This weekend I was DELIGHTED to have been granted early access to read the first instalment of Melissa Welliver's 'The Undying Tower'.

Here is what I thought...

I absolutely loved 'The Undying Tower', so much so that I read it in an entire sitting and just could not put it down! The writing is jam packed with twists and turns whilst tackling issues of social classes and world conflict.

The concept is really interesting, set in a post-conflict England, where a minority of the population cease aging at 25. Known as 'The Undying' - these people are shunned by society, given the most dangerous jobs & punished for the simplest crimes either by public execution, or by being sent to 'The Tower'. When 16 year old Sadie is framed for a terrorist attack and is sent undercover in the Tower, she is forced to reconsider everything she believed to be true.

'The Undying Tower' is reminiscent of earlier YA trilogies such as The Hunger Games and Divergent, books that I have loved previously. I have been searching for a great YA series for a while, and I may have just found it!


So, what's it all about?

Set in a future dystopian England, where a small amount of the population - deemed The Undying and banished to the fringes of society - has stopped ageing, The Undying Tower introduces us to Sadie, a sixteen-year-old who suddenly finds herself separated from her ailing father and life as she knows it.

The Undying Tower is a great YA dark, dystopia fiction that will grip readers from start to finish. Dealing with the issues of changing society and marginalization in society as it falls apart from war and environmental destruction, the main character undergoes a series of events which lead her to being part of the 'underclass' she never thought much of before. Fan of dystopian fiction? Don't miss this one - you won't want to wait for the next one!

The Undying Tower is the first book of a dystopian sci fi YA series that brings to mind the good old days of the YA dystopian glory. In addition, it has plenty of twists, even though the story feels predictable, and yet there were a lot of surprises.

But, first things first. The story follows the main narrator, Sadie, as she discovers that she is one of the undying, who she was raised to think as of 'lower priority'. She then is sent to enter The Tower, a prison facility for underaged undying, to uncover the mole that gives government information to a terrorist organization, in exchange for her father's life. The timeline is fused with memories of Sadie's past, giving the reader a chance to compare who Sadie was and how she is changing and her ideas are shifting. The structure of the story overall was well managed and built up the final blow-up masterfully. The relationships created were smoothly paced, fortunately non romantic ones and more on the friendship-family line, which made the twists in the ending feel more intense and dramatic.

Another plus, at least for me, was that the author chose to slowly introduce the world to the reader and don't dedicate the first chapters to chunks of information that would have tired the readers and slowed the story's pace down. The whole dystopian world itself was pretty interesting and compelling, and the writer let enough secrets out to give the second book room to breathe.

As for the characters, Sadie, the main protagonist and our guide through the whole adventure, was a bit annoying at first, as she felt like the school's queen, but maybe that was a trick to let the readers observe her character development. The latter was pretty obvious but nicely paced and enjoyable to read. So, in the end, Sadie did become a likable character. The rest weren't as explicitly presented, but they did boost the action forward. Freya was cute and her purpose in the story was clear. Jasper was mostly in the flashbacks, kind of a classic boyfriend material character whose twist was easily spotted from the start. Rivers was the cool one, moreover, dynamic and strong. Frost was the mysterious, mischievous one, one who can't be trusted, and yet Sadie wastes no time to trust him. Actually, that was one of the things that didn't work for me, the way Sadie felt like she was trying to excuse everyone for who they are and what they had done, although there were times when she herself contradicted herself.

The writing, finally, is simple but has a fast pace and it provides enough action and thrilling moments to keep things exciting.

Overall, The Undying Tower is an enjoyable read which feels predictable but can surprise you in many ways. It also felt like Attack on Titan and The Island.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me the ARC in exchange for an honest review

In The Undying Tower, Melissa Welliver takes us to a dystopian world in the future where a small percentage of the population no longer age, known as the Undying. In a world ravaged by overpopulation, the Undying are seen as the problem and persecuted for it, leading to rebellions from the Undying. In response to the rebellions there are public hangings of the Undying. After our main character, Sadie, is mistakenly blamed for a Rebel attack she is sent to the Undying Tower. The Tower is an awful place where society imprisons the Undying. Sadie is then forced to rethink what she has been told and form her own opinions if she ever plans to get back to her old life.

This is a fairly typical YA dystopian world that is very wonderfully developed. The plot is interesting and the pacing was quite good. There are some parts in the beginning that took me out of the story a bit but once Sadie gets to the Tower it really takes off from there on. I enjoyed the author's use of flashbacks to show us how the world became this way rather than "telling" us. I also appreciate that our main character, Sadie, really stumbles a lot on her way to figuring out who she is going to become after her entire world is upended. Sadie's growth throughout the book is a lot more realistic then her just automatically becoming a righteous queen out of nowhere. I did feel like all the other characters could have been fleshed out a little more. Hopefully they will be in future installments of the series. The writing was quite good and I think this was overall a good debut for the author. Welliver wraps up the end of the book in a satisfactory way, while also leaving enough questions for you to want to come back for the rest of the trilogy.

I think people who enjoy dystopias, particularly YA dystopias, will really enjoy this. I also think people who can relate to the marginalization of a persecuted group of people will enjoy this as well. This book is about fighting for what is right even when it seems like the whole world may be against you. I can really appreciate that message. While I enjoy a great dystopian world, character stories are really my thing and I felt I only really got to know Sadie in this book.

This book really has the vibe of YA from 10 years ago. It's set in a dystopian future where some people stop aging and can, in theory, live forever - The Undying.

The MC, Sadie, gets caught in the middle after an explosion and is sent to a correction facility for young Undying - the Tower.

I wasn't sure about this book at the beginning, I found some actions a bit unbelievable. But once we get to the Tower, things really pick up and I like the twists. Some were a little more predictable than others but I'm looking forward to seeing where this story goes. I'll admit, Sadie isn't my favourite but I'm hoping she'll continue to grow.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this dark, post-apocalyptic YA book.

The main character, Sadie, finds out some uncomfortable truths about herself, her friends, her family, and the world she is living in, and is forced to confront those truths, picking sides in a battle between the Undying and the normal civilians, where the Undying have few rights, live in ghettos, and live on starvation rations.

The plot is fairly predictable at times, but it doesn't take away from the overall story. It's quick and easy read that will appeal to those that love this genre. It will also appeal to those who can draw parallels to history about marginalising sections of society.

In a world where there are too many people and too little space and food, the Undying are blamed for society's problems. Never ageing, and recovering quickly from illness or injury, they're seen as a drain on the country's resources and forced into ghettos.

Sixteen year old Sadie tries to stay out of politics though - she's concentrating on looking after her elderly sick father and working hard at her artwork. But then she gets caught up in a terrorist attack and ends up in the Tower, a sinister correctional facility. Sadie starts to wonder if the authorities really do have her best interests at heart, and what the purpose of the Tower is...

This book really stands out. The author does such a good job of creating the atmosphere of the Tower - starting out innocuously and building creepy clues until the true reality is revealed. Sadie is an excellent character, gradually awakening to the way the world around her really works. I also loved the friendships which emerged which emerged through the story. This is one of a series and I can't wait for book two!

The concept of this book is interesting. It is set in a dystopian future where a small percentage of the population has stopped aging. These people called the 'Undying' are shunned from society and treated terribly and are understandably upset and trying to rebel. The main character Sadie is thrown into the middle of this situation after she takes the fall of a rebel attack and is shown firsthand how the Undying are treated.

To me, this book reads like a 2010ish Young Adult Dystopian novel- which is by no means a bad thing- but it just didn't hit right with me. I found that after the 50% mark it started to drag a little and everything was quite predictable and a tad too overdramatic. There was also an incident with a character that just felt so out of place to me, as though the novel was trying to delve deeper into a dark and twisty narrative that just didn't sit right with how the rest of the narrative was presenting. It took me totally out of the story and I didn't feel it was necessary. Also, the dialogue and communication between the main characters didn't wow me.

However, the writing was good and there were parts of the novel that I really enjoyed. I was enthralled for the first 40% of the novel.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What happens in society when people stop ageing??

We meet our main character Sadie - the 16yr old all rounded, good girl of school and her family at a 'Correction' - A hanging of an undying person. Not your 'normal' night out, but when WW3 has happened and areas of England are no longer accessible, these 'corrections' soon become the norm.
A big incident happens at the 'correction' and Sadie takes the fall for the bad guys. Things don't go as planned for Sadie and she finds out the awful truth about how the undying are treated.

The story is a slow burner but keep on with it as it does get better an the twists make you want to read more! I cannot wait to read the second book and find out what happens next!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Undying Tower in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really solid intro to what I'm assuming (from genre similarities and expectations, not any word from the actual author) will become a dystopian trilogy. The story structure is very YA dystopian typical, but I do like how Welliver uses flashbacks not only to develop relationships & world, but also to show how oblivious and dumb the protagonist starts out. I was really a fan of how Welliver allows her protagonist to stumble instead of instantly becoming a cool, genius badass after getting the foundations of everything she believes in shook because it makes her feel a lot more realistic than other protagonists in the genre.

That being said, I do think this could have benefited from being a bit longer to flesh out a lot of the character (especially the antagonist and supporting cast) but all in all, this was a good opener.

This impressive debut opens a trilogy set in a dystopia that is maybe one hundred years into the future. England is now part of the Avalonia Zone, with parts of it, notably London, out of bounds due to high levels of radiation. A series of bitter civil wars have rendered religion and monarchy obsolete, so obsolete that references to them have become taboo - “Kings and Queens!” is considered obscenely sweary.
The habitable parts of the country have become dangerously overcrowded, partly due to a fringe of the population known as the Undying, who can live indefinitely without looking older than their early twenties. The Undying are a societal scourge, a persecuted minority whose response is to perpetrate acts of terrorism. Society’s response is public hangings, which seem to be compulsory for the general population to attend.
Sadie Abbott, a sixteen-year-old girl, follows the rules. A talented artist, she hopes to get into an exclusive Art Stream if she works hard enough. She cares for, and worries about, her ailing father, who’s on the list for a heart transplant. Her constrained but comfortingly predictable world is upended when, in the confusion after a bombing at one of the public hangings, or “corrections,” she is mistaken for one of the Undying and finds herself imprisoned in a sinister facility, the Undying Tower.
Deftly, Melissa Welliver sets out the internal logic of this nightmarish future, often through the device of having Sadie describe school history lessons, so that it never feels laboured or information dense. The ending wraps up sufficient loose ends to feel thoroughly satisfying, while leaving enough dangling to ensure an eager readership for parts two and three of the trilogy.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I gave this book a chance even though it didn't have cover art available yet because the story sounded that interested to me. It was well written, unique and keeps you wanting to read more. Hopefully Ill get to read more!

Yes, yes, YES! I loved this! This was such an enjoyable read from start to finish and I can’t wait to read the sequel! I loved Welliver’s writing style and characterization, and I definitely will be reading more from this author!