Audio Book Review: The Mainframe

The Mainframe

By:  Simone Pond

Publish Date:  November 24, 2014, Audiobook April 4, 2016

Format:  Audiobook - 6 hrs 18 mins
Narrated By:  Sarah Zimmerman

Genre:  YA Dystopia

Series:  3rd in The New Agenda series; Book 1 ~ The City Centre, Prequel (read after 1st book) ~ The New Agenda

Impression:  A teen trying to break free of her parents heroic reputation, but learns the protectiveness they exhibited had just cause.

Synopsis:
A dystopian book series about love and the fight for freedom -- Book 3.

The hunt for Morray continues. Book three picks up seventeen years after the disappearance of former city center leader, Chief Morray. There has been peace among the West Coast regions, but in Ojai Village there is very little peace between Ava and her sixteen-year old daughter Grace. Both have different ideas about what it takes to maintain independence. Grace comes across some digital footprints inside the mainframe, convincing Ava that Morray is back to seek revenge and reclaim control. When Ava goes missing, Grace assembles a motley crew of cadets to go on a search and rescue mission to save her mother and take down Morray. Grace soon learns that independence comes at a price.

First Sentence:
About two minutes had gone by before Grace's breathing was back on track.

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 AudiobookBoom dot com, at my request.

Ava knows Morray will return, but when is what she doesn't know. She's scared she'll lose her daughter, Grace, when he does. Ava's built a wall between her and her family with working non-stop for 16 years at finding Chief Morray through researching journals and searching mainframes. But she's doing it to protect her family she loves so deeply. Now she's got a chance to search the new powerful mainframe for any trace of the man that could destroy everything she loves.

Grace wants to be a soldier like her father, and winning her way into Silicon Valley Academy will be a start, and a way to break away from her mothers protectiveness. Grace wants to live, love, and see the world freely. Her chance to make a life for herself and not living off the reputation of her heroic parents. When Grace realizes her mother will be at the academy too, Grace sets boundaries. But Grace will find she needs to help her mother when she gets lost in the mainframe.

Sarah returns to voice the second book in this series. I like listening to her voice. She fits this world and characters very well with what Simone is putting in words. I love when Sarah does the hologram voices. Holograms have the sound and feel we expect, but it also gives us a great feel for how personal she is with the characters.

If it's been a while since you've read the first book, this one will fill you in at the beginning with what the past was. Enough to remind all readers, YA and Adult, of what the brief history is. I found this story a quick and easy listen.

This book is from the view point of Grace, the daughter of Ava and Joseph, at the age of 16, we also see things with Ava's view too. Ava sounds like she's obsessed and paranoid over Morray returning. She's convinced that he will return, she just doesn't know when or in what body. What is found in Grace's test makes Ava believe without a doubt that he's returned, in a new body. Ava dives into the mainframe to see and investigate. Ava just doesn't know what Morray is after, until it's to late.

The world has changed for the better, but there is still a feel of separation between the Insiders and the Outsiders. It's been said it'll take a few generations before the divide is completely washed away. The world is building on the outside of the city as well as in the city with the walls gone. We get to see this through Grace as she has big plans for herself at the Academy, in Silicon Valley.

We see Silicon Valley with the creation of the world now. It's a blend of old world before Repatterning and new with the technology. When Grace goes on a tour, we get a history of the Repatterning and what happened in the first book along with prequel. Also giving us a view of the city. We even learn of a forgotten city center, Emerald Mountain (which I believe is what is depicted on the cover). When Grace learns of the old city center, she becomes curious of it. Wanting to know if there are people inside, and saving them. But the city is protected by the natives there.

We get to meet a potential love interest for Grace early in the book. Lucas seems so sweet and a great balance for her. We see a few friends, and not so close friends, of Grace as she goes to the Academy and then on her mission to save her mother.

Some of the relationships and events are predictable, what she doesn't want is what she gets, but the story around them are what is interesting and fun.

I found I really enjoyed listening to Grace's story. She interacts with her mother, Ava, like many teens fighting for their freedom with parents, but love them as well. Grace ventures in the worlds and engages with what the world has become around her. Grace even falls in love, a feel that balances the story and feels equal to what we got with Ava and Joseph in the first book.

We end the story with a lead to the next book, which I will be needing as I want to see how things turn out for a few people.