Series: Article 5
Pages: 364
Date released: January 31, 2012
New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.
The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes. There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.
Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.
Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.
That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.
Article 5 was book written for all the action lovers out there. It’s Mission Impossible on paper! It reminded me very much of Shatter Me. The characters, setting, and plot were all very similar, but uniquely executed. Ember was awesome. She was strong in her own way, but she valued the place that others had in her life. She was logical and reasonable, but when she was taken she never stopped fighting to get away. Her spirit was continuously going even when things were at rock bottom.
Chase was nice, too. He was the strong but silent type and he sacrificed everything for Ember. She really was his everything. I liked his smart mouth and how he had some sarcasm behind his silence. His golden brown skin and 6”2’ stature certainly didn’t hurt either. He is still kind of a mystery right now though since this book doesn’t delve into much about him being a soldier. I wonder if any of the other books will as the series continues.
By the time I flipped Article 5 closed I felt a deep-set satisfaction of them being okay and putting their talents to use. Because of this, I don’t know if I will read the next books in fear of ruining my happy ending. But…(Levar Burton voice) you don’t have to take my word for it.
