The Registry

For today's review, I will be reviewing a book that I finished last night. I started reading it and fell in love and I think that this book is one that a majority of people would enjoy. While searching for a new book to read on my kindle, I was instantly interested in The Registry by Shannon Stoker. Set sometime in the future, The Registry follows Mia Morrissey, a beautiful teenage girl who is eager to be married. In this future, girls are prepped their entire life for The Registry where they are auctioned off as brides to the highest bidder. They are given little formal education but are conditioned to make good wives and mothers. As Mia's eighteenth birthday approaches she becomes even more excited but rethinks when her older sister says it's not all rainbows and butterflies. Her beaten and battered sister gives Mia an extreme warning and she realizes that The Registry could be deadly. After this Mia is determined to not become a bride; she decides to run. With the help of her best friend Whitney and a hansom and blackmailed farm hand named Andrew, she sets out for Mexico. But an unfriendly suitor, who loves a challenge, is out to get them, and Mia is the ultimate prize. As the trio treks across the country they encounter numerous people; some willing to help while others are deadly. Mia is constantly trying to uncover the truth about the Registry and what all the government conceals from them. Through all of this she also finds love, something she wasn't sure was possible. Maybe she will find a partner, but she is determined to make sure it is one of her choosing.
I really enjoyed this book. It was very intense and always left you wondering what happens next. Whenever I put it down I always wanted to pick it back up and keep reading. It has quite a bit of suspense and action; it never got dull. For people who like some action and not a ton of romance, this is the perfect book for you. The romance takes a back seat to the thrill. I also really liked the concept of this dystopia. I can't talk a lot about how the Registry actually works with out giving away too much. You'll just have to take my word for it. :) The one thing that I wasn't crazy about was the fact that I felt like the ending was very rushed. I really like for authors to take their time with the ending of a novel, even if it has a sequel. I need to feel a certain amount of closure at the end of a book. I didn't feel that with this novel. It had a great pace most of it. Stoker took her time with the set up and rising action, I felt the climax was good too but I thought it could of had a lot more of a resolution. There was hardly a resolution at all. There is a sequel coming out at the end of next year, but I really thought that this would be a stand a lone book. It could have been if she carried out the ending and made it a little bit longer, but I felt like the author was ready to end the book so she made it short and very brief. This was really my only main critique. My final comment on the book is that I truly feel that just about anyone could enjoy this story. I think that both adults and teens can enjoy it as well as both men and women. This is a very mature novel aimed at both teens and adults and it has action and suspense as well as romance. This is a quality that I love when I read a book. I enjoy being able to recommend a novel to wide array of people and I feel that I am able to do that with The Registry.

THE REGISTRY: