Book Review: Little One

Summary: When the evacuation of a war-torn town goes wrong and separates Daniel from his three-year-old sister, Litty, Daniel is determined to do whatever it takes to get her back. To do so, Daniel will have to survive both the deadly Akorian wilderness and a ruthless military commander and come to grips with the blood on his own hands. In a world where nature is a deadly force and the line between war and sport is blurred, freedom comes at a high cost. 
 Fear, sorrow, loss, hope...Little One delves into the human emotions with a vengeance and has readers on the edge of their seats.

Thoughts: If you've been reading this blog for any significant amount of time you'll know  why I've been dying to read this book for a long while. An entire plot revolving around a big brother and little sister? It's as if it was written just for me! In that sense, I wasn't disappointed. Daniel is one of the best older brothers/siblings I've read about and his interactions with Litty were beautiful. Also, Litty was a wonderfully well written child, which is always gratefully appreciated. The writing style was also well done. The plot though, was very dark and there were certain characters whose purpose to the story I am still confused about after finishing it. I also felt disappointed in the way all the characters started out so strongly but several of them just tapered off into confused messes of emotion by the end. While there's nothing wrong with extremely emotional characters (I actually have a begrudging fondness for many of such) I didn't like to see it in previously tough and stable characters whose firmness gave them a strength their own. This aside, I did enjoy this book very much and would recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a dark apocalyptic/dystopian feel.

Content: There is plenty of dark violence including a brief scene where a girl is eaten alive, while not graphic, it is a little startling. Otherwise a fine read for teens or older as the setting might be a little too dark for children.