¿Un futuro donde nos marcan por nuestros pecados?

¡Vaya libros que hay sueltos por ahí! Cada vez disfruto más encontrando historias raras y provocativas. BRANDED propone un futuro donde te marcan a fuego con el símbolo de un pecado asociado a tu delito. Cuidado con lo que haces que te pondrán un collar a juego. Antes de la reseña...

Os voy a proponer un juego:

si vivierais en este futuro tiránico,

¿cuál sería el pecado por el que os condenarían?

La lista de pecados es:

lujuria - azul

gula - naranja

codicia - amarillo

pereza - negro

ira - rojo

envidia - verde

orgullo - morado

Con mi amor a la comida, la gula está asegurada. Soy de deseos facilones, así que en seguida se me va la mirada y caigo en la codicia o la envidia, sobre todo si hay libros de por medio, jajaja. Cuando tengo un rato libre, me tiro encima del sofá, ya tengo la pereza en el bolsillo. Si alguien me toca la fibra sensible, me pongo roja de ira y suelto mis pensamientos sin filtro. Qué vergüenza. Algo que siempre he considerado que está asociado al orgullo de alguna forma insidiosa. Y qué le vamos a hacer, una no es de piedra ni cartón, así que la carne llama a la lujuria.

Conclusión: creo que tendría la pinta de un arco iris con tanto colorín XD

Branded by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki

A Sinners Series

Fifty years ago the Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed him. In his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of society. He created the Hole where sinners are branded according to their sins and might survive a few years. At best.
Now LUST wraps around my neck like blue fingers strangling me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit and now the Hole is my new home.
Darkness. Death. Violence. Pain.
Now every day is a fight for survival. But I won’t die. I won’t let them win.The Hole can’t keep me. The Hole can’t break me.
I am more than my brand. I’m a fighter.
My name is Lexi Hamilton, and this is my story.

Soy de gustos fijos, pero me gusta amenizar mis lecturas con algo distinto de vez en cuando. BRANDED es una novela distópica escrita por dos autoras, Abi Ketner y Melissa Kalicicki. No debe ser fácil escribir una historia a dos voces, siempre me he preguntado cómo sería el sistema para organizar las ideas o repartir los capítulos.

La premisa es poderosa: en una sociedad restringida por el Comandante, con un ambiente de caza de brujas, cualquiera puede ser acusado de un crimen. Si tu vecino te acusa, acabas en la prisión llamada El agujero, de donde jamás se sale. Allí te marcan el cuello con una técnica terriblemente dolorosa. El color de tu crimen está asociado a un pecado: el rojo significa un acto relacionado con la ira, la pereza se reconoce por el negro, mientras que el azul se reserva para la lujuria.

Con un primer capítulo que impone el ritmo frenético, salvaje y violento del resto de esta larga novela (perteneciente a la serie Pecadores), conocemos a la protagonista. Lexi está a punto de suicidarse. No sabemos por qué, pero iremos descubriendo una vida llena de traumas, pérdidas y terror a medida que transcurre su encierro en la prisión. La han marcado con el color azul. Eso le pone en el punto de mira de todos los delincuentes agresivos y de los Guardas más implacables. A pesar de la vigilancia personal de un Guardián, Lexi sufre continuos ataques en la calle y en el hospital, donde le han asignado un trabajo para servir a la sociedad que se ha deshecho de ella.

Del estilo narrativo puedo decir que es tanto bueno como que cojea un poco, quizás se deba a las dos autoras pugnando por sobresalir. A veces la narración suena de maravilla, otras el diálogo o el comportamiento de los personajes están un poco forzados. En general, me he llevado una buena impresión de la historia porque es muy intensa e interesante. La vida en la prisión es terrorífica, los criminales conviven sueltos con víctimas de su violencia, incluso niños nacidos en reclusión. Apenas hay recursos, los Guardianes son tan peligrosos como los prisioneros, y la corrupción campa a sus anchas. Nadie se atreve a rechistar al Comandante, una figura casi mítica, pero una pequeña resistencia empieza a hacer mella en la atmósfera cada vez más desquiciada.

Me ha gustado mucho la evolución de Lexi. Está muy traumatizada, pero intenta encontrar luz entre tanta oscuridad, ayudando a una niña enferma en el hospital y traspasando la coraza de su Guardián. Existe una gran química entre ellos y su relación se desarrolla de forma muy bonita.

El misterio de su presencia en la prisión y de cómo acabó ahí va resolviéndose al mismo tiempo que la tensión política crece. Ella acaba siendo una heroína en toda regla. Después de estar a merced de tantos brutos, supera sus miedos y sus limitaciones físicas para convertirse en una luchadora que toma parte activa en la revolución. A pesar de que el periodo de entrenamiento se me hizo algo pesado, el final está lleno de acción y cierra algunos puntos, aunque deja mucho que hacer para la continuación.

MY OPINION

What a stark future! The situation is beyond insane in this fast-paced, gritty novel. People turn on each other. Only an accusation is enough to be sent into life-long prison, without trial or parole. The Hole is anarchy and crime in the shape of a cement block.

Branded starts off with a bang and it never lets go. What an opening line! It grabbed my attention so hard. I wanted to know what had driven Lexi to that drastic measure. My curiosity couldn't dwindle as things were happening so fast and so intensely.

Lexy is arrested for unknown reasons. Whatever happened in her past comes out gradually through short flashbacks, dreams and memories shared with other characters. She's branded blue upon arrival to the prison. A colour for lust that marks her as the most vulnerable victim in the Hole, prey so tempting to every hardened criminal and Guards alike that she unwittingly stirs things up even when the short-fused equilibrium is seeing its worst days. After the most sickening introduction to the lifestyle there, Lexi is assigned a job in a hospital, where misery runs as rampant as in the rest of the Hole.

This story struck me as gripping, teeming with emotions, action and horrid circumstances that the authors are not timid to show the reader. A violent world filled with violent people. Lexi and Cole, her Guardian, are pitted against each other, and every time a small light of humanity shines through, it is smashed by hatred, pain and despair. Despite it all, the chemistry between them is there, slow-burning yet strong. I loved how they get closer inch by inch, overcoming suspicion and heartbreak and all the horror and suffering. I really wanted them to trust each other, and finally acknowledge their growing feelings. It felt so warm and romantic when they did.

But it's a forbidden love. One that can, and will, condemn them to a gruesome death. The tension is always there, making them and the reader squirm in frustration. And the world is crumbling down around them. Corruption taints the government, violence escalates in the Hole. It seemed right to me that the relationship has time to grow before the political changes catch up on them.

I rooted up for Lexi. Even after the traumatizing events before her branding and the hell she has to endure when in prison, she still tries to get stronger, find some resemblance of life and hope. I admire her resilience. I love that she's a fighter, and that her father's inspiration made her step up and take a stand for the future. She really turns out to be a kick-ass heroine. 

Overall, I got a great impression from this novel. Some aspects didn't convince me like a few dialogues that seemed a bit unrealistic or some characters' attitude that came out somewhat childish or wooden. The training part also dragged on too much for my liking. In spite of that, I thoroughly enjoyed the fast pace, the mystery unfolding, the harsh world, the main character and the impossible romance.

Readers:

so, if you lived in this world, WHAT SIN WOULD YOU BE BRANDED FOR?

I think I'd look like a rainbow with me being so weak ;o)

EXCERPT 

I turn on the faucet for a long while only to discover ice-cold water rushing out. The water never warms and I begin to understand. The Commander thinks he can wash away my soul by freezing me to death. He thinks he can destroy me by stripping away my possessions. But he can’t and I won’t let him take my memories, my ambition, and my pride.

He thinks I’m so easily broken.

The Commander doesn’t know anything about me, what I grew up with, what I endured—the father I lost, the mother I hate, the brother who walked out of my life, and the stepfather I was forced to accept. He thinks since I was rich, making me poor will cause me to give up. What he doesn’t understand is that, after my father passed away, I grew up behind walls of hatred. I had nothing, but had everything at the same time. I owned expensive clothes, enjoyed good schooling, and lived in a nice home. But my body was just a shell protecting an empty, desperate heart. My life was a colorful façade.

I had so much time to sit and think. I spent the majority of my life between four walls. I was abandoned, neglected, starved, betrayed, and abused. I’ve already been treated like the scum of the earth, so the Hole is nothing new. He wants to erase every sign of my existence on this earth, but I won’t let that happen. He can strip me naked, but he’ll never reach my soul.

It’s personal, completely personal.

Purchase

ABOUT ABI AND MISSY

Abi and Missy met in the summer of 1999 at college orientation and have been best friends ever since. After college, they added jobs, husbands and kids to their lives, but they still found time for their friendship. Instead of hanging out on weekends, they went to dinner once a month and reviewed books. What started out as an enjoyable hobby has now become an incredible adventure.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Abi's Goodreads / Missy's Goodreads

¿Qué os ha parecido esta historia, arrebatadores? Da un poco de miedo. Ahora, decidme, ¿cuál sería el color de vuestro delito?

Babel en busca de la redención.