New World Rising by Jennifer Wilson



Trigger warnings: Violence, assault (especially against women), mentions of rape


Synopsis: Worlds collide in debut author Jennifer Wilson's graphic dystopian series where Divergent meets Mad Max.
Since witnessing her parents' murders at the age of eleven, Phoenix's only purpose in life has been to uphold her mother's dying words - to be strong and survive. But surviving outside of The Walls - outside of The Sanctuary - is more like a drawn-out death sentence. A cruel and ruthless city, Tartarus is run by the Tribes whose motto is simple, "Join or die."

Refusing to join and determined to live, Phoenix fights to survive in this savage world. But who can she trust, when no one can be trusted? Not even herself...

The first of a trilogy, New World Rising is an epic tale of survival, instinct, trauma, and the extraordinary power of human connection.



Review: New World Rising held a lot of promise as a story. We follow Phoenix who has had to manage this cruel world ever since her parents were killed when she was eleven. Now, six years later, we see her doubt everything she once thought she knew, and find help in unlikely places. I liked Phoenix, in theory, but she falls into the same caricature as other YA heroines. Her parents died so she has been a lone wolf and cares about no one but herself. Until she finds a boy. And saves a little girls. Then she gets an instant family that she feels obligated to protect. I liked the way she had multiple safe houses, and how she randomly picked which one to stay in night after night, but I wish we had seen her get to that point. The problem with books like this one is we don't get to see Phoenix as she makes the decision to be "reborn" and change her name. We don't get to see her make mistakes in this world that teach her caution. We don't get to see the things that make Phoenix who she is in this book. After she finds Mouse, a little girl who she protects and guides, I was hoping we would see this build up between them. Where Phoenix takes time to show Mouse how to survive in this awful world. I want to keep reading and see what happens between Phoenix and Mouse, but I hope the author does decide to take this mentor-student route.


The story was fast paced and it was pretty gruesome at times. I do have to give Jennifer Wilson props as she didn't hold back when she showed how awful the tribes can be. That being said, I don't know how I feel about the tribe dynamic as a whole. First off, the term "tribe" immediately made me think of Native Americans and, seeing as how these groups were ruthless, I don't think that's how Native people want to be viewed. I think one of the tribes is even described as having piercings and feathers as decorations which further adds to the stereotypical Native American image. I'm not Native, so I can't speak for any of those groups. It's just something I noticed that made me mildly uncomfortable. The relationships between the tribes also heavily reminded me of turf wars and gang violence. As someone who grew up in a small town where gang violence is high, that definitely made me uncomfortable. Those are the two things that kept me from enjoying the overall story as fully as the author probably wanted. The only story specific thing that I wish we got more of was The Sanctuary. Characters keep referencing this place that we never get to see. Obviously, I'm hoping that changes in later books. I just wasn't able to care about this non-existent place.


Interesting book, but I have some reservations about certain things.


3 howls

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