Audio Book Review: The City Center

The City Center

By:  Simone Pond

Publish Date:  October 9, 2013, Audiobook May 21, 2015

Format:  Audiobook - 6 hrs 54 mins
Narrated By:  Sarah Zimmerman

Genre:  Fantasy, Dystopian, Science Fiction

Series:  1st in The New Agenda series

First Impression:  A city protected from the dangerous world outside. But are they protected or the sheep?

Synopsis:
Award winning Amazon Best Seller in Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian Science Fiction.

A dystopian book series about love and the fight for freedom -- Book 1.

Ava didn't want to be right. Not about her city. Not about their leader, Chief Morray. But when Joseph gives her a secret journal from the past, the truth is revealed. She escapes with Joseph to the Outside, sending Chief Morray on an obsessive pursuit to retrieve his property. Ava has to decide if she should keep running, or return to the city center to save her people.

Gold Medal Winner Dystopian Fiction - Readers' Favorite.

First Sentence:
Ava stood in line at the Studio wearing her ballet attire.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles  /  Book Depository

Audible

My Thoughts and Summary:
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com, at my request.

Graduation day is a week away. Ava is the top contender and part of the elite group of ten who will be eighteen and the King and Queen will be selected from, the remaining her Court. She doesn't want it. Ava doesn't see things the rest of the City Center does. She is curious where all others follow. One week before Graduation Day, an outsider enters the city grounds and Ava's not scared as easily as the others. He approaches her and hands her a journal that will open the world in her eyes. Chief Morray has run this city the way he wants for longer than many know. He won't let Ava's curiosity get in the way of his plans with the royal court he has selected. Morray will stop at nothing short of destruction to return his prize possession to his city.

I had the honor of listening to this story. I loved Sarah's tone at the beginning of the story. Ava is not happy with the way life is specifically drawn out for her, from the day of her inception. Sarah's tone sounds as it follows suit with Ava's feelings. She carries attitude, good and bad, very well in her voice. Sarah's voice has become Ava for me. She felt to slip into Ava's character in all of Ava's emotions and story. The fact that someone was reading me the story slipped away as I listened to Ava unfold and her adventure happen.

At the evening event, counting down the week to graduation day, Ava catches the eye of Chief Morray. He notices she's unsympathetic to what is happening around her and isn't paying attention. He wants her watched. With all the emotion enhancements in the mists, she should be reacting... This is the push of half the story. Morray is taken by what he sees in Ava. Then there's what Ava goes through with an Outsider to learn about her precious City Center home. Wow.

The story starts off with a strong first chapter. It builds the world and our main character, Ava, with curiosity on my behalf as a reader. There are small hints dropped of the world, inside the walls and outside, along with Ava possibly being different. This chapter was well done to bring me to want to continue. I had to pay attention closely in the audio as there is a lot of information here along with the feeling of the characters. This already feels like a deeper world and creation. It made me want to continue on even more.

The story then held my attention as it went on. What would happen to Ava next? How will she react, not knowing this side of the world? The world and it's people are so intricately entwined that the story drew the world for us at the same time. Extremely well written with world and character building.

We get the story rotating between different POV's. Ana, a young girl graduating as the Royal Court and a potential Successor for Queen. Chief Morray, who runs the system of the Royal Court and keeps the stability of the classes. Then on occasion another view when needed to share information as the story goes, but the most important and prominent are Ana and Morray.

The world is a combination of life in villages out in the world and technology. This had a scifi feel to the creation of the people, but it's not a complete science fiction story. This story has a dystopian side to it as the background for the creation of City Center. In the way that beauty's perceived in the city even with Chief Morray and the structure of the Inner City, it reminds me of Hunger Games and their preparation and importance. But in no other way does this story reflect the Hunger Games.

I enjoyed where this story went and how it ended. I would love to continue with the stories to come and see how the people fair in times to come, as there is still a danger lurking out there in the main frame...somewhere.