I was provided with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is part of the Rebel series. I had not read the prequels to this book and hence was apprehensive about being able to follow the story and the characters. But The Rebel Trap proved to be a lovely read, and there is more than enough foundation information to get readers acquainted with the set-up.

The story revolves around 16-year-old Annabelle Scott, who is caught a completely dystopian world – one where the world is ruled by a kind of a military regime. In fact, this is a world where the men have been rendered obsolete and the remnant boys are caurdoned off from where the girls live. Annabelle needs to carry out commands and orders from her military commander, much to her chagrin, as do the other girls. Things take a turn when Morgan, whom Annabelle has feelings for, manages to disrupt her auditory signalling device and communicates with her, to explain his situation. Annabelle has a choice of now being obedient and following the orders of her world, or help Morgan. What she choose, is what the book talks about.

The pace of the book is an absolute plus – with no point where it slackens, the tale moves briskly and smoothly, completely keeping the readers’ attention engaged. The internal turmoil in Annabelle is portrayed well – she is torn between doing what is right, and doing what she has been assigned to. Although it’s targeted at young adults, the book is thought-provoking, making one think about where humanity is really headed – where does one begin to wage a gory war with ethics? I would highly recommend this book to lovers of young-adult fantasies and dystopian stories.

My rating for this book: 5 stars

(R.C. Bean)