Enclave by Ann Aguirre

In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known

I had heard a lot of good things about this book and there were some really awesome aspects but some not so much. Some awesome points are the world that was created. There are communities that live underneath the earth and they have a specific way of living: breeders, builders, and hunters.

Deuce gets paired with Fade (the outcast) and are sent on a mission to another community. The mission involves seeing if this other community needs help (which they do) and they discover that the Freaks (zombies) are getting smarter and are starting to become strategic where before they were more like dumb animals.

Fade and Deuce get close. Deuce gets herself kicked out of her community and her and Fade get close. The world is pretty well-described...especially the part where Deuce is shunned for her "crime" against the community.

The not so awesome parts - I felt like the end was rushed. They were trying to survive and they come across problems, but the problems seem to move to quickly. And a part of the book was to show how Deuce and Fade were becoming closer (and I am OK with not having a strong love plot) but its by-passed too much. I wanted to see how close they were getting so that I could see the level of their bonding so I could understand why they are so protective of each other and what lengths they are willing to go for each other.

Some Quick thoughts:

Is there going to be a sequel?

Why was Fade originally up there?

What happened to the world to cause this and why are so many people afraid of going topside?