Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Image Credit:  www.annaguirre.com

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aguirre, A. (2011). Enclave.  New York, NY: Feiwel and Friends.  ISBN 9780312650087. 259 p.

SUMMARY

On her fifteenth birthday, Deuce finally receives her name.  In a community with an extremely high mortality rate, people are not given a name until that age and rarely live to see their twenty-fifth birthday.  Deuce lives underground in the tunnels of New York City sometime in the future.  As a newly named Huntress, she and the other Hunters must provide meat for their enclave which means that they must hunt among the human-eating Freaks that also inhabit the tunnels.  Deuce is paired with quiet and mysterious Fade, a boy who once lived in an even more hostile environment above ground, Topside.  As they work together, Deuce and Fade learn how truly threatened their way of life is and how little their elders know.  Trouble is brewing, and things are suddenly out of Deuce’s and Fade’s control.                

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Enclave by Ann Aguirre is a fascinating dystopian novel that will pull readers through a unique and entertaining journey into the future.  The story features a fifteen year old female protagonist, Deuce, who proves to be an exceptionally strong character and also features a slightly older male, Fade, who is an equally strong character.  Told as a first person narrative, Aguirre describes Deuce’s experiences with well developed chapters that are easy to read.  Mutant-like Freaks and many action-filled scenes will appeal especially to male readers, and Ann Aguirre manages to add a touch of romance amidst all of the deadly action that may appeal to females as well.   Aguirre develops a cast of believable characters and is not afraid to injure them or end their lives.  The ending, although satisfying, hints at the possibility of a sequel.  Enclave’s nice metallic book cover is attractive but a little misleading.  The Freak’s fingers on the back cover are supposed to be claws but actually look like normal human fingers with long nails.  Fans of Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins will not want to miss this book.