A massive twist on Disney & the Princesses, think a YA Westworld for those looking for an escape. This is a world of ideal perfection. There is an underlying theme of sex slavery. The POV of the lead Fantastist, Ana, allows the reader to truly feel her confusion, hurt, & desire to “break the firewall” and be free. ( )

3.5 Stars ( )

This one intrigued me in part because I loved the original version of The Unlikely Death and its questions of ethics. Unfortunately this YA book didn't go quite that deep--it was definitely reaching for bigger concepts, but just didn't quite get there. Still, the concept was interesting, the (clearly) Disney-esque park was amazingly described in all its disbelief-defying glory.

This was a fun, quick read, but one that does require a good bit of suspension of disbelief. The logic of the park starts breaking down pretty quickly if you think about it: how are the animals "evolving" if they're dying young or acting up and getting killed? Why would any Disney-esque corporation risk bad publicity by pushing one of its older models to its limits? Why would there be only seven fantasists spread so thinly across the park, and why would they be allowed to cluster together instead of mingling with guests?

If anything, I would have liked even more description of the Kingdom. We have no real sense of how long the fantasists have been around, how fashions in the park might have changed. What does Ana remember? It would have been interesting to know more about their dresses and merchandising, and especially to have a "who's who" so we can tell the sisters apart and know what countries/regions they represent. Nia and Eve had their special performances, but what is Ana's? I was also a little disappointed that it didn't end up being Ana on the cover. I was imagining her kind of like Disney's Mulan and then out of nowhere we're told she has red hair. So then I started thinking of her kind of like, well, Ana from Frozen. Not sure if that's intentional or not.

An enjoyable, what-happens-next read with exciting moments, some things to think about--if not quite philosophize on--and an okay requisite YA romance with, at least, a someone who wasn't white. But also a lot of darkness in the shadows. Like, a LOT of darkness: implied rape/sexual assault of basically all the fantasists except, somehow, Ana; and overtly there's cutting, suicide, murder, and the attempted murder of a child. But somehow the glossy Disney-esque coating keeps it from hitting too hard. Still. If you're the kind of person who prefers warnings before reading, you'll want them here.

Quote Roundup These haven't been quotes much lately, have they?

p. 106) Not a spoiler. The fantasists say a bedtime *prayer* to the Kingdom. Or themselves, it's not totally clear. This really threw me out of the story, it was just so much above and beyond over the top of ridiculousness. I mean, I'm sure there are corporations that would love to have their employees recite a pledge of allegiance and all, but a prayer just seems too much for a not-too-distant future.

p. 153) Again, not a spoiler, but even with a bit of an explanation eventually, it just seems like the wifi is way spottier throughout the Kingdom than it should be. Especially considering that there are alternatives, like satellite tracking, it's just a little to deus-ex-machina convenient. ( )

I really wanted to like this. I've been on a Westworld kick, and was excited to read something in the same vein. But unfortunately, The Kingdom just didn't meet my exceptions. It doesn't read young adult until it gets to the love-at-first-site with Cade, and then it reads really young adult. There's your typical boy who knows secrets and important things, and the typical naive innocent girl whom he swears to protect.

Perhaps if more time had been spent on the actual trial and sowing uncertainty about Ana's sentience, I would have enjoyed it more. But it seems Rothenberg didn't quite know how to write that part convincingly, and so skips past important moments and discards the ambiguity. We KNOW Ana and Cade are in love. and so are not worried about the results of the trial.

Too predictable and, honestly, poorly written for me. ( )

Actual Rating: 4.5

Dang!

You know that episode of Sailor Moon where they go to the theme park and it’s all robot animals and princesses? That’s how I envisioned The Kingdom. (The ending when the robot princess tries to kill everyone included.)

This book was really good. Based on the synopsis I was expecting a lot of romance - maybe one that didn’t end in a happily ever after, considering Ana is on trial for killing Owen but romance nonetheless. But that really wasn’t the main plot of the book. It was a solid thriller that also dealt with the ethics behind artificial intelligence and human intervention in terms of animal extinction and conservation.

It definitely felt like a science fiction YA Gone Girl but also a little Jurassic Park because “life, uh, finds a way.” ( )