Book Review: The Cage by Megan Shepherd

The Cage (The Cage #1)
Author:  Megan Shepherd
Publisher:  Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins, 400 pages
Publication Date:  May 26, 2015

From Goodreads:
When Cora Mason wakes in a desert, she doesn't know where she is or who put her there. As she explores, she finds an impossible mix of environments—tundra next to desert, farm next to jungle, and a strangely empty town cobbled together from different cultures—all watched over by eerie black windows. And she isn't alone.

Four other teenagers have also been taken: a beautiful model, a tattooed smuggler, a secretive genius, and an army brat who seems to know too much about Cora's past. None of them have a clue as to what happened, and all of them have secrets. As the unlikely group struggles for leadership, they slowly start to trust each other. But when their mysterious jailer—a handsome young guard called Cassian—appears, they realize that their captivity is more terrifying than they could ever imagine: Their captors aren't from Earth. And they have taken the five teenagers for an otherworldly zoo—where the exhibits are humans.

As a forbidden attraction develops between Cora and Cassian, she realizes that her best chance of escape might be in the arms of her own jailer—though that would mean leaving the others behind. Can Cora manage to save herself and her companions? And if so . . . what world lies beyond the walls of their cage?

Review:

Wonderfully weird and unique, I really enjoyed this book about a group of teenagers taken captive.  Think Lost meets Lord of the Flies.  

The book is mainly told from Cora's POV, although we also get a few chapters from the other teenagers, and each one has his or her own problems/issues from their past that they have to deal with.  They quickly realize that they're someplace very strange and are told by their captors that they have three rules they have to follow: solve the puzzles in the different environments, keep healthy, and procreate (each one of them has been matched with their perfect mate).  Yeah…creepy.  It's obvious what they're being told is not the truth and that very strange things are going on. They keep getting headaches, their "cage" and its different environments are not possible, and it looks like there's no way to escape.  This is one of those books where I really can't say more without ruining it.

I definitely recommend this intriguing science fiction book filled with twists and turns.  I can't wait to see what happens next!

Posted by:  Pam