Review: Restoring Harmony

Restoring Harmony (ARC) by Joelle Anthony
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: May 13th 2010
Pages: 320
Age Level: 13+

Synopsis
The year is 2041, and Molly McClure was only six when the Collapse of ’31 happened, ending life as the world’s population knew it. When she is forced to leave the comfort of her small B.C. island to travel down to Oregon, Molly discovers how hard the Collapse has been on the rest of the world. What starts out as a quick trip to the U.S. to convince her grandfather to return to Canada and be the island’s doctor, becomes a rescue mission. How much will she have to compromise to succeed in getting back home?

Review
Restoring Harmony is the remarkable, thought-provoking debut novel from talented, upcoming YA author Joelle Anthony.

This was one of those rare books where I basically enjoyed all of the characters. I positively adored Molly, who was so believable and authentic. I found it so easy to relate to her character, as we had so much in common. I fully believe that if I were to be reincarnated, I'd come back as Molly. She was stubborn, brave, resourceful and I feel her love of playing the fiddle was the perfect addition to both her character and the overall story. I really liked Spill's character as well and thought the relationship between him and Molly was very realistic and perfectly paced. I even liked Randall who was more on the bad guy side.

One thing I loved about Restoring Harmony, unlike in most futuristic/dystopian books I'm familiar with, was how instead of technology advancing it actually declined. Most people have had to resort back to using trains, bicycles, and wagons for means of transportation. The reasons behind The Collapse were so believable that it was almost scary because I couldn't help thinking how easy it would be for something like this to actually happen, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

Another aspect I loved about this book was that even though there was some romance, it wasn't a dominant element in the overall story. The fact that this book focused more on family and friendship just made it stand out even more against the countless YA books out there. Though not exactly filled with lots of action, Restoring Harmony was still fast-paced and had both adventure and suspense. Honestly I'm still not exactly sure what it was about this book that made it so hard for me to put it down, even in the less eventful scenes. Maybe a combination of everything already mentioned or maybe just because Anthony knew what she was doing when she wrote this awesome book.

The ending was great and everything seemed to tie up quite nicely but still leaving things open just enough that if Anthony wanted to write a sequel, she could. Personally I'd love to read a prequel telling of Brianna's, Molly's mom, time just before and after the Collapse or maybe another teen's. This would give me more insight into how things changed and another great book to read by Anthony. Kind of kill two birds with one stone.

In the end, Restoring Harmony was an original, engaging read that I absolutely loved. What can I say, so far this has been a great year in books for me. This is a book I would recommend to both teens and adults, especially those fans of dystopian literature.

Grade
Characters: A
Writing: B+
Plot: A-
Ending: B
Enjoyment/Likability: A-
Recommendable: A
Cover: A+

Overall: A-