In the wake of the apocalypse, nobody is safe.
Shane Tucker and his friends thought they managed to save the world from the destructive machine that killed off most of its adult population. Unfortunately, a war nobody was prepared for has only just begun. Now they find themselves joining ranks with a secret organization that will train them to fight for the right to survive. Taking refuge alongside other teenage survivors in a hidden base set deep within the mountains, they will learn how to repel an imminent attack by an ancient race of aliens.
Determined to safeguard the children under their charge, Shane and his friends compete for the ultimate prize—a suicide mission against the flagship of the alien fleet. While Shane’s feelings for Kelly deepen, along with his need to protect her, he finds emotions clouding his judgment. He’ll gladly die for her. But he refuses to die with her. No amount of training can prepare them for what is to come. Everything the brave teenagers have endured thus far will be eclipsed, with the freedom of humanity hanging in the balance.
The Harvest is the heart-pumping sequel to The Last Orphans by N.W. Harris.
The Harvest starts where The Last Orphans ends. You are pulled right back to that time where Shane and his band of people are feeling a small respite against advanced technology only to be thrown into more. I’ll be honest, I had some kind of book reading PTSD at first. I felt like I was back in my father in law’s camper when I was reading this. I had to pause to make sure I was actually home. It was creepy. Never had that feeling before.
Anyway, I LOVED The Last Orphans. It was filled with action, death, and trauma. It was something that would give you crazy dreams, but keep you reading. As for The Harvest, I liked it. It wasn’t as crazy filled as the first book and it felt more like a bootcamp book than anything else.
HOWEVER, you do learn more about what is going on. You find out who the enemy is . . . or do you? Once again, N.W. Harris succeeds in feeding you information and throws you for a loop. That’s right, there is a cliffhanger that makes you wonder and want more.
I did love certain aspects of this book though. I loved that you can see the strength of the characters growing. I loved revisiting the teenagers I felt endeared to since the first book. I even loved the new characters that appear in the book (the Russians are pretty badass, by the way). The number one thing I absolutely loved, was the level of emotional trauma that we see.
Since we see the book through Shane’s eyes, we experience every little terrible flashback that comes to him. It is probably the closest anyone can get to a person with PTSD. Which is hard, because that level of emotion and trauma is hard to explain. It was horrifying and sad. I found it wonderful to see that the character’s did have problems with what happened in the first book. N.W. Harris, you translated that perfectly.
The voice of the book is different, but only because we aren’t pushed this way and that with trauma. It is still easy to get into the book and just as easy to want to keep reading. I can’t wait what N.W. Harris has in store for the children and the readers. I just want them to catch a break one day. Poor kids, really glad our life isn’t like that.
Yet.
Casia's Corner 