City of Savages: Book Review

By Amelia Fort

As World War 3 erupts, the city of New York is a prime target for the Red Allies. Manhattan is soon taken control of and turned into a Prisoner of War camp (P.O.W. camp)  and the people that live there fear for their lives. This novel, written by Lee Kelly, depicts a world that is very much realistic and could possibly happen.

Many of the United States’ most important and landmark cities have been bombed and turned to ruins because the Red Allies’ country was in a state of great poverty and in need of resources. New York being one of these targeted cities. Manhattan has been cut off from the rest of the world and the Red Allies have become their captors. With raiders and subway scavengers, this city has been turned upside down.This story follows two girls, Phee and Sky, who are sisters, try to survive in the world of mass destruction with their mom, who has had a mysterious past.

During the winter, the P.O.W. camp is open to all the survivors who spend the rest of the year on their own. The warden of this camp is Rolladin, a tough woman who doesn’t take no for an answer. Rolladin, strangely, has a bond with Phee, Skyler, and their mom that neither Phee nor Sky can explain. The three of them just make it into the camp because if you’re late for the census check-in, you’ll be forced to survive the winter without the food and warmth the Park provides, (Central Park has become the Park, and is now the location of the P.O.W. camp. Phee snatched a journal from a safe in their mom’s old apartment. They learn a lot about their mother’s past, but they also learn about Rolladin’s past, too. What did their mother experience and why won’t she tell Phee and Sky? Who is Rolladin and why does she have a special bond with their little family? Where is their dad? Is he still alive? These are questions that Phee and Sky are hoping to learn when they start reading the journal, that they figure out is their mom’s. However, strange, foreign men show up speaking an unbelievable truth. Phee and Sky befriend these strangers to get some answers and discover a world so unfamiliar and exotic to them. Soon enough, Phee and Skyler’s mom reconnect with an old friend. On the contrary, this brings them into even more of a difficult situation. Who are these mysterious strangers? What is the truth they bear? Why is Rolladin lying to them? Who is the old friend Sky and Phee’s mom reconnects with? What other secrets have been kept from them? Read this book to find out! 

I recommend this book for people who like the harsh truth of society, and enjoy a book about a dystopian world. This book was utter perfection, with characters to love and a plot that is irresistible!