Review:
Title: Dread Nation | Goodreads
Author: Justina Ireland
Series: Dread Nation #1
Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | Amazon *Available for Pre-Order until April 3rd
Publishing: April 3rd 2018 by Balzer + Bray
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Genre: YA; Historical Fiction; Fantasy; Horror
Date Read: March 2018
Thoughts:
Hello everyone! I have just returned form a lovely six days spent on the beach doing nothing other than napping and reading…productive, am I right? Anyways, this was the first novel that I picked up on my most recent trip, although I’ll admit that I knew embarrassingly little about this novel before snagging it among my choices for my visit abroad. I had heard about the hype (that’s why I decided to grab it in the first place) but it had been months since I had read the blurb when I finally sat down to read it. Luckily, Ireland’s author note on the first few pages of the ARC really set me straight. I was immediately intrigued by the absurdity of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and how that novel’s existence inspired Ireland to write what I would argue is a more historically accurate retelling of history.
What was more exciting than a promising premise was the distinctful way in which Ireland executed the story. The reader is thrown immediately into the trials and tribulations of Miss Preston’s School of Combat, as well as an undercurrent of spooky political meanderings that are controlling the city. I was quickly drawn to our protagonist Jane McKeene because she was imperfect–zombies and combat training and alternative history aside, Jane’s core motivations (achievement in school, loyalty to friends, impressing her family) are things that any teenager can relate to. In this manner Ireland has rooted Jane’s story in something that is distinctly YA–the teenage experience.
Ireland’s “coming of age” narrative gains so much more urgency on the backdrop of the action packed and plot motivated story that Dread Nation really is. Jane’s relate-ability aside, the other characters suffered a bit in terms of growth due to the action nation of the story. This is always such a catch-22 for me–action packed novels, by definition, don’t have as much time for hard-core character development. But on the other hand, by focusing on the action, they risk losing reader investment in the characters. Luckily, because Ireland’s novel was so protagonist focused, and Jane did have more development than most of her counterparts, I was pleased with the action–character balance for the most part. I also appreciated the relationship evolution that Ireland included, between Jane and her classmate Katherine (former enemies).
What was most impressive (and frightening) was how plausible the racist and classist responses to a zombie apocolypse were in Dread Nation. I won’t go into too much detail so as to not spoil what was one of my favorite parts of the novel, but the “Native and Negro Reeducation Act” sounded like something that really could have happened. Ireland’s attention to not only the racism of the 1800s (and how fear in times of crisis often feeds such division), but also the colorism (read more about colorism here and here) that existed at the time (and persists today) makes Dread Nation stand out not only in YA, but also in historical fiction.
Despite a little shock adjustment to the first-person narrative that Dread Nation is written in, I was very impressed with the high vocabulary in Dread Nation. Compared with many other YA novels that I’ve read of late, Ireland gives her reader much more credit, not only in the words that they know, but also in what they are able to deduce from a situation. You’ve won’t find very much “telling” in this one. The ending of Dread Nation DID feel a little rushed/border line cliff-hangery but I have attributed this more to my own sensitivity to series and that I should give this series starter a little more credit–I’m invested now…and believe me I want answers about the future of the America that Ireland has crafted.
Dread Nation is far from your typical YA historical fiction–with such intense action if gives high-fantasy a run for its money and human like characters that feel like contemporary teenagers, I have no doubt that readers will find themselves eating up Ireland’s series starter.
Other Opinions:
NPR (more of a fun shout-out)
Thank you so much for the shout-out! I have to agree that the ending felt a tad rushed – but it definitely makes me look forward to the sequel! 🙂
Of course! And that’s totally true, I can’t wait to see how the story deepens!
I just finished listening to the audio book. Reading it in 2021 really highlights all the realism as far as people in powers’ response to deadly pandemics and racism 😐 and I in general enjoyed the action, but the end baffled me. I feel like Jane’s advice likely got a lot of people killed and literally every other character seemed to agree. I would’ve liked to have seen her take charge and win everyone over or something (aside from those who were unwinnable, I’m not at all upset about how things went down in the office), but maybe this was an intentional departure from the typical savior arc.
I’m also a bit peeved about Ireland’s seeming vendetta against corsets. I suppose I’ve only ever run short distances in one, but it’s not that bad, especially not an underbust, which I’m assuming the “half corset” Katharine was wearing at the end was. I imagine it’d be even less of a problem if you were used to wearing one daily… Cutting a couple laces without actually removing it would cause some SERIOUS discomfort/distraction while trying to flee