Enclave by Ann Aguirre
Release Date: April 12, 2011
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Genre: Young Adult Post Apocalyptic, Zombies
ISBN: 978-0312650087
Source: Bought
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New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20’s. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters – or Freaks – who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight – guided by Fade’s long-ago memories – in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs.

Ann Aguirre’s thrilling young adult novel is the story of two young people in an apocalyptic world- – facing dangers, and feelings, unlike any they’ve ever known.

This book has been sitting on my kindle, unread since August 2012 when I bought it. Why did I suddenly decide to read this? Well. I happened to be on Goodreads looking at lists of zombie books and to my surprise, found this little number on a few of those lists. I had no idea this book was set in a zombie post apocalyptic world. I’m sure when I added this book to my TBR list and soon after bought it, I probably had only read the synopsis and felt that was enough to hold me over until I eventually got around to it. But boy, if I had known this were about zombies, I would have been read this! So, yes, I’m hard on myself right now for not further investigating in the first place but I’m so glad that I finally got to this because this is awesome!

I was intrigued from page one but it took me about twenty pages to really get my feet settled into this world and once I had all of the characters straight, I was good to go. Don’t be troubled by the many characters that are introduced in the beginning of the book… Deuce and Fade are the ones to follow. Though I do love all of the names that were thrown out there. Silk, Copper, Twist, Stone, Thimble, Whitewall, Bonesaw, Banner, Rod, Crane, and Pinwheel. Pretty rad names! A handful of these minor characters you will forge a connection to, sympathize with, feel angry towards. Aguirre plants just the right amount of everything that is right to make these characters come alive and make a memorable mark for as long as they are able to serve in the story and that is not easy to do!

Now funny enough, I actually didn’t re-read the synopsis before I began reading this book. I just discovered that this was about zombies and immediately opened up the kindle app on my iPad and started reading. Having just re-read the synopsis, I know that it’s not a spoiler to say that our main characters, Deuce and Fade leave the enclave. But how this happens… wow.

The politics and secrecy and deception “for the greater good” that took place in the enclave really made me want to see even more drama unfold from the enclave so clearly Aguirre did a fabulous job with this setting and these very troubled, trained yet misguided characters. The thing is… we’ve all read our share of rebellion and uprising stories in post apocs and dystopians and are familiar with certain elements or tropes so I love, love, love that Aguirre gives us a hint of this familiarity but switches gears to another equally important story and other equally intriguing elements. We’re left wanting more of one thing but receiving more of something even greater. Something we may not have even known we wanted to read. She is a wonderful storyteller and reminds me of Veronica Rossi and Demitria Lunetta.

Another example of dipping into the familiar, I love that there’s not as much focus on training to be a huntress/hunter and we dive right into the action as Deuce is thrown right into the madness of protecting the enclave from the zombies, or as they are known here, Freaks (the word, “zombie” is never used in the book). Watching Deuce and Fade face the Freaks outside of the enclave is even more nail biting because they are at so many more disadvantages out in the open. What a treat this was to see!

In this world that’s been taken over by Freaks, 1) light attracts them 2) they’re smarter than the average zombie as they know how to hunt their prey 3) they’ve been Topside longer than our main characters so it’s essentially their territory which gives them a huge advantage and 4) there are rumors that Freaks can be made. Which we don’t get into the last bit in Enclave but I’m sure this was mentioned for readers to look forward for more here in the sequel.

Once outside of the enclave, which is known as Topside, Deuce and Fade encounter the Burrowers and make a trade in order for a place to rest. Before that though, I must mention that it was fun getting to see Deuce experience rain for the first time. How exciting that must be to experience something so simple yet so beautiful and be able to remember it. Which is probably why Deuce wanted to go back and tell those in the enclave how beautiful it is outside. Thankfully, for one reason that I can say without spoiling anything, Fade presses against it as he knows they’ll be killed on site. I love how in tune Fade is with what he is and Deuce is with what she is and the blending of the two. What a pair these partners are.

Deuce and Fade also encounter a group who call themselves the Wolves (and cubs). But in a world where survival comes first, it’s lovely how things turned out after a few encounters with these punks. The leader of the pack, Stalker may even surprise you. I also loved the dynamics between Deuce and the girl she’s thrown with, Tegan on the Wolves’s land. I love that these two women were strong in their own ways and helped each other rise in a territory that was bent on keeping them in a certain place. I loved that this wasn’t a one time thing. They looked out for each other moving forward as Deuce, Tegan, and Fade searched for answers as well as people Fade knows Topside from before he was in the enclave. These three are quite a team and what makes it even better is that they all worked hard to get to the places that they are at. Tegan very well may be the weakest link but she makes strides to be an asset to the group. Deuce continues to train in her own way. And Fade continues to lead in his. Everyone really steps up to the plate. Doesn’t mean they’re not terrified. But they do it and that is so wonderful to see.

As far as relationships go, I wouldn’t say that there’s a love triangle or square but I will say that there’s miscommunication. Mixed signals. And that. That is something we don’t see enough of and that is something I was beyond thrilled to see. It was refreshing. It was real. I still don’t know who would be the best match for who and I’m perfectly fine with that. After all, there are two more books in this trilogy. Plenty can happen. And by plenty, I mean we may not even have met all of the major players yet. In fact, we are introduced to yet another group of people at the end of the novel and then… that’s it. I kid you not, when the book ended, I shouted, “That’s it? That’s how it ends?!” Not because Enclave ended in a disappointing way. The exact opposite. We are on an incredible journey with these characters that I’ve come to make room for in my heart and then suddenly, we’re left hanging when they make a very pivotal stop on that journey. I can’t open up book two fast enough! Stay tuned for my thoughts on the sequel, which I am about to start reading now!

So, to recap… Enclave is an exhilarating tale of Freaks and fear and moving past both to survive and save others along the way on the search for answers and a way to thrive again. Live again. It held my attention on every page and made for a one sitting read. I’m sure you’ll find yourself in the same situation and urger you to go ahead and buy the entire trilogy at once because that’s what I wish I had done. I love Ann Aguirre’s vision for this world, these characters, this story and I can’t wait to read the sequel for more.

Enclave by Ann Aguirre is available today.