The Cage by Megan Shepherd Series: The Cage #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (2015)
eBook (400 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2016
Synopsis
When Cora Mason wakes in a desert, she doesn't know where she is or who put her there. As she explores, she finds an impossible mix of environments—tundra next to desert, farm next to jungle, and a strangely empty town cobbled together from different cultures—all watched over by eerie black windows. And she isn't alone.
Four other teenagers have also been taken: a beautiful model, a tattooed smuggler, a secretive genius, and an army brat who seems to know too much about Cora's past. None of them have a clue as to what happened, and all of them have secrets. As the unlikely group struggles for leadership, they slowly start to trust each other. But when their mysterious jailer—a handsome young guard called Cassian—appears, they realize that their captivity is more terrifying than they could ever imagine: Their captors aren't from Earth. And they have taken the five teenagers for an otherworldly zoo—where the exhibits are humans.
As a forbidden attraction develops between Cora and Cassian, she realizes that her best chance of escape might be in the arms of her own jailer—though that would mean leaving the others behind. Can Cora manage to save herself and her companions? And if so . . . what world lies beyond the walls of their cage?
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My Review
The Cage begins with Cora awakening in a desert. She soon discovers a strange mix of environments and four other teens. None of them know where they are, or why they have strange tattoos on their necks.
Soon they discover that they were taken by aliens and are in some sort of menagerie. They are given three rules: solve the puzzles, stay healthy, and procreate.
Cora is determined to escape this prison. She does not thrive in captivity and she is sure there can be a way to get back to Earth. The question is whether or not she can convince the others to go along with her plan.
I loved how alien the aliens were. They were not humans. They were different and the things that made them different helped to make them seem real. Cassian wasn’t human and didn’t think like a human. His reactions could not be easily predicted because he didn’t always act the way a human would.
Cora, on the other hand, was so very human. She made stupid decisions at times and became obsessed with small things. She really wasn’t the smartest by any stretch of the mind. She was so very human in that respect. She made mistakes, often quite a few mistakes.
In all, I really enjoyed The Cage. It was its own unique form of sci-fi with a non-human alien race. The story kept me intrigued and I wanted to know how things would turn out. Sure, I wanted to slap Cora at times but that is a bit difficult when she is a book character. I am curious to see where Cora’s story takes her next.
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