Title: Five Seven Five (The Boy with Words #1)
Author: C.E. Wilson
Release Date: November 18th, 2015
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Pages: 214 (Kindle)
Rating: 3/5
White Frost has only known the darkness.
Luckier than most, White’s cousin provides her with what seem to many as little more than scraps of paper, but they hold deep secrets. The papers he provides are cryptic collections that hint at a world beyond dusty hallways and candlelight. These words give White hope that she can be one of the great people in her colony. A Chosen One. A member of a group of the strongest people who are allowed to escape the darkness and venture out into the Unknown. At eighteen years old, White is too young to become a Chosen and decides to take her cousin’s advice and wait patiently. But when a tragedy upends her life, White realizes that if she wants to truly understand what the mysterious words on paper mean, she’ll have to go beyond every boundary set by her society – including ones set by her own cousin.
When White finally decides to seek the truth, what she finds is more astonishing than anything her cousin could have prepared her for. Blinding light. Colors beyond black and gray. A world where tears fall from the skies. And an incredible being who may or may not be the Creator of it all.
Everything she’s ever wanted is right in front of her, but this information comes at a price White is not sure she can pay. She has always suspected that her hunger for knowledge is simultaneously her greatest strength and weakness, and now she must ask herself if the answers she sought are worth endangering not only her life, but the lives of everyone she’s ever known.
This was quite an interesting story. There were a few things that didn’t quite make sense, but for the most part, it was a good read.
I really liked how the main character, White, was curious and ambitious regarding the outside world that the Chosen Ones were constantly venturing out into. I loved seeing the world through White’s eyes – it was amazing to see everything described in such exciting and unique ways. Reading the passages where White was seeing and experiencing something brand new to her were definitely the best parts of the book. Wilson’s writing style made these scenes really beautiful.
I wasn’t a fan of Salt, or even Shade for that matter. Both of these male characters seemed to just be really condescending towards White. That, and the fact that neither of them seemed to have much personality, made me not really like them all that much.
I did really like Kaz, though. At times, he did seem a bit overly nice and a little bit too perfect when it came to dealing with White and her people. He did balance Salt out pretty nicely in that regard, I suppose.
I thought the haikus were really nice, but, for some strange reason, I was really bothered by the fact that the pieces of paper should have been massive for White. Like, they should have been nearly half as big as she was. But that’s neither here nor there.
Overall, though, this was an entertaining story and I’m interested to see what happens in the next and final book in the duology.
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*
One Little Bookshelf 