The Moon Dwellers by David Estes

Goodreads
369 pages, YA Dystopian
The Dwellers #1
My rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms. 

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.

In their world, someone must die.

My 2 cents

YA Dystopians have become my favorite genre over the past year.  There really aren't too many I haven't read yet, although there are a few.  I'm not sure why I didn't read this one sooner, I am kind of kicking myself right now!  This was a thrilling, couldn't-put-it-down kind of read!

The story is a dual POV between Adele and Tristan.   Adele is in prison through no crimes of her own.  The society is set up like a caste system, and Adele's class, The Moon Dwellers,  is  considered middle class. Although now she has no rights at all, and is in prison for life. Tristan is royalty, and at the other end of the spectrum.   He belongs to the Sun Dwellers, the richest souls in their society.  The Sun Dwellers control everything, and take away more and more from the Moon Dwellers and the Star Dwellers (lowest class) every year.  The castes are even separated geographically.  Everything is underground, after a global destructive event up above the earth.

The story starts off where Tristan is in a parade of some sorts in the Moon Dwellers districts.  Adele sees him from the prison yard, and he, her.  The both experience an extreme sort of head pain when they lock eyes.  Tristan decides he must go back and find out about this girl.  He basically runs away to go find her, against his father's wishes.  So he sets off with his best friend and servant, Roc.

Adele, meanwhile, has befriended 2 prisoners by the names of Cole and Tawni, and they make a prison break.  At the same time they are escaping, the Star Dwellers, who are upset with their lot in life, has declared war on the Moon Dwellers, and is bombing the heck out of their districts.    Its utter chaos as Adele runs to try to rescue the rest of her family, and Tristan is chasing after her.

Adele is an awesome, kick butt kind of girl, and I absolutely adored her!  Tristan was no weakling, either, as he was trained in sword fighting since he was little.  He and Roc have an interesting time of things, though, as they don't have much common sense in the Moon Dwellers districts! They get themselves in more trouble than Adele does!  I loved the friendship and brotherhood of Roc and Tristan, and I thought their moments were some of the brightest and funniest!

The bulk of the story was really about these specific groups of people, but towards the end we start to see the bigger picture of this dystopian society, and its impending doom. The ending set things up nicely for the next book, The Star Dwellers!  I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy!