“Writing is a gift to yourself, and it’s a gift of giving a story to someone else,” -Amy Tan
This is my second indie book review, and I’m finding that I quite like it! Contact me on Instagram at @olivia.j.the.wordshaker or through my email at oliviajthewordshaker@gmail.com for review requests.
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| Follow Michael Evans on Instagram @mevansinked |
Disclaimer: I was sent this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Alone. Abandoned. Threatened. Natalie has lost all hope for a better future. Everything she’s known and everyone she’s ever loved is gone, and it’s up to her to get her old life back. In Michael Evans’s first novel, Control Freakz, Natalie’s journey toward a better life begins.
When Protocol 00 is enacted, Natalie’s family is taken by the government, along with the families of her two best friends, Ethan and Hunter. With nothing to lose, and the threat of government hitmen kidnapping them at any moment, the three must battle to survive in a horrid, post-apocalyptic world run by President Ash and his invasive government. They want answers. And they’re willing to jeopardize everything in desperate pursuit.
Risking ruthless leaders, attempted mind control, and her very existence on the planet, Natalie, along with Hunter and Ethan, will stop at nothing in their quest to regain everything they’ve ever known. Her spirits crushed and her will to live destroyed, Natalie knows everything is dead and gone, and soon she will be, too.
Memories connect us to the past, and can often cause us to long for a better future, but they can drive our minds into a state of hell if a better future is unattainable. Nevertheless, Natalie’s hope for a better a future remains.
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This was the first science fiction dystopian novel that I’d read in a long time, and it was really refreshing. Control Freaks takes the dystopian tropes and stereotypes and subverts them, and makes them a bit more digestible for an audience that’s sick of the same old dystopia.
As usual, we’ll start of with The Bad.
Spoilers, duh.
The Bad
1. The Writing
This one’s a hard one, because some of the writing was fantastic. At times, the description of emotions was heartbreaking and raw. But other times, it was excessive and long.
Emotional dynamics in a story is the level at which the emotions fluctuate. Control Freakz has very little emotional dynamics, and sometimes this makes for an exhausting read. Going back to the emotional descriptions, Evans’s descriptions of emotions go around and around, and, to an extent, it’s effective because it energizes the novel with a constant sense of anxiety. However, Evans takes it a bit too overboard and the novel ends up having just one, monotonous emotional feeling. There should have been moments of tension and release, moments of humor, moments of wit, and moments of numbness, all on top of the sense of constant anxiety that Natalie feels. With just some cuts of emotional description and additions of variety in emotions, Control Freakz could have been an intensely emotional and complex novel, but it barely missed the mark.
Another critique of the writing style was the inclusion of sequels. Sequels, in this case, are the italicized thoughts of a character. My only criticism was I thought they were a bit unnecessary. Evans does a fine job of conveying Natalie’s feelings without her stating them directly, or having her add some commentary with her reactions.
Control Freakz has a tonal problem as well. It all boils down to this: Natalie doesn't sound like a girl. Now, I understand that everyone reacts differently, and people aren't bound to gender stereotypes, but women tend to react differently than men do, despite the character's outlined personality. While Natalie felt very strongly, her thought processes, descriptions, and reactions didn't feel . . . feminine - and Natalie wasn't outlined as a character to be particularly butch. There's nothing wrong with Natalie as a character, necessarily, but part of a character's identity is their gender. While this doesn't always determine how they act/think, it does effect aspects of them, and this is something Natalie lacked.
2. Hunter
While Evans directly states why and how Natalie and Hunter are together, it never sank in. Their relationship never felt like it was a driving force, or felt fully developed, and I think that's because Hunter was a very weak character. He had little-to-no development, arc, or backstory that explained why he was the way he was. And since he wasn't developed, I didn't believe and couldn't connect to his relationship with Natalie.
The Good
1. Ethan
My hat goes off to Evans for not including a love triangle in this sci-fi dystopia. I honestly thought that's what was going to happen, and I was pleasantly surprised that the three were just friends.
Okay, but onto Ethan as a character. He was by far the most developed character. He was smart and an absolute hardass, and his internal conflict blew me away. He's one of those genuinely awful people that you understand and root for anyway. I'd honestly love to see a story from Ethan's point of view.
2. The Themes + Motivations + Character Stuff
Evans does a spectacular development of themes. They don't always hit the mark, but they're fleshed out and tie together the strings of the novel, and cover the parts where it falters.
Natalie's desire to find a new life/get her old life back was at times overbearing considering the use of sequels, but it still held a deep place in the story and I could see a beautiful character arc come to fruition over the forthcoming novels. It was truly very raw and relatable to someone in that situation.
The theme of control blossomed at the end of the novel, but it was obviously an undercurrent throughout the whole thing. I devoured the last part of this novel because of all of the reveals, and it was like a camera coming into focus. All of these things that Evans had set up where finally making sense, and it was a great experience.
The themes of mental illness, pain, and death were also very present. They were established very well, but I don't have much to say about them because they don't get resolved other than with the heart-pounding moment at the end when Natalie stands true in her resolve. I assume that these arcs will come full circle in the other books as well, and I look forward to it.
I also loved how Natalie, Hunter, and Ethan were very ordinary. It was refreshing to see in a YA dystopia where every spunky teenager is somehow super important and leads legions of armies. Danielle didn't pick them because they were special, she picked them because they were expendable. Evans really has found a much needed niche in the genre of YA dystopia.
3. The Worldbuilding
The worldbuilding in this book surprised me, because it ended up being a 'less-is-more' approach, which actually worked. With dystopian stories, authors often try to strip America to it's bare bones and build from that, which gives a sense of disconnect from the America we know.
However, Evans's world didn't feel too different from our own, and I think that's what made it so compelling.
Objective Rating: 6/10
Enjoyment Level: 7/10
Overall, this wasn't a perfect book - as very few books are -, but Evans really brought some strong, new concepts to an old genre, and I have high hopes for the rest of the series.
~The WordShaker
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