anxiously waiting on this week?