Behind the Veil by Samantha Rae Ortiz
Madeleine’s Score: Loved it—telling everyone about it!
(5/5 cool points)
But she had a hard time deciding if her allegiance to the Council had been her choice, or if it was something required of her. She didn’t like that she didn’t know the answer.
Layden Prier is a young woman who’s only ever wanted to join the prestigious Council, the noble leaders who held what was left of the flooded world together. After seasons of instruction at the Conservatory, Layden finally enters the Generational Trials. Here, her consciousness is Transferred to multiple Hosts as she faces various challenges meant to determine if she or her peers are wise enough (and more importantly, loyal enough) to join the Council. But with each new stage comes new questions. And questions? Well, those are dangerous.
Author Samantha Rae Ortiz expertly weaves this story together with prose as musical as water trickling over stones. Her voice is unique and poetic, both lovely and hard-hitting all at once. Here’s a sample from chapter one:
The Grand Hall stood in a hush all around, with its golden dome soaring upward and light shining in through honey-colored windowpanes set in dark-stained walls. Row upon row of watchful eyes reminded Layden every second why she was there and that she could no longer turn back. Whatever awaited her behind that door was now as inevitable as the rains that flooded their world.
As I happily drowned in the author’s words, I found that Layden slowly felt as though she were drowning as well. The reader spends a great deal of time in Layden’s bright mind, working out the morality and mystery of her world (and her heart) right along with her, growing increasingly disturbed by the answers she finds.
What’s really fantastic about Layden is that, as a female protagonist in a YA book who is fittingly naive, she still maintains her agency. Heroines in YA stories are often dragged through their own stories, either reluctantly or blissfully unaware of what’s going on. This is not the case with Layden. Her decisions (including the poor ones) drive her story, and she is not blissfully unaware of what’s going on. In fact, she’s painfully aware of and bothered by how much she doesn’t know. By the end of the book, I was desperate to see how her character is going to handle what’s now in front of her in book two. She’s forever changed, but how that change will manifest in her spirit? That, I can’t wait to see.
Behind the Veil is a must-read for post-apocalyptic/dystopia fans who love a good mystery. If you enjoyed The Hunger Games, The Giver, or Uglies where the protagonists face oppressive systems and the power of propaganda, Behind the Veil is for you.