The Way of the Cicadas is a book about survival—in the face of war, of suffering, and of loss. Four young adults risk everything they’ve ever known to save the people in their bunker, but in the end, it’s themselves that need saving the most. 

This book is a work of art. Not only does it masterfully blend different aspects of a genre I absolutely adore, but it builds a world all its own at the same time. As I was reading, I kept comparing it to the dystopian novels I love: the rationing in the City of Ember, the exploratory group of teens from The 100, the amnesiac technology of Divergent. But no matter how much I found that was familiar, something new and unique took its place. 

I’ve read a lot of dystopian books, but none quite like this one. 

The story of these young adults builds, and you have to let it simmer like a boiling pot of water. It’s slow at first, as you get to know each of them. That little act is lovely in and of itself because the characters are very well crafted to be unique. With a large cast, it can be hard to separate them all. I never had trouble drawing the line. Then, as the story picks itself up, you get sucked into the action. I was awake way too late to see the conclusion, and it had me gasping and clutching my pillow and crying a little all at once. 

The only serious issue I had was that I felt like there was a little bit of a disconnect within the group, something that didn’t fit right. Where I expected this tightly knit, inseparable family of young adults, who had survived everything and then some, I found a wildly distrustful and hateful group of people. Maybe you’ll like that aspect of their found family! It is realistic, I’ll give you that. 

Either way, this is a book I’ll be thinking about for a long time, and I cannot wait for the follow up.