The Farm

Author: Emily McKay
Goodreads Rating: 4.0 (My rating)
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 420
Reviewed by: Nicole

Life was different in the Before: before the Ticks began devouring humans in a deadly swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined “for their own protection.” These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…
And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.
Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…
Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race.

I liked that this book was on the border of YA and Adult, it dealt with the age range of Young Adult, but at the same time, it didn't skirt around issues that teenagers face normally. I've noticed that most YA won't curse or really address the issue of sex, but this book managed to cover what it really was like for teenagers before their world exploded and then what it was like after.

I really liked that this book could double as a YA for more mature readers within the genre.   While there isn't sex all over this book it is a topic that comes up a few times when talking about Lily and Carter. There is also the constant mention of "Breeders", young women who chose to have babies and therefore are used like tissues by the Collabs, jock like young boys who choose to work with the Dean of The Farm. 

All of these terms are a little confusing when trying to explain it to you right now. I thought it was interesting that all of these Farms (yes, human Farms) were set up on college campuses. It reminded me a little bit of The Loners, the way that the jocks and sporty guys joined the collaborators and the girls (its insinuated the ones that have looser ethics) join the breeders which means that Collabs can sleep with them whenever. 

I loved the devotion that Lily and Mel had to each other and how Carter pushed to help them both even though it was for his own reasons. I liked that Carter didn't talk to Mel like she was autistic, but rather like she was a normal person. When you look at how they got from point A to point B, its really shocking to realize that this book only took place during a span of 4 days or so.

Of Note: I saw Jenn from Crazy For Books with it on the first day of BEA. I asked her what it was about and her response was "I'm not sure, something about ticks and bugs." which being the girly girl that I am, made me go, 'ick.' When I saw that my mom has snagged a copy, I asked her to read it and let me know if it was a good read, and when my mom handed it to me and was like "OMG. This book was great!" I knew I had to read it even though the publication wasn't until December and I read it in June. 

So if you're unsure about this book because the description mentions Ticks, know that its about vampires and their twisted monster cousins and not the bugs, because if it were killer bugs, there would be no surviving. Anyway, give this book a chance if you're looking to explore outside of YA, but you're not sure where to go. There was no love triangle which was great, and you get a little bit more maturity.