Beyond the Fence
by Jen Minkman
Published: November
20, 2015
Publisher: Dutch
Venture Publishing
Genre: Dystopian,
Science Fiction, Young Adult
Blurb:
"People turn their heads when I walk past them. They
know where I’m going. My feet almost stumble on the uneven pavement of the
cobblestoned street when I sense Mark’s gaze on me. This is the only time he
takes notice of me, and it’s for a reason I wish didn’t exist. All the other
times I want him to see me, his eyes skip right over me. I’m a wolf in sheep’s
clothes to these people. A potential threat.
I already know what will happen once I get to the Clinic.
I’ll have to talk to that clueless psychiatrist so he can measure my possibly
violent tendencies. Because that stigma has been on me ever since I turned
twelve and the person I loved most in the whole wide world was Purged from this
city.
My name is Sarah, and my father was a violence
offender."
Return to the world of the Island series and meet Sarah,
resident of Dartmoor City. She's bitter, she feels trapped, and she wants
nothing more than to venture beyond the fence that's keeping her in. She just
has no idea how to. But when she discovers a secret that President Jacob would
rather keep under wraps, Sarah is forced to make a move for freedom - because
she meets a guy who is even more of a prisoner than she is, and he desperately
needs her help.
Buy Link:
Excerpt:
Sarah’s words follow me all the way down the rutted track. I’m doing this because I want to. I know
it’s dangerous, but no one’s forcing me.
Yeah, right. Because the fact she’s following Jinn around
like a puppy dog has nothing to do with her decision. What makes it even worse
is that Sarah’s right: no one’s forcing her. On the other hand, the object of
her affection isn’t exactly stopping her either. Jinn hasn’t spoken out at all.
Not a single time. He’s just standing by, letting her risk her life for him.
How can he be so irresponsible and selfish?
“Oh, like you’re so noble, Kian,” I grumble to myself. If
Cody and Oliver were here, they’d laugh in my face, because it’s so painfully
obvious I like Sarah. I’ve never met a girl quite like her. Despite her tough
attitude and red-stamped status, she’s so breakable, somehow. Not delicate, but
I sense she’s the kind of person who can snap in two and cradle the pieces of a
broken heart without ever showing anyone the fragments. I guess she’s in search
of true love – in Greater Dartmoor of all places, the capital of the new earth
that should be all about love and care.
If we ever make it back here, I’ll be more than happy to
help her to set things straight.
My Review:
Sarah’s father
committed a violent crime and instead of being punished he was purged and now
Sarah and her little brother Tim are being punished for their father’s sins. They
have been red stamped, their passports care a red stamp upon them but there
might as well be a red stamp on their heads right between their eyes as far as
the people of Dartmoor are concerned. They treat Sarah and her family as if
they have some kind of disease and are beneath them.
Sarah wants out she
is tired of being treated this way and not having any friends. She is tired of
having to go to the clinic every week and taking their medicine. She wants to
tear down the fence/wall that they live behind mentally and physically.
Sarah finds a young
man that the president has kept prisoner for five long years. They have been
running test on this young man, Jinn trying to find a cure for the war disease.
When she finds Jinn she knows she must save him and hopefully put a stop to the
president and all his secrets.
While she is trying
to break Jinn out she runs into to another young man Kian who is looking for
his uncle who disappeared five years ago. Sarah and Kian break Jinn out and
help him to return to his home. Sarah and Jinn start having feelings for one
another more than just friends. Kian also likes Sarah and becomes quiet jealous
of Jinn which causes Kian not to like Jinn and is very rude towards him.
Beyond the Fence is a
continuation of sorts of The Island Trilogy and takes place five years later.
While The Island Trilogy is about a group of people who live on an island and
do not know that there are people who live on the mainland or even of a place
called Dartmoor. But of course the people of Dartmoor have no clue that an
island exist either.
Can Sarah save Jinn?
Will they escape the clutches of the president? Will they make it over the
fence? Come join Sarah, Jinn and Kian on their journey Beyond the Fence.
I love reading Jen’s
books. I really and truly loved reading The Island Trilogy. I loved the whole
concept of the story and the Star Wars reference even though I had never read
or watched Star Wars and I still haven’t read or saw Star Wars but I have never
forgotten about the children in The Island Trilogy. I can’t wait for the next
book with Sarah, Jinn and Kian’s adventures in Across the Sea.
I would recommend
Beyond the Fence to anyone who loves reading dystopian stories or who just
loves a great story. I just can’t get enough of Jen’s stories about the Island
people or the people on Dartmoor.
About The Author:
Jen Minkman (1978) was born in Holland, in the town of Alphen aan den Rijn. When she was 19, she moved between The Hague, Salzburg (Austria), Brussels (Belgium) and Cambridge (UK) to complete her studies in intercultural communication. She is currently a teacher of English, career counsellor and teenage coach at a secondary school in Voorburg, Holland. She tries to read at least 100 books a year (and write a few, too!). She is a published author in her own country, and translates her own books from Dutch into English for self-publication.
Jen Minkman (1978) was born in Holland, in the town of Alphen aan den Rijn. When she was 19, she moved between The Hague, Salzburg (Austria), Brussels (Belgium) and Cambridge (UK) to complete her studies in intercultural communication. She is currently a teacher of English, career counsellor and teenage coach at a secondary school in Voorburg, Holland. She tries to read at least 100 books a year (and write a few, too!). She is a published author in her own country, and translates her own books from Dutch into English for self-publication.
In her spare time, she plays the piano, the guitar and the violin. For every novel she writes, she creates a soundtrack.
'I have always been drawn to writing. My first book was a sci-fi novel at the age of eight, which I painstakingly typed out on my dad's typewriter and illustrated myself. Nowadays, I stick to poetry, paranormal romance, chick lit and/or fantasy. In my home country, I am the first-ever published writer of paranormal romance, and I will gradually make my books also available in English (seeing I have to re-write and translate the books myself, this will take some time!).
0 comments:
Post a Comment