It was just about a year ago that a friend of mine handed me a book – ‘Nil’ by Lynne Matson – instructing me to ‘Read. Now.’ When I finally picked it up… I literally didn’t put it down until it was done! Ok, ok, I exaggerate. It may have taken me 2 days to read… but only because I insisted on little things, like sleep and food. ‘Nil’ quickly shot to the top of my ‘Favorite Books’ list and I was happy to see a sequel novel – ‘Nil Unlocked’ – had already been announced! Needless to say, I’ve been counting down the days until I could read it!
The Synopsis:
On the island of Nil, the rules are set. You have exactly 365 days to escape—or you die. Rives is now the undisputed Leader of Nil City, but keeping the City united is tougher than ever.
Raiders have grown bolder, supplies are dwindling, and non-human inhabitants have taken a turn toward the deadly. New arrivals cause rifts within the City, putting the Search system at risk, and calling everything Rives knows into question. Desperate for answers, he teams up with the only other person searching for them: Skye, a new arrival with a mysterious past of her own. Soon the duo find themselves locked in a desperate race to save all the residents of Nil—and possibly destroy the island forever. But at what cost? And who will pay the price?
The Short: 5 Stars out of 5!
Not Nil, but sort of what I imagine it looks like!
The Long: I think it’s safe to say, this is a fantastic story! It had a lot to live up to, considering my opinion of the first novel. It very well could have fallen short, since my expectations were already heightened. But, thankfully, that didn’t happen! Ms. Matson showed consistency with her writing style, depth of characters and stayed true to the world of Nil.
At first, I was a little hesitant, since this story doesn’t just involve teenagers snatched randomly from around the world and placed on this mysterious island. It also includes native teens who purposely choose to become stranded on the island. I was nervous this might not play out well. However, the way the two stories were woven and came to a climax at the end was perfection! I especially enjoyed reading about characters that had been left on the island at the end of book 1, and about characters from the past, whose names had been left on ‘the wall’ from another time.
I cared deeply about every single character in this book, and I couldn’t wait to see how they would finally get off the island together. The addition of an outside teen and her father, who search for the island, hooked me from page 1 and I was impressed with how the author took the story full circle.
I won’t go into further detail – so as not to provide any more spoilers for Books 1 or 2 – but please, be sure to pick these books up while you still have a couple weeks of summer left to read!
‘Join the Niltribe, we have cool snacks.’ (See what I did there? Now you have to go read it so you can get the joke! I’m sneaky like that.)
P.S. A little birdie told me Book #3 in the series will be out in May 2016! Look for ‘Nil on Fire’! (And by ‘little birdie’, I mean Goodreads 😉 )
As always, Happy reading, friends!
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