Nil - Lynne Matson

I like repetitive dystopian YA novels as much as the next person. Scratch that, I like them even better, however, when I'm promised a Battle Royale meets Lost I get to say I'm somewhat disappointed with what I got.

 

Let's start with the good thing: I found it to be an incredibly fast read, and therefore it didn't feel like a punishment to read it. On the other hand though, it had me facepalming in public, usually not a good sign.

 

So, since I'm always in for some bloodthirsty island survivor books I couldn't wait to read Nil, where teenagers for some reason are teleported to an island naked and they will have to find a way of within a year or face the ultimate penalty: death. Sounds good, doesn't it? Wait till I come at the point of them making soap. That's as much excitement as you'll get.

 

What bothered me most in the end was not the insta-love, and not the gigantic disproportional amount of time spent on the stupid relationship between the two main characters, and not even the alternating POVs between the two, although admitted, it annoyed me a lot. No, it had to do with the completely unexplained event of Nil. What is going on? 

 

I do expect some answers at the end of a book! Nil is being talked about as if it is a person/god all the time, so why does it do what it does? Why are these children teleported? (Is it broadcast on television perhaps?) Why do the people on the island don't try harder to get of the island? Why do they after a year? How come no one notices a bunch of disorientated naked teenagers? Why did the ending have to be such a cliché?

 

If you would like to have an answer to any of these questions, I suppose you'll have to keep looking, because Nil isn't offering them. Besides all this, somehow I do want to know how it is ending and I'm willing to read the sequel to try and find answers to the questions I still have, hence the 2.5 stars.

 

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!