Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

I read Article 5 over a week ago and actually forgot to review it so, sorry! 

Name: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons.
Pages: 384.
Publication: 31st January 2012/Tor Teen.

Buy It: Amazon | Kennys | Easons (Pre-order in UK/ROI)
Rating: 4/5

"New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.
The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.
Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. 

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved."

Review.

Article 5 starts with a bang. You are straight into the action before you even notice. Ember is separated from her arrested mother for breaking laws in Article 5. Ember is thrown into a state rehabilitation center where she must stay until she turns eighteen. But Ember has other plans, she has to get out and find her mother. 

A lot of action occurs in the first one hundred pages or so. From then on, the pace slows as Ember searches for her mother as well her volatile relationship with Chase. It doesn't slow so much that you are bored. There is the right amount of action throughout to get you from losing any focus from the story. 

From page one, you can practically tell that Ember is one head-strong, independent and defiant girl. She will not give up without a fight yet she is not the smartest cookie. She is to an extent, irrational and sometime her actions just do not make sense. She is also very naive. She seems to believe that she will be able her mother despite having no idea where she is or where her mother is being held. She is likable but not too likable due to her actions.

Chase, on the other hand, was both likable and unlikable all at the same time due to is personality. You can understand why Ember feels the way she does about him. He is very rash, kind of like a Romeo-esque character, do now, think later. He has a good heart, putting himself on the line for Ember and I don't think Ember gives Chase a chance to explain that.

I would have liked to read about the back story of Article 5 and why the USA is in the state it is now. Hopefully, Simmons will bring out a novella to explain it. I think it would be a good read!

Article 5 has some interesting plot twists that pretty much rattle the entire point of the novel. It, in my opinion, made it better! The ending of Article 5 gives me a lot of hope for the second in the series, which has yet to be titled.

Final thoughts.

I would advise reader of 14/15 years up who enjoyed Birthmarked or Enclave to read Article 5.