Review: Burn Out

Title: Burn Out (Burn Out #1)

Author: Kristi Halvig

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Published: April 8, 2014

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay first things are first, what is up with the recent fashion of books that do not end? I am sorry to say I am stepping on the soap box with this book, but it is one in a long line of books where nothing is resolved. I know there is going to be a second book, but I am not sure I would want to read it because I have learned with the first one the last page is just a book mark placing me on hold until I manage to pick up the next one. It feels manipulative and it is annoying. Now onto the actual book.
Earth had become a wasteland where the sun scourged almost everything it touched. Humanity was forced to look for a new home and a few were left behind to fend for themselves. Tora was one person left behind, but she was left with something the rulers of the new world wanted so they went back to get it.

I was impressed with the concept of this book. The set up of environment and world building were well done. It was mostly the characters that fell flat. I had no real emotional connection with them. I think if we had more background on the secondary characters or at least had an understanding of their actual motivations I might have been able to relate to them more, but some of it was hinted at we even circled around the topic a couple of times and then nothing.

I did get a little stuck on the technological advancements. The government has managed to create machines that suck water out of the air. They have created ships that easily travel from one planet to the next. They have domes that protect them from UV radiation and sun suits are common. My problem came with the main objective of the book being the technology of advanced guns. Yes they were pretty cool guns, but still her father was the only one developing them? In a society where the humans were dwindling and there was no big threat even hinted at on the new planet why were guns that could blow up a ship really that important and that uncommon?

I spent the entire book trying to decide if I liked any of the characters and weirdly enough that was actually part of the charm to the story. I thought it would have been interesting if the psychological impact Tora would have faced from spending as much time alone as she did had been addressed. Tora had two plans: A) to get off earth or B) to kill herself. She became so whiny in the middle and she began to rehash the same ground over and over about how she didn't trust anyone, you wouldn't know it by her actions, I began to wish she would just go with plan b just to get it over with.

Overall I gave this book 3 stars out of 5.