"Guardian" by Cathy McCrumb

About this book:

  “The Recorder's fate has been sealed, but the Consortium is not the only enemy.
    Labeled an aberration by the Consortium, the Recorder is not yet free. Time is running out as an engineered bioweapon wreaks havoc on friend and foe alike.
     Stopping both the biological agent and the people who created it is no easy task, especially since the Recorder and her friends are trapped on a research station infested with behemoth insects. Without Consortium technology, the probability of neutralizing the threat falls to nothing. In order to save her allies, the Recorder must activate a drone, but her success might destroy any hope for freedom, a future, and a name.”


Series: Book #3 in the “Children of the Consortium” trilogy. Review of Book #1, Here! and Book #2, Here!


Spiritual Content- A couple references to Scripture (“things work together for the good” and “no fear in the future”); In the first book, Recorder is told that “some people say we evolved from the dust of stars. Others say we are uniquely formed by a divine being. Stardust or Creation. Either way, you are exceptional. You are the only one of you in all the space and time. You cannot be nothing.”, and she thinks about this a handful of times later in this book as well (including weighing the value of a soul); That same person tells Recorder that she must have confidence that Someone greater than them shapes the worlds and is directing our paths; Someone else says that whether we are stardust or creation, everyone is unique; Recorder thinks about a side character’s “unquantifiable God” and is disappointed when the girl doesn’t talk about Him and is concerned that the girl might have lost her assurance in her God (which makes Recorder sad because the girl has held on to them and provided her a foundation and hope); Recorder wonders what having hope means and if it’s an act of faith; Recorder prays briefly for someone (not said to Who the prayers are towards); Someone says that he isn’t sure if “faith is the building block of hope, or vice versa, but maybe without it, the universe isn’t worth much”; Mentions of God; Mentions of a cross necklace & is being like a lifeline for someone; Mentions of having faith & hope; A few mentions of prayers & praying; A few mentions of being blessed & a blessing; A couple mentions of a side-character having olive wood beads and running them through his fingers when stressed/worried (could be a rosary); A mention of trying to convert someone; A mention of someone saying he is “going home” right before he passes; A mention of the sins of the parents going to their children;
             *Note: Recorder is concerned with someone being killed before having the opportunity to change; A side character thinks that the idea of souls is “metaphysical rubbish” and an “old-Earth relic of whatever religions” the Founders of their current society had fled; Mentions of being lucky; A few mentions of evil people & their actions; A mention of a talisman.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘like blazes’, an unfinished ‘where the—', a ‘why on any known planet’, two forms of ‘blast it’, two forms of ‘idiot’, three forms of ‘shut up’, six ‘blasted’s, and twenty-one forms of ‘stupid’; Made-up cursing for this fictional world includes: an ‘Eldest spare me’, a ‘plague take you’, a ‘space it’s, a ‘what on all the worlds’, a ‘what on New Triton’, a ‘what the void’, a ‘why on any known planet’, two forms of ‘spaced (screwed)’, three forms of ‘moons above’, three ‘rotted’s, six forms of ‘dross’ (used as an insult), seven forms of ‘founders’ sakes/founder’s oath’, eight ‘trog’s (derogatory), eleven forms of spacing (used for emphasis), twelve forms of ‘void it/ void take it’s, fourteen forms of ‘stars above’, fourteen forms of ‘voided/voiding’s, twenty-two ‘moons and stars’, and forty ‘stars’ (exclamation); A couple other possible curses are cut-off; Many mentions of curses (said, not written); A couple lies; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Trauma from being in prior near-death and high pain related places again, Explosions, Fighting, Being held at knife-point, Being hit, Being shocked, Being very sick/ill, Being shot with a virus, Pain, Injuries, Bleeding, Passing out, & Throwing up (up to semi-detailed); Panic and Anxiety (up to semi-detailed); Fighting, Facing down giant man-eating bugs, thinking you may die, & seeing someone almost eaten (up to semi-detailed); Remembering past events (including nearly dying), seeing deaths, & pain (up to semi-detailed); Seeing others killed by an authority figure and drones & the bodies (up to semi-detailed); Seeing others fighting, ill, in pain, injured, bleeding, & shot with a virus (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing other being attacked & fighting (including giant cockroaches, up to semi-detailed); A side character is grieving the sudden death of her father in a flashback chapter; *Spoiler* Recorder tells a drone to rescue someone being held hostage & the drone ends up killing the abductor by crushing his skull (this causes her major guilt & thinking about it often and thinking herself as a murderer, up to semi-detailed on her thoughts and guilt); She feels as if his family is calling out for her blood, but someone tells her that the debt of blood as already been paid (implying Christianity) & that there is evil in the world *End of Spoiler*; Recorders are punished (shocked) by their drone if they do not act like they are supposed to (such as being emotional) and we see this happen on-page a handful of times (up to semi-detailed); After her drone is destroyed in the first book, Recorder started to hit herself when she shows emotion and that’s continued in this book as well (though less often) when she’s trying to think of something; An enemy group orders a hit on Recorder & she hears the orders (barely-above-not-detailed); Someone is bitter about being shot with the virus and makes comments about dying & waiting for death; Someone says she hopes a terrorist is recycle (killed); Some side characters are disrespectful to “shells” (bodies) and are called out on it; *Major Spoilers* The terrorists with the virus plan to take out the next generation of Recorders which are currently children and in gifting tanks; Many Recorders are killed but the children and infants are okay; Those in the Hall of Reclamation tanks do not make it *End of Spoilers*; Many, many mentions of deaths (including of family members and partners), grief, a virus being created to be a biological weapon, being injected with it, the symptoms (including weeping blood from their eyes), & the terrorists/creators and their hatred for the Consortium (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of the Hall of Reclamation (which is where organ donating with rows of deceased donors and live Recorders to serve with their bodies happen); Many mentions of the possibly of dying/being killed, giant man-eating cockroaches, them attacking and eating people, & the remains of those they’ve attacked and others losing limbs and/or dying from the injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of weapons, weapons being aimed at others for threats, being shot, explosions, bodies, fights, beatings, weapons, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (semi-detailed); Mentions of murders, murderers, & trying to figure out to did it (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of bodies & people being “recycled” (cremated); Mentions of explosions, earthquakes, & deaths (including of family members); Mentions of kidnappings, being held hostage, & shot with a virus; Mentions of survivor’s guilt; Mentions of citizens getting “removed” (either killed or sent to a hard labor area and not heard from again); Mentions of Recorders and others being shocked and strangled by drones & in pain; Mentions of pirates, mutineers, attacks, criminals, & crimes; Mentions of thieves & stealing; Mentions of blackmail & threats; Mentions of alcohol, drunken behavior, & drinking (including someone saying that they need a drink); Mentions of hatred (that some have towards the Consortium and others towards citizens who want to harm the Consortium); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A few mentions of stabbings; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of bullies; A few mentions of tattoos (on those who have been sentenced and deemed as criminals); A couple mentions of others committing suicide by a pill instead of getting caught by their enemy; A couple mentions of Consortium staff being like slavery; A couple mentions of an electrocution; A couple mentions of gossip; A couple mentions of urine; A mention of suicidal thoughts (someone asks Recorder if she is suicidal because of her plan); A mention of someone thinking that a husband murdered his wife; A mention of execution (being illegal); A mention of someone being “spaced” (murdered/exiled); A mention of arrests; A mention of illegal drugs; A mention of a woman’s nails looking like they were dripping blood (nail polish); 
             *Note: Prejudice, Bigotry, & Belittling all happen towards Recorders, Consortium staff,  and those raised in a certain area that is where criminals are sent (rude comments are on-page and also towards Recorder); Those who are Recorders or other government service staff were “gifted” by their biological donors and it’s said that they redeem their gifting by doing service (It’s said that the Consortium welcomed them when their biological donors “discarded” them and feeding hatred towards some citizens who hate them as well); A child who is training to be a Recorder laughs but quickly stops for fear of being punished; A child is called a liability because of her biological father; Many mentions of giftings, the children being abandoned, & children with “genetic disorders” being gifted as well; Mentions of eugenics, genocide, & an attempted genetic cleansing a hundred years prior to the book starting; A few mentions of a man not being able to have an opinion on what happen with his children because he didn’t have a contract (partnership) with the mother, so she was able to choose what happened to their twins and she gifted them (the man has been looking for them for years); A few mentions of bigotry (towards the Consortium and Recorders); A few mentions of a grandfather saying mean things to his grandson; A few mentions of a young man wearing earrings; A couple mentions of vaccines; A couple mentions of horror vids (movies).
 
 
Sexual Content- Two hand/palm kisses, seven forehead kisses, a not-detailed kiss, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and two semi-detailed kisses; A few kisses on-page in side characters’ chapters (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness, & Smelling (including sitting in a guy’s lap, up to semi-detailed); Wanting to kiss, touch, embrace, & hold hands (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Marriage is not a concept in this world, but people have “contracts” and become “partners” (there are mentions of permanent contracts and some thinking others are odd for wanting to be with the same person for the rest of their lives); A hint to a contracted couple sharing a bed/room; Seeing couples kiss, embrace, & hold hands (barely-above-not-detailed); Four ‘babe’s; *Spoilers* As hinted in the prior book, a side-character is pregnant out of wedlock; She finds out the older man she’s been dating has an “open but exclusive contract” with another woman (allowing affairs but not another partner) and does not care what the side character does with the baby, thinking that gifting isn’t a bad decision; She calls his partner the “older, cast-off model”; He says that he loves her but also adds that “love is a complicated construct when we are but biological machines with chemical responses” adds that the pregnancy is her mistake as she’s the one in the “predicament”, and has already gotten what he wanted from her; She goes on her student trip in the early stages of her pregnancy and a friend wants to offer her a contract, but she doesn’t want a pity contract; She keeps her baby at the end *End of Spoilers*; Nathaniel comments on Recorder looking nice & noticing her legs when she’s just wearing a nightshirt; Mentions of the assault & forced kissed that happened without Recorder’s consent (Book #1); Mentions of couples, hand holding, embraces, & kissing; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dating, dates, & break-ups (some of these terms aren’t used but the idea of them are); Mentions of liking someone & crushes; Mentions of blushes & winks; A couple mentions of a forbidden love between a citizen and a Recorder; A bit of love, being in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: *Spoiler* The Consortium has made sure that Recorders cannot have children *End of Spoiler*; A young woman asks a side character if he would still love her if she was fat (she asks this because her father canceled their contract when her mother got fat); A few mentions of using a drone to find the pheromone levels (breeding areas) of the cockroaches; A few mentions of guys’ muscles; A couple mentions of shockings from a drone possibly harming someone who is pregnant; A mention of a man not knowing about the existence of his daughter.
 
-Recorder, age 24-25
                            POV switches between Recorder (1^st person) & flashbacks to others’ POV (Tia, Alec, Elliot, Julian, Kyleigh, and another all in 3^rd person)
                                             Sci-fi
                                                        412 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{ Older Girls who enjoy sci-fi books may enjoy this book more and could add a full star to that rating. }

 

That ending was all great and good but was sorely missing a lack of fire. Of buildings on fire. Particularly government buildings on fire. Where’s the narrowing eyes emoji when you need it? 

 

This trilogy ended up being my hurricane buddy, the series I binged as we went through a hurricane prior, during, and after when I had no Internet. It definitely sucked me in and I wanted that in a series. I have to say, though, that it didn’t meet the expectations I had for it. Which could totally be partially my fault and hyping it up in my head and comparing it to the “Anomaly” series by Krista McGee, but it wasn’t what I thought it would be. It’s still definitely had its good moments, and obviously I’ve binged the series so I definitely was interested in it, so I don’t wanna make it sound like it was bad, but I was disappointed by the ending. I suppose I am too 21st-century American because I wanted certain political and government events to happen. I guess I’ve come to expect when there is a corrupt government doing evil things, we’re going to burn it down. And I get highly disappointed when that doesn’t happen. The ending was good and very practical for this world, so I cannot fault the author for going in that direction. I still just have problems with certain elements.

 

This being really the first full series I’ve read that would be under the sci-fi genre, I’ve come to the conclusion that sci-fi is just weird. There’s giant bugs for some reason, outer space stuff, and other such things. It’s not my kind of read as someone who never was interested in wars in space nor tracks through the stars, so I’m a little shocked that I became so interested in the series, but I think it was mostly because answers were not given in the first book and I wanted those answers. There were different things I really thought that would’ve been revealed or happened that ended up not happening in this third book, which was interesting. It ends in an almost open ending way where the author could write a spin off series or a companion novella down the line.

 

This is definitely been a series that while I enjoyed the adventure this book puts you through and I felt many emotions from tears to suspense, I didn’t like every element of it. It’s not going to be one I’ll probably talk about or recommend often, unless you really, *really* like science fiction. I wish there would’ve been more faith content throughout the story especially because while it’s clean fiction I feel like those who read secular science fiction books would probably say it wasn’t “edgy” enough. 

 

I’ve binged the series and yet I didn’t give them high ratings. That may really confuse a lot of people, but that just means is I need answers and I don’t handle not getting them well. This series has fans for it but I couldn’t just Google my answers to find out like I could for a major secular series, so I was invested in finding out the answers. Particularly I wanted to know what name she would pick. 

 

Overall thoughts? I don’t know. This has been an interesting one to read and review, for sure. I think it goes back to you if you’re an older teen that really likes science fiction books and do not mind giant man eating bugs, you may really enjoy this book. It’s not what I’m going to recommend here on Books for Christian Girls, though, because of the lack of faith content. If you’re looking for a clean fiction read that is completely out of my norm (it might be your norm), you could see about it.

 

 

See y’all on Monday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Aberration" by Cathy McCrumb

About this book:

  “The Consortium is All. But Recorder Can No Longer Obey.
    Recorder has no family, no friends, and no name. Donated to the Consortium before birth, her sole purpose is to maintain and verify the records. A neural implant and drone ensure compliance, punishing for displays of bias.
    Suddenly cut off from controlling technology, Recorder tastes what it means to be human. But if the Consortium discovers her feelings, everyone she knows will be in danger.
    With no name, no resources, and only an infinitesimal possibility of escape, Recorder's time is running out.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Children of the Consortium” trilogy. Review of Book #1, Here! 


Spiritual Content- A reference to Scripture (“being the salt and the light”—though someone doesn’t think the person saying it knows was light is); In the first book, Recorder is told that “some people say we evolved from the dust of stars. Others say we are uniquely formed by a divine being. Stardust or Creation. Either way, you are exceptional. You are the only one of you in all the space and time. You cannot be nothing.”, and she thinks about this a few times later in this book (including being confused when the person says that everyone is defective since she thinks that it contradicts what he said before & later feeling like it is mocking her because she feels of no value); Recorder thinks about someone’s unquantifiable God (Book #1) and comments that maybe there is “something larger than this life, after all”; Recorder thinks “please no” and it’s called a “thought—or prayer”; Someone who is a Christian mentions about having faith “no matter what” in hard times (said a few times); When someone who wears a cross necklace is talked about, someone else says the person is an “elite” (tauntingly); Someone talks about “going home” when the person is dying; A few mentions of prayers; A couple mentions of a cross necklace; A couple mentions of a side-character having olive wood beads and running them through their fingers when stressed/worried (could be a rosary); A mention of “old-Earth hagiography”; 
             *Note: Someone says something that is “either a prayer or a curse” when upset; A side character says that sharpening knives is “like meditation” to her; A side character orders for whatever can help protect the group from the virus “vitamins, meds, face paint, or burning feathers. I don’t care.”; Someone is called a minotaur because of his size; “Pax” is said a couple of times when showing that you want peace with another (Pax is the goddess of peace); When a drone is “killed”, Recorder corrects that it was never alive; Mentions of rumors about a place being haunted & having ghosts; A few mentions of Medusa & Poseidon; A few mentions of evil people & their actions; A couple mentions of wishes; A mention of a painting of two humanoids with flaming swords.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘back off’s, four forms of ‘idiot’, five forms of ‘blast it/blast you’, five forms of ‘shut up’, ten ‘blasted’s, and twenty-four forms of ‘stupid’; A man is also called a bigot (but we aren’t told why); Made-up cursing for this fictional world includes: a ‘thank the founders’, a ‘void-ridden’, a ‘what the void’, two forms of ‘rust it/stow it’, two forms of ‘space you/crush you’, three forms of ‘moons above’, three forms of ‘stars above’, three ‘void it’s, four forms of ‘void take it’s, four forms of ‘we’re spaced (screwed)’, six forms of ‘founders’ sakes/founder’s oath’, six forms of ‘space it’s, six ‘trog’s (derogatory), eight ‘moons and stars’, nine forms of spacing (used for emphasis), nine forms of ‘voided/voiding’s, twelve forms of ‘dross’ (used as an insult), and fourteen ‘stars’ (exclamation); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Many mentions of curses (said, not written); Seeing dead bodies & Having to move them to a temporary morgue (multiple times, including blood and the condition of the bodies, up to semi-detailed); Seeing others ill, in pain, injured, beaten, bleeding, & three people pass away (up to semi-detailed); Seeing other being attacked & fighting (including giant cockroaches, up to semi-detailed); *Spoiler* Someone is left for the roaches to get him due to his orders to not slow down the group and is dying anyway (barely-above-not-detailed) *End of Spoiler*; Being trapped and almost burned alive, Trauma from being in prior near-death related places again, Explosions, Being held at knife-point, Being ill/shot with a needle, Being shocked, Being hit, Fighting, Fighting off drones and giant cockroaches, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Remembering events from the first book (giant bugs, major pain, deaths, & seeing corpses, up to semi-detailed); Some Panic & Anxiety (up to semi-detailed); A nightmare (up to semi-detailed); Eavesdropping; Recorders are punished (shocked) by their drone if they do not act like they are supposed to (such as being emotional or helping a citizen because they are only to observe) and we see this happen on-page many times (up to semi-detailed); After her drone is destroyed in the first book, Recorder started to hit herself when she shows emotion and that’s continued in this book as well; Recorder has been starved for a few days (not intentionally); Recorder is not displeased by the news of the death of someone who wasn’t a good person; *Major Spoiler* It's hinted at in this first book about the Hall of Reclamation being the worst thing that can happen to Recorders who do not follow their rules, but it's never really said what it is; In this second book, we quickly learn that it's where Recorders and Elders go to either be put into medical containers for live organ donation or take care of those who are set for that path (including children who were deemed to have genetic flaws “egregious to prohibit development” or had “genetic material” that was too valuable); This is deemed part of their service and if they cannot serve, then their bodies will in this way; We see another character’s chapter with taking care of those there that are deceased citizens and living Recorders; He shares happy memories with a child in a tank since the child should have had memories of her own and gets in trouble for doing that until an Elder says that “Slaughterhouses providing stress-free butchering produce better quality—” before being cut-off by someone else saying that was a repugnant comparison *End of Spoiler*; Two scenes of those who have passed being “recycled” and the bodies (“shells” going on a conveyor belt) & grief (up to semi-detailed); Some side characters are disrespectful to “shells” (bodies) and are called out on it; Many mentions of deaths (including of parents), murders, bodies, having to move the bodies to a morgue set-up, incinerating the bodies, & grief (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of weapons, weapons being aimed at others for threats, explosions, giant man-eating roaches, fighting them, fighting, someone losing an arm to one, pain, injuries, blood/bleeding, throwing up, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of deaths through a virus (biological weapon), someone’s plans to unleash it, & an attempted murder; Mentions of people being “spaced” (which is when they are kicked out of a ship and left to float in the void and can be considered as murder); Mentions of citizens getting “removed” (set to a hard labor area and not heard from again); Mentions of kidnappings, being held hostage, & shot with a virus; Mentions of Recorders and others being shocked, tortured, & in pain; Mentions of pirates, mutineers, criminals, & crimes; Mentions of hatred (that some have towards the Consortium); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars (including that Recorders and Elders can lie because they are human, but they will be reprimanded if it’s discovered); Mentions of gossip, rumors, & eavesdropping; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of animal experimentation (which happened on cockroaches) for a good reason of saving those trapped in a mine; A few mentions of earthquakes & deaths; A few mentions of a man changing after the death of his son; A few mentions of mines collapsing & deaths; A few mentions of wanting someone who did a person wrong to suffer (which Recorder agrees with); A few mentions of a woman trying to drive two brothers apart & is condescending to the younger one behind his brother’s back; A few mentions of starvation; A few mentions of nightmares; A couple mentions of terrorists; A couple mentions of a drone taking a life even though it isn’t supposed to unless programed to do so; A couple mentions of others believing Recorder is suicide risk (she is not); A couple mentions of a possible break-in/thief; A mention of a someone dying in a mine because of a lack of oxygen; A mention of a grandmother taking her granddaughter away from her mother (not said why); A mention of sounding like a stalker; A mention of flogging; A mention of a bully; A mention of urine; A mention of cats being “disposed of” as a person of high authority sees fit; 
             *Note: Prejudice towards Recorders and those raised in a certain area that is where criminals are sent (rude comments are on-page and also towards Recorder); A side character feels guilt for not viewing a Recorder as a potential friend like she did with one of the opposite gender; Some view and make comments about Recorders being property of the Consortium (which our Recorder says she is not); An Elder implies that Recorder should have died in order to stop someone else from unleashing a virus (Book #1); Recorder wonders that if everyone holds value like someone told her, that should that also extend to those who did wrong; Recorder misses her drone at times because of different reasons (including it being able to calm her); Those who are Recorders or other government service staff were “gifted” by their biological donors and it’s said that they redeem their gifting by doing service (someone asks Recorder if she regrets being gifted, but as it wasn’t her action, she says she doesn’t but has pondered what could have happened if she wasn’t gifted; Later, an Elder says it was the most moral choice the biological parents could make); Someone says that because he didn’t have a contract (partnership) with a woman, she was able to choose what happened to their twins without his opinion mattering and because one was said to be “defected” she gifted them (the man has been looking for them for years); Someone thinks that “heading out on one’s own” was when “life really started” (thinking of a friend who is too loyal to a family member); Mentions of eugenics, genocide, & an attempted genetic cleansing a hundred years prior to the book starting; A few mentions of a young man wearing earrings; A couple mentions of a girl’s biological mother didn’t want her and was going to give her to the Consortium “like most college students do” but she was adopted by family members; A mention of trying to find either a cure, antivirus, or a vaccine for the virus.
 
 
Sexual Content- A forehead kiss; A few kisses on-page in side characters’ chapters (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Remembering and Dreaming of touches, hand holding, & nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Marriage is not a concept in this world, but people have “contracts” and become “partners”; Someone is embarrassed to share that she is reading a historical romance book but clarifies that it is not banned or “even rated orange”; Mentions of the assault (in Book #1) where a guy forces a kiss on Recorder (this was also considered attempted murder because of a virus; Recorder has to tell an Elder about it and says that she was assured it was not kissing, but there was an exchange of saliva; She adds that she didn’t report is because “it seemed a small thing. He was young and I did not believe it was in his character to repeat it.”); A reference to what Poseidon did to Medusa (in regards to a painting of Medusa having to beautiful since Poseidon did something (unnamed) to her); Seeing couples kiss, embrace, & hold hands (barely-above-not-detailed); Three ‘babe’s; A woman calls a young man ‘doll’ twice and he blushes; Mentions of the assault & forced kiss; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends & dating (these terms aren’t used but the idea of them are); Mentions of couples, hand holding, embraces, & kissing; A few mentions of blushes; A few mentions of crushes & jealousy; A mention of someone acting like they saw a long-lost lover; A bit of love, being in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Recorder notices that a young woman has gained weight but does not say anything because she was told that’s impolite to comment on; A side character tells another that he should eat up because “there will be plenty of time in your future to curtail the input of calories, but you aren’t there yet”; A side character (teen girl) is irritated that a guy can eat and eat and still be lean; A side character is teased about ogling others (he’s actually skin-shy) & blushes when seeing others’ bare skin (midriff and arms); A side character says that she trusted someone and was in love with the person, but ended up stuck with consequences (no more is said but could imply an out-of-wedlock pregnancy based on other comments); Mentions of growth hormones for an animal (insect) experimentation; A mention of testosterone levels.
 
-Recorder, age 24
                            POV switches between Recorder (1^st person) & flashbacks to others’ POV (Eric, James, Freddie, Lorik, Kyleigh, & Elliot all in 3^rd person)
                                             Sci-fi
                                                        354 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{ Older Girls who enjoy sci-fi books may enjoy this book more and could add a full star to that rating. }

I thought it would be best to continue this trilogy while the information from the first book was still fresh in my mind and I’m glad that I did that because whew! Lots of things (but also not a lot of things in hindsight??) happen in this sequel and lots of new faces entered in. Like in the prior book, there’s a lot of characters with many names and you have to keep up with it all—which I struggled with at the beginning of this book as well.

 

I never thought a sci-fi book could make me tear-up but when you have a rag-tag group with clashing personalities that have each others’ backs regardless of their differences like only the Found Family trope can do, you might as well pass me the tissues. I found myself tearing up at a couple touching moments and then a sad moment as well. 

 

These two books have been very interesting for me. I’m engaged into the story while reading it and once I finished both books I’m thinking that I enjoyed it, but I’m having a hard time saying why I enjoyed it. Is it because it’s different from my normal reads? Or because it’s an intense ride that I don’t know what will happen next? Particularly with the first book, I liked it but I didn’t like some elements and wished there was more hope as it felt depressing at times. I suppose it’s hard to have hope when you’re a Recorder in this world, though. We do see a bit more of that element in this second book, which I was grateful for. 

 

My major hope for the third book is that the government is burned to the ground in it. We see glimpses of the terribleness they do in the first book, but this second book really heightens what atrocious acts they are doing.

 

On the romance, it’s definitely not the main focus of the plot which I like, but at the same time feels a little shoe-horned into the plot. I’m curious to see what will happen in that regard in the final book because while they like each other (or as much as our Recorder can figure out with her new emotions being allowed to show) they don’t have much time for discussions and are really just a source of comfort and strength to the other. Which is cute, but I was expecting a bit more in that regard. Not a compliant at all about the light romance, but it has been interestingly done. 

 

I do have to ask: why do sci-fi books have to have giant creepy, man-eating bugs? I can count on one hand how many sci-fi books I’ve read (and I’ve seen even less sci-fi movies or TV shows), but that seems to be a standard element and frankly I don’t like it. I already loath cockroaches but this series is making me dislike them even more, so a heads up for others who do not do bugs. 

 

I’m hoping the third book will enter in with more Christian Faith content because so far it’s been more of a Clean Fiction book written by a Christian with a few faith hints—which is fine, but I feel like this world needs Jesus pronto! 

 

 

 

See y’all on Monday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Recorder" by Cathy McCrumb

About this book:

  “The Consortium is All. But Recorder Can No Longer Obey.
    Recorder has no family, no friends, and no name. Donated to the Consortium before birth, her sole purpose is to maintain and verify the records. A neural implant and drone ensure compliance, punishing for displays of bias.
    Suddenly cut off from controlling technology, Recorder tastes what it means to be human. But if the Consortium discovers her feelings, everyone she knows will be in danger.
    With no name, no resources, and only an infinitesimal possibility of escape, Recorder's time is running out.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Children of the Consortium” trilogy. 


Spiritual Content- A few references to Scriptures (“all things worked together for the good”, “dust unto dust”, “something about never leaving or forsaking her”); The phrase “only God knows right now” is said by someone to another (who both seem to have faiths); A side character has a cross necklace which shocks the Recorder to learn that the person has a religion and comments “it surprises me that you would believe in something as unquantifiable as a god” and the girl says “Well, he wouldn’t be much of a God if he was quantifiable, would he?”; Someone wishes another “Godspeed”; Someone tells Recorder that “some people say we evolved from the dust of stars. Others say we are uniquely formed by a divine being. Stardust or Creation. Either way, you are exceptional. You are the only one of you in all the space and time. You cannot be nothing.” (She says these words again later); Recorder asks others to swear something to her by “whatever star or deity you will”; Recorder says that she’ll need “wishes and prayers” to do something hard and later isn’t sure if “prayer or hope was the right word” but did both that she wouldn’t get caught; Mentions of a cross necklace; Mentions of two characters having wooden “worry beads” and running them through their fingers when stressed/worried (could be a rosary); A few mentions of prayers & someone uttering “what might have been prayer”; A couple mentions of two Christians telling the other to “look to the light”;
             *Note: When Recorder tells a guy who stop invoking a deity when he curses and that “deities and religions are not sanctioned for public discourse. [He] should speak of religion only in the privacy of [his] personal space with like-minded people”, he responds that how will he find one if no one speaks of their faith, but tells her to never mind his comment because he was only cursing and that “no god’d want [him] anyway”; When upset, Recorder asks why the “universe” cannot give her some small hope for the future; When someone is told that their deceased loved one is in a better place, another person says that “being alive would be better”; A side character asks another if everything is meaningless; “Pax” is said a couple of times when showing that you want peace with another (Pax is the goddess of peace); A few mentions of someone who was trapped in a mine thinking that ghosts would get to him & would talk to the ghosts; A couple mentions of being lucky; A mention of that when at the end of someone’s life, everyone should find peace; A mention of Ceres’s twin moons; A mention of evil mythological beings; A mention of taste evolving.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blah blah blah’, a ‘good night’, an unfinished ‘son of a —‘, three forms of ‘shove off/leave off/back off’, three forms of ‘shut up’, four forms of ‘idiot’, nine forms of ‘blast/blast you’, twelve ‘blasted’s, and thirteen forms of ‘stupid’; Made-up cursing for this fictional world includes: a ‘for colony’s sake’, a ‘void it’, a ‘void-ridden’, a ‘what in the name of light’, three ‘trog’s (derogatory), three ‘void take it’s, three ‘voided’s, twelve forms of spacing (used for emphasis), fourteen forms of ‘stars above’, sixteen ‘moons and stars’, and twenty-one ‘stars’ (exclamation); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Many mentions of curses (said, not written; two of them “invoked a deity”); Someone tells others that they “can rot”; Viewing a murder & autopsy in videos/projections (including how it happened and trying to find out the murderer, up to semi-detailed); Finding dead bodies (including seeing video of a murdered one, up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone pass away (up to semi-detailed); Fighting, Fighting off giant cockroaches, Punching someone in the face, Being shocked, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, Passing out, Throwing up, (including someone taking Recorder’s helmet off after she throws up in it so she doesn’t choke on it), & Being put into a medical tanks filled with goo and freaking out (up to semi-detailed); An explosion, earthquake, helping others (including injured children), seeing a death, deaths of loved ones, injuries, blood/bleeding, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Panic & Anxiety (up to semi-detailed); A nightmare (with a corpse talking and someone turning into a giant bug, up to semi-detailed); Eavesdropping; Seeing someone being beat up by a bully, fighting, & bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Recorders are punished (shocked) by their drone if they do not act like they are supposed to (such as being emotional or helping a citizen because they are only to observe) and we see this happen on-page a handful of times (including when our main Recorder was a child, up to semi-detailed; *Spoiler, but about self-harm* After her drone is destroyed, Recorder starts to hit herself when she shows emotion, someone catches on to this later and says she doesn’t have to hurt herself because her drone not being there anymore, but Recorder thinks that the person is wrong, though she does try to stop hitting herself after that point *End of Spoiler*); The team is to gather information on what happened to a group of people on a secret location where many of them have died (one person wants to rescue the bodies, but because that is not their mission, they only rescue the ones who are alive in medical tanks); *Spoiler* Recorders have an implant in them that will kill the Recorder if they go rogue and try to survive on their own *End of Spoiler*; *Major Spoiler* It's hinted at in this first book about the Hall of Reclamation being the worst thing that can happen to Recorders who do not follow their rules, but it's never really said what it is; In the second book, we quickly learn that it's where Recorders and Elders go to either be put into medical containers for organ donation or take care of those who are set for that path; This is deemed part of their service and if they cannot serve, then their bodies will in this way *End of Spoiler*; Two scenes of those who have passed being “recycled” and the bodies (“shells” going on a conveyor belt), the person’s hair being cut-off, & the coldness of the whole process with grief (up to semi-detailed); Someone plans to get “good and drunk” after the passing of his family member; Many mentions of deaths, grief, bodies, retrieving bodies, seeing a murdered body in a video, finding bodies (and remembering seeing them), & a murderer (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of attempted murder, possible executions, & people disappearing who broke the government’s rules/laws; Mentions of survivors’ guilt after many others have died; Mentions of an unknown virus & someone’s plans to unleash it (biological weapon); Mentions of coffins, people who have passed being “recycled”, & the family receiving money from what’s left of the bodies (someone tells Recorder about his mother’s service and we see on-page two others); Mentions of Recorders and others being shocked & in pain; Mentions of an explosion, pain, injuries, blood/bleeding, throwing up and almost drowning in vomit (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of threats; Mentions of bullies, fighting, fights/beatings, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of champagne and cocktails at a party, drinks, drinking, a spiked punch bowl, & getting drunk (drinking because of a boss and wanting to get drunk after the death of a family member); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip, rumors, & eavesdropping; Mentions of an anti-obscenity law that Recorders uphold (others can be fined for cussing); Mentions of nightmares (including giant cockroaches & corpses); Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of animal experimentation (which didn’t happen) & someone planning to euthanize cats (but others rescued them and all of them made it except one that was pregnant); A few mentions of children not making it after a place self-destruct (and the heaviness of seeing a video of one of the children being scared and sedated); A few mentions of thieves & stealing; A few mentions of possible atrophy; A few mentions of parents arguing & grief (over a child being sick); A few mentions of couples breaking their contracts (divorce); A couple mentions of someone being beat up for his actions (assault to a girl); A mention of suicide; A mention of a someone dying in a mine because of a lack of oxygen; A mention of a man’s son dying (prior to the book); A mention of gambling; A mention of urine;

             *Note: After some events, Recorder does not feel like she has a purpose anymore and is nothing (someone disagrees with her about this because every human is valuable, but she still believes it to be true); When Recorder says that children are forgettable individually so being in a larger unit maintains their neutrality and that she’s not important as an individual, someone else says that’s a lie; A side character’s grandfather calls him a parasite that ruined his daughter’s life (we see this in a chapter from his point of view and how the boy was only allowed to call his mother by her first name because of it); Another side character in a flashback is disrespectful to her controlling mother; Some people do not view Recorders as humans (even though they technically are; Another person is glad a Recorder is dead as he views them as spies for the Consortium); Those who are Recorders or other government service staff were “gifted” by their biological donors and it’s said that they redeem their gifting by doing service (they are gifted at the third trimester of pregnancy to “assure a better survival rate for the fetuses and to avoid further emotional complications for the donors, who are compensated for their contribution”); Often times unwanted or medically fragile pregnancies are gifted to the Consortium; A girl says that her biological mother didn’t want her and was going to give her to the Consortium but she was adopted by family members (this makes our Recorder wonder if her mother’s extended family knew that was an option, but she shakes away the thought); Mentions of children having “defects” and that the children won’t be normal inside and take too much from the parents (like medical appointments, counseling, therapies, and then causing the parents to be isolated, but the father is still committed to the child and mother; *Spoiler* The mother chooses to gift the twins to the Consortium and because they aren’t contracted (married), the father has no say in the matter so she gifts the babies so that they will be taken care of there, saying that the man will not want this burden because the children will never be functional and would “crush him like a black hole”; This has haunted the man for years and he continues to search for her and the children *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of eugenics, genocide, an attempted genetic cleansing a hundred years prior to the book starting, & how destruction of a pregnancy is illegal and immoral; A couple mentions of guilt of parents for gifting their children; A mention of a horror video (movie); A mention of a young man wearing earrings; A mention of someone having a therapist.
 
 
Sexual Content- A head kiss, an almost kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, two semi-detailed kisses (one forced), and a detailed kiss; A few kisses on-page in side characters’ chapters (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness, Noticing, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; Wanting to touch & Wondering about touching a guy’s hair (barely-above-not-detailed); An on-page assault with a guy forcing an embrace and kiss on Recorder (she tries to push him off and wipes her lips multiple times afterwards, up to semi-detailed; Later, she tells someone that she doesn’t understand because kissing wasn’t pleasant like she’s heard it was; She feels shame and failure after it happens and will not wear the outfit she was wearing again; *Spoilers* Someone tries to turn the situation that Recorder had forced “unwanted attention” on the guy, but none of the main side characters believe it and most are sympathetic to her; Recorder notes that everyone is avoiding him so she offers mercy to him and the opportunity to redeem himself; It’s revealed later on that the guy was concerned that he got her sick because he is involved in releasing a virus to the public which makes the assault attempted murder *End of Spoiler*; Another guy is playing a young woman’s feelings in order to get information from her and her status; *Spoiler* Recorder asks a guy to kiss her because when she’s alone, the thought of him comforts her; Someone yells at them for kissing because she’s supposed to report to the Consortium and because her lips are swollen and have his DNA on them, she could get into trouble *End of Spoiler*; Talks about the assault, assaulter, & kisses/kissing; Seeing couples kiss, embrace, & hold hands (barely-above-not-detailed); Couples do not get married in this world but have a “contract” & call the other their “partner” (there are also nonexclusive contracts that have a time limit; There is a mention of an uncle with a young contract partner); Recorders and Citizens are not allowed to be together in a romantic sense, but we hear about that happening once and both of them being sent away (and never heard from again; Someone calls it disgusting that they fell in love and he seduced the Recorder, but another says that they both must have been in love); In a side character’s chapter, we learn that he was with a much-older woman (20+ years his senior) and that while they didn’t have a contract, they lived together (we see them in bed and cuddling together), she was pregnant, and that he wanted to marry her (which she didn’t understand why he would use that word because it was outdated and thinks he will leave her at some point because he’s too young; *Spoiler* One of the babies is said to be defective, so the mother decides to give the babies to the Consortium; Because they are not contracted together, the father has no choice in the matter though he begs the woman to not do that and that they will figure it out; She ends up gifting the babies and he continues to try to find them many years later *End of Spoiler*; A couple guys tease and flirt with Recorder a few times (including saying that she had an “emotional reaction” to him & another one flirts with her and she takes it as him belittling her); A grandmother teases her granddaughter that if she doesn’t go after a guy, she will to show him how to make a woman happy; A guy comments on a woman’s “assets” and enjoying “that kind of athleticism”; Two ‘babe’s; Mentions of the assault, forced kiss, & others treating the assaulter rudely and hitting him; Mentions of kisses, kissing, & consent; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, exes, & break-ups (these terms aren’t used but the idea of them are); Mentions of a guy who is full of himself; Mentions of couples, hand holding, embraces, & them kissing; Mentions of flirting, winks, & blushes; A few mentions of handsome guys; A few mentions of crushes; A couple mentions of a guy flexing his muscles; A mention of the guy who “mauled” Recorder and another guy hoping he enjoyed it (which he didn’t); A mention of learning how to “fend off unwanted advances”; A bit of love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A side character’s mother body shames her (saying that her arms are “like a miner” and shouldn’t be showing); A couple mentions of a young guy taking off his shirt and others whistling at him; A mention of puberty.
 
-Recorder, age 24
                            POV switches between Recorder & flashbacks to others’ POV (Alec, Kyleigh, Timmons, Jordan, Zhen, Max, & James)
                                             Sci-fi
                                                        354 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{ Older Girls who enjoy sci-fi books may enjoy this book more and could add a full star to that rating. }

This was wildly different from really any book I’ve ever read before. She’s basically like a robot and when events happen that alter her, she has to learn to manage her emotions and life without her technology—including having to monitor her own vials and knowing when to eat. Recorders are said to keep everyone honest and safe, but some will argue that point because of past troubles with them.  

 

Even after typing this looooong review, I’m still unsure of how I feel about this book, so let’s list some pros and cons:

Pro- I was able to follow along pretty well and never felt too overwhelmed by the sci-fi plot. The author explained things very well and naturally, it never felt like info-dumping. 

Con- The story did start to drag for me around the halfway point. 

Pro- I liked seeing the eventual found family trope.

Con- There was a lot of characters and names to keep track of (including the same person being called three different names 🥴)

Pro- this was incredibly different from my normal read and I liked that aspect.

Con- The cockroaches were disgusting and completely icky as someone who can’t stand those. I now have trust issues for this author and creatures she adds to this series. 

Pro- Our main Recorder didn’t understand different idioms and taking them literally was so Amelia Bedelia-like and I really liked that part. 

Con- At times, it stated to feel overly sad and depressing to me. That could totally be me, but I was waiting for something good to finally happen to these characters. 

 

I really wanted to really like this book. It didn’t quite meet my expectations, I’ll admit. Major sci-fi fans will probably enjoy this one more, but I struggled with different elements of this book. I needed more hope throughout it and it sorely lacking that element. I do plan to continue the rest of the series as I own them and am curious about certain things. The concept is there and the characters were well done, but for some reason it still didn’t meet the expectations I had for it.

 

 

See y’all on Monday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.