Day 21 is the second in a series preceded by the first book, The 100, which inspired the hit show on The CW last fall. The sequel picks right up where the last one left off and I have to say that I am thankful that I had book 2 handy after reading the first one due to the cliffhanger ending.
In short, The 100
introduced us to a group of young adults who had been Confined for various
crimes and sentenced to death. Rather
than ‘floating’ the children before their 18th birthday, the
Colonists had instead sent them to earth to determine if the planet was now
habitable after a nuclear war had sent survivors into space three hundred years
ago. After crash landing, the almost 100
children were stranded with no means of communicating to the Colonists on the
circling space stations, no real means of shelter, and rations that were
dwindling quickly. As they struggled for
survival, tensions rose as personalities clashed between the survivors. In addition to learning about the fate of the
100 on earth, we are also given a glimpse of what is happening on the ships
through the eyes of one of the original one hundred who had escaped the
transport.
Day 21 chronicles the continued adventures of the survivors
on earth and focuses more on the budding relationships of a few while they try
to find enough food and build shelters to survive. In the first book we were also given a
glimpse of past events to select characters that led up to their confinement
and this is continued in the second book.
Thankfully, the structure is much better and the writing overall is more
fluid with less angst, delivering a better story and a faster read with less
eye rolling on my part. We are also
introduced to the ‘Earthborn’, as they are called by the Colonists and are
given more hints as to what transpired 300 years ago when the bombs fell. Though there are many instances and
references in the storyline that make it seem more likely that only 50 years
have passed and not three hundred, the story is engaging enough that I can
easily forgive the minor nuances of science fiction over dramatic license.
In ending, you may not need to read the first book to
understand what is happening in the second but I would recommend it just the
same. Both are easy reads and short
enough to warrant a few days of your time.
Book two doesn’t end with quite the same cliffhanger which is good since
I have no idea when and if book 3 will be released.
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