3.5 stars 
 This took me three tries to get into. I can't put my finger on what it was that I didn't like in the beginning. It felt immature and shallow, but I was only reading a page or two each time. The first couple chapters took me over a week. Everyone else seemed to like it though, so I thought I should devote some actual time and read more than two pages in one sitting. 
 The deeper I got into the story, the more I noticed a few things. First off, I was irked in the first half of the book that all secondary characters seemed to be walking around the periphery, never setting foot into the main plot. I wanted to get to know them, care about them the same way that Cia did, but I just couldn't. The writing was good enough though, so I kept going. At some point, I realized that this sparse character development was probably on purpose, that we are supposed to guess and second guess at these character's motives. We're not supposed to know them, not really. 
 Now, there is no way I can ignore the likeness to The Hunger Games; like the colonies instead of districts, Tosu City in place of The Capital, teens being placed in a fenced in area being forced to survive "tests". Every now and then I would read a plot point and think Gee, I wonder where you got that idea? That being said, I do think that readers who wanted more of the HG could very easily pick this up and would adore it. I was just hoping for something a little more original. It's a good thing that parts of it were pretty clever. Well structured hints and foreshadowing, leaving me enough room to try to figure things out for myself. I love that I wasn't told what to think or feel. 
 This book definitely has its ups and down, and its in betweens. Not for everyone, but I can guarantee that it will have a solid fan base. I will definitely read the sequel. 
 A copy of this book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.