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Title: A Time to Speak (Out of Time, #2)
Author: Nadine Brandes
Published By: Enclave Publishing (2015)
Synopsis: What happens when you live longer than you wanted to?
Parvin Blackwater wanted to die, but now she’s being called to be a leader. The only problem is, no one wants to follow.
The Council is using Jude’s Clock-matching invention to force “new-and-improved” Clocks on the public. Those who can’t afford one are packed into boxcars like cattle and used for the Council’s purposes. Parvin and Solomon team up to rescue the people. Instead, they find themselves on a cargo ship of Radicals headed out to sea. What will the Council do to them? And why are people suddenly dying before their Clocks have zeroed-out? (Taken from Goodreads)
Review:
A Time to Speak ruined my life. But it was simultaneously one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Where to even begin?
First of all, if you haven’t read the first book yet, please refrain from reading this review, because there are spoilers everywhere. If you have read the 1st, I’ve kept this spoiler-free from the second.
EVERYTHING about this book was BEAUTIFUL.
Okay, so the book is 400+ pages, yet never once did I feel it was drawn out. This is a huge rarity for me, being drawn-out books are practically my #1 pet peeve next to stereotypical dystopians. I’m sick and tired of YA dystopian novels, but this series was unlike any YA dystopian I’ve ever read, to an extent that it hardly even felt like a dystopian at all. It has a definite YA feel to it, but it’s definitely not limited to that age, either.
I’ll start with one negative—I didn’t really get the love interest between Solomon and Parvin. Sure, it’s well-written, well-described, cute, and clean, but I just didn’t get it. It seemed to come out of nowhere. Actually, now that I think about it, the one weakness in this series would probably be the romance because though it’s written well, it just feels weak. I did like it, I just didn’t get it all the time.
This story, just like the first, was incredibly well-structured. Scenes are well-developed and to the point. Every big event leads into the next. The bad guys are vicious, but not predictable—just like it would be in real life. I’m a writer, so I see plot twists a lot, but this book had me totally unaware most of the time, wondering what the plot twist would be, and I never figured it out until it happened. This was a huge positive for me.
The setting was clever and described realistically. I mean, Antarctica? Cities like Lost Angel in where California is? The creativity of this author never stops! Everything stayed so true to real life while also staying so true to the dystopian setting. Lots of characters come and go, but never once was it hard to keep track of things.
Characters? I LOVED PARVIN. She’s so incredible, so unique, and so independent. She’s smart and clever and loves God and trying to do the right thing.
And the ENDING. NO. THE ENDING. THIS IS NOT OK WITH ME. (I’ve kindly removed spoilers for your reading connivence here, but they are included in my review on Goodreads if you’d like to read my reaction to the ending and how it ruined my life.)
Overall:
Bottom line? I simultaneously hate it with every fiber of my being and love it so much I’m going to read it over and over for the rest of my life. I’ve never had a book series affect me this much before! Read it. You won’t regret it! Counting down till book 3!
Notes:
Though it is 100% clean and everything is portrayed in a wholesome light, there are some mentions to more romantic things—Parvin thinks that her love, Solomon, has just said that he wants to sleep with her, and her heart begins to race. It turns out he didn’t say that, though, and nothing happens.
Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Recommended to: All fans of A Time to Die. This is not a sequel to be missed.