A Time To Die, by Nadine Brandes (Book Review)

“There once was a time where only God knew the day you’d die would die. Or at least, thats what they tell me…”

Parvin Blackwater has a clock counting down the days until her death. At just seventeen years old, she has only one year left. But when the government finds out that she has been sharing her clock with her twin brother, she is sent through the Wall—her people’s death sentence for Radicals—outlaws. But what Parvin finds on the other side of the Wall isn’t what she thought it would be. Unsure of really anything, Parvin has to learn to trust like she never has before…

“Tally ho, Parvin-girl. I’ll see you soon.” 

Nadine Brandes! *Cries* my goodness. I just love her and her writing. Unlike some, she’s an author that isn’t held back by her only entitled genres, she goes all over the place with the different things she writes on. Historical fiction, romance, fantasy, and now—dystopian. This book was her first, and I have no idea how I didn’t know about it until now.

One favorite aspect of her writing is her romances, cause while other authors rush, Nadine Brandes takes her time. Yes, at some points that means her books can seem slow, but it’s really just apart of her story’s development. I think that because this is a series, I’m going to really enjoy it—being that there will be a lot of room for the story to expand and grow. I don’t like when books are so straight forward and dull, and  you have no growth and you never get to know any of the characters. My favorite books are where once you end it feels like you’ve just lost a friend—which I totally did in this book. 

What I thought was super cool, was that while with some of her other novels she makes you dig for it, this book showed exactly what was missing for me in The Hunger Games. The characters actually had something to put their hope in. God was a huge part of the book, and it being a dystopian novel, I just thought it was so powerful as to what our futures could look like. Christian books are the bomb, and that’s one of the many reasons Nadine Brandes is one of my favorite authors. 

The only thing I would have liked better in this book is if it went as slow. The middle held a bit of a longer stand still, until the action picks up. But then again, when the action does pick up, it really picks up. 

Parvin was such an interesting character, and this world that she was placed in made her interesting personality really come out. I don’t like female main characters that are bossy and super independent, and Parvin I think was a nice happy medium. I pretty much loved all the characters, but Jude holds a special place in my heart. If all the romances in the world are just tiny glimpses of Jesus’s love for us, He must really love us. Jude loved Pravin literally so much, his character was 10 out of 10, and I just loved him.

“You shouldn’t be placing hope in our lives, Parvin. That’s my point. I don’t know the answers of the future, but your confidence and hope need to be in God.”

Rating? *Cries* this book was an easy 9–10. I loved this book, and from what I’ve heard, the series only gets better. I’m so excited to read more! I’d recommend this book for ages 12-13+ and truly hope you give this book a try!

“I’m on a pilgrimage. As Jude says: on a quest for something sacred. A question to shalom.”

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Tally ho,

Finlee