Captives by Jill Williamson

~Saturday Stories~

"Otley sighed. "Remember what I said, men." He turned in a circle, pointing and panning his finger over the enforcers. "One kill each. Sleep the rest of the village.""

It is 2088. Just outside the walls of the dangerous and deadly Safe Lands, three brothers live in a small village. Levi is a great hunter and a well-respected man but with a temper; Mason is a doctor-in-training within a community who thinks his job is feminine; Omar is an amazing painter whose weak body is always looked down on. While living in the village suits most, one of the villagers will turn everyone in to the enforcers of the Safe Lands so that he himself can live there. With so many dead and captive and surrounded by people with the thin plague, is there a way that they will get out of this alive? Or maybe the Safe Lands are not as dangerous as they were taught to believe...

I  enjoyed Captives tremendously, especially the last quarter or so. I read the book on my kindle device and literally have 151 notes and bookmarks throughout the story. Jill Williamson did a great job of building the story world into something both believable and amazing. The concept of the thin plague, that so many had it, and that it was hard to have an uninfected baby was genius. I also enjoyed her portrayal of the city's mentality: so much was fixed on pleasure. It was at the same time fascinating as a concept and absolutely sickening when you thought about it. I am so glad that that is not quite what reality is for us!  

Throughout their village life and later their captivity, the characters lean on God and trust Him. Jill Williamson weaved faith in beautifully, especially when talking about Shaylinn and her struggles with accepting herself for who she is.

One of the central problems in this book is the Safe Lands nationals not being able to conceive. That is why they needed the people from the village in the first place. That being said, there are many - many! - references to this problem. While the only actual sexual encounter in the whole story is not given in detail, there are many references to getting pregnant (through scientific means, not through sex) and to making out (part of the "pleasure" of the Safe Lands life). I do not recommend this book to anyone under 18 for that reason.

This is the first book in The Safe Lands series. The next two are Outcasts and Rebels. 

For more on Jill Williamson visit her website and Facebook page. She also blogs regularly at Go Teen Writers.

Have you read this book? What do you think of Jill Williamson's style? Which other books would you like to see me review? Comment below!