Havall 16 by A. J. Ullman – Review by Hayley Thrumble

Havall 16 by A.J. Ullman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book far exceeded my expectations. I don’t usually read this genre as I’ve found in the past I haven’t been as invested in the plot as other genres I really enjoy, but this one may have just converted my interests. Right from reading the synopsis I was hooked with the idea of this dystopian future where the world had been divided and chaos caused. The plot was both intriguing and exciting and I knew I had to continue reading. The characters are well explored and I feel we really get a sense of who everyone in Tommy’s life is and how they matter in the story. I particularly enjoyed Havall 16’s character, she reminded me a lot of Katniss (Hunger Games) and Tris (Divergent Series) and I loved that as I really enjoyed both of those characters in their respective books. Havall 16 was cool, courageous and captivating throughout the entire story and I feel her and Tommy worked really well together which made their story an absolute joy to read.

There were several moments which I was not expecting, certain people who I weren’t expecting certain things from and was shocked to read. This made for a “can’t put it down” reading experience. Ullman’s writing style was very easy to read and flowed nicely. There is enough description in the writing that you can paint a detailed image in your head, but not too much that it becomes convoluted; which I really enjoyed. The whole book is riddled with “on the edge of your seat moments” and really kept my interest from start to finish.

There are a couple of twists towards the end of this book which I LOVED and definitely did not see coming. No spoilers, you’ll have to work those out on your own. But they were very well thought out and if anything I would have like to know slightly more about them.
I would like the details of Tara and the queries surrounding her to be explored more, there was mention of her not being trustworthy but this was in passing and was not explored again after this and it became unclear as to why Havall 16 might feel that way. I would also have liked to know more about the future world that Havall 16 describes but this is the only criticism I have of this book.

This was a credit to its genre and I cannot wait to read more like this and more by A.J Ullman. Very well done.

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